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Orioles, Brewers, Discussing Jonathan Schoop

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2:54pm: Talks between the O’s and Brewers are “very serious,” per ESPN’s Buster Olney. Rosenthal tweets that the two sides are close to a deal.

2:40pm: In addition to an agreed-upon trade sending Gausman to the Braves, the Orioles are discussing Schoop with the Brewers, tweets Rosenthal.

2:16pm: The Braves have been in contact with the Orioles regarding Gausman, tweets Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Heyman tweets that Atlanta has been “working hard” to add a controllable starter.

1:49pm: Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun reports that the Orioles are discussing a trade of second baseman Jonathan Schoop and, potentially, Gausman (Twitter link).

1:40pm: Dan Connolly of The Athletic tweets that the Orioles and the other team involved in the deal are reviewing medical reports. Jones is not being traded in the deal, he adds.

1:28pm: Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweets that teams are “getting serious” with their offers on Gausman. He lists the Rockies, Braves and Brewers as teams in the mix. Crasnick tweets, meanwhile, that the Pirates are “out” on Gausman.

1:10pm: The Orioles are “closing in” on yet another deal with just under two hours until the non-waiver trade deadline, tweets ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick.

It’s not clear from the report who’ll be changing hands, though the O’s have already moved their biggest rental chips in the form of Manny Machado, Zach Britton and Brad Brach. Adam Jones reportedly isn’t interested in waiving his 10-and-5 rights to approve a deal, which makes it tough to envision that he’s changing hands here.

Meanwhile, previous reports have suggested that the Orioles have not yet had their asking prices met on more controllable pieces like Kevin Gausman, Dylan Bundy or Mychal Givens. Speculating a bit, though, veteran infielder/outfielder Danny Valencia would be one rental piece that the O’s could conceivably deal to a contender in need of a righty bat off the bench.

Brewers, Orioles Holding “Serious Discussions”

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The Brewers and Orioles are “engaged in serious discussions,” per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter), though the precise focus of the chatter remains unclear. He does suggest that the sides could be negotiating over second bagger Jonathan Schoop and/or starter Kevin Gausman.

It’s hardly new to hear that these clubs are on the horn with one another. After all, they reputedly batted around proposals involving Manny Machado and Zach Britton, both of whom were ultimately sent elsewhere. It seems reasonable to assume, then, that the organizations are rather familiar with their respective priorities.

With its two major rental pieces already sent out the door, the Baltimore organization has perhaps shifted its attention to weighing proposals for more controllable assets. That said, the club does still have a few pending free agents to work on. There’s little reason to think outfielder Adam Jones would be of interest to the Brewers, though perhaps reliever Brad Brach might.

Ultimately, though, it does stand to reason that the Brewers would mostly be piqued by the possibility of adding one of the two players suggested by Rosenthal. The team’s second-base situation remains in flux, and it has long figured as a likely buyer of a starter. Having missed on Machado and a few other rental infielders who went out the door today, and with the market for rental starters showing little of real interest in stock, GM David Stearns is surely considering a move for assets that also come with future value.

The idea of giving value for players who’ll contribute in later seasons holds obvious appeal, particularly for a smaller-market organization that has turned back into a contender somewhat more rapidly than was generally anticipated. Much as the team wants to take down the Cubs in the NL Central, it will be cognizant of the need to keep one eye on sustainability. Plus, finding an answer at second and bolstering the rotation will likely be offseason priorities regardless.

Both Schoop and Gausman are players with long-evident talent who have had some ups and downs this year. On the heels of a breakout 2017 season, Schoop slumped through the first half of the current season only to go on a tear over the last month. Gausman, meanwhile, has had some inconsistencies and continues to allow a few too many home runs. But he owns a career-high 11.3% swinging-strike rate and some metrics like him better than his 4.54 ERA (4.59 FIP/4.05 xFIP/4.12 SIERA).

Of course, the Orioles also have little reason to move these two players for less-than-enticing returns, as there’s no pressure to cash them in now. Schoop is earning $8.5MM with one season of arbitration control remaining, while Gausman is taking home $5.6MM with two more to go. The Baltimore organization has acknowledged the obvious when it comes to competing in 2018, but it’s still not clear how long a turnaround the club is aiming for when it comes to putting the next contender on the field. It’s certainly notable that the club has some high-priced veterans on the roster.

