Padres Rumors

Knocking Down The Door: Bregman, Healy, De Leon, Renfroe, Lively

By Jason Martinez | June 13, 2016 at 8:40pm CDT

This is the debut of my weekly “Knocking Down the Door” series here at MLBTR. The purpose is to identify players in Triple-A or Double-A who are doing everything in their power to earn a big league call-up in the very near future.

For the most part, I’ll try to include players who could make a significant impact soon after arriving to the majors, if not right away. So unless it’s a really slow week for potential impact prospects, I will not be telling you about the pending arrival of the next great middle reliever, spot starter or fourth outfielder.

Here are five players to keep an eye on …

Alex Bregman, 3B, Houston Astros (Double-A Corpus Christi): The Houston Astros might be the most disappointing team in baseball. And while the next Carlos Correa probably isn’t waiting in the wings—check back in another decade or so—it’s possible that Alex Bregman can give them a much-needed spark before their season goes completely down the drain.

Correa did make a quick stop in Triple-A before he was called up to the majors last season, but the fading Astros might not be able to wait much longer on the 22-year-old Bregman if they think he can help them out.

The 2nd overall pick in the 2015 draft, Bregman has been a man among boys in Double-A with a 1.007 OPS to go along with 13 homers and more walks (27) than strikeouts (20), which is a good sign that he can handle himself against big league pitching. He’s only played seven games at third base, although a move from shortstop shouldn’t be a difficult transition.

Houston Astros Depth Chart

Ryon Healy, 1B, Oakland Athletics (Triple-A Nashville): The A’s have plenty of incentive to continue giving at-bats to Yonder Alonso, who was acquired in the offseason for All-Star candidate Drew Pomeranz, and Billy Butler, who is in year two of a three-year, $30MM deal.

But at some point very soon, they’ll need to move on from at least one of the two—Alonso does have 13 hits in his last eight games to boost his OPS to .642; Butler is coming off of a three-hit game that increased his OPS to .683—and reward first base prospect Ryon Healy for the damage he’s done to Double-A and Triple-A pitching this season.

The 24-year-old Healy has nine hits, including three homers, in his last 22-at-bats to give him an overall slash line of .343/.404/.615 in 60 games between the two levels.

Oakland Athletics Depth Chart

Jose De Leon, SP/RP, Los Angeles Dodgers (Triple-A Oklahoma City): After a breakout season in 2015, Jose De Leon has fallen a bit off the radar due to multiple injuries that have limited him to only three Triple-A starts this season.

While this makes it unlikely that he’ll be able to make an impact in the Dodgers’ rotation anytime soon—he’s made a pair of three-inning starts since returning from the disabled list earlier this month—the 23-year-old right-hander is an intriguing option for a bullpen that does not have a reliable power arm to bridge the gap to closer Kenley Jansen.

In 11 innings, De Leon has allowed three earned runs on four hits with three walks while striking out 21 batters. Sounds like a power arm to me.

Los Angeles Dodgers Depth Chart

Hunter Renfroe, RF/LF, San Diego Padres (Triple-A El Paso): Top outfield prospect Hunter Renfroe is doing his part to earn a big league promotion with a robust .598 slugging percentage after recently belting his 13th and 14th homers of the season. Now he just needs general manager A.J. Preller to do his part and create a spot for him.

Preller has his work cut out for him as he works the phones and tries to find takers for outfielders Matt Kemp and Melvin Upton Jr. and at least some of the remaining salary due on their contracts. Trading free agent-to-be Jon Jay, who is having a nice bounce back season, shouldn’t be difficult. It should only take one trade, though, for the 24-year-old Renfroe to get the call, where the big league coaching staff will hopefully introduce him to something called “plate discipline.”

Renfroe’s Kemp-esque 7-to-45 walk-to-strikeout ratio is a concern. However, in what should be a rebuilding season, it would be great if a key part of the team’s future can get regular at-bats against big league pitching.

San Diego Padres Depth Chart

Ben Lively, SP, Philadelphia Phillies (Triple-A Lehigh Valley): It’s Zach Eflin who is getting the call tomorrow to replace the injured Vince Velasquez, but it could’ve easily been Ben Lively or Jake Thompson. All three are pitching well. In fact, it was pretty much a coin toss between Lively and Thompson for this highly-coveted spot on the “Knocking Down the Door” list. With the 24-year-old Lively being nearly two years Thompson’s elder, I’m giving him the nod.

