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Ramon Laureano

What Should The A’s Do About Left Field?

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The Oakland A’s may look to offset the potential loss of left fielder Robbie Grossman with organizational depth. According to MLB.com’s Martín Gallegos, the A’s suspect 28-year-old Seth Brown could play an important role – but it’s now or never for the Oregon native. Brown’s combination of power and patience is a skill set the A’s have shown a fondness for over the years, and he played well during a 2019 call-up: .293/.361/.453 in 83 plate appearances.

From 2017 to 2019, Brown made the progressive leaps an organization likes to see as he jumped from High-A to Double-A to Triple-A in successive seasons. He earned his time on the big-league roster in 2019 after an impressive .297/.352/.634 line with 37 home runs in just 112 games at the highest level of the minors.

Grossman himself was somewhat of a late bloomer, cutting his teeth on unfortunate Astros squads of 2013 and 2014. He would be released by the Astros and then the Indians before finding a home in Minnesota. After three seasons of part-time work that culminated in a solid 1.7 bWAR season in 2018, the Twinkies cut him loose, too.

Hello, Oakland. Grossman’s 2020 output was easily the most productive season of his career, but those considering him in free agency must gauge whether his power display during the shortened 2020 season is the final step of his development or a small-sample burst. His .240 ISO this season far outpaced his career mark of .127 ISO.

All in all, Grossman’s skill set isn’t flashy, but that hasn’t stopped him from posting an above-average wRC+ in four of the last five seasons. If a market doesn’t develop for Grossman, the A’s could seek a reunion. Grossman and Brown both hit from the left side, of course, making for a ham-handed timeshare between the two.

Enter Chad Pinder, who could be in line for more regular playing time. Pinder has long been a short-side platoon utility player for the A’s, but his bat played up in a major way during their playoff run. Pinder was often penciled into the number three spot in the order while standing in for the injured Matt Chapman at the hot corner. Pinder could easily line up with Ramon Laureano and Mark Canha against lefties, but Stephen Piscotty should also be back in the lineup. The A’s could be intrigued by the possibility of more face time for the soon-to-be 29-year-old Pinder, but much of that time may have to come at second base, where Tony Kemp currently tops the depth chart.

All of which is to say, expect the A’s to slow-play the market this offseason and see where the value play lies. They’d like to explore the possibility of bringing back Tommy La Stella, who would expect a majority of the timeshare at the keystone. A long-time part-time player who almost retired many years ago when the Cubs sent him to Triple-A, La Stella is not likely to cherish a return to diminished responsibilities.

Add to the outfield mix ML-ready prospects Luis Barrera and Greg Deichmann – the latter of whom, Gallegos notes, was just added to the 40-man roster – and the A’s could head into 2021 as currently constituted with plenty of options to throw at the wall.

The real issue for the A’s is building a bridge between Marcus Semien and prospect Nick Allen at short. Allen’s defensive prowess is considerable, but the 5’8″ 22-year-old glove last appeared in High-A with a slash line of .292/.363/.434. Normal circumstances would dictate another year in the minors for Allen, but these days the development curve is more blueprint than model.

If Allen is close, Pinder could hold the line at short, but he’s totaled just 34 innings as the infield captain since 2017. Assuming they’re not ready to simply hand the keys to the car over to Allen, the A’s will focus their free agent energy (aka, dollars) on finding a short-term fix to keep the spot warm.

The A’s, like the Rays, are comfortable fielding a dynamic offensive lineup that shape-shifts as needed throughout the regular season. They’ll dole out playing time piecemeal until settling on the right mix. That could mean an increased share for Brown, but the A’s are sure to have ways to flex the roster if he’s unable to claim it.

Gold Glove Nominees Announced

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The 2020 Rawlings Glove Glove Award finalists have been released, with the Cubs netting the most nominations with seven. The Mets, Nationals, Phillies, Brewers, Rays, and Red Sox were shut out.

