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NL Notes: Crawford, Kim, Mikolas, Cecil, Johnson

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Brandon Crawford gave the San Francisco Chronicle’s John Shea a rundown of his daily routine, as the Giants shortstop is busy balancing his time with his wife and four young children alongside workouts and engaging in whatever baseball activities he can manage from his house.  On this particular day, for example, Crawford and the Giants’ team yoga instructor met via video conferencing for a session “based on baseball mobility and movements that we need,” Crawford said.

Some more from the National League…

  • While Crawford is one of many players staying at home with his family during the shutdown, newly-signed Cardinals left-hander Kwang-hyun Kim is in St. Louis while his family is in South Korea.  Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told reporters (including MLB.com’s Anne Rogers) that Kim could potentially return to Korea while Major League Baseball is on hiatus.  “I can only imagine the mental challenge [Kim is] under with his wife and children back in South Korea, trying to adapt to a new country, a new team, and then have all this thrust upon him,” Mozeliak said.  “So we’re trying to navigate that as best we can, but…clearly this has not been easy for him, and I think all of us could understand why.”
  • From that same teleconference earlier this week, Mozeliak also provided updates on some injured Cardinals players.  Miles Mikolas continues to make progress after suffering a flexor tendon strain in February and receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection, as Mikolas will soon throw a bullpen session and is currently throwing from 120 feet.  Brett Cecil recently took time off from his hamstring injury rehab for personal reasons, but Mozeliak said Cecil will resume the process next week.  Cecil suffered what manager Mike Shildt described as a “fairly significant” right hamstring strain in mid-March, and while no specific timeline was put in place, it was thought that Cecil was facing “multiple weeks of treatment.”
  • After pitching in Japan in 2019, Pierce Johnson signed a two-year, $5MM deal with the Padres this offseason to mark his return to North American baseball.  As Johnson told Fangraphs’ David Laurila, “a few other teams kicked the tires” on the right-hander’s availability, and he also came “really close to taking” an offer to remain with the Hanshin Tigers.  Ultimately, Johnson chose the Padres and MLB in order to bring his family back closer to home.  Johnson posted only a 5.44 ERA over his 44 2/3 career Major League innings with the Cubs and Giants in 2017-18, though his season in Nippon Professional Baseball greatly elevated his stock, as the righty posted a 1.38 ERA, 14.0 K/9, and 7.00 K/BB rate over 58 2/3 relief innings for the Tigers.

Padres, Pierce Johnson Agree To Two-Year Deal

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The Padres have agreed to a two-year contract with right-hander Pierce Johnson, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports (via Twitter). The former Cubs top prospect will be guaranteed $5MM over the life of the deal, and the contract contains a team option for a third season. Johnson is represented by JBA Sports.

Pierce Johnson | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Johnson, 29 in May, spent the 2019 season pitching for the Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, where he posted otherworldly numbers. In 58 2/3 innings of relief, he posted a 1.38 ERA with a 91-to-13 K/BB ratio (14.0 K/9, 2.0 BB/9). Unlike many big leaguers who enjoy overseas breakouts and return to find MLB deals, Johnson needed only one season of success to convince a Major League club that he was worthy of a multi-year deal.

Despite being selected by the Cubs with the No. 43 overall pick in 2012 and at one point ranking among the game’s top 100 prospects, Johnson pitched only a single MLB inning with the organization in 2017. He was booted from the 40-man roster in December and landed with the Giants on a waiver claim. He’d go on to pitch 43 2/3 innings with San Francisco the following year in 2018, although the results weren’t pretty. Johnson logged a 5.56 ERA with 7.4 K/9, 4.5 BB/9, 1.03 HR/9 and a 37.8 percent ground-ball rate out of the Giants’ bullpen in his lone season with the organization.

