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Eduardo Rodriguez

AL Trade Notes: Twins, ERod, Red Sox Pitching, Hill

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Twins GM Terry Ryan says that his organization had “better be open for business, which we are,” as MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger reports. Minnesota seems ready to market its trade chips, though it’s still unclear how the club will approach the deadline. Its best pieces, as we just covered in MLBTR’s top trade candidate series, include righty Ervin Santana, utilityman Eduardo Nunez, and relievers Fernando Abad and Brandon Kintzler. Ryan says he’s willing to consider any type of prospect in its trade discussions, and noted that the organization “wouldn’t be opposed” to paying down some contractual obligations “if you’re getting a good player back and it takes some money to do it.” He did note, however, that the Twins typically don’t hang onto cash when dealing a player.

Here’s more from the American League:

  • Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski says that he still has hope that Eduardo Rodriguez can contribute to the team this year, as Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports. That assessment could well have an impact on the team’s approach to the trade deadline. “If people would be looking to say we’re going to be getting someone more talented than Eduardo Rodriguez, it’s not going to happen,” said Dombrowski. “They’re just not out there. They’re not out there and available. Sometimes you’ve got to fix some things internally. We’ll see what happens.”
  • Regardless of the Red Sox’ views on Rodriguez, the team figures to be in the hunt for at least one rotation arm. As Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald reports, Boston has been in touch with the Padres, who could market Drew Pomeranz and/or Andrew Cashner (though the latter had a really rough outing tonight). Also, senior VP of baseball ops Frank Wren is said to have watched both Rich Hill of the Athletics and Julio Teheran of the Braves recently.
  • Hill has returned from the DL to rave reviews for the Athletics, and both Drellich and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle suggest that widespread interest is building in the southpaw. The former cites the Red Sox, Dodgers, Cubs, and Tigers as organizations that are taking a look at Hill. And Slusser adds yet more teams to the possible mix, listing the Blue Jays, Royals, and Orioles as possible suitors that have been watching him pitch of late. While Hill’s frequent injuries limit his appeal somewhat, there’s an argument to be made that he’s the best pure rental piece available this summer.

AL East Notes: Yanks, Sox, Beltran, Miller, ERod

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The Red Sox have inquired about high-end starting pitchers like the Marlins’ Jose Fernandez and the Pirates’ Gerrit Cole this season, but Boston has unsurprisingly balked at sending back shortstop Xander Bogaerts or right fielder Mookie Betts, a source told Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. With a rotation whose ERA (4.66) and K/BB ratio (2.4) are both below average, the Red Sox are looking for starters who can help them “in the present or the future,” a source informed Silverman.

More on both Boston and its archenemy:

  • In the event the Yankees are deadline sellers, right fielder Carlos Beltran could draw significant interest, an AL scout told John Perrotto of FanRag Sports. “He would help a lot of teams. He’s swinging the bat as well as I’ve ever seen him. He still plays a passable enough right field to help a National League team and American League teams can use him as a designated hitter,” said the scout. In his age-39 season, the switch-hitting Beltran is slashing .283/.316/.567 with an impressive 18 home runs in 256 plate appearances.
  • Yankees reliever Andrew Miller’s name seems to surface in trade rumors on a daily basis, but the lefty told NJ.com (via Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune) that it doesn’t bother him. “I have zero control on it. I have zero leverage,” he said. “I don’t have any no-trade (clause). It comes with the territory I’m in. … I’m not immune to checking trade rumors because I want to see.” The 31-year-old Miller has already been dealt three times in his career, having gone from the Tigers to the Marlins to the Red Sox to the Orioles via the trade route.
  • One potential reason the Red Sox are looking for rotation reinforcements is the struggles of southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez, whom Baltimore traded to Boston for Miller in 2014. Rodriguez has surrendered 16 earned runs while striking out 12 and walking nine in four starts (20 2/3 innings), though he’ll keep his rotation spot, per Chris Mason of the Boston Herald. Prior to his next start, which is Wednesday against the White Sox, Rodriguez will work on returning to the delivery he used during a successful rookie campaign a year ago. In 121 2/3 major league innings last season, Rodriguez compiled a 3.85 ERA, 7.25 K/9, 2.74 BB/9 and 43 percent ground-ball rate.
  • First baseman Mark Teixeira could reenter the Yankees’ lineup as early as Saturday if all goes well in a rehab stint during the upcoming week, manager Joe Girardi said (via Randy Miller of NJ.com). That would represent a relatively quick comeback for Teixeira, who was a possibility for surgery after a cartilage tear in his right knee forced him to the disabled list June 4. Surgery still isn’t off the table in the event of a setback, though, and Girardi acknowledged that the injury could prevent Teixeira from serving as an everyday option. In his absence, the Yankees have turned to a platoon of Rob Refsnyder and the recently acquired Ike Davis at first.