The awards for defensive prowess will be handed out based on defensive metrics alone this year, since managers and coaches weren’t able to see players outside their regional bubble. Moving to a metrics-based system, even for a year, certainly make for interesting television, especially since these awards can make an impact on arbitration cases. Considering the uncertainty of a 60-game season, awards could carry greater weight than usual in those proceedings, thought that’s just speculation. Without further ado, here are this year’s nominees:

AL Pitcher

NL Pitcher

AL Catcher

NL Catcher

AL First Base

NL First Base

AL Second Base

NL Second Base

AL Third Base

NL Third Base

AL Shortstop

NL Shortstop

AL Left Field

NL Left Field

AL Centerfield

NL Centerfield

AL Right Field

NL Right Field

Nicky Lopez of the Royals was originally left off the list, but he is in fact a nominee at second base, one of four nominations at the keystone in the American League. It’s the only position with four nominations.

There are a few other interesting things of note. Perennial candidates like Andrelton Simmons and Matt Chapman did not make the list this year due to shortened seasons, nor did last season’s Outs Above Average leader Victor Robles. Both Gurriel brothers earned nominations this year, with the younger Lourdes (LF) joining perennial candidate Yuli (1B).

There are also a couple of largely part-time players that made the cut, like Hoerner of the Cubs and Mendick for the White Sox. Neither was the everyday second baseman, but they did reach the inning minimum of 265 total defensive innings. They qualified at second because that’s where they played the most innings. Mendick, for example, registered just 226 innings at second, but with 27 innings at third and 15 at shortstop, he ended the year with 268 total defensive innings played.

Catchers required a minimum of 29 games, which is how we got a pair of White Sox catchers making the top-3. Pitchers had to throw a minimum of 50 innings.

The winners will be selected using the SABR Defensive Index and announced on November 3rd, per sabr.org.

Ramon Laureano’s Suspension Reduced To Four Games

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Athletics outfielder Ramon Laureano’s six-game suspension has been reduced to four games after he appealed the punishment earlier this week, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports (via Twitter). He’ll begin serving that four-game ban tonight.

Major League Baseball initially brought forth a six-game punishment after Laureano charged the Astros’ dugout during Sunday’s game. He’d been plunked twice that game and three times in the series, and Laureano was rather clearly goaded by Astros hitting coach Alex Cintron, who has been suspended 20 games as a result of his role in inciting the benches-clearing fracas.

The extra two games of Laureano are no small perk for the A’s, who’ve gotten out to a 13-6 start and currently lead the AL West by four games. Laureano has gotten out to a .262/.398/.462 start at the plate while playing excellent defense. The A’s can turn to either Mark Canha or Chad Pinder if they prefer to stick with options already on the 28-man roster. If they plan to dip into their 60-man player pool, the A’s have Dustin Fowler, Luis Barrera and Skye Bolt as alternatives who are already on the 40-man roster.

MLB Suspends Alex Cintron, Ramon Laureano

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3:07pm: The league has announced the suspensions. Cintron’s will begin immediately. Laureano is appealing his suspension, so his punishment will be held in abeyance until the appeals process has been completed.

1:52pm: Laureano has actually received a six-game suspension, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (via Twitter).

1:41pm: Major League Baseball will announce that Astros hitting coach Alex Cintron and Athletics outfielder Ramon Laureano have been suspended for their roles in this week’s brawl between the two teams. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that Cintron will receive a 20-game suspension, while Laureano will be suspended for five games (Twitter links). The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, meanwhile, tweets that Laureano’s penalty is still being finalized, so the five-game sum may not yet be set in stone. A formal announcement has not been made but figures to follow shortly.

Cintron’s punishment is the largest ever given to a coach. The former big leaguer was seen clearly goading Laureano from the dugout after Laureano took first base following the second time he’d been hit by a pitch in Sunday’s game. Laureano had some choice words for Houston pitcher Humberto Castellanos as he walked to first base but did not initially take any action toward the Astros. Cintron, however, persisted with verbal barbs and took a step toward Laureano, seemingly daring him to engage in an altercation. Laureano eventually lost his cool and gave in to Cintron’s prodding.

