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A’s Place Cole Irvin On Injured List

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6:35pm: Irvin has shoulder tendinitis, manager Mark Kotsay told reporters (including Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle). Kotsay isn’t ruling out the possibility of Irvin returning when first eligible on May 17.

12:55pm: The Athletics announced this afternoon that starting pitcher Cole Irvin has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 2, due to soreness in his throwing shoulder. Fellow southpaw Zach Logue has been recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas to take his spot on the active roster. Martín Gallegos of MLB.com tweets that Logue is expected to start this evening’s game in Minnesota.

Irvin’s shoulder soreness cropped up between starts during the week. The still-nebulous diagnosis and lack of a timetable provided by the team leave it unclear how long he’ll be sidelined. Irvin will miss at least a couple starts, though, as the return of the 15-day IL for pitchers is now in effect after being suspended for the first month of the season.

Acquired from the Phillies over the 2020-21 offseason for cash considerations, Irvin has stepped directly into the A’s rotation and proven a nice find. He made 32 starts and tossed 178 1/3 innings last year, posting a reasonable 4.24 ERA in spite of a lack of velocity or swing-and-miss stuff. Throughout his minor league career, he’d demonstrated excellent control. That strike-throwing prowess has carried over to the majors, as Irvin walked a meager 5.5% of batters faced. His pitch-to-contact style played better in front of an excellent A’s defense and in Oakland’s cavernous home ballpark than it had in Philadelphia, where he’d gotten terrible results in limited action between 2019-20.

The 28-year-old Irvin got off to another solid beginning this year. Through five starts, he owns a 2.93 ERA in 27 2/3 innings despite a subpar 15.9% strikeout rate. He’s again thrown plenty of strikes and seen an early uptick in ground-balls relative to last year. While he’s sidelined, the A’s will need to plug a rotation spot behind Frankie Montas, James Kaprielian, Daulton Jefferies and Paul Blackburn.

Adam Oller, acquired from the Mets in the Chris Bassitt trade this past offseason, has been the top rotation depth candidate in the early going. He’s not fared well in his first three MLB appearances, though, and he tossed three innings with Las Vegas on Tuesday after being optioned out.

Like Oller, Logue was acquired as part of the A’s Spring Training sell-off. The 26-year-old was one of four players sent from the Jays in the Matt Chapman deal. He made his MLB debut in relief last month but will now get his first big league start. Over four starts with the Aviators, he has a 5.63 ERA in 16 innings.

This Date In Transactions History: January 30

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Let’s take a look back at some notable moves taking place on this day in years past…

