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Central Notes: White Sox, Cubs, Tigers

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The White Sox rolled out a $128MM payroll on opening day this year, already the highest in franchise history, but don’t expect Chicago to curb their spending now. Team options for the newly acquired Cesar Hernandez and Craig Kimbrel would bring their payroll for next season up to $150MM — and that’s before arbitration raises – but owner Jerry Reinsdorf and GM Rick Hahn have prepared for this payroll spike and they’re ready for it, per The Athletic’s James Fegan. If Hernandez and/or Kimbrel aren’t part of the 2022 Sox, it won’t be because of their impact on the payroll. Elsewhere from the flyover states…

NL Central Notes: Senzel, Gant, Cardinals, Cubs, Hoerner

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It’s going to be longer than originally expected before the Reds get Nick Senzel back on the field, as manager David Bell told reporters (including MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon) that Senzel isn’t likely to be activated from the 60-day injured list as soon as he is immediately eligible.  “I would think towards the end of July before we would see him back here,” Bell said.  “That’s a bit of a guess, but just because there’s not an exact clear day right now. He’s definitely progressing the right way, but it’s just taken some time.”

Senzel was initially placed on the 10-day IL on May 21 and he underwent arthroscopic left knee surgery five days later, with Cincinnati shifting him to the 60-day IL in June when an 40-man roster spot was required.  The 60-day placement backdates to May 21, so Senzel would have been eligible to return just after the All-Star break.  While pushing Senzel’s return date back from mid-July to late July isn’t a huge delay on paper, it does represent even more lost time for a player who has unfortunately become an injured-list regular during his young career.  On the plus side, Senzel has already started some light baseball activities, such as pre-game throwing over the last few days.

More from the NL Central…

  • The Cardinals are shuffling their rotation, as manager Mike Shildt told MLB.com’s Zachary Silver and other reporters that right-hander John Gant is moving to the bullpen.  Gant has a 3.76 ERA over 14 starts and 64 2/3 innings, though a 6.00 SIERA, a host of advanced metrics and a league-high 48 walks indicate that Gant has been very fortunate to post such a respectable ERA.  Though control has been an issue for Gant throughout his career, he has posted good results as a reliever in the past, so the Cards are hopeful he can help out a struggling bullpen.  As for the open rotation spot, it will likely be recently-signed veteran Wade LeBlanc moving from the pen to the starting five.
  • Three injured Cubs pitchers are slated to begin Triple-A rehab assignments this weekend, as The Chicago Tribune’s Meghan Montemurro was among those to report that right-hander Dillon Maples (triceps strain) will begin his rehab today, while right-hander Trevor Williams (appendicitis) and left-hander Justin Steele (hamstring strain) will get underway on Sunday.  In addition, infielder David Bote (dislocated shoulder) might start a rehab assignment next week.
  • There isn’t yet any word on when Nico Hoerner might begin his own rehab work, though the Cubs infielder/outfielder continues to make progress a month after being placed on the 10-day IL with a left hamstring strain.  “It was a four-to-six-week injury, and four weeks was Tuesday [June 22]. So I think we’re at the right pace,” Hoerner told Russell Dorsey of The Chicago Sun-Times and other reporters.  Hoerner has been ramping up activity over the last week, taking part in base-running drills and facing live pitching from Williams during the righty’s recent bullpen session.  Hoerner was off to a very nice start prior to his injury, hitting .338/.405/.432 over his first 84 plate appearances.

Cubs Designate Brandon Workman For Assignment

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The Cubs have designated right-handed reliever Brandon Workman for assignment, per a team announcement. Left-hander Justin Steele has been recalled from the alternate training site in his place.

Workman, 32, signed a one-year, $1MM contract with the Cubs late in the offseason. The contract came with an additional $2MM of available incentives for the former Red Sox closer, but his stint with the Cubs looks to be coming to a close after just eight innings.

Workman was hit hard in that brief time, surrendering six runs on a dozen hits (two homers) and seven walks with 11 strikeouts. It’s the second consecutive rough year for the hard-throwing righty, who was clobbered for a 5.95 ERA in 19 2/3 frames between the Red Sox and Phillies last summer.