Acquired from the Reds for Marlon Byrd two offseasons ago, Lively has really stepped up his game after not making much of an impression in his debut season with the Phillies. After posting a 4.13 ERA in 25 Double-A starts in 2015, the 6’4″ right-hander has put himself on the prospect map with a 1.94 ERA, 2.6 BB/9 and 7.9 K/9 in 13 starts between Triple-A and Double-A. He’s also 10-0, which is probably meaningless, but impressive, nonetheless. Maybe he’s one of those guys who “just knows how to win.”

Philadelphia Phillies Depth Chart

Cafardo’s Latest: Brewers, Teheran, Kemp, Hudson

By Connor Byrne | June 12, 2016 at 4:45pm CDT

In regards to Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun’s potential availability this summer, one American League executive told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, “That’s the name I’m waiting for.” Braun is in the first season of a five-year, $105MM extension, and both the money he’s owed and his PED history are roadblocks standing in the way of a possible deal, reports Cafardo. The writer adds that the quality of return in a hypothetical Braun trade will come down to how much of his contract Milwaukee eats. The 32-year-old has dealt with injuries this season, but he has still slashed an outstanding .316/.378/.541 with 11 home runs through 217 plate appearances.

Quick Hits: Lucroy, Mets, Darvish, Pads, D-backs

By Connor Byrne | June 11, 2016 at 11:03pm CDT

Given his performance and team-friendly contract, catcher Jonathan Lucroy could be the most sought-after player available at this year’s trade deadline if the Brewers shop him. The playoff-contending Mets are one of several clubs he seems like a fit for, as their catchers entered Saturday with a horrible .191/.289/.275 batting line and three home runs on the year (Lucroy is at .304/.364/.512 with nine HRs). However, there are roadblocks in the way of a potential deal, writes Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. For one, the Mets don’t seem ready to give up on 27-year-old Travis d’Arnaud as their long-term solution behind the plate. Although d’Arnaud has an extensive history of maladies (he’s currently working his way back from a strained right rotator cuff) and got off to a poor start before suffering his latest injury in April, the former top prospect was quite valuable to the Mets over the previous two seasons. Additionally, the Mets might not have the prospects to win a Lucroy bidding war, per Davidoff, who notes that the team’s best young talent is already playing an important role in the majors. Lucroy, for what it’s worth, told Davidoff that he’s “not really a big city guy.”

Here’s more from around the majors:

In troubling news, the Rangers have scratched ace Yu Darvish from his Monday start because of tightness in his neck and throwing shoulder, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Darvish will next head back to Dallas for an MRI, according to Grant. “I don’t want to push it and make it worse. It’s a precaution. We hope it’s nothing serious and that I can be back soon,” said Darvish (Twitter link via Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). After missing all of last season on account of Tommy John surgery, the star right-hander returned May 28 and made three starts before getting hurt again. If Darvish is seriously hurt, it will be a major blow to the first-place Rangers and could lead them to aggressively pursue pitching help as the trade deadline nears.
The rebuilding Padres plan to spend “every penny” of their $12.74MM in bonus pool money for this year’s draft, stated general manager A.J. Preller (Twitter link via MadFriars). “We view it as an opportunity,” he continued. The Padres, who selected Stanford righty Cal Quantrill with their top pick (No. 8), have the third-highest spending allotment available. In addition to Quantrill, the team used first-rounders on high school shortstop Hudson Sanchez (24th overall) and Kent State southpaw Eric Lauer (25th).
Earlier today, the Diamondbacks placed center fielder Chris Owings on the disabled list (retroactive to June 6) with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, per Jake Ril of MLB.com. Owings previously dealt with plantar fasciitis in both feet in 2010 and played just 62 games that year, notes Ril. The 24-year-old compiled a roughly league-average batting line of .285/.340/.419 in 196 plate appearances before leaving the Diamondbacks’ June 5 game with soreness in his foot. In his absence, the D-backs will use Michael Bourn and David Peralta in center.

Padres Place Andrew Cashner On 15-Day DL

By charliewilmoth | June 11, 2016 at 12:57pm CDT

The Padres have placed starter Andrew Cashner on the 15-day disabled list with a strained neck, MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell of MLB.com tweets. Replacing him on the Padres’ active roster will be newcomer Erik Johnson, who will start tonight.

As Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune explains, Cashner experienced a loss of velocity in his start yesterday against the Rockies before the Padres removed him. Via Brooks Baseball, none of Cashner’s pitches yesterday topped 89 MPH. His fastball typically sits in the mid-90s.

“His velo was down from the first batter,” says Padres manager Andy Green. “He experienced it kind of late in the bullpen warming up and after watching him throw he didn’t look like himself. After a batter, I thought it was best to get him out of there.”

