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Pirates’ Trevor Williams Nearing Return

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The Pirates have had to go almost a month without right-hander Trevor Williams, who landed on the injured list May 17 with a right side strain. Williams will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday, though, and could slot back into Pittsburgh’s rotation as early as next Tuesday, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

Even with the injury factored in, the 27-year-old Williams has perhaps been the Pirates’ best starter in 2019. Before going on the IL, Williams totaled nine starts and 54 innings – good for a six-frame average – and pitched to a matching 3.33 ERA/3.33 FIP with 7.0 K/9, 1.67 BB/9 and .67 HR/9. It continued an underrated run of production for Williams, who combined for a 3.49 ERA/3.68 FIP over 56 starts and 309 1/3 innings from 2017-18.

In addition to Williams’ forthcoming return, the Pirates will soon welcome back fellow righty Jordan Lyles, per Berry. Lyles just hit the IL on the 10th with left hamstring tightness, though it appears he’ll only miss the minimum 10 days. So far in 2019, the 28-year-old has performed like one of the top bargain signings of the offseason. Since inking a one-year, $2.05MM contract during the winter, Lyles has notched a 3.64 ERA/3.63 FIP with 9.23 K/9, 3.36 BB/9 and .98 HR/9 in 12 starts and 64 1/3 frames.

Of the 11 pitchers who have started for the Pirates this year, Williams, Lyles, Joe Musgrove and Jameson Taillon are the only ones who have posted average or better numbers. Taillon has been down since the beginning of May with a right flexor strain, however, and Berry reports there’s still no timetable for his return. Meanwhile, Chris Archer has come up well short of expectations, Steven Brault has battled control problems, and opposing offenses hammered high-end prospect Mitch Keller during his first two starts.

Pirates Place Jung Ho Kang On IL, Select Jake Elmore

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The Pirates have announced that infielder Jung Ho Kang has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left side strain. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by Jake Elmore, whose contract was selected.

In order to open a 40-man roster spot, the Bucs shifted righty Jameson Taillon to the 60-day injured list. Taillon, who is sidelined with a flexor strain, won’t be eligible to return to the active roster until early July.

Kang is struggling in his first full season since 2016 — a layoff that occurred because of his troubling history of drinking and driving. He’s hitting just .133/.204/.300 in 98 trips to the plate this year. Kang is swinging and missing far more often than he used to. He’ll be shut down for three days and then reevaluated, per club director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk (via MLB.com’s Adam Berry, on Twitter).

It’s the first MLB action since 2016 for Elmore. The 33-year-old has a .215/.297/.280 slash in 478 career plate appearances at the game’s highest level. He has been off to rather a strong start to the year at Triple-A, though, with a .380/.444/.546 slash in 124 plate appearances.

Pirates Place Jameson Taillon On 10-Day IL, Select Tyler Lyons

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3:03 pm: Per Nubyjas Wilborn of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Taillon will not throw for “at least” four weeks, with the injury apparently far more severe than originally believed. Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic tweets that Taillon’s MRI showed no UCL damage, though the righty will seek a second opinion next week to confirm.

1:55pm: Per a team release, the Pirates have placed righty Jameson Taillon on the 10-Day IL with a flexor strain in his right elbow and selected the contract of lefty Tyler Lyons from AAA-Indianapolis, among other roster moves.

It’s a concerning injury for Taillon, 27, who joins rotation mate Chris Archer on the injured list for a rotation-thin Pirate club.  A 2014 Tommy John knocked the former 2nd overall pick out of action for two full seasons, though he’s been mostly healthy since.  The 6’5 righty was off to his usual strong start this year, posting a a solid 88 FIP-/91 xFIP- (numbers right in line with his career figures and season projection) in seven starts for Pittsburgh.

It’s unclear who’ll step in to the vacant slots in the Pittsburgh rotation, though righty Nick Kingham and lefty Steven Brault appear to have the inside tracks. Top prospect Mitch Keller, who’d struggled early with command but has been dominant in his previous two Triple-A outings, is also a candidate.

Lyons, 31, spent six years with St. Louis before inking a minor league deal with Pittsburgh this offseason. His strikeout rate has jumped to over ten per nine in the last two seasons since a full-time move to the bullpen, but the lefty was hit hard in ’18 despite predominant left-on-left usage.

