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NL Notes: Dodgers, Brewers, Cubs, Padres

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It’s “very unlikely” outfielder Alex Verdugo will return for the Dodgers’ National League Division Series matchup, manager Dave Roberts told Ken Gurnick of MLB.com and other reporters Friday (Twitter links). The rookie originally landed on the injured list Aug. 6 with a right oblique strain, but a back injury has slowed him of late. Meantime, southpaw Rich Hill – who’s dealing with a strained left MCL – will undergo an MRI on Monday. It seems iffy at best that Hill will avoid a lengthy absence, as a strained left MCL previously shelved him for the first month of the season. The injury-prone 39-year-old then missed almost two months with a forearm problem. His start Thursday, when he recorded just two outs, was his first since June 19.

Here’s more from the National League…

  • Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel provided a couple injury updates Friday on the Brewers, who are now a game behind the NL’s second wild-card position (Twitter links). Top starter Brandon Woodruff is still on track to return in the next week, but it’s unclear whether he’ll start or relieve. Woodruff will throw a bullpen session Saturday as he continues working back from the oblique strain he suffered July 21. And catcher Manny Pina, out with a concussion since Sept. 5, isn’t recovering as quickly as the team hoped he would, according to manager Craig Counsell. The Brewers have “to stack some good days in a row” for Pina before he’s capable of returning, Counsell said. Milwaukee has been in fine shape behind the plate without Pina, of course, as it boasts one of the game’s elite catchers in Yasmani Grandal.
  • The Cubs promoted executive Jason McLeod to senior vice president of player personnel, which could keep him in their front office for at least a little while longer. But McLeod said this week that his goal is to run a team’s baseball department, per Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic (subscription required). “I do aspire to someday lead an organization,” said McLeod, who has been on GM-needy clubs’ radars in the past. He interviewed for that position with the Giants last year, though they instead went on to hire Farhan Zaidi as their president of baseball operations.
  • Padres rookie Chris Paddack will make at least one more start this season, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com tweets. Shutting Paddack down for the year looked like a possibility after he threw six scoreless innings against the Cubs on Wednesday. The rookie standout, 23, has now racked up 135 2/3 innings this season, easily surpassing the previous professional high of 90 he set in 2018 as a minor leaguer.

West Notes: A’s Ballpark, Simmons, Dahl, Paddack

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The Athletics’ plans to build their new ballpark in the Howard Terminal area took a positive step forward when state officials unanimously voted that the State Lands Commission has the authority to decide whether a new stadium “is an appropriate use of the land,” Sarah Ravani of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.  Several other steps remain before the project is officially a go, such as two separate bills that have to be approved by California governor Gavin Newsom, plus an environmental impact report that should be completed by the end of 2019.  If all goes well, the current timeline has construction underway in 2021, with an eye towards Opening Day 2023.

More items from around the AL and NL West….

