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Luke Maile

Pirates’ Luke Maile Undergoes Finger Surgery

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After being hit by a pitch on Thursday, Pirates catcher Luke Maile suffered a fractured right index finger that required surgical repair, according to team press release.  Maile underwent the procedure yesterday and will be kept out of baseball activities for the next 10-12 weeks, effectively ending his 2020 season.

Maile signed a one-year split contract with the Pirates last December, and the unfortunate injury news will now keep the 29-year-old backstop from participating in what would have been his sixth big league season.  Maile has a .198/.252/.304 career slash line over 657 plate appearances with the Rays and Blue Jays, and was non-tendered by Toronto over the offseason.  Despite his lack of offense, Maile has been a pretty solid defensive catcher, and he had been tabbed as the top backup choice behind Jacob Stallings in Pittsburgh.

Stallings and John Ryan Murphy were the only other catchers with the Bucs’ initial Summer Camp player pool, so Murphy is now the favorite for backup duty.  Like Murphy, Andrew Susac is also in the organization on a minor league deal, and Rule 5 pick Christian Kelley is on hand for further depth.  With Maile now out of the picture, it seems likely the Pirates will be on the lookout for any veteran catchers who become available as teams make roster cuts in the coming days.

Pirates Sign Luke Maile

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4:50pm: The club has announced the signing.

3:30pm: The Pirates have agreed to a deal with free agent catcher Luke Maile, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). It’ll be a MLB pact, with financial details still unknown. Maile is a client of Pro Star Management.

Maile, 28, has turned in abysmal showings with the bat in two of the past three seasons. He was nearly a league-average hitter in 2018, when he slashed .248/.333/.366 in 231 plate appearances. But Maile owns just a 48 wRC+ for his career and was worse than that in 2019.

Clearly, the Bucs aren’t making this move on the presumption that Maile will be a valuable offensive contributor. The hope is that he’ll be capable of delivering at least palatable work from the batter’s box, though the team surely knows even that can’t be relied upon.

When the Pirates decided to drop Elias Diaz at the outset of the winter, the club made clear it wanted to improve defensively. That’s an area that Maile can be trusted. He grades as an above-average overall defender, generally receiving positive reviews in the framing department, and has been trusted by the Rays and Jays in spite of his occasionally dreadful offensive output.

Teams Announce Final Non-Tenders

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We’ve been tracking the day’s arbitration decisions in the run-up to tonight’s deadline, which has produced a bevy of last-minute calls. In addition to those already covered elsewhere (with all projected salary figures from MLBTR/Matt Swartz projections) …

  • The Padres announced they have non-tendered Miguel Diaz and Pedro Avila. Neither hurler had yet been eligible for arbitration, so this amounts to no more than a roster cleanup. Avila had already been designated for assignment. Diaz, meanwhile, saw extensive action as a Rule V pick in 2017 but has only sporadically logged MLB time since.
  • Relievers Javy Guerra and Koda Glover were non-tendered by the Nationals, per a club announcement. Guerra would have cost a projected $1.3MM. Glover announced earlier today that he would retire.
  • The Red Sox non-tendered infielder Marco Hernandez and reliever Josh Osich, per a team announcement. Neither projected at big dollars — $700K and $1.0MM, respectively — but obviously the club felt it could put the roster spots to better use on other players.
  • The Blue Jays have non-tendered relievers Derek Law and Jason Adam, along with backstop Luke Maile. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter) and Scott Mitchell of TSN (on Twitter) were on the news. Law projected at $1.3MM, while Maile was in line for a $800K payday. Adam is still pre-arb eligible.
  • The Giants announced today that they have non-tendered outfielder Joey Rickard ($1.1MM projection), southpaw Tyler Anderson ($2.625MM), and righty Rico Garcia (pre-arb). Both Anderson and Garcia were claimed from the division-rival Rockies after the end of the 2019 season.
  • In addition to other moves earlier today, the Braves have non-tendered catcher John Ryan Murphy and outfielder Rafael Ortega. Each provided depth down the stretch in 2019 for the Atlanta organization. Murphy would’ve been owed a projected $1.2MM, while Ortega remains shy of arbitration eligibility.
  • A host of players were non-tendered by the Royals, per a club announcement. Righty Jesse Hahn was cut loose along with infielders Humberto Arteaga, Cheslor Cuthbert and Erick Mejia. Among these players, Hahn (projected $900K) and Cuthbert ($1.8MM) have the most MLB experience. With these 40-man trimmings, the K.C. org should be able to place some claims and/or make Rule 5 selections in the coming weeks.
  • Righties Ian Gibaut and Wei-Chieh Huang are each heading to free agency after being non-tendered by the Rangers. Neither is anywhere near the service time needed for arbitration eligibility, so this was just an opportune time for the Texas org to drop them from the MLB roster.

