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Tyler Jay

Reds Acquire Tyler Jay From Twins

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The Reds have acquired left-hander Tyler Jay from the Twins, according to Roster Roundup. There’s no word on what the Twins received, but they presumably got a meager return for Jay.

The Twins used the sixth overall pick in the 2015 draft on Jay, who starred as a reliever at the University of Illinois. At the time Minnesota selected him, there was plenty of optimism Jay would continue to thrive in the majors as either a reliever or starter. But injuries – including to Jay’s shoulder and neck – have helped derail his career since he entered the professional ranks.

The 25-year-old Jay hasn’t yet ascended past the Double-A level, where he has pitched since 2017 and owns a 4.60 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 103 2/3 innings. While assessing the Twins’ prospects this past April, Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel of FanGraphs wrote Jay remains “a multi-pitch lefty with average stuff, and that seems rosterable.” The Twins disagreed, even after all they invested in Jay, leaving the Reds to hope he’ll one day realize some of his vast potential in their uniform.

AL Central Notes: Brantley, Royals, Jay

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News of Michael Brantley’s ankle surgery and four- to five-month recovery timeline raised questions as to whether the Indians will exercise his $12MM club option for the 2018 season. Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti addressed the issue with reporters today, stating that the team is still “working through” the decision about whether to pick up Brantley’s option (link via Jordan Bastian of MLB.com). Antonetti also reemphasized that the team has “always envisioned [Brantley] being part of our organization, not only in 2018, but beyond.” Asked about potentially buying out Brantley’s option and negotiating an incentive-laden deal at a lower base rate, Antonetti declined to delve into hypothetical scenarios. Antonetti also noted that Brantley’s ankle didn’t trouble him when hitting, which is why he was included on the team’s ALDS roster.

A bit more from the AL Central…

  • Royals GM Dayton Moore is taking his front office on a four-day trip to Atlanta to study Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., writes Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star. Moore feels strongly about not only educating a young front office that primarily grew up after the civil rights era on diversity, but also in studying Dr. King’s leadership, creative thinking and open-mindedness. Moore stressed to Dodd that he wants his staff to be naturally curious and open to viewing things through a different perspective. Said Moore: “When you’re in a leadership position and you’re expected to hire people, and you’re expected to embrace diversity and different culture and different races and all different walks of life, and people with great wisdom, and young people coming into the game with new ideas … if you really want to embrace and respect diversity, you need to study it.”
  • While there were reports that Twins prospect Tyler Jay, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2015 draft, would require thoracic outlet surgery earlier this summer, the left-hander is healthy and pitching well in the Arizona Fall League, writes MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger. Jay did miss nearly three months of the season with neck and shoulder issues, Bollinger continues, but TOS was ruled out by doctors. Rather, Jay was diagnosed with a shoulder impingement and biceps tendinitis. The Twins have moved Jay to the bullpen for the foreseeable future and expect him to open next season in Double-A Chattanooga. ESPN’s Keith Law recently wrote that Jay has been “electric” in  the AFL. The 23-year-old could well emerge as a late-inning option in Minnesota next year.

Pitching Notes: Rangers, A’s, Yanks, Padres, Twins

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Matt Bush hasn’t been a shutdown closer for the Rangers, so they’ve stripped him of the job and will deploy a ninth-inning committee, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. “We’ll use multiple pitchers based on who is available and the set of hitters coming up,” said manager Jeff Banister. “We are not set on one single guy.” Each of Keone Kela, Alex Claudio and Jose Leclerc could get save opportunities, notes Sullivan. All three have outperformed Bush, who had a nightmarish June in which he blew three of seven save chances and allowed 10 earned runs on 21 hits in 9 1/3 innings. He’s the second Rangers closer to struggle mightily this season, joining predecessor and now-Giant Sam Dyson. (To keep tabs on all teams’ ninth-inning situations, follow MLBTR’s affiliate Twitter site, @CloserNews.)