  • It’s been a tough season for Andrelton Simmons, who has battled ankle injuries while hitting .256/.301/.355 over 366 plate appearances.  The timing of this down year is particularly poor for a shortstop who could well have been a prime extension candidate this winter, since Simmons is a free agent after the 2020 season.  Now, however, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register wonders if the Angels could wait “until at least the middle of next season before deciding if they want to sign him to an extension,” to see if Simmons can rebound or if he is starting to decline.  Simmons turned 30 just last week, and while he has never been a truly dangerous bat, he had at least posted above-average run production (as per wRC+) in both 2017 and 2018.  Simmons also had the worst defensive season of his eight-year career, though “worst” is relative when discussing arguably the best defensive shortstop of all time — Simmons still posted +11 Defensive Runs Saved and +11.7 UZR/150.  Trading Simmons seems like an unlikely option, though Fletcher wonders if the Angels could explore an extension that could overwrite his current 2020 salary ($15MM) and instead spread that money out over the length of the new deal in order to free up extra payroll space for Los Angeles to pursue pitching this offseason.  Any extension talks, of course, would hinge on Simmons’ own thoughts, as he (like so many players did last spring) might prefer security now rather than deal with potential labor uncertainty at the end of the next collective bargaining contract.  Then again, Simmons might likely feel he’s leaving money on the table by taking an extension in the wake of a down season, and might prefer to instead rebuild his value in 2020.
  • It’s becoming more likely that Rockies outfielder David Dahl won’t play again this year, Nick Groke of The Athletic tweets. Even though Dahl’s progressing in his recovery from the ankle sprain he suffered Aug. 2, manager Bud Black admitted he’s “running out of time” for a 2019 return. Regardless of whether Dahl does come back, this will go down as yet another injury-limited season for the 25-year-old, who has combined for only 240 games since he debuted in 2016 (he didn’t play at all in ’17). A healthy Dahl, to his credit, has been an effective hitter – he got off to a .302/.353/.524 start with 15 HRs in 413 trips to the plate this year before landing on the shelf.
  • Like Dahl, Padres righty Chris Paddack’s season could also be done, as AJ Cassavell of MLB.com observes. Paddack’s not injured, but the Padres have been monitoring the former Tommy John patient’s workload in his rookie campaign. The prized 23-year-old fired six shutout frames against the Cubs on Wednesday, raising his 2019 innings total to 135 2/3 – easily the most he has thrown in a professional season. Whether or not Paddack takes the mound again this year, this season’s sure to go in the books as a resounding success for him. Paddack has logged a 3.38 ERA/3.99 FIP with tremendous strikeout and walk rates (9.55 K/9 , 1.99 BB/9) in his first MLB action.

Latest On Garrett Richards

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Having scored a 10-year, $300MM contract, Manny Machado was easily the Padres’ biggest free-agent signing last winter. Long before that addition, though, the Padres made headlines by awarding right-hander Garrett Richards a two-year, $15.5MM guarantee.

The Padres handed Richards his deal knowing they likely wouldn’t get much from the former Angel this season after he underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2018. Indeed, with little time left this year, Richards hasn’t yet made his Padres debut. It appears to be on the way, however. Richards will throw a bullpen session Saturday, and if he gets through that unscathed, he’ll likely take the hill during San Diego’s series in Milwaukee next week, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

At 67-77, the Padres have sewn up their 13th consecutive season without a playoff berth. But if they’re going to make a long-awaited return to contention a year from now, a healthy Richards could be a key factor. The problem is that good health has been hard to come by for Richards, whom arm injuries have consistently dogged over the past few seasons. The 31-year-old hasn’t logged a full season since 2015, and has only amassed 138 2/3 innings dating back to the 2016 campaign. When he has been able to take the ball, though, Richards has served as a more-than-respectable big league starter, evidenced by his 3.54 ERA/3.62 FIP with 7.8 K/9, 3.24 BB/9 and a 52.5 percent groundball rate across 744 2/3 innings.

Going forward, the Padres could certainly use the type of production that Richards has typically offered. On paper, he’d fit nicely into a group that has gotten solid numbers this year from Chris Paddack, Joey Lucchesi, Eric Lauer and Dinelson Lamet. San Diego hasn’t found a quality option to fill out its starting staff, however, as Cal Quantrill, Matt Strahm and Nick Margevicius have each failed to truly seize hold of a rotation spot. If the team has its way, Richards won’t encounter that type of difficulty when he’s finally ready to join its staff – a unit that could also include elite prospect MacKenzie Gore in the near future.

NL Injury Notes: Kimbrel, Verdugo, Renfroe, Taijuan

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Injured Cubs closer Craig Kimbrel is progressing toward a return, but that won’t come until at least the weekend, Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com reports. The big-money in-season signing has been on the injured list with right elbow inflammation since Sept. 1, making him eligible to come back as early as Thursday. Kimbrel’s IL placement came on the heels of yet another disappointing performance, in which he yielded three earned runs on two hits (including a homer) in two-thirds of an inning. He’s one of the greatest closers ever, which is why the Cubs guaranteed him $43MM over three years, yet Kimbrel hasn’t resembled his dominant self this season. While the 31-year-old has converted 13 of 15 save opportunities, he owns a bloated 5.68 ERA with 12.32 K/9 against 5.21 BB/9, and has given up just under three HRs per nine across 19 innings of work.