In any event, for the time being this seems an interesting story to watch rather than something that’s likely to blossom into a finished deal in the immediate future. Roch Kubtko of MASNsports.com tweets that “nothing is imminent” for the O’s this evening.

Crasnick’s Latest: Moustakas, Ziegler, Ramos, Orioles, Hamels

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“The Braves’ interest in Mike Moustakas is minimal at best,” ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick writes in a tweet, following up on an earlier report which stated that Atlanta was looking at the Royals third baseman.  Moustakas and the Braves have been linked in rumors even dating back to last offseason due to Atlanta’s lack of third base depth, though the team is reportedly satisfied with Johan Camargo at the hot corner.  Interestingly, Crasnick notes that the Braves weren’t sure “how Moustakas would adapt to a bench role,” implying that the team would have platooned the duo at third base.  Moustakas has long has problems against left-handed pitching, while the switch-hitting Camargo has crushed lefties (1.008 OPS in 156 PA) and struggled against righties (.701 OPS in 382 PA) in his brief Major League career.

Here’s more trade buzz from Crasnick in a pair of longer pieces (link one, link two)…

  • The Mariners are one of the teams who have recently called the Marlins about Brad Ziegler.  After a tough start to the season that saw him lose his closer’s job, Ziegler has pitched much better over the last two months and has reignited some trade interest.  Ziegler is a free agent this winter and is still owed around $3.2MM of his $9MM salary for the 2018 season.  Among other Miami relievers mentioned as trade candidates, interest in lefty Adam Conley is “picking up steam” since other southpaws like Brad Hand and Zach Britton are no longer available, according to one source.
  • Wilson Ramos could be on the verge of a minor league rehab assignment, as the Rays catcher is ahead of schedule in his recovery from a hamstring strain.  There’s still a chance Ramos could be moved before the July 31 trade deadline, if he continues to progress and is on pace for a return early in August.
  • “The Orioles are willing to engage” teams in discussions about Kevin Gausman and Jonathan Schoop.  We’ve heard both players be mentioned in trade talks, though this is the first confirmation that Baltimore is open to moving either.  Schoop has one more year of arbitration eligibility remaining while Gausman has two, so these players have more value to the rebuilding O’s than other recently-moved stars like Manny Machado and Britton.  As one scout tells Crasnick, Gausman and Schoop are “the real rebuild pieces.”
  • The Rangers have only received “a couple of nibbles” in Shin-Soo Choo, and aren’t generating much more interest in either Cole Hamels or their bullpen trade chips.  Part of the issue is that the Rangers’ players aren’t standing out amidst a deep market for relief options, and Hamels’ poor performance over his last five starts has raised concerns among rival evaluators.  Some Rangers officials believe Hamels’ struggles may be influenced by stress over the trade rumors.

Jonathan Schoop, Kevin Gausman, Dylan Bundy Drawing Trade Interest

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July 23: The Rockies have been scouting both Gausman and Bundy recently, tweets Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Colorado has held a “longstanding interest” in Gausman, in particular, Rosenthal adds.

Colorado’s rotation has been in the bottom-third of the league in terms of ERA this season, though Rockies starters collectively rank in the top half of the league in both FIP and xFIP, lending some more reason for optimism. That said, Opening Day starter Jon Gray has been anything but the anchor the club expected him to be this season, and Chad Bettis has also had his share of struggles.

July 22: Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop and right-handers Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy are drawing trade interest, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. The Braves have asked the Orioles about all three players, while the Brewers have inquired about Schoop and Gausman, and Kubatko confirms the Yankees’ previously reported interest in Gausman.

Whether the Orioles are open to moving any of those players is unclear, but as a rebuilding team with the majors’ worst record (28-71), it stands to reason they’d listen to offers. Gausman and Bundy would likely bring back appealing returns, considering both the underwhelming trade market for starting pitchers and the fact that they’re affordable and controllable. The 27-year-old Gausman, who’s on a $5.6MM salary, has two arbitration trips remaining. Bundy, 25, is much cheaper ($1.64MM), and he’ll go through the first of three potential arbitration trips during the upcoming winter. Meanwhile, Schoop’s in his penultimate year of arbitration control and on an $8.5MM salary.

To this point, Gausman and Bundy have experienced similar seasons. Gausman has pitched to a 4.33 ERA/4.48 FIP with 7.77 K/9, 2.16 BB/9 and a 46.7 percent groundball rate over 112 1/3 innings, continuing a career of decent production. Bundy has managed a 4.57 ERA/4.85 FIP with 9.64 K/9, 2.61 BB/9 and a 34 percent grounder rate across 108 1/3 frames. He’s currently in the throes of a rough stretch in which he has allowed five earned runs in three consecutive starts. Thanks in part to that, the former top prospect’s ERA has risen by nearly a full run since June 11, when it sat at 3.66.

