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Kyle Tucker

Astros Notes: Tucker, McCullers, Pena

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Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker has quickly rebounded after a rocky couple weeks to begin the year, hitting .310/.402/.530 over the past month after getting out to a brutal .087/.192/.217 start through his first 13 games. That production only serves as a reminder that the 25-year-old is viewed as a building block in Houston. That fact is also backed up by the team’s apparent efforts to sign Tucker to a long-term extension. Mark Feinsand and Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reported recently that the ’Stros approached Tucker’s camp about an extension this year but talks proved unsuccessful and are not active at this time (Twitter link).

Tucker confirmed the report when speaking with Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. Tucker tells Rome that he’s open to continued negotiations, whether they take place during the current season or in future offseasons. The former No. 5 overall draft pick noted that he’s controlled through the 2025 season regardless, leaving plenty of time for a deal to come together, though he did voice a preference to “get it out of the way if something does happen, just to not prolong [talks] over a long period of time.” Tucker looked overmatched as a 21-year-old rookie in 2018 but has batted .278/.345/.526 in 1036 plate appearances from 2019-22. He’ll be arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter.

More out of Houston…

  • Lance McCullers Jr. hit a milestone in his rehab from a flexor tendon strain in his right forearm, telling reporters that he threw off a mound for the first time yesterday (Twitter link, with video, via FOX 26’s Mark Berman). McCullers prepped for the mound session by throwing from 90 feet on flat ground and then tossed “about ten” pitches off the mound. The righty still didn’t offer a concrete timetable for his return, replying that his next step is to “just continue to build” as restores arm strength and works toward a minor league rehab assignment. McCullers, 28, pitched to a 3.16 ERA with a 27% strikeout rate and 11.1% walk rate in 162 1/3 innings last season in what would’ve been his final year of club control prior to reaching free agency. However, he inked a five-year, $85MM extension to remain in Houston last spring, and the 2022 season is the first year of that new pact. He’s eligible to come off the 60-day injured list in early June, but considering the fact that he hasn’t pitched yet this season and is only just getting on a mound, he won’t be activated when first eligible.
  • General manager James Click spoke with Alex Speier of the Boston Globe about his team’s decision to move on from Carlos Correa and entrust the shortstop job to rookie and top prospect Jeremy Pena — a decision he knew might not be universally accepted, given Correa’s popularity in Houston. “[The fans] loved Correa and they wanted to keep him,” said Click. “But we have tried to make it clear to our fans here that our priority is winning. We would love to win and keep everybody together. But sometimes you have to make a difficult decision to move on in order to try to keep that championship window open as long as you possibly can.” Pena has softened the blow by outproducing his predecessor for the time being and slashing .287/.343/.504 with seven homers and quality defense at short.

AL Notes: Correa, Tucker, Meadows, Winker, Upton

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Before Carlos Correa signed with the Twins, there was some increased buzz that Correa could be staying with the Astros, as Houston was reportedly working on a new contract offer and owner Jim Crane was getting involved in talks.  However, in the aftermath of Correa’s departure, The Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome hears from two sources that “the Astros were not close to reuniting with their shortstop.”

In fact, the Astros didn’t even make a new offer.  According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the Astros “did not budge from” the five-year, $160MM deal the club offered Correa just prior to the opening of the free agent market in November.  The exact level of these latest talks between Correa and the Astros aren’t known, but Rome wonders why the team didn’t explore a contract similar to the three-year, $105.3MM pact (with two player opt-outs) that Correa landed from Minnesota, or if such a deal simply wasn’t of interest to the Astros.

