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Cubs DFA Carlos Gonzalez, Place Cole Hamels On IL, Recall Dillon Maples, Rowan Wick

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The scene in the Cubs clubhouse Friday suggested a DFA was coming for Carlos Gonzalez, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian (via Twitter), who noted Gonzalez receiving handshakes and hugs from teammates. CarGo indeed was put on waivers earlier today, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). The team has officially announced the move, along with a trio of corresponding roster moves: Cole Hamels goes on the 10-day injured list, while relievers Rowan Wick and Dillon Maples have been recalled from Triple-A.

The Cubs would like to send Gonzalez to the minors, per Heyman, though he would first have to go unclaimed, and second accept the assignment. If he does go unclaimed, the writing would be on the wall for Gonzalez, who then might be willing to accept a minor league assignment to stay in the Cubs organization.

The Gonzalez DFA was precipitated by the Hamels injury, which overtaxed the bullpen and pushed the Cubs to add a pair of arms before today’s game. Hamels left yesterday’s game after one inning with an oblique injury. Mike Montgomery, Brad Brach, and Kyle Ryan each pitched for more than one inning apiece, while Steve Cishek pitched for the second straight game. Maples and Wick rejoin the club today to serve as reinforcements.

CarGo managed a couple of nice moments during his short stint in Chicago, including a diving catch in the outfield in his first weekend, but a listless offensive performance ultimately made him expendable in Chicago, as he had been in Cleveland previous. In 15 games with the Cubs – half as much time as he spent with the Indians – Gonzalez hit only .175/306/.300 with three extra-base hits.

Gonzalez has maintained a good approach in his age-33 season with a 10.8 BB% that’s higher than his career average. Strikeouts have been more frequent (31.3 K%), but even more troubling has been his inability to get any lift. In 166 plate appearances for the Cubs and Indians, Gonzalez has mustered a mere .083 isolated power mark while hitting the ball on the ground 56.4 % of the time. Statcast puts Gonzalez’ launch angle for the year at just 1.7 – not a sustainable mark for a major league hitter.

Gonzalez has fit well in the Cubs clubhouse, and he was a fun attraction for a few weeks, but ultimately the Cubs cannot afford to be patient with the veteran slugger. While there are at-bats for the taking in the Cubs outfield, it’s not necessarily an area of need with Kyle Schwarber, Albert Almora, Jason Heyward, and Kris Bryant on hand. They’d certainly prefer a degree of greater offense from Almora in particular, but CarGo is not to be the answer.

Though they will use Gonzalez’ roster spot on a pitcher for the moment, the fourth outfielder role could eventually be returned to Mark Zagunis, who held the role early in the season, or Ian Happ, who continues to refine his approach in Triple-A.

Cubs Place Kyle Hendricks On 10-Day IL

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JUNE 18: Hendricks has a shoulder impingement, Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer told Jordan Bastian of MLB.com and other reporters Tuesday. “I feel like we got ahead of it,” Hoyer said. “We’re not sure how much time he’ll miss, but we’ll try to take it slow and take the length of the season into account.”

JUNE 15: The Cubs have placed righty Kyle Hendricks on 10-Day IL with right shoulder inflammation, per Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Righty Rowan Wick will come up from Triple-A Iowa to take his place.

Hendricks, 29, is outpacing his peripheral marks for the fifth time in six big league season thus far in 2019. The righty’s delivered 14 starts of 3.36 ERA ball with his typical microscopic walk rate, though his grounder percentage has dropped to an easily-career-worst 41.9%.

There’s no word yet on how long the command artist will remain sidelined, or who’ll replace him in the Cubs rotation. Tyler Chatwood, the only Cub apart from the opening five of Hendricks, Jon Lester, Cole Hamels, Yu Darvish, and Jose Quintana to get a start this season, would figure to be next in line, but he’s again been shaky in ’19 after signing a 3-year, $38MM deal prior to the 2018 campaign.

Cubs Showing Interest In Craig Kimbrel

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All winter long and into the season, through the unavailability (for one reason or another) of backend bullpen notables Brandon Morrow, Pedro Strop and Carl Edwards Jr., messaging out of Chicago’s front office has been as consistent as the bullpen has been fickle: the Cubs have no money to spend. Yet, the Northsiders are suddenly showing interest in Craig Kimbrel, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.

