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Nick Hundley

Phillies Release Nick Hundley

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The Phillies’ top affiliate announced today that catcher Nick Hundley has been given his release. He had joined the club on a minors deal after being cut loose earlier this year by the Athletics.

Hundley is closing in on his 36th birthday. A veteran of a dozen MLB campaigns, he’s a highly respected signal-caller and clubhouse member. He had signed on with the A’s on a minors deal but made the club out of camp.

Unfortunately, Hundley was not able to keep pace offensively in Oakland. Over 73 plate appearances in the majors, he scratched out a .200/.233/.357 batting line with just two walks and two homers. The struggles have continued at Lehigh Valley, where he struck out 17 times in just 36 trips to the plate.

The timing of the move will allow Hundley to catch on with another organization while retaining his postseason eligibility — if he inks a new deal tomorrow, before the end of the month. While it’s hard to imagine a contender planning for a playoff roster that includes Hundley, he’d be a useful insurance policy given his extensive experience.

Phillies To Sign Nick Hundley

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TODAY: There is a deal in place, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link).

YESTERDAY: The Phillies are closing in on a minor league contract with veteran catcher Nick Hundley, Roster Roundup reports (Twitter link).

With J.T. Realmuto holding down everyday duties, Hundley gives the Phils more backup depth beyond Andrew Knapp, who has only a .191/.315/.266 slash line through 113 plate appearances.  Knapp hit decently well in his 2017 rookie season, but has since posted very subpar offensive numbers, plus unimpressive framing and blocking statistics.

Hundley’s own defensive metrics, not to mention his caught-stealing numbers, have also been in decline, though the 35-year-old has traditionally been able to deliver a bit more at the plate, his lackluster 2019 slash line notwithstanding.  Hundley was a career .248/.300/.406 hitter heading into this season, though back and knee problems limited him to just 73 PA with the Athletics this season.  Oakland released Hundley two weeks ago.

Athletics Release Nick Hundley

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The Athletics have released catcher Nick Hundley, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The veteran catcher was designated for assignment last week.

The move marks the end of a disappointing Athletics tenure for Hundley, who signed with the club on a minor-league contract last winter. He slashed an underwhelming .200/.233/.357 in just 73 plate appearances. That lack of production, coupled with injuries that limited his availability, left Hundley falling behind the A’s other catching options in Chris Herrman and Josh Phegley.

Despite his struggles, Hundley’s experience should earn him another chance with a team in search of depth behind the plate. Prior to this season, he served as a capable backup for San Francisco’s Buster Posey. He’s the owner of a career .703 OPS—certainly an acceptable mark for a reserve catcher—but defensive metrics see his framing and control of the running game as below-average.

Athletics Designate Nick Hundley For Assignment

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The A’s have designated Nick Hundley for assignment after activating the catcher from the injured list, according to a team media release.

Hundley managed only a .200/.233/.357 slash line over 73 plate appearances for Oakland before going on the IL with back spasms back on June 8.  That seemingly minor IL stint led to a much lengthier absence as Hundley underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee ten days later, and the veteran backstop hasn’t since been back on the field.  This made Hundley the odd man out of an Oakland catching picture that consists of Chris Herrmann, Josh Phegley, and (at Triple-A) Beau Taylor.

With the experience of 12 MLB seasons on offer, Hundley is likely to find work with another team in need of catching depth, if he doesn’t end up remaining in Oakland’s system after an outright assignment.  He signed a minor league contract with the Athletics over the winter following two years serving as Buster Posey’s backup with the San Francisco Giants, with Hundley seeing more playing time than expected given Posey’s injury problems.  Over his career, Hundley has hit decently well for a catcher (.247/.299/.405 over 3373 PA), though his framing and caught-stealing numbers have recently been on the decline.