Cashner has had a disappointing season thus far, with a 4.75 ERA, 6.1 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 53 innings while also missing time last month due to a hamstring strain. There would surely be plenty of trade whispers about him if he were healthy and pitching as he had in 2014 or perhaps even as he did in an underwhelming 2015 season, given that he’s eligible for free agency in the fall. His current injury surely won’t help the Padres if they hope to acquire young talent for him later this summer.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/9/16

By Jeff Todd | June 9, 2016 at 10:07pm CDT

Here are the day’s minor moves:

Padres corner infielder Josh Satin has retired, Michael Mayer of Metsmerized Online first reported (Twitter link). The 31-year-old has seen action in four seasons with the Mets, compiling a .243/.346/.351 slash line in 292 big league plate appearances. He has scuffled in limited playing time this year at Triple-A, though, with just eight base knocks in 49 trips to the dish.
The Giants have acquired outfielder Shawon Dunston Jr. from the Cubs, as he himself tweeted (h/t to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, via Twitter). It’s a cash deal for the son of the former big leaguer, who also went from Chicago to San Francisco in the mid-nineties. Of course, the younger Dunston hasn’t yet cracked the majors; far from it, in fact. Signed to a significant bonus after being picked in the 11th round of the 2011 draft, he has yet to advance past the High-A level at 23 years of age. Over 128 plate appearances there this year, he owns a .219/.299/.342 batting line with seven steals.

Injury Notes: Ross, Teixeira, Salazar, Soler, Angels

By Jeff Todd | June 6, 2016 at 10:47pm CDT

While Padres righty Tyson Ross is progressing through his throwing program, he is not expected to make it back until after the All-Star game, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com tweets. The expectation is that Ross will begin throwing bullpens in a few weeks, and his timeline should gain more clarity once he reaches the mound. A return in mid-July could in theory put him in play at the trade deadline, but it seems increasingly likely that Ross won’t be shopped until after the season.

Here are a few more injury notes from around the game:

Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira will forego surgery on his right knee in hopes that he’ll be game-ready in three weeks’ time, as Roger Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports. That doesn’t necessarily mean that he’ll be expected at the major league level at that point, as the length of his layoff could require at least a brief rehab stint. The struggling veteran has already been placed on the 15-day DL after being diagnosed with a cartilage tear.
Indians righty Danny Salazar will miss his next start due to shoulder fatigue, the club announced. It seems that the hope is it won’t be much more than that, as he’d likely be placed on the DL to free a roster spot otherwise. Salazar’s status remains worth watching, however. The 26-year-old has been outstanding in his first 11 starts. Cleveland will go to Cody Anderson for the spot start. While he’s struggled at times this year in the majors, Anderson has dominated in three Triple-A starts and is as good an insurance policy as you’ll find around the game.
The Cubs had to pull outfielder Jorge Soler from tonight’s action due to a hamstring injury, as Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. He’s headed in for an MRI tomorrow, but it seems as if a DL stint could be in his future. Veteran minor-leaguer Matt Murton could get consideration if that proves necessary, but skipper Joe Maddon also suggested that prospect Albert Almora could receive consideration.
Meanwhile, the Angels continue to sort through a host of pitching ailments, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports. Of immediate concern, set-up man Joe Smith is hoping to stave off a trip to the DL with a hamstring injury. Starters Tyler Skaggs and C.J. Wilson are both in different stages of the rehab process. The former is expected to head out on a rehab assignment after a five-inning extended spring appearance tomorrow. And the latter hopes to re-start a throwing program this week.
The Angels are also waiting for some position players, as Fletcher further covers. Shortstop Andrelton Simmons (thumb surgery) could return to the majors as soon as Friday; outfielder Daniel Nava (groin) has only just returned to baseball activities; and catcher Geovany Soto (knee surgery) is throwing but has yet to hit or get into the crouch.