  • Athletics right-hander Andrew Triggs could undergo season-ending surgery if his ailing left hip doesn’t respond to treatment by the end of the month, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Triggs received a cortisone shot two weeks ago, but there hasn’t been much progress in his recovery since then. The 28-year-old is optimistic he’ll avoid surgery, but he’ll face a six-month recovery if he does go under the knife. Triggs has been on the disabled list since June 10, before which he posted a 4.27 ERA, 6.89 K/9, 2.62 BB/9  and a 49.8 percent ground-ball rate across 65 1/3 innings.
  • Left-hander C.C. Sabathia is on track to return to the Yankees’ rotation Tuesday, per Andrew Marchand of ESPN.com. Sabathia hasn’t pitched since suffering a Grade 2 hamstring strain in mid-June. Before that, the impending free agent helped his stock, not to mention New York’s playoff chances, with a 3.46 ERA and a 49.8 percent ground-ball rate over 75 1/3 frames.
  • Meanwhile, righty Trevor Cahill will slot back into the Padres’ starting staff Tuesday, tweets Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. With the trade deadline approaching, Cahill’s return will come at a good time for the rebuilding Padres. Cahill, out since mid-May with a shoulder strain, pitched like a front-line starter over 41 1/3 innings in the early going, logging a 3.27 ERA, 11.1 K/9 and a 60.2 percent ground-ball rate.
  • One of the Twins’ top prospects, Double-A lefty Tyler Jay, is likely headed for season-ending surgery, according to Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press. Jay is being evaluated for thoracic outlet syndrome, which is not an easy injury from which to return (as the Twins’ Phil Hughes and the Mets’ Matt Harvey have shown). Jay, whom the Twins chose sixth overall in 2015, battled neck issues as a Double-A last season and entered 2017 as a reliever. His latest ailment has limited him to two innings this year.

Twins News: Jay, Veterans, Stubbs, Breslow

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Here’s the latest from Minnesota…

  • Left-hander Tyler Jay, the sixth overall pick of the 2015 draft, will be used as a reliever going forward, Seth Stohs of Twins Daily reports.  The decision was mutually made between both Jay and the Twins.  Jay mostly pitched in relief in college, yet the Twins were intrigued enough by his four-pitch arsenal that they spent the high pick on him in order to test him as a starter.  The southpaw pitched well in 13 starts at High-A ball last season before battling some neck issues over five appearances (two of them starts) and 14 innings at Double-A.  Baseball Prospectus ranked Jay as 98th on their recent list of the 101 best prospects in baseball, and he also appeared on top-100 lists from MLB.com (60th) and Baseball America (80th) prior to the 2016 season.
  • Jay was drafted one spot ahead of Andrew Benintendi in 2015, and 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson reports (Twitter link) that the Twins “had very little interest” in the outfielder who is now the game’s consensus number-one prospect.  Notables such as Carson Fulmer and Ian Happ were picked in the next two spots after Benintendi.  In fairness to Minnesota, however, Jay was highly regarded by the major prospect scouting pundits headed into the 2015 draft, so he likely wouldn’t have fallen much further than sixth had the Twins passed.
  • The Twins made a point of adding veteran leadership to their young clubhouse this winter, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes.  Matt Belisle, Ryan Vogelsong, Chris Gimenez, Drew Stubbs and Craig Breslow were all signed to minor league deals or low-cost MLB deals this offseason, providing Minnesota with inexpensive but experienced players who can help on the field and also serve as mentors.  “The idea at this stage of my career that I could impact an organization for longer than I may be playing for it is pretty powerful and pretty compelling,” Breslow said. “I’ve started to think about all of the players who have helped shape my career.  I certainly look to them with incredible deference.  If I have the opportunity to fill that role for somebody, it’s a legacy I would be really proud of.”
  • Also from Berardino’s piece, he notes that Stubbs will earn $1MM on his minor league deal should he crack the Twins’ big league roster.  Stubbs has bounced around with the Braves, Orioles, Rockies and (multiple stints with the) Rangers over the last two seasons, playing in 137 games and hitting .207/.302/.365 over 234 plate appearances.
  • Breslow’s contractual opt-out date is early next week, though Berardino tweets that the Twins will add him to their 40-man roster.  Trevor May will be moved to the 60-day DL (due to his torn UCL) in order to create space.