That limited sample represents the entirety of Johnson’s body of work in the big leagues, but he’ll become the latest in an increasing number of players to find success in either Japan or Korea and parlay that overseas breakout into a big league contract. This offseason, we’ve seen Johnson, Josh Lindblom and Joely Rodriguez cash in on multi-year contracts, just as Merrill Kelly, Miles Mikolas, Eric Thames and (several years prior) Colby Lewis did.

It’s a low-risk investment for any big league team to make, and the growing frequency of deals like looks like the beginning of a trend. Teams aren’t shy about mimicking successful strategies from other organizations, after all, and to this point there’s been a fair bit of success with this approach to talent acquisition.

From the player side of the equation, it’s a no-brainer, as most players jumping to play in NPB and the KBO — Adam Jones notwithstanding — are fringe 40-man roster candidates at best and will make significantly more playing in Asia than they would in a season of Triple-A ball (even with some occasional MLB promotions mixed in). And, upon returning, they’re able to sign seven-figure contracts, some of which even offer the opportunity to become a free agent at the completion of the deal rather than slotting back into the arbitration system.

Former Big Leaguers Playing Abroad: NPB Pitchers Roundup

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It’s always fun to keep an eye on familiar players who’ve taken their talents across the pond. Now that the 2019 season is in the books, it seemed an opportune time to check in. Numerous former big leaguers and others of note are playing abroad, many of them thriving in Asia’s top leagues.

We’ve seen foreign stints help spur big league revivals from quite a few players. Eric Thames, Miles Mikolas, and Chris Martin are among those that played significant roles in the 2019 MLB campaign. Whether any of the players covered below will do so remains to be seen, but there’s certainly a path.

We started by looking at position players and pitchers in South Korea’s Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) before turning to the hitters of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Remember, teams in these leagues face limits on the number of non-native players they can carry on a roster. That creates a lot of pressure to secure big production from those roster spots, which often spurs mid-season change.