Latest On Athletics’ Catchers

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Injured Athletics catcher Nick Hundley is within 10 days of a rehab assignment as he recovers from back and knee issues, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Once Hundley comes back in August, though, the team could jettison him or one of the other three catchers on its 40-man roster, per Slusser. Indeed, when Hundley’s healthy enough to return, the Athletics “seem likely” to designate him, Chris Herrmann, Josh Phegley or Beau Taylor for assignment, Slusser observes. With the exception of Taylor, all of those backstops are out of minor league options.

The A’s goal entering the season was to roll with Hundley and Herrmann – both free-agent signings – as their two catchers, Slusser writes, but that plan changed when the latter underwent right knee surgery March 6. Herrmann sat out the first couple months of the season recovering from the procedure, only just coming off the IL on Tuesday. The 31-year-old emphatically introduced himself to Oakland that night, smashing a grand slam in a win over Minnesota (one of his ex-teams), and added a 4-for-4 performance in another victory against the Twins on Thursday.

While the lefty-swinging Herrmann’s off to a propitious start as an Athletic, he didn’t bring much of a big league track record to his new team. Also a former Diamondback and Mariner, Herrmann has hit just .206/.283/.354 (69 wRC+) in 903 major league plate appearances. He also hasn’t been a tower of strength behind the plate.

Hundley’s much more of an established commodity in the majors, where the well-traveled 35-year-old has typically provided solid offense for his position. That hasn’t been the case in 2019, though. Before Hundley headed to the IL with back spasms June 8 and then underwent arthroscopic left knee surgery on the 18th, the righty batted an unappealing .200/.233/.357 (54 wRC+) with 18 strikeouts against two walks in 73 PA. At the same time, Hundley threw out a mere 5 of 23 would-be base stealers and earned poor pitch-framing marks.

Herrmann’s absence helped reopen the door for Phegley, an Athletic since 2015 who entered this season off three straight low-impact years in the majors. Phegley’s now enjoying what could go down as a career offensive season, however, with a .259/.303/.463 line (102 wRC+) and nine home runs in 219 attempts. The righty-hitting Phegley has been particularly tough on lefties, whom he has teed off on for a .939 OPS, though his overall offensive production has nosedived since the start of June. Like Hundley, Phegley has not garnered rave reviews as a framer this year. Worsening matters, the 31-year-old rates as Baseball Prospectus’ second-worst blocker.

Taylor, 29, hasn’t gotten much of a chance in the majors since the A’s chose him in the fifth round of the 2011 draft. Dating back to his brief MLB debut last year, Taylor has collected 30 plate appearances at the game’s highest level. The lefty’s now at Triple-A Las Vegas, where he has slashed an excellent .306/.463/.524 (149 wRC+) across 160 tries this season. Despite that production, the A’s may not regard Taylor as a major league-caliber option, in which case his time on their 40-man could soon end.

Injury Notes: Carpenter, Hamels, Athletics, Pence

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The Cardinals placed third baseman Matt Carpenter on the injured list Tuesday because of lower back spasms, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. They recalled reliever John Brebbia from Triple-A Memphis to take Carpenter’s roster spot. Expectations are Carpenter will return July 12, the first game of the season’s second half, as Mark Saxon of The Athletic tweets. Injury aside, the normally excellent Carpenter is one of several Cardinals to come up short of expectations so far in 2019. The 33-year-old’s off to a .216/.325/.381 start (90 wRC+) with 10 home runs in 326 plate appearances, putting him on pace to fall way shy of last season’s 36-HR outburst. Carpenter hasn’t started since last Tuesday, which has left third base to Tommy Edman and Yairo Munoz over the past week.

