NL West Notes: Musgrove, Yaz, Brebbia, McLain, D’Backs
After a three-week shutdown due to shoulder inflammation, Joe Musgrove has started a two-week throwing program as the first step towards a possible return from the injured list. Musgrove tells Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune that he is aiming to be back with the Padres by late September and hopefully through the postseason, though he acknowledged that another shutdown is possible if the team is out of the pennant race. Things are looking grim for the Padres at the moment, as they sit 6.5 games out of the last NL wild card position.
“There’s no need for me to be rushing and pushing things back if we’re out of this thing,” Musgrove said. “But I have full confidence that we’re going to be in it, so these first two weeks are going to be important in just laying down the foundation work and being able to open up from there….It’s difficult knowing that there’s a chance I might not touch a mound again this year. But every part of me mentally and physically is preparing to be able to get at least one more (start) in the regular season and then be strong for the playoffs.”
Between a broken toe suffered in Spring Training and his shoulder issue, it has been an injury-riddled year for the right-hander, as Musgrove has thrown only 97 1/3 innings. His absences have been one of the reasons why San Diego is only on the fringes of contention, yet Musgrove has still looked like an ace when he has pitched, posting a 3.05 ERA over his 97 1/3 frames. Acee writes that Musgrove will also probably undergo another MRI next week, to check up on the shoulder after the first few days of throwing.
Other items from around the NL West…
- Mike Yastrzemski is closing in on a return from the injured list, as he recently took part in a live batting practice session and ran the bases yesterday. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (X link) writes that Yastrzemski is set for more baserunning work tomorrow, and he has been working in the outfield today. Yastrzemski has been out with a hamstring strain since July 30, and seemed to be on the verge of a return two weeks ago before suffering another strain during rehab work. Now, the outfielder could return to San Francisco’s lineup as early as Monday, when the Giants begin an important series with the Reds.
- In another Giants injury update, John Brebbia threw that live BP session to Yastrzemski, and Slusser writes that the plan is for Brebbia to throw another simulated game Sunday with an eye towards soon beginning a minor league rehab assignment. Brebbia suffered a Grade 2 lat strain back in June, and he has been sidelined beyond his initial recovery timeline of 4-8 weeks. While he’ll need some time to ramp up during his rehab assignment, Brebbia’s return could be a big boost to a Giants club in need of pitching help. Brebbia has posted strong numbers as a swingman over the last two seasons, including a 3.14 ERA over 28 2/3 innings in 2023.
- Matt McLain‘s instant success with the Reds creates an interesting sliding-doors moment for the Diamondbacks, who drafted McLain 25th overall in 2018 but didn’t reach an agreement to sign. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes that the two sides couldn’t manage the gap between McLain’s ask for a $3MM bonus and the Diamondbacks’ offer, which was the $2,636,400 slot price attached to the 25th pick. Beyond the money, McLain told Piecoro that “I was pretty set on [playing in college]. I wanted to go to UCLA. I think that if I would have signed in the minor leagues at that point, I would have always wondered what UCLA was like and what I had missed out on. I don’t think it was necessarily the other way around.” As it turned out, McLain had a standout career in college, and ended up picked by the Reds with the 17th overall pick in the 2021 draft, receiving a $4.625MM bonus that was well above slot price.
Giants Acquire AJ Pollock, Mark Mathias From Mariners
The Giants announced they’ve acquired outfielder AJ Pollock, utility player Mark Mathias and cash considerations from the Mariners. Seattle receives a player to be named later or cash in return. San Francisco optioned Mathias to Triple-A, placed Mike Yastrzemski on the 10-day injured list, and transferred right-hander John Brebbia to the 60-day injured list in corresponding moves.
Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweeted this afternoon that San Francisco was among the teams looking for right-handed hitting. They add a pair of righty bats in this trade, although neither is necessarily a surefire offensive upgrade.
