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AL West Notes: Bregman, Healy, Valencia, Rodriguez, Rangers

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The Astros’ reported deal with Yulieski Gurriel adds another notable option to the mix in the left side of the infield, but that doesn’t mean top prospect Alex Bregman is on the trade block. Far from it, in fact, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network (on Twitter). A source tells Morosi that the club isn’t interested in flipping Bregman for a top-flight starter — though certainly the rising prospect is the kind of blue-chip asset that could net a major piece in return.

Here’s more from the AL West:

  • Just-promoted prospect Ryon Healy will serve as the Athletics’ primary third baseman, manager Bob Melvin told reporters including John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). That leaves hot-hitting Danny Valencia to pick up plate appearances at first base and the corner outfield. Oakland’s decision to modify and reduce Valencia’s role seems to suggest that he isn’t a major part of the club’s plans for 2017. That, in turn, would presumably increase the team’s inclination to deal him this summer.
  • Athletics reliever Fernando Rodriguez will miss four to six weeks after being diagnosed with a lat tear, Hickey tweets. Rodriguez expressed surprise and disappointment with the prognosis. The 32-year-old has been a steady, albeit not a dominant, member of the A’s pen for the last two years. Over 40 2/3 innings in 2015, he owns a 4.20 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9.
  • As the Rangers continue to browse the shelves of potentially-available starters, the team has at least asked the Braves about Julio Teheran, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter links). That hardly means there’s any real action on the righty, particularly since we’ve seen Texas tied to a whole host of starters in recent weeks. Cotillo also hears that the Rangers have had talks with the Brewers on catcher Jonathan Lucroy and southpaw Will Smith, though Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets that the chatter “went nowhere.” All told, it still seems that the Texas front office is canvassing possibilities with the deadline a few weeks off.

Relief Market Rumors: Nationals, Giants, Rangers, Jeffress, Smith, Cubs, Nathan

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Here’s a roundup of some bullpen-related rumors about teams who may be looking to add, subtract or stand pat in regards to their relief corps…

  • The Nationals, Giants and Rangers are the three teams “poised to be most aggressive in pursuit of late-inning relief help” in the opinion of rival evaluators, ESPN’s Buster Olney writes (subscription required).  The latter two clubs aren’t a surprise given how injuries and ineffectiveness have hampered both the San Francisco and Texas bullpens, but the Nats entered today with the fourth-lowest bullpen ERA (3.15) of any club in baseball.  Despite good results overall, closer Jonathan Papelbon has outperformed his peripheral stats and seen a velocity drop, so Washington could be looking to make a midseason closer addition for the second straight year.  All three teams have been linked to Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller if and when the Yankees make their star relievers available.
  • Brewers relievers Jeremy Jeffress and Will Smith are getting a lot of attention from scouts, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports (Twitter link).  Jeffress was recently ranked by MLBTR’s Jeff Todd as one of the top 20 trade candidates leading up to the deadline, as the righty has performed quite well as Milwaukee’s closer.  It was an injury to Smith that opened the door for Jeffress to take over the ninth-inning role, and Smith has pitched well himself in 17 innings since returning from the DL.
  • The Cubs have been heavily connected to bullpen trade rumors, though they could potentially receive help from within if veteran Joe Nathan is able to regain any of his old form, CSN Chicago’s Patrick Mooney writes.  Nathan signed a minor league deal with the Cubs in May as the 41-year-old looks to return from the second Tommy John surgery of his career.  Mooney and Cubs skipper Joe Maddon both provide some detail on Nathan’s promising appearances over six games for Chicago’s Double-A affiliate.  Nathan struggled in 2014 and missed virtually all of 2015, of course, so you would think the Cubs would look for a more solid relief option even if Nathan does look good.