Here’s more on a few other notable injury situations…

  • The Cubs seem to have dodged a worst-case scenario with injured southpaw Cole Hamels, who suffered a strained left oblique last Friday. Manager Joe Maddon revealed Tuesday that Hamels is “feeling a lot better quicker than we anticipated,” adding the 35-year-old’s MRI delivered positive results (via Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times). However, there’s still no timetable for the return of Hamels, who has joined the just-returned Kyle Hendricks as one of the Cubs’ top two starters this season.
  • A right knee sprain forced Athletics right fielder Stephen Piscotty to the IL last Sunday. While an MRI didn’t show a tear, Piscotty could still miss a month of action, according to manager Bob Melvin (via Martin Gallegos of MLB.com). Meanwhile, the Athletics finally activated catcher Chris Herrmann from the IL on Tuesday. Herrmann hasn’t gotten to play for the A’s yet since signing a one-year, $1MM deal with the team in the offseason, having undergone arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in early March. Oakland optioned fellow backstop Beau Taylor to Triple-A Las Vegas to clear a 25-man spot for Herrmann and moved injured catcher Nick Hundley to the 60-day IL to open up 40-man space.
  • Rangers All-Star designated hitter/outfielder Hunter Pence suffered a setback during his minor league rehab game Monday, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. There’s no new injury for Pence, who has been out since June 17 with a right groin strain, though it’s now possible he won’t be healthy enough to participate in the All-Star Game. Manager Chris Woodward said Tuesday that Pence is unlikely to return until after the break, but he could still get an at-bat in the Midsummer Classic.

Nick Hundley Undergoes Knee Surgery

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Injured Athletics catcher Nick Hundley underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Tuesday, per Martin Gallegos of MLB.com. He should return within six weeks, according to manager Bob Melvin (via Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle).

The 35-year-old Hundley has been on the injured list with back spasms since June 8, so his knee issue is a new development. Before Hundley landed on the IL, the respected veteran got off to an underwhelming start, hitting .200/.233/.357 (55 wRC+) in 73 plate appearances. He struggled defensively in the process, according to Baseball Prospectus.

Hundley, an ex-Padre, Oriole, Rockie and Giant, joined the Athletics on a minor league deal in February. Prior to that, the A’s plan was for Josh Phegley and Chris Herrmann to comprise their two catchers at the outset of 2019. However, Herrmann underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in March, which paved the way for Hundley to earn a roster spot.

While Hundley hasn’t performed well to this point, the normally light-hitting Phegley has been surprisingly effective. He and Beau Taylor, whom the A’s selected from Triple-A Las Vegas when Hundley went down, look as if they’ll continue to handle backstop duties for Oakland for as long as Hundley’s out.

Athletics Place Nick Hundley On IL, Select Beau Taylor

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The Athletics have placed catcher Nick Hundley on the 10-day injured list with back spasms and selected the contract of fellow backstop Beau Taylor from Triple-A Las Vegas, per a team announcement.

Hundley, whom Oakland signed to a minor league contract in February, made its roster but got off to a miserable start prior to his IL placement. The 35-year-old hit just .200/.233/.357 (55 wRC+) in 73 plate appearances before landing on the shelf. Nevertheless, he and Josh Phegley are the only Athletics catchers who have logged playing time this season.

A fifth-round pick of the A’s in 2011, Taylor experienced a brief stint with the club in 2018 but only picked up six PA. The A’s then outrighted Taylor on Nov. 5, only to re-sign him to a minor league deal a week later. The 28-year-old slashed an excellent .297/.450/.492 (141 wRC+) with five home runs and 33 walks against 38 strikeouts in 151 PA as a member of the team’s Triple-A affiliate before it called him back up.

AL West Notes: Gallo, Halos Hurlers, M’s, Herrmann, McHugh

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There’s little doubt that Rangers slugger Joey Gallo has drastically increased his career earnings outlook with a massive start to the current season. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News takes a look at the state of affairs on the extension front for baseball’s reigning three-true-outcomes king. The organization is obviously impressed, with manager Chris Woodward tabbing Gallo the club’s “best player” and GM Jon Daniels saying that he’s “mentally in a great spot.” Gallo says he’s not thinking about contracts, but agent Scott Boras surely is. As Grant notes, Boras’s assessment of Gallo’s season to date — “we are seeing the evolution of a superstar player” — offers a hint as to the kind of contract it might take to lock him up.

