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Tony Kemp

Astros Acquire Martin Maldonado For Tony Kemp

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The Astros have acquired catcher Martin Maldonado from the Cubs, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. Outfielder/second baseman Tony Kemp is going to Chicago in return, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle.

This is the second trade of the month for Maldonado, whose Cubs tenure was fleeting. They acquired Maldonado from the Royals for left-hander Mike Montgomery on July 15. At the time, the Cubs had just lost their starting catcher, Willson Contreras, to the injured list. He quickly returned, though, making Maldonado a superfluous piece for a team that already had the capable Victor Caratini as its reserve backstop.

The Astros reportedly pursued Maldonado before his trade to the Cubs, and he’ll now head to Houston for the second straight year. The club previously acquired Maldonado from the Angels last July. Maldonado now figures to supplant Max Stassi, who’s out of options and could now be on his way to a trade or a designation for assignment, as Robinson Chirinos’ backup. Stassi’s a quality defender who hasn’t hit this year, which doesn’t make him much different than the 32-year-old Maldonado. However, even Maldonado’s paltry .217/.285/.349 line easily outdoes Stassi’s .167/.235/.211 showing.

Maldonado, who’s earning the balance of a $2.5MM salary, will be a free agent at season’s end. Kemp, on the other hand, could be a multiyear piece for the Cubs. Kemp won’t be eligible for arbitration until after next season, though the Cubs won’t have the option of sending him to the minors without subjecting him to waivers. The 27-year-old’s time in Houston came to an end when it designated him on July 25.

Kemp, to his credit, had been amid his second straight useful offensive campaign before the Astros booted him from their roster. He has slashed .227/.308/.417 with seven home runs, four steals and a terrific 15.6 percent strikeout rate across 186 plate appearances this year, also logging 25-plus appearances at second and in the outfield.

The Cubs had been seeking help at second and in the outfield prior to this trade. Whether Kemp will be enough to satisfy those needs remains to be seen. The club could acquire further help at either position in the next few hours, but it does expect to get second baseman/outfielder Ben Zobrist back from the restricted list later in the season.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Astros To Activate Carlos Correa, Designate Tony Kemp For Assignment

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The Astros will designate second baseman/outfielder Tony Kemp for assignment tomorrow in order to open a roster spot for Carlos Correa, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic tweets. Correa is set to return from the 60-day injured list after missing two months due to a broke rib.

Entering the season, the roster status of Kemp and Tyler White were both in question. Both players are out of minor league options and were rumored to be possible trade candidates as a result, but Houston opted to carry each on the roster for the first two thirds of the season. White, however, was designated for assignment recently and is reportedly headed to the Dodgers in a trade. Kemp, too, will lose his roster spot and now seems a logical candidate to be included in a trade for pitching help in the next six days.

Kemp, 27, has turned in a .227/.308/.417 batting line with seven homers, six doubles, two triples and four stolen bases in 186 trips to the plate so far in 2019. He’s a relatively high-contact hitter (career 16 percent strikeout rate) with a bit of speed and pop who is capable of handling second base and left field. His lack of minor league options may limit his appeal among some contending clubs, but the fact that he’s controlled for another four seasons will surely hold appeal to rebuilding clubs. It’s also possible that a contending team such as the Cubs, who are looking for a contact-oriented bat and recently optioned Addison Russell, could be intrigued by Kemp’s skill set.

The decision to cut ties with Kemp is seemingly a vote of confidence in the younger Myles Straw, who can occupy a similar role with a similar skill set moving forward. Straw has batted .256/.376/.321 in 94 plate appearances with the Astros this season and is capable of playing shortstop, second base or the outfield. Unlike Kemp, he also has minor league options remaining, which gives the Astros some additional roster fluidity down the stretch. Houston’s ability to manipulate its roster has been somewhat limited this season by virtue of carrying a pair of out-of-options players, but that won’t be the case any longer.

The return of Correa, of course, is a major boon to a lineup that already ranks as one of the game’s most fearsome. The former No. 1 overall draft pick was excelling to the tune of a .295/.360/.547 batting line and 11 home runs through 214 plate appearances at the time he suffered one of the most bizarre injuries of any player in recent memory. Correa sustained a broken rib while receiving a massage at his home, and the injury ultimately cost him 50 games of his season.

AL West Notes: Astros, Pence, Harvey, Mariners

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The Astros will have a difficult decision to make after the All-Star break, when they will need to find a fifth starter to join the current group. As The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan writes (subscription required), Houston has gotten by with only four starters lately, thanks to a schedule that has afforded the team some well-timed off days. Corbin Martin would ideally be the guy to step up, but his season was cut short by an elbow injury. As Kaplan notes, the Astros are widely expected to target starting pitching at the trade deadline, so whoever is chosen will only need to hold down the fort for the next few weeks. With the addition of a fifth starter, of course, someone will lose their roster spot, and that may just be Tony Kemp. Kemp has seen his role diminish of late, receiving only sparing playing time while fellow bench bats Myles Straw and Tyler White fill more essential spots. Notably, Kemp is out of options, meaning that he will need to clear waivers if the Astros would like to demote him while keeping him in the organization.

