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Rotation Rumors: Sale, Urias, Marlins, Nova, Miley, Shelby

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The Dodgers would be willing to include top prospect Julio Urias in a trade for White Sox ace Chris Sale, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. That’s a major concession, as Urias is arguably the very best pitching prospect in baseball. Los Angeles has declined to make him available in the past, and now that he has reached the majors, he would certainly represent a legitimate centerpiece in a deal for the even-more-valuable Sale. Depth isn’t a major concern for Los Angeles, Sherman explains; instead, they are trying to see if they can strike a deal for a major talent like Sale, teammate Jose Quintana, or Chris Archer of the Rays.

  • Rival executives say that the Marlins have been extremely aggressive in trying to add a starter, says Sherman, but they also don’t see anything intriguing in the club’s farm system. Trading from the big league roster would obviously be difficult to do for Miami, but Sherman offers the intriguing (but, as he says, totally speculative) idea that the club could dangle injured reliever Carter Capps.
  • The Marlins have shown some interest in Yankees righties Michael Pineda and Ivan Nova, among many other names with whom they have been connected, also per Sherman. And that would seem to align with New York’s own approach, as the club is moving its focus to finding a taker for Nova, according to a report from Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. The Yanks are dangling him at a relatively high asking price, per the report — at least for the time being.
  • Mariners lefty Wade Miley is another pitcher the Marlins are at least considering, per Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). Miley is controllable through 2018, but his results have been so poor this year that he shouldn’t command a significant price. Given that the Fish have previously had interest in the southpaw, per Spencer, perhaps they could look to buy low and get a sturdy arm without giving up what little young talent they have on offer.
  • Amidst reports that the Diamondbacks have made struggling righty Shelby Miller available in trades, GM Dave Stewart tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (Twitter link) that he won’t be given away for nothing. “We have been asked about Miller,” he said. “Teams think we’ve given up on him, we haven’t.” It remains to be seen what kind of interest Arizona will field in Miller, but there’s no particular reason for him to be moved at the trade deadline. His value, after all, lies in the hope that he can return to being the solid starter he once was, rather than in his potential contributions for the rest of the 2016 season.

Passan’s Latest: Davis, Miller, Sale, Quintana, Miley, Upton

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Yahoo’s Jeff Passan has another edition of his 10 Degrees column posted, which focuses heavily on a number of potentially available names. A few highlights from within, though the entire column is worth a look…

