Padres Place Pierce Johnson On 10-Day Injured List, Outright Sam McWilliams, Select Daniel Camarena
The Padres announced a trio of moves tonight, first and foremost placing right-hander Pierce Johnson on the 10-day injured list with right triceps inflammation. The move is retroactive to June 18th. The Padres selected the contract for southpaw Daniel Camarena from Triple-A El Paso to take Johnson’s roster spot.
Johnson, 30, has been a productive member of the Friars’ bullpen when healthy. He rides an unconventional curve-forward arsenal, throwing his hook 73.1 percent of the time this season. He compliments his high-spin curveball with a 95.5 mph power sinker. The combo put Johnson in the 93rd percentile league-wide by K-rate with a 34.8 percent strikeout rate. In 27 appearances, he’s has a 3.57 ERA/2.84 SIERA over 22 2/3 innings with three holds and a blown save.
Camarena, 28, has yet to make his Major League debut, but he’s likely to do so either today or tomorrow, per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). He was a drafted out of San Diego area Cathedral Catholic High School in the 20th round by the Yankees way back in 2010. He career took a hit, however, when he underwent Tommy John surgery, which caused him to miss the entire 2015 season.
The 6’0″ lefty rehabbed and reached Triple-A in 2016, but he’s been unable to break through. Baseball America had him as the Yankees’ 31st-ranked prospect back in 2017, writing, “Camarena’s fastball typically sits in the low-90s but touched 93 in the middle portion of the season before backing up again as the fatigue from a lost year set in down the stretch. He coupled the fastball with a full offspeed arsenal that included an above-average changeup, a get-me-over curveball and a slider he added this year to give him an extra weapon against righthanders.”
BA pegged him for a back-end rotation arm, but he became a minor league free agent before receiving a big-league opportunity in New York. In eight starts with El Paso this season, Camarena finally earned his call-up with a 3.00 ERA in 39 innings, where he has allowed 33 hits and 11 walks while notching 24 strikeouts.
Lastly, recently-acquired right-hander Sam McWilliams was also outrighted to Triple-A. The 6’7″ McWilliams impressed scouts this past winter, driving a mini-auction for his services. He ultimately signed with the Mets. The well-traveled McWilliams has spent time with Philadelphia, Arizona, Tampa Bay, New York, and the Padres, reaching Triple-A with the Rays in 2019. He’s been knocked around at the highest level of the minors this season, giving up 15 earned runs in 12 1/3 innings between the Mets’ and Padres’ Triple-A clubs. Control has been his bugaboo; McWilliams has a 25.4 percent walk rate this season.
Padres Add Daniel Camarena To Taxi Squad
5:24 pm: Camarena will not be added to the active or 40-man rosters at this time, manager Jayce Tingler told reporters (including Lin). He’s only being added to the club’s five-man taxi squad for the moment.
3:21 pm: The Padres are planning to select the contract of left-hander Daniel Camarena, reports Dennis Lin of the Athletic (Twitter link). The 28-year-old will make his MLB debut if he gets into a game. The Padres 40-man roster is full, so they’ll need to make a corresponding move to finalize Camarena’s promotion.
Camarena hasn’t yet played in the majors, but this won’t be his first big league call-up. The Yankees selected Camarena to the MLB roster on July 6, 2019. He didn’t get into that night’s game, and New York optioned him the next day. Camarena didn’t return to the Bronx, as he suffered an injury in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre shortly thereafter and wound up released. The Padres signed him to a minor league deal entering 2020. He spent all of last season at the Friars alternate training site and remained in the organization for 2021.
Assigned to Triple-A El Paso, Camarena has made eight starts this season. Over 39 frames, he’s pitched to a 3.00 ERA that ranks fourth-lowest among the 38 Triple-A West pitchers with at least 20 innings. That hasn’t come with particularly stellar strikeout or ground ball numbers, though. Camarena has punched out just 15.2% of batters faced while inducing grounders at an average 43% clip, and he’s benefitted from a lofty 81.5% strand rate and .231 batting average on balls in play against him. To his credit, Camarena has always been a quality strike-thrower, and that’s continued this season. The southpaw has walked just 7.0% of opposing hitters with the Chihuahuas.
Padres Option Ryan Weathers To Triple-A
11:37AM: The Padres have announced the move, with right-hander James Norwood called up to take Weathers’ spot on the active roster. San Diego acquired Norwood from the Cubs in an April trade, and Norwood is now set to make his first appearance of the 2021 season and make his Padres debut.
10:42AM: The Padres are sending left-hander Ryan Weathers to Triple-A, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Kevin Acee. Weathers will be stretched out again as a regular starter in the minors, though his next call-up to the big leagues could be to fill a hole in either the rotation or the bullpen.
