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J.B. Wendelken

Injury Notes: Cousins, Buxton, Wendelken

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The Brewers placed Jake Cousins on the 10-day injured list on May 1 with what was described as a right elbow effusion, or a build-up of fluid within the elbow.  However, an MRI also revealed a “concern” with Cousins’ UCL, manager Craig Counsell told MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy and other reporters, and a second opinion is being sought.

It makes for a very ominous situation for the 27-year-old righty, who seemingly came out of nowhere to post a 2.70 ERA and 35.2% strikeout rate (albeit with a 15.2% walk rate) over 30 innings out of Milwaukee’s bullpen.  Batters did a little more damage against Cousins this year, as he had a 4.50 ERA, 34.2% strikeout rate, and 13.2% walk rate in eight innings before heading to the injured list.

Some notes on other injury-related situations around baseball…

  • Byron Buxton left today’s 1-0 Twins victory over the Athletics due to tightness in his right hip, acting manager Jayce Tingler told reporters after the game.  Buxton is day-to-day with the injury, but even a seemingly minor issue has to be of concern given Buxton’s import to Minnesota’s lineup, and his long injury history.  Exactly one year ago today, the Twins placed Buxton on the 10-day IL with a right hip strain that cost the outfielder six weeks of action.  Buxton has a spectacular .278/.342/.722 slash line through his first 79 plate appearances of the season, adding nine homers and his usual great glovework in center field.
  • Diamondbacks right-hander J.B. Wendelken was reinstated from the COVID-related injured list, with righty Luis Frias heading to Triple-A in the corresponding move.  Wendelken has been out since April 28 due to a positive COVID-19 test.  Since the D’Backs claimed Wendelken off waivers from the A’s last August, the righty has a 4.33 ERA over 27 innings in an Arizona uniform, though with only a 15.31% strikeout rate.

Diamondbacks Select Tyler Holton

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The D-Backs announced they’ve selected left-hander Tyler Holton onto the major league roster. Arizona placed reliever J.B. Wendelken on the injured list without a designation, recalled Luis Frias and optioned Tyler Gilbert to Triple-A Reno. The team also announced that veteran southpaw Oliver Pérez, who was designated for assignment earlier this week, has been released.

Arizona selected Holton in the ninth round of the 2018 draft out of Florida State. The Tallahassee native was one of the top pitchers in Division I ball in 2017, but he suffered a UCL tear that required Tommy John surgery early the next year. That kept him out of action until July 2019. Holton made 13 appearances between rookie and short-season ball that year, then didn’t pitch in games due to the canceled 2020 minor league season.

The D-Backs pushed Holton to Double-A to open 2021. He posted a 6.33 ERA in 48 1/3 innings but had above-average strikeout (26.2%), walk (6.1%) and ground-ball (53.3%) marks. He earned a late-season bump to Reno last year, and he’s made five appearances with the Aces thus far in 2022. Over eight innings, he’s allowed six runs on 12 hits (including a pair of homers) and five walks, but he’s punched out ten. Holton has never appeared on an organizational prospects list at Baseball America; Brendan Gawlowski and Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs included him as an honorable mention in their write-up of the Arizona farm this past offseason, noting that he throws an 88-90 MPH fastball and has a promising changeup.

Holton will join Joe Mantiply and Kyle Nelson as left-handed relief options for skipper Torey Lovullo. Pérez had been in that mix to open the year, but the D-Backs removed him from the roster on Monday. He’ll have the option to explore offers from all 30 teams now that he’s a free agent if he wants to continue playing in affiliated ball. Pérez had been set to play the 2022 campaign — which he’s already announced will be his last — with the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League before he landed with the D-Backs.

Tender Deadline Signings: 11/30/21

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With the deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players looming tonight at 8pm ET — the MLBPA and MLB jointly agreed to move the deadline up a couple days due to the looming expiration of the collective bargaining agreement — we’ll likely see a slew of arbitration-eligible players signing one-year deals.

It’s commonplace for a large batch of players to sign deals in the hours leading up to the tender deadline. “Pre-tender” deals of this nature often fall shy of projections due to the fact that teams use the looming threat of a non-tender to enhance their leverage. Arbitration contracts at this juncture are often take-it-or-leave-it propositions, with the “leave it” end of that arrangement resulting in the player being cut loose. Given the widely expected lockout, there could be more incentive than usual for borderline non-tender candidates to take those offers rather than being cast out into free agency just hours before a transaction freeze is implemented.

As a reminder, arbitration contracts are not fully guaranteed. In a typical year, a team can cut a player on an arb contract at any point before the halfway point in Spring Training and only be responsible for 30 days’ termination pay (about one-sixth of the contract). Releasing a player in the second half of Spring Training bumps the termination pay to 45 days of his prorated salary.

MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected salaries for each team’s arbitration-eligible players last month, although for many of the players listed below, this isn’t so much avoiding arbitration as it is avoiding a non-tender. Here’s a look at today’s agreements…

  • The Yankees have agreed to deals with infielder Gio Urshela and right-hander Domingo German, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter links). Urshela will make $6.55MM, while German has agreed to a $1.75MM deal. Urshela has two seasons of control remaining; German is controllable for three years. Urshela is coming off a .267/.301/.419 showing while playing third base and shortstop. German tossed 98 1/3 innings of 4.58 ERA ball.
  • The Twins have signed three arbitration-eligible pitchers, per reports from Feinsand and Darren Wolfson of SKOR North (on Twitter). Right-hander Jharel Cotton signed for $700K, reliever Caleb Thielbar lands $1.3MM and reliever Tyler Duffey signs for $3.8MM. Thielbar and Duffey were both productive members of the Minnesota relief corps in 2021. Cotton was recently claimed off waivers from the Rangers.
  • The Giants have agreed to terms with outfielder Austin Slater on a $1.85MM deal, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (Twitter link). The 28-year-old (29 next month) appeared at all three spots on the grass while hitting .241/.320/.423 over 306 plate appearances in 2021.
  • Reliever Emilio Pagan and the Padres have agreed on a $2.3MM deal, reports Rosenthal (on Twitter). The 30-year-old worked 63 1/3 innings of 4.83 ERA/3.93 SIERA ball this past season.
  • The Diamondbacks agreed to a $2MM deal with left-hander Caleb Smith, reports Zach Buchanan of the Athletic (via Twitter). The 30-year-old posted a 4.83 ERA/4.68 SIERA across 113 2/3 innings in a swing capacity in 2021.

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Diamondbacks Claim J.B. Wendelken

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The D-backs have claimed right-hander J.B. Wendelken off waivers from the Athletics, reports FanSided’s Robert Murray (via Twitter). The A’s designated him for assignment just yesterday.

It’d have been surprising for a team in the Diamondbacks’ position — dismal bullpen, No. 1 waiver priority, multiple open 40-man spots — to pass on Wendelken. The right-hander hasn’t had a great season in Oakland, but his work leading up to the 2021 campaign was quite strong.

From 2018-20, Wendelken pitched 74 1/3 innings for the A’s, working to a 2.30 ERA with a strong 26.4 percent strikeout rate and a very solid 8.4 percent walk rate. The righty also thrived in terms of limiting hard contact, yielding an 86.6 mph average exit velocity, a 30.6 percent overall hard-hit rate and just a 2.1 percent barrel rate. Fielding-independent pitching metrics weren’t quite as bullish as his baseline ERA (3.04 FIP, 3.72 SIERA) but still generally agreed that Wendelken was a solid reliever.

The 2021 season hasn’t gone quite as well, but Wendelken has pitched to a respectable 4.32 ERA in 25 frames. His 22.2 percent strikeout rate is his lowest since a brief rookie debut in 2016, and his 11.1 percent walk rate is a career-high. Still, the 28-year-old has continued to limit hard contact effectively, and his swinging-strike and chase rates have actually improved over their 2020 marks.

Wendelken will be arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter, and the D-backs can control him through the 2024 season via that arbitration process. He’s out of minor league options, so he’ll have to stick on the big league roster, but based on his past 100 innings in the Majors, there’s reason to think he can stick.

It’s always possible that Wendelken’s strikeout and walk tendencies continue to trend in the wrong direction, but there’s no reason for the last-place D-backs to pass on a risk-free flier. Arizona relievers rank second-to-last in the Majors with a combined 5.41 ERA, so Wendelken is an upgrade even if he doesn’t quite return to his peak form.

Athletics Designate J.B. Wendelken, Promote A.J. Puk

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The Athletics have designated right-hander J.B. Wendelken for assignment.  Left-hander A.J. Puk has been called up from Triple-A to take Wendelken’s spot on the 26-man roster.

Wendelken posted a 2.61 ERA over his first 10 1/3 innings of the season before a couple of shaky outings preceded a stay of almost two months on the injured list due to an oblique strain.  Over 25 relief innings this year, Wendelken has a 4.32 ERA/4.29 SIERA and a below-average 22.2% strikeout rate, though a .355 BABIP has been working against him.  Wendelken has continued his trend of keeping the ball in the park by allowing only two homers this year.