NL Central Notes: Taillon, Brewers, Shaw, Perez, Reds

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Contract extensions, including deals for right-handers Aaron Nola (Phillies) and Luis Severino (Yankees), have been a dominant story across Major League Baseball this week. Sooner than later, the Pirates should follow the Phillies and Yankees in inking their own excellent young righty, Jameson Taillon, for the long haul, Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh-Tribune Review opines. Unlike Philly and New York, both of which secured their aces to four-year guarantees worth $40MM or more, Pittsburgh’s not a big spender, perhaps making it all the more important for the Bucs to lock up Taillon at an affordable price in the near future. However, Taillon – who still has four years of control remaining, including three arbitration-eligible seasons – revealed this week that he and the club “haven’t talked about anything” yet. Barring an unexpected change, the 27-year-old will pitch this season for a relative pittance after logging a 3.20 ERA/3.46 FIP with 8.43 K/9 and 2.17 BB/9 over 191 innings in 2018.

More from the NL Central…

  • Like Taillon, Brewers third baseman Travis Shaw hasn’t discussed an extension with his club, he told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com and other reporters Saturday. Shaw did note that he’d like to be a long-term Brewer, though, and won’t take umbrage at shifting to second base if the team re-signs free-agent third baseman Mike Moustakas. Shaw saw his first major league action at the keystone last year, when he made 39 appearances there (compared to 107 at third). Offensively, the soon-to-be 29-year-old delivered his second straight season of 30-plus home runs, helping him notch his second consecutive campaign with at least 3.5 fWAR. Now in his third-last year of team control, Shaw will earn a team-friendly $4.675MM salary.
  • One of Shaw’s fellow Brewers infielders, Hernan Perez, underwent offseason surgery to remove a bone chip in his left wrist, Haudricourt writes. While Perez didn’t mention the injury last season, “it was bothering me a lot,” he said Saturday. The 27-year-old is healthy now, however, and unless the Brewers make a spring acquisition in the form of Moustakas or another infielder, Perez could see substantial playing time again in 2019. From 2016-18, Perez amassed 1,222 plate appearances – including 334 last season – though he combined to hit just .262/.294/.411 during that three-year period.
  • The Reds have been one of the majors’ most active teams in recent months, and they remain “open for business,” according to president Dick Williams (via John Fay and Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer). Williams likes the team as it’s currently constructed, but he added, “We have some resources to do deals if we find the right ones.” It’s out of the question Cincinnati will pursue Bryce Harper or Manny Machado in free agency, and it’s unlikely it’ll go back after previous target Dallas Keuchel, Fay and Nightengale suggest. Rather, the Reds could look to bolster their depth, specifically in center field and at a shortstop, per Fay and Nightengale.

Central Notes: Ventura, Goldschmidt, Taillon

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At the time of his tragic death in 2017, Yordano Ventura was playing on a long-term deal with the Royals that still included $20.25MM in guaranteed future salary. Sam McDowell and Vahe Gregorian of the Kansas City Star provide an update on the status of that contract and the remaining loose ends of his estate, which has claimed insolvency. Ventura’s daughter, now five, is the sole heir. Fortunately, she did already receive a significant recovery under a life insurance policy. But the estate, which has had to pay down obligations that Ventura incurred while supporting family and friends in his native Dominican Republic, is still pursuing the balance of his contract with the Royals. It appears to present some potentially novel (and likely also fact-intensive) issues. According to the piece, there does not appear to be a prior instance of a player dying during a long-term contract. Those interested in learning about the full story and potential factors in the still-unresolved contract situation will certainly want to read the Star’s full report.

Here are some more notes from the game’s central divisions:

  • The Cardinals made clear that they intend to seek a long-term deal with new star Paul Goldschmidt, and the opening of camp also starts the clock on pre-season conversations. That said, there are indications that the St. Louis organization will not impose any timing restrictions on talks, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted in a recent article regarding a host of Spring Training issues. The team is evidently prepared to hold discussions in whatever time and manner Goldschmidt himself prefers, even if that means keeping the line open in the midst of his first (and potentially only) season in St. Louis.
  • Pirates righty Jameson Taillon enters the 2019 season facing big expectations, as Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. He also has his eye on the broader player market as a union rep and student of the business of the game. The 27-year-old starter says he’s not only hoping for free agents to earn big salaries, but rooting for those that do to perform well under their contracts. As Gorman notes, the Bucs hold Taillon in high esteem and would surely be interested in working out an extension — particularly given that he’s still a full season away from arbitration. It stands to reason, though, that the former second overall draft pick will not sell his future campaigns for anything less than full value.

