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Cafardo’s Latest: Moreland, Leon, Red Sox, Gomez, Puig

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The latest news and notes from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe…

  • The Astros have a lot of interest in Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland, though Cafardo doubts a trade is likely given Texas’ lack of first base depth in the wake of Prince Fielder’s retirement.  (It would also be very unusual to see a trade between two division rivals in a pennant race, even if Houston has fallen well behind Texas in the AL West.)  The Astros already have a left-handed hitting first baseman in rookie A.J. Reed, though Reed is still a work in progress despite some improved hitting over the last couple of weeks.  While it doesn’t seem like Texas would deal Moreland, he has cleared trade waivers, so he can freely moved to any other club.
  • The Nationals’ trade of Sandy Leon to the Red Sox for cash considerations in March 2015 drew little attention at the time, though it has become an unexpectedly important deal given how Leon has blossomed in Boston.  Leon entered the day with a stunning 1.088 OPS over 158 plate appearances this season, completely dwarfing anything he’d done at the major or minor league levels.  “I personally signed Sandy Leon when he was 16½ years old…My name is on that one,” Nats GM Mike Rizzo said.  “He was a good catch-and-throw kid, and what a kid.  He’s one of the greatest young men I’ve ever been around.  I’m so happy he’s doing well especially offensively, but I never saw it coming.”
  • The Red Sox could fill David Ortiz’s big shoes by DH at pursuing free agents Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista, Carlos Beltran, Mike Napoli or Mark Trumbo this winter, as Cafardo feels the team will look for an external solution.  The simplest move would be to move Hanley Ramirez to DH, though that leaves both corner infield spots up in the air given the uncertainty around Pablo Sandoval’s weight, Travis Shaw’s ability to play every day and the development of prospects Yoan Moncada and Sam Travis.
  • Carlos Gomez drew interest from several teams before signing with the Rangers, with Cafardo adding the Indians and Blue Jays to the list of clubs already known to have been looking at the veteran outfielder.  Gomez likely would’ve served as platoon partner for Tyler Naquin in center for the Tribe, though despite Michael Brantley missing virtually the entire season, Cleveland’s outfield has actually been pretty solid thanks to unexpected contributions from Naquin, Rajai Davis and (when he hasn’t been at third) Jose Ramirez.  Gomez could’ve filled in the Jays outfield while Bautista and Kevin Pillar are on the DL, though his role would’ve been rather unclear once both returned.
  • Yasiel Puig “is considered toxic at the moment” and it seems unlikely that another team will take him off the Dodgers’ hands.  One Dodgers official isn’t entirely closing the door on Puig remaining in L.A., saying “At some point, the talent, the maturity is going to take hold.  Someone will benefit from it.  We hope it’s us, but it’s hard to envision it right now.”

Injury Notes: Ross, Lowrie, Hahn, Putnam, Hanigan

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Here are the latest injury notes from around the league.

  • Nationals starter Joe Ross is still dealing with shoulder soreness and has been removed from his rehab assignment, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post writes. Ross was in the midst of a solid first full season with the Nats, with a 3.49 ERA, 7.5 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 95 1/3 innings, but he has not pitched in the big leagues in over a month. The team’s current rotation plans appear somewhat open-ended, although they have off days upcoming on Monday and Thursday and could potentially get by for the next week and a half or so with only four starters. Ross could make one more rehab start and then return right around the time the Nats need a fifth starter again.
  • The Athletics announced before last night’s game that they’ve placed infielder Jed Lowrie and righty Jesse Hahn on the 15-day DL and recalled outfielder Brett Eibner and righty Andrew Triggs from Triple-A Nashville to replace them. (Eibner, who recently arrived from the Royals organization in a trade for fellow outfielder Billy Burns, homered in his Oakland debut last night.) Lowrie is dealing with a toe injury that could be season-ending if he undergoes surgery, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle recently explained. Max Muncy will play at second in his absence. Hahn, meanwhile, has a shoulder strain, although John Shea of the Chronicle tweets that Hahn does not believe the situation is serious.
  • White Sox reliever Zach Putnam had surgery Thursday to remove a bone fragment from his right elbow, the team has announced. The team further notes that the ligament was intact, and that Putnam will begin rehab next week. Putnam was off to a great start this season, with a 2.30 ERA, 9.9 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 27 1/3 innings, but he went down with the elbow injury in late June and hasn’t pitched since.
  • The Red Sox have placed catcher Ryan Hanigan on the DL with ankle peroneal tendinitis, Tim Britton of the Providence Journal tweets. The 35-year-old Hanigan has played sparingly this season, collecting 102 plate appearances and hitting just .158/.216/.221 while serving as a backup. He also missed significant time earlier in the season due to a neck injury. Bryan Holaday, who the Red Sox claimed from the Rangers yesterday, will now share catching duties with Sandy Leon.

Red Sox Make Handful Of Roster Moves

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The Red Sox have placed catcher Ryan Hanigan and catcher/left fielder Blake Swihart on the 15-day disabled list, brought up outfielder Rusney Castillo, right-hander Heath Hembree and backstop Sandy Leon from Triple-A Pawtucket, and optioned righty Noe Ramirez, the team announced.

Both Hanigan and Swihart left Boston’s win over Toronto on Saturday with injuries. Hanigan departed in the sixth inning with a neck strain, while Swihart exited in the seventh after crashing into the wall down the left field line on a catch and hurting his left ankle.

Hanigan hasn’t offered much at the plate this year, having hit an ugly .186/.250/.229 in 70 plate appearances, though he has thrown out six of 19 would-be base stealers (good for an above-average 32 percent rate). Swihart has provided a decent .258/.365/.355 line in 74 PAs while adjusting to an outfield role. The losses of him and Hanigan will obviously have a negative effect on the Red Sox’s catcher depth behind Christian Vazquez, which is why the club promoted Leon. In 129 PAs with Pawtucket this season, Leon has batted .237/.310/.333 with two home runs. He owns a .187/.258/.225 line in 235 major league trips to the plate.