Here’s a 2019 wrap on the NPB’s hurlers from abroad …

  • The Saitama Seibu Lions slugged their way to the best record in the Japan Pacific League, but they got some of their best innings from imported pitchers. Former Dodgers and Athletics righty Zach Neal turned in 100 1/3 innings of 2.87 ERA ball after spending some time with their minor league affiliate early on. He could be eyeing a return to the Majors, though a 4.6 K/9 rate in Japan is a red flag even if it’s accompanied by a pristine 1.3 BB/9 mark. Righties Kyle Martin and Deunte Heath, who had quite brief stints with the Red Sox and White Sox, respectively, helped the Lions as well. Martin notched a 3.67 ERA in 41 2/3 innings (albeit with 28 walks), while Heath chipped in 31 1/3 innings of 3.73 ERA ball and averaged 9.8 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9.
  • Mariners fans surely remember Cuban-born lefty Ariel Miranda, who started 40 games for them from 2016-18. Now 30, Miranda tossed 86 innings for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks and notched a respectable 4.19 ERA in a hitter-friendly league, though he carried an unsightly 58-to-48 K/BB ratio. Dutch righty Rick van den Hurk hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2012, having carved out a career between the KBO and NPB. He only pitched 17 2/3 innings for the Hawks this season but turned in a 3.12 ERA and a terrific 22-to-2 K/BB ratio. Given his track record there — 3.50 ERA in nearly 500 NPB innings — the 34-year-old could be in Japan to stay. The Hawks also enjoyed 57 2/3 innings of 3.90 ERA ball from Japanese-born southpaw Tsuyoshi Wada, who was with the Cubs from 2014-15 before returning to Japan. At 38 years of age, he’s still chugging along.
  • Former Twins righty Alan Busenitz and former Indians righty Frank Herrmann formed a dominant setup combo for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Busenitz chipped in 51 frames with a 1.94 ERA with 7.9 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9. Herrmann’s 3.04 ERA and 49-to-16 K/BB ratio in 47 2/3 innings hardly went unnoticed, either. Herrmann will turn 36 early next season, but Busenitz is still just 29.
  • The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters didn’t benefit much from former big leaguers, as right-hander Johnny Barbato struggled through 32 innings. Avid Indians fans may remember right-hander Toru Murata, who pitched 3 1/3 innings for the Tribe in ’15 after spending several years in their minor league system. He chipped in 34 innings with a 3.18 ERA but walked nearly as many hitters (21) as he struck out (22). Former Cubs righty Justin Hancock tossed seven innings but was hit hard. Padres diehards may remember minor league righty Bryan Rodriguez, who tossed 91 1/3 innings of 3.25 ERA ball for the Fighters.
  • Left-hander Andrew Albers, formerly of the Twins and Mariners, was dominant for the Orix Buffaloes in 2018 but took a step back with a 5.83 ERA in in 63 1/3 innings. The Buffaloes, however, received a seventh strong season from perhaps forgotten Cardinals righty Brandon Dickson, who posted a 3.03 ERA in 35 2/3 frames and has racked up 856 innings of 3.32 ERA ball since first signing with the Buffaloes back in 2013. Orix also picked up former Pirates prospect Tyler Eppler prior to the 2019 season, and after spending some time with the Buffaloes’ minor league club, he emerged with a 4.02 ERA, 7.2 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 31 1/3 innings.
  • The 2019 Yomiuri Giants received innings from four former big league pitchers: Taylor Jungmann, Rubby De La Rosa, Scott Mathieson and Ryan Cook. Jungmann struggled to an ERA just over 6.00 in 44 1/3 innings, while De La Rosa fared best (2.25 ERA in 25 innings). Mathieson, now 35, was limited to 22 2/3 innings of 4.37 ERA ball but has been a consistently impressive presence in the Giants’ bullpen since 2012 (2.46 ERA, 54 saves in 431 frames). Cook tallied just 15 innings and surrendered eight runs.
  • Lefty Edwin Escobar’s biggest claim to fame in affiliated stateside ball might’ve been being included in a trade for Jake Peavy, but the 27-year-old has become a force in Japan. In his third season overseas, he turned in 75 1/3 innings of 2.51 ERA ball with 10.5 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 for the second-place Yokohama DeNa BayStars. Former Cubs righty Spencer Patton took a step back after a dominant 2018 with the BayStars, tossing 36 2/3 innings but posting a 5.15 ERA. He did rack up 45 punchouts in that time. And former Nats lefty Sammy Solis made a brief 2019 cameo with the Yokohama club as well, tossing 4 1/3 innings with one run allowed.
  • Right-hander Randy Messenger, of mid-2000s Marlins/Giants/Mariners fame, has become one of NPB’s best starters but struggled a bit in his age-37 season (4.67 ERA in 79 innings). But with more than 1600 innings of 3.13 ERA ball in a decade’s worth of time in Japan, he’s left a legacy with the Hanshin Tigers and been compensated handsomely for his efforts. The Tigers also received 103 2/3 innings of 4.69 ERA ball from righty Onelki Garcia, who tossed a combined 7 1/3 innings between the Dodgers and Royals in MLB. Hanshin was also a who’s-who of former Cubs, with righties Pierce Johnson, Kyuji Fujikawa and Rafael Dolis logging significant time. Johnson was brilliant, notching an immaculate 1.38 EA with 14.0 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9 in 58 2/3 frames. Fujikawa (1.77 ERA) and Dolis (2.11 ERA) split closing duties and combined for 35 saves in 111 1/3 innings (both split almost evenly).
  • Former big league righties Casey Lawrence (Mariners) and Johnny Hellweg (Brewers) made extremely fleeting appearances with the Hiroshima Carp, who boasted perhaps the most impactful foreign pitcher in the league: lefty Kris Johnson. The former Twins/Pirates hurler has been flat-out dominant in five seasons with the Carp, totaling 756 1/3 innings with a 2.54 ERA, 7.0 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 since making the jump. He’ll turn 35 next week, but it’s perhaps worth noting that the former Sawamura Award winner’s record contract is expiring.
  • Remember situational lefty Enny Romero? He’s not only starting games for the Chunichi Dragons, he’s doing so fairly well. In 116 frames this year, he posted a 4.26 ERA with 8.1 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9. Fellow southpaw Joely Rodriguez, who spent parts of two seasons with the Phillies, overwhelmed NPB hitters with a 1.64 ERA, 11.5 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 55 2/3 frames out of the Dragons’ pen. Even Daisuke Matsuzaka — yes, that Daisuke Matsuzaka — tossed 5 1/3 innings with the Dragons at the age of 39, but he didn’t fare well. To this point, however, he’s announced no plans to retire.
  • Lastly, the Yakult Swallows had five former big leaguers suit up for them: righty David Buchanan, right-hander Scott McGough, southpaw David Huff, righty Ryota Igarashi (blast from the past!) and right-hander Albert Suarez. Buchanan paced the group at 99 2/3 innings, though his 4.79 ERA wasn’t much to behold. McGough notched 11 saves and a 3.15 ERA, however, while Huff continued his strong overseas career with a 3.97 ERA. Igarashi is still going strong with a 2.98 ERA at age 40, and Suarez yielded just three runs in 17 2/3 innings.

