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Astros Place Jeremy Pena On Injured List

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11:15am: Manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including Brian McTaggart of MLB.com) that Peña won’t swing a bat for at least a week. He certainly won’t be ready to return after a minimal IL stay then, but the Houston skipper said an MRI didn’t reveal any cause for long-term concern.

10:41am: The Astros have placed shortstop Jeremy Peña on the 10-day injured list due to left thumb discomfort. First baseman J.J. Matijevic has been recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land to take his spot on the active roster.

Peña didn’t play in last night’s win over the Rangers, and the club sent him from Arlington to Houston for further evaluation. The Astros haven’t divulged many specifics on the issue, but it’s apparently serious enough he’ll need at least a week and a half out of game action to recover. Aledmys Díaz got the start at shortstop last night, and he’ll presumably play there regularly for whatever time Peña is out.

A former third-round draftee, Peña has dramatically raised his stock since entering the pro ranks. He’d been an excellent player on both sides of the ball throughout his minor league tenure, emerging as one of the sport’s top prospects by the start of the 2021 campaign. Left wrist surgery kept him to just 30 Triple-A games last season, but Peña hit .287/.346/.598 during his initial crack at the level. The Astros had enough faith in his ability to handle MLB pitching they penciled him in as the Opening Day shortstop after watching Carlos Correa depart to free agency.

That was a bold call for general manager James Click and his staff, as Houston remains one of the league’s top World Series contenders. Yet Peña has excelled, more than rewarding the organization’s confidence through his first two-plus months in the majors. He’s hitting .277/.333/.471 with nine home runs across 211 plate appearances. The resulting 133 wRC+ is tied for third among the 28 rookies with at least 100 plate appearances, and he’s viewed as a Gold Glove caliber defender. Peña looks to be the early favorite for the American League’s Rookie of the Year award as a result, but his strong debut campaign will be put on hold while he rehabs.

Díaz is having a rough 2022 showing, hitting only .214/.261/.304 through 119 trips to the plate. He’ll be a marked downgrade from Peña with the glove, but his career track record at the dish is more respectable than this year’s performance would suggest. Díaz has hit .254/.316/.414 since landing in Houston in advance of the 2019 season. Mauricio Dubón and Niko Goodrum are also on the 40-man roster as shortstop-capable depth options. Dubón, who is out of minor league option years, is on the active roster; Goodrum was optioned to Sugar Land after a brutal start to the season and has been on the MiLB injured list for the past week.

Astros Option Niko Goodrum

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Prior to today’s game, the Astros activated utility player Mauricio Dubon, whom they acquired in a trade with the Giants yesterday, relays Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. In a corresponding move, infielder Niko Goodrum was optioned to Triple-A.

This is yet another step in what has been a downward trajectory for Goodrum in recent years. After establishing himself as a useful part of the Tigers’ roster in 2018 and 2019, things took a turn in 2020. His 2018-2019 batting line of .247/.318/.427 was just two hairs below league average, with his wRC+ coming in at 98 in that time. But due to his 24 steals and quality defense, he was worth 4.5 fWAR over that stretch.

In the shortened season, he hit .184/.263/.335 for a wRC+ of 62. Even during those two good years, he struck out 28% of the time, well above league average, but that shot up to 38.5% in 2020. This trend mostly carried over into 2021, with Goodrum hitting .214/.292/.359 with a 32.9% strikeout rate.

After two straight down years, the Tigers non-tendered him instead of opting for an approximate $2.9MM arbitration salary, as projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. The Astros signed him to a $2.1MM guarantee with incentives, hoping that he and Aledmys Diaz could form a sort of safety net as the club tried out rookie Jeremy Pena as Carlos Correa’s shortstop replacement. Unfortunately, his troubling trends over the past couple of years have worsened, with Goodrum hitting .116/.156/.163 and striking out at a 51.1% clip.

The 30-year-old will now head to Sugar Land and see if regular playing time and at-bats can help him get things back on track and work his way back to the majors. He came into the season with four years and 31 days of service time, adding approximately 38 days to that total this year to put him somewhere around 4.069. Players with over five years of service time cannot be optioned without their consent, but Goodrum is just over 100 days shy of that, with 172 days counting as a full season.

Astros Sign Niko Goodrum

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The Astros are signing Niko Goodrum to a one-year, $2.1MM deal, reports Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (Twitter link). The deal also contains possible incentives. Goodrum is a client of Roc Nation Sports.

Goodrum, who turned 30 last month, has spent the past four seasons with the Tigers. He actually debuted as a September call-up with the Twins in 2017, but he was quickly outrighted off Minnesota’s roster and elected minor league free agency. He hooked on with Detroit that offseason, and he almost immediately played his way into a regular role there.