Pirates Notes: Galvis, Gonzalez, Payroll, Free Agency, Taillon

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The latest out of Pittsburgh…

  • The Pirates have been connected to free-agent shortstop Freddy Galvis this winter, though general manager Neal Huntington suggested Saturday that a deal between the two sides won’t come together. “We feel like we got a young Freddy Galvis. His name is Erik Gonzalez,” said Huntington, who added the Pirates are optimistic Gonzalez and fellow middle infielder Kevin Newman will “be as good if not better than what Freddy Galvis or any of the others who are out there right now or any of the players we can get in a trade right now” (via Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review). The 27-year-old Gonzalez didn’t provide much at the plate in Cleveland from 2016-18, but Pittsburgh was excited to acquire him in November, and he’s now the favorite to serve as its Opening Day shortstop. Pirates scouts were “beating the table” to get Gonzalez, who they believe will be “’above average. Dynamic. Very good. More range than anybody you’ve had at short maybe some you have managed,'” manager Clint Hurdle said.
  • Gonzalez is one of a slew of cheap players for the budget-conscious Bucs, who are poised to enter the season with an outlay under $75MM, Jason Martinez of Roster Resource estimates. Huntington defended the Pirates’ low-payroll ways Saturday, telling Adamski, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and others that they’ve succeeded in the past in spite of their financial disadvantages and adding: “Spending gives you a larger margin for error and what GM wouldn’t want a larger margin for error?” It does not guarantee you anything other than you spent money. The upgrade is not guaranteed.” And though the Pirates haven’t closed the door on making further additions on the open market, where they’ve picked up Lonnie Chisenhall, Jordan Lyles and Jung Ho Kang this winter, Huntington seemingly isn’t a big fan of taking that route. Free agency’s a “losing game,” according to Huntington. “When you sign a free agent, you have automatically outbid everybody else to get him 95, 99 percent of the time. You have theoretically overpaid to get that free agent.”
  • Pittsburgh is far from the only team eschewing sizable free-agent contracts this offseason, which Pirates right-hander and union representative Jameson Taillon spoke about Saturday. Taillon’s fellow players are “pretty riled up and pretty upset” about the current state of affairs, revealed Taillon, who was present for the union’s recent board meetings, Brink reports. While Taillon conceded that players are hard to sympathize with because many are earning millions of dollars, he pointed out that “the owners are making money too, and they’re making way more than we are.” The players, mindful of that fact, may be more inclined to go to arbitration rather than accept what often end up as team-friendly extensions during their arb-eligible years, Taillon contended. Taillon’s words are the latest indication that the players and owners could be in for an ugly labor war when the collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1, 2021.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: National League

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The deadline for players and teams to exchange arbitration figures passed yesterday at 1pm ET, and there has been a landslide of settlements on one-year deals to avoid an arbitration hearing. We’ll track those settlements from the National League in this post. Once all of the day’s settlements have filtered in, I’ll organize them by division to make them a bit easier to parse.

It’s worth mentioning that the vast majority of teams have adopted a “file and trial” approach to arbitration, meaning that once arbitration figures are exchanged with a player, negotiations on a one-year deal will cease. The two parties may still discuss a multi-year deal after that point, but the majority of players who exchange figures with their team today will head to an arbitration hearing.

As always, all salary projections referenced within this post are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, and we’ll also be updating our 2019 Arbitration Tracker throughout the day…

Today’s Updates

  • Rounding out contract numbers for the St. Louis Cardinals, Dominic Leone will take home $1.26MM, Chasen Shreve will make $900K, and outfielder Marcell Ozuna will earn $12.25MM in his last season before free agency, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). Ozuna has the most high-impact potential as he looks to rebound from a still-productive season in 2018 that saw his power output hindered at times by a balky shoulder. He still managed 23 home runs and a .280/.325/.433 slash line while playing just about every day outside of a 10-day DL stint late in August.
  • The Diamondbacks came to terms with a slew of players, per Feinsand (via Twitter), including Matt Andriese for $920K, Steven Souza Jr. for $4.125MM, shortstop Nick Ahmed for $3.6625MM, and potential closer Archie Bradley for $1.83MM.
  • The Rockies and starting pitcher Jon Gray have come to an agreement on a $2.935MM deal, per Feinsand (via Twitter). Gray had an up-and-down 2018 that is generally considered to be more promising than the optics of his 5.12 ERA make it seem.
  • The Pirates have come to terms on one-year deals with both of their arbitration eligible players, per Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Left fielder Corey Dickerson signs for $8.5MM, and reliever Keone Kela takes home $3.175MM. It’s a small arb class for the Pirates, whose list will grow next season as players like Josh Bell, Jameson Taillon, and Joe Musgrove, among others, reach their first season of eligibility.
  • The Dodgers signed a couple of their remaining arbitration-eligible players yesterday, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter links). Utility man Chris Taylor has a $3.5MM deal, while outfield Joc Pederson settled at $5MM.