Setting aside his disappointing work in 2020-21, Workman was a solid late-inning option for Boston from 2017-19. During that time he gave the BoSox 152 2/3 innings of 2.59 ERA ball while striking out just under 29 percent of the hitters he faced. Workman led the Red Sox with 16 saves in 2019 and finished second among Boston relievers with 71 2/3 innings — all while striking out more than 36 percent of his opponents.

Workman’s average fastball has dipped by more than a mile per hour since that brilliant 2019 campaign, dropping from 93.1 mph to 91.8 mph. He’s still registered a respectable swinging-strike rate since 2020 (10.7 percent), but Workman has yielded far too much hard contact and seen his already pedestrian walk rate spike to egregious levels in recent years.

The Cubs will have a week to trade Workman, try to pass him through waivers or simply release him. Based on his track record, he should land with another club if he does hit the market, but that may well have to come on a non-guaranteed pact. Offseason interest in the righty was tepid enough, after all, that he inked the aforementioned one-year, $1MM guarantee. It’s hard to imagine that a lackluster showing with the Cubs has done any favors for his stock. Still, Workman’s dominant 2019 season is a testament to his raw ability, and other clubs around the league surely have their own ideas about how to once again coax that type of performance from him.

As for the 25-year-old Steele, he made his big league debut earlier this year and rattled off 3 1/3 innings of shutout ball. Baseball America tabs him as the organization’s No. 22 prospect, characterizing him as a potential hard-throwing reliever with some command issues. Steele was a starter throughout his minor league career, but the Cubs are looking at him in the ’pen after he was rocked for a 5.59 ERA through 11 starts in a pitcher-friendly setting at Double-A in 2019.

Cubs To Promote Justin Steele To Active Roster

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10:42AM: The Cubs announced Steele’s promotion, and in a corresponding move, right-hander James Norwood was placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to July 30) due to right shoulder inflammation.  Pitching in his third season for the Cubs, Norwood has a 16.20 ERA over 1 2/3 innings pitched this season.

9:22AM: The Cubs will promote left-hander Justin Steele to their 30-man roster prior to today’s game, The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney reports (Twitter link).  Steele is already on the 40-man, though a corresponding move will need to be made to create room on the big league roster.

The 25-year-old Steele was a fifth-round pick for the Cubs in the 2014 draft, and he’ll now get his first taste of MLB action following six seasons and 320 2/3 innings pitched in the minors.  Steele has worked almost exclusively as a starter, though he will be used as a reliever in Chicago to try and help the struggling Cubs bullpen.  Some extra southpaw depth is particularly necessary since Kyle Ryan and Rex Brothers, the two lefties in the relief corps, have both gotten off to a tough start.

Steele’s career was stalled by a Tommy John surgery in 2017, though he has a 3.62 ERA, 2.41 K/BB rate, and 8.9 K/9 over his minor league career.  MLB Pipeline ranks him as Chicago’s 21st-best prospect in Chicago’s farm system, noting Steeler’s plus four-seamer and “one of the best curveballs in the system.”

Cubs Make 3 Additions To Player Pool

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The Cubs have added three pitchers – right-hander Keegan Thompson and a pair of lefties in Justin Steele and Jack Patterson – to their 60-man player pool, per Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago. They’ll report to the team’s alternate facility in South Bend, Ind., and will increase the Cubs’ pool to 54 players.

Thompson, now 25 years old, was a third-round pick of the Cubs in 2017 who has since climbed to the Double-A level. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranked Thompson as the Cubs’ No. 24 prospect last month, calling him a strike-throwing, “very stable fifth starter/swingman piece.” Thompson could be big league-ready right now, according to Longenhagen, so it’s possible he’ll make his debut during the shortened 2020 campaign.

Steele, also 25, entered the Cubs’ system as a fifth-rounder in 2014. He received his first extensive Double-A action last year, when he logged a 5.59 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 in 38 2/3 innings. Patterson’s another former Cubs pick (Round 32, 2018) who has maxed out at Double-A thus far. He threw 13 2/3 innings there last year, but most of his time was spent in Single-A and High-A ball. The 24-year-old was highly effective at all three stops, combining for a 1.69 ERA with 9.0 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9 over 79 2/3 frames.

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