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Travis Shaw

AL Central Notes: Donaldson, Edwin, Shaw, Fulmer, Tigers

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Some rumblings from the AL Central…

  • Reports surfaced a few weeks ago that the Twins “kicked the tires” on Josh Donaldson and other third basemen, and La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes that the Twins have continued to show interest in Donaldson’s services.  With Anthony Rendon now wearing Angels red, Minnesota will face some stiff competition for the best third baseman remaining on the market, as the Rangers and Nationals are among the clubs who are reportedly set to redirect their efforts towards signing Donaldson are coming up short on Rendon.
  • The White Sox have met with Edwin Encarnacion’s agents, 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine reports (Twitter link).  After already adding Yasmani Grandal and Nomar Mazara, signing Encarnacion would add even more pop to Chicago’s lineup, as he would pair with Jose Abreu (and Grandal, on days when Grandal isn’t catching) in the first base/DH mix.  The Blue Jays are the only other team known to have some interest in Encarnacion this offseason, though Levine reports that Encarnacion’s camp has also met with two other teams, and MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that Encarnacion has received interest from six clubs overall — five in the American League and one in the National League.  The mystery NL team made Encarnacion an offer, according to Heyman, though the veteran slugger has said he would prefer to remain in the AL.
  • The Tigers are one of the teams interested in Travis Shaw, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi reports (via Twitter).  Shaw was non-tendered by the Brewers last week, as Shaw’s disastrous 2019 season left Milwaukee wary of paying the infielder a projected $4.7MM arbitration salary.  In 2017-18, however, Shaw hit .258/.347/.497 with 63 homers over 1193 PA for the Brew Crew, so he could be an intriguing buy-low candidate for several clubs.  In particular, a rebuilding team like Detroit could certainly see the rebound potential in Shaw, who can play either corner infield position and also has experience at second base.
  • Tigers GM Al Avila provided reporters (including MLB.com’s Jason Beck) with an update on right-hander Michael Fulmer, who is “on track” in his recovery from Tommy John surgery and “should be able to pitch in games sometime in July.”  Fulmer underwent his procedure last March, so a July return would be slightly beyond the normal 12-15 month timeframe for TJ patients, though not by any unusual amount.

AL Rumors: Yanks, Gardner, Dellin, Rays, A’s, Hill, Shaw, Jays, BoSox

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Multiple teams are showing interest in free-agent outfielder Brett Gardner on a multiyear contract, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports. However, Gardner continues to prefer re-signing with the Yankees, according to Heyman, who adds that the two sides are “still talking.” Indeed, as of a few days, Gardner and the Yankees were continuing to negotiate a new contract. Should they reach an agreement, the 36-year-old Gardner would continue as the longest-tenured player on the Yankees’ roster. Until then, he’ll remain as arguably the most appealing center field-capable player on a market which is weak in that regard.

  • Sticking with the Yankees, they’ve “engaged” with another of their longtime contributors, free-agent reliever Dellin Betances, Jack Curry of the YES Network tweets. But so have one of their division rivals, the Rays. Wherever Betances ends up, it’s “likely” he’ll sign a one-year contract in an effort to rebuild his value, per Curry. Although the 31-year-old Betances is one of the game’s most successful relievers in recent memory, injuries to the right-hander’s shoulder, lat and Achilles prevented him from making any meaningful contributions in 2019. Nevertheless, MLBTR expects Betances to land a $7MM payday over one year (with the Rays).
  • The Athletics are showing interest in Royals southpaw Tim Hill, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. This isn’t the first trade chatter we’ve heard on the 29-year-old, who turned in 39 2/3 innings of 3.63 ERA ball last year. Why the interest from AL contenders in a player that most fans have never heard of? Hill didn’t carry overwhelming overall K/BB numbers (39:13), but did generate a healthy 29.2% K rate against righties while delivering an excellent 57.3% groundball rate. That combination of tools is all the more interesting given the soon-to-be-minted three-batter minimum rule.
  • Free-agent infielder Travis Shaw, on the market since the Brewers let him go at the non-tender deadline a week ago, has garnered interest from the Blue Jays, Jon Morosi of MLB.com relays. Additionally, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com relays that the third baseman/second baseman has expressed a willingness to return to the Red Sox, his first MLB team, though it’s unclear if they’re open to a reunion. Shaw, whom the Red Sox traded to the Brewers in December 2017, had a pair of highly productive years in Milwaukee before his numbers fell off a cliff this past season. That caused the Brewers to move on from Shaw, leaving the 29-year-old as a buy-low candidate this winter.