Earlier Updates

Read more

NL Notes: Callaway, Pirates, Ozuna, Reds

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Although this has been a nightmarish year for the Mets, it doesn’t appear rookie manager Mickey Callaway’s job is in jeopardy. Even if the Mets hire a new general manager, Callaway is expected to return in 2019, Steven Marcus of Newsday reports. Sandy Alderson, the GM who played a key part in hiring Callaway last offseason, went on leave in June to battle cancer. Whether the soon-to-be 71-year-old Alderson will return to his post in 2019 is unclear, but in the meantime, the Mets have essentially been utilizing tri-GMs in John Ricco, J.P. Ricciardi and Omar Minaya. Any of those three could be candidates for the team’s full-time GM role if Alderson doesn’t come back next year, but regardless of who ultimately holds the position, it seems that individual will be working with Callaway.

Here’s more from the National League…

  • Prior to their midseason resurgence, the Pirates were leaning toward selling at the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, general manager Neal Huntington told KDKA-FM on Sunday (via Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review). However, the team never gave any thought to dealing two of its top controllable assets, right-hander Jameson Taillon or closer Felipe Vazquez. “When club hit rock bottom at seven (games) under (.500 on July 7),” Huntington said, “(we began to consider), ‘Maybe ‘18 isn’t our year. How do we strengthen ’19, ’20, and ‘21 moving on?’ (But) it was never a consideration to trade Felipe Vazquez, and trading Jameson Taillon was never a consideration for us.” The Pirates actually fell to eight games under .500 on July 7, but they then ripped off 15 wins in 19 games before July 31 and ended up as buyers, acquiring right-hander Chris Archer from the Rays and reliever Keone Kela from the Rangers.
  • This has been a disappointing offensive season for Cardinals left fielder Marcell Ozuna, whom the team acquired from Miami over the winter on the heels of a career year in 2017. After posting a 142 wRC+, mashing 37 home runs and recording a .237 ISO last season, Ozuna’s down to 90, 13 and .124 in those respective categories this year. It’s possible right shoulder problems are at least partly to blame, as Ozuna told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com and other reporters that he has been battling tendinitis and inflammation dating back to last season. The Cardinals were aware of that when they picked up Ozuna, per president John Mozeliak, though Langosch adds that the team hasn’t considered surgery for the 27-year-old. Regardless, Ozuna’s arm strength has taken notable steps backward, Langosch details in her piece.
  • Meanwhile, Reds outfielder Scott Schebler is dealing with his own right shoulder troubles, and they may shelve him until September, manager Jim Riggleman announced (via Kyle Melnick of MLB.com). Schebler went on the DL on July 15 with a sprained AC joint, and even though the Reds activated him Friday when his 20-day rehab stint ended, he’s still unable to throw properly. Schebler had been in the midst of a fine season before going on the DL, with a .278/.351/.470 line and 12 homers in 299 plate appearances.

Heyman’s Latest: O’s, Machado, Dodgers, Tribe, Marlins, Herrera, Taillon

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Here’s the latest from FRSBaseball.com’s Jon Heyman…

