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Tyler Chatwood

Rockies Place Tyler Chatwood On 10-Day DL; Activate Ian Desmond

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The Rockies have placed right-hander Tyler Chatwood on the 10-day DL with a right calf strain, and activated first baseman/outfielder Ian Desmond in a corresponding move.

Chatwood threw just 19 pitches Saturday before being removed from his start due to the injury.  Chatwood has a 4.74 ERA, 7.36 K/9 and 56% ground-ball rate over 106 1/3 IP for Colorado this season, as his usual grounder-heavy attack has been hampered by a lack of control (5.08 BB/9 and a league-high 60 walks) and a spike in home runs allowed — 22.1% of Chatwood’s fly balls allowed have left the yard.

As the one veteran arm in the Rockies rotation, Chatwood’s absence will tax a pitching staff that is already seeing some juggling of young arms.  Kyle Freeland is being temporarily removed from the starting five in order to protect his arm, leaving the Rockies with Jon Gray, German Marquez, Jeff Hoffman and Antonio Senzatela comprising the rotation.  Tyler Anderson and Chad Bettis could provide reinforcements in late July and late August, respectively, though you would expect Colorado to explore some starting pitching options before the trade deadline.  Pitching has long been an issue at Coors Field, though Rockies starters have held their ground this season with a cumulative 6.8 fWAR (11th in baseball) and 4.68 ERA (17th in baseball).

Desmond was placed on the DL with a calf strain of his own on July 3, his second DL stint of the season after suffering a hand fracture during Spring Training.  It’s fair to say that the injuries have kept Desmond from really getting on track during his first season in Colorado, as the veteran has hit only .283/.321/.388 over 236 PA this year.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Cueto, Puig, Adams, Blevins, Chatwood

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Some hot stove buzz from FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, courtesy of two Full Count videos (link one, link two)…

  • A rival general manager describes Johnny Cueto’s potential trade value as “lower than a rental’s” due to the added complication of Cueto’s opt-out clause, which could make it hard for the Giants to find a trade partner.  If a team were to acquire a normal pending free agent at the deadline and that player got injured or performed poorly, the two sides would likely just part ways after the year.  If such a scenario happened to Cueto, however, he might not opt out, so the new team would be taking on a potentially diminished asset for the remaining four years/$84MM on Cueto’s contract.
  • The offseason trade buzz about Yasiel Puig has died down since he is playing well, so it doesn’t seem like the Dodgers would move the controversial outfielder unless they get full value in return.  Interestingly, Rosenthal notes that Puig’s clubhouse reputation is still a work in progress, as “many” Dodgers teammates view Puig “as an annoyance.”
  • Matt Adams is drawing trade interest, which isn’t a surprise given how he has been crushing the ball since joining the Braves.  Whether Atlanta looks to move Adams or not will depend on whether Freddie Freeman is capable of playing third base, thus allowing Adams to stay at first base.  Moving Adams into a corner outfield spot is problematic since the Braves would then have to deal Matt Kemp or Nick Markakis, not to mention the defensive shortcomings Adams displayed while playing the outfield for the Cardinals earlier this season.
  • While the Mets are reportedly open to dealing veterans, Rosenthal says that Jerry Blevins is maybe the least likely of those players to switch teams.  Blevins is enjoying his second consecutive excellent year in the Mets bullpen, and since the team plans to contend again in 2018, exercising the $7MM club option on Blevins would be a good way to lock up some reliable left-handed relief.
  • A Tyler Chatwood trade “would be difficult for the [Rockies] to make,” a source with knowledge of the team’s thinking tells Rosenthal.  If anything, Colorado will be looking to add pitching rather than move a solid rotation arm.  Chatwood has a 4.08 ERA, 7.4 K/9 and a very strong 57.6% ground ball rate over 90 1/3 IP this season.  He is a free agent this winter and he has a strong track record (career 3.10 road ERA) away from Coors Field, plus he may not be a prime candidate for a long-term deal given that Chatwood has twice undergone Tommy John surgery.  Despite those factors, Chatwood probably has more value to the Rockies as a player than as a potential trade chip as the team battles in the competitive NL West.

Rockies Avoid Arbitration With Charlie Blackmon

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6:18pm: Blackmon will receive $7.3MM, Heyman tweets. Chatwood, meanwhile, lands closer to his projection at $4.4MM, per MLB.com’s Thomas Harding (via Twitter).