The result, of course, was the exact type of situation that Major League Baseball has sought to avoid in the midst of this pandemic-interrupted season: an on-field brawl in which members of both clubs were in direct physical contact — many without a mask or face covering. Houston catcher Dustin Garneau, a former teammate of Laureano in Oakland, quickly tackled him to the ground and said he did so in an effort to diffuse the situation. Other members of both organizations soon pulled the involved parties apart and managed to quell the fracas, but suspensions for Cintron and Laureano, the brawl’s two central figures, have been widely anticipated since the incident.

For the A’s, the loss of Laureano for nearly a week is significant over the course of a shortened season. The former Astros farmhand was acquired at minimal cost following the 2017 season, but he’s blossomed as a star since debuting in Oakland in 2017. A standout defender with a rocket arm, Laureano has also proven a legitimate threat on the bases and at the plate. In 731 career plate appearances, he’s a .286/.351/.507 hitter with 32 home runs and 21 steals. He’s quite arguably out to the best start of his career in 2020, slashing .263/.405/.491 in 74 plate appearances.

Laureano can still appeal the punishment and push for a reduced suspension, which seems likely to be the case. Assuming he’s still suspended at some point, the A’s can turn to Mark Canha again in center field or recall any of Skye Bolt, Luis Barrera or Dustin Fowler from their alternate site.

How The Athletics Acquired A Cornerstone From A Division Rival

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Apparently the Astros didn’t know everything that was coming in 2017. Their Nov. 20 trade with the Athletics netted them right-hander Brandon Bailey … in exchange for budding outfield star Ramon Laureano.

Ramon Laureano | Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

At the time of the swap, it barely drew notice. It certainly didn’t seem like any sort of egregious misstep. Laureano had turned in a woeful .227/.298/.369 slash in Double-A that year. He connected on 11 home runs and swiped 24 bags, showing a bit of pop and some speed, but his walk rate was cut in half from its 2016 mark. Scouting reports praised his glovework, but the Astros apparently didn’t think his defense was as good as it’s proven to be. Former GM Jeff Luhnow admitted to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle last April that the Astros didn’t “quite [have] the defense rated as well as it’s played in the big leagues,” plainly calling the trade “one I’d love to have back.”

Laureano’s glove in 2019 didn’t play out quite as well as it did in 2018 — at least not in the estimation of most metrics. In just 385 innings in 2018, he logged +6 Defensive Runs Saved, a 3.7 Ultimate Zone Rating and +2 Outs Above Average. Those numbers dipped to +3, +0.7 and -5, respectively, in 1041 innings between center field and right field this past season. Even as his overall numbers might’ve taken a step back, Laureano showed off a cannon from both center and right. In 1426 innings at the MLB level, he’s racked up 17 assists — earning every bit of his “Laser Ramon” nickname.

As for his work at the plate, Laureano’s 2019 output matched his standout showing from his 2018 debut. Over the life of 481 plate appearances, he turned in a .288/.340/.521 batting line with 24 long balls and 13 stolen bases (in 15 attempts). That was good for a 126 wRC+ that lined up nicely with the 130 mark he posted as a rookie in 2018.

Overall, Laureano has appeared in 171 MLB games and taken 687 plate appearances — just over a full regular season’s worth of work. Between his outrageous arm, solid all-around defense, well-regarded baserunning ability and his strong work at the plate, he’s been worth 6.0 fWAR and 5.9 bWAR. That trade, considering the club control (through 2024) and low cost of acquisition, stands out as one of the best moves in recent memory for A’s executive vice president of baseball operations Billy Beane, GM David Forst and the rest of the Oakland staff.

Speaking of that cost of acquisition, it’s worth taking a look at what the Astros did get. The now-25-year-old Bailey is still a prospect of some note — albeit one that the ’Stros almost lost for nothing. Houston opted to leave Bailey unprotected in December’s Rule 5 Draft, and the Orioles (headed up by former Astros assistant GM Mike Elias) snagged him with the second overall pick. Baltimore since returned him, but that selection speaks to Bailey’s ability in and of itself.