Injury Notes: ERod, d’Arnaud, Carrasco, Sano, Pennington

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The Red Sox received a highly promising start from southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez last night, as Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald reports. While Rodriguez wasn’t quite up to the top velocity he showed last year, he was working comfortably at 93 mph and said he expects to see gains in that department as he continues to build up. The youngster made his 2016 debut just one day before the calendar flipped to June after a prolonged absence due to a knee injury. Boston will surely hope that Rodriguez can provide a boost to a rotation that has had its share of concerns over the season’s first two months.

Here are a few more injury notes from around the game:

  • Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud could head out on a rehab assignment this weekend, Rubin reports. His return could provide a big boost to a New York club that has suffered some notable health issues of late. Fellow young receiver Kevin Plawecki has struggled at the plate in d’Arnaud’s stead and could end up being demoted, per Rubin, who says that the team is pleased with what it’s getting from veteran Rene Rivera behind the dish even if he, too, isn’t hitting much.
  • There was good news also for the Indians, who expect to start righty Carlos Carrasco on Thursday, as Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal tweets. It seems that Carrasco will be limited to around eighty pitches in his first outing back, but will obviously be expected to ramp up from there. The 29-year-old allowed just six earned runs in his first 22 frames on the year before suffering a hamstring injury.
  • The Twins will place third baseman Miguel Sano on the 15-day DL after he suffered a left hamstring strain. As MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger reports on Twitter, Sano is hopeful that he won’t be out any longer than the minimum, though we’ve certainly seen hamstring issues linger and the organization will want to ensure it doesn’t turn into a bigger issue. Prospect Max Kepler will return to the majors to take his roster spot.
  • The Angels appear to have lost infielder Cliff Pennington to an aggravation of his own left hamstring injury, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports, with a DL stint seemingly likely. That could means that Kaleb Cowart or Brendan Ryan will be headed back to the big league club, though the former was just sent down and the latter requires a 40-man spot.

AL Central Links: Hughes, Tribe, Tigers, Dombrowski, Miller

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The White Sox have lost 14 of their last 18 games, including a nightmarish weekend sweep to the Royals that saw Chicago blow late-inning leads in all three games.  Saturday’s result was the most crushing of all, as the White Sox held a 7-1 lead with one out in the ninth before allowing seven runs to lose 8-7.  The sweep also pushed the Royals into first place in the AL Central.  Here’s more from around the division…

  • Phil Hughes is being moved to the Twins bullpen, manager Paul Molitor told reporters (including MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger).  Kyle Gibson will replace Hughes in Minnesota’s rotation.  Hughes allowed a league-high 29 homers in 2015 and has struggled to a 4.74 ERA over 208 2/3 innings since the start of last season.  Unless he can regain his form while relieving and eventually get back to the rotation, the Twins will face further scrutiny over signing Hughes to an extension following his excellent 2014 season, the first year of a three-year/$24MM contract.  The Twins overwrote the final two years of that deal for a new extension that guaranteed Hughes $58MM from 2015-19.
  • While the Indians could well be deadline buyers as they make a push for the division title, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer figures top prospects Clint Frazier, Bradley Zimmer and Bobby Bradley are untouchable in trade talks.
  • Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer notes that since the start of the 2013 season, Justin Upton and Marlon Byrd have posted more similar counting stats than one might think.  Upton is the better player overall (as seen through an fWAR comparison) and is a decade younger, though Pluto’s point is that the Indians are getting a bargain after signing Byrd to a minor league deal worth a $1MM guarantee plus incentives.  The veteran is outperforming Upton, who has been a sub-replacement player in his first two months with the Tigers.
  • Shane Greene could return to the Tigers as either a starter or reliever when he comes off the DL, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press writes.  Michael Fulmer seems to have locked up a rotation spot, so Greene could find himself back in the pen barring further notice (such as if Jordan Zimmermann’s groin injury worsens).  Greene has been sidelined with a finger blister.
  • Dave Dombrowski is happy to have “a championship type of guy” like Eduardo Rodriguez on the Red Sox roster, but the southpaw was a trade roadblock back when Dombrowski was the Tigers’ general manager.  As Dombrowski tells Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald, Detroit was eager to acquire Andrew Miller from the Red Sox at the 2014 trade deadline and Dombrowski felt a deal was imminent after the Tigers agreed to give then-Sox GM Ben Cherington the two players he was seeking.  Cherington had to make one more call, however, which led to Miller being dealt to the Orioles for Rodriguez.  “They didn’t say we had a deal but you thought you had a deal,” Dombrowski said.  “There is a difference between the two….It’s ironic how it worked out because I’m the benefactor of it.  Really when they got Eduardo Rodriguez, he was better than the guys we were offering.  So I understood it.”