  • When determining what they should ask in return for Wade Davis, should they make him available, the Royals internally discussed Nationals righty Lucas Giolito, per Passan. That would be a fairly staggering price to pay, as Giolito is, by many accounts, the top pitching prospect in all of baseball. Davis is earning $8MM this season (about $3.06MM of that remains) and has a $10MM option for the 2017 season on his contract as well, so there’s certainly value, but that price would almost certainly strike the Nats as exorbitant. However, as Passan notes, the Yankees plucked Gleyber Torres and three other pieces from the Cubs for a rental of Aroldis Chapman, so the Royals’ lofty asking price is understandable.
  • The D-backs are prepared to offer struggling right-hander Shelby Miller to other clubs in trades and are largely open for business overall, though a complete tear-down won’t happen. The D-backs are holding onto Paul Goldschmidt, Jake Lamb, A.J. Pollock, Zack Greinke, Patrick Corbin and Robbie Ray — a nice core, as Passan notes — but are willing to listen virtually anywhere else. Miller’s acquisition has been one of the most talked-about stories in the game since he was acquired for Dansby Swanson, Ender Inciarte and Aaron Blair this offseason, and his 7.14 ERA through 69 1/3 innings and subsequent demotion to Triple-A Reno have only intensified the scrutiny.
  • Chris Sale’s trade value hasn’t been hurt by his suspension for inappropriate conduct in this weekend’s bizarre jersey-cutting controversy. Any club wishing to acquire him would need to part with an MLB-ready, elite prospect, writes Passan, who lists Andrew Benintendi or Yoan Moncada of the Red Sox, Nomar Mazara of the Rangers, Alex Bregman of the Astros and Julio Urias of the Dodgers as hypothetical starting points — the White Sox would require another three to four valuable pieces beyond those names — if any of those teams want to make a legitimate run at Sale. I think the White Sox would be well within reason to start by asking for both Benintendi and Moncada from the Red Sox or Nomar Mazara and Joey Gallo from the Rangers before moving onto the secondary pieces in each deal. Sale is owed $3.5MM through the end of the current season and can be controlled through 2019, his age-30 season, for a total of $41.5MM. The surplus value there is astonishing, and the dearth of pitching talent on the trade market/upcoming free agent market only adds to Sale’s allure.
  • The White Sox are valuing lefty Jose Quintana quite similarly, Passan adds, noting that one executive tells him Chicago is valuing Quintana like a true No. 1 starter. That’s not quite an accurate representation of Quintana’s abilities, but he’s pitched closely enough to that level that it makes sense to ask. Quintana has a 3.32 ERA with 7.8 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and a 43.9 percent ground-ball rate in 737 innings dating back to 2013. Like Sale, he’s a flat-out bargain for the South Siders, as he’s owed just $39.92MM through the 2020 season.
  • Wade Miley has been quietly shopped by the Mariners in recent weeks, per Passan. While Seattle isn’t necessarily selling despite their trade of Mike Montgomery and their shopping of Miley, it appears that they’re open to dealing from the big league roster in the right scenario. The Montgomery trade brought an MLB-ready talent back to the Mariners in Dan Vogelbach, and Seattle probably has the pitching depth to move Miley without subtracting much in the way of big league value from the current iteration of the club. Miley has just a 5.23 ERA in 105 innings for Seattle this season, though his strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates are all respectable (6.3 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 45.9 percent). He’s guaranteed about $11.55MM through the end of the 2017 season, though $500K of that is in the form of a buyout on a $12MM club option for the 2018 season, so he could be controlled longer if he rebounds.
  • The “safe money” is on Melvin Upton Jr. going to the Orioles to play as a corner outfielder/insurance policy for Adam Jones in center field, Passan writes. The O’s and Padres have reportedly discussed a swap of Upton and Ubaldo Jimenez, though the Orioles would need to send some prospect value back to San Diego in that trade. The contracts of Upton ($22.36MM through 2017) and Jimenez ($18.47MM) are similar, and Upton, unlike Jimenez, is providing present-day value. It’s still tough for me to envision the Padres getting much in the way of a prospect back — especially if they do indeed absorb Jimenez’s contract — and the Orioles don’t exactly have a deep farm from which to deal.

Diamondbacks Make Shelby Miller Available

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Less than eight months after the Diamondbacks traded Dansby Swanson, Ender Inciarte and Aaron Blair to the Braves for Shelby Miller, Arizona has let teams know that the right-hander is available, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Not surprisingly, the Diamondbacks’ asking price for the 25-year-old Miller isn’t nearly as high as the cost they paid for him, according to Passan.

Miller was a quality option from 2013-15 as a member of the Cardinals and Braves, with whom he combined to post a 3.27 ERA, 7.48 K/9, 3.25 BB/9 and 42.3 percent ground-ball rate over 561 2/3 innings. Because of that consistent effectiveness, the Braves first deemed him worthy enough to receive in exchange for star outfielder Jason Heyward in December 2014. The Diamondbacks then decided he warranted a Swanson, Inciarte and Blair package a year later.

While the Diamondbacks thought they were landing an in-his-prime, top-of-the-rotation starter, their move to give up Swanson (the No. 1  pick in last year’s draft), a solid center fielder in Inciarte and Blair (a 2014 first-round selection) for Miller was universally derided. No one expected Miller to experience such a precipitous fall from grace, though, as the D-backs optioned him to Triple-A on July 14 after a nightmarish 69 1/3 innings in the majors. In his first and potentially only season in Arizona, Miller has logged an ugly 7.14 ERA. A lousy K/9 (6.49) and BB/9 (4.41), not to mention a dip in velocity, have contributed to his struggles. He also missed some time earlier this year with a finger injury.

Thanks in part to its disastrous Miller gamble, an Arizona team that had designs on a playoff run entering the season is in last place in the NL West at 40-57, 18 games behind division-leading San Francisco and 13 out of a Wild Card position. And now the Tony La Russa- and Dave Stewart-led franchise looks ready to bail on Miller, who’s on a $4.35MM salary this year and is scheduled to go through arbitration two more times.

Diamondbacks Option Shelby Miller To Triple-A

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The Diamondbacks announced tonight that they have optioned struggling right-hander Shelby Miller to Triple-A Reno. Arizona did not announce a corresponding move at this time.

Just four months ago, this would’ve been an unthinkable outcome for Miller, who was coming off his finest season as a Major Leaguer. The 25-year-old posted a 3.02 ERA with 7.5 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 in 205 innings in his lone season with the Braves after coming to Atlanta in the December 2014 Jason Heyward swap. That performance led the D-backs to part with an king’s ransom — center fielder Ender Inciarte, 2014 first-round pick Aaron Blair and 2015 No. 1 overall pick Dansby Swanson — to acquire Miller in a trade this summer.