Last year, the right-hander logged a 3.30 ERA in a pitcher-friendly Double-A setting, averaging an even 10 strikeouts against 3.98 walks per nine innings pitched. He’s not an elite prospect, but Eric Longenhagen ranked him 30th among Houston farmhands at FanGraphs this winter, labeling him as a potential reliever with a “robust” arsenal. Clearly though, even if Bailey meets or exceeds that ceiling, he has a long way to go before making the Laureano swap look like anything less than a heist.

So, why did Houston move Laureano in the first place? The trade took place just prior to the deadline to set 40-man rosters in advance of the 2017 Rule 5 Draft, and the Astros weren’t set on adding Laureano after his aforementioned down year in Double-A. It’s a mistake that every club has made in some shape or form, and I’ll be the first to say that it’s not really fair to look back and make harsh judgments with the benefit of hindsight. That said, Astros decisionmakers have to cringe when they look back at the players they chose to preserve over Laureano.

The Astros themselves actually kept a 40-man roster spot open, which they used to select outfielder-turned-left-hander Anthony Gose from the Rangers in the Rule 5 Draft. Gose never pitched for Houston and wound up back with the Rangers. Preston Tucker was already on the 40-man roster but had posted a 102 wRC+ in Triple-A in 2017 without appearing in a big league game. He was designated for assignment less than a month after trading Laureano (clearing a roster spot for Hector Rondon). Houston also dedicated a 40-man roster spot to backup catcher Juan Centeno, whom they claimed off waivers a few days after trading Laureano.

As for players actually selected to the 40-man roster in protection from the Rule 5 Draft, Houston added lefty Cionel Perez and righty Dean Deetz. The former is still with the team but has yet to establish himself as a regular member of the pitching staff. The latter was hit with an 80-game PED suspension later that offseason and outrighted off the 40-man roster earlier this winter. He’s pitched 3 1/3 innings in the Majors.

Both Perez and Deetz were more highly regarded prospect at the time, and no one was labeling the Laureano deal any sort of heist or steal for the A’s. The purpose here isn’t to look back and say, “How could the Astros have possibly done this?!” but rather to give a tip of the cap to a savvy acquisition from the A’s that has not only greatly boosted their own long-term outlook but done so at the expense of a division powerhouse.

Oakland, after all, has Laureano penciled in as its center fielder for the next half decade and figures to reap enormous surplus value from his remaining pre-arb years and early arbitration seasons. For a low-payroll club, that’s all the more valuable. The Astros, meanwhile, are set to lose their entire outfield to free agency this winter. Vaunted prospect Kyle Tucker gives them one likely replacement, but it must be particularly difficult to see another would-be outfield cornerstone thriving with their closest competitor for AL West supremacy.

Injury Notes: Tauchman, Moose, Laureano, Kelly

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Mike Tauchman departed during the fourth inning of Sunday night’s game with what the Yankees described as left calf tightness.  The outfielder suffered the injury while fielding a Brock Holt single, though he told reporters (including James Wagner of the New York Times) that he had recently been dealing with a sore calf and thought he was beyond the problem after a pair of pain-free games.  Tauchman will undergo an MRI on Monday in New York to determine the extent of the issue.

One of many unsung heroes who have stepped up in the wake of a cavalcade of Yankees injuries, Tauchman hit his 13th homer of the season Sunday, improving his slash line to .277/.361/.504 (128 wRC+) over 296 plate appearances.  After two seasons as a spare-parts outfielder with the Rockies, Tauchman has broken out in a major way, which would make it all the more unfortunate if a potential injured list stint were to cut into his availability for the postseason roster.  If Tauchman does have to miss time, the Yankees still have Clint Frazier and Cameron Maybin (himself just returned from a wrist injury) as left field options, and Giancarlo Stanton looms as a potential late-season reinforcement at some point in September.