Red Sox To Activate Eduardo Rodriguez, Move Clay Buchholz To Pen

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The Red Sox have some important pitching changes in the works, as Tim Britton of the Providence Journal reports on Twitter. Manager John Farrell says that the club will activate lefty Eduardo Rodriguez to start on Tuesday, with veteran right-hander Clay Buchholz bumped to the pen.

It’s been a long wait for Rodriguez, who has missed the first two months of the season while working back from a knee issue. He showed immense promise last year, and was expected to hold down a rotation spot for the foreseeable future.

Of course, expectations never were that he’d be taking the ball from Buchholz. That move may not last the rest of the season, but it’s a major step for a pitcher whose last major league relief appearance came in his sophomore season of 2008.

Shifting to a relief role also speaks volumes about where things stand with regard to Buchholz’s 2017 club option, which is valued at $13.5MM and comes with a $500K buyout. It seemed reasonably likely to be picked up heading into the year, but Buchholz has managed only a 6.35 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 over his first ten starts.

That’s a steep drop-off from Buchholz’s work last year and most of the rest of his ten-year MLB career. If he can’t turn things around during the 2016 season, he could end up looking for a make-good free agent opportunity come next fall.

Injury Notes: Alvarez, d’Arnaud, E-Rod, Angels, Minor, DeSclafani, Morrow

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Athletics right-hander Henderson Alvarez underwent an MRI in his shoulder yesterday, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. The early belief is that Alvarez has a minor shoulder strain, which Slusser notes is not necessarily unusual in rehabs from this type of shoulder surgery, nor would it be considered a significant setback. Alvarez was said to be targeting a mid-May return to a big league mound, but the minor setback, at the very least, seems likely to push back that timeline.

Here are some more injury notes from around the game:

  • There’s no indication that Travis d’Arnaud is close to a return to the Mets, tweets Mike Puma of the New York Post. At this time, d’Arnaud isn’t even with the team but has traveled back to his L.A. home to work out his ailing shoulder with a personal trainer. The oft-injured 27-year-old has played in just 13 games for the Mets this season. In his absence, Kevin Plawecki will get his chance to prove that he can be considered an everyday option behind the dish.
  • Likewise, the Red Sox are facing significant uncertainty with southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez, as John Tomase of WEEI.com reports. He’s still experiencing knee soreness, with diminished velocity seemingly resulting, and will miss his next scheduled rehab start. Hopes had been that the youngster would be back in the majors by this point, but instead he’ll throw a bullpen session later this week while the team assesses next steps. Boston is understandably proceeding with caution, lest the knee problem worsen or lead to some other injury. Rodriguez’s current rehab stint has been halted, giving the organization the option of re-starting another 30-day clock, though that step has yet to be taken.
  • The Angels’ bad luck in the injury department has shown no signs of abating, as the team has placed outfielder Daniel Nava and reliever Cory Rasmus on the 15-day DL. As Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register writes, both players are dealing with groin strains, though neither is expected to be out for much more than the minimum.
  • Royals lefty Mike Minor is headed to Triple-A and hopes to be ready for the majors by early June, according to Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link). The 28-year-old, who is Kansas City’s latest pitching injury reclamation project, had allowed three earned runs — on five hits and five walks, with a dozen punchouts — in 7 2/3 innings over two starts at Double-A.
  • There’s some cautious optimism on Reds righty Anthony DeSclafani, as MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon writes. He felt good in a 40-pitch pen session yesterday, and says that he believes his oblique issue may now be behind him. Next steps remain to be determined, and the club will be careful after a previous rehab effort resulted in a setback, but hopes are that DeSclafani can begin making his way back toward the major league rotation in earnest.
  • News was less positive on some recovering Padres, as MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell writes that righty Brandon Morrow and infielder Cory Spangenberg have both suffered setbacks. Morrow is experiencing fatigue in his surgically repaired shoulder, and it’s not clear when he’ll be able to resume throwing. That could result in player and team agreeing to push back his current June 1 opt-out date, per the report. Spangenberg, meanwhile, tweaked his injured left quad and will need to go back to the rest and strengthening regimen that he had hoped to be done with by this point.
  • Key Padres right-hander Tyson Ross is still not throwing, Cassavell adds, but he’s at least been cleared for full-blown strength work on his own injured shoulder. “You’ve basically got to lay a good foundation first, and that’s what we were doing,” Ross said. “It’s just kind of limited ranges, and making sure everything is strong and stable. And then progressing on up the chain from there. Things have been going great.”

