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Marco Gonzales

Mariners Place Felix Hernandez On 10-Day DL

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The Mariners have announced that they’ve placed righty Felix Hernandez on the 10-day DL with right biceps tendinitis. To take his place on the active roster (and to start for him today against Kansas City), they’ve recalled righty Marco Gonzales from Triple-A Tacoma.

Hernandez has struggled in his last two starts, giving up a total of eight runs over 11 innings against Boston and Texas, and he’s in the midst of an uncharacteristically uninspiring season, with a 4.28 ERA, 8.4 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 over 73 2/3 innings. He also missed time earlier this season to a right shoulder inflammation. Nonetheless, the timing of his current injury comes as somewhat of a surprise. It’s unclear, at this point, how much time we’ll need to miss, but a second bout of arm trouble is never welcome news to player or team. As Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets, Hernandez’s injury could increase the likelihood of the Mariners acquiring a starter via a waiver trade.

The Mariners last month acquired Gonzales from the Cardinals for Tyler O’Neill. He briefly appeared in the big leagues with St. Louis earlier this season but has not yet pitched in a game with the Mariners, although GM Jerry Dipoto said last week that he was impressed with Gonzales and expected him to appear in the big leagues later in the season. He has a 3.02 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 over 86 1/3 minor-league innings this year after missing all of 2016 after having Tommy John surgery.

AL Notes: Twins, Indians, Mariners

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The Twins already dealt for Jaime Garcia, but their recent slide in the standings (they’ve lost their last four games and are now 50-51) could result in them dealing Garcia and other veterans, as Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press notes. Trade candidates (in addition to Garcia) could include Ervin Santana, Brandon Kintzler, Eduardo Escobar, Brian Dozier, Matt Belisle and Kyle Gibson. Interestingly, Berardino relates an anecdote from current Twins GM and former Rangers exec Thad Levine about the Rangers’ ill-fated trade of Adrian Gonzalez and Chris Young to San Diego for a package headed by Adam Eaton (the former starting pitcher, not the current outfielder). “We realized this very soon after making some of those moves (in 2006) that we made some short-sighted decisions,” says Levine. “I think they were born out of a central flaw in our decision-making process, which you see across a lot of sports, which was we miscalculated where we were in the winning continuum. I think we thought we were the proverbial one player away when we really weren’t.” Here’s more from the American League.

  • The Indians are most likely to pursue relievers and/or bench players before the deadline, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweets, adding that the club could be active during waiver trading season in August. The implication seems to be that the Indians are unlikely to be involved in any huge moves in the next two days. The team had previously been connected to big bats like J.D. Martinez and Jay Bruce.
  • After acquiring pitchers David Phelps, Erasmo Ramirez and Marco Gonzales, the Mariners are probably done making trades this month, writes MLB.com’s Greg Johns. “We’re always open,” says GM Jerry Dipoto. “The phone is never very far from me, and there are areas we can improve, so we’ll keep our ears to the street. The likelihood is there probably isn’t going to be another move, but I would have told you that two days ago as well.” Dipoto adds that he’s impressed with Gonzales, who he describes as “about as big-league-ready as a Triple-A pitcher could be” and says will be back in the big leagues at some point this season.

Mariners Acquire Marco Gonzales From Cardinals For Tyler O’Neill

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The Mariners have acquired left-hander Marco Gonzales from the Cardinals in exchange for minor league outfielder Tyler O’Neill, as per a Mariners press release.

[Related: updated Cardinals and Mariners depth charts at Roster Resource]

[Related: MLBTR’s Cardinals news and rumors page on Facebook]

The 25-year-old Gonzales is only just making his way back from a pair of injury-plagued seasons.  Gonzales missed a good chunk of 2015 due to shoulder problems and then all of 2016 due to Tommy John surgery.  The southpaw posted a 2.90 ERA, 3.35 K/BB rate and 7.5 K/9 over 11 starts and 68 1/3 IP at the Triple-A level this season, and Gonzales made it back to the big leagues for one start this season, a 3 1/3-inning outing on June 13.