  • It doesn’t look like Rangers designated hitter Hunter Pence will be ready to return to game action immediately following the All-Star break, according to TR Sullivan of MLB.com. As Sullivan notes, Pence, who is recovering from a right groin strain, has yet to get to back to running full speed. Pence hasn’t appeared in a game for the Rangers since the middle of June, when he landed on the injured list. A minor-league signing last winter, Pence has been a revelation for Texas, emerging as a force in the middle of the lineup. His efforts earned him a spot on the All-Star roster, though he won’t be able to participate thanks to the injury.
  • After the break, the Angels expect to welcome Matt Harvey back to the starting rotation, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group. On Sunday, he made a start for Triple-A Salt Lake, striking out seven batters in 3 1/3 innings of work. An upper back strain has prevented the veteran from pitching in the Majors since late May. When he has pitched for the Halos, though, the results have not been good: he’s worked to an unsightly 7.50 ERA in 10 starts and has thus far failed to live up to the $11MM contract he received in the offseason. Of course, he’ll have the rest of the season to reverse that, and he certainly has the talent to boost the playoff-hopeful Angels into the Wild Card conversation.
  • Mariners right-handed pitcher Dan Altavilla will avoid Tommy John surgery after receiving the results from an MRI, tweets Greg Johns of MLB.com. That MRI showed no damage to Altavilla’s UCL, though he did endure a flexor strain in his elbow. To be sure, there’s nothing encouraging about elbow injuries, but the silver lining is that Altavilla won’t need to undergo Tommy John. Altavilla landed on the injured list after he “felt something in his forearm” while pitching on Friday.

Astros Notes: Bullpen, James, White, Draft

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The latest out of Houston…

  • It has widely been expected that the Astros will target rotation help at the deadline, though Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle wonders if the club could also look at acquiring a reliever.  There isn’t much wrong on paper with the Astros’ relief corps, as they rank first in the league in bullpen WHIP, second in hits/9, and third in bullpen ERA, though there is some uncertainty at the back end.  Josh James has been inconsistent this season, while Rome notes that Hector Rendon didn’t pitch well down the stretch in 2018.  There also isn’t much left-handed depth beyond Cionel Perez and reverse-splits specialist Will Harris.
  • Speaking of James, he left last night’s game for what he described as “a precautionary move” due to lat tightness, Rome tweets, and James didn’t consider the issue to be serious.  The 26-year-old has a stunning 14.4 K/9 this season, usually operating as a multi-inning weapon out of Houston’s pen, though James has had troubles with the long ball (1.7 HR/9) and his control (5.9 BB/9).  As a result, James only has a 4.71 ERA to show for all his missed bats.
  • The Astros are close to getting a lot of notable stars back from the injured list, which Rome feels could lead to something of a roster crunch.  Tyler White could be the odd man out, as he hasn’t hit this season and offers little defensive value apart from his current status as the Astros’ only backup first baseman.  These issues also make the out-of-options White difficult to trade, though given his strong minor league numbers and the .888 OPS he posted for the Astros over 237 PA just last season, one would think another team would make a claim if White was indeed designated for assignment.  Tony Kemp is another player whose role could be diminished once Houston’s regulars are healthy, though Kemp’s on-base ability and defensive versatility seemingly give him the leg up on White if a choice had to be made.
  • In a separate piece from Rome, he writes about the Astros’ attempts to free up enough room within their $5,355,100 draft bonus pool to sign fourth-round pick Colin Barber.  The 136th overall pick has a $410.1K slot price, though Barber reportedly wants more to break his commitment to the University of Oregon.  Barber’s asking price isn’t known, though Houston has already carved out approximately $645K in pool space thanks to a few below-slot signings, much of which ($507.3K) came from first-rounder Korey Lee’s contract.  Of course, not all of that extra money is earmarked for Barber, given that the Astros have also gone above-slot to sign a couple of their other picks.

AL West Notes: Volquez, Astros, Mariners

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Rangers righty Edinson Volquez pitched in a game setting for the first time in nearly 20 months Wednesday, and while he was tagged for four runs in an inning of work against the Cubs, there were nonetheless signs of encouragement, writes Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Volquez’s first pitch clocked in at 95 mph, and he immediately followed it with a 96 mph heater before eventually running that fastball up to 97 mph. “That’s about as happy as I’ve ever been after a four spot,” new manager Chris Woodward said in reference to Volquez’s day.

The Rangers originally inked Volquez to a two-year minor league contract following the 2017 season, knowing full well that he’d miss all of the 2018 campaign due to Tommy John surgery. Texas selected his contract in advance of the deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft this season and will be counting on him, along with holdover Mike Minor and new additions Drew Smyly, Lance Lynn and Shelby Miller, to comprise the team’s rotation early in the season.