  • 2021: The Blue Jays officially announced their one-year, $18MM deal with Marcus Semien, as the two sides agreed to the contract a few days prior.  In the aftermath of a disappointing 2020 season with the A’s, Semien opted for the one-year pact with Toronto in order to rebuild his free agent value with a better performance in 2021.  This plan worked to perfection, as Semien finished third in AL MVP voting after hitting .265/.334/.538 with 45 home runs (a new single-season record for a second baseman).  Semien then cashed in during his most recent trip to the open market, signing a seven-year, $175MM contract with the Rangers signed prior to the lockout.
  • 2021: In another notable move completed one year ago, the Athletics acquired Cole Irvin from the Phillies in exchange for cash considerations.  Irvin hadn’t done much over 45 1/3 career innings with Philadelphia, but the southpaw emerged as a valuable member of Oakland’s rotation last year, posting a 4.24 ERA over 178 1/3 innings.  While the Statcast metrics weren’t kind to Irvin and questions remain as to whether or not he can stick as a reliable starting pitcher, and yet for the cost of just a minor cash outlay, the trade was already a win for the A’s.  It is possible Irvin wouldn’t have broken out without a change of scenery, and yet the deal doesn’t look great in hindsight for the Phillies, especially considering the Phils spent much of the season looking for consistency at the back of their rotation.
  • 2016: Jean Segura was traded for the second of four times in his career, as the Diamondbacks acquired Segura and right-hander Tyler Wagner from the Brewers for a package of Chase Anderson, Isan Diaz, Aaron Hill, and $5.5MM to cover part of Hill’s remaining salary.  Segura’s lone season in Arizona was the best of his career (.319/.368/.499 with 20 homers as part of a 5.0 fWAR campaign), but it wasn’t enough to keep the D’Backs from a 93-loss season.  With Mike Hazen taking over as Arizona’s GM in the aftermath of that rough season, Segura found himself on the move again in November 2016, traded to the Mariners in another notable swap that brought Ketel Marte to the desert.  From Milwaukee’s perspective, their Segura trade ended up being a nice win.  Anderson became a solid member of the rotation for four seasons, while Diaz was part of the prospect package the Brewers sent to the Marlins to land Christian Yelich.
  • 2006: Hey, remember when Mike Piazza played for the Padres?  The Hall-of-Famer spent only one season in a Friars uniform, but it was a memorable one, sparked when Piazza signed a one-year, $2MM deal (with an $8MM mutual option for 2007).  Getting the bulk of playing time as San Diego’s starting catcher, Piazza still plenty left in the tank at age 37, hitting .283/.342/.501 with 22 home runs over 439 PA.  Piazza’s big year helped the Padres win the NL West, but the team declined their end of the mutual option after the season.
  • 1954: Bobby Thomson’s legendary home run helped THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT in 1951, but it can be argued that trading Thomson helped the Giants win the World Series in 1954.  On this day 68 years ago, the then-New York Giants picked up left-handers Johnny Antonelli and Don Liddle, backup catcher Ebba St. Claire, infielder Billy Klaus and $50K in cash from the then-Milwaukee Braves in exchange for Thomson and catcher Sam Calderone.  Antonelli became a fixture of the Giants rotation for the next seven seasons, reaching six All-Star games and posting a league-best 2.30 ERA in 1954.  Liddle was also a solid arm for New York in 1954, and might be best remembered for allowing the long Vic Wertz fly ball that required Willie Mays to make “The Catch” in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series.  Brought into the game specifically to face Wertz, Liddle was removed after facing his one batter — according to legend, Liddle then wisecracked “well, I got my man” in mock-bragging fashion after leaving the game.
  • 1923: It’s not quite the most famous example of the Red Sox trading a future Hall-of-Famer to the Yankees, since it’s not like Boston fans bemoaned “The Curse Of Herb Pennock.”  Still, the Yankees never won a World Series before Pennock came to the Bronx, dealt from Boston for $50K and three players who were all gone from the Sox roster by 1925.  Pennock was already a 10-year veteran with a solid career behind him at the time of the trade, but after a couple of relative down years in 1921 and 1922, the Sox were ready to move on.  Pennock went on to pitch 11 seasons with the Yankees, posting a 3.54 ERA over 2203 1/3 innings and helping New York win four Series championships.  The southpaw was at his best in October, with a 1.95 ERA over 55 1/3 career innings in World Series play.

Pitcher Notes: Dodgers, Gray, E-Rod, Yankees, Fiers

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The Dodgers are still deciding among fifth starter options, manager Dave Roberts informed Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times and other reporters Friday. Southpaw David Price is competing against righties Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin, who impressed as rookies during the Dodgers’ 2020 World Series-winning campaign. As a five-time All-Star and a former AL Cy Young winner, Price certainly carries the best track record of the three – not to mention the highest salary – but he didn’t pitch at all last season after opting out over COVID-19 concerns. Any of those three would join Trevor Bauer, Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw and Julio Urías in what will be a loaded season-opening starting five.