6:09pm: The Rockies have avoided arbitration with center fielder Charlie Blackmon, the team announced. Colorado also has struck a deal with righty Tyler Chatwood, wrapping up the team’s arb work for the winter.

Neither salary has been reported at this point, but both players are expected to command significant raises after strong season. MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz project Blackmon at $9MM and Chatwood at $4.8MM. The former is in his second season of eligibility, with one more to go, while the latter will be a free agent after the 2017 season.

Rockies Place Tyler Chatwood On 15-Day DL

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The Rockies have placed right-hander Tyler Chatwood on the 15-day disabled list with a mid-back strain, the team announced.  Eddie Butler is slated to replace Chatwood in Colorado’s rotation, while righty Scott Oberg was called up from Triple-A to add some bullpen depth in a corresponding move to the DL placement.

[Related: Updated Colorado Rockies Depth Chart]

Chatwood suffered back spasms during his start yesterday and was forced to leave the game in the second inning.  Rockies manager Walt Weiss told reporters (including MLB.com’s Thomas Harding) that he hopes Chatwood will only miss the minimum 15 days, though he noted that “with a pitcher you’ve got to build them back up a little bit.”  Some particular care could be necessary with Chatwood, who missed all of 2015 recovering from his second career Tommy John surgery.

Thus far, Chatwood’s return has gone very well.  The righty has posted a 3.15 ERA over 82 2/3 innings this season, emerging as the ace of Colorado’s rotation.  Advanced metrics (3.90 FIP, 4.20 xFIP, 4.42 SIERA) haven’t been as impressed with Chatwood, no doubt due to his good fortune with BABIP (.271) and strand rate (75.1%), as well as his inability to miss bats.  Chatwood has just a 5.57 K/9 and 1.83 K/BB rate, though he makes up for that lack of strikeouts with a whopping 58.7% grounder rate.  That’s an important skill to have when half your starts are at Coors Field, though Chatwood has the expectedly drastic home/away splits: a 5.10 ERA in seven home starts and just a 1.25 ERA in seven road outings.

Losing Chatwood for any length of time is a big blow for the Rockies, who have long struggled to find any consistent pitching help.  If he misses any significant time beyond the 15-day DL stint, it could also impact Colorado’s trade deadline plans.  The Rox fell to 32-36 after today’s loss to the Marlins, though they’re still only 4.5 games out of the last NL wild card spot.  Given the rough overall state of their rotation, it’s likely the Rockies were going to focus on starting pitching anyway if they became deadline buyers.  If Chatwood’s absence causes them to fall too far out of the race, however, the Rockies could instead look to sell.

Quick Hits: Braves, Tanaka, Molina, Chatwood

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There’s a difference between rebuilding and tanking, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal writes.  Teams like the Braves, Brewers and Phillies have already made great strides in restocking their minor league systems after only relatively recently starting the rebuild process, and it could be argued that the way baseball’s system is currently set up, a smaller-market team like Milwaukee really has no option but to tear things down in order to amass the young talent it needs to eventually compete again.  Rosenthal also notes that some of the recent criticism of tanking may be less fueled by the spirit of competition than it is by big-market teams upset that their revenue-sharing contributions aren’t being reinvested in the on-field product by the smaller-market teams getting those funds.  Here’s some news from around baseball as we head into a new week….

  • Even without Andrelton Simmons, the Braves are building an enviable amount of middle infield depth, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes.  Dansby Swanson and Ozzie Albies highlight the prospects already within the system, and O’Brien notes that the Braves may also wind up with infielders Kevin Maitan and Yunior Severino in the next July 2 international signing period.  That’s not even counting the current incumbents at short and second, Erick Aybar and Jace Peterson.  If Swanson progresses as well as Atlanta hopes, he could make his MLB debut late in the season and Aybar could then become a trade chip.
  • Masahiro Tanaka reported no issues following a 20-pitch bullpen session on Saturday, Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild told reporters (including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch).  This was Tanaka’s first time throwing off a mound since he had a bone spur removed from his elbow in October.  Tanaka said last week that he couldn’t guarantee he’d be ready for Opening Day; while the procedure wasn’t a major one, the Yankees are obviously taking it easy with Tanaka given his history of arm problems.
  • In an interview on KMOX Radio (hat tip to the Associated Press), Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said catcher Yadier Molina had the cast removed from his surgically-repaired left thumb.  It will be at least a couple of weeks before Molina and the team can guess if he’ll be ready for Opening Day, though “right now all arrows point positively,” Mozeliak said.
  • The odds are against a pitcher returning from a second Tommy John surgery, yet Rockies right-hander Tyler Chatwood is eager to return to action, The Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders writes.  Chatwood hasn’t pitched since April 29, 2014 but Colorado is hoping he can become an important member of the rotation.
  • There’s no formula for deciding when to promote a top prospect, as ESPN’s Jim Bowden lists the many factors (beyond, obviously, just talent) that teams weigh when deciding to elevate one of their best minor leaguers.