Here’s a look at some spring scenarios around the AL West…

  • With the out-of-options Tony Kemp and Tyler White in line to make the Astros’ Opening Day roster, Houston seems likely to carry 13 position players and 12 pitchers, writes Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. That’s a departure from the norm for the organization in recent years but likely a necessity, as the ’Stros would need to risk exposing one of Kemp or White to waivers in order to send either player to the minor leagues. Neither player’s performance in 2018 merits a trip back to Triple-A anyhow. The 27-year-old Kemp hit .263/.351/.392 in just shy of 300 plate appearances with the Astros last season, seeing action at all three outfield spots and at second base. White, meanwhile, turned in a massive .276/.354/.533 line with 12 homers, 12 doubles and three triples in 237 trips to the plate. Currently, White figures to get the lion’s share of plate appearances in the Astros’ designated hitter role, though he can also fill in at either corner-infield position.
  • Mariners camp in 2019 is filled with veterans who know they could be shipped out in trades at any moment, writes Larry Stone of the Seattle Times, who spoke to general manager Jerry Dipoto about how he manages a roster that is fully cognizant of that uncertainty. “Players generally do well when you tell them the truth,” said Dipoto in emphasizing that he’s been as up front as possible with veterans like Edwin Encarnacion and Jay Bruce (among others). Stone not only spoke with Dipoto, but Encarnacion, Bruce and Kyle Seager about the looming possibility of a trade to another club (be it now or during the regular season) and the manner in which they balance dealing with that knowledge and prepping for the 2019 season.

Injury Notes: Gray, Rasmus, Peralta

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The latest injury news from around the majors:

  • The Athletics’ Sonny Gray is headed to the disabled list for the second time in 2016, this time because of a right forearm strain, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to report (on Twitter). Gray’s roster spot will go to fellow righty Chris Smith, who has spent the season with Triple-A Nashville (updated depth chart). This latest injury continues a season to forget for the A’s – who have set a franchise record with 25 DL uses (Twitter link via Slusser) – and Gray, who posted a solid start (five innings, five hits and two earned runs allowed) against the Cubs on Saturday. Unfortunately, though, he had to depart after 72 pitches because of forearm discomfort. Gray previously hit the DL in May with a strained right trapezius and has compiled a shockingly ineffective 5.74 ERA in 116 innings this season. A significant home run spike is largely behind Gray’s bloated ERA. Entering the year, he had logged back-to-back full seasons of ace-like production for Oakland.
  • The Diamondbacks have placed outfielder David Peralta on the DL with right wrist inflammation and recalled Socrates Brito from Triple-A Reno, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (updated depth chart). This is the third DL stint of the year for Peralta, and two have come as a result of right wrist troubles. Perhaps thanks in part to his injury problems, Peralta has hit an underwhelming .251/.295/.433 with four home runs in 183 plate appearances this year. He was an integral part of the D-backs’ offense from 2014-15, slashing an outstanding .301/.351/.492 with 25 homers in 865 PAs.
  • The Astros have sent outfielder Colby Rasmus to the DL because of a cyst in his right ear and recalled Tony Kemp from Triple-A Fresno, per Angel Verdejo Jr. of the Houston Chronicle (updated depth chart). Rasmus, who has tumbled backward since a sizzling start and is currently amid a 3-for-66 slump since July 2, has batted a woeful .211/.286/.352 with 12 home runs in 368 plate appearances. He hit a much better .238/.314/.475 with 28 HRs across 485 trips to the dish last year, leading the Astros to extend him a $15.8MM qualifying offer in the offseason. Rasmus accepted that offer, but it’s fair to say Houston won’t tender him another QO (if they’re still around in the next collective bargaining agreement) during the upcoming winter.

Astros Release Erik Kratz

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MAY 24: Kratz has cleared waivers and been released, tweets MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart.

MAY 23: The Astros have placed Kratz on release waivers, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. If he clears tomorrow, he’ll be a free agent.

MAY 16: The Astros announced today that they have designated catcher Erik Kratz for assignment as part of a series of roster moves. Houston has also optioned outfielder Preston Tucker to Triple-A, recalled Evan Gattis from Double-A Corpus Christi and selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Tony Kemp. Gattis will serve as the team’s new backup catcher.

Kratz, 35, came to the Astros late in Spring Training in exchange for right-hander Dan Straily. The veteran backstop appeared in 15 games for Houston, totaling 30 plate appearances, but went just 2-for-29 at the dish before today’s DFA. He also pitched an inning to save the Houston bullpen in an 11-1 loss suffered at the hands of the Mariners on April 26. The former Phillies/Royals/Blue Jays backstop is a career .210/.261/.381 hitter at the Major League level and has caught 33 percent of opposing base-stealers in his big league career.

Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle first reported Kemp’s promotion. The 24-year-old entered the season rated 14th and 15th, respectively, by MLB.com and Baseball America on their lists of Houston’s top 30 prospects. He has a lengthy track record of getting on base and swiped 76 bases from 2014-15, but his defense has drawn some question marks (particularly from BA), and he lacks power, as evidenced by the 14 homers he’s hit in 1644 minor league plate appearances.

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