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Tyler White

Dodgers’ Scott Alexander, Tyler White Won’t Return This Year

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A pair of injured Dodgers have been ruled out to return this season, manager Dave Roberts told reporters including Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times, who reports that neither Tyler White nor Scott Alexander will suit up for the Dodgers in September.

White landed on the injured list more than two weeks ago owing to a right trapezius strain. The 28-year-old joined the Dodgers in a late-July trade when the Astros could no longer justify holding onto him and his .612 OPS. Unfortunately, his performance was even worse in the brief showing he got as a Dodger. By Fangraphs’ WAR, White has been one of the least valuable hitters in baseball this year, though he won’t have a chance to reverse his fortune over the last month of the season.

Alexander, meanwhile, has tallied only 17 1/3 innings pitched this year thanks to injuries and his deployment largely as a lefty-specialist. He excelled in that role last season—his first with the Dodgers—though his performance has taken a hit in 2019. He’s managed to strike out just 4.9 batters per nine innings, which is made that much worse when compared to the 3.6 walks he concedes per nine innings. He has been on the injured list since mid-June while dealing with forearm inflammation. He’s already spent 60 days on the shelf, so he is eligible to be activated, though evidently he isn’t ready to return to game action.

Neither White nor Alexander seemed likely to crack the Dodgers postseason roster, and either could be a candidate to be designated for assignment. Alexander will be eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason, while White remains in his pre-arb years. Even with years of team control, neither has made an especially strong case to remain on the team beyond this season, though it wouldn’t be costly to keep the duo around in hopes that they can return to form. Alexander, in particular, has a strong track record as a groundball-inducing lefty, though the Dodgers’ need in that department has been filled by Adam Kolarek.

Dodgers To Acquire Tyler White

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The Dodgers are acquiring corner infielder Tyler White from the Astros, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). White, who is out of minor league options, was designated for assignment by Houston last week. The Dodgers are sending righty Andre Scrubb to the Astros in the trade, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports (Twitter link).

White, 28, was excellent for the Astros in a limited role from 2017-18 when he batted .277/.349/.531 with 15 homers, 18 doubles and three triples through 304 plate appearances. He was particularly a nuisance against left-handed pitching, slashing .299/.407/.642 in that time. White hasn’t done much against lefties or righties so far in 2019, though. Given a much larger role with the team, he’s managed only a .225/.320/.330 output at the plate. With the emergence of Yordan Alvarez and several injured Astros returning from the IL, there simply wasn’t room on the Houston roster for White.

The Dodgers recently lost a right-handed bat for the foreseeable future when Chris Taylor landed on the injured list with a fractured forearm. While White can’t match Taylor’s defensive versatility, he’s an affordable alternative with .780 OPS (112 wRC+) against left-handed pitching. And with so many other versatile defenders on the roster, the Dodgers likely don’t mind White’s limited defensive skill set as much.

In Scrubb, Houston will acquire a 24-year-old right-hander who is in the midst of a solid season with Double-A Tulsa. The Dodgers’ eighth-round pick in 2016, he’s pitched to a 2.45 ERA with 10.6 K/9, 4.3 BB/9, 0.57 HR/9 and a 53.4 percent ground-ball rate in 47 2/3 innings of work. He’s yet to pitch at the Triple-A level, but Scrubb has a 2.34 ERA and better than 10 punchouts per nine innings in 57 career frames at the Double-A level, suggesting that he could be a near-term bullpen option for the Astros — if not late in the 2019 season then at some point in 2020.

Astros Designate Tyler White

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The Astros have designated first baseman/DH Tyler White for assignment, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com tweets. Right-hander Jose Urquidy will come up from Triple-A Round Rock to take White’s 25-man roster spot.

An Astro since they chose him in the 33rd round of the 2013 draft, White made his major league debut in 2016, during which he struggled in a small sample of work. However, White showed flashes of excellence from 2017-18 – a 304-plate appearance span in which he slashed .277/.349/.531 (140 wRC+) with 15 home runs.

Houston’s hope was that White would carry that production over to this season in a larger role, but the 28-year-old has instead been one of the worst regulars in its lineup. Prior to his designation, White hit .225/.320/.330 (81 wRC+) with three homers in 253 trips to the plate. Most of the right-handed White’s struggles have come against opposite-handed pitchers, who have held him to an unplayable .162/.267/.243 line in 86 PA.