Schoop, 26, was among the game’s premier second basemen in 2017, when he slashed .293/.338/.503 with 32 home runs and 3.8 fWAR in 675 plate appearances. This season has been a totally different story, though, as Schoop has batted .229/.262/.394 with 11 homers and a replacement-level fWAR over 333 PAs. Moreover, he owns the majors’ fifth-worst xwOBA (.268), per Statcast, suggesting his .281 wOBA isn’t a product of poor luck.

Despite his decline this season, both the Brewers and Braves seem to think Schoop could help them. The fact that the Brewers are looking for an upgrade at the keystone isn’t a surprise, as their second basemen have hit a mere .227/.285/.340 and accounted for minus-0.5 fWAR. The Braves’ interest is an eye-opener, however, considering they have Ozzie Albies at second. Perhaps they could stand to upgrade over Dansby Swanson at shortstop and Johan Camargo at third base, but both players have outperformed Schoop this year, and Schoop has minimal professional experience at those two positions.

Quick Hits: Altherr, Schoop, Santana, Allen, Miller

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The Phillies announced that outfielder Aaron Altherr and righty Mark Leiter Jr. have been optioned to Triple-A, with corresponding roster moves coming tomorrow.  It was just a season ago that Altherr looked like a breakout member of the Phils’ outfield picture, as he hit .272/.340/.516 with 19 homers over 412 plate appearances, though he has been unable to come anywhere close to that production in 2018.  Altherr has been a sub-replacement level (-0.7 fWAR) player through 248 PA this season, hitting just .171/.290/.305 and subsequently losing regular playing time.  He’ll look to get back on track in the minors, while his absence could put Philadelphia in the mix for a backup outfielder in its trade discussions.

Here’s more from around baseball as we’re just over a week away from the trade deadline…

  • Jonathan Schoop’s time with the Orioles may be coming to an end, if recent trade rumors are any indication.  The second baseman tells The Athletic’s Dan Connolly (subscription required) that he hopes he can remain in Baltimore to become a building block for the O’s as they go through a rebuild.  That said, the team also didn’t engage in any extension talks with Schoop last winter in the wake of his strong 2017 season.  That move may have been prescient on the Orioles’ part, as Schoop suffered through a nightmarish first three months that saw him miss time with an oblique injury and post just a .587 OPS over 266 PA.  Though he has hit better in July, the Orioles would still be selling low on Schoop, so they could retain him for the rest of the season to see if he can rebuild any value in the second half.  Schoop has one remaining year of arbitration eligibility before hitting free agency after the 2019 campaign.
  • Ervin Santana will make his season debut on Wednesday when he takes the hill for a start in Toronto, Twins skipper Paul Molitor told reporters (including MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger).  Santana underwent surgery on the middle finger of his throwing hand back in early February, a procedure that was thought to require only a 10-to-12 week rehab stint.  Unfortunately for the right-hander, he battled continued soreness in his finger as well as a rather troubling velocity drop during his recovery process, and is only now ready to return to action.  Due to that extended absence, Bollinger writes that Santana’s $14MM club option for 2019 is ” not expected to be picked up” by the Twins, though I’d suspect that the team would at least consider retaining the veteran if he shows any of his old form over the final two-plus months of the season.  Santana did post excellent numbers in 2016-17, delivering a 3.32 ERA, 2.77 K/BB rate, and 7.2 K/9 over 63 starts and 392 2/3 IP for Minnesota.
  • The Indians’ acquisitions of Brad Hand and Adam Cimber from the Padres in this week’s blockbuster trade likely means that the Tribe will let Cody Allen and Andrew Miller leave after the season, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer opines.  Hand is signed to a reasonable contract through at least the 2020 season while Cimber is controlled through 2023, making them better value over Allen and Miller, considering what the two veteran relievers are likely to ask for in free agency this winter.  Cleveland has stretched its payroll beyond its usual mid-market comfort zone in an attempt to win a World Series, and it always seemed unlikely that the Indians would continue to heavily invest in the bullpen by re-signing Miller and/or Allen when lower-cost options could be found elsewhere.