More from around the American League…

  • In other Astros news, Kyle Tucker told Chandler Rome (Twitter link) that the team had yet to start any talks about a contract extension.  There isn’t necessarily any rush for the Astros, as Tucker is still a pre-arbitration player and isn’t eligible for free agency until the 2025-26 offseason.  Still, Tucker has been excellent over his two full seasons as an everyday player, and extending him now could help Houston get some cost-certainty over what projects to be some pricey arbitration-eligible seasons for the outfielder.
  • The Rays and Phillies have discussed an Austin Meadows trade, according to Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).  Timing may be a factor in this report, since Lauber tweeted the news just hours before the Phillies signed Nick Castellanos, and thus Meadows may no longer be on the team’s radar.  Indeed, with Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber now acquired for corner outfield and DH duty, adding a player of a similar profile like Meadows wouldn’t seem all that feasible for Philadelphia, even if Meadows is a better defender (if not a standout) than either of the two free agent sluggers.
  • The Guardians “were in on” trying to acquire Jesse Winker from the Reds before Cincinnati dealt the outfielder to the Mariners earlier this week, Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.  Seattle’s ability to absorb Eugenio Suarez’s contract gave the M’s the edge, as the Guards’ payroll limitations simply wouldn’t make it feasible for them to eat a big contract (plus, Cleveland already has Jose Ramirez at third base).  Winker, however, would’ve been a big help for the Guardians’ needs in the outfield, and Cleveland has been rather quiet overall since the end of the lockout, whereas their AL Central rivals have all made significant moves.
  • Justin Upton briefly started some prep work as a first baseman last season before a lumbar strain ended his season in September, but the veteran outfielder has again donned a first baseman’s glove in Angels camp this spring, The Orange County Register’s Jeff Fletcher writes.  Upton has never played at first base during his entire pro career, though the lower-impact position would theoretically help the 34-year-old to stay healthy, and his right-handed bat would provide a nice complement to left-handed hitting starting first baseman Jared Walsh.  After three straight injury-plagued and subpar seasons, Upton is entering the final year of his five-year, $106MM deal with the Angels.

Astros Notes: Correa, Verlander, Meyers

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At the GM Meetings in Carlsbad, California, Astros’ general manager James Click spoke to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle about the team’s shortstop vacancy, although he claims not to see it that way.

Most of Houston’s playing time at shortstop over the past seven seasons has gone to Carlos Correa, who is now a free agent. The club reportedly made Correa an offer before he hit the open market, although it apparently fell well short of the industry expectations surrounding his earning power. The five-year, $160MM offer was exactly half of MLBTR’s recent prediction of 10 years and $320MM, making it not terribly surprising that Correa didn’t trip over himself to get out his pen.

In the article, Rome opines that the offer is merely a way for the front office to claim that they made an effort, and then pivot to free agents that can be had on short-term deals, or no free agents at all, with the aim of keeping the position available to be claimed by prospect Jeremy Pena. Due to wrist surgery, Pena only played 30 games at Triple-A this year, but they went very well. The 24-year-old hit .287/.346/.598, for a wRC+ of 126. He comes in at #42 on the FanGraphs list of top prospects across the league, although he doesn’t crack the top 100 at Baseball America or MLB Pipeline.

Until his arrival at the big leagues, the club could consider the in-house option of Aledmys Diaz, as Click describes him as “more than qualified” to take the job. Diaz has a lot of time at shortstop on his resume, but not recently, just 14 games in the last three seasons. That lack of recent work at short and his roughly league-average offense over the past two seasons would certainly be a downgrade from Correa, who is elite on both sides of the ball.

One option not being taken seriously, however, is moving Alex Bregman from this base to shortstop. When asked about that option, Click said, “I would highly doubt it” and later added, “I don’t want to get too cute by half and try to jam a square peg into a round hole.” Bregman was primarily a shortstop before reaching the big leagues, sliding to third because of the presence of Correa. He saw some significant time there in 2019 when Correa was hurt, getting into 65 games, but hasn’t played there since. The move doesn’t seem to be totally off the table, though, as Click added that he “would have to talk to Alex about it.”