  • The Dodgers clinched their seventh straight NL West title Tuesday, but they’re also dealing with some unwelcome news: Outfielder Alex Verdugo isn’t nearing a return, per Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times. An oblique strain forced the rookie to the IL back on Aug. 6, but he suffered a back injury on a rehab assignment and will sit out “for at least a few days,” Castillo writes. Verdugo has been a valuable contributor this year, having slashed .294/.342/.475 with 2.2 fWAR in 377 plate appearances, but the loaded Dodgers have carried on fine without him thus far.
  • Padres manager Andy Green isn’t willing to guarantee that banged up outfielder Hunter Renfroe will play again this season, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune relays. For now, Renfroe’s going to rest on account of right elbow and ankle problems. “Hunter has battled through a lot this second half,” said Green, who added, “There have been a number of days he was unavailable and we’ve managed not to talk about it.” We covered Renfroe’s significant second-half struggles earlier Tuesday, though it now seems possible health problems have been a major cause for his summer slump.
  • Injuries have prevented Diamondbacks right-hander Taijuan Walker from taking a big league mound since April 2018, but he said Tuesday (via Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic) he’s still hoping to make an appearance this year. The 27-year-old sat out the majority of 2018 after undergoing Tommy John surgery and has dealt with shoulder troubles this season. However, he threw his first bullpen session in four months Tuesday and came out unscathed. Walker’s absence is among the reasons the Diamondbacks’ starting staff has been shaky this year, though the club has nonetheless stayed in the National League wild-card race.

Hunter Renfroe’s Second-Half Decline

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Just a couple months ago, Padres outfielder Hunter Renfroe looked like a legitimate breakout player. As a result, the defensively adept slugger drew plenty of trade interest leading up to the deadline, though the Padres understandably elected against parting with him. This season has since become about looking forward for the out-of-contention Padres, who are reportedly set to count on Renfroe as one of their main outfielders again in 2020. There are clear reasons for that – including Renfroe’s 31 home runs, whopping 22 Defensive Runs Saved, and his three remaining seasons of team control – but they’ll need the 27-year-old to get off the schneid at the plate in 2020 to increase their chances of breaking a seemingly interminable playoff drought.

Although his HR total is prodigious, Renfroe has only been a middling offensive performer this year, according to FanGraphs’ wRC+ metric. His .222/.290/.498 line in 462 trips to the plate has led to an unspectacular 99 wRC+. Despite his defensive excellence, Renfroe’s so-so offense has limited him to 1.9 fWAR, essentially making him an average player. There’s value in that, especially on a cheap salary, though Renfroe looked as if he was destined for better not long ago. When the All-Star break rolled around in mid-July, Renfroe had already put up 2.4 fWAR with 27 homers and a 130 wRC+ in 289 plate appearances. Since then, however, he has dipped to a dismal .169/.260/.291 line with four HRs across 173 PA. Renfroe’s minus-0.5 fWAR during the second half of the season ties him for the fourth-worst mark in the game.

If you’re wondering what caused the destruction of Renfroe’s offensive numbers, it starts with a massive downturn in power – evidenced in part by the noticeable decrease in HRs. Renfroe boasted a ridiculous .361 ISO at the break, but the number has plummeted to a nonthreatening .122 during the second half of the season. A mammoth decline in impactful contact is an obvious cause. According to FanGraphs, Renfroe posted a hard-hit rate of 52.1 percent over the first couple months of the year. The figure has fallen to 33.7 since the All-Star Game, while Renfroe has made far less contact in general and seen his strikeout rate soar from 27.3 percent to an even 37.0.

Health may be factoring into Renfroe’s late-season issues, as manager Andy Green said Tuesday (via Dennis Lin of The Athletic) that his production has “suffered because of” a sore elbow and a problematic ankle. Likewise, it hasn’t helped Renfroe’s cause that pitchers have somewhat changed their approach when he has come to the plate, having thrown more sliders against him as the season has progressed, per FanGraphs. Renfroe’s especially vulnerable when dealing with breaking pitches, according to Statcast, which credits him with a .237 weighted on-base average/.219 expected wOBA against those offerings.