Mathias, whom the Mariners acquired off waivers from the Pirates earlier this month, departs the organization without ever joining the big league roster. The 28 year old offers experience all around the diamond, though he has primarily played second and third base throughout his career. Initially drafted by Cleveland in the third round of the 2015 draft, Mathias has bounced around the league since making his big league debut with Milwaukee in 2020, with stints in Pittsburgh and Texas over the past calendar year.
In 68 career games at the big league level, Mathias’s .249/.323/.402 slash line is good for a slightly above average wRC+ of 104, though that overall line is primarily carried by an excellent 24-game stretch with the Rangers where he slashed a whopping .277/.365/.554 in 74 trips to the plate. While the journeyman has yet to stick in the big leagues for a significant period of time, that hot stretch in Texas and a career slash line of .289/.383/.458 at the Triple-A level indicate Mathias has the potential to be a useful big league utility piece.
The veteran Pollock, 35, has struggled considerably to this point in the season, slashing a brutal .173/.225/.323 in 138 plate appearances. He’ll provide the Giants with outfield depth as they look to weather injuries to Mitch Haniger and Yastrzemski, the latter of whom is expected to miss a couple weeks with a left hamstring strain.
Pollock had mashed left-handed pitching as recently as a season ago. He provides an outfield rotation option and experienced clubhouse presence alongside the presumptive starting group of Michael Conforto, Luis Matos, and Austin Slater, at least while Yastrzemski gets healthy.
The Mariners continue to move some short-term players following this afternoon’s trade of closer Paul Sewald to Arizona. The player to be named headed back to Seattle figures to be a relatively minor piece. Of greater import is that San Francisco might be taking on some of Pollock’s $7MM salary. The precise amount of the cash being sent from Seattle to the Giants remains unreported. Pollock is owed around $2.33MM through season’s end, at which point he’ll be a free agent.
Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the Giants were finalizing a deal for Pollock and Mathias. Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reported the M’s could receive a player to be named later.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Giants Place Wilmer Flores, John Brebbia On IL
The Giants announced a series of roster moves ahead of tonight’s game against the Dodgers, placing 10-day injured list Wilmer Flores on the 10-day IL and right-hander John Brebbia on the 15-day IL while activating left-hander Alex Wood and recalling right-hander Tristan Beck. Flores is suffering from a foot contusion, while Brebbia was diagnosed with a grade 2 lat strain that Susan Sussler of the San Francisco Chronicle notes could keep him on the shelf for 4-8 weeks.
Flores, 31, has been a steady veteran presence in San Francisco’s infield over the past four seasons, slashing an above average .249/.322/.437 in 398 games with the club since the start of the 2020 campaign. During that time, Flores has logged time at each of first, second, and third base in addition to the DH slot. Aside from his versatility, the highlight of Flores’s toolkit is his plate discipline, as the veteran has struck out in just 15.7% of plate appearances as a member of the Giants while walking at a 9.1% clip. Fortunately for the Giants, the club seems well-equipped to weather the loss of Flores, as Thairo Estrada, J.D. Davis, and Lamonte Wade Jr. are all having excellent seasons around the infield while veteran Brandon Crawford mans shortstop, backed up by youngster Casey Schmitt.
Brebbia’s role on the roster, on the other hand, figures to be more difficult to replace. The 33-year-old righty sports a 3.14 ERA, 38% better than league average by measure of ERA+, and a 2.72 FIP in 28 2/3 innings this season. While Camilo Doval, Tyler Rogers, and Taylor Rogers have all been similarly excellent, none of them have shown the valuable versatility of Brebbia, who works effectively both in the late innings and as an opener, recording appearances that last both a single out and multiple innings throughout the season so far.
Filling in for Brebbia in the bullpen is Beck, a 27-year-old right-hander who made his major league debut with the Giants earlier this season. In 31 1/3 innings of work, Beck has posted a respectable 3.73 ERA (116 ERA+) with a 4.23 FIP with a 21.7% strikeout rate and a minuscule walk rate of 3.9%. During his time in the big leagues this season, Beck has been used for multi-inning relief in the majority of his appearances, including an 81-pitch outing that lasted 5 1/3 innings against the Mets.