With Swihart down, Castillo could now have a chance to reenter the picture for the Red Sox, though he’ll sit Sunday in favor of Chris Young. Since signing a $72MM deal with Boston in 2014, the Cuba native has garnered just 333 big league PAs, hitting an underwhelming .265/.304/.383. He has spent nearly all of this year in the minors, where he has continued to post less-than-stellar statistics (.241/.302/.317 with one homer in 159 PAs).

Hembree, on the other hand, has been successful for the Red Sox this season. The 27-year-old has compiled a 2.14 ERA, 7.71 K/9 and 2.14 BB/9 in 21 big league innings. Those numbers are relatively similar to his career totals (2.81, 7.17 and 2.95, respectively) over 64 frames. Hembree has also pitched to a solid 3.07 ERA, complemented by a superb 11.0 K/9, in 246 1/3 minor league innings.

Since debuting in the majors last season, Ramirez has racked up 24 innings of 5.25 ERA ball to accompany a 9.00 K/9 and 5.25 BB/9. Ramirez’s minor league career has been a different story, though, as he has a 2.86 ERA, 8.3 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 283 innings at lower levels.

Red Sox Re-Sign Sandy Leon; Alexi Ogando Elects Free Agency

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SUNDAY: Ogando has elected to become a free agent, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes has learned.

FRIDAY: The Red Sox announced a series of moves this afternoon, including the re-signing of catcher Sandy Leon. Boston also outrighted several players off of its 40-man roster (joining Ryan Cook, who was claimed by the Cubs).

Leon was given a major league deal, but simultaneously was outrighted off of the 40-man roster to Triple-A. He’ll earn $534K in the big leagues and $273K in the minors, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports (Twitter links). The move was obviously conceived of as a mechanism to keep him around as a back-up plan behind the plate without committing a 40-man roster spot.

Meanwhile, Boston has outrighted first baseman/outfielder Allen Craig along with relievers Alexi Ogando and Jean Machi. Craig, of course, is still playing under a significant extension and has now twice been outrighted off of the team’s big league roster. Ogando and Machi were both eligible for arbitration — with MLBTR projecting salaries of $2.4MM and $900K, respectively. Obviously, the club was not interested in committing to that level of pay to the pair of righties.

Red Sox Designate Sandy Leon For Assignment

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The Red Sox have designated catcher Sandy Leon for assignment in order to clear space on the active roster for Blake Swihart, manager John Farrell told reporters, including WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford (Twitter link). According to Farrell, the Sox are looking for more offense out of the catcher position. Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald tweets that while Swihart will play more than a standard backup, Ryan Hanigan will still be Boston’s primary backstop.

Boston acquired the 26-year-old Leon from the Nationals in exchange for cash considerations during Spring Training. As an out of options player — which was part of the reason he was acquired in the first place — there was no way for the Sox to send him down in exchange for Swihart without removing him from the 40-man roster.

Leon has split time behind the plate this season with both Hanigan and Swihart, but he’s struggled with the bat. In 102 plate appearances, Leon’s batted just .180/.247/.191 with a double serving as his lone extra-base hit this year. Leon, however, has gunned down an outstanding 56 percent of opposing base stealers (9 of 16), though he’s been a bit below average in terms of framing, per Baseball Prospectus and StatCorner.com.

Red Sox Acquire Sandy Leon; Christian Vazquez Placed On 60-Day DL

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9:05am: The Red Sox announced that they have acquired Leon from the Nationals in exchange for cash considerations. In order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster, Vazquez has been placed on the 60-day disabled list with a sprained right elbow.

7:05am: Catcher Sandy Leon tells James Wagner of the Washington Post (Twitter link) that he has been traded to the Red Sox. The 26-year-old Leon was out of options and unlikely to break camp with the Nationals, and the Sox have a need behind the plate with Christian Vazquez’s immediate future uncertain as he deals with an elbow injury.

Leon, a switch-hitter, has played sparingly over the past three seasons, totaling 107 plate appearances in the Major Leagues and hitting just .189/.280/.253 in that extremely small sample. Leon’s track record in Triple-A — a .257/.358/.414 triple slash — is more impressive, but it, too, has come in a small sample of just 257 PA. Overall, Leon is a .236/.324/.329 hitter in the Minors, but he’s been a dominant force behind the plate when protecting against the running game, as he’s gunned down 45 percent of base stealers in his Minor League career.

Vazquez is slated to meet with Dr. James Andrews this week after an MRI has led to speculation that he could require Tommy John surgery. The move would be a significant blow to the Sox and devastating news for Vazquez, who was in line to see significant time behind the plate this year. Boston has already acquired Ryan Hanigan this winter, and he figures to receive the bulk of the playing time behind the dish.

The wild card in Boston’s catching situation is top prospect Blake Swihart, whose name has continually surfaced in Cole Hamels trade rumors. However, the Sox have steadfastly refused to consider trading Swihart, who is regarded as a Top 20 prospect in the game. Swihart batted a combined .293/.341/.469 between Double-A and Triple-A last season, and he’s had an excellent spring, hitting .296/.345/.444. Some have speculated that the 23-year-old could break camp with the club if Vazquez has a serious enough injury, but the addition of Leon gives the Red Sox the ability to give Swihart a bit more time to develop in the Minors if they wish. Swihart played just 18 games at the Triple-A level last season, so it would be understandable if Boston was yet uncertain about rushing their prized prospect to the Major Leagues.

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