Blue Jays’ Catchers Drawing Trade Interest

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Pitching is the Blue Jays’ top priority this winter, and Toronto has already made one notable move on that front with its acquisition of Chase Anderson from the Brewers.  It remains to be seen whether the Jays will look to free agency or further trades to upgrade its staff, though in regards to the latter option, Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi reports that Toronto’s “catchers have also been drawing interest from other clubs” in preliminary trade discussions.

Danny Jansen handled the bulk of the work behind the plate for the Jays last season, hitting only .207/.279/.360 over 384 plate appearances but displaying some excellent defensive prowess in his first full MLB campaign.  Both StatCorner and Baseball Prospectus cited Jansen as one of the league’s best pitch-framers, with BP also highly praising Jansen’s blocking skills.  The 24-year-old held his own at throwing out baserunners, stopped 19 of 61 stolen base attempts.

It was quite a performance for a player who was more touted for his offensive skill coming up through the farm system, and if Jansen can improve to even average production with the bat, he’ll be a very valuable catcher going forward.  This could also make him an interesting trade chip, though since Jansen is controlled through the 2024 season, the Jays would certainly want a solid return for his services.  It could ultimately make for a tough negotiation since a rival team could rightly argue that Jansen hasn’t yet shown much hitting skill at the big league level.

Ultimately, there’s probably more evidence that the Jays still see Jansen less as a trade chip and more as their catcher of the future, so that could make Reese McGuire more expendable.  An oblique injury sent Luke Maile to the injured list in July and limited him to just three games for the remainder of the season, as McGuire went on a hot streak and more or less entered into a timeshare with Jansen down the stretch.

Selected 14th overall by the Pirates in the 2013 draft, McGuire was rather surprisingly traded to Toronto in a 2016 deadline deal, packaged with fellow prospect Harold Ramirez and veteran lefty Francisco Liriano for right-hander Drew Hutchison.  The trade was mostly about unloading Liriano’s $18MM in remaining salary for the Bucs, leaving the Jays to potentially reap the benefits from a catcher who has hit very well (.297/.343/.539 with seven homers in 138 PA) in his brief Major League career.  McGuire also has above-average blocking and framing grades — something of the opposite of Jansen, McGuire was considered more of a glove-first catcher during his time in the minors.

This leaves Maile looking like a potential non-tender candidate unless the Jays can find a trade partner.  The veteran is projected to earn only $800K in arbitration this winter, though may no longer have a spot on Toronto’s roster if Jansen and McGuire are the new regular duo.  Maile turns 29 in February, and hit a respectable .248/.333/.366 over 231 PA in 2018, though that solid season was sandwiched between two very poor years at the plate in 2017 and 2019.

The Blue Jays could also look to move younger catchers from within their farm system.  Gabriel Moreno (#8), Alejandro Kirk (#12), and Riley Adams (#27) are all ranked within MLB Pipeline’s list of the top 30 Jays prospects.  Adams is the most developed, with 81 games at Double-A last season, while Kirk reached the advanced A-ball level and Moreno spent all of 2019 at Single-A Lansing.

Blue Jays Activate Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Luke Maile

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The Blue Jays announced on Saturday that they have made a pair of notable reinstatements, adding both Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Luke Maile to the active roster. Gurriel’s return to the lineup will mark the first time he has suited up for Toronto in more than a month. For Maile, it’s been even longer: he hasn’t played since late July, when he went on the injured list with an oblique injury.

Gurriel landed on the injured list on August 8 after suffering a strained left quad, interrupting what has been a fine follow-up to an impressive rookie campaign. After a sluggish start to the season—for which a position change to second base may have been at fault, Gurriel turned himself around in June, tapping into his power as his OPS climbed to .879, a considerable improvement over the .755 mark he posted as a rookie last year.