Injury Notes: Jordan, Gray, Ross, Martin, Ottavino, Smith, Chirinos

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Nationals right-hander Taylor Jordan underwent Tommy John surgery yesterday, the team announced. It’s his second time undergoing a UCL replacement for the 27-year-old. Jordan burst onto the scene for the Nats in 2013, but has failed to maintain that promise at the major league level. He did have a strong season in the results department last year at Triple-A, though, and allowed just three earned runs in 15 2/3 innings in his first three starts of the 2016 campaign. Now, it’ll be at least a year or so before Jordan can try to get back on track.

Here’s more on some injury situations around the game:

  • Athletics staff ace Sonny Gray is readying to throw from a mound tomorrow, per Joe Stiglich of Comcast SportsNet California (via Twitter). It’s certainly good to hear that Gray feels good enough to begin working his way back from a trapezius issue, though his timeline remains completely unknown.
  • Padres skipper Andy Green says that righty Tyson Ross may be ready to begin throwing within one week’s time, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports on Twitter. It’s been a slow process for Ross, as the Pads seek to ensure that his shoulder issues don’t worsen. While the trade deadline remains two months away, leaving some time to turn him back into a potentially valuable trade chip, it’s worth bearing in mind that Ross will need a full build-up and rehab stint before returning to the major league hill.
  • The Mariners have placed outfielder Leonys Martin on the 15-day DL today with a hamstring strain, the club announced. The team had believed he might avoid such an outcome altogether, so it doesn’t seem as if there’s any reason for significant concern. Stefen Romero will take Martin’s roster spot for the meantime. Martin, an offseason trade acquisition, had been off to an eye-opening .262/.339/.483 start at the plate for Seattle.
  • Rockies reliever Adam Ottavino is nearly ready to throw live batting practice, Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports on Twitter. He’s still working back from Tommy John surgery, but it’s encouraging to hear that his rehab could soon begin in earnest. Colorado, meanwhile, will no doubt be excited to look forward to receiving a return on the team’s investment in Ottavino over the winter.
  • Southpaw Will Smith is expected to return to the Brewers by next week, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy tweets. That’s great news for Milwaukee, which has been without the excellent 26-year-old reliever all year long. He’ll join Jeremy Jeffress at the back of the pen — and, perhaps, on the trade block.
  • Rangers backstop Robinson Chirinos will begin a rehab stint tomorrow with hopes of returning to the majors on June 9, as MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan was among those to tweet. Texas has been blessed with surprisingly productive starts from the catching position, but Chirinos had been expected to handle most of the duties before suffering a forearm fracture.

NL Injury Notes: Duda, Montas, Smith

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First baseman Lucas Duda was scratched from the Mets’ lineup Saturday and had an MRI on his back, as ESPN’s Mark Simon notes. The nature and severity of Duda’s issue is unclear, although he’s batted just .192/.300/.404 in May. “Having him out of the lineup is a huge loss for us, especially against right-handed pitching, which we’re going to see two games here and two games in D.C. (next week),” says manager Terry Collins. “We have to look at the big picture. We can’t aggravate this thing to where it becomes a major issue. We hope that it won’t.” Here’s more on NL injuries.

  • The Dodgers are keeping an eye on Frankie Montas, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register writes. Montas, who’s recovering after having surgery on his rib in February, pitched two scoreless innings in extended spring training on Thursday and threw 100 MPH with what manager Dave Roberts describes as good command. Montas is expected to begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Tulsa this weekend. As Plunkett notes, Montas isn’t eligible to come off the 60-day DL until June 3. Montas, one of the keys to the Dodgers’ end of the Todd Frazier deal last winter, could turn out to be a significant asset for the Dodgers, given his velocity (his average fastball last year in a brief trial with the White Sox was 96.7 MPH) and the instability of the Dodgers’ bullpen beyond Kenley Jansen.
  • Brewers manager Craig Counsell says lefty Will Smith is ready to begin a rehab assignment and could return to the team in the first week of June, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports (Twitter links). Smith tore his lateral collateral ligament late in Spring Training and opted to rehab it rather than having surgery. He began throwing off a mound last week. A quick return would be a boon for both Smith and the Brewers — he had figured to get at least some opportunities at closer this year, and if he does pile up saves or holds, he’ll likely get a nifty raise on his $1.475MM 2016 salary through the arbitration process next winter. Perhaps we would be getting ahead of ourselves in imagining he might close, however — Jeremy Jeffress has done well in the closer’s role, and there’s no urgent reason for the Brewers to remove him. The team surely would, however, enjoy the return of a reliever in Smith who posted a 2.70 ERA, 12.9 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in a terrific 2015 season. He and Jeffress could also be good trade chips for the Brewers this summer.