By Statcast’s standards, Renfroe’s overall output has been something of a mixed bag. He ranks in the league’s 66th percentile or better in exit velocity and Statcast’s Outs Above Average defensive metric, but his other numbers aren’t as encouraging. For one, Renfroe’s expected batting average – .218 – dwells toward the bottom of the league (third percentile). And his xwOBA (.310; 27th percentile) also doesn’t offer much encouragement, suggesting he has actually been fortunate to hit for a real wOBA (.328) that’s more mediocre than spectacular.

In spite of his second-half woes, it’s evident San Diego views Renfroe as a player who could be part of the solution as it seeks a return to relevance. But if Renfroe’s really going to emerge as a high-end complement to the likes of Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado in 2020, the Padres will need the player who showed up during the first half of this season to reappear going forward. If healthy, perhaps he will.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NL Notes: Thor, Mattingly, Panda, Padres

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Though he has remained adamant about his desire to remain with the Mets, that doesn’t mean Noah Syndergaard is content with every aspect of his relationship with the team. Joel Sherman and Kevin Kernan of the New York Post reported today that the big righty has been displeased all season with throwing to primary catcher Wilson Ramos, preferring instead reserve Tomas Nido (or perhaps third-stringer Rene Rivera). Thor’s wrath has spawned a full-blown BatteryMateGate involving lengthy internal meetings and multiple engagements with the media. Ultimately, Mets manager Mickey Callaway and GM Brodie Van Wagenen explained that the club has to take into account more than the preferences of a given pitcher. In addition to being highly compensated and well-respected, Ramos is one of the team’s best hitters. While none of the organizational leaders cracked the whip on the star hurler, they didn’t indicate any inclination to bend on the topic. Callaway put it in particularly blunt terms: “You can’t make everybody happy and it’s not about making guys happy. It’s about winning at this point.” Whether this matter will carry over into the future, if not even impact Syndergaard’s long-term status in New York, remains to be seen.

More from the National League …

  • Expectations of a rough season for the Marlins have been fulfilled in full, though there have been some bright spots along the way. With relatively few trade pieces in the stable, it may be a fairly quiet offseason in Miami. But one area that is sure to receive attention is the coaching staff. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald provides some updates on the status of skipper Don Mattingly, who still hasn’t received any indication of the organization’s intentions. It seems that there’s a legitimate chance Mattingly will be retained, though the team may not want to pay him at or over his current $2.5MM salary. Plus, as the veteran baseball man notes, it’s not just a one-way street. Mattingly says he expects discussions to occur with some rapidity.
  • It seems that Giants infielder Pablo Sandoval will have more to recover from than your standard-issue Tommy John procedure. As Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Twitter link), Sandoval says that his doctors found damage beyond what they anticipated when they opened his elbow. The precise details of the work that was done, and how it’ll impact his recovery, aren’t yet known. Sandoval will head to the open market at the conclusion of the season. The 33-year-old’s season-ending procedure will limit his marketability, but he did turn in a strong showing with 296 plate appearances of .268/.313/.507 hitting and 14 home runs.
  • The Padres continue to feature numerous possibilities and numerous questions in their outfield mix, as AJ Cassavell of MLB.com writes. The certainties? Per Cassavall, Manuel Margot and Hunter Renfroe can be written into the lineup for 2020 … on the short side of the platoon, at least. Needless to say, that’s not exactly a ringing endorsement of stability. Wil Myers, Josh Naylor, Franchy Cordero, Travis Jankowski, and Nick Martini represent options, but only that. It’s possible to imagine any number of possible roster maneuvers over the course of the coming winter; it’s equally plausible that most or all of the existing slate of candidates will simply do battle in camp.