In a separate post, Rome speaks to Click about the pitching situation, with Click saying that the bullpen is a bigger need than the rotation. “I know that people have started probably mentally thinking of Cristian Javier as a reliever, but we don’t think that way,” Click says, “and having him as a starting pitching option is very real for us and creates a lot more depth.” Including Javier as a starter certainly does make the rotation look healthy, with Lance McCullers Jr., Framber Valdez, Luis Garcia, Jose Urquidy and Jake Odorizzi all on hand as viable options. The club also has an outstanding $18.4 qualifying offer in front of Justin Verlander at the moment, although based on the success of his recent showcase, the odds seem to be in favour of him declining and exploring the market. Click himself spoke positively about Verlander’s performance at the showcase, as relayed by Alden Gonzalez of ESPN. Odorizzi’s level of participation seems to be a question mark, however, as Rome details how the hurler wasn’t happy with his usage at times, displeased with the club’s hesitance at letting him face a batting order for a third time. He’s entering his final guaranteed year as an Astro but has a player option for 2023.

Elsewhere in Astros land, the club got some bad news regarding Jake Meyers, per Rome. Meyers left game four of the ALDS with a shoulder injury and never returned. He recently had surgery to repair a labral tear and isn’t expected to be playing by Opening Day 2022. That will hurt the club’s center field depth, as they had traded away Myles Straw at the deadline, in part because Meyers was ready to step up and take his place. The plan went very well before the injury, as Meyers hit .260/.323/.438 for a wRC+ of 111 in 49 games, along with a good showing in four postseason games. As long as Meyers is on the shelf, Houston’s top options in center will likely be Chas McCormick and Jose Siri, although moving Kyle Tucker from right to center is also on the table. “We have to decide, ‘Do we want to consider moving Kyle to center and then going shopping for a corner guy?’” Click said, per Jake Kaplan of The Athletic. “‘Do we want to have Kyle in center and have Chas and Siri and Yordan and Brantley be kind of rotating through all those spots?’” The market for free agent center fielders isn’t strong, with Starling Marte representing the only true everyday option. The market for corner outfielders, however, has many more exciting options. If the club feels comfortable with Tucker up the middle, it could make sense to take that route. At the big league level, he’s only played five regular season games in center in his career, although he saw some time there this postseason after Meyers got hurt.

Health Notes: Tucker, Escobar, Longoria, Carlson

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The Astros activated outfielder Kyle Tucker from the COVID-19 injured list before this evening’s game against the Royals. Fellow outfielder Chas McCormick landed on the 10-day injured list with left hand soreness in a corresponding move. Tucker, who has been out since August 14, confirmed to reporters (including Brian McTaggart of MLB.com) he’d tested positive for the coronavirus. The 24-year-old has had a stellar season at the plate, hitting .272/.334/.519 with 22 homers over 420 plate appearances. McCormick has also had a quality year, positing a .260/.319/.466 line and earning a larger share of playing time in center field following Houston’s trade of Myles Straw to the Indians at the deadline. Fellow rookie Jake Meyers looks likely to handle center while McCormick’s out of action. The Astros hold a four-game advantage over the A’s in the AL West.

More on other notable health situations around the league:

  • The Brewers placed infielder Eduardo Escobar on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain this afternoon. Manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including Adam McCalvy of MLB.com) the expectation is that Escobar will be sidelined for around two weeks. Escobar has continued to perform well since being traded from the Diamondbacks to Milwaukee, hitting .280/.337/.451 over 89 plate appearances. Luis Urías should step back in at the hot corner on a daily basis while Escobar’s sidelined. Milwaukee holds a comfortable seven and a half game lead over the Reds in the NL Central entering the clubs’ series this week.
  • The Giants activated third baseman Evan Longoria from the COVID-19 IL to instead place him on the 10-day IL with a right hand contusion. Longoria had only been on the COVID IL for a couple days after experiencing vaccine side effects, but he’s now in line to miss at least a week and a half with his current hand issue. Longoria just made it back from a two-month absence due to a shoulder strain last week, but he was hit by a pitch during last Wednesday’s game. When healthy, Longoria has been fantastic this season, hitting .289/.382/.526 with ten homers across 199 plate appearances. His performance has been among the reasons for San Francisco’s three-game advantage over the Dodgers in the NL West. To temporarily open 40-man roster space for Longoria, the Giants placed Kevin Gausman on the COVID IL. Gausman is dealing with vaccine side effects himself, but there’s no indication he won’t be ready for his scheduled start on Friday against the Braves. San Francisco will need to make a 40-man transaction at that point.
  • The Cardinals welcomed outfielder Dylan Carlson back from the injured list today. The 22-year-old missed just under two weeks with a right wrist issue. Carlson has had a nice rookie season, hitting .261/.341/.419 while seeing action at all three outfield spots. With Harrison Bader healthy, Carlson can stick in a corner role for which he’s better suited. St. Louis trails the Reds by four and a half games for the National League’s final playoff spot, so continued above-average offensive output from Carlson would be a boon if the Cards are to make a surprise playoff push over the season’s final few weeks.

Latest On Alex Bregman

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Alex Bregman hasn’t played in a big league game since June 16, and it remains unclear as to when the Astros third baseman will return from the left quad strain that has waylaid his season.  In an interview today with radio host Robert Ford (hat tip to Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle), Astros GM James Click indicated that Bregman wouldn’t be returning to his minor league rehab assignment in the near future.

“We determined that the best course of action was to do a lot of work that didn’t involve playing in games,” Click said.  “Right now we’re making sure he’s good to go at full speed with his legs fully underneath him. Once we feel like that’s been accomplished we’ll move onto hitting.”

It seemed like Bregman was on the verge of a return just one week ago, as he left his Triple-A rehab assignment to rejoin the Astros in Houston. However, rather than reinstatement from the 60-day injured list, Bregman has continued to sit out as all parties weigh his next course of action.  Bregman has continued to work out with the Triple-A Sugar Land Skeeters, posting this video today (via his Twitter feed) of a running drill.

As per the rules of injured list placements, minor league rehab assignments must be completed in less than 20 days or else the player must sit out five days before restarting the assignment.  That five-day window has since elapsed and Bregman has yet to resume playing for the Skeeters.

With this much uncertainty surrounding even Bregman’s minor league work, it is anyone’s guess as to when he might finally get back on the field with the Astros.  Click didn’t hint at a projection, saying “unfortunately a lot of it is let’s test today, test tomorrow, test the next day and see how everything responds.  And we don’t see a timeframe until we see how his body responds to the tests over the next couple days.”

The Astros have remained in first place in the AL West even without Bregman for all but 59 games of the season, as he also missed time on the COVID-19 list in April.  Since returning from his own IL stint, Aledmys Diaz has been on a tear at the plate and has assumed most of the everyday third base duties.  That said, Houston is absolutely a better team with Bregman back in the mix, and the Astros may need all the help they can get to hold off the streaking Athletics for the division lead.

Kyle Tucker also won’t be available for at least a week, as manager Dusty Baker told MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart and other reporters.  Tucker was placed on the injured list yesterday for undisclosed health/safety protocol reasons, which would seem to imply some connection to COVID-19.

Astros Activate Yuli Gurriel, Place Kyle Tucker On Injured List

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The Astros are exchanging one offensive star for another, as Yuli Gurriel was activated off the 10-day injured list today, but outfielder Kyle Tucker is now heading to the IL.  No specific reason was given for Tucker’s placement beyond health and safety protocols.

Gurriel’s IL stint retroactively began on August 3, so he is back after a minimal absence due to neck stiffness.  The 37-year-old will now resume what has been the finest of his six MLB seasons, as Gurriel is hitting .324/.388/.490 with 12 home runs over 417 plate appearances as Houston’s everyday first baseman.  Gurriel has delivered both quality contact and quantity, as he has one of the lowest strikeout rates of any player in baseball — he has almost as many walks (41) as strikeouts (45) this season.