The lefty-hitting utilityman bounced around the diamond in 2018, seeing a fair bit of action at both middle infield positions, third base and in the corner outfield. Goodrum earned a career-high 492 plate appearances that year with a league average .245/.315/.432 showing at the plate. He hit 16 home runs and stole 12 bags. The Georgia native mostly that backed that solid showing up the following year, hitting .248/.322/.421 in 472 trips to the dish.

Goodrum at least looked to be emerging as a high-end utility option for Detroit, and it seemed he might carve out a role as the long-term answer at shortstop. Even during his two best seasons, he had an alarming strikeout rate though, and swing-and-miss concerns have particularly mounted over the past couple years. Goodrum punched out in an untenable 38.5% of his trips to the plate during the shortened 2020 season, stumbling to a .184/.263/.335 line. His 2021 numbers were a bit better, but a .214/.292/.359 line with a 32.9% strikeout rate marked his second consecutive below-average campaign.

On the heels of the down seasons, the Tigers non-tendered Goodrum in November. He’d been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $2.9MM arbitration salary that Detroit felt a bit lofty. Goodrum’s deal with the Astros won’t guarantee him quite as much, but he’ll land a roster spot with an immediate contender. He might have a path to regular playing time at shortstop, at least early in the season.

The Astros have seen Carlos Correa hit free agency, leaving Aledmys Díaz as the top in-house option at shortstop. Díaz has a superior offensive track record to Goodrum, but he’s rated as a below-average defender at shortstop throughout his career. Top prospect Jeremy Peña figures to take the position over at some point soon, but he was limited to 133 Triple-A plate appearances by injury last season. Peña should immediately be a strong defensive option when he’s big league ready, but the presence of Díaz and Goodrum give the win-now Astros some cover in the event he doesn’t hit the ground running at the plate.

Goodrum has four-plus years of big league service time. The Astros could keep him around via arbitration in 2023 if he turns things around offensively and the club feels he warrants a raise via that process.

Quick Hits: Free Agents, Goodrum, Zombro

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We have continued to see minor league signings even with the lockout still limiting most offseason business, though The Athletic’s Eno Sarris and Brittany Ghiroli note that the total number of minors contracts signed this winter is naturally much lower than usual compared to past offseasons.  While the lockout extends to MLBPA members, players on MLB contracts, and players on 40-man rosters, some players within these parameters are stuck in a strange middle ground, like Sam McWilliams.  Since the righty signed a Major League contract with the Mets last winter but hasn’t actually appeared in a big league game in his pro career, he is both locked out and not an official union member.

It isn’t known exactly how many players are in McWilliams’ status, which is part of the confusion shared over which players are exactly “covered” by the lockout regulations.  As a result, some offseason throwing showcases have had to stagger workout times (since MLB scouts aren’t permitted to even observe locked-out players) or even prevent some “covered” players from attending these showcases.  McWilliams and others might therefore have even more of an uphill battle in landing a contract during what is expected to be an absolute frenzy of transactions once the lockout is finally over.  [UPDATE: Ghiroli tweets that the MLBPA has adjusted its qualification standard for stipends to include McWilliams and other players in his situation]

More from around baseball…

  • Niko Goodrum is one of the many free agents still waiting to land his next contract, though the utilityman told The Detroit News’ Chris McCosky that he had plenty of interest prior to the lockout.  The Tigers outrighted Goodrum off their 40-man roster in mid-November and he chose to test the open market, saying “we had been in contact with 10 teams….Seven of them were looking to offer big-league deals.”  Goodrum’s multi-positional versatility would certainly make him a good fit on many rosters, even if his bat has fallen off over the last two seasons.  In 504 plate appearances in 2020-21, Goodrum hit only .203/.282/.350 — a significant dropoff from the .247/.319/.427 slash line he posted with Detroit over 964 PA in 2018-19.  Goodrum has no hard feelings towards the Tigers for parting ways, and is now just looking forward to his next big league opportunity.
  • Tyler Zombro is planning to attend the Rays’ minor league camp, and tells The Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin that “within the next month to two months, I certainly will be 100 percent” recovered from a skull fracture.  In a horrific incident during a Triple-A game last June, Zombro was hit in the head with a line drive, suffering both the fracture and a seizure on the mound.  After emergency surgery and a long recovery process, however, Zombro was given medical clearance by MLB last month and got back onto a mound for the first time since the injury.

Niko Goodrum Elects Free Agency

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The Tigers announced Friday that infielder Niko Goodrum went unclaimed on outright waivers and has elected free agency. Detroit also passed righty Nivaldo Rodriguez and outfielder Jacob Robson through waivers unclaimed, though they’ll both remain with the organization after being outrighted to Triple-A. (Unlike Goodrum, they did not have the service time needed to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency.)