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/3/18

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In this post we will track the minor moves from around the MLB today…

  • Right-handed pitcher Pierce Johnson is now a minor league free agent after clearing waivers, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. Pierce was a first-rounder for the Cubs back in 2012 and appeared regularly on their organizations’ list of top prospects. He spent last season shuttling between the San Francisco Giants and their Triple-A club. With the big league club, the 27-year-old appeared in 37 games, pitching to a 5.56 ERA, with a not-too-promising 7.4 K/9 to 4.53 BB/9. His numbers in Triple-A were much more heartening: 17 games, 3.57 ERA, 11.91 K/9, 3.97 BB/9. If he can figure out a way to translate those minor-league strikeout numbers to the big leagues, he could certainly develop into a useful bullpen piece.
  • The Baltimore Orioles re-signed left-handed pitcher Sean Gilmartin, per John Meoli of the Baltimore Sun. This after being outrighted by the Orioles two days ago. The 28-year-old lefty appeared in 12 games for the Orioles last season after spending the previous three with the New York Mets. Despite the low number of appearances, Gilmartin soaked up a number of innings for the Orioles, throwing 27 innings with a 3.00 ERA. He also spent time with the Orioles and Cardinals Triple-A affiliates in 2018. Gilmartin returns to the Baltimore organization on a minor league deal. Unfortunately, his peripheral metrics don’t rate so highly as that sparkling ERA: 5.39 xFIP, 5.00 K/9, 3.67 BB/9. For his major league career, he has appeared in 78 games with a 3.84 ERA (4.43 xFIP) for the Mets and Orioles.

Hunter Strickland Out Six To Eight Weeks Due To Fractured Hand

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Giants closer Hunter Strickland will miss the next six to eight weeks following surgery to repair a fractured right hand, manager Bruce Bochy told reporters Tuesday (Twitter links via Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area).

The injury occurred in rather embarrassing and regrettable fashion, it seems, as Strickland punched a door out of frustration after blowing a save and surrendering three runs in last night’s loss. In the absence of Strickland, the Giants will turn to either Tony Watson or Sam Dyson to serve as the primary closer, according to Bochy. Right-hander Pierce Johnson will be recalled back to the big leagues to take Strickland’s roster spot.

[Related: Updated San Francisco Giants depth chart and MLB closer depth chart]

Needless to say, the ninth-inning situation in San Francisco over the past season and a half hasn’t panned out the way the Giants had hoped. The Giants signed Mark Melancon to a then-record-setting four-year, $62MM contract to handle closing duties, but he’s managed to throw just 35 2/3 innings in the Majors dating back to Opening Day 2017, as he’s been hampered by pronator and flexor strains in his right arm. Melancon joined the club for his 2018 debut earlier this month, but it seems that in spite of his considerable experience in the ninth inning, he won’t be immediately considered for closing opportunities.