The latest on a few more pitchers around the game:

  • Reds righty Sonny Gray, who has been dealing with a back problem for a couple of weeks, came out of a sim game unscathed Friday, per Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. After throwing two innings and 30 pitches, Gray said, “I felt good. It was definitely a step in the right direction.” Gray will start the season on the injured list, but he doesn’t expect to miss much time. That’s uplifting news for a Reds starting staff that lost the aforementioned Bauer during the offseason.
  • Eduardo Rodríguez was recently set back by a dead arm but seemed to make some progress this morning. The Red Sox left-hander came out of a bullpen session feeling good about his chances of soon returning to game action, although a season-opening injured list stint remains a possibility (via Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com and Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe). Manager Alex Cora says the club will evaluate how Rodríguez feels tomorrow before making any decisions about his recovery timeline.
  • The Yankees have optioned right-hander Deivi García to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, according to a team announcement. The move suggests Domingo Germán will enter the season as the No. 5 in the Yankees’ rotation behind Gerrit Cole, Corey Kluber, Jameson Taillon and Jordan Montgomery, though odds are that García will make his share of starts this season. The 21-year-old, a former top 100 prospect, made his debut last season with a 4.98 ERA/4.21 SIERA with a 22.6 percent strikeout rate against a stingy 4.1 percent walk rate in 34 1/3 innings.
  • Athletics righty Mike Fiers will begin the season on the injured list, manager Bob Melvin announced to Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle and other reporters. Fiers has been dealing with left hip inflammation since midway through the month and hasn’t faced live hitters during his recovery. His injury could open the door for any of Daulton Jefferies, Cole Irvin or A.J. Puk to at least temporarily join the A’s rotation. Fiers tied for the A’s lead in starts (11) and finished second in innings (59) last season, but he struggled to a 4.58 ERA/5.41 SIERA and managed a personal-worst 14.4 percent K rate.

AL West Notes: Correa, France, Athletics

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Astros shortstop Carlos Correa projects as one of the top free agents on next year’s market, though both he and the team have made clear that they hope to hammer out an extension before he reaches the market. Correa told reporters today that those talks have yet to begin, noting that the finger injury to Framber Valdez and the front office’s subsequent negotiations with free agents may have delayed the beginning of talks (Twitter link, with video, via Mark Berman of FOX 26). Correa was understanding of that and remains motivated to talk contract, though as is often the case with extension candidates, he placed a firm Opening Day deadline on any talks for a new deal. Houston GM James Click said in late February that the Astros “want to have some conversations” with Correa’s camp to see if the two sides can align on a deal to keep him long term.

Astros fans may also be interested to hear skipper Dusty Baker talk of Correa as a potential leadoff candidate in 2021. Correa hit leadoff today and told reporters he’s excited for the possibility of taking on that challenge (video link via Berman). Leadoff duties have traditionally been George Springer’s department in Houston, of course, but his departure creates a vacancy atop the lineup.

More from the division…

  • Ty France may not have a set position with the Mariners, but the team plans to get him 500-plus plate appearances in 2020, writes Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. As Divish notes, Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto tried to pry France away from the Padres on multiple occasions before successfully landing him as part of the Austin Nola trade last summer. Manager Scott Servais spoke glowingly of France’s work so far this spring, and Divish suggests that France could get semi-regular work at designated hitter while also seeing occasional starts at third base, second base and first base to keep the Mariners’ infielders fresh. France is 8-for-13 with a pair of doubles, three homers, a walk and no strikeouts this spring. He batted .305/.368/.468 in 155 big league plate appearances last year and is a career .372/.454/.713 hitter in 458 Triple-A plate appearances (albeit in a supercharged Pacific Coast League offensive environment).
  • The Athletics will continue to build up southpaw Cole Irvin as a starting pitcher in camp, writes Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle. Oakland acquired the lefty from the Phillies in exchange for cash over the winter, and although the bulk of his work in the Majors has come out of the ’pen, the A’s plan to continue building him up to serve as a possible depth option behind their current rotation. Only three of Irvin’s 19 Major League appearances with the Phils were starts, but 41 of his 43 career appearances in Triple-A came out of the rotation. The 27-year-old carries a 3.07 ERA at that level, and while his 18.8 percent strikeout rate is a good ways shy of average, his 4.7 percent walk rate is excellent.

Athletics Acquire Cole Irvin From Phillies

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1:17 pm: Both teams have announced the trade. Oakland’s 40-man roster is now full.

11:00 am: The Athletics are picking up left-hander Cole Irvin in exchange for cash considerations in a deal with the Phillies, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). Irvin’s departure will clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Matt Moore, who agreed to terms on a one-year deal earlier this week. Another move will need to be made to accommodate Didi Gregorius’ addition to the roster once his two-year deal is finalized.