 

NL Central Notes: Braun, Smith, Grichuk, Straily

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This summer could be the perfect time for the Brewers to trade Ryan Braun, writes ESPN’s Buster Olney. The 32-year-old will gain 10-and-5 rights early next season, allowing him to veto any trade. Braun can already block trades to 23 teams, with the D-backs, Angels, Dodgers, Marlins, Padres and Giants representing the only teams to which he can be traded without his consent. Olney spoke to a number of executives and evaluators regarding Braun, and the general consensus was that his heightened 2016 play has made the once-near-impossible thought of a trade much more plausible. Braun’s contact rate is the best of his career, and he’s enjoying the second-lowest swinging-strike and out-of-zone swing rates of his career. One evaluator noted to Olney that Braun has learned to lay off the high fastball that was once a pitch with which he could be put away in two-strike counts. An executive from another club opined that the Brewers will still have to eat a considerable amount of Braun’s salary to facilitate a deal, however; by my calculation he’s owed $90.85MM through 2020, including the remaining money on this year’s $19MM salary and the $4MM buyout of his 2021 option.

More on the Brewers and their division…

  • Left-hander Will Smith will throw off a mound today for the first time since tearing the LCL in his right knee in a freak Spring Training accident (while taking off his shoe), reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Smith, whose workouts to this point have included running on an anti-gravity treadmill, is hoping to avoid surgery and will begin a throwing program if today’s mound session goes well. However, Haudricourt notes that if he experiences problems, surgery could be the ultimate outcome anyway. Smith, 26, came to Spring Training with a chance to become the Brewers’ closer, but right-hander Jeremy Jeffress has seized that role with eight saves and a 2.63 ERA in 13 2/3 innings thus far.
  • Cardinals outfielder Randal Grichuk spoke with MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch about the 2013 trade that brought him from Anaheim to St. Louis and some of the struggles he endured with the Angels. “I got injured so much in that organization, that I felt like I got put on the back burner,” Grichuk said of the Angels. “They didn’t really expect much out of me at that point. I definitely think that this trade helped rejuvenate my career. I’m definitely thankful for it.” As Langosch notes, living in the shadow of Mike Trout was also a difficult task. The two were inevitably compared to one another as they were selected with back-to-back picks in the first round, both play center field and were even born just six days apart. Grichuk and Trout remain close, and Trout told Langosch that he’s happy to see his friend succeeding, even if it’s in another organization.
  • Waiver claim Dan Straily has been an early success story for the Reds, writes Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The right-hander has benefited from pitching coach Mark Riggins, who taught him a grip for a two-seam fastball with which Straily is comfortable. Straily tells Buchanan that he’d never used a two-seamer much in the past because he hasn’t been successful with the pitch, but his new grip is helping him keep left-handed opponents off balance. Interestingly, president of baseball operations Walt Jocketty tells Buchanan that his team actually got some trade inquiries on Straily earlier this year but elected to hang onto him. “We felt we needed him more than what we could get in return for him,” said Jocketty. Straily has walked 10 of the 66 lefties he’s faced, so he could still stand to improve his control, but he’s locked down a rotation spot for the time being with a 3.47 ERA in 36 1/3 innings. And, as Buchanan points out, he has four more years of club control remaining beyond the 2016 campaign if he can continue his success.