More on other injury situations from around the game…

  • “I can’t take a swing without pain,” Mike Moustakas told reporters (including JR Radcliffe of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) about the deep wrist bruise that has limited him to a non-hitting role.  “I can hit flips, I can hit BP, and there’s still pain there, but that’s not what’s concerning. It’s when I swing and miss or I check swing and I have to hold my bat.”  The Brewers third baseman sat out seven games within a recent nine-game stretch while trying to recover, and has appeared in each of the club’s last two games but only as a defensive replacement.  While he is happy to help in any way possible while recovering, Moustakas is understandably eager to more fully contribute, and hopes he is getting close to feeling normal at the plate.  “When I’m in an at-bat facing a major league pitcher, you don’t want to be thinking about how bad your hand hurts when you’re trying to hit,” Moustakas said.  “You want to have a clear mind and go out there able to compete. I wasn’t able to do that the last week or so.“
  • As Ramon Laureano works his way back to full health after suffering a stress reaction in his right shin, Athletics manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle) that Laureano will likely play in only two of every three games.  “This probably isn’t going to be an everyday proposition for him for a while,” Melvin said.  Laureano didn’t go through a rehab assignment before returning from his five-week stint on the IL, and left Saturday’s game after suffering a cramp in his right leg.
  • Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly has been battling a lower-body injury, manager Dave Roberts told J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group and other reporters.  The problem is “not a red flag for us,” Roberts said, though he noted that Kelly’s delivery is still being somewhat altered by the injury.  Kelly pitched on Saturday after sitting out the Dodgers’ previous five games.  After signing a three-year, $25MM free agent deal with Los Angeles over the winter, Kelly badly struggled over his first two-plus months but then stabilized things, posting a 2.00 ERA over his last 27 innings (28 outings).

Quick Hits: Montas, Laureano, JDM, Yankees, Mendez

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Once the ace of the Athletics’ rotation, Frankie Montas has been something of a forgotten man since being issued an 80-game PED suspension on June 21.  Montas will be eligible for the last five games of Oakland’s regular season, however, could still help the A’s get into the playoffs.  GM David Forst told Chris Townsend of the A’s Cast podcast (partial transcript from Ben Ross of NBC Sports Bay Area) that the team is prepared to use Montas as either a starter or reliever, and has kept him stretched out in simulated games in case a start is required in one of those five games.  Montas could also get a minor league game under his belt if Oakland’s Double-A or Triple-A affiliates advance in the postseason, as Montas is eligible to begin a rehab assignment beginning on September 10.

Montas was in the midst of a breakout campaign at the time of his suspension, with a 2.70 ERA, 9.7 K/9, and 4.62 K/BB rate over 90 innings.  Though he won’t be eligible for the postseason if the Athletics are able to claim a wild card, Montas could certainly still be a valuable x-factor during what could be a very tense final week of action as the A’s, Indians, and Rays battle for the two wild card slots.

Some stray items from around baseball…

  • After returning from the injured list just yesterday, Ramon Laureano left the Athletics’ 10-2 win over the Tigers tonight due to what the A’s described as a right leg cramp.  After a leadoff double in the sixth inning, Laureano made it into second base despite “limping right out of the box,” as MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos described the situation.  Manager Bob Melvin told Gallegos and other reporters that he hoped Laureano would be back on Monday, as the outfielder was already scheduled for a planned day off on Sunday.  Laureano missed over five weeks due to a stress reaction in his right shin, and another absence would be the last thing he and the A’s need as the club chases down a wild card berth.
  • Amidst the speculation about whether or not J.D. Martinez will exercise the opt-out clause in his Red Sox contract after the season, Ken Rosenthal (in his latest video report for FOX Sports) points out that Martinez doesn’t necessarily have to decide right now if he wants to leave Boston.  The slugger also has opt-out clauses after both the 2020 season and (assuming he can avoid another Lisfranc-related right foot injury) 2021 season, so he could perhaps wait one more year to see if his market evolves.  Despite Martinez’s hitting prowess, there aren’t too many obvious suitors for a mostly DH-only player….unless the National League were to become involved, as Rosenthal wonders if Martinez would stay in his contract to see if the NL adopted the designated hitter in the next collective bargaining agreement.
  • Also from Rosenthal’s video, he makes a case for why Didi Gregorius could be “the odd man out” for the Yankees even if he performed well for the remainder of the season.  New York might simply prefer to use Gleyber Torres at shortstop in 2020 rather than re-sign Gregorius, who is almost seven years older than Torres.  Recovery from Tommy John surgery kept Gregorius from playing until June 7, and he is one of the few Yankees not tearing the cover off the ball, with a .252/.282/.462 slash line and 14 homers over 280 plate appearances (for a below-average 90 wRC+).  If the Yankees did decide to move on from Gregorius, however, Rosenthal figures the team would still need to extend another veteran infielder, as DJ LeMahieu (who’d play every day at second base if Gregorius departed) is only under contract through the 2020 season.
  • The Rangers and Yohander Mendez will learn in the offseason whether the left-hander’s one remaining minor league option will still be retained for 2020.  Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram details the situation, as the league already granted Mendez a fourth option for this season, though the lefty only made his 2019 debut today after missing the first five-plus months rehabbing a sprained UCL.  This means Mendez hasn’t accumulated the 20 days of optional minor league assignment necessary to burn an option year.  If Mendez is ruled to be out of options, the Rangers would then have to designate him for assignment (and thus expose him to a waiver claim) if they wished to remove him from the 40-man roster.