The Cubs financial story remains the same with one new wrinkle: an unfortunate family situation has left utility maven Ben Zobrist on the restricted list since May 8th. If his divorce continues to keep him out of action – which seems likelier than not at this point – the Cubs could recoup a good portion of his salary (in the neighborhood of $9MM), at least as far as the luxury tax is concerned. This new math could give the Cubs just enough room to make a viable run at Kimbrel. Roster resource pegs Chicago’s luxury tax number at around $223MM, whereas Spotrac puts the Cubs at around $200MM. The latter number puts the Cubs a little more than $5MM shy of paying the luxury tax, but Rosenthal suggests the Cubs aren’t as concerned about the tax in general as they are the $246MM line that incurs the harshest penalties. Whether current spending has them just under the first threshold ($206MM) or the second threshold ($226MM), either valuation of their current payroll ought to leave enough room to make a competitive offer to Kimbrel while staying under (at least) the final tax line. There are, of course, other potential suitors courting Kimbrel.

And yet, even if they can make the math work, the months of consistent messaging casts some doubt onto a Cubs’ pursuit of Kimbrel. What we know for certain is that Theo Epstein and company are not shy about doing due diligence, and if history holds, they’ll make at least one notable move before the trade deadline. Epstein has been active on the trade market throughout his Chicago tenure, making at least one deadline acquisition each season dating back to 2015: Dan Haren (2015), Aroldis Chapman & Mike Montgomery (2016), Jose Quintana, Alex Avila & Justin Wilson (2017), Cole Hamels, Brandon Kintzler & Jesse Chavez (2018). There aren’t many misses in this group either, as most of these acquisitions have found ways to contribute (nor are there many position players).

This year, of course, they won’t have the August 31 deadline to take advantage of as they have in every season since emerging as surprise contenders in 2015: Austin Jackson & Fernando Rodney (2015), Joe Smith (2016), Leonys Martin (2017) and Daniel Murphy (2018). In a condensed trading period, the Cubs may prove more aggressive in pursuing a backend talent like Kimbrel.

Still, this could be the year the Cubs don’t make an impact move. They’re not wholly unprepared to go to battle with the arms in-house, per The Atheltic’s Sahadev Sharma, who spotlights Dillon Maples, Rowan Wick, and Adbert Alzolay as three depth arms who could make a difference this summer.

Maples has a ton of swing-and-miss in his arsenal, but he also doesn’t have a clue how to harness it, as evidenced in his small sample with the big league club this year. Through six appearances, he’s amassed 4 2/3 innings with eight walks and ten strikeouts. A less-than-five-inning sample hardly packs enough punch to make a statement, but still, 15.4 BB/9 and 19.3 K/9 are jarring numbers to see, especially once you notice they aren’t that far off the norm for Maples. In parts of three seasons at Triple-A, Maples owns a 2.93 ERA with 8.0 BB/9 and 16.4 K/9.

Alzolay, meanwhile, has long been a promising arm for Chicago, but he has yet to make his major league debut, while Wick came to the Cubs from the Padres for Jason Vosler this past winter. Wick was recently recalled after posting strong numbers in Iowa (4.14 K/BB). The Cubs should have high aspirations come October, and betting on this trio of arms to outlast a deep division and long playoff run would be a gamble. So while they may be inclined to use the month of June to evaluate the arms in-house, a decision on Kimbrel will have to be made much much sooner.

Quick Hits: Padres, Rule 5, Twins

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The San Diego Padres were busy this week in shaping their 40-man roster ahead of December’s Rule 5 draft. The release of former prospect Cory Spangenberg and Christian Villanueva’s transpacific journey to the Yomiuiri Giants prefaced further roster reshaping via a pair of minor-league swaps. Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen reviews the prospects in those deals and others involved in swaps from this past week: Walker Lockett, Ignacio Feliz, Colten Brewer, Esteban Quiroz, Rowan Wick, Jason Vosler, Jordan Foley, Jefry Valdez and Tanner Anderson. While these moves appear minor, many of these players will have the opportunity to make an impact for pennant contenders next fall if they can impress their new gatekeepers in Cleveland, Colorado, New York, Boston and Chicago, respectively. Further Rule 5 news and more from around the league…