  • The Dodgers will continue to monitor Manny Machado’s availability, as L.A. still has interest in the star shortstop.  Machado and the Dodgers have been linked in trade rumors ever since Corey Seager was lost for the season, and with Los Angeles getting back into the postseason hunt after an early-season slump, Machado continues to look like a logical trade candidate.
  • The Indians are looking for the bullpen help, and they are one of multiple teams who have been in touch with the Marlins about Kyle Barraclough and Drew Steckenrider.  Cleveland’s relief corps has been a major weak spot for the team, and though Andrew Miller will eventually be back from the DL, it isn’t any surprise that the Tribe is looking for further upgrades.  Barraclough (who took over as Miami’s closer earlier this month) and Steckenrider are both having good seasons, though both have exhibited some control issues.  The Marlins are “open for business” in discussing virtually everyone on the roster, though they’re less likely to deal young, controllable players like Barraclough and Steckenrider for anything but a large return.  Beyond the bullpen, Heyman also thinks the Tribe could look for a right-handed bat for the bench.
  • The Braves were one of the teams interested in Kelvin Herrera before the Royals dealt the reliever to the Nationals.  Kansas City simply “saw the Nats as a better match” for a trade, and as Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos implied in a podcast appearance earlier this week, it seems like Atlanta wasn’t willing to meet the Royals’ asking price.  It remains to be seen how this decision could impact the NL East race, as the Braves not only saw Herrera join a division rival, but their own closer (Arodys Vizcaino) on the disabled list today.  Heyman does speculate about one silver lining for the Braves, however, as the fact that they’ve already had some talks with the Royals could help lay groundwork for a Mike Moustakas trade.  Overall, Heyman notes that the Braves would prefer to wait before making any big deals, as the team still isn’t quite sure what will end up being its biggest deadline need.
  • More on Herrera, as Heyman reports that the Astros didn’t make a play for the right-hander.
  • There is “no chance” that the Pirates would trade Jameson Taillon, a source tells Heyman.  Pittsburgh could yet decide to move some veterans at the deadline but Taillon seems untouchable, given his good season and four remaining years of team control.
  • The Pirates had some discussions with Andrew McCutchen about a longer-term extension following the outfielder’s MVP season in 2013.  At the time, McCutchen was just two years into what ended up being (thanks to a club option) a seven-year, $65.25MM deal with the Bucs.  According to Heyman, McCutchen had some regret about signing that deal, which kept him from hitting the open market after the 2015 season and ended up being an enormous bargain for Pittsburgh.  Further extension talks didn’t go far, however, as McCutchen and his team made mention of Joey Votto’s ten-year, $225MM deal with the Reds as a potential comparable.

Central Notes: Reyes, R. Rodriguez, Taillon, Senzel

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The presence of Rule 5 Draft pick Victor Reyes is somewhat of a strain on the Tigers’ roster. Evan Woodberry of mlive.com takes an extensive look at the topic, and notes that the speedy outfielder’s most definable job so far this season has been as a pinch runner for the aging Victor Martinez. While injuries mount for Detroit, other players have been forced to shoulder a heavier workload, including Mikie Mahtook, who had to start Wednesday’s game against the Rangers despite being jet-lagged and sleep-deprived. While Reyes certainly has a bright future, Woodberry points out that he’s clearly overmatched by big-league pitching in the present; he’s only managed to collect three soft singles so far this season and has an average exit velocity below 80 MPH. In accordance with the Rule 5 boundaries, Reyes must remain on the Tigers’ 25-man roster for the entirety of the season or be returned to his former club (the Diamondbacks). Few around baseball have any doubt that his future is bright, but rostering him for the entire season could prove a significant burden for a club that’s already going to have a hard time winning baseball games.

Onto some items from the NL Central…

  • Travis Sawchik of Fangraphs writes that the Pirates found a winning lottery ticket in the form of recent minor-league free agent Richard Rodriguez. The 28-year-old right-hander has been just about as dominant as a pitcher can be, evidenced by his 15.53 K/9 and microscopic 0.16 FIP on the young season. He’s already been worth half a win above replacement, as Sawchik points out, which is remarkable considering we’re not even halfway through May. Sawchik has plenty of other interesting facts throughout a deep look into RichRod’s dominance, including the whiff rate on his fastball, his first-pitch strike percentage and the way he’s attacking hitters.
  • In other Pirates news, right-hander Jameson Taillon exited last night’s start with a finger laceration. According to Adam Berry of MLB.com, Taillon is frustrated at the freak accident and hopes it won’t cost him a start. “It just got worse and worse. It’s tough in the short term to come out of a game, but hopefully by coming out when I did, we’ve kind of mitigated it,” Taillon said. “Hopefully I won’t miss starts down the road.” The budding Pirates ace has had something of a Jekyll-and-Hyde season so far, allowing 15 earned runs in his three losses but permitting just three across his other five starts.
  • Nick Senzel’s vertigo is back, and the Reds prospect has landed on the 7-day DL as a result. Mark Sheldon of MLB.com notes that Senzel hasn’t played since being removed from a May 3rd game after just one plate appearance. Vertigo is a condition that brings on dizziness spells and causes the victim to lose balance. Reds president Dick Williams told reporters recently that the club is “being very cautious” with their top-ranked prospect, and at the moment there isn’t a clear timetable for when he’ll be able to resume playing. The club has been playing Senzel at both second and third base this season in hopes of increasing his versatility and finding him a spot at the big league level.
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