However, the 2016 has been a disaster for Miller, whose 7.14 ERA is the third-highest in all of baseball among pitchers with at least 60 innings pitched.  He’s missed some time this season with a finger injury but struggled even in his return from the disabled list, posting a 7.23 ERA over his final four starts prior to the All-Star break. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets that Miller said he understands why he’s being sent down and candidly added that he was surprised it hadn’t happened sooner.

Miller’s trade was among the most talked-about swaps in recent history, as many considered the price paid by the D-backs to be exorbitant in nature. However, even the most adamant detractors of the deal have been surprised by the struggles of Miller, which have played a major role in what has been a disappointing season for the Diamondbacks overall. Arizona lost center fielder A.J. Pollock, one of the game’s top all-around players, for much (if not all) of the 2016 season before Opening Day, and it watched $206.5MM starter Zack Greinke falter out of the gates as well. The D-backs have also lost right-hander Rubby De La Rosa to the disabled list for most of the season to date, and the club’s projected No. 3 starter, Patrick Corbin, has had issues of his own. While Corbin’s woes haven’t been as pronounced as those of Miller, he’s currently toting a 4.94 ERA after pitching to a 3.47 mark between his two most recent healthy seasons (2015 and 2013).

The end result for the Diamondbacks has been a 38-52 record and a last-place standing in the NL West that few would have predicted following their flashy offseason. The D-backs have reluctantly begun to operate as sellers, having already traded Brad Ziegler to the Red Sox.

D-Backs Activate Miller, Place Peralta On DL, Option Drury

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In a series of roster moves, the D-Backs announced on Monday that right-hander Shelby Miller has been activated from the disabled list, while outfielder David Peralta has once again been placed on the 15-day DL — this time due to a lower back strain. Additionally, Arizona has optioned infielder/outfielder Brandon Drury to Triple-A Reno and recalled outfielder Socrates Brito in his place.

[Related: Updated Arizona Diamondbacks depth chart]

Miller returns to the Diamondbacks after landing on the DL last month with a sprained index finger in his pitching hand. Both team and player will be hoping for markedly better results this time around, as Miller’s woeful start to the season was one of the most talked-about early slumps of the year. In 45 2/3 innings, the 25-year-old posted a dreadful 7.09 ERA and averaged just 5.9 K/9 against an alarming 5.7 BB/9 with a 40 percent ground-ball rate that represented a significant decrease from last season’s career-best 47.7 percent. Miller’s struggles have contributed to a 4.72 ERA from Arizona starters that is currently tied with the Royals for 23rd in the Majors. Certainly, that wasn’t the result that Arizona execs Dave Stewart and Tony La Russa were expecting when signing Zack Greinke and trading a king’s ransom for Miller this offseason, but an injury to Rubby De La Rosa and struggles from lefties Robbie Ray and Patrick Corbin have all contributed to the problem.

Peralta’s trip to the disabled list will mark the second of the season for the 28-year-old. He’d previously missed about three weeks due to inflammation in his right wrist. It’s not immediately clear how long he’ll need to be out of action, but he’d been out of the lineup since last Wednesday as it is, and the D-backs seemingly no longer felt that they could play with a short bench. While he’s hitting just .259/.308/.442 on the season, Peralta’s injury further depletes the D-backs’ outfield depth, as A.J. Pollock and Chris Owings are each already on the disabled list.

A month ago, it might’ve seemed ridiculous to suggest that Drury would be optioned to the minors; as of May 20, he was hitting .309/.340/.547 and had forced his way into an everyday role — splitting time between the outfield, third base and, occasionally, second base. However, Drury has batted a paltry .200/.257/.262 since that time and, more troublesomely, struck out 21 times in 70 plate appearances (30 percent). The demotion will allow him to get everyday at-bats in the minors while giving Brito another crack at big-league pitching.

There are also some potential service time implications for Drury, who is up to 112 days of Major League service between his 2015 debut and 2016 season to date. He’ll need another 60 days on the big league roster to reach a full year of service, so the length of his stay in the minors will be worth monitoring. It’s also worth noting that the fact that Arizona chose to option Drury certainly doesn’t indicate that he’s fallen out of favor in any way; a report from just last night indicated that the versatile 23-year-old is held in high enough regard within the organization that the D-backs would likely ask the Mets for a controllable piece such as Zack Wheeler in a trade to acquire Drury.