AL Notes: Morales, Rodriguez, Gonzalez, Duensing

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Blue Jays left-hander Franklin Morales is just eight days from accumulating 45 days on the club’s roster, at which point the entirety of his $2MM salary becomes guaranteed, tweets Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith. (Morales’ contract contains a 45-day advance consent clause — a common provision which MLBTR’s Zach Links explored at length in Spring Training 2014.) However, Morales is currently on the disabled list and has yet to begin a rehab assignment, meaning there’s virtually no way he’ll be activated by that time. While the Blue Jays could’ve cut loose a healthy Morales within a 45-day window and not had to pay his entire salary, advance consent clauses also prohibit teams from terminating the salary of injured players. As such, Morales is effectively guaranteed to receive all of that $2MM sum. Of course, if Morales pitches as well as he did with the Royals in 2015 upon activation from the DL, the Jays won’t mind that salary.

A few more notes from the American League…

  • Eduardo Rodriguez needs to make “at minimum” one more rehab start in the minor leagues, Red Sox manager John Farrell tells Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald. As such, Rodriguez will not be activated from the disabled list this week and is likely to stay with Triple-A Pawtucket for the time being. Rodriguez is OK with the decision, Mastrodonato writes, as his velocity has been topping out at just 93 mph after reaching as high as 98 mph. The Sox have had Rodriguez go through strength testing, and Farrell says that the lefty is still building arm strength, though Rodriguez himself tells WEEI’s Rob Bradford that he made some strides in tonight’s bullpen session. “I could push more with my back leg, and it felt pretty good,” he says. “That’s what I needed to work on, using my lower half. So that’s what I tried to do today in the bullpen, and it went well.”
  • The White Sox will go with right-hander Miguel Gonzalez in the recently vacated fifth spot of the rotation, GM Rick Hahn and skipper Robin Ventura told the media (including MLB.com’s Dave Sessions). “With Miguel’s performance both in Charlotte and what he did yesterday, he’s going to get a few opportunities here, probably in a row,” said Hahn. “Quite frankly, we’ve asked a lot of Miguel, bringing him up for a spot start against a really good hitting team in Toronto, and then 10 or 12 days later bringing him back against another difficult offensive team in their home park [on Monday]. I think he showed himself well both times, so he’s earned the right to get a little bit of stability and a little bit of repetition in that spot.
  • Royals left-hander Brian Duensing, currently pitching for the club’s Triple-A affiliate, has a May 15 opt-out date approaching, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweeted recently. The longtime Twins lefty is off to a strong start in the minors this season, having worked to a 2.04 ERA with a 15-to-4 K/BB ratio in 17 2/3 innings for the Storm Chasers. The 15 strikeouts, in particular, are encouraging for Duensing, who saw his strikeout rate deteriorate rapidly over the life of his final three seasons in Minnesota.

AL East Notes: Price, E-Rod, Rays, Posey, Blue Jays

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Here’s the latest from around the AL East…

  • David Price insists that his seven-year, $217MM contract with the Red Sox isn’t playing any part in his struggles this season, the star lefty told reporters (including the Boston Herald’s Evan Drellich).  “Every 14 or 15 days when we get paid, I don’t know what my paycheck looks like,” Price said. “I’m not going to ask my agent. I’m not going to sit down and do the math. I don’t spend money. I don’t live a lavish lifestyle….I’m the same guy. I’m not going to let my struggles affect me. The amount of money that I make, I’m not going to change.”  Price’s Red Sox career is off to a rough beginning, though he feels he may have discovered a mechanical reason for his problems thanks to a tip from Dustin Pedroia.
  • Boston manager John Farrell said it’s possible Eduardo Rodriguez’s next outing could be with the Red Sox, Stephen Hewitt of the Boston Herald writes.  Rodriguez is still working his way back from a knee injury that sidelined him for around a month during Spring Training and greatly set back his offseason training.  The southpaw tossed his third rehab start in the minors today, and Farrell said the club will speak to Rodriguez tomorrow to gauge whether he’s ready to escape the DL.
  • Catcher has been an area of need for the Rays throughout virtually their entire franchise history, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes in a look at how the Rays have tried many methods of acquiring or developing a solid everyday catcher with little success.  While Tampa is far from the only team who has struggled to find consistent help behind the plate, the Rays’ decision to take Tim Beckham ahead of Buster Posey in the 2008 draft looms as perhaps the franchise’s biggest what-if scenario.  “To me, there’s no draft miss like the Posey miss in the last decade….Anyway, no one with the Rays ever has admitted it, but it feels like the organization has been trying to make up for it ever since,” Baseball America editor-in-chief John Manuel tells Topkin.
  • The Blue Jays suffered another late-game breakdown today, and bullpen help could soon become a need for the club unless the relief corps improves, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith writes.  Drew Storen and Brett Cecil, expected to be Toronto’s chief setup men, have instead struggled badly — Storen has an even 9.00 ERA over 11 innings after allowing two runs today, while Cecil has a 5.59 ERA over 9 2/3 frames.