  • MLB.com picks intriguing candidates that could be selected from each team in December’s Rule 5 draft. Though it requires patience and a roster spot, the Rule 5 draft has been a viable resource in team building, especially for worst to first hopefuls who are closer to the former than the latter. Notably, the Cubs and Astros, two recent exemplars of roster renovation, each took advantage of the process by snatching players (Hector Rondon and Marwin Gonzalez, respectively) who made significant contributions to their title campaigns.
  • By the middle of last season, Twins’ chief baseball officer Derek Falvey was already preparing for the possibility that Joe Mauer might retire, per the Athletic’s Dan Hayes (subscription link).  The Twins continue to explore every option at first base, including moving struggling slugger Miguel Sano from third to first. One path they are unlikely to traverse is trading for a one-year rental like Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt. The focus of the 2019 season in Minnesota will be as much about monitoring the rebound efforts of Sano and center fielder Byron Buxton as making a push for the playoffs, and with such uncertainty around their two high-ceiling stars, Falvey and company aren’t ready for an all-in move like trading for Arizona’s All-Star first baseman. Still, seeking a multi-year option at first base does not equate to youth, necessarily, as they are open to players like Carlos Santana or recently-DFAed C.J. Cron, each of whom would have two years of team control if acquired.
  • Elsewhere around the infield, the Twins are open to engaging Jorge Polanco’s positional flexibility as well. Polanco and Sano are currently penciled in at shortstop and third base, but that could change depending on their offseason acquisitions. For now, they are in the market for an offensive-minded second baseman, in which case Polanco would stay at short. There are more than a few viable short-term options on the free agent market to keep second base warm for prospect Nick Gordon, who was recently added to the 40-man roster. You can check out MLBTR’s full Offseason Outlook for the Twins here.
  • In the dugout, Bill Evers rounds out Rocco Baldelli’s staff as the major league catching coach. Evers, 64, is a 30-year coaching veteran with experience as a bench coach, manager, and minor-league field coordinator. He managed Baldelli when he was a player in Triple-A back in 2002, a relationship redolent of Alex Cora’s hiring of Ron Roenicke as his bench coach. Roenicke, too, managed his future helmsman when Cora was a prospect coming up in the Dodgers system.

Cubs To Acquire Rowan Wick

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The Cubs have struck a deal with the Padres to acquire righty reliever Rowan Wick, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Minor-league infielder Jason Vosler will head to San Diego in return.

Wick came available as the Padres finalized their 40-man roster plans in advance of today’s deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 draft. He’ll occupy a roster spot in Chicago.

The live-armed 26-year-old is still fairly new to pitching after moving out from behind the plate. He reached the majors briefly last year but did not distinguish himself in his ten appearances. Over 54 innings at Triple-A, Wick carried a 2.67  ERA with 10.7 K/9 and 5.2 BB/9.

Padres, Mariners In Talks On Significant Potential Trade

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4:57pm: A deal is “not thought to be close” right now, Rosenthal adds on Twitter, though the fact that players have been asked about their no-trade clauses still seems to indicate it’s a serious possibility.

Interestingly, the Mariners have also approached Leake with other possible destinations, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets. Whether alternative deals are lined up with other organizations is not known.

4:46pm: The Padres and Mariners have been talking about a fascinating potential trade scenario involving some large contracts, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). There’s no indication at this point of the likelihood of a deal being consummated, but it seems the sides may at least in part be waiting on word of whether a player involved would waive his no-trade rights.

Per Rosenthal, the possible deal is built around three major league players. Whether there’s more involved isn’t apparent, but at base, the M’s would receive slugger Wil Myers while sending shortstop Jean Segura and righty Mike Leake to San Diego. Notably, though, Leake has a no-trade clause and is said to be considering his options. Segura does as well, though there’s no indication about his status.

It’s never easy to tell whether a potential deal might move across the line. In this case, though, it’s quite notable that the players have evidently been contacted. That surely would not happen if the teams were not serious.

Needless to say, the money is a notable factor in this scenario. Myers is owed a total of $64MM over the next four seasons, which includes a buyout on a 2023 option. Segura is set to earn $57MM on a contract built on the same timeline (four remaining years plus an option). Leake, meanwhile, is still due another $36MM for the next two seasons, including a buyout on a mutual option, though the Cardinals are paying $9MM of that amount.

Without any further tweaking, then, a straight swap would see the Padres take on approximately $20MM. They’d also be moving on from a player who really does not seem to fit the roster while adding a quality shortstop — a position of need — and an innings-eating starter. It seems like a nice opportunity for the Friars, though of course it’s still also possible that they’d be chipping in some other assets.

For the Seattle club, this would be yet another move designed to reposition the roster. Shedding some salary obligations would certainly be welcome, and it’s possible the M’s are believers in Myers as a hitter. He’d make good sense in the first base/corner outfield/DH mix. There have also been some questions about Segura’s fit in Seattle after clubhouse dust-up last season.

One broad takeaway here, from the Padres’ vantage point, is that the team is very clearly taking an aggressive approach at trying to retool its 40-man roster. Beyond large-scale moves like the one being discussed with the Mariners, San Diego has also been shopping right-hander Rowan Wick in advance of tonight’s Rule 5 protection deadline, per Rosenthal (Twitter link).

Meanwhile, Rosenthal and colleague Dennis Lin suggest that the Friars could sell the rights to third baseman Christian Villanueva to an interested, but unspecified team in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball (Twitter link). That’d only further the team’s need for a third baseman, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that that’s an area of acute importance to the San Diego front office. As for Villanueva, he’d surely stand to earn more in Japan than he’d make as a pre-arbitration player in 2019.

