Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Jesse Hahn

Jesse Hahn Shut Down For More Than A Month

By | at

JULY 17: Hahn told reporters, including MLB.com’s Jane Lee, that upon receiving a second opinion, it’s been confirmed that there’s no ligament damage in his elbow (Twitter link). Hahn is still, however dealing with inflammation — specifically in his forearm, per the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser (on Twitter). He’ll be shut down from throwing for more than a month.

JULY 16: Athletics right-hander Jesse Hahn will be sidelined indefinitely and spend a “somewhat extended stay” on the disabled list with a flexor tendon injury, GM Billy Beane told John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group.

“We’re going to be conservative with Jesse,” said Beane. “And the tough thing with is starters is once they’re shut down, it take a while to build back up. So it’ll be longer rather than shorter.”

In the meantime, Hickey notes, right-hander Chris Bassitt is likely to be recalled from Triple-A to step into the club’s rotation (once a fifth starter is needed on July 25). Both Hahn and Bassitt were acquired in offseason trades, with Hahn coming from San Diego by way of the Derek Norris deal and Bassitt coming over from the White Sox as part of Oakland’s compensation for Jeff Samardzija.

Hahn has been largely excellent while working out of the Athletics’ rotation — 3.35 ERA, 6.0 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, 52.6 percent ground-ball rate — making the loss a reasonably large one for Oakland. Bassitt has handled himself well in a trio of spot starts and a handful of relief appearances, compiling a 2.93 ERA, but he’s an extreme fly-ball pitcher that has been fortunate in terms of home runs allowed, leading sabermetric stats to forecast a far gloomier picture (4.05 FIP, 5.44 xFIP, 4.96 SIERA).

The Athletics currently sit in last place in the AL West, eight and a half games back from the division-leading Angels and eight games behind the current Wild Card leaders — the Twins and Astros. Hahn’s injury comes at a critical time for an Oakland team that is widely expected to become a selling club but still hopes to claw its way back into the division race prior to the non-waiver trade deadline on July 31.

AL Notes: Refsnyder, Feliz, Hahn, Kelly

By | at

The Yankees are promoting middle infield prospect Rob Refsnyder today, a move originally reported by the YES Network’s Jack Curry (on Twitter). The 24-year-old Refsnyder hasn’t wound up on many top prospect lists, but he’s been a strong hitter throughout his minor league career and was hitting .290/.387/.413 for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, so there’s hope he might provide the Yankees with a bit of extra offense. Chad Jennings of the Journal News looks at the implications of the move, wondering what it means for incumbent second baseman Stephen Drew, who has 12 homers but is batting .182/.257/.372 this season. In the short term, Drew could move to a utility infielder role, but in the longer term, there might not be a role for him. Jennings also wonders whether the Yankees might look for a second base upgrade like Ben Zobrist on the trade market if Refsnyder doesn’t hit immediately. Here’s more from the American League.

  • The Twins have also shown interest in free agent Neftali Feliz, according to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Neal notes that several other clubs have interest as well. That’s not surprising, since it’s rare that a young big-league reliever with Feliz’s pedigree is available as a free agent at this point in the season. Feliz opted for free agency after the Rangers outrighted him last week, and beyond Glen Perkins, Blaine Boyer, Brian Duensing and J.R. Graham, the Twins’ bullpen has struggled lately. An unconfirmed report last night had Feliz agreeing to terms with another club, however. We’ll likely know more about his status as the day unfolds.
  • The Athletics have placed starter Jesse Hahn on the 15-day DL with a forearm strain, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle notes. Chris Bassitt will start for the A’s today. A forearm strain sounds ominous, but A’s manager Bob Melvin sounds hopeful that the injury isn’t serious. “This time of the season, typically starters who have logged a lot of innings have some aches and pains and that’s where he is right now,” Melvin says. “It wasn’t getting better in the fashion where we were comfortable having him make another start, so we tried to be proactive here in giving him some time off.” Hahn, who the A’s acquired in an offseason trade with the Padres, has a 3.35 ERA, 6.0 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and a strong 52.6% ground ball rate in his first season with Oakland.
  • The Red Sox’ weak rotation has strained their bullpen, and the Red Sox have leaned hard on pitchers like Alexi Ogando and Junichi Tazawa. But the Red Sox do not want to move the hard-throwing Joe Kelly, who’s currently starting with Triple-A Pawtucket, into a bullpen role, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald writes. “As long as we think he can start, we want to give him every opportunity to do that,” says GM Ben Cherington. The 27-year-old Kelly has posted a 2.57 ERA in 14 innings with Pawtucket, striking out 11 batters and walking five. His last start ended prematurely after he got hit in the hand with a line drive, although the Red Sox hope he can make his next start on schedule, as Tim Britton of the Providence Journal writes.

Padres Acquire Derek Norris

By | at

The Padres and Athletics have continued their busy offseasons by announcing a multiplayer deal.  Catcher Derek Norris, right-hander Seth Streich and an international signing slot are on the way to San Diego. with right-handers Jesse Hahn and R.J. Alvarez going to Oakland.  The #117 international signing slot carries a value of $144.1K (hat tip to Baseball America).