Quick Hits: Mets, Astros, Lindblom, Shaw, Twins, Lyles

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There may be huge changes on the horizon for the Mets, as minority owner Steve Cohen is reportedly in talks to become the franchise’s control person by 2025. That could be good news for Mets fans, many of whom have been fed up with current majority owners Fred Wilpon and Jeff Wilpon for years. David Waldstein, Kevin Draper and James Wagner of the New York Times just profiled the Wilpons, and if you’re a Mets fan who reads that, you’ll probably grow even happier that the team could change hands in the next several years. As part of a piece that seems to list one damning Wilpon tidbit after another, Waldstein, Draper and Wagner note that the Mets have lost $60MM-plus in each of the past two seasons. That helps put them “at the limit of debt allowed by Major League Baseball rules,” they write. It’s unclear what that will mean as far as making changes to the roster this offseason goes, but as MLBTR’s Jeff Todd explained back in October, there doesn’t appear to be much spending room.

  • The Astros are one of the clubs “monitoring” free-agent right-hander Josh Lindblom’s market, Jon Morosi of MLB Network tweets. The 32-year-old struggled in the majors before heading to Korea and thriving there over the past couple seasons. Now that he’s on the open market, MLBTR predicted at the start of the offseason that the Astros would sign Lindblom, a spin rate darling. That’s something the Astros seem to value. Plus, with Gerrit Cole and Wade Miley currently unsigned, the Astros have openings in their starting staff.
  • Almost half the league has shown some level of interest in free-agent infielder Travis Shaw since the Brewers non-tendered him Monday, as he told MLB Network Radio. The 29-year-old has gotten bites from “probably already 13 or 14 teams,” he said. There has been “significant interest,” though nobody has made an offer to this point. Shaw has primarily been a third baseman thus far, but he indicated that he’s glad he broadened his horizons by lining up at other positions (mostly second) over the past couple years. The newfound flexibility’s nice, but Shaw’s offensive issues in 2019 – during which he hit an ugly .157/.281/.270 in 270 plate appearances – will limit his earning power in free agency.
  • Right-hander Jordan Lyles agreed to a surprising two-year, $16MM contract with the Rangers on Friday. The Twins were among those who inquired about Lyles before then, per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Minnesota may have gotten more serious about Lyles had it not re-signed righty Michael Pineda to a two-year, $20MM accord on Thursday, Wolfson suggests. However, even with Pineda and Jake Odorizzi (who accepted the Twins’ qualifying offer) back in the fold, they still have a need for starting help. Pineda, Odorizzi and Jose Berrios are the only in-house shoo-ins to occupy rotation spots in 2020.

Latest On Travis Shaw

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It wasn’t long ago third baseman Travis Shaw was one of the Brewers’ most valuable players. He combined for 7.1 fWAR during his first two years with the club from 2017-18, and the Brew Crew surely expected similar results this past season. Instead, Shaw endured a nightmarish campaign, leading the Brewers to non-tender him in advance of the deadline on Monday.

Had the Brewers kept Shaw, they’d have been in line to pay him a projected $4.7MM for his penultimate year of arbitration. It turns out that the Brewers did make an effort to keep Shaw before cutting him, according to president of baseball operations/general manager David Stearns (via Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). However, the two sides couldn’t reach an arbitration-avoiding agreement.