Duquette: Machado Trade Marks Beginning Of Rebuild

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The trade of Manny Machado to the Dodgers will be the first of many for the Orioles, as executive vice president/general manager Dan Duquette told reporters in a conference call Wednesday night that the Orioles are set to embark on a rebuild of both their on-field product and their baseball operations and scouting staffs (links via Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com and Rich Dubroff of Baltimore Baseball.com).

Duquette plainly used the word “rebuild” five times over a 20-minute conference call, Meoli notes — something which he’d previously been reluctant to do. The veteran GM called rebuilding a “grueling process” but also made clear that there’s a consensus among the front office on the need to do so, as well as support from owner Peter Angelos and his sons, John and Lou.

Critically, Duquette acknowledged that the team’s complete lack of a presence in Latin America has served as a roadblock to maintaining a competitive organization and declared that the Orioles will “become more active on the international market and invest in our facilities and strengthen our overall baseball operation.” As Meoli points out, the Orioles are still the only team in all of baseball who’ve yet to sign an international prospect on this year’s market (which opened on July 2), according to Baseball America’s signing tracker. Baltimore’s operational and philosophical changes, though will extend beyond an increased commitment to the international market.

“It’s a multi-dimensional plan,” said Duquette of the Orioles’ rebuild. “You have to do a number of things well to compete in professional sports, but we had identified the areas that we needed to improve in — technology, international scouting facilities, the draft, strengthening our analytics, investing in our international scouting, investing in more front office staff to be more in line with our competitors, expanding our nutrition and wellness resources at every level of the organization.”

Though that presents a clear long-term approach to upgrading that’ll require years to fully implement, there are also a number of pressing issues more immediately facing the Orioles. Namely, the front office has fewer than two weeks to determine who else from the roster they’ll trade prior to the non-waiver trade deadline in an early effort to continue to restock their farm system.

“We’re going to take a look at trading the veteran players…the ones that are nearing free agency,” said Duquette. Certainly, it seems that impending free agents Zach Britton and Brad Brach are virtual locks to be moved. Veteran outfielder Adam Jones is also a candidate, though his 10-and-5 rights grant him the power to veto any trade.

The question beyond that, however, is one of whether the Orioles will undergo a more significant roster overhaul. Starters like Kevin Gausman (controlled through 2020) and Dylan Bundy (through 2021) would almost certainly fetch significant returns on a trade market that currently has a dearth of controllable arms. Setup man Mychal Givens, too, is controlled through 2021, has already drawn some trade interest and would command a notable return in his own right. Second baseman Jonathan Schoop, meanwhile, is only controlled through 2019, though his value is probably down after hitting .229/.263/.389 through the season’s first half.

To be clear, there has yet to be any indication that the Orioles will consider moving talent from that group. But with the O’s unlikely to catch up to teams like the Yankees and Red Sox over the next couple of seasons as they restructure the organization, there’s certainly a case to be made that the Orioles should be looking at moving more than just their impending wave of free agents as they look to return to contention in one of the game’s toughest divisions.

However the Orioles proceed, Duquette, whose contract expires at season’s end, made clear that he hopes to remain on atop the team’s baseball operations stucture:“Like I’ve said before, my heart’s in Baltimore and I’d like to make the Orioles into a top, contending organization again.”

Injury Notes: Beltre, Schoop, Price, Cueto, Heyward

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The Rangers announced this afternoon that they’ve activated Adrian Beltre from the disabled list. Beltre is in the lineup tonight, hitting cleanup and playing his customary third base. Infielder Eliezer Alvarez was optioned to Double-A Frisco to open a roster spot for Beltre’s return from a hamstring strain that sidelined him for roughly two weeks. The injury initially served as cause for greater concern within the organization, as Beltre was reportedly visibly frustrated and was not optimistic after initially sustaining the injury. Beltre was hitting .310/.366/.437 through 101 plate appearances when he laced a would-be double to the gap in right-center field but came up lame and hobbled into first base before exiting a late-April game.