Will Smith To Attempt Knee Rehab; Out At Least 6 Weeks

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Brewers reliever Will Smith will attempt to rehab his ailing right knee, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. The hope is that an approximately three-week layoff before throwing will allow the southpaw to avoid surgery for what has been diagnosed as a tear of his lateral collateral ligament.

Surgery, says Smith, likely would cost him most or all of the season. Given that he’d have plenty of time to rehab after the season even if the surgery is ultimately required, it certainly made sense to attempt the rehab route.

Even if the recovery process goes well, Smith figures to miss significant time. He’s a long-term piece of the team’s picture that will be handled with care. Surely, the Brewers will be cautious to ensure that he doesn’t further injure his knee or trigger an arm issue in compensating. Plus, he’ll need to ramp back up and make sure his arm is in shape before returning to major league action.

The knee issue will hit Smith’s wallet, especially if surgery is required. He’s due $1.48MM this year as a Super Two, and the possibility of racking up saves and holds promised a nice raise next winter. If he can make it back, that remains possible, but his innings will be limited and others — Jeremy Jeffress and Corey Knebel chief among them — may have a chance to lock up the 9th inning while Smith is out.

Will Smith Has Torn LCL

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Brewers reliever Will Smith has a torn lateral collateral ligament in his right knee, and it’s unclear whether he’ll opt for rehab or surgery, Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel writes. In a freak occurrence, Smith suffered the injury while taking off his shoe in the clubhouse.

“I was standing on one leg, trying to take the shoe off and I pulled hard and it stayed on. My knee just went up and popped,” Smith says.

Whether or not Smith’s injury requires surgery, it appears he’s in for a significant stay on the Brewers’ disabled list. Smith figured to be part of the Brewers’ mix at closer, along with Jeremy Jeffress. The injury likely means that Jeffress will have the role to himself, at least for awhile.

Smith has been one of the better lefty relievers in baseball the past three seasons, and he was terrific in 2015, with a 2.70 ERA, 3.4 BB/9 and an impressive 12.9 K/9 in 63 1/3 innings working in a setup role. He figured to become a trade candidate for Brewers at some point, since an electric lefty reliever seems like a luxury for a rebuilding team, although his current injury could delay that possibility. Smith is making $1.475MM in his first year of arbitration eligibility in 2016 as a Super Two player.

NL Central Notes: Bailey, Smith, Jones, Braun, Victorino, Luebke

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Reds righty Homer Bailey is progressing rapidly in his effort to return from Tommy John surgery, MLB.com’s Barry Bloom writes. The club is targeting a May 1 return, which would be less than a year from the date of his procedure. Manager Bryan Price actually suggested that Bailey could have been ready for the start of the season, but the organization chose not to “push him.” The right represents an important bounceback player to watch, given his huge contract. He says that recovery has been “smoother” than he anticipated and that he’s yet to experience discomfort throwing.

Here’s more from the NL Central:

  • There was plenty of news out of Brewers camp today, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. Top reliever Will Smith is experiencing knee swelling and could miss the start of the season. That would leave Jeremy Jeffress as the obvious choice to handle the 9th while Smith works back to full speed.
  • Brewers Rule 5 pick Zack Jones has had shoulder issues all spring long and is going to start out on the DL. That could actually make it easier to keep him, as the team can bring him along slowly and give him some minor league time on a rehab assignment before exposing him to the majors.
  • The lower back soreness experienced recently by Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun appears to be an increasing concern. Manager Craig Counsell suggested that the team will exercise caution, but doesn’t expect the problem to disappear in the next few days. “We may have to manage this into the season,” said Counsell. “That’s becoming apparent now.”
  • Outfielder Shane Victorino discussed his status with the Cubs with Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. It appears he’s still deciding whether to remain in the organization, but doesn’t seem inclined to retire. “I just still want to play the game I love,” Victorino said. “We all want to do that forever, but this time I really felt like I had made a turn for the better this offseason, going back to switch-hitting.” He added that he wouldn’t hesitate to call it quits if he felt otherwise, saying: “I am my hardest critic, so if I feel like I am done, no one would need to make that decision for me.”
  • Pirates lefty Cory Luebke has an opt-out date of Tuesday the 29th, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. That’ll be an interesting situation to monitor, as Luebke has reportedly been fairly impressive in camp — as we covered last night.