More from the American League West:

  • Angels righty JC Ramirez is set to launch a rehab assignment later this week, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Ramirez underwent Tommy John surgery last April. With his 30-day rehab clock set to be triggered, Ramirez is now back on the map as a near-term roster piece for the Halos. The club owes him $1,901,000 this year, with two more arb campaigns remaining. Though he has had some struggles in his time in the majors, Ramirez has given the Halos 200 1/3 innings of 4.04 ERA ball and showed he could stick in the rotation in 2017.
  • As ever, there are other updates to the Angels rotation mix. Nick Tropeano will beat Ramirez back to the big leagues; as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets, Tropeano is coming up to pitch today’s ballgame. He was optioned after working back from a shoulder strain, and has been tagged in the run-happy PCL, but the innings are needed now. That’s due in no small part to the issues surrounding Matt Harvey, who just hit the injured list with a back strain after an awful stretch on the hill. Harvey didn’t have much of a timeline to offer reporters, as Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter link). With more to sort out than an injury, there’s no reason to think Harvey will be rushed back.
  • For the Mariners, there are a few incremental health updates of note, as Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports (all links to Twitter). Rehabbing relievers Sam Tuivailala and Hunter Strickland are still a ways off. The former, who is working back from Achilles surgery, has come down with dead arm and may need to re-start his rehab rather than heading back to the majors. The latter is readying for his first mound work since leaving with a lat injury earlier this year. Starter Felix Hernandez, who’s on the IL with a shoulder strain, is also nearing mound work. The club is still taking it slow with corner infielder Ryon Healy, who has yet to resume baseball activity after recently hitting the shelf due to a balky lower back. That’s a less promising outlook than had been indicated when he was first sidelined, but the club no doubt hopes to avoid a lingering problem.
  • Athletics backstop Chris Herrmann is nearing a rehab assignment, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). Herrmann inked a one-year, $1MM deal over the offseason but hasn’t yet debuted with his new organization owing to knee surgery. It remains to be seen how the Oakland club will manage its roster once Herrmann is ready; Josh Phegley has hit well all year and Nick Hundley has turned it on after a dreadful start. It’s possible the A’s could ultimately carry all three, at least for a stretch, as Herrmann does have experience playing in other parts of the field.
  • It still doesn’t seem the Astros have cause for alarm regarding righty Collin McHugh, but he’s not going to be ready to return within the minimum ten-day window. Manager A.J. Hinch tells reporters, including Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link), that McHugh is in need of “a little more down time” to let his elbow stop barking. “He’s played catch a couple days and has not seen any progress,” says Hinch. “He’s not any closer than he was a few days ago.” McHugh has been a bit homer-prone, which explains his rough 6.04 ERA on the year, but otherwise has impressive peripherals. That he has been moved out of the rotation and into a relief role is testament to the depth of the talent on hand in Houston.

Athletics Select Nick Hundley’s Contract

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The Athletics announced Tuesday that they’ve selected the contract of catcher Nick Hundley. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, fellow catcher Chris Herrmann was placed on the 60-day injured list. Beyond those moves, the A’s placed outfielder Nick Martini and righty Jharel Cotton on the 10-day IL.

Hundley’s selection makes official what has long bee apparent: he’ll pair with Josh Phegley to comprise the primary catching tandem in Oakland following the departure of Jonathan Lucroy, who signed as a free agent with the division-rival Angels. Hundley originally signed a minor league pact with the A’s back in February, and he’ll now be paid a $1.25MM base salary after being added to the MLB roster.

Hundley, 35, batted .241/.298/.408 with 10 homers in 305 plate appearances last season for the Giants and posted a combined .243/.285/.413 slash with San Francisco in the two seasons he spent there. While he’s lacking in terms of on-base skills, he nonetheless has a bit of pop in his bat and will bring 11 years of MLB experience to an Athletics roster that figures to feature quite a few young arms over the course of the season.

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