To Strickland’s credit, the 29-year-old stepped up early this season to fill in for Melancon and enjoyed immediate success. Despite last night’s three-run hiccup, he’s sitting on a strong 2.84 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9 and 0.6 HR/9. Strickland’s 28 games finished are the most in the National League, and 13 of those games finished have resulted in a save.

A full year of ninth-inning work would’ve poised Strickland for a healthy raise on this year’s $1.55MM salary in arbitration this offseason, but his earning power will undoubtedly be hindered by the missed time — especially if he doesn’t regain the closer’s role when he eventually returns from the disabled list. The Giants control Strickland, a Super Two player, through the 2021 season. He’ll be arbitration-eligible three more times before reaching free agency.

Giants Activate Brandon Belt

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The Giants have activated Brandon Belt from the 10-day disabled list, as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports was among those to report. Right-hander Pierce Johnson was optioned to Triple-A to make room on the active roster.

Belt had to undergo an emergency appendectomy after being rushed to the hospital in the midst of a June 1st game. They’ll certainly be ecstatic to have him back after missing little more than the 10-day minimum, as Belt is in the midst of a career year even as the Giants are limping through the first half of the season with a 34-36 record. The 30-year-old belt sports a .307/.403/.547 slash line and sits sixth on the barrels per plate appearance leaderboard with 11.1.

Johnson, on the other hand, certainly hadn’t done much to cement his spot on the roster. He sports an ugly 5.46 ERA, and though his 4.08 FIP indicates he’s been the victim of some bad luck, he’s also walked nearly as many batters (15) as he’s struck out (20) during his 31 1/3 innings of work. It’s worth noting that 12 of his 19 earned runs came in just three outings, though, and a fairly impressive track record of striking out hitters at Triple-A makes it seem likely he’ll be up again at some point this season.

Giants Activate Madison Bumgarner From Disabled List

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The Giants announced this afternoon that they’ve activated Madison Bumgarner from the 60-day disabled list for his season debut. The San Francisco ace missed the first two months of the season after suffering a fractured finger that required surgical repair late in Spring Training. Righty Pierce Johnson was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento to open a spot on the 25-man roster for Bumgarner, who’ll start tonight’s game against the Diamondbacks.

[Related: Updated San Francisco Giants depth chart]

Despite the fact that Bumgarner hasn’t made a single start at the MLB level this season, while Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija have each been plagued by injuries, the Giants have remarkably remained afloat with a 30-30 record in surprisingly feeble NL West. The D-backs currently lead the pack with a 31-28 record, though they’ve largely been in a free-fall for the past several weeks (in no small part due to several key injuries of their own).

The return of Bumgarner will represent a seismic boost to a Giants rotation that has turned in a miserable 4.59 ERA that ranks 23rd among MLB clubs. With Cueto and Samardzija both on the shelf, the Giants currently have Chris Stratton, Andrew Suarez, Derek Holland and Dereck Rodriguez backing Bumgarner in the rotation mix, as lefty Ty Blach has already been dispatched to the bullpen after struggling to a 4.90 ERA as a starter.

Bumgarner made just two rehab appearances before returning to the Giants, though he could hardly have looked more impressive in that limited minor league assignment. The lefty tossed 8 1/3 innings between the Giants’ Class-A Advanced and Triple-A affiliates, posting a 15-to-1 K/BB ratio and allowing just two hits (one a solo homer) in addition to hitting one batter. He topped out at 4 2/3 innings on said rehab assignment, so it’s possible that manager Bruce Bochy exercises caution and keeps Bumgarner on a shorter leash than usual. But it seems he’s mostly ready to return to the top of the rotation for a surprisingly competitive club that, at present, sits just 1.5 games out of the lead in its division.