Rockies Sign Tyler Chatwood To Two-Year Deal

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8:02pm: Chatwood will earn $1MM in both 2015 and 2016, tweets ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. He will be able to earn an additional $250K in 2016 based on games started.

7:09pm: The Rockies announced tonight that they’ve inked right-hander Tyler Chatwood to a two-year deal to avoid arbitration. The contract will pay the RMG Baseball client roughly $1MM in 2015 as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, per the Denver Post’s Nick Groke (Twitter link), though complete terms of the deal aren’t yet known.

The 25-year-old Chatwood enjoyed an excellent season in 2013, pitching to a 3.15 ERA with 5.3 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and a 58.5 percent ground-ball rate in 111 1/3 innings of work for the Rockies. However, he was limited to just 24 innings and a 4.50 ERA in 2014 before an injury sidelined him and eventually led to his operation on July 19.

Originally a second-round pick of the Angels back in 2008, Chatwood was acquired by the Rockies in a one-for-one swap that sent Chris Iannetta to the Halos. He’s yet to establish himself as a consistent force in the Majors, though he appeared to potentially be on his way to doing so prior to his injury. While he’s unlikely to pitch until late in the 2015 season at the earliest, the Rockies will retain control of him through the 2017 season, so he still has time to deliver value. In particular, his excellent ground-ball rate — he posted a 57.7 percent mark from 2012-13 when healthy — is very well-suited for the homer-friendly Coors Field.

Carlos Correa, Tyler Chatwood Change Agencies

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Top Astros prospect Carlos Correa — the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft — has changed representation and is now a client of Greg Genske and the Legacy Agency, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter link). In other agency news, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation’s MLB Daily Dish tweets that Rockies right-hander Tyler Chatwood has switched agents as well and is now a client of agent Bob Garber. He had previously been with MVP Sports.

A report from ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick earlier this week indicated that Correa was leaving his previous agents at KMG and seeking new representation, having talked with Legacy, the Boras Corporation, MVP and Excel Sports. The Puerto Rican shortstop ranked second on the midseason edition of MLB.com’s Top 100 Prospects list, and he ranked third on the same lists from Baseball America and ESPN’s Keith Law (Insider subscription required).

Correa, who recently turned 20 years old, was in the midst of an outstanding season with Houston’s Class-A Advanced affiliate this season despite being nearly four years younger than the league’s average age at 19 before breaking his fibula while sliding. He batted .325/.416/.510 with six homers and 20 steals in 293 plate appearances before his injury. In his scouting report, Law noted that Correa has improved at every stop on both sides of the game, giving him a chance to stick at shortstop defensively. Both his power and plate discipline progressed faster than even some optimistic scouts had expected, Law adds.

Chatwood, 24, had a breakout season with the Rockies in 2013, posting a 3.15 ERA with 5.3 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and a 58.5 percent ground-ball rate in 111 1/3 innings. However, he tossed just 24 innings in 2014 before his season would come to an end with an injury that would eventually require Tommy John surgery. Chatwood underwent his operation on July 19, so it’s possible that he could return to the Rockies late in the 2015 campaign. He will be arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason. As Cotillo notes in a second tweet, Chatwood had previously left the Boras Corporation for MVP back in January.

Both of these changes are now reflected in MLBTR’s Agency Database, which contains agent information on more than 2,000 Major League and Minor League players. If you see any errors or omissions within the database, please let us know via email: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

Rockies’ Tyler Chatwood To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Rockies hurler Tyler Chatwood will undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, reports Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Given the timing of the procedure, and the fact that Chatwood has already had a UCL replacement, it seems likely that he will miss all of next season.

Chatwood, still only 24, had a promising 2013 season, posting a 3.15 ERA in 20 starts with 5.3 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9.  He had been expected to play a major role in the Colorado rotation this year. But, like several other members of the staff, Chatwood has instead missed most of the year due to injury.