Red Sox Acquire Colten Brewer

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3:46pm: Boston has announced the deal.

3:27pm: The agreement is now in place, Rosenthal adds on Twitter.

12:55pm: Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston reports (via Twitter) that the Red Sox will send minor league infielder Esteban Quiroz to San Diego in exchange for Brewer.

Quiroz, 27 in February, has spent the bulk of his career playing for los Tigres de Quintana Roo in the Mexican League but signed with the Red Sox in 2017 for his first season of affiliated ball. He hit .299/.413/.598 with seven homers in 104 plate appearances against younger competition in Double-A last year. He also made a strong impression in the Arizona Fall League, hitting .267/.452/.511 with a pair of homers, three doubles and a triple in 62 PAs. He’s played second base, shortstop and third base extensively in his career in Mexico, but the Red Sox deployed him solely as a second baseman.

12:29pm: The Red Sox are nearing an agreement to acquire right-hander Colten Brewer from the Padres, tweets Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. A minor leaguer who doesn’t need to be added to the Padres’ 40-man roster to be protected before today’s Rule 5 deadline will go back in return.

It’s a minor swap designed to give the Padres some roster flexibility before 8pm ET tonight — the deadline for teams to protect players from selection in next month’s Rule 5 Draft. Brewer, a fourth-round pick of the Pirates in 2011, has just 9 2/3 innings of big league experience, all of which came with the Padres in 2018. He was tagged for six earned runs on 15 hits and seven walks with 10 strikeouts in that time, but he was much better in Triple-A El Paso. Despite the hitter-friendly nature of his home environment in Triple-A, Brewer posted a 3.75 ERA with more impressive marks of 11.8 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 with a 55.8 percent grounder rate in 48 innings of relief.

Brewer only recently turned 26 and has two minor league option years remaining, so he’ll give the Red Sox some bullpen depth that can be shuttled back and forth between Boston and Pawtucket next season. For the Padres, the swap will open a spot on what’s currently a full 40-man roster. It’s one of multiple trades they could make today, as Rosenthal also noted that right-hander Rowan Wick could be on the move soon (in a separate deal).

Padres Outright Rowan Wick

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The Padres have outrighted right-hander Rowan Wick after he cleared waivers, per a club announcement. That move frees up a 40-man spot for the club’s final roster decisions.

Claimed off waivers from the Cardinals during the offseason, Wick will land somewhere in the Padres system to open the 2017 season. He’s known for a big arm but is still new to pitching after moving out from behind the plate. Last year, he worked to a 3.19 ERA in 42 1/3 innings, most of them in the upper minors, while recording 8.9 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9.

Padres Claim Rowan Wick

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The Padres have claimed right-hander Rowan Wick off waivers from the Cardinals, reports Dennis Lin of The Athletic (on Twitter). Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch had first reported that Wick, who was designated for assignment when the Cards signed Bud Norris, had been claimed by an unknown team (Twitter link).

Wick, 25, was drafted as a catcher and moved to the outfield before ultimately transitioning to the mound on a full-time basis in 2016. As one might expect, then, his body of work as a reliever in the minors is rather limited, but he’s shown some positive trends. This past season he split the year between the Gulf Coast League, Double-A and Triple-A, working to a combined 3.19 ERA with 42 strikeouts in 42 1/3 innings. Wick also issued 19 walks, hit two batters, balked twice and uncorked a pair of wild pitches, so he still seems somewhat raw on the mound.

The Padres aren’t strangers to the notion of trying to convert a position player into a pitcher, though, having gone through the process (albeit unsuccessfully) with former top catching prospect Christian Bethancourt in recent years. San Diego had an open spot on the 40-man roster, so a corresponding move from the Friars won’t be necessary to accommodate the addition of Wick.

Cardinals Designate Rowan Wick For Assignment

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The Cardinals have designated righty Rowan Wick for assignment, the team announced and Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch first reported (via Twitter). His 40-man spot will go to righty Bud Norris, whose previously reported signing is now official.

Wick has yet to pitch at the game’s highest level. The converted catcher/outfielder was added to the 40-man in advance of the Rule 5 draft in the winter of 2016, following his first full competitive season on the mound. He was also tabbed to participate in the World Baseball Classic with Team Canada.

Last season, Wick ended up spending most of his time in the upper minors as he worked to refine his new craft. While the hard-throwing righty was able to tamp down on the walk issues that plagued him in his first attempt at Double-A in 2016, he evidently did not show quite enough for the Cards to ensure they’d retain him entering camp. Wick ended the 2017 campaign with 42 1/3 innings of 3.19 ERA ball with 8.9 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9.

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