Also rejoining the Giants roster is Wood, who went on the injured list earlier this month with a low back strain. It’s been a difficult road for Wood since he signed a two-year, $25MM deal with the Giants ahead of the 2022 campaign, as he posted a well below average 5.10 ERA last season despite solid peripherals. He’s struggled similarly this season, with a 4.80 ERA and 4.58 FIP across 30 innings of work.
While those run prevention numbers are largely held down by six-run, 4 1/3 inning start immediately preceding his trip to the injured list, Wood has also struggled to pitch deep into games this season. He’s finished the fifth inning just once all season while throwing more than 75 pitches just twice. In his return to the rotation, Wood figures to attempt to stabilize San Francisco’s rotation alongside Logan Webb, Anthony DeSclafani, and Alex Cobb.
Tender Deadline Signings: 11/30/21
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.
Giants Activate Wilmer Flores, Austin Slater
The Giants have activated Wilmer Flores and Austin Slater from the injured list, and both players are in today’s starting lineup against the Cubs. Right-hander John Brebbia and left-hander Caleb Baragar were optioned to Triple-A to create roster room.
Slater is back after spending a week on the concussion-related IL. Back on September 4, the outfielder was concussed after crashing into the wall while trying to catch a Trea Turner home run. Fortunately, Slater is back in pretty short order, and he’ll resume his part-time role on San Francisco’s depth chart. Slater has hit .227/.313/.395 over 288 total plate appearances this season, with much of that damage coming against southpaws — Slater has a .263/.364/.480 slash line and eight home runs in 176 PA against left-handed pitching.
Flores also has a well-earned reputation as a lefty-masher, though he has a comparatively modest .273/.316/.438 slash line in 136 PA against southpaws this year. Between that production and similar numbers against righties, Flores is batting .249/.319/.438 with 17 homers in 389 total PA in 2021.
After suffering a left hamstring strain on September 2, Flores is back after missing only the minimum 10 days, beating manager Gabe Kapler‘s initial expectation that Flores would be out “a couple of weeks.” Hamstring injuries have been a persistent issue for Flores for much of the year, and he also missed 10 days with a right hamstring strain in May.
Giants Designate Aaron Sanchez For Assignment
The Giants have designated Aaron Sanchez for assignment, per Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle. Additionally, John Brebbia was recalled, Kevin Gausman was reinstated from the paternity list and Thairo Estrada was optioned to Triple-A.
Signed to a one-year deal in the offseason, Sanchez’s season got off to a nice enough start. After six starts, he had an ERA of 3.18. But he struggled to pitch deep into games, never going longer than five innings. On May 8th, he was placed on the IL with biceps tightness and then struggled to return because of blister issues during his rehab, something that has plagued him over the course of his career. He was eventually reinstated from the IL July 29th and has made three appearances since then, but evidently not showing enough promise to hold onto a roster spot. Overall, he’s thrown 35 1/3 innings this season with an ERA of 3.06, with his typical mix of low strikeouts but lots of ground balls.
Sanchez is playing on a $4MM salary, of which about $1.2MM remains to be paid out. If some pitching-needy team were to grab him off waivers, they could do so with a modest increase to the payroll and luxury tax ledger. Though it’s also possible that teams will just wait for him to clear waivers, at which point they could pay him the prorated league minimum with the Giants on the hook for the rest of that money. The contract signed between Sanchez and the Giants also came with incentives based on games started, beginning once he reached his 16th of the season. Since he’s currently sitting at seven starts on the year, it seems unlikely any of those incentives will be reached.
Brebbia pitched very well for the Cardinals from 2017 to 2019, throwing 175 innings with an ERA of 3.14, a strikeout rate of 27.4% and walk rate of 7.5%. Unfortunately, Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2020 season, leading to the Cardinals non-tendering him, before he signed with the Giants. In 15 innings thus far for San Fran, he has a 6.60 ERA, though advanced metrics are much more bullish.