NL Central Notes: Dunnington, Brewers, Contreras, Nicasio

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Former Cardinals minor leaguer Tyler Dunnington, who retired from the game during Spring Training 2015, tells Cyd Zeigler of Outsports.com that he chose to leave the game due to homophobic comments and clubhouse culture that made him “miserable in a sport that used to give him life.” Dunnington, who kept his sexual orientation private throughout his baseball career but has come out since retiring, explained that a college coach made a detestable joke about the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, and such talk didn’t dissipate upon his arrival in pro ball. A minor league teammate mentioned having a gay brother, and a pair of teammates questioned, in earnest, how anyone could have a homosexual friend, let alone brother. Some went so far as to discuss killing homosexuals, Zeigler writes. The inexcusable behavior isn’t lost on GM John Mozeliak, who told the Post-Dispatch’s Derrick Goold and Ben Frederickson: “This is very disappointing and our hope is that every player, staff member, and employee feels they are treated equally and fairly. Given the nature of these allegations I will certainly look into this further as well as speak with [MLB Ambassador for Inclusion Billy Bean] for further assistance on this matter…we will take this very seriously.”

Dunnington hopes to return to the game in a front office role, where he could help to take measures to prevent this type of culture and behavior. “After gaining acceptance from my friends and family I realized I didn’t have to quit baseball to find happiness,” Dunnington said. “I not only wanted to share my story but also apologize for not using the stage I had to help change the game.” Indeed, disturbing as Dunnington’s stories are, the sad reality is that the appalling comments he encountered are almost certainly not unique to the clubhouse he was in nor to the Cardinals organization.

Looking elsewhere in the division…

  • Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that the Brewers won’t name a closer before Opening Day. Manager Craig Counsell asserted that there’s “no such position as Opening Day closer” and said that left-hander Will Smith and right-hander Jeremy Jeffress will both get cracks at closing games early in the season. Counsell feels that it will behoove the Brewers to take advantage of having two quality late-inning relievers — one right-handed (Jeffress) and one left-handed (Smith) — to create the most advantageous matchups possible in attempting to lock down close victories. Counsell said the ninth inning could “eventually” belong to one pitcher, but he sees no reason to place any sort of restriction on either reliever right now.
  • Cubs prospect Willson Contreras looks more and more like the team’s long-term answer behind the plate with every passing day, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. Wittenmyer spoke to catching coach Mike Borzello, manager Joe Maddon and infielder Javier Baez, each of whom raved about some combination of Contreras’ throwing, handling of the pitching staff and above-average bat. Borzello noted that Contreras would probably break camp with a club that had less catching depth than Chicago currently has with Miguel Montero, David Ross and Kyle Schwarber. Contreras’ emergence further calls into question Schwarber’s future behind the plate, as if Contreras is the two-way backstop that many in the organization believe him to be, there’s less of a reason to continue to try to develop Schwarber as a catcher, where many scouts believe he is inadequate from a defensive standpoint.
  • While Spring Training stats are always taken with a grain of salt, a dominant outing from Pirates right-hander Juan Nicasio turned some heads today, writes ESPN’s Jayson Stark. “Dominant,” in fact, is selling the appearance short; Nicasio faced 14 hitters and allowed just one hit and recorded an incredible 10 strikeouts on Wednesday. Despite facing a strikeout-prone Orioles lineup, Nicasio caught the eye of manager Clint Hurdle, who says that his own experience managing at Coors Field made it easy to look past Nicasio’s lackluster career numbers when the Pirates added him on a one-year, $3MM deal this winter. Nicasio was originally signed to be a multi-inning reliever, but in light of his spring dominance, Hurdle wouldn’t rule out a rotation spot. Nicasio tells Stark that’s his ultimate goal: “I’m working hard for the rotation, but I can’t control all that.” As Stark writes, a well-known Pirates success story, Francisco Liriano, called Nicasio this offseason to sell him on the benefit of pitching coach Ray Searage. “Everybody talks about, ’You go here, you get better,'” Nicasio says to Stark. “I know why now.”