NL West Injury Notes: Muncy, Ray, Padres, Dickerson

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Max Muncy’s wrist fracture wasn’t thought to be an overly serious injury, and the Dodgers infielder is now aiming to be back on the field on Friday when Los Angeles begins a series against the Mets.  As Muncy told Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register (Twitter links) and other reporters, he felt “better than I expected” after taking regular swings in the batting cage today.  Needless to say, the Dodgers will be careful with their slugger’s progress, as there’s no urgency to get Muncy back in immediate fashion since the team is running away with the NL West.  Still, it’s an excellent sign that Muncy has seemingly avoided what initially looked like a season-threatening injury.

More from around the division…

  • A blister issue forced Robbie Ray to leave during the fifth inning of the Diamondbacks’ win over the Reds on Friday, though he told media (including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic) that the removal was somewhat precautionary, as the blister hadn’t actually formed.  As a result, Ray feels he’ll be able to make his next scheduled start.  Ray didn’t want to leave the game but “at that point I’ve got to look at the bigger picture.  It’s tough, but you understand it’s the right thing to do.”  With the red-hot D’Backs on a run of 11 wins in their last 12 games, Ray (now the rotation’s veteran stalwart in the wake of the Zack Greinke trade) certainly wants to remain able to contribute to the team’s push for a wild card berth.
  • Franchy Cordero has suffered another setback while rehabbing a quad injury, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes.  Padres manager Andy Green told Sanders and other media members that Cordero’s bothersome left leg “just doesn’t feel as explosive as the other leg,” and that Cordero has “been slowed down to hopefully ramp him up again in a couple days, but I think we know where the clock is on this season. It’s ticking. I don’t know if he or isn’t going to get back.”  Elbow and quad problems have limited Cordero to only nine games in 2019, and since Green said that the club’s priority is to get Cordero healthy for the offseason, the outfielder likely won’t be brought back for a few token appearances if there’s any hint he might not be 100 percent.
  • In more promising Padres health news, Green is hopeful that both Garrett Richards and Jacob Nix will be able to get onto a Major League mound before the 2019 campaign is out.  Richards is working his way back from Tommy John surgery, while Nix has been working through a small UCL tear in an attempt to avoid his own TJ procedure.
  • Alex Dickerson has missed the Giants’ last four games due to a right oblique injury, and the outfielder will miss more time after receiving a cortisone shot, manager Bruce Bochy told reporters (including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area).  There isn’t yet indication that Dickerson could miss the season’s final few weeks, though this is the second time in Dickerson’s brief San Francisco tenure that he has been slowed by a right oblique injury — he spent two weeks on the IL in August due to a strain.  When Dickerson has been able to play, he has something of a revelation, hitting .308/.374/.579 with six homers over 147 plate appearances in a Giants uniform.  This has put him into the mix for regular outfield duty in 2020, though as Bochy noted, the club would like to get some more evaluation time on Dickerson before the season is out.

Injury Notes: Dyson, Cueto, Polanco, Dominguez, Morejon

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The Twins are waiting to see how reliever Sam Dyson responds to some time off to deal with recurring biceps soreness. Chief baseball officer Derek Falvey discussed the matter with reporters including Phil Miller of the Star Tribune (Twitter link). It’s an effort to “get out ahead” of things, says Falvey. The Twins need their most significant trade deadline acquisition at top form with a major postseason clash beckoning. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been himself since coming over. Dyson owns a 7.15 ERA in a dozen appearances in Minnesota.