After beginning his career as a shortstop, Gurriel entered his second year tasked with manning second base, an experiment that quickly went awry and was abandoned just weeks into the season. He’s subsequently transitioned to left field, which may turn out to be his best spot: advanced defensive metrics prefer the 25-year-old in left, where he’s credited with -2 DRS, a step above his -9 DRS from a year ago.

One of the members of Toronto’s promising young core, Gurriel’s workload will be closely monitored by Charlie Montoyo and company, reports Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith. Though he’s been the team’s everyday left fielder, he should get a fair number of at-bats as a DH with the club looking to minimize any chance of re-aggravating the quadricep.

As for Maile, he’ll likely re-enter the mix as the third catcher for the Jays, who have been rolling with a combination of Danny Jansen and Reese McGuire behind the dish. Jansen hasn’t yet translated his offensive skills to the bigs, but has been a positive defender at catcher. McGuire has posted gaudy offensive numbers—albeit in a small sample—and at just 24 years old, both Jansen and McGuire are ahead of Maile in the pecking order.

Blue Jays Designate Jarrod Saltalamacchia

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2:51pm: Toronto has announced that Saltalamacchia was designated for assignment to make way for Maile.

2:38pm: The Blue Jays have decided to make a move to swap out reserve backstops, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. The precise move isn’t yet clear, but Jarrod Saltalamacchia will be removed from the roster to make room for Luke Maile.

Saltalamacchia, who’ll soon turn 32, had struggled badly early this year. He made the club after joining on a minor-league deal, but had recorded just one hit and one walk over his first 26 plate appearances — with a dreadful 16 strikeouts on his ledger. Saltalamacchia was also struggling to control the running game, as Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith notes on Twitter.

As for Maile, he only just joined the organization in a waiver claim. The Jays’ front office suggested it was high on the 26-year-old, so it’s not particularly surprising to see him earn an opportunity. Though he hasn’t hit much in his brief time in the majors — or in his time at Triple-A since arriving from the Rays — Maile is valued for his glove.

AL East Notes: Boxberger, Tanaka, Alvarez, Jays

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Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Rays right-hander Brad Boxberger has actually been dealing with a flexor strain — not the lat strain that sidelined him in Spring Training. Boxberger tells Topkin that he felt “a little off” when throwing in a March 22 live batting practice session that was intended to gauge his recovery from the lat strain. Boxberger went two weeks without throwing and but has been cleared to begin a throwing program. The Rays are hopeful that he’ll be able to return sometime in the month of May, though Boxberger says there’s no hard timetable on his recovery. Boxberger, the former Rays closer, opened the 2016 season on the shelf coming off hernia surgery and quickly suffered an oblique injury upon returning from the disabled list last May. Those injuries combined to limit him to just 24 1/3 innings last year, and while he was on the shelf, Alex Colome broke out and laid claim to the closer’s role in St. Petersburg.

More from the AL East…

  • Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner and GM Brian Cashman both tell George A. King III of the New York Post that there’s been no discussion about Masahiro Tanaka’s potential opt-out at season’s end, despite other reports suggesting the team is frustrated with his camp over the matter. “There is nothing to hold over our heads because we haven’t negotiated it,” says Cashman regarding the potential opt out at season’s end. “I have the utmost respect for [Tanaka’s agent] Casey Close and his office. I don’t know where this came from. We haven’t had any discussions of an opt-out.” Steinbrenner offers a similar sentiment to King, telling him that the team’s focus is squarely on the 2017 season. “Secondly, anyone that knows me knows that I don’t get emotional or personal about business,” says Steinbrenner. “Any decision then will be made on a solid analysis of all the relevant data, per usual.”
  • The Orioles released minor league outfielder-turned-pitcher Dariel Alvarez yesterday after it was learned that he’d require surgery (likely Tommy John), thus opening a spot on the 40-man roster for newly acquired left-hander Andrew Faulkner. However, Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun reports that the Orioles are hopeful of re-signing Alvarez to a minor league contract and keeping him in the organization to rehab. That would allow the O’s to further pursue the pitching experiment with Alvarez — a transition that had only just begun when he incurred his elbow injury.
  • Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins tells Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi that the team is pleasantly surprised with the depth that has been stockpiled at Triple-A Buffalo. Getting Mike Bolsinger through waivers yesterday allows the Jays to pair him with Mat Latos in the Triple-A rotation, and Atkins sounded particularly pleased with the fact that they were able to win a claim on catcher Luke Maile. Atkins tells Davidi that the team didn’t expect to be able to stockpile this kind of depth after already adding Juan Graterol (also via waivers) and Mike Ohlman (minor league deal). “But the opportunity to add a piece that we feel is an already now major-league defender was something we didn’t want to pass on,” says Atkins of Maile.