Giants Designate Mike Tauchman For Assignment
The Giants announced that they’ve designated outfielder Mike Tauchman for assignment as part of a series of roster moves. San Francisco has also reinstated Brandon Crawford from the 10-day injured list, reinstated Aaron Sanchez from the 60-day injured list (hence the 40-man move) and optioned righty John Brebbia to Triple-A.
Tauchman, 30, came to the Giants in an early-season swap that sent left-handed reliever Wandy Peralta to the Yankees. The former Rockies farmhand had a surprise breakout with the Yankees in 2019 but took a step back in 2020 and has yet to produce much in 2021 with either New York or San Francisco. The Giants gave Tauchman 175 plate appearances, but he managed only a .178/.286/.283 with four homers and four doubles. The Giants valued Tauchman’s glove in center field, and he made a couple of key home run robberies during his time as a Giant.
Ultimately, however, the Giants simply ran out of room for Tauchman on the big league roster — and because he’s out of minor league options, he can’t simply be sent to Triple-A. San Francisco has Mike Yastrzemski, Steven Duggar, Alex Dickerson, Austin Slater, Darin Ruf and LaMonte Wade Jr. as outfield alternatives on the MLB roster at the moment, and the Giants have been tied to some possible outfield upgrades on the trade market as well (e.g. the since-traded Starling Marte and the still-available Kyle Schwarber).
The Giants can trade Tauchman to another club if they can find a partner prior to tomorrow afternoon’s deadline. Otherwise he’ll be placed on outright waivers and made available for all 29 other teams to claim.
Giants Reinstate John Brebbia, Move Aaron Sanchez To 60-Day IL
Just over a year removed from Tommy John surgery, John Brebbia is back in the majors, as the Giants announced that the right-hander has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Left-hander Conner Menez was optioned to Triple-A after yesterday’s game to open a spot on San Francisco’s active roster, while righty Aaron Sanchez was moved to the 60-day IL to create room for Brebbia on the 40-man roster.
Brebbia’s TJ procedure took place on June 3, 2020, so he has returned to action quicker than expected considering the normal 13-to-15 month recovery period. Brebbia hasn’t pitched in a big league game since he threw two-thirds of an inning for the Cardinals in Game 3 of the 2019 NLCS against the Nationals.
The Cards decided to non-tender Brebbia in December rather than pay a projected $800K in Brebbia’s first year of arbitration eligibility, and the Giants stepped in to sign the righty for a one-year deal worth $800K in guaranteed money. Since Brebbia is arb-controlled through the 2023 season, the Giants rolled the dice on a long-term investment in a reliever who looked good over his first three MLB seasons.
Originally a 30th-round pick for the Yankees in the 2011 draft, Brebbia played in the minors and in the independent leagues before St. Louis selected him away from the Diamondbacks in the minor league version of 2015 Rule 5 Draft. That ended up being a tremendous pick for the Cardinals, as Brebbia posted a 3.14 ERA/3.61 SIERA, 27.4% strikeout rate, and 7.5% walk rate over 175 relief innings from 2017-19.
Sanchez has already been on the injured list since May 8 due to biceps inflammation, but the shift to the 60-day IL is a discouraging sign considering that he was already on a minor league rehab assignment. The other troubling aspect is that the biceps injury may no longer be Sanchez’s chief concern, as he left his most recent outing after only 50 pitches due to a blister on his throwing hand. Blister problems in 2017 were the first of many injuries that have sidetracked Sanchez’s career over the last four-plus years, though it appeared he was putting things together after signing with the Giants in the offseason. Sanchez had a 3.18 ERA/4.26 SIERA over 28 1/3 innings before his biceps problem surfaced.
NL West Notes: Rockies, Schmidt, Brebbia, Weathers
“At the end of the day it’s going to come down to, what are they offering?” Rockies interim GM Bill Schmidt said of his team’s deadline plans, telling MLB.com’s Thomas Harding and other reporters that the front office isn’t under a mandate to cut payroll. To this end, it’s possible a prime trade chip like Trevor Story isn’t moved at all, if no club makes the Rockies an acceptable offer.