Apart from a 2017 season wiped out by Tommy John surgery, Wendelken has appeared in five of the last six MLB seasons, all with the A’s.  The 28-year-old has been quite solid over most of his 112 career innings in the Show, including an excellent 1.80 ERA over 25 frames out of Oakland’s bullpen last season.

With teams perpetually in need of relief pitching down the stretch, it wouldn’t be surprising to see another club make a waiver claim on a pitcher who is controllable (through 2024) and has had such recent success at the big league level.  Wendelken is out of options, so the Athletics’ hand was forced in having to DFA him rather than just option him to the minors.

Puk pitched in one game for the A’s before being placed on the 10-day injured list due to a biceps strain.  After being reinstated from the IL and sent to the minors, Puk got off to a brutal start at Triple-A but has since settled down — the southpaw has a 1.64 ERA over his last 22 innings, following a ghastly 11.50 ERA in his first 18 frames.  Long considered one of baseball’s top pitching prospects, Puk’s star has been dimmed by multiple injuries, though the A’s will give him another look to see if he can contribute to their bullpen during the pennant race.

Cam Bedrosian Elects Free Agency

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JULY 2: Bedrosian has cleared outright waivers and elected free agency, the A’s announced.

JUNE 29: The Athletics announced they’ve selected the contract of first baseman Frank Schwindel. To crate active and 40-man roster space, Oakland designated right-hander Cam Bedrosian for assignment. Additionally, the A’s reinstated righty J.B. Wendelken from the injured list and optioned infielder Vimael Machin to Triple-A Las Vegas.

The promotion makes for a nice birthday present for Schwindel, who turns 29 years old today. The big right-handed hitter earned the call with a monster season at Las Vegas. Schwindel, whom the A’s signed to a minor league deal over the winter, has hit .324/.369/.643 with sixteen home runs across 203 plate appearances with the Aviators. Triple-A West is a hitter’s paradise, and Vegas is especially offense-friendly. Even in that context, Schwindel’s performance was notable. His 1.013 OPS ranks twelfth among the league’s 86 hitters who have taken 100-plus trips to the dish.

Schwindel’s only other major league experience came with the 2019 Royals. He picked up 15 plate appearances over six games, collecting one hit. Schwindel has a .301/.339/.531 line in parts of four seasons at Triple-A. Matt Olson obviously has first base accounted for in Oakland, but Schwindel can back him up on occasion while seeing some time at DH and as a righty power bat off the bench.

The A’s are the second team to move on from Bedrosian this year. The 29-year-old began the season with the Reds, but he was cut loose after getting off to a horrid start. Oakland signed him to a minor league deal shortly thereafter and selected him to the big league roster last month. He appeared in nine games for the A’s, tossing as many innings and allowing just two runs (on a pair of homers) with eight strikeouts and four walks.

Bedrosian has certainly performed better in Oakland than he did in Cincinnati, but his overall numbers remain lackluster. He’s worked to a 5.52 ERA across 14 2/3 frames in 2021, striking out just 21.1% of opposing hitters while walking a lofty 14.1%. Bedrosian posted a stronger 2.45 ERA with the Angels last season, but his strikeout and walk numbers were similarly poor. He looked like a budding relief ace back in 2016, but he’d settled in as more of an average middle-innings arm from 2017-19 before his downturn over the past couple seasons.

The A’s will have a week to trade Bedrosian or place him on waivers. He’d have the right to elect free agency if he clears outright waivers, as he did when the Reds designated him for assignment back in April.

A’s Place J.B. Wendelken On Injured List, Recall Jordan Weems

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The A’s placed J.B. Wendelken on the injured list with a strained left oblique today, per the team. They recalled Jordan Weems to take his spot in the bullpen.

Wendelken has been a major player out of the A’s bullpen so far this season, appearing in 15 games and tossing 12 1/3 innings with a 4.38 ERA/3.09 FIP, 43.6 percent groundball rate, 24.1 percent strikeout rate, and 8.6 percent walk rate. A too-high .368 BABIP has negatively affected Wendelken’s bottom line so far this season. His fastball velocity has been down to 93.3 mph, and he’s gotten very few hitters to chase (nine percent chase rate). Still, he’s avoided barrels (only one allowed this season) and largely done a nice job of limiting hard contact.

Weems was signed as a minor league free agent after beginning his career as a third round pick of the Red Sox back in 2011. He brings a three-pitch mix to the bullpen, pairing a 94-to-95 mph heater with a slider versus right-handers and a change-up versus lefties. He’s back on the active roster after a little more than a week at the alternate site. He has three appearances on the year totaling 2 1/3 innings, giving up one earned run on one hit with one walk and three strikeouts.