White has seen a significant amount of action at first and DH this year, but he ran out of rope with the Astros having begun to get injured players back recently. A healthy Astros club will boast Yuli Gurriel at first, Yordan Alvarez at DH, Jose Altuve at second, Carlos Correa at shortstop and Alex Bregman at third. Correa has been out since late May with a fractured rib, while backup infielder Aledmys Diaz has been down for the same amount of time on account of a strained hamstring. Their absences have led the Astros to often deploy Gurriel at third and Bregman at short. However, both Correa and Diaz should return to Houston’s roster soon. Meanwhile, reserves Myles Straw and Tony Kemp have fared much better than White this season.

White could land with another team via trade or waivers within the next week, but the fact that he’s out of minor league options might work against him. If White passes through waivers, the Astros will have an opportunity to outright him to the minors. Should Houston lose White, though, he’d become the second once-promising first baseman/DH to exit the organization this month. The Astros previously designated AJ Reed, whom the White Sox claimed.

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.

Quick Hits: Stark, Blue Jays, Atkins, Astros

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The Athletic’s Jayson Stark (subscription required) has delivered his traditional year-end rundown of some of the weirdest stats and moments from the past baseball season.  Stark’s piece covers such oddities as Adrian Beltre’s eight straight seasons with exactly one stolen base, Framber Valdez’s oddly similar first two MLB starts, the Pirates pulling off a 1-3-4-2-5-8-7 double play, and how Juan Soto’s first career homer shattered the space-time continuum.

Some more from around baseball as we kick off 2019…

  • Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins discussed several topics during a conference call with reporters (including Sportsnet.ca’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm), including his team’s recent acquisitions of Matt Shoemaker and Clayton Richard.  Atkins said the two veteran hurlers will likely be used in the rotation if physically able, though he stopped short of fully confirming that usage, noting that “both guys have the potential to start,” and “I do think there could be a scenario where either one of them or potentially both could be used in a (different) role.”  The Jays still have a need for pitching, and Atkins said that the club will continue to look at adding more starters and relievers as the offseason continues, both in free agency and perhaps in trades, as Toronto continues to receive interest from other teams.  “We’ll continue to consider any opportunities to move players potentially off of our roster.  It’s not something we are proactively looking to do, but we do have a great number of players that other teams are interested in,” Atkins said.  He also specifically noted that catcher Russell Martin is “interesting to a lot of teams.”
  • Though the Astros have been linked to several first base/designated hitter types this winter, The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan (subscription required) notes that the team could be in good shape as it stands by having Tyler White get a regular share of DH at-bats.  White posted a .276/.354/.533 slash line over 237 PA last season, and he could join with the Astros’ left-handed outfielders (Michael Brantley, Josh Reddick, or Tony Kemp) in a timeshare at DH to keep everyone fresh.  However, Kaplan also feels Houston will need to move an outfielder before Opening Day to alleviate a playing time crunch, which means that Kemp, Jake Marisnick, or possibly top prospect Kyle Tucker could all be trade candidates.  There were also some rumblings about Reddick on the trade market last month, so it could be that Brantley and George Springer are the only two untouchable outfielders on Houston’s roster.  Kaplan’s mailbag piece is well worth a full read, as it covers several other topics about the Astros’ offseason and potential long-term moves for the club.

Quick Hits: Mets, Astros, Nats, A’s, ChiSox

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Zack Wheeler returning from 2015 Tommy John surgery and replacing Bartolo Colon in the Mets’ rotation, as originally planned, is now far from a sure thing, writes David Adler of MLB.com. Thanks to Colon’s success, “there’ll be a pretty hefty discussion of what’s going to be best for” the Mets’ rotation when Wheeler is set to come back, said manager Terry Collins. The 43-year-old Colon hasn’t shown any signs of his advanced age, having thrown 80 2/3 innings of 3.01 ERA ball and supported that with a 1.45 BB/9. Wheeler could rejoin the team sometime next month, meanwhile, and a six-man rotation is a possibility when he does. “We’ve been [saying] since Spring Training that when Zack gets here, is it the time when we want to add a guy to the rotation anyway, to give guys some time off? Because the days off are going to be a little bit fewer in the second half. Right now I can’t answer where we’d go,” Collins stated.