St. Louis drafted Gonzales 19th overall in 2013 and both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus ranked him as one of the top 52 prospects in the sport prior to the 2015 season.  BA ranked him as the #1 prospect in the Cardinals’ farm system that year, giving particular praise to Gonzales’ outstanding changeup.  The Cardinals thought enough of Gonzales that they promoted him to the majors barely a year after drafting him, and the lefty even made the Cards’ postseason roster in 2014, not allowing a run in five of his six outings in the playoffs.

Seattle was known to be looking for young pitching, and while Gonzales doesn’t project as an immediate upgrade for the current M’s rotation, he still possesses quite a bit of upside.  Beyond his potential on the mound, Gonzales also offers over six remaining years of team control; he isn’t eligible for arbitration until after the 2020 season, and won’t be a free agent until after 2023.  With Drew Smyly scheduled to miss most or all of 2018 recovering from Tommy John surgery and Hisashi Iwakuma and Yovani Gallardo both questionable to have their club options exercised for next season, Gonzales projects to be an important rotation piece for the 2018 Mariners.

In acquiring Gonzales, the M’s gave up a well-regarded young player in O’Neill, who was comfortably positioned within preseason top-1oo prospect lists from MLB.com (36th), Baseball America (38th), Baseball Prospectus (53rd).  Power is O’Neill’s calling card, as he has 89 homers over 1794 minor league plate appearances, including 19 this season at the Triple-A level.  O’Neill got off to something of a slow start in his first taste of Triple-A action, though he has recovered to post a .244/.328/.479 slash line through 396 PA.  He has cut down on his strikeouts over the last two seasons, though he still gets more than his share of whiffs, with 108 strikeouts this season.  O’Neill’s plate discipline and average corner outfield defense are also works in progress, though the 22-year-old Canadian has so much raw power and overall hitting potential that the Cardinals are surely willing to tolerate some growing pains.

O’Neill joins several other interesting young outfielders in the St. Louis farm system, and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale speculates that the Cards could now look to move an outfielder from their MLB roster in the offseason.  This could imply that Randal Grichuk or Stephen Piscotty could become trade chips, though the Cardinals would be selling low on either player in the wake of lackluster 2017 seasons.

Quick Hits: Martinez, Gonzales, Altavilla

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The Tigers themselves are waiting to see how what general manager Al Avila calls “the J.D. Martinez situation” unfolds, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press writes. The Tigers are currently mired in third place at 29-32, but could potentially work their way more clearly toward contention, or out of it, over the next month. If they do find themselves leaning toward trading him, the quality of Martinez’s own play and his health are two more variables, along with which contenders want him and how badly. The Tigers could also keep him and collect a draft pick should he reject a qualifying offer, although they might stand to get more if they trade him this summer. Employees from other teams suggest the return for Martinez might not be spectacular, but it would be considerable. “Maybe the ‘1A’ prospect. Not the tip-top, but among the better group,” says an NL scout. “I’d happily give away our No. 2 and No. 4 prospect,” says a scout from the AL. Martinez has clearly established himself as a consistent power hitter, and his .297/.389/.714 line in 108 plate appearances since returning from a spring foot injury can’t hurt his stock. Here’s more from around the league.

  • Cardinals lefty Marco Gonzales will make his first big-league appearance since 2015 in a start on Tuesday, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com writes. Gonzales made it to the Majors barely a year after the Cardinals picked him 19th overall in the 2013 draft, but he struggled in 2015 and missed the entire 2016 season after having Tommy John surgery. Now, after six mostly successful minor-league starts, he’s back.
  • Mariners special assistant and former scouting director Tom McNamara says his club “got lucky” in finding righty Dan Altavilla out of Division II Mercyhurst University and taking him in the fifth round of the 2014 draft, David Laurila writes in his weekly notes column for FanGraphs. The Mariners had already seen Altavilla pitch in the Cape Cod League, but ended up taking him in part because of a coincidence of geography, as Altavilla happened to be pitching again a few miles from where Mariners officials were watching another game. “We were going to watch LSU versus Vanderbilt,” says McNamara. “It was (Aaron) Nola against (Tyler) Beede. Our scout who had Pennsylvania, Mike Moriarty, told us, ‘Hey, you know what? You guys could see the kid from Mercyhurst, too. He’s pitching at noon, and then you can go see the Vanderbilt game at seven o’clock. So we went.” Now, of course, Altavilla is a hard-throwing reliever in the Mariners’ bullpen.