With the losses of Shaw and Mike Moustakas, who agreed to sign with the division-rival Reds on Monday, the Brewers are now in a state of flux at third base. But they’d have been hard-pressed to consider Shaw their solution at the hot corner even if they’d have kept him. After all, the 29-year-old did slump to a horrific .157/.281/.270 line with seven home runs and a measly a .113 ISO in 270 plate appearances this season – some of which he spent in the minors.

It’s anyone’s guess where the small-market Brewers will go from here at third, but in regards to Shaw, Stearns said (via Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel): “We did our best, looked at Travis’ prior performance, his performance this year. We talked with Travis and his representation about his beliefs and how he thinks everything is going.”

Meantime, Shaw’s agent told Haudricourt that “we think Travis needs a change of scenery. No hard feelings about it. We’re sorry it didn’t work out. It’s a risk Travis is willing to take.” Shaw has already drawn interest from elsewhere, per Haudricourt.

Brewers Non-Tender Travis Shaw, Jimmy Nelson, 3 Others

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The Brewers have non-tendered a host of prominent players, per a club announcement. Third baseman Travis Shaw, righties Junior Guerra and Jimmy Nelson, southpaw Alex Claudio, and infielder Tyler Saladino are all being dropped from the roster.

That’s quite a lot to take in for the Milwaukee faithful. The organization has already seen several major players depart via free agency and will now bid adieu to a host of notable veterans.

There’s some major cost savings to be tabulated here. Shaw ($4.7MM), Guerra ($3.5MM), Nelson ($3.7MM), Claudio ($2.2MM), and Saladino ($1.0MM) were projected by MLBTR to earn a combined $15.1MM.

It’s also a pretty substantial outflow of talent. The club has relied heavily upon several of these players in recent campaigns. And some appeared to be solid values even at the estimated arb price tags.

The Brewers tried to hang onto Shaw, but weren’t able to work out a deal in advance of the deadline. Miserable as his 2019 season was, he was a well-above-average hitter and thirty homer contributor in each of the prior two campaigns.

Guerra and Nelson each provided the Brewers with a lot of good innings over the years. The former had quite a bit of success at times as a starter and was a solid relief contributor last year, though the club obviously felt it could do better for its money. Nelson probably would be the staff ace were it not for major arm injuries.

The Brewers rode Claudio hard last year, putting the groundball-heavy hurler in over half of the team’s games. Pending rule changes requiring every reliever to face three batters may have reduced his appeal, as Claudio was hit hard by righties in 2019. As for Saladino, the team hung on to him for some time but never really found him a niche. He’s coming off of a strong offensive year at Triple-A.

David Stearns Discusses Brewers Roster Questions

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Brewers GM David Stearns talked about the upcoming offseason in the wake of his club’s Wild Card loss, with Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel among those to cover the proceedings.

Despite the disappointing end, it was obviously another successful campaign, as the Brewers charged late and again reached the postseason despite losing superstar Christian Yelich. But the club won’t be able to rest on its laurels, as there are a variety of decisions to be made right out of the gates.

As Stearns puts it, he and his front office has “some important questions” that will need to be answered. Every offseason has its own “narrative,” he said, and it’s still not clear what path this one will take.

The first call that has to be made involves corner infielders Eric Thames ($7.5MM club option, $1MM buyout) and Travis Shaw (arbitration eligible). Stearns said he hasn’t reached any decision on Thames, who had a productive season with the bat and seems a reasonable value at that price. As for Shaw, whose season was a disaster, Stearns says the club will “spend a lot of effort internally determining what to do” in advance of the non-tender deadline.

The Shaw situation ties in to the Brewers’ slate of departing free agents, which includes several key players. Infielder Mike Moustakas could replace Shaw, though he’ll likely require a bigger commitment to retain than he commanded on the open market last winter. And then there’s Yasmani Grandal, who had a highly productive year behind the plate and will leave a big hole. Stearns was happy to acknowledge that he’d “love to have both of them back.” Will it happen? “Whether the realities of the market permit that and whether the realities of the free-agent market permit that is something we will have to evaluate as we go through the off-season.”