AL Notes: Darvish, Smith, ERod, Kelly, Owens, Snell, Farquhar, Gausman, Gallardo

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Here’s the latest out of the American League, with a focus on some recent injury news on key pitchers:

  • Rehabbing Rangers ace Yu Darvish will throw another live BP session before beginning his rehab assignment, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. The righty hasn’t suffered any kind of setback, but hopes to refine his offspeed offerings before reporting to Double-A to begin his march back to the majors.
  • Meanwhile, Red Sox reliever Carson Smith looks to be on track for a return in early May, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports on Twitter. He’ll need to make at least three minor league outings, including two on back-to-back days, before being activate. The righty will be a welcome addition to the back of the Boston pen. Likewise, lefty Eduardo Rodriguez may be on his way back soon, as Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald tweets that he could return to the majors after two rehab starts.
  • In other Red Sox pitching news, the club is hopeful that Joe Kelly won’t miss much more than the minimum on his 15-day DL stint, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports (Twitter links). Southpaw Henry Owens will step into Kelly’s place in the rotation. He’s put up three solid outings at Triple-A thus far, allowing just two earned runs in 18 innings with 23 strikeouts and ten walks.
  • With top Rays pitching prospect Blake Snell coming up for his first start tomorrow, Baseball America’s Vince Lara-Cinisomo takes a look at the 23-year-old lefty. While he still needs to refine his command, BA suggests he could become a number two starter if he can reach his ceiling in the majors. Tampa Bay has optioned reliever Danny Farquhar to clear room for Snell, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. The 29-year-old righty has pitched well enough in the early going, but he was one of only a few optionable arms in the Rays’ pen and appeared in each of the last two games.
  • The Orioles are set to activate Kevin Gausman for his first start of the season on Monday, with the heralded righty saying that he thinks his shoulder issues are a thing of the past, as MLB.com’s Britt Ghiroli reports. In his latest rehab appearance, said Gausman, he felt more “comfortable” than he had in his prior outings. Hopes are high for the 25-year-old, and the Baltimore rotation is certainly need of a boost with only one member (Ubaldo Jimenez) currently carrying a sub-4.00 ERA.

Eduardo Rodriguez Likely To Open Year On DL

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Though the Red Sox haven’t made any sort of formal announcement or roster move, left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez appears headed for the disabled list to begin the season as he recovers from a dislocated kneecap in his right knee. Manager John Farrell acknowledged to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe that Rodriguez won’t be ready for the opener, telling reporters that Rodriguez is slated to throw off a mound tomorrow. Rodriguez, though, will require three bullpen sessions before he’s even able to get into a spring game, Abraham notes.

Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal takes a stab at a projected return date, noting that if Rodriguez is to follow the same criteria as other Red Sox starters — making six multi-inning appearances in a game setting before his regular season debut — he’d be unlikely to be available before April 26. The Sox, then, could be without their promising young lefty for the majority of the season’s first month. Fill-in candidates for Rodriguez’s rotation spot would include fellow left-handers Henry Owens and Roenis Elias as well as right-hander Steven Wright. (Left-hander Brian Johnson has been slowed as of late by a sprained toe.) The 31-year-old Wright had an inside track on making the Opening Day roster anyway, due to the fact that he is out of minor league options, but the an injury to Rodriguez could further open the door for him, at least for the season’s first month.

When he returns, Rodriguez will join David Price, Clay Buchholz, Rick Porcello and Joe Kelly in Boston’s starting five, barring any injuries. The 22-year-old Rodriguez recorded 121 2/3 innings if 3.85 ERA ball out of the Sox’ rotation in his rookie season last year, averaging 7.2 strikeouts and 2.7 walks per nine innings to go along with a 43 percent ground-ball rate.

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