The news represents a change of course from just two days ago, when the Padres initially planned to move Weathers to the bullpen. The rookie had been deployed as both a starter and reliever this season, stepping into the rotation due to injuries to Adrian Morejon and Dinelson Lamet. However, Lamet’s return from the injured list temporarily gave San Diego a six-man rotation, which the team saw as a way of keeping its starters fresh.
Now, as Acee writes, “Lamet appearing to have reached a point where he can effectively go five or more innings allowed the Padres to prioritize Weathers’ development, as they feel their second-ranked pitching prospect is better served for the long term getting consistent work as a starter.”
It creates a bit of an interesting present vs. future situation for the Padres front office. While nothing would stop the team from quickly calling Weathers back up to the active roster if necessary, the argument could be made that Weathers is most useful right now as a reliever in the majors, given how San Diego’s bullpen has been shaky over the last month. The leaky relief corps has been one of the reasons the Padres are only 4-12 in their last 16 games, and the team now sits five games out of first place in the NL West.
With the Giants and Dodgers not showing any signs of slowing down, it leaves the Padres with little margin for error for reaching the postseason, so having Weathers on hand to secure even one or two extra wins could make a huge difference in what might be a tight NL wild card race. Weathers is still only 21 years old, so it wouldn’t be difficult for the team to stretch him out next spring with an eye towards resuming his career path as a starting pitcher.
That said, being a starter could also ultimately be how Weathers best contributes to the 2021 team, in the event of another rotation injury. Having Weathers ready to go at Triple-A could be a necessity for the Padres, given their lack of healthy and experienced starting depth in the minors. Though Weathers has all of 47 1/3 MLB innings to his name, that still makes him the Padres’ top “sixth starter” candidate waiting in the wings.
NL West Notes: Rockies, Schmidt, Brebbia, Weathers
“At the end of the day it’s going to come down to, what are they offering?” Rockies interim GM Bill Schmidt said of his team’s deadline plans, telling MLB.com’s Thomas Harding and other reporters that the front office isn’t under a mandate to cut payroll. To this end, it’s possible a prime trade chip like Trevor Story isn’t moved at all, if no club makes the Rockies an acceptable offer.
Story is reportedly not planning to re-sign with Colorado when he enters free agency after the season, though if the Rox didn’t trade him at the deadline, the team wouldn’t be left completely empty-handed if Story departed. Since Story would assuredly reject Colorado’s qualifying offer, the Rockies would be in line for a compensatory draft pick after the first round of the draft. “I trust our ability to make a good pick,” Schmidt said, noting that Story himself (as well as Nolan Arenado and Ryan McMahon) were all selected by the Rockies within that general range of the draft order. Of course, this could also very well be gamesmanship on Schmidt’s part, letting trade suitors know that they’ll need to top the value of a first-round sandwich pick in order to land Story at the deadline.
More from the NL West…
- John Brebbia underwent Tommy John surgery a little over a year ago, and the right-hander is making steady progress in his recovery. The right-hander has already made six appearances for the Giants‘ Triple-A affiliate, and Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group writes that Brebbia’s next step is pitching in consecutive games, which he is scheduled to do tonight and Tuesday. After the Cardinals non-tendered Brebbia last winter, San Francisco signed Brebbia to a one-year, $800K contract, and he is still under team control via arbitration through the 2023 campaign. That could end up being a very shrewd acquisition for the Giants, especially if Brebbia is indeed able to make a relatively quick return from TJ surgery (the normal recovery timeline is 13-15 months) and match the solid numbers he posted out of the Cards’ bullpen from 2017-19.
- The Padres are moving Ryan Weathers to the bullpen, as the team will return to a normal five-man rotation and use Weathers to boost the heavily-worked San Diego relief corps. Manager Jayce Tingler told reporters (including Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune) that the other starters had the benefit of a recent off-day for extra rest, but added that while the Weathers move is “going to help the team…it’s not necessarily permanent.” After appearing in the NLDS last season, Weathers made his regular-season MLB debut this year and has posted a 2.44 ERA over 44 1/3 innings, starting eight of 13 games. Despite that nice ERA, Weathers has a 4.49 SIERA, and has been aided by an 87.2% strand rate and a .225 BABIP. As Tingler noted, it is quite possible Weathers will again be used as a starter should injuries or circumstances dictate, but for now, the Padres will go with Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, Joe Musgrove, Chris Paddack, and Dinelson Lamet as their starting five.
Padres Reinstate Trent Grisham From Injured List, Option Brian O’Grady
The Padres are getting a big bat back in the lineup today. Trent Grisham has been activated from the 10-day injured list, while Brian O’Grady has been optioned to Triple-A.
O’Grady has been the first man up from Triple-A for the Padres most of this season. The 29-year-old is a capable defender, but he’s hit just .167/.279/.333 in 44 plate appearances in the Majors this season.