Irvin, 27 tomorrow, has picked up nineteen MLB appearances (three starts) over the past two seasons. Across 45.2 innings, he has a 6.75 ERA/4.87 SIERA. He doesn’t miss many bats; his 17.2% strikeout rate is well below the league average of 23.4%. However, Irvin compiled a long track record of throwing strikes in the minors and has continued to do so at the highest level, walking only 6.9% of opposing hitters as a big leaguer.

The southpaw twice ranked among Baseball America’s top thirty prospects in the Phillies’ system. He still has a minor-league option remaining, meaning the A’s can shuffle him between the majors and Triple-A Las Vegas if he survives the offseason on the 40-man roster.

Phillies Announce Flurry Of Roster Moves

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The Phillies have made a series of roster moves today (per The Athletic’s Matt Gelb), activating newly acquired pitchers Heath Hembree, Brandon Workman, and David Hale, along with outfielder Adam Haseley, who returns from the injured list. In turn, pitchers Cole Irvin and Connor Brogdon have been optioned and Jay Bruce was placed on the 10-day injured list. Relief pitcher Deolis Guerra was designated for assignment.

Hembree, Workman, and Hale are the fruits of two Friday trades with the Red Sox and Yankees, and the trio will hopefully offer a meaningful upgrade to a Philadelphia bullpen that has thus far stumbled to a 7.97 ERA, by far the worst mark in baseball.

While Workman’s 4.05 ERA is nothing special, his peripheral numbers give him a 2.57 FIP, which is just a hair off the 2.46 mark he posted a year ago, when he was quietly one of the American League’s most productive relievers. He brings top-notch strikeout prowess to the table, with walks representing his biggest weakness.

Hembree should bring some much-needed stability to the Philly bullpen, after contributing five years of consistently solid production for recent Red Sox teams. Hale has the capability to pitch multiple innings and can be deployed in long relief. He’s struck out 7 batters in 6 innings for the Yankees this year.

Although the Phillies will send one outfielder to the injured list, with Bruce’s nagging left quad injury now warranting an IL stint, they’ll welcome another outfielder back, with Haseley recovered from the wrist sprain that forced him to the sideline on August 13.

As for Guerra, the Phillies will have a week to determine their course of action for the 31-year-old right-hander, who has struggled out of the gates, allowing three home runs in his first 7 1/3 innings of work.

Phillies Option Six Players To Triple-A

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The Phillies shuffled six players off of their 26-man roster, according to a team announcement. They are lefties Austin Davis and Cole Irvin, righties Edgar Garcia and Reggie McClain and outfielders Kyle Garlick and Nick Williams

On what was originally scheduled to be Opening Day, the big baseball action of the day has instead been reruns of past games and procedural moves such as this one. None of these moves are particularly surprising.

The four pitchers all saw some time in MLB in 2019. But since they all posted ERAs north of 5.75 in their respective seasons, they will all have to go back down to the minors and wait for their next opportunity.

As for Garlick and Williams, they each had a decent shot of earning a roster spot a couple of weeks ago. But that was because Andrew McCutchen was not going to be ready to rejoin the team until April and therefore open the season on the IL. Now that the start to the season has been delayed until at least May, McCutchen should be able to get healthy in time to reclaim his regular role in left field. And with Bryce Harper, Adam Haseley, Jay Bruce and Roman Quinn also on the roster, that seems to push Garlick and Williams down the depth charts and into the minors.

Phillies Announce Roster Moves

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5:26PM: In other roster moves, the Phillies activated Jay Bruce from the 10-day injured list and called up left-hander Cole Irvin from Triple-A.  The club also selected the contracts of infielder Phil Gosselin, righty Nick Vincent, and catcher Deivy Grullon from Triple-A.  This will mark the 23-year-old Grullon’s first taste of MLB action, after a seven-year stint in Philadelphia’s minor league system that includes an impressive .283/.354/.496 slash line over 457 Triple-A plate appearances this season.

