AL Central Notes: Tigers Pitching, Harrison, Jay, Garver
The Tigers are still rooting around for innings, but that doesn’t mean that a certain long-time MLB hurler is destined for Detroit. GM Al Avila directly rejected a report from the Dominican Republic that suggested the Tigers were close to reaching a deal with Bartolo Colon, as Evan Woodberry of MLive.com writes. Still, there’s an obvious need for organizational depth. As skipper Ron Gardenhire puts it: “We don’t have enough [pitchers] down there in the minor leagues that can really come up and do anything right now. They’re not ready for this.”
More from the American League Central:
- Tigers infielder Josh Harrison is undergoing an MRI today after suffering an injury to his left hamstring, Gardenhire told reporters including Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter). The 31-year-old has been off to an ugly start with the bat, slashing just .176/.219/.265 in 146 plate appearances, but he’s a respected veteran presence and there’s still hope he could get things going and turn into a summer trade piece. It’ll be interesting to see whether the Tigers bring back Jeimer Candelario if Harrison requires an IL stint. The 25-year-old has stung the ball at Triple-A since being optioned. Dawel Lugo, who has struggled since being installed at third base, could be bumped over to second.
- It seems that a rehab assignment is the next step up for White Sox outfielder Jon Jay, as Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. Jay has taken quite some time to recover from an injury suffered this spring that, per Van Schouwen, “affected his hip, low back and groin.” The veteran outfielder is testing his body in extended Spring Training but seems to be on track to join an affiliate in short order.
- As if they needed the boost, the Twins may not go long without catcher Mitch Garver. As Judd Zulgad of SKOR North tweets, Garver is slated for a quick rehab assignment and could return to the MLB roster by the weekend. It seemed the outlook could have been much worse when he suffered a high ankle sprain recently. Garver, 28, has been one of baseball’s most intriguing early performers, turning in a .329/.418/.747 batting line with nine home runs in 91 plate appearances to open the year.
Twins Activate Miguel Sano, Place Mitch Garver On IL
The Twins announced today that third baseman Miguel Sano is heading back onto the MLB roster. He’ll take the place of backstop Mitch Garver, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list after suffering an ankle sprain last night.
Sano, who just celebrated his 26th birthday, has been working back from a heel injury that cost him much more time than had been anticipated. The AL Central-leading Twins also used the opportunity to allow the slugger plenty of time to see pitching in the minors.
It’ll be fascinating to see how Sano responds to MLB pitching. He entered spring camp with a new physique and showing plenty of promise after a rough 2018 campaign. He has posted a .316/.364/.579 slash in his 44 rehab plate appearances.
The Twins will hope that Sano can get back to the high-level offensive output that he showed earlier in his career. He batted .264/.352/.507 and launched 28 long balls in 483 plate appearances in 2017, so it hasn’t been that long since he was a productive bat.
Unfortunately, the move comes in conjunction with the loss of Garver, who was off to a breakout start to the year. His timeline isn’t yet known. Fortunately, the team can still rely upon Jason Castro and Willians Astudillo behind the dish during Garver’s absence.
Twins’ Mitch Garver Diagnosed With High Ankle Sprain
Twins catcher Mitch Garver exited tonight’s game after a play at the plate and has been diagnosed with a high ankle sprain, the team told reporters (Twitter link via Dan Hayes of The Athletic). He’ll be further evaluated tomorrow.
Garver was injured on what ultimately proved to be a game-saving play in the eighth inning; Byron Buxton threw out Shohei Ohtani to end the frame in a 4-3 game, but Ohtani slid into Garver’s planted leg. Garver had to be helped off the field and was unable to place weight on his left leg (video link).
While Garver is hardly a household name, any notable injury for the 28-year-old would be a sizable loss for the Twins. He’s off to a blistering start to the 2019 season, hitting at a .329/.418/.747 clip with nine long balls — including a two-run shot that proved to be the difference tonight — through his first 91 plate appearances. Combined with infielder/catcher Willians Astudillo (.290/.303/.484) and a resurgent Jason Castro (.245/.362/.612), Garver has helped to comprise a highly productive trio of catching options for the first-place Twins.
The presence of both Castro and Astudillo on the roster suggests that the Twins wouldn’t need to call up a catcher in the perhaps likely event that Garver requires a stint on the injured list. Minnesota doesn’t have any other catchers on its 40-man roster anyhow, so it seems likely that they’d continue with the Astudillo/Castro pairing, perhaps with Astudillo working in a slightly more conventional role in a two-catcher setup.
Twins Select Juan Graterol
Per a team press release, the Twins have selected the contract of catcher Juan Graterol from Triple-A Rochester. He’ll head to Oakland tonight to join the MLB team. Ervin Santana has been transferred to the 60-day DL in order to make room for him on the roster.
Minnesota signed the 29-year-old Graterol to a minors pact in late June after he was designated for assignment and subsequently released by the Angels. His lone MLB plate appearance on the season resulted in a single, but he’d also spent parts of 2016 an 2017 in Los Angeles and racked up just over 100 trips to the plate during that time. The backstop owns a lifetime .222/.225/.283 batting line at the MLB level, though he’s perhaps better known for sound defense behind the plate.