NL West Notes: Shields, Padres, Parra, Thompson, Crawford

By Mark Polishuk | June 5, 2016 at 10:11pm CDT

Here’s the latest from around the NL West…

The Padres’ trade of James Shields puts an end to the “spending spree” chapter of A.J. Preller’s tenure as San Diego’s GM, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal observes, and it seemed like the club was eager to put this era behind it. “How exactly did the Padres make the White Sox hurt” in the trade, Rosenthal asks, noting that the Friars didn’t receive a significant player return in exchange for the veteran righty and they’ll still be paying the majority of Shields’ remaining contract. In a general overview of San Diego’s situation, Rosenthal notes that the franchise is relying on a big influx of prospects in both the draft and the next international market to help make up for all of the young talent lost in the Padres’ flurry of moves during the 2014-15 offseason.
Gerardo Parra has yet to take off at the plate since joining the Rockies, though he tells MLB.com’s Thomas Harding that he feels it’s only a matter of time before he becomes more consistent at the plate. Parra entered Sunday hitting .269/.281/.429 over 218 PA, with a 1.8% walk rate that is far below even his modest 6.1% career mark. Parra has struggled badly (.681 OPS) against right-handed pitching and away from Coors Field. Between his bat and lackluster defensive metrics, Parra has been a sub-replacement level (-0.4 fWAR) player for Colorado in the first year of a three-year, $27.5MM free agent contract.
Trayce Thompson is having a breakout season for the Dodgers and become a part of the club’s growing young core, ESPN.com’s Doug Padilla writes. Thompson’s emergence played a big role in L.A. designating Carl Crawford for assignment earlier today. “[Crawford has] had a great run and where we’re at right now, and where this organization wants to go, you have a lot of young guys coming,” manager Dave Roberts said.
In other NL West news from today, Hunter Pence’s date for hamstring surgery was set for Thursday and we collected some Diamondbacks notes.

Shields Notes: Padres, White Sox, Tigers

By Connor Byrne | June 5, 2016 at 9:13am CDT

The latest regarding right-hander James Shields, whom the Padres sent (along with cash) to the White Sox on Saturday for shortstop prospect Fernando Tatis Jr. and righty Erik Johnson:

Before agreeing to take Tatis and Johnson, the Padres asked the White Sox for their two best prospects, shortstop Tim Anderson and righty Carson Fulmer, per ESPN’s Jim Bowden (Twitter link).
In an effort to get a quality return for Shields, the Padres reached out to “every team in contention,” including the Tigers, reports Tony Paul of The Detroit News. Tigers executives listened to the Padres’ pitch, but they ultimately balked at their asking price, enabling division-rival Chicago to land the 34-year-old. Shields would have upgraded a Tigers rotation that has gotten particularly disastrous performances from Mike Pelfrey and the now-demoted Anibal Sanchez this year, though it’s unclear what they would have had to give up for him.
Padres general manager A.J. Preller doesn’t regret signing Shields to a lucrative long-term contract in 2015 and losing a first-round pick in the process, he told reporters Saturday (via Kirk Kenney of the San Diego Union-Tribune). “We wanted to get some excitement and see if we could put a contending club on the field,” said Preller, whose Padres have gone 97-122 since signing Shields. “It was more of a situation where it was, ‘Hey, let’s see if we can take a shot and compete and contend and win,’ knowing that if that didn’t work out at a point down the road knowing we had the ability to pump the brakes and go in a different direction.”
The White Sox will pay Shields $5MM this year and, if he doesn’t opt out of his contract at season’s end, $10MM in both 2017 and 2018. They’ll also be responsible for a $2MM buyout on his 2019 club option, according to Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago (Twitter link).

White Sox Acquire James Shields From Padres

By charliewilmoth and Connor Byrne | June 4, 2016 at 11:29pm CDT

A week after talks between the Padres and White Sox regarding James Shields began gaining “significant momentum,” the two sides have officially reached a deal. The veteran right-hander and cash (reportedly $31MM of the remaining $58MM on his contract) will head to Chicago in exchange for fellow righty Erik Johnson and shortstop prospect Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres general manager A.J. Preller announced.

Since beginning the season with a red-hot 19-8 mark, the White Sox have fallen to 29-26 and have dropped to third place in the AL Central, though they’re only 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Royals. While their starters entered Saturday with the majors’ eighth-lowest ERA (3.61) and seventh-best fWAR (5.7), their pre-Shields rotation was a top-heavy group. Aside from superstar Chris Sale and the underrated Jose Quintana, who has posted ace-like numbers this year, the White Sox haven’t gotten overly impressive production from any of their other starters.

With Shields aboard, the expectation is that either Mat Latos or Miguel Gonzalez will lose his spot in the rotation. Regardless of whether the White Sox demote Latos or Gonzalez, their top four will likely consist of Sale, Quintana, Shields and Carlos Rodon as long as all four are healthy. Whether Shields will stay in that top four beyond 2016 is up in the air, though, as he could opt out of the final two years of his contract at season’s end. That would mean leaving $42MM on the table, however.