As for Brito, his overall minor league batting line isn’t overly impressive, but he’s been on a tear over his past 20 games, batting .393/.409/.643 with a dozen extra-base hits (five doubles, five triples, two homers). From a service time standpoint, Brito would fall shy of a full year even if he sticks on the big league roster for the remainder of the season.

NL Notes: Wong, Cubs’ Pen, Miller, Wood

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The Cardinals have recalled second baseman Kolten Wong from Triple-A Memphis after optioning him to the minors just 10 days ago. In his place, center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker has been optioned to Memphis. Wong’s demotion was the culmination of a marked decline and came just three months after he’d signed a five-year, $25.5MM contract extension. After hitting just .222/.306/.286 through his first 144 plate appearances and losing the second base job — Matt Carpenter is manning that position with Jhonny Peralta handling third and rookie Aledmys Diaz playing shortstop — Wong went on an absolute tear in Triple-A; in 34 plate appearances there, he batted .429/.529/.929 with four homers while seeing quite a bit of action in center field. Hazelbaker was one of the most talked-about players in the Majors in April when he batted .317/.357/.683, but the 28-year-old has come back to earth and seen his playing time dwindle since.

Here’s more from the National League:

  • Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein says that he “would love” to add a high-quality bullpen arm, MLB.com’s Cody Stavenhagen tweets. But the veteran executive also made clear that he won’t rush to the phones just because the bullpen has had some hiccups of late. Chicago looks to be set most everywhere else, so it makes sense that the club would look for ways to add impact in its relief corps, but there’s really no sense of urgency given the team’s excellent start.
  • Shelby Miller will return to the major league hill for the Diamondbacks on Monday, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com tweets. Miller had been on the DL for a finger injury, though he was also looking to right the ship after an abysmal start to his career in Arizona. If the club has any hope of clawing back into the postseason picture, it’ll need Miller to turn things around.
  • Dodgers lefty Alex Wood will begin throwing next week, a bit ahead of schedule, as JP Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group reports. The inflammation in his elbow has responded as hoped, it seems, though the real test will come as he ramps back up. Wood emphasized that he doesn’t have any structural issues. Still, he might not return to competitive action until mid-July, per the report, and that’s assuming he stays on a positive course. Presumably, it’ll be at least a bit longer before he’d be ready for the majors. Los Angeles has several key arms at various stages of the rehab pipeline.

NL Notes: D-backs, Dodgers, Pirates

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The Diamondbacks had their eyes on a playoff berth during the offseason when they signed Zack Greinke for $200MM-plus and traded a haul for fellow right-handed starter Shelby Miller. Things haven’t gone according to plan for Arizona so far this season, however, as the team has stumbled to a 27-37 start. The rotation, with its 5.00 ERA, has played a big role in the club’s fourth-place NL West mark. General manager Dave Stewart opened up about the starters’ struggles to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, saying, “I don’t think it’s any surprise that I am disappointed in the way that we’re pitching. I would imagine that at some point this is all going to pull together and the end result is going to be good.” Stewart added that he doesn’t think the Diamondbacks’ front office handled the assembly of the rotation poorly; rather, he believes the starters have simply underachieved. “No way I expected us to be 11 games below .500 or 11 games out of first place at this point based on what I know we are as a baseball team and what I know we are as a pitching staff,” he stated. Encouragingly, Greinke has rebounded from a rough start to resemble his usual ace self in recent outings, having combined for 16 straight scoreless frames over his previous two starts.

More from Arizona and two of its National League counterparts:

  • Miller is one more rehab start away from coming off the disabled list and rejoining the Diamondbacks, reports Jake Rill of MLB.com. Before going on the shelf May 27 with a right index finger sprain, Miller threw 45 innings of 7.09 ERA ball and struck out just 30 hitters against 29 walks. In a High-A rehab start Thursday, the 25-year-old fanned 11 and didn’t issue any free passes. “You’re facing A-ball guys, so you can’t really base too much off of what you do, but moreso past the numbers was how I felt, and I felt good mechanically,” Miller said. “Everything felt a little bit smoother and simpler.”
  • Dodgers right-handed prospect Frankie Montas has gone from a candidate to help their bullpen this year to a potential near-term rotation option, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Montas, whom the Dodgers acquired from the White Sox over the winter, has performed brilliantly in multiple Triple-A starts and will continue to increase his workload at that level. If he keeps faring well, Montas could eventually join LA’s rotation and replace 19-year-old Julio Urias, who’s on an innings limit.
  • Thirty-five of the Pirates’ 41 draft picks this year are from the college or junior college ranks, and general manager Neal Huntington expects the Bucs to continue going in that direction in the future. “It’s not a strategy. It’s the reality of the new system,” he told Adam Berry of MLB.com. “It gets harder and harder to get high school players. As the industry shifts, you’ve seen high school players go earlier and earlier if they’re signable. You’ve got guys that are coming off the board earlier than they would in certain situations because they are signable high school players.” Pittsburgh did grab high schoolers early, drafting three with its first five selections.