Here’s more from around the majors:

  • The Astros demoted early season slugger Tyler White to Triple-A Fresno on Saturday, tweets Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle. White maintained an OPS above 1.000 for the majority of April, but his production began falling off as the month advanced and continued to plummet in May and June, leading the Astros to send him down. All told, the 25-year-old hit a clearly below-average .211/.296/.386 with seven home runs in 189 plate appearances prior to the demotion. As Roster Resource shows, the Astros are now down to Marwin Gonzalez as their primary first base option. The organization also has highly touted prospect A.J. Reed in Fresno, though he hasn’t produced to expectations in 2016. Former top prospect Jon Singleton hasn’t been great at the Triple-A level this year, either.
  • The Nationals are keeping a watchful eye on the amount of innings and pitches 23-year-old right-hander Joe Ross’ racks up, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post details. Ross has 77 2/3 innings under his belt this year, which is the second fewest among Nats starters. He’s also the only member of their rotation who’s averaging fewer than 100 pitches per start, coming in at 94. Ross amassed 153 2/3 innings between the majors and minors in 2015, and while pitchers often push 200 frames the season after totaling in the 150 range, Janes notes that the Nationals try to avoid that type of one-year jump when dealing with their youngsters. There’s no actual innings limit in place, however, relays Janes (Twitter link). ““His innings are building up, as you can notice, he has the least amount of innings of our starters. We want to take him all the way through September, and hopefully into October,” manager Dusty Baker said of Ross, who has posted a 3.13 ERA, 7.63 K/9 and 2.78 BB/9 this season.
  • The Athletics are being careful with injured left-hander Rich Hill as he works his way back from a right groin strain, tweets Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle. The 36-year-old threw a 10-pitch bullpen session Thursday, and there’s no word yet on when the improbable ace/trade chip will return. Hill hit the disabled list on June 9, retroactive to May 30, with the ailment.
  • White Sox center fielder Austin Jackson underwent surgery to debride and remove a portion of the medial meniscus in his left knee Friday, according to Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). Jackson – who went on the DL with a meniscus tear on June 10 – will be on crutches for two more weeks and will undergo a reexamination in four weeks, per Kane. Jackson batted a weak .254/.318/.343 through 204 PAs before the injury. In his stead, the free-falling White Sox have opted for J.B. Shuck in center lately.

AL Notes: Panda, Rangers, Sanchez, White, Angels

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The Padres have sent a scout to watch Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports. It’s far from clear whether that is an indication of serious interest, of course, let alone whether the scout is watching more than just Sandoval. Regardless, it’s the latest hint that there could be some remaining trade chatter to be held between these organizations, who already struck a significant swap early in the offseason.

Here’s more from the eastern divisions:

  • The Rangers are not only continuing their search for another catcher, but could look outside the organization for rotation help, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. A.J. Griffin may have the inside track to take the fifth starter’s job at present, says Grant, but there’s some concern about the overall starting pitching depth as camp comes to a close. As for the backstop situation, it doesn’t appear that much has changed, but Texas is still looking to improve upon its reserve options — if not to strike a more significant upgrade. (Grant notes that the club has inquired on Derek Norris of the Padres and Bryan Holaday of the Tigers.)
  • Of course, interest doesn’t always mean that a deal gets done, and significant spring trades are rare. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports also reports that the Rangers have real interest in both areas (Twitter links), but he says the club thinks it has only an “outside chance” at adding a catcher and is “doubtful” to find a new pitcher. All in all, both reports suggest that Texas is looking at its options but is hardly certain to add outside pieces. And still others suggest there’s not much reason to expect movement. Jeff Wilson of the Forth Worth Star-Telegram tweets that outside inquiries have mostly been tire-kicking exercises, while MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan adds on Twitter that club officials have suggested to him that the final rotation piece will come from inside the organization.
  • Reclamation righty Matt Bush isn’t in the mix for an Opening Day pen spot with the Rangers, Grant also writes, but he has been enormously impressive this spring and could be an option later in the season. Bush’s story is well-known, of course — the former first overall draft pick recently finished a prison term for severely injuring a man in a DUI.
  • Aaron Sanchez has been named as the Blue Jays’ fifth starter, manager John Gibbons told reporters (including John Lott of Blue Jays Nation) this morning.  It won’t be a season-long assignment for Sanchez, however, as the righty seems to be under an innings cap and will eventually be transitioned into the bullpen as he approaches his limit.  The 23-year-old has never thrown more than 133 1/3 innings in a season.  Sanchez and Gavin Floyd emerged as the top two contenders for the fifth starter’s job during camp, and Floyd will join Jesse Chavez in the bullpen while Drew Hutchison has been optioned to Triple-A.  It stands to reason that Floyd, Chavez or Hutchison will all be rotation candidates when Sanchez is moved back to relief pitching.
  • The Astros have decided to give an Opening Day roster spot to young first baseman Tyler White, as Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reports. Houston’s first-base situation has been in flux all spring, but it appears that the 33rd-round draftee is in line for a significant opportunity to take the position and run with it. He is one of several players in the organization who have impressed this spring; third base prospect Colin Moran has also compiled a 1.000+ OPS in more than thirty plate appearances, though Drellich notes on Twitter that he’s not considered a roster option at this point. The same holds true of A.J. Reed, of course, who could also have a chance to make an impact later in the season.
  • Angels GM Billy Eppler says that he is “not optimistic” of adding to his roster before the season starts, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez reports. Gonzalez provides a deep rundown of the club’s remaining roster considerations.