NL Central Notes: Lorenzen, Kang, Gosselin, Cardinals, Gonzales

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Reds righty Michael Lorenzen’s August 19 home run soon after the death of his father Clif was the most notable highlight of the team’s season. But Lorenzen’s father was troubled by substance abuse, and their relationship was complex, as the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Zach Buchanan writes in a long piece about what that home run meant. After Lorenzen’s father left when he was 12, Lorenzen began getting into trouble himself, and his older brother, Jonathan, had his own pro baseball career derailed when the Dodgers released him after he allegedly had sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old girl at their Spring Training site. Michael Lorenzen cites finding faith as a teenager as a turning point in his life. Now, Lorenzen looks back at his home run — which came in the seventh inning of a 9-2 win against the Dodgers — as evidence that his father’s death had a purpose, as he frequently receives messages from fans telling him that moment was an inspiration to them. Here’s more from the NL Central.

  • The Pirates expect that third baseman Jung Ho Kang will not attempt to move his February 22 court date in South Korea and will therefore miss the beginning of Spring Training, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. The Bucs’ acquisition of fellow infielder Phil Gosselin from the Diamondbacks on Friday was made with the expectation that Kang would be out indefinitely as he faces trial for driving drunk and leaving the scene of a DUI crash. Kang’s arrest in early December was his third DUI arrest in South Korea. The Gosselin trade “does serve as insurance (for Kang’s absence) if needed,” says Pirates GM Neal Huntington. “But we also have been looking for an extra right-handed hitter, and Gosselin is a guy who can play multiple positions.”
  • Cardinals manager Mike Matheny is unimpressed by Baseball Prospectus’ recent PECOTA projection that his team would finish a disappointing 76-86 this season, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. “That’s unbelievable. Yeah, I saw it. I hope the guys saw it, too,” Matheny says. “I just want to make sure our guys take a good look around and see what we really are and what we have. We’ve got guys who are motivated. Guys have an edge as to how it finished last year. We’ve got the makings of a fun, fun season.” Matheny says his team will pay increased attention to defensive coaching in Spring Training this year, and it seems part of his plan for improving in 2017 will be getting better defensive performances from his infielders. He notes that many of his infielders (such as Aledmys Diaz and Kolten Wong) enter the upcoming season with what could be valuable extra years of experience, and points out that other players, such as Jedd Gyorko and Randal Grichuk, played positions last season at which they had limited big-league experience. Gyorko could return to a roving role this year. The offseason signing of Dexter Fowler will bump Grichuk back to a corner outfield spot.
  • Cardinals lefty Marco Gonzales threw from a mound on Friday for the first time in almost a year, Hummel also notes. Gonzales had Tommy John surgery in April and also missed much of the 2015 season due to injury. The former first-round draft pick hopes to pitch in game action by May. That timeline (which presumably would include a rehab assignment) would have him back on an active roster (whether that’s in Triple-A Memphis or in St. Louis) by early summer.