Some additional injury updates on several high-profile players throughout the league…

  • The Orioles activated Jonathan Schoop from the 10-day disabled list prior to tonight’s contest, optioning infielder Engelb Vielma to Triple-A Norfolk to clear a space for their second baseman. Schoop, 26, missed nearly a month of action after landing on the DL on April 14 due to a strained right oblique muscle. Like much of the Baltimore offense, he’d been struggling prior to landing on the disabled list. In 65 plate appearances this season, he’s batted .230/.266/.344 with a troubling spike in strikeouts (19 — a rate of 29.2 percent) and just one walk on the season (1.5 percent).
  • David Price has been scratched from tomorrow’s start by the Red Sox, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe tweets. He’s headed back to Boston after experiencing numbness in his hand and being unable to complete his most recent bullpen session on Sunday, per the report. Abraham’s colleague, Alex Speier, recently examined Price’s velocity drop this season in a column, noting that he exited a start earlier this year due to similar feelings of numbness, though he attributed that instance to the cold weather. That wasn’t the case this time around, as Sunday’s bullpen session took place in Arlington. Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald has quotes from manager Alex Cora in the wake of today’s news. Cora doesn’t believe the injury is related to Price’s elbow, though the tests he undergoes in Boston will obviously be more telling in that regard. Rick Porcello is stepping up to start in Price’s place tomorrow.
  • Johnny Cueto will be shut down entirely for the next two weeks as he rests a sprain in his right elbow, per Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic (Twitter links). The Giants righty told reporters today that he pitched through “unbearable” pain in each of his final three starts before landing on the disabled list. Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that Cueto had mentally prepared himself for the news that he was going to require Tommy John surgery and miss the remainder of the season.
  • The Cubs announced today that outfielder Jason Heyward has been placed on the 7-day concussion DL. Infielder David Bote is back up from Triple-A to take his spot on the active roster for the time being. Heyward collided with the right-field wall over the weekend when attempting to rob former teammate Dexter Fowler of what wound up being a walk-off home run in the 14th inning of Sunday’s game against the Cardinals (video link). Interestingly, manager Joe Maddon tells reporters that Kris Bryant could see some time in right field while Heyward is sidelined (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat).

An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that Cueto had already undergone Tommy John surgery once in his career.

AL Notes: Yanks, Didi, Harvey, Rangers, O’s, Schoop

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It doesn’t appear just-designated Mets right-hander Matt Harvey will continue his career in New York as a member of the crosstown rival Yankees. “Don’t bet on it,” a source told Brendan Kuty of NJ.com when asked if the red-hot Yankees would pursue Harvey. The Yankees could arguably use another rotation option in the wake of fifth starter Jordan Montgomery’s flexor strain, which will keep him out for six to eight weeks. But the team’s plan for now is to replace the left-handed Montgomery with righty Domingo German, a 25-year-old who will make the first start of his big league career on Sunday.

More from the Bronx and a couple other AL destinations:

  • If Harvey does indeed depart New York, it’s possible he’ll find a home in Texas, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com writes. Rangers pitching coach Dan Warthen previously served in the same role with the Mets, and he formed a good relationship with Harvey during their time together from 2012-17. Warthen is of the belief that he can help fix the struggling Harvey, reports Sullivan, who adds that the Rangers will at least discuss adding the 29-year-old. If Harvey clears waivers and becomes a free agent, it could be worthwhile for Texas to take a low-cost flyer on him, given that its rotation ranks 24th in the majors in ERA (5.15) and 27th in fWAR (0.6).
  • The Orioles are likely to activate second baseman Jonathan Schoop from the disabled list on Tuesday, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com suggests. Schoop has been working back from the right oblique strain that sent him to the DL on April 14. Although Schoop got off to a poor start before then, hitting, .230/.266/.344 (64 wRC+) in 65 plate appearances, it’s fair to say his lengthy absence has helped lead to the O’s league-worst 8-24 record. Schoop was one of the best second basemen in the game last year, after all, and no one from the Jace Peterson–Engelb Vielma–Luis Sardinas trio has performed well in his stead over the past few weeks.
  • The Yankees’ December 2014 acquisition of shortstop Didi Gregorius from the Diamondbacks has worked out beautifully for New York, which only gave up reliever Shane Greene in a three-team trade that also included the Tigers. With Gregorius off to such a tremendous start this year, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman revisited the deal in an interview with Jack Curry of the YES Network (video link). The Yankees had long been interested in landing Gregorius, revealed Cashman, who credits the influence of his friend Kevin Towers and the team’s analytics department for New York’s desire to acquire the player. Towers, who passed away earlier this year, was the Diamondbacks’ GM when they picked up Gregorius from the Reds in 2012. Arizona fired Towers a couple months before Gregorius went to the Yankees in a trade that Cashman didn’t expect to consummate, largely because then-Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart also had a high opinion of Gregorius. The Yankees found a way to make it work, though, after involving the Tigers, who “coveted” Greene. It’s clear the trade hasn’t gone as planned for Detroit, however, as Greene has been a mixed bag while both the player it dealt – lefty Robbie Ray – and Gregorius have emerged as key pieces in Arizona and New York, respectively.