Diamondbacks Place Shelby Miller, Rubby De La Rosa On DL

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The Diamondbacks will place struggling righty Shelby Miller on the 15-day DL with a “right finger sprain,” as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported (via Twitter). Arizona also added fellow staff member Rubby De La Rosa to the DL with elbow inflammation, adding to the pitching concerns.

Miller, 25, was acquired from the Braves over the winter with hopes that he’d join Zack Greinke to form an imposing 1-2 punch atop the Snakes’ staff. Instead, he has fallen apart since arriving in Arizona. In 45 2/3 innings over ten starts, Miller has surrendered 7.09 earned runs per nine while recording an untenable 30:29 K/BB ratio. He’s been torched with the long ball while exhibiting a 1.5 mph drop in velocity as against the average fastball he threw over a successful 2015 season.

It appears that Miller’s DL stint will arise as a result of a finger issues he’s been battling of late after scraping his hand on the mound after releasing pitches. But it’s hard to ignore the role that his ugly start has played in the decision, and that could impact his progress back toward the majors.

Arizona desperately needs to get Miller on track. The club entered the day seven games under .500 after a winter in which it dropped over $200MM on Greinke and gave up three significant assets — center fielder Ender Inciarte, pitching prospect Aaron Blair, and top overall 2015 draft pick Dansby Swanson — for the rights to Miller.

The still-youthful righty is owed $4.35MM this year and has two more seasons of arb control remaining. But the Diamondbacks will need him to pitch like the front-of-the-line arm they thought they were getting for that trade to look like anything but a bust. Of course, that may have been asking too much of Miller even at the time the deal was struck.

A timetable on Miller is wholly unclear at present. Conceivably, he could rest up and miss the minimum fifteen-day stretch. It could be, though, that the organization will spend some time looking for a fix, possibly sending Miller out on a rehab assignment to get some work in before he returns.

With Miller officially out of the rotation for the time being, the D-Backs will be even more stretched. The club surely hoped its rotation would be a strength, but Greinke and Patrick Corbin have also fallen shy of expectations — albeit nowhere near to the same extent as Miller — while De La Rosa and Robby Ray have been solid but largely unspectacular.

De La Rosa tells Jack Magruder of Fanragsports.com (via Twitter) that he expects to miss a month. There does not appear to be any concern that he’ll need surgery, which is certainly good news. But the injury looks to be significant, and it’s always troubling to see a young pitcher dealing with elbow troubles.

The organization announced several other roster moves, too. Among them, Josh Collmenter was activated from his DL stint. Also coming up is young slugger Peter O’Brien, as are righties Dominic Leone and Silvino Bracho. The club will need to promote new rotation options early next week, with former top prospect Archie Bradley set to get another shot at the majors.

Bradley has scuffled in two outings earlier this year, but has been better at the Triple-A level. O’Brien, who has shifted from catcher to outfielder, made a brief major league debut last year. He’s put up a stellar .306/.330/.601 batting line in 182 plate appearances at Triple-A.

Injury Notes: A-Rod, Teixeira, Shelby, C.J., Forsythe, Flores

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Alex Rodriguez is back in the Yankees’ lineup after a quick rehab stint, but fellow veteran slugger Mark Teixeira is still out. It remains to be seen whether Teixeira will eventually require a DL stint, but for now he’s simply taking some time and waiting for a cortisone shot to take effect, as MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch tweets. An MRI seemingly cleared him of any new neck issues, ESPNNewYork.com’s Andrew Marchand tweets, so it seems to be an optimistic outlook. Meanwhile, the Yanks have placed southpaw Chasen Shreve on the DL while his left shoulder is checked out, Hoch also tweets.

