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NL Notes: Padres, Brewers, Rockies, Marlins

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The Padres fired hitting coach Alan Zinter on Friday, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets. Zinter lasted less than two seasons in the position, having taken the job in November 2015. The Padres’ offense ranked toward the bottom of the majors during Zinter’s run, but he didn’t exactly have a world of proven talent at his disposal. Manager Andy Green explained to Lin that he’s seeking a “different voice” for the role. Meanwhile, GM A.J. Preller told AJ Cassavell of MLB.com that the Padres will begin searching for a successor immediately, but he indicated there’s no rush to hire a replacement (Twitter link).

Here’s more from the National League:

  • The Brewers’ rotation was rife with question marks entering the season, but it now appears the surprise contenders have at least three legitimate building blocks in Jimmy Nelson, Chase Anderson and Zach Davies, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel observes. The emergence of that cost-controlled trio has been especially important to a team that’s not able to spend big on free agents, and Haudricourt points out that the Brewers may even have a couple more promising young starters on hand (Brandon Woodruff and Josh Hader). It’s possible they’ll go into 2018 with those five comprising their rotation, Haudricourt notes.
  • Rockies outfielder David Dahl is resigned to the fact that he won’t be able to contribute this year, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes. Dahl hasn’t appeared in a major league game this season, and he hasn’t played in a minor league contest since July 31, thanks to the rib injury he suffered during spring training. Now, Dahl doesn’t expect to swing a bat again until December, according to Saunders. “The thing I really need is rest, to let it heal completely, because every time I would start swinging, I would start feeling it again,” said the 23-year-old Dahl, who excited the Rockies last season with a .315/.359/.500 batting line in a 237-plate appearance rookie campaign.
  • A partial UCL tear in Wei-Yin Chen’s left elbow has kept him from taking the mound since May 1, but he’ll return to the Marlins in the coming days, Tim Healey of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports. While Chen will finish 2017 as a reliever, the Marlins expect to slot him back into their rotation next season. After this fall’s World Series, Chen will be able to opt out of the remaining three years and $52MM left on the five-year, $80MM contract he signed with the Fish in January 2016. That’s obviously not going to happen, though, as the ex-Oriole has struggled with injuries and turned in mediocre results during his two years in Miami.

Padres Designate Kevin Quackenbush, Select Jordan Lyles

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The Padres have designated righty Kevin Quackenbush for assignment and outrighted lefty Dillon Overton, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports on Twitter. Those moves help clear the way for a variety of September call-ups.

San Diego has selected the contract of right-hander Jordan Lyles and activated shortstop Erick Aybar from the DL. The club also added lefty Kyle McGrath and righty Jose Valdez to the active roster.

Quackenbush has never quite replicated the success he found in his debut season of 2014 and struggled to a 7.86 ERA over 26 1/3 major-league frames this year. Lyles was also effective in ’14 as a starter for the Rockies, but has steadily declined ever since and washed out of the Colorado bullpen earlier this year.

Padres Claim Tim Melville

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The Padres have claimed right-hander Tim Melville off waivers from the Twins, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports (Twitter link).  Righty Miguel Diaz was moved to the 60-day DL in a corresponding move.

Melville signed a minor league deal with Minnesota in June and he made one single appearance on the big league roster, a spot start last Monday that saw him surrender five runs over 3 1/3 innings.  The Twins designated Melville for assignment the next day.

Given Melville’s good numbers at both the Triple-A level and for the independent Long Island Ducks this season, he is worth a flier for a Padres team that is looking to find some hidden gems in their rebuilding process.  Melville has improved his strikeout rate this season and cut down on the walks that plagued him earlier in his nine-year minor league career.  As Berardino tweets, the Padres have had some good recent success on waiver wire pickups, adding both Brad Hand and Kirby Yates on claims.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/23/17

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Here are some of the latest minor moves from around the game, as reported by Baseball America’s Matt Eddy, unless otherwise noted:

  • The Tigers announced tonight that they’ve optioned lefty Chad Bell to Triple-A Toledo and will select the contract of right-hander Zac Reininger prior to Thursday’s contest. The 24-year-old Reininger was Detroit’s eight-round pick back in 2013 and has had a strong season across three minor league levels in 2017, rising from Class-A Advanced to Triple-A. In 63 2/3 total innings, Reininger has posted a 2.54 ERA with 8.5 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9. His ground-ball rate was a strong 53.4 percent in 28 Class-A frames but has fallen to the 39 percent range in the upper minors.