AL West Notes: Angels, Laureano, Piscotty, Crawford

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The relationship between Scott Boras and Angels owner Arte Moreno is a notable subplot of the Halos’ plans to upgrade their starting pitching this winter, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writes (subscription required).  There has been some level of friction between Moreno and Boras ever since the Angels came up short in their pursuit of free agent and Boras client Mark Teixeira in the 2008-09 offseason.  This isn’t to say that the two sides haven’t worked together since, as current Angels such as Noe Ramirez and top prospect Jo Adell are all represented by the Boras Corporation, and the Angels have signed Boras clients like Ryan Madson and Matt Harvey to notable deals in recent years.

Still, the modest Madson/Harvey contracts are a far cry from what it would take to sign one of the several Boras clients at or near the top of the free agent pitching market — i.e. Gerrit Cole, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Dallas Keuchel, and (if he opts out of his contract) Stephen Strasburg.  Even beyond the Boras clients, Rosenthal notes that Los Angeles also couldn’t come to terms with any upper-tier free agent arms the team pursued last winter, leading the Angels towards their ill-fated strategy of signing players like Harvey to one-year contracts.  Beyond free agency, Rosenthal wonders if the Halos could trade for pitching by offering from a farm system that is heavy on position-player talent, if not necessarily elite talent (besides Adell) in the eyes of most prospect rankings.

More from around the AL West…

  • Ramon Laureano is on track to return from the injured list during the Athletics’ upcoming series with the Tigers, A’s manager Bob Melvin told media (including Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle).  A stress reaction in his right shin has kept Laureano out since July 28, cutting short a white-hot hitting streak that had seen the outfielder post a 1.264 OPS over his previous 93 plate appearances.  For the season as a whole, Laureano has a .284/.334/.518 slash line and 21 homers in 419 PA, and he’ll reclaim his usual center field role upon his return.  Laureano’s activation will help an Oakland outfield that has been further depleted by the loss of Stephen Piscotty to an ankle sprain.  Piscotty hit the IL on August 25 and has yet to begin baseball activities, Melvin said, so it isn’t known when Piscotty could return to the lineup. [UPDATE: Laureano will return on Friday, Melvin told the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser and other media members]
  • Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford will miss roughly two weeks due to a hamstring strain, GM Jerry Dipoto told the Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish and other media.  Crawford was diagnosed with a Grade 1 strain, which is the lowest level of severity, though “some areas of the strain [are] nearing a Grade 2,” Divish writes.  It isn’t out of the question that Crawford’s season could be over, as Dipoto said the M’s “won’t push” Crawford if any complications arise.  Acquired as the young centerpiece of the trade that sent Jean Segura to the Phillies last winter, Crawford has a .241/.322/.397 slash line over 338 plate appearances in his first season as a Mariner.

AL Injury Notes: Buxton, Price, Laureano, Pence

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Out since Aug. 2 with a left shoulder subluxation, center fielder Byron Buxton still isn’t ready to rejoin the Twins’ roster, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports (subscription required). Buxton is coming back to the Twins, but only because his rehab assignment hit a snag. He has been dealing with discomfort in his shoulder this week, though an MRI didn’t reveal any new inflammation, per Hayes. “We’re still optimistic that he’s still going to help this team at some point before the season’s end,” said general manager Thad Levine, who added he’s “very confident” Buxton will slot back into the Twins’ lineup this year. While Buxton has been on the IL three times in 2019, he has nonetheless managed 2.8 fWAR in 295 plate appearances, thereby helping Minnesota to a three-game lead in the American League Central.