Additionally, the Tigers selected the contracts of righty Angel De Jesus and infielder Kody Clemens. Both are now on the 40-man roster and thus protected from this offseason’s Rule 5 Draft.

Goodrum, 29, looked like a minor league free-agent steal a few years ago when he signed in Detroit and hit .245/.315/.432 with 16 homers and a dozen steals while playing every position other than catcher, center field and pitcher. He matched those solid 2018 numbers in near-identical fashion in 2019, improving his glovework at shortstop in the process and looking like at least a useful utility piece — if not a possible everyday shortstop.

Unfortunately for both Goodrum and the Tigers, the switch-hitter’s bat tumbled in 2020 and wasn’t able to recover this past season. Over the past two years, Goodrum has managed just a .203/.282/.350 batting line, while his strikeout rate has skyrocketed from 28% to 34.9%. Goodrum can still play all over the diamond and still has a decent blend of power and speed, but his mounting issues making contact and a projected $2.9MM arbitration salary prompted Detroit to effectively non-tender him.

Joining the 40-man roster are the power-armed De Jesus and the 25-year-old Clemens — the son of seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens. De Jesus, 24, split the 2021 season between Double-A and Triple-A, compiling a 3.34 ERA with a big 29.1% strikeout rate in 64 innings (primarily out of the bullpen). De Jesus kept the ball on the ground at an above-average rate as well, though his 13.5% walk rate is obviously somewhat problematic.

Clemens is the more highly regarded of today’s additions, ranking between 18th and 26th among Tigers prospects at MLB.com, Baseball America and FanGraphs. He played in 97 games (413 plate appearances) and logged a .247/.312/.466 output with 18 homers, 15 doubles and six triples. He’s primarily been a second baseman, though some scouting reports peg him as more of an offensive-minded utility player — assuming he can continue to improve his contact skills.

The 24-year-old Rodriguez was claimed off waivers out of the Astros organization back in August, and while he fared well in 7 1/3 MLB frames, that wasn’t the case in Triple-A: 5.37 ERA, 44-to-28 K/BB ratio in 62 innings. Robson, 26, was an eighth-round pick by the Tigers in 2016. He went hitless in seven at-bats during his MLB debut this year and posted a .259/.385/.389 batting line in 78 Triple-A games.

Tigers Notes: Goodrum, Greene, TV Deal

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Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that Niko Goodrum looks like a strong candidate to be non-tendered this off-season.  That’s notable in that Goodrum has spent the past four seasons in Detroit, taking on a prominent role around the diamond.  He delivered a decent 95 wRC+ and 1.9 fWAR in 2019, his second full year in the majors, but has struggled since then.  This past season he appeared in just 90 games, largely due to three stints on the 10-day IL.  And when he was on the field, he only managed a paltry .214/.292/.359 line, good for just a 79 wRC+. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Goodrum to land an arbitration salary around $2.9MM if tendered a contract. He’d remain under team control for the 2023 campaign in that scenario as well.

In other news out of Motown:

  • The Tigers’ top outfield prospect, Riley Greene, won’t be playing in the Arizona Fall League as he had been slated to do.  Lynn Henning of the Detroit News revealed earlier this week that Greene suffered a concussion when he dove for a ball in the second-to-last game of the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens’ season.  It’s an unfortunate end to what was a terrific season for Greene, who hit for a .921 OPS in 124 games across the Double- and Triple-A levels.
  • The Tigers and Bally Sports Detroit have reached agreement on a new multi-year contract for the latter to continue broadcasting Detroit’s games, reports Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. Bally is part of the Sinclair Broadcast Group. Financial terms of the deal remain unknown, and it’s not clear if the new agreement will have any direct impact on Detroit’s payroll.  Regardless of the terms of the TV contract, the Tigers look likely to increase player payroll in the coming years as they emerge from their recent rebuild.

Free Agent Notes: Correa, Iglesias, Rodriguez

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The upcoming free agent shortstop market has been talked about for awhile now, and we’re still a few months off from seeing how the whole thing plays out. Perhaps the most coveted of the soon-to-be available shortstops is the Astros’ Carlos Correa. One potential match for Correa’s services will be the Tigers, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.

The Tigers are an up-and-coming team with plenty of financial flexibility, and it’s certainly interesting to think about Correa once again teaming up with his former skipper A.J. Hinch. As hard as it is to imagine Correa leaving Houston, they do have prospect Jeremy Pena waiting in the wings, making an exit at least feasible. The Tigers, meanwhile, have one of the most open shortstop situations in the game, with incumbent Niko Goodrum easily able to shift into a super-utility role.