Injury Notes: Teheran, Buchter, Giants, Donaldson, Schoop, Nats

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Braves righty Julio Teheran left his outing today with what the team is calling “right upper trap tightness.” He had shown a concerning velocity drop before departing, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. The 27-year-old Teheran entered the day with a 4.00 ERA in his 27 innings, while carrying a career-best 12.8% swinging-strike rate, but gave up three earned in his three frames. It seems generally promising that there’s a muscular explanation for Teheran’s sudden loss of velo, though of course that does not necessarily mean he’s out of the woods and we’ll have to await further word.

Here’s the latest on some other health situations around the league:

  • The Athletics have placed southpaw Ryan Buchter on the DL, per a club announcement. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by Danny Coulombe. At this point, the team plans to shut Buchter down for at least ten days and possibly longer, as MLB.com’s Jane Lee tweets. The 31-year-old southpaw, who was acquired over the offseason, has been quite good thus far for the A’s. He’s carrying a 1.69 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 over 10 2/3 innings.
  • While the Giants will hold off on putting Mac Williamson on the DL, he’s in the concussion protocol at present, as manager Bruce Bochy informed reporters including Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). In the meantime, the organization has brought fellow outfielder Austin Slater onto the active roster, creating space by sending reliever Josh Osich to the 10-day DL. It’s unclear at this point how long Slater will have in the majors, but he’ll surely be hoping to follow the same track as Williamson, who kept on raking after receiving a promotion. Slater owns a .358/.435/.642 slash with just six strikeouts in his 62 plate appearances on the year at Triple-A.
  • Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson is beginning his rehab assignment tomorrow, as the team announced. He’ll open as a DH as he eases back into action, though the real test will come when he puts his throwing back on display at game speed. There’s similarly good news for the division-rival Orioles, who expect to send second baseman Jonathan Schoop on a brief rehab assignment next week, as Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. He has been out for two weeks with an oblique strain.
  • The Nationals, who are still waiting for a trio of important players, gave some updates today. (Links to the Twitter feed of Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com.) Third baseman Anthony Rendon is reasonably close and is expected to return in relatively short order after a brief stint on the shelf. It’s not quite as rosy for outfielder Adam Eaton, who has seemingly had some ups and downs in rehabbing his ankle issues, but — GM Mike Rizzo emphasized — also has not experienced any setbacks. As for second baseman Daniel Murphy, who has yet to play at all following offseason knee surgery, there’s still no timeline for a return.
  • A number of other players are already coming off of the DL. The Reds have activated righty David Hernandez and the Mariners have brought back first baseman Ryon Healy. Both were relatively significant offseason acquisitions for their organizations. Meanwhile, the Rays activated infielder Matt Duffy and the Rangers did the same with righty Tony Barnette.

Tim Beckham Out At Least Six Weeks Following Core Muscle Surgery

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Orioles third baseman Tim Beckham will be out of action for at least the next six weeks after undergoing core muscle surgery, the team told reporters (Twitter links via Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com). Beckham was placed on the DL yesterday and was said at the time to be considering surgery as an option.

The injury will leave the O’s quite shorthanded in the infield, as Jonathan Schoop is also on the shelf. Ghiroli, though, notes that Schoop is headed to extended Spring Training following the team’s homestand and could begin playing in rehab games next week. Mark Trumbo, too, is nearing a return and could join the team on Tuesday.

[Related: Baltimore Orioles depth chart]

It’s been a dismal start to the season for the 28-year-old Beckham, who is hitting just .179/.247/.262 with a 30.1 percent strikeout rate. Baltimore had high hopes for Beckham, who looked like a transformed player after being acquired just prior to the non-waiver trade deadline last season. Beckham batted .394/.417/.646 in the month of August and looked to have altered his approach at the plate, as he also boasted a dramatically reduced 18.9 strikeout percent that month. The punchouts came back in September, though, as Beckham’s production cratered. He’s now carrying a .179/.251/.306 line through 191 PAs dating back to Sept. 1.

With Beckham and Schoop sidelined, the O’s figure to deploy Danny Valencia at third base, with Luis Sardinas and Jace Peterson on hand as options at second base and also at third when Valencia is out of the lineup.

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