The 28-year-old Bumgarner is earning $12.5MM this season, and the Giants hold a no-brainer club option for the same amount for the 2019 season. That’ll be the final year of team control over Bumgarner, who’ll head into free agency at the age of 30 in the 2019-20 offseason.

Giants Claim Pierce Johnson Off Waivers, Transfer Brandon Belt To 60-Day DL

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The Cubs announced to reporters that right-hander Pierce Johnson, who was designated for assignment last week, has been claimed off waivers by the Giants. The Giants have transferred first baseman Brandon Belt to the 60-day DL to clear a spot for Johnson, per Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area (Twitter link), which definitively puts an end to Belt’s 2017 season.

Now 26 years of age, Johnson once ranked as one of the Cubs’ very best pitching prospects and was considered the game’s No. 87 overall prospect by Baseball America in the 2013-14 offseason. The former No. 43 overall pick turned in a very strong 2.74 ERA with 9.4 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 across two A-ball levels in 2013 in order to earn that distinction, but his star has faded since that time.

Johnson posted similarly strong ERA marks in both 2014 and 2015, but he struggled with control in ’14 and saw his strikeout rate drop drastically in ’15. The Cubs shifted him to the bullpen for much of the 2016 season in Triple-A Iowa, but Johnson responded with a 6.14 ERA and 6.1 BB/9 through 63 innings that year (albeit with a gaudy 10.7 K/9 rate).

The 2017 season was better, as Johnson pitched almost exclusively in a relief role and posted improvements in ERA (4.34 ERA), strikeout rate (12.3 K/9) and walk rate (4.5 BB/9). He has an option remaining beyond the 2017 season, so if the Giants carry him on the 40-man roster through the offseason, they’ll have the luxury of sending him to the minors during or after Spring Training without first needing to expose him to waivers.

Cubs Designate Pierce Johnson For Assignment

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The Cubs announced on Wednesday that they’ve designated right-hander Pierce Johnson for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for fellow righty Jen-Ho Tseng, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Iowa.

Now 26 years of age, Johnson once ranked as one of the Cubs’ very best pitching prospects and was considered the game’s No. 87 overall prospect by Baseball America in the 2013-14 offseason. The former No. 43 overall pick turned in a very strong 2.74 ERA with 9.4 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 across two A-ball levels in 2013 in order to earn that distinction, but his star has faded since that time.

Johnson posted similarly strong ERA marks in both 2014 and 2015, but he struggled with control in ’14 and saw his strikeout rate drop drastically in ’15. The Cubs shifted him to the bullpen for much of the 2016 season in Triple-A Iowa, but Johnson responded with a 6.14 ERA and 6.1 BB/9 through 63 innings that year (albeit with a gaudy 10.7 K/9 rate).

The 2017 season was better, as Johnson pitched almost exclusively in a relief role and posted improvements in ERA (4.34 ERA), strikeout rate (12.3 K/9) and walk rate (4.5 BB/9). He has an option remaining beyond the 2017 season, so he could very well draw interest from other clubs in need of pitching depth that can afford to exercise more patience with the once touted right-hander than the Cubs can afford to at this juncture.

The 22-year-old Tseng, meanwhile, currently ranks as the Cubs’ 13th-best prospect in the estimation of Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com. Chicago signed the Taiwanese righty to a $1.625MM bonus as an 18-year-old amateur back in 2013, and he’s enjoyed success at each stop as he’s risen through their minor league ranks. Tseng split the 2017 campaign between Double-A and Triple-A, logging a combined 2.54 ERA (including a 1.80 ERA in 55 Triple-A innings). He’s averaged a combined 7.6 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 this season, and his ground-ball rate spiked from 39.4 percent in 90 1/3 Double-A frames to 53.1 percent in his 55 frames in Iowa.

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