Grisham is a key bat and defensive player for the Padres, despite his relative lack of Major League experience. The 24-year-old has 589 plate appearances in his career – more-or-less one full professional season – but that time has been broken up between 183 plate appearances with the Brewers in 2019, 252 plate appearances for the Padres during the shortened 2020 season, and 154 plate appearances around a couple of injured list stints this season. When healthy, he’s proven a potent and well-rounded contributor, slashing .301/.383/.515 with six home runs and seven stolen bases in 2021.
The Pads will be eager to get Grisham back, especially right now, as their offense has been in a bit of a funk of late. They have an 89 wRC+ as a team going back to May 15th.
Padres To Sign Joe Beimel
The Padres are signing reliever Joe Beimel to a minor league contract, reports Dennis Lin of the Athletic (Twitter link). He’ll be assigned to Double-A San Antonio.
It’s nothing short of remarkable that Beimel has worked his way back to affiliated ball. Now 44 years old, he first broke into the big leagues with the Pirates in 2001. Beimel appeared in the majors every year from that point through 2011 but didn’t crack a big league roster in 2012 or 2013. The southpaw returned in 2014 with the Mariners and threw 92 1/3 major league innings over the next two seasons. A 2016 minor league deal with the Royals didn’t lead to a big league opportunity, and Kansas City released him that July. Beimel hasn’t pitched in affiliated ball since then, and he hasn’t appeared on MLBTR’s pages in any capacity since March 2017. Against all odds, he’s made it back.
It’s anyone’s guess whether Beimel will prove effective enough to eventually earn a major league call. He has recently been throwing in the mid-90s, Lin notes, suggesting he’s still got plenty of arm strength despite his age and the long layoff. Scott Kazmir got back to the big leagues with the Giants last month following a five-year absence. Beimel will look to make it back after six years away. Over the course of his career, Beimel has worked to a 4.06 ERA across thirteen seasons.
Marlins Notes: Benintendi, Berti, Contreras, Anderson, Sanchez
Adam Duvall, whom the Marlins signed to a one-year, $5MM deal on February 9, has slotted in as Miami’s primary right fielder this season. Evidently, the front office also discussed the possibility of filling that position via a trade for then-Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi. In early February (presumably before signing Duvall), the Marlins discussed a potential three-team deal, also involving Boston and the Padres, that would’ve sent Benintendi to Miami, report Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald. Utilityman Jon Berti would have gone to San Diego had that deal been finalized, per Jackson and Mish, but the Marlins eventually backed out of the arrangement. Benintendi, whom the Red Sox wound up trading to the Royals instead, has hit a solid .284/.342/.412 in Kansas City. Duvall, on the other hand, is off to a poor .207/.254/.410 start. Given those respective performances, it’s easy to conclude in retrospect the Marlins should’ve pushed harder for Benintendi, although it’s impossible to malign the front office without knowing precisely who else the club would’ve had to part with to push those talks over the finish line.
More out of Miami:
- Jackson and Mish also shed some light on another set of Marlins offseason trade discussions: their previously-reported pursuit of Cubs catcher Willson Contreras. Any deal sending Contreras to Miami likely would’ve sent Jorge Alfaro the other way, with prospects Peyton Burdick and Zach McCambley among the other players who might’ve gone to Chicago. Ultimately, the Cubs held onto Contreras, who has a .245/.341/.435 line for the current NL Central leaders.
- Turning to players who are on the roster, Jackson and Mish report that injured third baseman Brian Anderson looks likely to avoid surgery. Placed on the injured list late last month because of a left shoulder subluxation, Anderson has progressed to taking on range of motion drills and could return before the end of June. One of Miami’s best players between 2018-20, Anderson has come out of the gates a little slower in 2021, hitting .250/.316/.371 over his first 136 plate appearances.
- Miami has been without prized righty Sixto Sánchez all season on account of shoulder problems. Sánchez’s throwing program was shut down last week after he suffered a setback, although general manager Kim Ng tells reporters (including Mish) that issue was unrelated to Sánchez’s initial inflammation. Rather, the flamethrowing 22-year-old is now suffering from bursitis. It’s still not clear when the Marlins can expect Sánchez back, a disappointing development after he began his MLB career with 39 innings of 3.46 ERA/4.18 SIERA ball in 2020.
Padres Remain “Particularly Interested” In Joey Gallo
If the Padres continue to scuffle offensively, they could turn to a familiar target from outside the organization: the Rangers’ Joey Gallo. The Padres are trying to weather a storm of injuries and cold bats, but while they wait for Austin Nola and Trent Grisham to return from the injured list, it’s easy to speculate about potential additions, and few would be as exciting as Gallo.