Since joining the Rochester Red Wings, Graterol has posted a .284/.317/.336 batting line across 123 MiLB plate appearances. That comes with a sustainable .289 BABIP, so there’s at least some optimism surrounding his potential to make good contact in the majors. But the more fascinating element of Graterol’s game is his plate discipline profile. He’s got just a 2.4% strikeout rate with the Red Wings, along with a 1.6% walk rate. Put more simply, Graterol swings often, and he doesn’t miss very much. He’ll sit behind Willians Astudillo and Chris Gimenez on the Twins’ depth chart.
Latest On Twins’ Plans At Catcher
Twins assistant GM Rob Antony joined 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson on his latest podcast episode, discussing a wide range of topics from Jason Castro‘s season-ending injury, to some pending free agents, some health updates on injured players and prospects to watch at the team’s Class-A club (audio link, with Antony joining for about 20 minutes beginning at 24:30). Most notably, Antony and Wolfson discuss not only the specifics of Castro’s injury, but the organization’s potential need to pursue outside help at catcher.
Regarding the injury to Castro, Antony explains that initial imaging on the catcher’s knee revealed some tearing in the meniscus, but both Twins doctors and independent doctors who were consulted agreed that Castro would be able to return this season with a minor cleanup. (His initial prognosis upon being scheduled for surgery was around six weeks.) Upon performing the surgery, however, the tearing was found to be extensive enough that without a full repair of the meniscus, Castro’s career as a catcher would’ve been in jeopardy.
It doesn’t sound as if one singular incident this season led to the issue for Castro, who has had meniscus and ACL injuries in the past. In fact, Antony notes that Castro had no issues running straight or even catching, but the knee bothered him greatly when rotating through his swing at the plate and rounding the bases. Certainly, Castro’s .143/.257/.238 slash — down from .242/.333/.388 a year prior — exemplifies the difficulties he had on offense.
Initial reports have suggested that Minnesota won’t rush out to make a significant addition behind the plate. La Velle E. Neal of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported the other night that while the team is discussing its options, no decisions have been made (Twitter links). Neal suggested that if anything, the club could add a veteran depth piece to stash in Triple-A in order to give them further options beyond rookie Mitch Garver, now the team’s No. 1 catcher, and veteran backup Bobby Wilson.
Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press expressed similar views in profiling how Garver, long rated as one of the organization’s more promising prospects, is in line to receive a legitimate opportunity to show he can handle the primary job. Garver hit .291/.387/.541 with 17 homers in Triple-A last season and is off to a .254/.309/.413 start in 68 plate appearances with the Twins in 2018. Antony did nothing to suggest that Garver won’t be given a real chance, but he did indicate that the team is actively exploring the market for help.
“I would say it’s probably safe to say we’re going to have to acquire somebody, whether it’s for insurance or to be on the big league squad as a [number] one or two [option],” Antony said. “…I don’t think we’re going to sell the farm to acquire a catcher that’s not going to be an impact guy and is kind of a ‘tide you over until Castro is ready next year,’ but we will look to see if we can improve our situation and our depth, definitely.”
Per Antony, the club is more confident in Garver’s bat than that of Wilson, but the Twins also believe Wilson to be a more polished defender than Garver. So while Garver seems in line to shoulder most of the load, it’s possible that Wilson sees slightly more playing time than a true backup, though surely their on-field performances will ultimately dictate the timeshare.
In the meantime, the Twins have received calls from other clubs with catchers to offer, per Antony, but conversations with those teams “have not progressed to the point where we’re deep in talks with anybody right now.”
Certainly, there are teams around the league with catching options to offer. Marlins star J.T. Realmuto was among the most oft-discussed trade candidates of the past offseason and figures to be a staple on the rumor circuit again this summer, though he’ll have an enormous price tag attached to him with two and a half years of club control remaining. Seldom-used Red Sox catcher/outfielder/first baseman Blake Swihart will also be on the rumor circuit until what feels like an inevitable trade is completed following this week’s trade request from his agent. The Rays, meanwhile, probably wouldn’t mind shedding the salary of hot-hitting Wilson Ramos while simultaneously adding a piece or two of intrigue to their minor league ranks.
As far as depth options who are unsigned at present, Miguel Montero (released by the Nationals last month), Carlos Ruiz (reportedly playing in his native Panama) and Geovany Soto are among the most notable available names.
Jason Castro Out Four To Six Weeks Following Knee Surgery
Twins catcher Jason Castro, already on the disabled list due to a tear in his right meniscus, will undergo surgery and miss another four to six weeks of action, manager Paul Molitor tells reporters (Twitter links via Brandon Warne of ZoneCoverage.com). He’ll undergo surgery tomorrow to have part of his meniscus removed.
The 30-year-old Castro hasn’t looked right at the plate this season, hitting just .143/.257/.238 leading up to last week’s placement on the disabled list. While he was hardly an offensive force for Minnesota last season, he still slashed .242/.333/.388 with 10 homers — production that was slightly above-average relative to other catchers throughout the league and a bit below the overall league average for big league hitters (by measure of wRC+). He’s earning $8MM in 2018 — the second season of a three-year, $24.5MM deal that’ll pay him $8MM once again in 2019.
With Castro on the shelf for the foreseeable future, rookie Mitch Garver should continue on as the Twins’ primary receiver behind the dish. Minnesota selected the contract of veteran Bobby Wilson last week at the time of Castro’s initial injury, but he’s likely to remain in a backup role. Garver, 27, ranked among the Twins’ top 20 prospects in 2017 before debuting late in the year. He’s hitting .250/.311/.411 with a pair of homers through 61 plate appearances so far in 2018.