Athletics To Activate J.B. Wendelken

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Athletics righty J.B. Wendelken will return from the injured list in time to be included on tomorrow’s postseason roster, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Oakland placed the righty on the injured list over the weekend without specifying a reason. While the vague nature of his placement and his quick return suggest that he was very likely on the Covid-19 injured list, that doesn’t mean Wendelken ever tested positive. Players can be placed on the Covid-19 IL for experiencing symptoms or if they come into contact with someone who previously tested positive.

Wendelken, 27, has quietly emerged as a key member of the Oakland relief corps. He’s racked up 25 innings with a 1.80 ERA and 3.07 FIP in 2020, averaging 11.2 strikeouts, 4.0 walks and 0.72 homers per nine innings along the way. Dating back to the 2018 season, Wendelken has given the Athletics 74 1/3 innings with a 2.30 ERA, a 3.03 FIP and well north of a punchout per inning pitched. This year, Wendelken ranks well above average in fastball velocity, fastball spin, average exit velocity, opponents’ hard-hit rate and expected ERA, per Statcast.

A deep bullpen mix will be crucial against a formidable White Sox lineup that features multiple legitimate MVP candidates in Jose Abreu and Tim Anderson. That duo, plus the presence of Eloy Jimenez, make Wendelken all the more important, as he’s held opposing righties to a .205/.266/.319 slash in his career — including a .175/.226/.246 slash in 2020. Wendelken may well relish the chance to the White Sox, who traded him to Oakland in exchange for Brett Lawrie back in the 2015-16 offseason.

That’s not the only notable bit of pitching news for the A’s today. The club announced on Twitter that rookie left-hander Jesus Luzardo will get the nod to start Game 1 of this week’s Wild Card series against the ChiSox, with right-hander Chris Bassitt lined up to take the hill in Game 2. Bassitt, like Wendelken, will be in line to make his postseason debut against the team that traded him to the Athletics.

Athletics Place J.B. Wendelken On Injured List

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The Athletics have placed right-handed reliever J.B. Wendelken on the injured list and recalled righty James Kaprielian, per a team announcement. The club didn’t provide a reason for Wendelken’s IL placement, nor will it announce why it sent him to the IL, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

If Wendelken ends up missing an extended period, it would be a tough blow to the AL West champion A’s bullpen as they head into the postseason. After all, Wendelken has joined Liam Hendriks, Jake Diekman, Joakim Soria, Yusmeiro Petit and Jordan Weems, among others, to form an outstanding Oakland relief corps this year.

Now 27 years old, Wendelken has been a highly effective member of Oakland’s bullpen since 2017. He has given Oakland 25 innings of 1.80 ERA/3.06 FIP ball with 11.16 K/9, 3.96 BB/9 and a 46 percent groundball rate in 2020.

Athletics Designate Santiago Casilla, Select J.B. Wendelken

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The Athletics have made a series of roster moves; most notably among them is the DFA of right-hander Santiago Casilla. The club also selected the contract of 25-year-old righty J.B. Wendelken, while simultaneously optioning righty Ryan Dull, promoting infielder Franklin Barreto and reinstating righty Daniel Mengden from the 10-day DL.

It’s been a solid enough season for the 37-year-old Casilla on the surface, who owns a 3.16 ERA through 31 1/3 innings pitched. But his 4.08 FIP and 5.80 xFIP paint a wildly different picture. He’s also walked nearly as many hitters (20) as he’s managed to strike out (22), in part due to a career-low 9.0% swinging strike rate. As Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle notes, he’s likely to go unclaimed; Casilla is in the second season of a two-year, $11MM deal, and any claiming team would be on the hook for the prorated portion of his salary. He’ll likely be given the choice to accept a minor league assignment.

Wendelken will be making his first appearance in the majors since 2016, when he tossed 12 2/3 rough innings for the Athletics to the tune of a 9.95 ERA. The right-hander ultimately required Tommy John surgery, and remained out of commission until the beginning of this season. Thus far at the Triple-A level, he’s chucked a healthy 28 1/3 innings, managing a 3.49 ERA (2.39 FIP). The most impressive part about Wendelken’s performance this year is a whopping 14.29 K/9 against just 2.54 BB/9; it certainly seems likely that he’ll prove an upgrade over Casilla.

Mengden, 25, hasn’t pitched since June 23rd after suffering a right foot sprain during a start in which he gave up five earned runs across just two innings. While Mengden certainly isn’t known as an overpowering pitcher (5.46 K/9), he limits walks (1.89 BB/9) and has posted a 4.47 ERA on the season thus far in 90 2/3 innings.

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