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West Notes: Kershaw, Ray, Rangers, Padres

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Clayton Kershaw threw a simulated game today as he continues to work toward a return from his back injury, and Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times tweets that the Dodgers’ ace is now scheduled for a minor league rehab start this coming Saturday. McCullough cites Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt in reporting that Kershaw is slated to throw four innings and 60 pitches in what will be his first live game action since landing on the disabled list last month. It’s encouraging news for the Dodgers, as that timetable should line Kershaw up for a return in early or mid-September, giving him at least two to three weeks before the postseason begins.

More from the game’s western divisions….

  • Left-hander Robbie Ray will return to the Diamondbacks’ rotation on Thursday of this week, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The 25-year-old breakout lefty was in the midst of an outstanding season when he was struck in the head by a line drive off the bat of Cardinals first baseman Luke Voit on July 28. Ray exited the game and went on the concussion DL, where he’ll ultimately have spent just under a month if he is activated as planned on Thursday. Ray made a rehab start with Class-A Advanced Visalia over the weekend and struck out 11 of the 21 batters he faced, which had to be encouraging for the D-backs. Through 118 2/3 MLB innings, Ray has a 3.11 ERA with 11.5 K/9, 4.4 BB/9 and a 38.9 percent ground-ball rate.
  • MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan tackles a number of Rangers-related topics in his latest Rangers Inbox piece, ranging from the possibility of re-signing Carlos Gomez to the PTBNL in the Jonathan Lucroy trade with the Rockies and Jurickson Profar’s future in Texas. Of Gomez, Sullivan notes that before committing to another contract with Gomez, the Rangers first need to definitively determine a position for Joey Gallo. Sullivan also opines that the Rangers should commit left field to the fleet-footed Delino DeShields, though that would leave the team needing to effectively choose between Gomez and Drew Robinson. Per Sullivan, the Rangers view the 25-year-old Robinson “as a frontline talent,” though they’ve also been reluctant to hand starting roles to players without a veteran safety net. Robinson hit .268/.369/.494 with 11 homers and seven steals in Triple-A this year, but he’s batted .209/.382/.442 in 55 big league PAs. Robinson has never cracked Baseball America’s top 20 Rangers prospects and isn’t among Texas’ top 30 at MLB.com at present, though certainly that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have a quality MLB future ahead of him.
  • Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune has a mailbag column of his own up that Padres fans will want to check out. Within, Lin notes that Hunter Renfroe’s recent demotion wasn’t about service time — the optional assignment is highly unlikely to impact his path to arbitration or free agency — but rather about sending a message to improve his plate discipline. Manager Andy Green spoke recently about how a similar option to the minors did wonders for Cory Spangenberg, and the organization’s hope is that Renfroe will benefit similarly. Lin also touches on Jose Pirela’s long-term fit with the team, various speculative offseason trade scenarios and the Padres’ shortstop needs. Notably, he opines that the team’s 2018 Opening Day shortstop is not currently in the organization.

West Notes: Gomez, Renfroe, Astros

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The Rangers have announced that they’ve placed outfielder Carlos Gomez on the 10-day DL after having a cyst on his right shoulder excised. To take his place on the active roster, the Rangers have recalled infielder Phil Gosselin from Triple-A Round Rock. Gomez has not played since last Sunday, but the Rangers were hopeful until recently that a DL stint wouldn’t be necessary. Delino DeShields and Drew Robinson figure to continue to play center until Gomez returns. Here’s more from the West divisions.

  • The Padres have optioned outfielder Hunter Renfroe to Triple-A El Paso, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets. Jabari Blash will take Renfroe’s place on the active roster. Renfroe, a former top prospect, was batting a respectable .230/.285/.443 as the Padres’ regular right fielder, but was hitting just .189/.286/.243 in the past two weeks. He seems like a good bet to return once rosters expand in September.
  • The Astros recently fired at least eight scouts, as Peter Gammons tweeted yesterday. These firings are a bit surprising coming from an organization whose big-league team is currently thriving thanks to the contributions of a number of young, homegrown players. GM Jeff Luhnow, though, says the team’s scouting division will remain about the same size going forward, and that the area is being realigned, as Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle writes. “This is not a cutback in scouting,” says Luhnow. “We are reconfiguring within and across the three scouting departments – international, domestic and pro.” Luhnow added that he expects the team will make new scouting hires.