The injury certainly has ramifications beyond the season for the Rockies. Chatwood is set to qualify for arbitration eligibility for the first time next year, and the club will have to decide whether to commit to him while he rehabs. Of course, returning from a second TJ procedure is generally a longer and riskier undertaking. While Chatwood has been out since April 29, Saunders explains that he had been working to rehab what was diagnosed as a right flexor strain and elbow inflammation.

West Notes: Almonte, Chatwood, Astros, Putz

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The Mariners announced yesterday that Opening Day center fielder and leadoff man Abraham Almonte has been optioned to Triple-A Tacoma in favor of outfield prospect James Jones. Almonte, acquired from the Yankees in a trade for right-hander Shawn Kelley, entered the season ranked as the club’s No. 17 prospect (per Baseball America). However, he struggled with an everyday role, batting just .198/.248/.292. Jones, 25, has already made his MLB debut earlier this season, collecting a hit in his only plate appearance in mid-April. He hit a strong .313/.382/.450 in Triple-A, and Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune wrote that despite not starting against a tough lefty yesterday (Scott Kazmir), Jones will receive regular playing time in center field.

More from the game’s Western divisions…

  • The Rockies got some mixed news on right-hander Tyler Chatwood, Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports. While Chatwood’s arm injury doesn’t appear to be season-ending, he will miss at least six to eight weeks as he rehabs from a flexor strain in his right arm. Franklin Morales has stepped into the rotation as the team purchased the contract of righty reliever Nick Masset, whose 40-man spot was opened by transferring Chatwood to the 60-day DL. For Masset, this marks a long journey back to the Majors after a series of shoulder injuries derailed his career in 2011-13.
  • Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle spoke with Astros medical risk manager and analyst Bill Firkus about his role with the team and also spoke with key members of the club’s medical/training staff about how Birkus has helped the club since his arrival last July. Firkus isn’t a doctor, but he specializes in analyzing trends and injury studies around professional sports. “What has changed is the way we look at files for possible trades or picking up free agents,” said head trainer Nate Lucero. Drellich’s article gives an excellent look at Houston’s medical program and the changes that have been made to evaluating the success of operations since GM Jeff Luhnow took over.
  • Add J.J. Putz’s name to the list of upcoming free agent pitcher (or just pitchers in general) who have a troublesome arm injury; Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reported late last night that Putz will be placed on the DL with right forearm tightness. The Diamondbacks have had poor luck with its pitching staff in 2014, losing Patrick Corbin and David Hernandez to Tommy John surgery while Archie Bradley has hit the minor league DL after struggling at Triple-A. As Piecoro notes, Putz suffered a UCL sprain last year that didn’t require surgery. Any long-term injury could potetially be a crushing blow to his free agent stock.

West Links: Chatwood, Martin, Astros, Angels

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Though the Rockies continued their hot start by improving to 16-12 last night, the mood was dampened by the departure of right-hander Tyler Chatwood with elbow tightness, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes. It may not be too serious, as manager Walt Weiss wasn’t sure if an MRI would be utilized, but as Saunders points out, Chatwood missed nearly a month last season with elbow tightness. He also had bone chips removed from the elbow last October. Colorado has already seen its rotation hampered by injuries to Jhoulys Chacin and Brett Anderson, and losing Chatwood for any amount of time would be yet another blow. Here’s more from baseball’s Western divisions…

  • Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller has penned a must-read piece on the tale of Rockies reliever Chris Martin and his journey from working at an appliance store to Colorado’s bullpen. Martin’s career appeared to be done after shoulder surgery in his sophomore season of junior college, but time healed his shoulder, stocking washers and dryers strengthened it, and a game of catch with a friend led to a tryout for the American Association’s AirHogs. His AirHogs manager, former big leaguer Pete Incaviglia, placed a call to the Red Sox about getting scouts to see Martin as soon as possible. This synopsis doesn’t do the story justice, and Miller’s article is well worth the read.
  • The Astros, who typically employ a starter-reliever piggyback system for their minor league clubs, will adopt a six-man rotation at the Triple-A level for the time being, writes MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. GM Jeff Luhnow spoke with McTaggart about the team’s unconventional development methods in the minors, noting that eventually the Triple-A club will go back to the usual tandem system employed at other levels.
  • In his latest “Fangraphs on FOX” article, Dave Cameron examines the Angels’ offensive production to date and notes that their record isn’t really indicative of the talent on the team. The Halos also stack up very favorably in wOBA differential, leading Cameron to believe that there’s 90-win potential in Anaheim this year. Cameron acknowledges the team’s biggest flaw — its bullpen — but notes that relievers are the easiest commodity to acquire on the trade market each summer.
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