More injury updates from around the game …

  • Giants right-hander Johnny Cueto, on the mend from 2018 Tommy John surgery, experienced a setback in his most recent rehab outing, tweets Kerry Crowley of the San Jose Mercury News. He’ll be reevaluated in the next few days but won’t be an option for the team as soon as originally hoped. Manager Bruce Bochy had previously put a tentative date of Sept. 8 on a return for Cueto, but that no longer appears to be a plausible timeline. Back tightness, rather than arm issues, has caused the revised timeline. While there’s still hope that Cueto will make it back to the big-league bump this season, the organization will surely avoid any unnecessary risks.
  • A few Pirates outfielders won’t return to action this year, as Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports (Twitter links). Gregory Polanco will receive platelet-rich plasma injections in a bid to spur healing in his troublesome shoulder. That’ll be a key situation to monitor in the offseason for the Pittsburgh organization. Jason Martin now has his own shoulder malady to deal with: a separation suffered yesterday. He’s expected to miss the rest of the year. Infielder Kevin Kramer will come up to the active roster due in part to Martin’s absence. Though Bucs righty Mitch Keller was hit in the wrist with a batted ball yesterday, he was able to play catch today. his timeline isn’t clear, but that certainly seems like promising news.
  • The Phillies got some promising news on righty reliever Seranthony Dominguez, who has at times seemed destined to miss the rest of the season. Despite a recent scare, he has shown enough progress in his elbow health to resume throwing, manager Gabe Kapler told reporters including Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philly (via tweet). It’s still not clear that Dominguez will have enough time to ramp up and return to active duty, though perhaps there’s still an outside shot.
  • Padres southpaw Adrian Morejon will not make it back to the bigs in 2019, Dennis Lin of The Athletic tweets. That’s not to say that the widely hailed 20-year-old isn’t making progress. His injured shoulder is in good enough shape to allow Morejon to resume throwing. Though he struggled quite a bit in limited MLB action, Morejon has generally shown all the skills that made him a consensus top-100 leaguewide prospect. He’ll likely again factor into the San Diego plans next season, though he’ll do so without much of an innings base to work from. Morejon has not yet thrown more than 65 1/3 frames in a given campaign and fell shy of that mark this year.

Padres Select Seth Mejias-Brean

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The Padres announced prior to tonight’s game that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Seth Mejias-Brean from Triple-A El Paso. San Diego also recalled right-handers Eric Yardley and Gerardo Reyes.

It’ll be the first call to the big leagues for Mejias-Brean. The 28-year-old was originally selected by the Reds in the eighth round of the 2012 draft and also spent the 2017-18 seasons with the Mariners before inking a minor league pact with the San Diego organization this winter.

In 117 games with El Paso, Mejias-Brean turned in a strong .316/.371/.455 line with 11 home runs, 18 doubles, three triples and four stolen bases. Beyond those offensive contributions, he provided the Chihuahuas with some versatility, lining up at both shortstop and third base in a roughly even distribution. Brean hasn’t previously performed at such a lofty offensive level, but he’s a career .269/.334/.382 hitter through 1471 Triple-A plate appearances and also has ample express at first base, so he’ll give San Diego some fairly versatile bench depth in the season’s final month.

Padres Select Ronald Bolanos

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The Padres announced Monday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Ronald Bolanos from Double-A Amarillo. Southpaw Jose Castillo was moved to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Bolanos, who turned 23 just 10 days ago, was a fairly high-profile signing by the Padres, securing a bonus worth a bit more than $2MM when he left his native Cuba. Listed at 6’3″ and 220 pounds, Bolanos is generally regarded as one of the more promising arms in a loaded San Diego farm system. MLB.com tabs him 15th among Friars farmhands, and he’s listed at No. 17 on Baseball America’s midseason update and No. 39 over at Fangraphs.

Bolanos opened the season in Class-A Advanced and posted a 2.85 ERA through 10 starts before jumping to Double-A. His 4.23 ERA there isn’t as impressive, but Bolanos has upped his strikeout rate, improved his walk rate and maintained his strong 47.7 percent grounder rate since moving up to face more advanced competition. He’s still relatively young for the Double-A level and will face considerably more experienced pitching in making his big league debut.

The Padres have kept Bolanos in a starter’s role throughout the bulk of his minor league career, though scouting reports note that there’s a definite chance he ends up in the ’pen. He draws praise for a clean delivery and a fastball that sits 93 mph while occasionally touching 96-97mph. His slider, curveball and changeup are less polished offerings, and the development of those offerings will likely determine whether his future is in the San Diego rotation or bullpen. For now, he’ll get his first experience at the MLB level in hopes of convincing the club that he can be a part of the staff early in the 2020 campaign.

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