Remember, the Padres had interest in Gallo at last year’s trade deadline, but they balked at moving CJ Abrams or Luis Patino. That price may still be too high, but the Padres remain “particularly interested” in Gallo, writes the Athletic’s Dennis Lin. The trade market is still developing, however, and the Ranger’s aren’t likely to make Gallo a quick-strike target. Even with diminished power outputs the past two seasons – .197 ISO in 2020 and .181 ISO this season – Gallo would be one of the higher-end pieces available, should the Rangers make him so.
After all, even though his slugging percentage has fallen under .400 SLG the past two seasons, Gallo has begun to bounce back this year thanks to an above-average ability to get on base (18.7 percent walk rate). Through 241 plate appearances, he now has a 119 wRC+ with a batting line of .207/.365/.389. He has an improved .226 ISO/.435 SLG since May 15th.
For the Padres, Gallo’s ability to play all three outfield positions holds some value, mostly because of the injury concerns around their starting trio of Grisham, Tommy Pham, and Wil Myers. All three have spent time on the injured list this season. But it’s Gallo’s overall offensive ability that brings the most appeal for a team that has struggled to score runs of late. The Friars have just a 74 team wRC+ over the past two weeks, the third-lowest mark in the Majors in that time.
Padres Injury Notes: Grisham, Nola, Pomeranz
Trent Grisham will need a rehab assignment before returning to the lineup, but the Padres are hopeful that their centerfielder could be back in a week or so. San Diego anticipates rehab assignments for Austin Nola and Drew Pomeranz as well, though they aren’t expected back until closer to the end of the month, per the Athletic’s Dennis Lin (via Twitter).
Grisham’s absence, in particular, changes the dynamics of the Padres’ position player group. The Gold Glove award winner plays a strong centerfield, and in 2020, he was a multi-faceted weapon on offense: he walked at an above-average 12.3 percent clip, stole 10 bases, and provided pop with a .205 ISO. The 24-year-old has kept his foot on the gas when healthy this season, posting a 149 wRC+ in 154 plate appearances with an 11.7 percent walk rate, seven stolen bases, and a .213 ISO.
A foot contusion landed Grisham on the injured list for the second time this season on May 24th. Jurickson Profar has seen the most playing time in Grisham’s stead, and while he’s made some impressive plays with both his arm and his glove, he does not have the same offensive potency that Grisham can provide.
Like Grisham, Nola has a pair of stints on the injured list, but he’s missed more time in the aggregate. Nola has accounted for just 38 percent of the Padres’ playing time behind the plate this season, second behind his theoretical backup Victor Caratini. Nola brings more bat to the position with a 108 wRC+ in 59 plate appearances (versus 88 wRC+ in 138 plate appearances for Caratini).
Pomeranz, meanwhile, is a power arm whom the Padres would like to use to supplement Tim Hill in the bullpen’s lefty cohort. With Ryan Weathers in the rotation and Pomeranz on the injured list, Hill is the sole southpaw available out of the pen right now. Before landing on the IL with lat tightness, Pomeranz had a 1.98 ERA/2.70 FIP in 13 2/3 innings over 14 appearances.
On the whole, the Padres have been perhaps the most snake-bitten teams of the 2021 season with 842 total days accrued on the injured list, per the injury ledger from Baseball Prospectus. That mark leads the league by a fair margin – the Rays are second with 674 days missed.
With that in mind, the Friars are sticking with a six-man rotation for the time being, per AJ Cassavell of MLB.com (via Twitter). Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, Joe Musgrove, Chris Paddack, Weathers, and Dinelson Lamet are currently all healthy and lined up to start games. As the youngest of the group, Weathers is probably the man on the bubble, though he has held his own with a 2.30 ERA/4.82 FIP in 27 1/3 innings as a starter this season.
Padres Claim Sam McWilliams Off Waivers From Mets
The Padres announced (via Twitter) that right-hander Sam McWilliams has been claimed off waivers from the Mets. Right-hander Taylor Williams was moved to the 60-day injured list to create 40-man roster space for McWilliams.
New York designated McWilliams for assignment earlier this week, as the righty had gotten off to a very rough start in his first 8 1/3 innings for Triple-A Syracuse. McWilliams issued eight walks and also allowed three home runs over those 8 1/3 frames, en route to a 10.80 ERA.
Over 52 1/3 career innings at the Triple-A level in both the Mets and Rays organizations, McWilliams now has an 8.60 ERA. Though he has yet to reach the big leagues, the Mets inked McWilliams to a one-year MLB deal worth $750K last November, taking a flier on a promising young arm.
The Padres will now assume the remainder of that salary as per their waiver claim, and they’ll see if they can get McWilliams on track. Given the number of trades between the Padres and Rays in recent years, it wouldn’t be surprising if San Diego had initially had interest in McWilliams back in his days in Tampa’s farm system.