Tucker isn’t far off Gurriel’s overall offensive production, as the outfielder has 22 homers and a .272/.334/.519 slash line over 420 plate appearances.  The non-specific nature of Tucker’s placement would hint that his absence is related to COVID-19, though it could be due to contact tracing or general symptoms rather than an actual positive test for the coronavirus.  (As a reminder, teams aren’t obligated to publicly disclose reasons why a player is on the COVID list.)  Tucker already spent a week on the COVID list in June for precautionary reasons after he displayed flu-like symptoms.

Astros Reinstate Kyle Tucker From Injured List

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The Astros announced they’ve activated outfielder Kyle Tucker from the COVID-19 injured list. Catcher Garrett Stubbs has been optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land in a corresponding move. To create 40-man roster space, Houston transferred left-hander Kent Emanuel from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Tucker went on the IL last week as a precautionary measure after feeling flu-like symptoms. Losing one of their top hitters could’ve been a blow to the Astros, but the team rolled along without him. Houston went 7-0 in Tucker’s absence (they’ve won nine straight overall). That’s not to say he isn’t an important part of the team. The 24-year-old has hit a very strong .268/.326/.506 with 13 home runs across 265 plate appearances, his third straight year of quality offensive production.

Emanuel underwent surgery to repair a torn UCL in his throwing elbow earlier this month. It wasn’t clear before he went under the knife if Emanuel would need a second career Tommy John surgery. It turns out he did not, as Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reported shortly after the procedure that Emanuel had undergone an “internal bracing surgical procedure” that carries a projected recovery timeline of nine months. He’ll miss the remainder of the 2021 season regardless, but the fact that he avoided Tommy John surgery obviously bodes well for him moving forward. The nine-month recovery timetable would seem to suggest Emanuel could be ready to participate in Spring Training next year, barring any setbacks.

COVID Notes: 6/16/21

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Here are the latest updates on coronavirus-related situations around baseball…

Latest Updates

  • The Astros are placing outfielder Kyle Tucker on the COVID-19 IL, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle was among those to relay. Tucker has missed the past two games as he’s been feeling under the weather. Infielder Abraham Toro is up from Triple-A Sugar Land to take his active roster spot. [UPDATE: General Manager James Click told reporters (including Mark Berman of Fox 26) Tucker has been placed on the IL because he developed COVID-like symptoms. The team hopes “it’s a short-term” absence.]

Earlier Notes

  • The Rays placed right-hander Collin McHugh on the COVID-related injury list, and called up right-hander Chris Mazza from Triple-A to take McHugh’s spot on the active roster.  McHugh is receiving rapid testing after feeling sick this morning, manager Kevin Cash told The Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin and other reporters, so the COVID-IL placement is precautionary.  After missing the 2020 season with injuries, McHugh has rebounded to post a 2.70 ERA/2.38 SIERA over 23 1/3 innings for the Rays this year, with an elite 37.1% strikeout rate and an above-average 7.2% walk rate. [UPDATE: McHugh has tested negative for the virus and is feeling a bit better, manager Kevin Cash told reporters (including Topkin).]

Gold Glove Nominees Announced

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The 2020 Rawlings Glove Glove Award finalists have been released, with the Cubs netting the most nominations with seven. The Mets, Nationals, Phillies, Brewers, Rays, and Red Sox were shut out.

The awards for defensive prowess will be handed out based on defensive metrics alone this year, since managers and coaches weren’t able to see players outside their regional bubble. Moving to a metrics-based system, even for a year, certainly make for interesting television, especially since these awards can make an impact on arbitration cases. Considering the uncertainty of a 60-game season, awards could carry greater weight than usual in those proceedings, thought that’s just speculation. Without further ado, here are this year’s nominees:

AL Pitcher

NL Pitcher

AL Catcher

NL Catcher

AL First Base

NL First Base

AL Second Base

NL Second Base

AL Third Base

NL Third Base

AL Shortstop

NL Shortstop

AL Left Field

NL Left Field

AL Centerfield

NL Centerfield

AL Right Field

NL Right Field

Nicky Lopez of the Royals was originally left off the list, but he is in fact a nominee at second base, one of four nominations at the keystone in the American League. It’s the only position with four nominations.