Cardinals Notes: Mozeliak, Martinez, Wacha, Dozier, Gonzales

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Cardinals GM John Mozeliak addressed questions from fans and media during the club’s Winter Warm-Up event this weekend.  Here are some of Mozeliak’s hot stove-related comments, courtesy of Derrick Goold, Jeff Gordon and Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch…

  • After failing to reach agreements with Carlos Martinez or Michael Wacha before Friday’s arbitration filing deadline, the Cardinals won’t pursue further negotiation with either right-hander and will instead go to arbitration hearings.  Martinez asked for $4.25MM while the Cards countered with a $3.9MM offer, and Wacha filed for $3.2MM with a $2.775MM counter from St. Louis.  As Goold notes, this will be the first time the Cardinals have gone to an arbitration hearing with any player in 17 years.  Mozeliak explained that the Cards had explored using the “file-and-trial” strategy in the last couple of years before finally taking the stance during this winter’s crop of arb-eligible players.
  • Martinez and the Cardinals were discussing a multi-year extension this winter, though obviously no agreement was reached before Friday’s deadline.  The hearing “would not put a chill” on the relationship between the two sides, as Goold put it, so talks could very possibly resume during Spring Training once Martinez’s 2017 salary has been decided by the arbiter.  For his part, Martinez said (via an interpreter) that he wants to spend the rest of his career with the team.
  • St. Louis was rather surprisingly linked to Brian Dozier’s name in trade rumors last month, though later reports downplayed the Cardinals’ interest.  Mozeliak said his team’s pursuit of Dozier “was news to me.”  As Goold explains, the connection could have been due to the Cards’ discussions with teams in order to properly gauge market values, rather than an actual interest in acquiring Dozier.  “If [the Cardinals] knew what a top-tier second baseman was going to command on this pricey trade market then they also could evaluate their own players, and they could evaluate their own offers,” Goold writes.
  • Left-hander Marco Gonzales said he is feeling healthy and is hoping to begin the season in the Triple-A rotation.  Gonzales, picked 19th overall by the Cardinals in 2013, quickly reached the bigs to toss 34 2/3 innings for the club in 2014, and injuries have since derailed his progress.  Shoulder problems limited the southpaw to just one game in 2015, and Gonzales missed all of 2016 due to Tommy John surgery.

Cardinals’ Marco Gonzales To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Cardinals left-hander Marco Gonzales will undergo Tommy John surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow, Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak confirmed to reporters, including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link). Gonzales has reportedly been weighing surgery to repair an elbow problem, though the specific nature of the surgery, to this point, had not been definitively reported.

The 24-year-old Gonzales was St. Louis’ top pick in the 2013 draft (19th overall) and made his Major League debut with the Cardinals the next season, appearing in 10 games (five starts) and recording a 4.15 ERA with 8.0 K/9, 5.5 BB/9 and a 36.3 percent ground-ball rate in 34 2/3 innings. Gonzales, who rates as the Cardinals’ No. 7 prospect at MLB.com and No. 5 according to Baseball America, missed a significant portion of the 2015 season due to shoulder troubles. He pitched at Class-A Advanced, Double-A and Triple-A, compiling a 4.69 ERA in the minors. Gonzales also tossed 2 2/3 innings in the Majors last year.

The Cardinals’ pitching ranks have been thinned out substantially in the past nine months, with Gonzales and right-hander Lance Lynn each falling to Tommy John procedures. Beyond that, No. 1 prospect Alex Reyes, a right-hander, received a 50-game suspension back in November. The Cards added right-hander Mike Leake on a five-year deal in the offseason to replenish some of the depth in their rotation, which presently features Leake, Adam Wainwright, Michael Wacha, Carlos Martinez and Jaime Garcia. Left-hander Tim Cooney, who made six starts for St. Louis last season, is the likeliest candidate to be recalled and step into the rotation should a need arise.

NL Injury Notes: Winkler, Gonzales, Solarte, Edgin

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Braves righty Daniel Winkler, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2014 and missed most of last season, left the club’s game Sunday in agony with a fractured elbow, Mark Saxon of ESPN.com was among those to report (on Twitter). Winkler, whom Atlanta took from Colorado during the offseason’s Rule 5 draft, was off to a hot start as a member of the Braves’ bullpen. Prior to the injury, he had gone 2 1/3 innings without allowing a hit or a run, adding four strikeouts against one walk. It’s currently unknown how much time Winkler will miss, but given the significance of the injury, the rest of the season seems like a strong possibility for the 26-year-old.