Likewise, a pair of key hurlers will be available to all teams. Mid-season trade acquisitions Jordan Lyles and Drew Pomeranz. Stearns called the pair “unbelievable” and said he’d be interested in returns in both cases. “They both contributed a lot to this club and I’m sure we’ll be in contact with them,” said Stearns.

There’s no shortage of other roster issues to be addressed. The Brewers’ creative pitching strategies will again be tested. Stearns said he isn’t ready to say precisely how hurlers such as Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta, and Brent Suter will be used next year, though he did note that “we tend to blur lines between starters and relievers anyways.” And it certainly sounds as if the Brewers will at least be interested in exploring ways of supplementing (if not supplanting) Orlando Arcia at shortstop. Stearns says the team “need[s] better overall production” from that spot, though he added that he believes Arcia is “a better player than he showed this year” and that the incumbent could still represent the necessary solution.

Brewers Place Keston Hiura On IL, Recall Travis Shaw, Ben Gamel

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As expected, Brewers rookie Keston Hiura has landed on the injured list with a strained left hamstring, per a team announcement. Hiura pulled up lame while running out a groundout in a costly loss to the Cubs on Friday. It is a grade 2 strain, per The Athletic’s Robert Murray, which will keep Hiura out a minimum of two weeks and certainly puts the rest of his inaugural season in jeopardy.

In corresponding roster moves, Ben Gamel and Travis Shaw are on their way back from Triple-A. Both Gamel and Shaw played major roles for the Brewers this season, though their contributions have been relatively punchless. Gamel’s been the better of the two with a .243/.330/.376 line while providing capable defense across all three outfield positions and popping a couple big home runs.

Shaw’s season has been an unmitigated disaster. He’s run out a .162/.276/.279 line across 229 plate appearances – a frankly shocking output for a career .255/.333/.475 hitter. After back-to-back big year’s for the Brewers (3.5 fWAR in 2017, 3.6 fWAR in 2018), Shaw detracted from Milwaukee’s playoff hopes with -1.0 fWAR before being supplanted in the everyday lineup by Hiura.

On the bright side, he’s gotten his game back on track in San Antonio by hitting .286/.437/.586 with 12 home runs in 42 games. The Brewers will need Shaw to bring the good vibes to Milwaukee to keep the Brew Crew’s thinning playoff hopes alive.

To make room for Shaw, right-hander Devin Williams was optioned to Triple-A San Antonio. Williams, 24, has a 4.00 ERA across a small sample 9 innings, though it’s been a bit of a breakout year for Williams in the minor leagues. Across Double-A and Triple-A, Williams pitched to a 2.21 ERA with 12.9 K/9 in 34 outings.

Brewers Notes: Hiura, Shaw, Woodruff

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At 68-66 and five games out of wild-card position, the reigning National League Central champion Brewers have seen their playoff hopes drift away over the past several weeks. Now, if they’re going to make a miraculous run to another postseason berth in the final month of 2019, they may have to make do without one of their top players. Second baseman Keston Hiura is headed back to Milwaukee to have his hamstring examined after suffering an injury in the Brewers’ loss to the Cubs on Friday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports. In the wake of that news, the Brewers are set to recall infielder Travis Shaw from Triple-A San Antonio on Friday, according to Robert Murray of The Athletic.

The brilliance of the rookie Hiura has helped phase Shaw out of the Brewers’ plans for most of the season. Hiura has overcome a 30 percent strikeout rate to slash an excellent .301/.369/.571 with 16 home runs and 2.0 fWAR over his first 295 major league plate appearances. Along the way, the 23-year-old Hiura has established himself as one of 2019’s hardest hitters, ranking near the top of the league in several Statcast metrics.

The woes Shaw has unexpectedly endured played a large role in the Brewers’ decision to call up Hiura for the second time back in July (they optioned Shaw in a corresponding move). But now that Hiura’s potentially bound for the IL and third baseman/second baseman Mike Moustakas is dealing with a wrist issue, the Brewers are left to hope for a Shaw revival.