NL Notes: Stanton, Spangenberg, Hernandez, Reds

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The Marlins are “willing to engage” other clubs in trade talks regarding Giancarlo Stanton, tweets MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. That much has already been clear — Yahoo’s Jeff Passan indicated yesterday that four clubs had already had some level of dialogue with the Marlins regarding Stanton, who has cleared revocable waivers — but Morosi adds that there have yet to be any serious negotiations regarding the current MLB home run leader. Stanton is the hottest hitter on the planet right now, but he’s also owed a staggering $298.64MM through the end of the 2027 campaign. And while he can technically opt out after the 2020 season, doing so would mean forfeiting the remaining seven years and $218MM on his deal as he heads into his age-31 campaign. Stanton also has a full no-trade clause, which only adds a further layer of complexity.

A few more notes from the National League…

  • After an injury-ruined 2016 season, Padres third baseman Cory Spangenberg has begun to force his way into the team’s plans, writes MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. Spangenberg tore his right hamstring on two different occasions last year and was limited to 14 games, and he opened the 2017 campaign in Triple-A El Paso. The former first-round pick finally received regular playing time in the Majors this summer, and he’s run with the opportunity while thoroughly impressing manager Andy Green, Cassavell writes. “He was angry about being in the Minor Leagues, thought he belonged in the big leagues and handled it right,” Green added. “He’s gone out and proved it. He’s earned his spot.” Spangenberg entered play Wednesday hitting .280/.333/.442 on the season and .336/.413/.617 in the second half. The strong play of Spangenberg and second baseman Carlos Asuaje has pushed Yangervis Solarte to shortstop in recent weeks.
  • Right-hander David Hernandez tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that the Diamondbacks organization feels like home, and just a couple of weeks into his second stint with the team, it “kind of feels like [he] never left.” Hernandez discussed his struggles in recent seasons with Piecoro and also credits the addition of a slider to his fastball/curveball repertoire as a key factor in his resurgence. Hernandez acknowledges that he was wary of using the new pitch in Spring Training with the Giants, as he was trying to earn a roster spot and was reluctant to use a pitch that he had only recently adopted. He began mixing it in with the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate, though, and the results have been terrific. All three of Hernandez’s offerings carry positive pitch values (per Fangraphs), and he’s posted a 2.01 ERA with 9.2 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9 through 40 1/3 innings this year.
  • The Reds may have more question marks in their pitching staff heading into the final six weeks of the season than they did entering the year, writes Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The cavalcade of injuries that has beset the team’s rotation has deprived the Reds of looks at a number of young arms and also created uncertainty around preseason rotation locks such as Anthony DeSclafani and Brandon Finnegan. A six-man rotation could be on the horizon, Buchanan notes, and Robert Stephenson is already set to rejoin the rotation this weekend. Manager Bryan Price also indicated that right-hander Sal Romano will continue starting, per Buchanan. The skipper also indicated that righty reliever Austin Brice could be done for the year due to a lat injury.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/16/17

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Here are some of the latest minor moves from around the game, courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy except where otherwise noted:

  • The Mariners outrighted right-hander Christian Bergman to Triple-A after he cleared waivers, per a club announcement. Bergman, 29, had the right to opt for free agency now or at the end of the season; given that he’s now listed on Tacoma’s roster, it seems he’ll wait and consider the latter option when the time comes. Bergman, 29, has thrown 51 1/3 innings on the year for Seattle, working to a 4.91 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9.
  • Outfielder Daniel Robertson will return to the Indians on a minors deal after being designated for assignment and then released, the club announced. The 31-year-old has appeared in each of the past four MLB campaigns — each time with a different team.  This year, he took 88 plate appearances for Cleveland, slashing .225/.287/.338. While it’s not clear whether Robertson will factor at the major league level again this year, the fleet-footed, high-contact 31-year-old could conceivably make for a useful bench piece once rosters expand in September.
  • The Diamondbacks have added right-handers Andury Acevedo and Louis Coleman on minors deals. Acevedo, who’ll soon turn 27, was intriguing enough to land a 40-man spot with the Cubs a few years back, but has yet to show any consistency on the mound in the upper minors. As for Coleman, who threw 48 innings of 4.69 ERA ball last year for the Dodgers, he’ll return to Arizona after briefly testing the open market. He has worked to a 2.05 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 over 57 innings this year in stints with the D-Backs’ and Reds’ top affiliates.
  • Heading to the Reds on a minors deal is slugging outfielder Adam Walker. He has bounced around via waiver claims and minor-league deals of late, seeing time in three organizations thus far in 2017. All told, he has compiled a tepid .185/.220/.410 batting line — with a dozen home runs but also 88 strikeouts against just ten walks — in his 241 plate appearances in the upper minors.
  • The White Sox released infielder Grant Green, who had previously seen brief action in the majors this year with the Nationals. On the season, Green owns an overall .232/.306/.300 slash over 245 plate appearances at the Triple-A level with those two organizations. The 29-year-old was once considered a notable possible contributor with the Athletics and Angels, but has managed only a .248/.283/.336 batting line in his 353 trips to the plate in the majors.
  • Six-year MLB veteran Collin Cowgill has been released by the Padres. Cowgill, 31, joined the organization on a minors deal over the winter, but never earned a crack at a return to the majors. He carries a .235/.297/.390 slash through 220 plate appearances
  • Finally, the Rangers have released lefty Bobby LaFromboise and righty Jaye Chapman. The former has made 27 MLB appearances and shown some intriguing numbers at times, but struggled last year at Triple-A with the Phillies and was sidelined for much of the current season. The 30-year-old Chapman, meanwhile, is looking to work back toward the majors for the first time since his lone stint back in 2012. But he was hit hard in his 36 2/3 innings at Triple-A Round Rock, with a 6.63 ERA and 6.9 K/9 against 5.2 BB/9.