Norris, 25, hit .270/.361/.403 with 10 homers in 442 plate appearances with the A’s last season, earning his first All-Star appearance in the process.  The right-handed hitting Norris did much of his damage against lefty pitching (.863 OPS vs. LHP, .699 OPS vs. RHP) and in the first half of the season, as he hit only .240/.324/.335 after the All-Star break.  Norris is still a year away from arbitration eligibility and he’s under team control through the 2018 season.

The trade finishes off San Diego’s complete overhaul of their catching situation over the last week.  Once the Matt Kemp and Wil Myers trades are official, the Padres will have moved out Yasmani Grandal and Rene Rivera while adding Norris, Ryan Hanigan and Tim Federowicz.  With top prospect Austin Hedges also waiting in the wings behind the plate, Norris and the two veterans could essentially serve as a bridge for a season or two until Hedges (who has yet to hit Triple-A) is ready.

In that case Norris could be moved to first base in 2016 or sooner, given that he has graded out as a below-average defensive catcher in his brief Major League career, including an infamously tough game against the Royals in last year’s AL Wild Card game.  The Padres were known to be looking for corner infield help, so Norris could see some part-time action at first this year in a platoon with left-handed hitting Yonder Alonso.

Hahn, 25, was rumored as a possible trade chip as the Padres looked for hitters.  The righty posted a 3.07 ERA, 8.6 K/9, 2.19 K/BB and a 50.3% ground ball rate over 73 1/3 innings in 2014, his first taste of Major League action.  He came to San Diego last January from Tampa Bay as part of the Logan Forsythe trade.

Alvarez also made his MLB debut last season, allowing one earned run over eight relief innings out of the Padres’ bullpen.  The 25-year-old has a fastball that has touched the high-90’s and boasts some impressive minor league numbers, including a 2.41 ERA, 13.4 K/9 and 3.49 K/BB rate over 119 1/3 IP (mostly out of the bullpen).  This is Alvarez’s second trade in less than six months, as he was part of the prospect package that San Diego received from the Angels for Huston Street in July.

Hahn and Alvarez are each controllable through the 2020 season, giving the A’s two more quality young arms to go along with other offseason pitching acquisitions like Chris Bassitt, Sean Nolin and Kendall Graveman.  With the A’s so deep in starters, MLB.com’s Jane Lee opines (Twitter link) that the club is preparing to unload some of this pitching depth as part of a larger trade for a hitter.  Behind the plate, meanwhile, Stephen Vogt and the newly-acquired Josh Phegley look to be Oakland’s new catching platoon with Norris gone.

Streich, a sixth-round pick in the 2012 draft, has a 3.37 ERA, 3.04 K/BB rate and 8.5 K/9 over 262 minor league innings, none above the high-A level.  He entered the year ranked by Baseball America as the 25th-best player in Oakland’s farm system.

Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (Twitter links) was the first to report that Norris was going to the Padres.  FOX Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi had Streich’s involvement while Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan was the first to report (via Twitter) the full trade.

NL Notes: Hahn, Cardinals, Pirates, Phillies

By | at

The Padres would be willing to trade pitcher Jesse Hahn in order to add a hitter, Yahoo! Sports’ Tim Brown tweets. Hahn, 25, had a relatively promising rookie season with the Padres in 2014, posting a 3.07 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 73 1/3 innings, most of them in the starting rotation. Hahn also got plenty of ground ball outs in his rookie season and got impressive results with his changeup. While he likely wouldn’t lure a top hitter on his own, he would certainly have appeal for most potential trading partners. Here are more notes from the National League.

  • The Cardinals are looking for a right-handed first base option to pair with Matt Adams, but there’s a chance they might find that option within the organization, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com writes. One possibility would be to use Stephen Piscotty, a third baseman and the Cards’ top prospect. Xavier Scruggs, who hit .286/.370/.494 for Triple-A Memphis last season, is another possibility.
  • The Pirates lost Russell Martin earlier this offseason, but they’re currently satisfied with newly acquired Francisco Cervelli along with Chris Stewart at catcher, MLB.com’s Tom Singer writes. “Francisco was an aggressive get for us. We feel very comfortable with his defensive side, and we think his bat has an upside. If Opening Day were tomorrow, we’d feel very comfortable with our catching mix,” says GM Neal Huntington. That’s not surprising, given the lack of remaining options on the free agent market. The Pirates also have prospect Elias Diaz, who should be ready for the big leagues after another year or so in the minors.
  • Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg is ready for the team to rebuild, Ryan Lawrence of the Daily News writes. “[Y]ou have to start somewhere. Like the bullpen last year was young players that had to prove something,” says Sandberg. “They had energy and youth on their side and they were successful. To have that a little bit more on the field on a regular basis, and to get that process started building a new core group, I think that’s necessary.”

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top