AL Central Notes: Maybin, Twins, Royals

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The Tigers announced yesterday that outfielder Cameron Maybin has been placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a Grade 2 sprain of his left thumb. Maybin will join third baseman Nick Castellanos and right-handers Jordan Zimmermann and Mike Pelfrey on the disabled list (as can be seen on their depth chart), adding to a growing contingent of injured Tigers as Detroit tries to chase down Cleveland for the American League Central Division lead. The loss is a tough one for Detroit, as Maybin’s on-base percentage this season checks in just under .400, and his overall .325/.394/.398 slash is highly impressive even if some regression is inevitable (.382 BABIP). Maybin’s 14.9 percent strikeout rate and 10 percent walk rate are both career-bests, however, so some of the gains are legitimate. The Tigers will announce a corresponding move later today.

More from the AL Central…

  • Twins right-hander Phil Hughes hopes to begin throwing again in three to four weeks after undergoing surgery to alleviate thoracic outlet syndrome earlier this summer, he tells Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. (Hughes is also recovered from a femur fracture he sustained when he was struck by a line drive.) The righty explains to Berardino that the issue has been building up over time and may have begun back in his disappointing 2015 season. “It’s something that can come on slowly,” said Hughes. “It was more something that probably came along a little bit last year and didn’t really come to a head until this year, when I was really having some problems with it.” Hughes had a breakout season in 2014, his first with the Twins, which prompted the club to tack three years and $42MM onto the remaining two years and $16MM he was owed at the time. If TOS has been the root of Hughes’ struggles since Opening Day 2015, there’s some hope for a rebound with a healthy 2017 season.
  • A couple other items of note from Berardino’s column: Firstly, 2015 first-rounder and current top 50 prospect Tyler Jay was tested for TOS after experiencing some shoulder/neck problems following a promotion to Double-A, but results were negative. Secondly, Berardino writes that the Twins’ GM search won’t pick up much steam until after the Major League Baseball owners meetings on Aug. 17-18.
  • The emergence of Cheslor Cuthbert gives the Royals some interesting options when it comes to constructing their 2017 roster, writes Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star. Cuthbert has taken over the regular third base job following Mike Moustakas’ torn ACL, and he’s responded with a .301/.339/.449 slash line and nine homers on the season. However, the Royals plan to have Moustakas back in 2017 — his final year before free agency — when he is already guaranteed an $8.7MM salary. Further adding to the muddled scene is former first-round pick Hunter Dozier, whom the team believes to be about Major League ready from an offensive standpoint. GM Dayton Moore spoke about the possibility of his younger players being versatile enough to handle multiple positions, which would indeed give manager Ned Yost additional options to work more than one of said bats into his lineup. Additionally, Dodd notes that Kendrys Morales is likely to hit the open market this winter, so the Royals can use a the DH slot and second base to work Cuthbert into the lineup more often.

Twins To Sign Tyler Jay

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The Twins and No. 6 overall pick Tyler Jay are in agreement on a full-slot bonus of $3,889,500, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (Twitter link). Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN first tweeted that Jay was at Target Field in Minneapolis and was scheduled to meet with the media shortly. Jay, a left-handed pitcher out of the University of Illinois, is represented by Scott Leventhal of All Bases Covered Sports Management.

Jay spent his college career as a relief pitcher, but he ranked near the top of the draft class because most scouts believe that he has the mix of pitches necessary to become a starting pitcher in the Majors. Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs rated Jay as the sixth-best prospect in the draft, while Jay rated ninth on the lists of MLB.com (Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo) and ESPN (Keith Law). Baseball America ranked Jay as the No. 13 prospect in the draft.

McDaniel ranked Jay second among all pitchers in this year’s class, writing that he flashes three plus pitches and held his velocity well in multi-inning relief stints. McDaniel feels that Jay could feature three 60-grade (or better) pitches in the future. Law notes that Jay could end up in the middle of a big league rotation and has four pitches, though he figures to be a three-pitch guy in pro ball. MLB.com has Jay’s velocity in the 93-95 mph range and topping out at 98. Callis and Mayo prefer Jay’s slider to his curve. BA clocks Jay’s slider in the low 80s and notes that some scouts have given it “wipeout” designation.

Jay will pitch as a reliever in 2015, according to GM Terry Ryan (via MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger on Twitter), though the expectation is, of course, that he will eventually move to the rotation. In response to that, Callis tweets that Jay could very well follow in the footsteps of Chris Sale and Brandon Finnegan, emerging as a late-season relief option for his club in the same season that he’s drafted. Jay will begin his career at Fort Myers in the Class-A Advanced Florida State League, per Ryan.

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