Here’s more injury news from around the National League:

  • Cardinals lefty Marco Gonzales is deciding whether to undergo elbow surgery after consulting with doctors, including renowned orthopedic surgeon Neal ElAttrache, tweets Saxon. It’s unknown what type of surgery Gonzales is considering, writes Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. If the 24-year-old undergoes Tommy John surgery, he’d face a 12- to 18-month recovery, Langosch notes. Prior to notifying the Cardinals’ medical staff of elbow discomfort during the final week of Spring Training, Gonzales was expected to serve as rotation depth for the club this season. Gonzales, who dealt with shoulder issues last season, has logged a 4.82 ERA with 7.7 K/9 against 5.3 BB/9 in 37 1/3 MLB innings.
  • Padres third baseman Yangervis Solarte is headed to the 15-day disabled list with a right hamstring injury, paving the way for the call-up of utility man Alexi Amarista, according to Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Solarte slashed an eye-popping .375/.474/.563 over his first 19 plate appearances this year. Amarista fared well in a minuscule sample size for Triple-A El Paso to start the year, but he recorded a weak .204/.257/.287 in 357 PAs for the Padres last season and hasn’t exactly been stellar in his 1,575 big league PAs (.227/.274/.325). He does, however, offer versatility, having spent time at six different positions in the infield and outfield during his career.
  • Another past Tommy John recipient, Mets reliever Josh Edgin, began a rehab assignment Sunday with 2/3 of an inning at Class-A St. Lucie and is on track for an early May return, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (Twitter link). The southpaw last saw action in 2014, when he served as a shutdown option for the Mets in compiling a 9.22 K/9 and 1.98 BB/9 to accompany a stingy 1.32 ERA in 27 1/3 innings.

NL Central Notes: Gonzales, Pena, Polanco

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Here’s the latest out of the National League Central:

  • Cardinals lefty Marco Gonzales is being assessed for a left elbow injury, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch reports. The 24-year-old is slated to visit orthopedic surgeon Neal ElAttrache — one of the foremost experts on pitching elbows — for a second opinion. Per GM John Mozeliak, Gonzales did not report discomfort until after he had been moved to minor league camp this spring, which might suggest that the club will be able to avoid allowing Gonzales to accrue service time during any DL stint. The young southpaw has previously battled through shoulder issues, but this appears to be a new problem. Though he’s only managed a 4.82 ERA with 7.7 K/9 against 5.3 BB/9 over his 37 1/3 MLB innings, Gonzales had been expected to factor into the club’s major league rotation depth in 2016 and beyond.
  • In other Cardinals injury news, reserve backstop Brayan Pena is expected to miss a month after undergoing knee surgery, Langosch reports. While there was some positive news, in that no additional problems were discovered beyond the loose piece of cartilage that had been identified, the absence is somewhat longer than had been hoped. Eric Fryer will hold down the fort in Pena’s stead, but certainly the Cards will look forward to Pena’s return, having signed him to a two-year, $5MM deal before the season.
  • The Pirates’ extension of Gregory Polanco represents the club’s latest long-term deal with a key outfielder. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports questions whether the youngster gave up too much — namely, three years of potential free agency, the latter two via option — in taking a $35MM guarantee. On the one hand, Polanco is regarded as a quality defender and an excellent baserunner, giving him a solid floor even if he’s only an average hitter, and there’s certainly upside in the bat. Of course, for a player who has yet to finish a season with an above-average batting line, and didn’t land a big bonus when he signed initially, it’s hard to turn down that kind of commitment even if it mans sacrificing some future earning power. Indeed, there are plenty of players who earned quite a bit more than they would have without the benefit of an early-career extension, with former Bucs outfielder Jose Tabata being a prime example.
  • Meanwhile, John Perrotto of TodaysKnuckleball.com chronicles some of the background considerations and back-and-forth over the years between Polanco and the Pirates. The youngster took his time before finally signing on the dotted line, of course, as there had been reports of negotiations stretching back for over two years. But with the ink now dry, both sides expressed excitement at the arrangement in their press conference announcing the deal.