AL Central Notes: Park, Smith, Indians, Brantley, Tigers

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Nine different Twins talent evaluators saw Byung-ho Park in person before the team submitted its $12.85MM bid earlier this offseason, Minnesota vice president of personnel Mike Radcliff tells David Dorsey of the News-Press Media Group. Radcliff himself was among those who watched Park personally in South Korea, having been to Korea in four of the past six seasons, per Dorsey. “It’s a different style,” said Radcliff of Korean baseball. “They swing hard and often over there. There’s a transition. … But we think his swing is Americanized, if you will. He has less movement in his body, from head to toe. He will see velocities he hasn’t seen much of before. But we think the transition will be good, if you will. There just aren’t too many situations to compare him to.”

Here’s more on the Twins and their division…

  • The Twins continue to poke around the trade market for left-handed relief help and like Brewers left-hander Will Smith quite a bit, reports 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson in his latest podcast (audio link, with Twins talk firing up around the 37:45 mark). There’s certainly no indication that Milwaukee is looking to move Smith, although as this winter’s Ken Giles trade showed, moving a controllable relief arm can certainly bolster a farm system in a hurry. The Twins have no shortage of minor league talent that could entice the Brewers, though GM Terry Ryan recently spoke about a number of in-house options that intrigue him as lefty options in the bullpen, calling out Taylor Rogers and J.T. Chargois by name.
  • The Indians have shuffled their Latin American Operations department, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. After an “amicable” split between the organization and former Latin American director Ramon Pena, the Indians have promoted Koby Perez to that post and made a series of subsequent promotions. Previously, Pena had overseen all Latin American scouting, player development and operations, but those responsibilities will be spread out among different officials now, Hoynes continues. Hoynes spoke to Cleveland president of baseball operations about the team’s approach in Latin America and how the Indians plan to leverage their player development resources in that sphere.
  • Indians outfielder Michael Brantley has begun taking no-contact swings, writes MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. Brantley, who underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder back in November and was said to have a recovery timeline of five to six months, reported to camp early and will need to progress to hitting off a tee and eventually taking batting practice before he’s ready for in-game action, Bastian writes. Bastian spoke to GM Mike Chernoff and hitting coach Ty Van Burkleo about Brantley’s progress and the possibility of a swifter-than-expected return. “…knowing him and his makeup and how hard he works, and our training staff, how diligent they are, I’m pleased, but I wouldn’t say I’m surprised [by his progress],” said Van Burkleo.
  • Right-hander Michael Fulmer, the key piece received by the Tigers in July’s Yoenis Cespedes trade, is viewed by the organization as a starter but could factor into the team’s bullpen in 2016, writes Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press. Justin Verlander, Jordan Zimmermann, Anibal Sanchez and Mike Pelfrey are locks for the rotation, with lefty Daniel Norris favored to land the fifth spot, but manager Brad Ausmus was open to the idea of Fulmer in a relief role this year. “Realistically, if he were to make the club, he would probably be a reliever,” Ausmus told Fenech. “If he were not to make the club, he would probably be a starter. … You have enough time in spring training that even if he’s coming out of the pen right now in big league camp, there will be a point where if you think he’s going to be a starter in Toledo, we can make the switch and get his innings up before the start of the season.”
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