There are a few other interesting things of note. Perennial candidates like Andrelton Simmons and Matt Chapman did not make the list this year due to shortened seasons, nor did last season’s Outs Above Average leader Victor Robles. Both Gurriel brothers earned nominations this year, with the younger Lourdes (LF) joining perennial candidate Yuli (1B).

There are also a couple of largely part-time players that made the cut, like Hoerner of the Cubs and Mendick for the White Sox. Neither was the everyday second baseman, but they did reach the inning minimum of 265 total defensive innings. They qualified at second because that’s where they played the most innings. Mendick, for example, registered just 226 innings at second, but with 27 innings at third and 15 at shortstop, he ended the year with 268 total defensive innings played.

Catchers required a minimum of 29 games, which is how we got a pair of White Sox catchers making the top-3. Pitchers had to throw a minimum of 50 innings.

The winners will be selected using the SABR Defensive Index and announced on November 3rd, per sabr.org.

Camp Battles: Astros’ 26th Man

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The Astros final roster spot will be a two-man showdown between Myles Straw and Garrett Stubbs, per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. Of course, this particular “camp battle” has as much to do with the pieces around the players as the players themselves. For that matter, it may come down to a conversation between Dusty Baker and new GM James Click. The two are likely still developing a cohesive philosophy when it comes to roster construction. That they have an extra roster spot in the 26th man this season ought to help smooth the waters. Still, there’s a decision to be made here, and as with many clubs, the decision may come down to just how many catchers they want to have on the roster. Let’s take a deeper dive into the candidates. 

  • One would think that Myles Straw is the frontrunner to make the opening day roster. Without him, the Astros don’t have a natural backup for George Springer in center. With Jake Marisnick now on the Mets, Straw is the likeliest candidate to fill that void as a pinch-runner and late-game defensive replacement. Josh Reddick would probably fill that role as a backup were Straw not to make the team, though it would be surprising if that were the case for the entire season. Even if Straw doesn’t make the cut, expect him to occupy a roster spot at times throughout the season.
  • Stubbs, 26, has spent the last two seasons in Triple-A, and he’s certainly ready enough to get some time as a backup in 2020. He has a good approach at the plate, will take his walks and doesn’t strike out (16.2% K-rate last season). He’s reliable enough defensively, but it’s hard to see where the Astros would benefit from rostering a third catcher. Martin Maldonado will be the primary starter, and he could be used as a defense replacement in games he doesn’t start. On the other hand, they may risk burning their bench by pinch-hitting for Maldonado in spots. Still, Dustin Garneau is on hand for those occasions. Garneau has some power potential, but Kyle Tucker or Josh Reddick will be the first lefty bat off the bench, while Aledmys Diaz will be the guy from the right side. One backup catcher ought to suffice.
  • The sleeper candidate here is Abraham Toro. He debuted last season with a .218/.303/.385 line over a mere 85 plate appearances. Toro offers a quality combination of speed/power and the ability to play either corner in the infield as well as second base in a pinch. He’s a switch-hitter, which provides some utility beyond the overlapping skillset he shares with Diaz or Yuli Gurriel, but he also has options available. The Astros, therefore, will feel no pressure to keep him on the major league roster. That said, Toro gained some popularity last season, a quality the Astros are short on these days. Having a young player that fans can root for unequivocally may get Toro an extra look.

We’re assuming here, of course, that the Astros will go with an eight-man bullpen. That’s hardly a foregone conclusion, though it’s the likeliest result in the case of most teams, and given that the Astros have some uncertainty at the back end of their rotation, they may enjoy having an extra arm to leverage until the number four and five starters establish some consistency.

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