  • Red Sox southpaw David Price “believes” he’ll come off the IL to rejoin this weekend in Anaheim, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com writes. A TFCC cyst in Price’s left wrist has kept him from pitching in the majors since Aug. 4, which was a particularly forgettable start for the 34-year-old. Price gave up seven earned in 2 2/3 innings against the Yankees then, raising his 2019 ERA from 3.86 to 4.36 in one fell swoop. The hurler’s other numbers are much better, however, as he owns a 3.64 FIP with 10.77 K/9 and 2.65 BB/9 across 105 1/3 innings.
  • Athletics center fielder Ramon Laureano has been on the shelf since July 29 with a shin injury, though it’s possible he’ll return without embarking on a rehab assignment, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Laureano has been racking up at-bats at the A’s minor league complex, and he could rejoin the team this weekend or during an upcoming homestand that starts next Tuesday, Slusser suggests. Oakland has done well without Laureano, evidenced by the fact that it holds the AL’s second wild-card spot, but he has been one of the drivers of its success this season. The 25-year-old has slashed .284/.334/.518 with 21 homers, 12 steals and 3.0 fWAR through 419 trips to the plate.
  • The Rangers placed outfielder Hunter Pence on the IL on Tuesday (retroactive to Aug. 24) with a lower back strain, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets. The club recalled infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa from Triple-A Nashville in a corresponding move. It’s the second IL placement of the season for Pence, who missed a few weeks earlier in the summer on account of a groin strain. Injuries aside, this season has been a resounding success for the 36-year-old Pence, who earned his fourth All-Star appearance last month. After back-to-back woeful campaigns with the Giants, Pence took a minor league contract with the Rangers in the offseason and has since logged a stout .297/.358/.552 line and smacked 18 home runs in 316 plate appearances.

West Notes: Flores, Laureano, Mariners

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Utilityman Wilmer Flores isn’t the most heavily deployed player in Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo’s stable, but it’s been nonetheless strange to see the veteran–who is hitting .421 in sixteen August games–sit out since Tuesday’s game against the Rockies. The Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro now sheds a little light on that curious state of affairs, as the scribe relays that Flores has been dealing with a back issue (link). Apparently, Flores doesn’t consider the ailment “overly serious”, and Lovullo informed Piecoro that the former Met has been available over the last few days.

That the club is exercising caution with Flores is interesting, considering that Arizona holds a $6MM option on Flores’s multidimensional services next year. It’s possible that the club is nursing Flores and his injured back with an eye on keeping him in the club’s employ next year–then again, it’s just as possible that the sliding club, with a 3-7 record in their last ten games, is simply playing out the string on what promises to be a developmentally oriented close to the 2019 season.

More notes from around the left coast…

  • Athletics outfielder Ramon Laureano will get at-bats in Arizona in the next several days, according to information from manager Bob Melvin relayed to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser (link). Laureano has been out since July 28th with a leg injury, and previous reports indicated that he would get some at-bats with High-A Stockton before ultimately being activated. In his first extended big league look, Laureano provided the club with 419 at-bats of .284/.334/.518 production in 2019 while doing some nice things on the outfield grass (his 8 outfield assists rank him 3rd among centerfielders).
  • Mariners great Felix Hernandez returned to big league confines on Saturday, drawing standing ovations from fans while dialing up 5.2 innings of two-run ball in a 7-5 loss to the Blue Jays. While it was a welcome return for M’s fans, it did mean that lefty Wade LeBlanc would be transitioning back into a multi-inning relief role. LeBlanc has gamely offered the Mariners 8 starts and 21 appearances in 2019, although the 5.52 ERA he’s amassed in 109.1 innings goes a long way toward explaining his demotion back to a bullpen-only role moving forward.
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