Cardinals Notes: Heyward, Martinez, Moss, Bourjos, Matheny, Coaches

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The Cardinals’ 2015 season came to an end this week after the team fell to the division-rival Cubs in Game 4 of the NLDS at Wrigley Field. That means that club’s immediate focus now becomes the offseason, and the chief question with which St. Louis figures to be faced is whether or not the team can re-sign Jason Heyward. Whether or note Heyward remains in St. Louis is up for debate, but GM John Mozeliak made clear today that the Cards want to bring Heyward back into the fold on a long-term deal, writes MLB.com’s Jen Langosch. Heyward “was a tremendous fit on this club [and] did exactly what we wanted him to do,” said Mozeliak, who added that the team’s wait for a Heyward decision in free agency won’t handcuff its other offseason pursuits.

A few more notes on the Cards as they gear up for the winter…

  • Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch also has a breakdown of issues discussed by Mozeliak when talking to the media today. The GM gave good news when it comes to young right-hander Carlos Martinez, revealing that there are no plans for the 24-year-old to undergo surgery to repair his ailing shoulder. Rather, he’ll spend the offseason at the team’s spring complex in Jupiter, Fla. and go through what Goold terms a “more regimented” offseason under the guidance of the club’s training staff.
  • Also from Goold, the Cardinals have interest in bringing Brandon Moss back for at least a bench role. “Obviously Moss was someone we acquired because we like his power potential and we like his flexibility he gives you being able to play outfield or first,” said Mozeliak. “He’ll have a spot at some point.” The question facing the Cardinals when it comes to Moss, I’d imagine, is whether they can find a way to bring him back at a cheaper price. Moss earned $6.5MM in 2015 and is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $7.9MM in 2016. That seems too expensive for a part-time player with limited defensive upside.
  • Mozeliak was more vague when it came to the team’s interest in retaining outfielder Peter Bourjos. Acquired from the Angels alongside Randal Grichuk in the 2013-14 offseason, Bourjos has received inconsistent playing time and undergone hip surgery since his acquisition, either of which may have contributed to diminished performance. “As far as Peter goes, I don’t think it ever worked to the point where we were hopeful of,” Mozeliak explained. “That doesn’t mean we’re at the point to give up either. We’ll reassess and look at what our opportunities look like over the next six weeks or so.” Bourjos is projected to earn an affordable $1.8MM in arbitration, but with Matt Holliday, Grichuk, Stephen Piscotty, Jon Jay and Tommy Pham all in the fold, it’s certainly easy to envision him being traded to another club. (Moving Holliday to first base, Mozeliak said, isn’t a consideration.) A non-tender strikes me as unlikely, simply because Bourjos’ defensive ceiling is so high. A team in need of center field options such as the Brewers, Indians, Mariners or Padres would make some sense to me as a fit.
  • Tyler Lyons or Marco Gonzales could emerge as left-handed relief options in next year’s bullpen, according to Mozeliak (via Goold). The Cardinals like the idea of using either in the bullpen because they’d be less-specialized options than Randy Choate was over the past few seasons.
  • As Langosch notes, the team hasn’t made a decision on Jaime Garcia’s $11.5MM option, but the Cardinals feel he exceeded their expectations in 2015. “You think back to Garcia, and the impact that he made on our roster was extremely positive,” said Mozeliak. “If we were having this conversation in February, I don’t think any of us would have thought he was going to contribute, especially the way he did.” I’d expect the option to be exercised, especially considering Mozeliak’s August comments on Garcia.
  • Don’t expect many (or any) changes in the Cardinals dugout, as Goold writes that the entire coaching staff has been invited back for the 2016 season.
  • Bernie Miklasz of 101 ESPN examines the difficulties of managing in the social media era as part of a lengthy piece on manager Mike Matheny. While Miklasz notes that he has often been critical of Matheny himself, he also opines the onslaught of criticism Matheny received during the NLDS wasn’t necessarily deserved, as Matheny alone was not the reason for the Cardinals’ early exit from the playoffs.
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