Here are a few more injury notes from around the game:

  • Shelby Miller continues to be limited by a finger injury, Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale said today, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports. Already struggling on the hill, Miller’s difficulties were exacerbated when he scraped his hand on the dirt in his follow-through. Hale “still not where we’d like it to be,” which Piecoro suggests could set the stage for a DL stint. The 25-year-old owns an unsightly 7.09 ERA in 45 2/3 innings on the season, with just thirty strikeouts to go with 29 walks. When asked whether Miller could be sent to the minors, GM Dave Stewart didn’t reveal much but also didn’t rule out the idea, as Jack Magruder of Fanragsports.com tweets. “We want to get him on track the best way we can,” said Stewart. “We will figure it out and do what’s needed.”
  • Angels southpaw C.J. Wilson made his rehab debut yesterday, as Pete Marshall of the Orange County Register writes. The 35-year-old is one of several hurlers filtering back up towards the majors for the Halos, which could eventually lead to some interesting roster decisions. For now, he says his command and mechanics were in a good place, and didn’t suggest that his balky left arm was a problem. It’s certainly promising that Wilson was able to work up to 56 pitches while lasting into the fifth inning. He hopes to make it back to the majors by early to mid-June.
  • Also potentially returning in the middle of next month is Logan Forsythe of the Rays, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). His shoulder has improved to the point where he’s able to take grounders, leading to some hope that he could join the Rays at some point after they wrap up an upcoming road trip.
  • Mets infielder Wilmer Flores appears ready for activation after a rehab game at Double-A, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. The 24-year-old was off to a slow start, with a .180/.255/.280 slash, before heading to the DL with a hamstring strain. New York lost first baseman Lucas Duda, and Flores could conceivably be part of the solution — with the team’s trade plans somewhat dependent upon how much it trusts Flores and other internal options.

Pitcher Notes: S. Miller, Dodgers, Storen, Boxberger

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The Diamondbacks made one of the offseason’s most criticized moves when they sent a significant haul of young talent to Atlanta for right-hander Shelby Miller. One month into the season, the deal looks even worse for the Diamondbacks than its detractors thought it did at the time. Two of the players they gave up, righty Aaron Blair and shortstop prospect Dansby Swanson, have gotten off to impressive starts in the Braves organization. Miller, meanwhile, threw 19 2/3 innings in April and yielded 19 earned runs while walking one fewer hitter (15) than he struck out (16). Regarding Miller’s early difficulties, D-backs general manager Dave Stewart told MLB Network Radio (Twitter link) that expectations are weighing down the 25-year-old. “Shelby Miller is really just feeling some pressure of the trade,” Stewart said.

Here’s the latest on a few more pitchers from around baseball:

  • Blue Jays reliever Drew Storen’s horrid April (eight innings, 14 hits, nine earned runs) won’t deter John Gibbons from continuing to rely on him, the manager told Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. “I plan on just throwing him out there. You’ve got to. Otherwise you’re not very good if he’s not a key guy. The good ones, they all learn how to survive and make adjustments,” Gibbons said. As Nicholson-Smith notes, Storen’s average fastball velocity fell from 94 mph last year to 91.9 in April. On the bright side, he struck out seven batters against just one walk during the season’s first month.
  • Cuban right-hander and offseason Dodgers signing Yaisel Sierra made his U.S. debut Saturday in a Single-A start and struck out seven hitters in four innings, though he allowed eight base runners (six hits, two walks) and three runs, according to Pete Marshall of the San Bernardino Sun. Sierra’s fastball sat in the low 90s and topped out at 94, which is the normal range for the 24-year-old. “I wasn’t good, I wasn’t bad,” he said of his performance.
  • Dodgers left-hander Alex Wood had his best start of the year in a 5-1 loss to the Padres on Friday, throwing seven innings of five-hit, one-run ball while striking out nine and walking one. Wood’s encouraging outing came after a few days of working on a mechanical adjustment, writes Jack Baer of MLB.com. Wood’s delivery became easier to repeat, leading to better command, as a result of lowering his foot during his stride. “When I stride out, my foot off the ground has been fairly higher than it has been in the past,” he said. “It’s something that I thought was the last piece of the puzzle, in terms of my timing and getting my consistency back.” Wood’s performance against the Padres dropped his season ERA from 6.00 to 4.82 and increased his K/9 from a paltry 5.1 to 6.75.
  • Rays closer Brad Boxberger continues making progress in his recovery from core muscle repair surgery on March 17 and should return to the majors later this month after a rehab assignment, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Boxberger went 41 of 47 on save opportunities last season and put up a 3.71 ERA, 10.57 K/9 and 4.57 BB/9 in 63 innings.
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