3:38PM: The Phillies have designated right-handed pitcher Drew Anderson for assignment, according to an official team announcement. He’ll be dropped from the team’s 40-man roster, along with Adam Morgan and Jerad Eickhoff, who were transferred to the 60-day injured list.

The 25-year-old Anderson has only managed to get into two games for the Phillies this year, tossing six innings in his third big-league season. It hasn’t been a promising showing for Anderson, who surrendered five runs in those six innings, walking as many batters as he struck out. Unfortunately, those numbers represented a continuation of his struggles in his first two trials in Philadelphia. For his career, Anderson is sporting an unsightly 7.71 ERA over 21 innings of work.

What’s more, the minor-league numbers for Anderson haven’t been much more encouraging. While he’s excelled at Double-A, it seems that Triple-A has represented a significant barrier; across three seasons at the level, Anderson owns a 4.34 ERA while striking out only 7.4 batters per nine innings. If he clears waivers, he could accept an outright assignment and remain within the Philly organization — if he isn’t released. Otherwise, another team could take a chance on him and hope to turn him into a viable reliever.

Latest On Phillies’ Injuries

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The Phillies welcomed Pat Neshek back from the injured list today, activating the veteran reliever from the 10-day IL after he missed three weeks due to rotator cuff inflammation.  Cole Irvin was also called up from Triple-A for his third taste of MLB action this season, while the Phillies optioned Edgar Garcia and Ranger Suarez back to the minors to make roster space for Neshek and Irvin.

Neshek has a 4.67 ERA over 17 1/3 innings this season, though that number is a little deceptive.  Neshek’s final outing before hitting the IL saw him allow three runs in just two-thirds of an inning, inflating what had been a respectable 3.24 ERA.  Overall, Neshek has allowed runs in just five of his 19 appearances, though his K/9 sits at just 4.7, marking the second straight year that Neshek (whose career K/9 is 8.7) hasn’t missed many bats.

With one good bit of injury news in the form of Neshek’s return, the Phillies are hopeful of avoiding another IL stint after Jay Bruce had to leave last night’s game due to left hamstring tightness.  Bruce is considered day-to-day, and the club believes the outfielder won’t need any time on the injured list, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.  The Phillies are short enough in the outfield as it is, though Bruce has been an incredible boon since being acquired from the Mariners on June 2.  Bruce has already hit five homers and posted a .308/.341/.744 slash line over his first 41 plate appearances in a Phillies uniform.

Bryce Harper, Scott Kingery, and Nick Williams lined up right to left in Philadelphia’s outfield today against the Braves, with Brad Miller and Sean Rodriguez available as utility options off the bench.  None of this group, not even Kingery, is a true center fielder, as the Phillies didn’t get Roman Quinn back from the IL this weekend as expected.  Quinn has been limited to just seven games this season due to both an oblique strain suffered at the end of Spring Training, and then a groin strain that has sidelined him since April 25.  According to Lauber, Quinn “felt discomfort” after being hit in the shoulder with a pitch on Friday during his Double-A rehab assignment, though Phillies manager Gabe Kapler told reporters the latest setback isn’t thought to be serious.

Phillies Option Nick Williams, Activate Jay Bruce

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If you weren’t watching the wire this weekend, the Phillies swung an early deal to add a lefty power bat. Today, the club announced that outfielder Nick Williams was optioned out to make way for veteran slugger Jay Bruce, who’s active for the team’s game this evening.

In another move, the Phils have optioned down lefty Cole Irvin. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by fellow southpaw Austin Davis, who’ll slip into the bullpen.

The 25-year-old Williams was already optioned out after receiving few opportunities during a rough start to the season. He came back onto the active roster following the arrest of outfielder Odubel Herrera, but has since struck out six times in eight plate appearances.

For the time being, Williams will get to work on finding his bat at Triple-A. The former top prospect will serve as a near-term depth piece for the Phils, who’ll also hope he can reclaim some of his former promise. It’s certainly possible to imagine the team exploring trade options involving Williams this summer or in the coming offseason.

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