Jered Weaver Announces Retirement

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Padres right-hander Jered Weaver has announced his retirement through a team press release. The former Angels ace had an impressive 12-year career in the majors.

Jered WeaverWeaver, 34, had been on the disabled list for much of the season with hip issues. In a statement, he explained that he has not been able to get back to health. “While I’ve been working hard to get back on the mound, my body just will not allow me to compete like I want to,” says Weaver.

“Many thanks to the Padres organization for the opportunity to play in the amazing city of San Diego. You have been very professional and respectful during this process and I really appreciate that. I would also like to thank my teammates for welcoming me in with open arms and for all the support throughout the season. I’m excited for the next chapter in life and making up for lost time with my family. Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the years. It was a great ride!”

Undoubtedly, Weaver will be best remembered for his long run of success with the Halos from 2006 through 2016. He topped two thousand total innings with the organization, working to a 3.99 ERA there.

That overall record tends to understate just how good Weaver was in his prime. In particular, in a five-year span beginning in 2010, he spun over a thousand frames of 2.99 ERA ball with 7.6 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9. The first three of those campaigns included All-Star nods and top-five Cy Young finishes.

A former first-round draft pick out of Cal State, Weaver moved quickly through the Angels’ farm system. He played a significant role in driving several of the team’s postseason appearances. Over seven total appearances in the postseason, he threw 27 2/3 innings and compiled a 2.60 ERA.

More recently, Weaver dealt with health issues and a notable drop in velocity. Never a hard thrower, he sat below 85 mph with his fastball over the past three seasons but still managed to gut out 379 1/3 innings over 66 starts. The final nine of those came with San Diego.

The Friars had inked Weaver to a one-year, $3MM contract following the conclusion of the long-term extension that Weaver signed with Los Angeles six years ago this month. He never got going with his new organization, though, managing only a 7.44 ERA with 23 strikeouts in his 42 1/3 frames before hitting the DL.

That late fade doesn’t detract from a top-quality overall career. Weaver wraps things up with 34.8 rWAR and 30.3 fWAR on his ledger. He also notched a memorable no-hitter in 2012. MLBTR offers Weaver a tip of the cap and best wishes for his future endeavors.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Padres Extend Andy Green’s Contract

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The Padres have extended the contract of manager Andy Green, as per a team press release.  Terms weren’t officially announced by the club, though MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell reports (Twitter link) that Green received a three-year extension to his current deal, so he’ll now remain in change of the Padres’ dugout through the 2021 season.  FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman recently reported that Green’s original deal included at least one club option year, so this new extension overwrites that option (or options) with a firmer commitment.

Green has just a 119-159 record since being hired as San Diego’s manager in the 2015-16 offseason, though of course his stewardship of a rebuilding team wasn’t being judged on wins and losses.  It is clear that upper management feels Green is the best choice to lead the team through the rebuilding phase and eventually into contention.

“[Green’s] managerial style is characterized by intelligence, preparation and integrity, and he has continually proven himself to be the right person to lead this young team,” Padres owners Ron Fowler and Peter Seidler stated in the press release.  “We look forward to him managing, motivating and teaching the many waves of talent that we know are on their way to San Diego.”

A veteran of four MLB seasons, Green spent four years managing within the Diamondbacks’ farm system before becoming Arizona’s third base coach for the 2015 season.  Green just turned 40 years old last month and is still the second-youngest current manager in the bigs (Rays skipper Kevin Cash is 39).

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