Story is reportedly not planning to re-sign with Colorado when he enters free agency after the season, though if the Rox didn’t trade him at the deadline, the team wouldn’t be left completely empty-handed if Story departed. Since Story would assuredly reject Colorado’s qualifying offer, the Rockies would be in line for a compensatory draft pick after the first round of the draft. “I trust our ability to make a good pick,” Schmidt said, noting that Story himself (as well as Nolan Arenado and Ryan McMahon) were all selected by the Rockies within that general range of the draft order. Of course, this could also very well be gamesmanship on Schmidt’s part, letting trade suitors know that they’ll need to top the value of a first-round sandwich pick in order to land Story at the deadline.
More from the NL West…
- John Brebbia underwent Tommy John surgery a little over a year ago, and the right-hander is making steady progress in his recovery. The right-hander has already made six appearances for the Giants‘ Triple-A affiliate, and Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group writes that Brebbia’s next step is pitching in consecutive games, which he is scheduled to do tonight and Tuesday. After the Cardinals non-tendered Brebbia last winter, San Francisco signed Brebbia to a one-year, $800K contract, and he is still under team control via arbitration through the 2023 campaign. That could end up being a very shrewd acquisition for the Giants, especially if Brebbia is indeed able to make a relatively quick return from TJ surgery (the normal recovery timeline is 13-15 months) and match the solid numbers he posted out of the Cards’ bullpen from 2017-19.
- The Padres are moving Ryan Weathers to the bullpen, as the team will return to a normal five-man rotation and use Weathers to boost the heavily-worked San Diego relief corps. Manager Jayce Tingler told reporters (including Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune) that the other starters had the benefit of a recent off-day for extra rest, but added that while the Weathers move is “going to help the team…it’s not necessarily permanent.” After appearing in the NLDS last season, Weathers made his regular-season MLB debut this year and has posted a 2.44 ERA over 44 1/3 innings, starting eight of 13 games. Despite that nice ERA, Weathers has a 4.49 SIERA, and has been aided by an 87.2% strand rate and a .225 BABIP. As Tingler noted, it is quite possible Weathers will again be used as a starter should injuries or circumstances dictate, but for now, the Padres will go with Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, Joe Musgrove, Chris Paddack, and Dinelson Lamet as their starting five.
NL West Injury Notes: Dodgers, Rockies, Giants
Brusdar Graterol‘s placement on the 60-day injured list was either a procedural move or incorrect, depending on who you ask, but the Dodgers‘ right-hander does plan on returning to the field in less than 60 days. His delayed debut this season is “related to COVID from the past,” per Jorge Castillo of the LA Times. It’s a peculiar situation surrounding the flame-throwing Venezuelan. He’s not hurt, simply behind. He didn’t begin throwing this spring until late in March, and he’s still working himself into game shape. Let’s make the rounds to see how other arms are progressing out west…
- Kyle Freeland is working his way back from a shoulder injury suffered near the end of spring training, and there’s no timetable for his return. That said, he does appear to be making progress, per Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Specifics remain scarce, but the presumption seems to be that Freeland’s injury won’t threaten his season. The Rockies are able to start the season with a four man rotation, but they’ll soon need to add another arm to the mix beyond German Marquez, Antonio Senzatela, Jon Gray, and Austin Gomber. Newly-signed Jhoulys Chacin could be a candidate for bulk innings. Keep an eye on Antonio Santos in the long-term. The 24-year-old righty made his debut last season after just eight starts in Double-A. He may not be the first name called this season, but he’s likely to find his way back to the Majors at some point in 2021.
- The Giants released a number of injury updates, per MLB.com’s Maria I. Guardado (via Twitter). Jaylin Davis will be out for four to six weeks as he rehabs left knee tendinitis. John Brebbia and Tyler Beede are both throwing twice-weekly bullpens as they prepare to come back from Tommy John surgery. Dedniel Nunez underwent his own Tommy John surgery this past Tuesday, and he will begin his rehab process this week. Lastly, Alex Wood threw a sim game as he tries to return from a lower back strain. Wood was expected to play a big role in the Giants rotation picture this season, and they still hope that’s the case.