AL West Notes: Reed, White, Rangers, Desmond, Weaver, Triggs

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The Astros’ first base job remains up for grabs, and general manager Jeff Luhnow tells Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM that he can envision prospects A.J. Reed and Tyler White both making the Opening Day roster (audio link), depending on the health of designated hitter Evan Gattis. “Both could make the team,” said Luhnow. “It’s not clear what Gattis’ situation is going to be on Opening Day, and it’s not clear whether he’s going to be ready, so we might have an extra spot. But I wouldn’t say just two guys, either. I think Matt Duffy’s got to be in that equation as well. [Pacific Coast League] player of the year, he’s had a good spring so far, and you can’t count Jon Singleton out either. He’s had a couple of good years in the minor leagues, just hasn’t put it together at the big leagues.” Asked about the impact that Singleton’s contract could play when determining first base playing time, Luhnow expressed confidence that Singleton could still make good on his five-year, $10MM contract but said that decisions of the past won’t impact the present-day roster, and he has to do what’s best for the club. Notably, it should be pointed out that the club’s signing of Doug Fister, which could push Scott Feldman’s $8MM contract to the bullpen, is reflective of that line of thinking.

Here’s more from the AL West…

  • Rangers GM Jon Daniels joined Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News on his podcast, and Grant has transcribed some of the highlights (in addition to providing the full audio, for those that are interested). Daniels addressed the positive signs he’s seen this spring from Joey Gallo, the returning Jurickson Profar and a number of other prospects. Interestingly, Daniels highlighted starting pitching and catching as two potential areas where the club could be exposed. Earlier tonight, Grant reported that the Rangers are surveying the market for catching help and listed Derek Norris as a player of interest.
  • Ian Desmond has reached out to Royals left fielder Alex Gordon for advice in making the transition from the left side of the infield to left field, writes Grant’s colleague Gerry Fraley. Gordon explains to Fraley that one tactic that helped him (and has become a part of his usual pre-game routine) is to spend at least two rounds of batting practice in the outfield, shagging fly-balls as if he were in a game situation. As Fraley notes, Desmond is looking to become the first player in history to start 100 games at shortstop in one season and start 100 games in left field in the season to follow.
  • Angels right-hander Jered Weaver has a bulging disk on the left side of his neck that sometimes triggers irritation in his left arm, writes Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times, but his neck troubles don’t appear to be related to his declining velocity in the estimation of the doctors Weaver has visited. Weaver said that there are no more tests to be performed and no more doctors to see about the issue, joking that he “almost wishes” that doctors would inform him he needs surgery, just so he could know the cause of his velocity loss. While Shaikin notes that Weaver’s frustration is apparent, the 33-year-old says he’ll take the ball whenever asked. Weaver is scheduled to pitch on Saturday, but manager Mike Scioscia tells the L.A. media that the Halos will first evaluate him in a bullpen session on Wednesday.
  • Fangraphs’ Jeff Sullivan loves the Athletics’ claim of right-handed reliever Andrew Triggs off of release waivers from the Orioles. Though the 27-year-old hasn’t yet reached the Majors, Sullivan notes that the improvement in Triggs’ K%-BB% from 2014 to 2015 ranked sixth among all minor leaguers, rating him alongside the likes of Mychal Givens and Tony Zych — two relievers that had breakout campaigns after making such gains. Triggs’ low arm slot and slider also yield plenty of ground-balls, and the last homer he allowed came in 2014, Sullivan notes. While Triggs is no sure thing to make a near-term impact, Sullivan opines that the decision to release him to clear room for Pedro Alvarez was curious, as there were other candidates on the 40-man roster that carry less intrigue than Triggs.

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