Shields, 34, isn’t the pitcher he was during his best years with the Rays and Royals, but he remains a competent innings eater who’s on pace to exceed the 200-inning plateau and surpass the 30-start barrier for the 11th straight season. That aside, Shields does come with red flags. After a dreadful final start with the Padres, Shields’ ERA (4.28) is at its highest since 2010. Further, his strikeout rate – which spiked to a personal-best 9.61 per nine innings last year – has regressed to 7.62 (closer to his 7.84 career average) and the control that he displayed in his earlier days has declined. Shields’ walk rate is at 3.61 per nine innings, which is in line with last year’s 3.6, and his velocity has dipped. To Shields’ credit, he has long been a capable ground-ball generator – at 48 percent this year, there’s no sign he’s slowing down in that area. That should help his cause as he shifts to the hitter-friendly confines of U.S. Cellular Field, but he does have the third-highest home run rate among qualified starters since last season (16.9 percent).

For the Padres, this is undoubtedly a disappointing ending to a short-lived experiment. Shields joined the Friars on a lucrative long-term deal as a free agent in 2015, at which point the club gave up the 13th overall pick in that June’s draft to sign him. With Shields in the fold, the Padres had designs on competing for a playoff spot. They instead finished a disappointing 74-88, though, and have begun this season 22-34. San Diego is now rebuilding, so keeping Shields around wouldn’t have made sense.

The 26-year-old Johnson, who’s the more established player the Padres got for Shields, could figure into their rotation at some point. Johnson has posted a 4.50 ERA, 7.1 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 across 98 major league innings. In a 523 2/3-frame minor league sample size, Johnson’s strikeout rate (7.8) hasn’t looked much different, though he has walked fewer batters (3.1) while working to a terrific 3.23 ERA.

Tatis, meanwhile, signed with the White Sox for $700K as a 16-year-old last summer. The Dominican native is the son of former big leaguer Fernando Tatis, and Ben Badler of Baseball America wrote at the time of his signing that the 6-foot-1, 175-pounder pairs power potential on offense with a good arm on defense. Tatis, therefore, could potentially serve as a third baseman or outfielder in the majors.

Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported May 28 that the two teams were discussing a Shields trade, and he confirmed the return for the Padres today. Bob Nightengale of USA Today noted earlier today that a deal was close. FanRag Sports Jon Heyman then reported that the framework of a deal was agreed upon. Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago had Johnson going to San Diego. Chris Cotillo of SB Nation reported that the trade was done. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported the amount of money the White Sox will receive in the trade.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NL Notes: Padres, D-backs, Dodgers, Nats

By Connor Byrne | June 4, 2016 at 10:26pm CDT

Padres general manager A.J. Preller told reporters – including AJ Cassavell of MLB.com – that four to five clubs called him with interest in right-hander James Shields, whom San Diego ended up trading to the White Sox on Saturday. With the Shields trade out of the way, Preller doesn’t expect to do much else until things heat up around the trade deadline, he added.

More from San Diego and a few other NL cities:

There’s a “pretty good possibility” righty Erik Johnson, one of the two players the Padres received for Shields, will slot into their rotation as Shields’ long-term replacement, manager Andy Green said (Twitter link via Cassavell). For now, the Padres have optioned Johnson to Triple-A El Paso, according to Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (on Twitter).
Diamondbacks chief baseball officer Tony La Russa told Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports that the club has “no regrets” about the widely panned offseason trade that sent Dansby Swanson, Ender Inciarte and Aaron Blair to Atlanta for righty Shelby Miller. Nevertheless, La Russa believes that Swanson – the top pick in last year’s draft – “will be a star” in the majors.
Injured Dodgers starters Hyun-jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy are unlikely to make it back before the All-Star break, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register (Twitter links here). Ryu, who had a setback last week with his surgically repaired left shoulder, will need to make at least four rehab starts before he can return to the majors. He has to resume throwing first, however. McCarthy also isn’t ready to begin a rehab assignment. In the meantime, the 2015 Tommy John recipient will throw a three-inning, 60-pitch sim game at some point in the coming days.
Right-hander Bronson Arroyo is recovering well from partial tears in his rotator cuff tendons and hopes to pitch for the Nationals this season, Bill Ladson of MLB.com relays. Arroyo, whose injury forced him to use a sidearm delivery in early May, is now healthy enough to throw from a three-quarter arm slot, Ladson writes. “I guess my shoulder has turned the corner,” Arroyo told Ladson. “Now, the shoulder feels pretty good. It’s little less pressure throwing sidearm, but it has been OK throwing over the top. “ The 39-year-old, who hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2014, has been pitching intrasquad games at the Nationals’ spring training complex in Florida. He’s likely to make five more starts there before the team reevaluates him July 1. If all goes well, Arroyo could then begin a rehab assignment and perhaps join the Nationals down the stretch. Arroyo has started in the vast majority of his major league appearances (369 of 405), but he told Ladson he’d be willing to work out of the Nats’ bullpen.

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