Angels’ closer Raisel Iglesias figures to be another in-demand free agent this winter. His priority, however, is re-signing with the Angels, writes Jeff Fletcher of the Orange-County Register. Iglesias made the most of his first season with the Angels, tossing 69 innings in 64 appearances with a 2.61 ERA/2.87 FIP. He has notched 34 saves, a mark that will look attractive to contenders this offseason.

In terms of rotations arms, there are few with the upside of the Red Sox’ Eduardo Rodriguez. Rodriguez and the Red Sox spoke about a possible extension earlier in the year, but there wasn’t much progress made and the two sides ultimately decided to table talks until the offseason, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. After complications from COVID-19 cost Rodriguez all of 2020, he has returned to his usual stable workload, making 31 starts for the playoff hopefuls.

Rodriguez hasn’t quite pitched to his pre-2020 level, though his 4.77 ERA may be a touch inflated. A 3.33 FIP suggests the 28-year-old hasn’t lost a step. He’s tossed 156 2/3 innings with an above-average 27.4 percent strikeout rate, 7.0 percent walk rate, 44.2 percent groundball rate, all numbers that will look good on Rodriguez’s free agent resume this winter.

Every Team’s Initial September Callups

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The limit on active roster players expanded from 26 to 28 today, as the calendar flipped to September. Every team announced at least two additions to the big league club (some teams made three or more due to injured list placements). Here’s a recap of today’s spate of transactions:

Tigers Select Jacob Robson, Transfer Matthew Boyd To 60-Day IL

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Aug. 12: The Tigers formally selected Robson’s contract, clearing space on the active roster by placing Goodrum on the 10-day injured list, as Hinch indicated.

Lefty Matthew Boyd was transferred from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL to create a 40-man roster spot. Boyd’s move to the 60-day IL is retroactive to his initial placement, which came 59 days ago, so it’s largely a procedural move. He was sent out on a Triple-A rehab assignment today and would need a couple starts at least before being activated, so today’s transfer does nothing to impact his timeline.

Aug. 11: The Tigers are planning to select the contract of Jacob Robson tomorrow, manager A.J. Hinch informed reporters (including Chris McCosky of the Detroit News). He’ll take the active roster spot of utilityman Niko Goodrum, who will land on the injured list after leaving this evening’s game against the Orioles with a left groin strain. The Tigers will need to make a 40-man roster transaction tomorrow to finalize Robson’s promotion.

Detroit selected Robson in the eighth round of the 2016 draft out of Mississippi State. The left-handed hitting outfielder has spent parts of five seasons in the minor leagues and is now in line for his major league debut. Robson has never hit for much power, but he’s posted very strong batting averages and walk rates throughout his pro career, resulting in an overall .294/.382/.424 line in just over 2000 plate appearances.

Robson has never been seen as a top prospect because of his lack of impact physicality. He’s appeared near the back of Detroit organizational rankings at FanGraphs and Baseball America in recent seasons, though, with evaluators praising his hit tool, speed and makeup. The 26-year-old has logged extensive action at all three outfield positions.

While Robson has struck out at an alarming rate (35.9%) in Triple-A this season, he’s nevertheless managed a strong .280/.397/.440 line over 209 plate appearances. Robson has had some obvious good fortune (.463 batting average on balls in play) to hit .280 despite striking out so often. But he’s run incredibly high BABIPs throughout his minor league tenure, with his line drive, all-fields approach creating havoc for opposing defenses. Robson’s minor league performance earned the Ontario native a spot on the Canadian Olympic team this summer.

It has been a difficult season for Goodrum, who’s hitting just .224/.304/.348 over 237 plate appearances. The lefty-hitting utilityman looked like a potential regular for the Tigers after solid performances between 2018-19, but he’s followed that up with back-to-back down years as his strikeout rate has spiked. He’ll now have to work his way back from injury; the Tigers have yet to provide a timetable on his potential return.

Central Notes: White Sox, Cubs, Tigers

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The White Sox rolled out a $128MM payroll on opening day this year, already the highest in franchise history, but don’t expect Chicago to curb their spending now. Team options for the newly acquired Cesar Hernandez and Craig Kimbrel would bring their payroll for next season up to $150MM — and that’s before arbitration raises – but owner Jerry Reinsdorf and GM Rick Hahn have prepared for this payroll spike and they’re ready for it, per The Athletic’s James Fegan. If Hernandez and/or Kimbrel aren’t part of the 2022 Sox, it won’t be because of their impact on the payroll. Elsewhere from the flyover states…

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