Blue Jays Claim Luke Maile

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1:09pm: Maile was claimed, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter).

12:47pm: The Blue Jays are set to acquire catcher Luke Maile from the Rays, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Maile was designated recently, but it’s not apparent at this point whether he is moving via trade or waiver claim.

Maile, 26, has struggled badly at the plate in his brief MLB time, striking out 44 times while drawing just four walks and slashing a meager .214/.234/.338 in 161 total plate appearances. And he hasn’t shown much more at Triple-A; in 551 trips to the plate at the highest level of the minors, he owns a .221/.302/.314 batting line.

That said, Maile did provide more offense earlier in his minor-league career. And he has shown fairly well defensively in the majors. Last year, he rated well as a framer and cut down seven of 18 would-be base-stealers, which suggests he could be a useful depth piece. Maile will likely join Juan Graterol as 40-man members stashed at Triple-A in the Toronto organization.

Rays Designate Luke Maile For Assignment

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The Rays have designated catcher Luke Maile for assignment, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Topkin reported Saturday that Maile was a candidate to lose his 40-man roster spot.

The 26-year-old Maile became superfluous to the Rays when they signed fellow backstop Derek Norris last month. Even without Maile, they still have three experienced catchers on hand in Norris, Jesus Sucre and Curt Casali, the last of whom will open the year in the minors.

Maile, whom the Rays chose in the eighth round of the 2012 amateur draft, debuted in the majors in 2015. He has since collected 161 plate appearances and batted a woeful .214/.234/.338. Most of Maile’s big league action came last year, when he drew positive pitch-framing marks in 42 games behind the plate and threw out seven of 18 would-be base stealers.

Quick Hits: Rockies, Rays, Orioles, Rangers, Giants

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The Rockies and the Metropolitan Baseball Stadium District, which owns Coors Field, agreed to a 30-year, $200MM lease Wednesday to continue housing the team there, reports Nick Groke of the Denver Post. The two sides had spent four years negotiating the contract, which Major League Baseball approved Wednesday. The Rockies’ lease would have expired Thursday without an agreement, and that could have put their future in question. Instead, they’re now in line to remain at Coors Field through 2047. And, to the team’s credit, none of the pending $200MM in improvements to the stadium will come via taxpayer money. Coors opened in 1995 at a cost of $300MM, more than half of which ($162MM) was public money.

More from the majors:

  • If the Rays don’t pare down their 40-man roster by trading catcher Curt Casali, they’re likely to designate fellow backstop Luke Maile or right-hander Ryan Garton for assignment, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Topkin first noted last week, after the Rays had signed Derek Norris, that Casali or Maile might not be long for the organization. The team optioned the two catchers and Garton to the minors Wednesday.
  • The Orioles are aiming for a May 10 return for right-hander Chris Tillman, manager Buck Showalter informed David Hall of MLB.com. Tillman has been dealing with a shoulder issue since early in the offseason, though he does feel good about the progress he has made, per Hall. When he comes back, not only will Tillman try to help pitch the Orioles to another playoff berth, but the free agent-to-be will attempt to make a case for a rich contract.
  • Rangers righty Andrew Cashner seemed likely to return from biceps tendinitis by April 15, the first time the team will need a fifth starter, but that’s n0w in doubt. Pitching coach Doug Brocail told Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News that he’s “not real optimistic” Cashner will debut in two weeks, and noted: “I want to make sure that when we get him back, we get him back for the full year. I don’t want any setbacks.” In the meantime, Texas could turn to Dillon Gee and/or Nick Martinez to fill in for Cashner.
  • The Giants have chosen righty Neil Ramirez over southpaw Steven Okert for their final bullpen spot, Alex Espinoza of MLB.com was among those to report. The out-of-options Ramirez, who inked a minor league pact with the Giants over the winter, planned to opt out of the deal had he not made their roster, tweets FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. San Francisco “didn’t want to lose Ramirez,” said manager Bruce Bochy, whose bullpen will open the year with one lefty (Ty Blach).
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