While Shaw was an integral piece of the Brewers’ position player group from 2017-18, this year’s version has limped to a disastrous .145/.276/.279 line with six homers and a sky-high 32.5 percent K rate through 228 PA. Shaw has raked in the minors, however, having batted .286/.437/.586 (good for a 145 wRC+ in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League) and mashed 12 HRs in 174 trips to the plate.

The Brewers’ rotation, like Shaw, has gone through a less-than-ideal season – in part because emergent righty Brandon Woodruff went to the IL in late July with an oblique injury. They’re hopeful Woodruff will take the mound again in 2019, though.

“We’re trying to get him healthy for October,” manager Craig Counsell said (via McCalvy). “I mean, I think Brandon can play a huge part in this thing. The best-case scenario is obviously sometime late in the second half of September and October.”

Realistically, there won’t be an October for the sinking Brew Crew, but it would still be nice from the team’s perspective to see Woodruff finish this season healthy. The 26-year-old held his own in 117 2/3 innings before his IL placement, posting a 3.75 ERA (with a far better 3.09 FIP) and 10.4 K/9 against 2.22 BB/9. Woodruff has unquestionably been the Brewers’ most effective starter this year, and the fact that they’ve gone without him for several weeks has helped take a sledgehammer to their playoff chances.

Brewers Select Contract Of Hernan Perez, Designate Burch Smith

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The Brewers announced that they have selected the contract of utilityman Hernan Perez. Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel first indicated (via Twitter) that a move was coming.

To create a 40-man spot, the club designated righty Burch Smith for assignment. Infielder Travis Shaw was optioned out for an active roster space.

The 28-year-old Perez lost his 40-man spot earlier in the year after serving as a fixture in recent campaigns. He was hitting just .235/.277/.383 at the time, the third-straight season in which he has fallen shy of a .300 OBP (after barely topping that mark in 2016). Perez has performed better against Triple-A pitching (.290/.372/.523).

Smith, 29, was knocked around in his brief MLB time with the Brewers. He has generated better results at Triple-A, turning in a 2.33 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 through 77 1/3 innings across 15 starts. Clearly, though, the Milwaukee organization wasn’t convinced that he’d be a significant contributor in the majors down the stretch.

The Brewers still aren’t giving up on Shaw. He has endured a miserable campaign both before and after his earlier demotion, with a cumulative .162/.276/.279 batting line over 228 plate appearances. It’s certainly possible he’ll end up back in the majors, once roster expand if not sooner, but it seems he’s on a trajectory for an offseason non-tender at this point.

Brewers To Call Up Travis Shaw

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The Brewers will call infielder Travis Shaw up from Triple-A prior to tomorrow’s game, The Athletic’s Robert Murray and Ken Rosenthal report (Twitter link).  Shaw will take the 25-man roster spot left open by Jhoulys Chacin’s placement on the 10-day injured list.

Shaw was demoted on June 27, but has since shredded Triple-A pitching to the tune of a .316/.494/.754 slash line and eight home runs over only 77 plate appearances.  While the Pacific Coast League is notoriously hitter-friendly, Shaw’s breakout provides some hope that he has gotten on track after a dreadful beginning to the 2019 season.  Shaw hit just .164/.278/.290 with six homers over 212 PA for the Brewers, though his performance could have been hampered by a wrist injury that cost him roughly three weeks on the injured list.

While Shaw may be back in the majors, it doesn’t seem like he’ll be back in an everyday role.  The Brewers are likely to stick with Keston Hiura at second base as long as the prized rookie’s bat stays hot, and Shaw obviously isn’t supplanting Mike Moustakas at third.  This could leave first base as Shaw’s best option for playing time, though Eric Thames (another left-handed bat) is hitting well in part-time duty alongside struggling right-handed hitter Jesus Aguilar.

Milwaukee could also simply use Shaw in several places around the diamond, seeing time at first, second, and third base spelling the regulars or being a late-game replacement.  With the trade deadline also looming on July 31, the Brewers could also be looking to shop Shaw (or Thames or Aguilar) to any interested parties, as pitching seems like a much bigger need for the Brew Crew than infield depth.

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