Outrighted To Triple-A: McGowan, De La Rosa
Today’s outright assignments…
- The Phillies outrighted Dustin McGowan to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, according to the MLB.com transactions page. The 33-year-old has struggled with his control this season, leading to a 6.94 ERA in 23 1/3 innings. McGowan’s 21 strikeouts in that time are a solid mark, but he’s also walked 20 hitters, and his ground-ball rate is down significantly from its peak — a trend that began last year in Toronto and has continued in 2015.
- Padres left-hander Eury De La Rosa cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A El Paso, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). De La Rosa, 25, has pitched exclusively at Triple-A this year, working to a 4.03 ERA with 6.9 K/9 against 5.6 BB/9 over 22 1/3 frames. That represents a career-worst K:BB ratio in his professional career.
- As we passed along earlier today, Mets pitcher Dillon Gee was also placed on outright waivers. As the DFA Tracker shows, that leaves six players in DFA limbo: Jhonatan Solano, Phillippe Aumont, Andy Parrino, Hector Noesi, Jeff Bianchi, and Rickie Weeks.
Quick Hits: International Spending, Giants, Cubans
Remember when the Padres, Red Sox, and White Sox were the most improved teams in the majors? They, along with the Marlins, are below .500 despite their busy offseasons, writes Tyler Kepner of the New York Times. Alternatively, the Blue Jays have pushed into playoff contention with a recent winning streak. Toronto added Josh Donaldson and Russell Martin over the offseason, but the core of the team has remained largely intact. Kepner notes that these quick turnaround rebuilds are no guarantee for solid performance.
Here’s more from around the league:
- A new international signing period will begin on July 2nd, but 2016 is the time for your favorite team to break the bank, per Ben Badler of Baseball America. The Yankees, Rays, Red Sox, Angels, and Diamondbacks are already unable to spend more than $300K on a player for the next two seasons. The Dodgers, Cubs, Royals, Phillies, and Blue Jays may blow past their bonus limit in the 2015 signing period. That will remove many of the most active teams from the market in 2016. Badler gives a complete description of the international market conditions. It’s well worth a read.
- The Giants will soon face a roster crunch in their rotation, writes Chris Haft of MLB.com. Jake Peavy is medically ready to return, and Matt Cain is nearing readiness. The easiest move would be to option Chris Heston, but he’s tied for the club lead with seven wins and recently no-hit the Mets. Ryan Vogelsong and Tim Hudson have been merely serviceable. The same can be said of Tim Lincecum in recent weeks. With the exception of Heston, the other rotation arms could be lost if they’re designated for assignment. The club could opt to move Lincecum and Vogelsong into the bullpen, but that just pushes the roster crunch elsewhere.
- An influx of Cuban players could soon flood the majors, writes Bill Shaiken of the Los Angeles Times. Cuban players, even those who fall under international spending restrictions, are currently able to negotiate with all 30 clubs. That increases their bargaining power. It’s a big reason why infielder Roberto Baldoquin cost about four times more than the Angels’ entire 2015 amateur draft class. Cubans are currently the third most represented foreign nation in the majors. Opening day rosters included 18 Cubans, 65 Venezuelans, and 83 Dominicans. Cuba has a comparable population to the Dominican Republic. As such, we could see a surge of Cuban players as diplomatic relations continue to thaw.
Padres Designate Eury De La Rosa
The Padres have designated lefty Eury De La Rosa for assignment, the club announced. San Diego selected the contract of corner infielder Brett Wallace in a corresponding move, necessitating a 40-man spot.
De La Rosa, 25, has pitched exclusively at Triple-A this year, working to a 4.03 ERA with 6.9 K/9 against 5.6 BB/9 over 22 1/3 frames. That represents a career-worst K:BB ratio in his professional career.
The southpaw spent time in the Diamondbacks bullpen over the past two seasons, putting up a 4.21 ERA in 51 1/3 total frames. De La Rosa bounced from the D’Backs to the Athletics and then to the Dodgers in recent months before reaching San Diego on a waiver claim.
The 28-year-old Wallace, a former top prospect, will make his first big league appearance for a team other than the Astros. He hasn’t seen the show since 2013, but owns a career .242/.313/.391 slash in just over 1,000 career plate appearances in the majors. Wallace has (as usual) hit Triple-A pitching well this year, slashing .305/.380/.460 while carrying a 21.1% strikeout rate.
Wil Myers To Undergo Left Wrist Surgery
Padres outfielder Wil Myers will undergo surgery to remove a bone spur from his left wrist tomorrow, writes Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union Tribune. It will likely be at least eight weeks before Myers is able to resume baseball activities, Lin adds, which seems to suggest that Myers could be sidelined through the end of August.
It’s been an injury plagued season for the 24-year-old Myers, who joined the Padres alongside Ryan Hanigan in a three-team trade that sent Joe Ross and Trea Turner to the Nationals while also sending Steven Souza, Burch Smith, Rene Rivera, Jake Bauers and Travis Ott to the Rays. Myers was tasked with playing center field despite not carrying a strong reputation even as a corner outfielder, and the results weren’t pretty, from a defensive standpoint (-9 DRS, -57 UZR/150 in 260 innings).
Myers, however, was acquired more for his bat than his glove, and he didn’t disappoint in that regard. In 159 plate appearances with the Padres this season, Myers has batted .277/.322/.459 with five homers, 10 doubles and a triple. When weighting that line to account for his home park, Myers has been about 22 percent above the league average (per wRC+ and OPS+).
Myers has missed significant time in both 2014 and 2015 with injuries to each of his wrists. A sprain and a fracture in his right wrist led to separate DL stints for Myers last season, and he’s been troubled by both inflammation and tendinitis in his left wrist this season — the same wrist that will now put him on the shelf for another two months or more. According to Lin, Myers has played through this bone spur since middle school, but it became increasingly problematic this year when a tendon near his pinkie finger became inflamed.
In Myers’ absence, the Padres will likely use a combination of Will Venable and Melvin Upton Jr. in center field, with Justin Upton and Matt Kemp handling corner outfield duties. The loss of Myers hurts the lineup, though it does allow interim manager Pat Murphy an avenue to insert a much-needed left-handed bat — Venable — into his lineup with regularity. Venable is hitting a strong .273/.331/.453 against righties this season and owns a lifetime .257/.322/.430 slash when holding the platoon advantage.
Myers did start five games at first base this season, so it shouldn’t be completely ruled out that hyper-aggressive GM A.J. Preller could pursue a trade for a center fielder, then use Myers at first base if he’s able to return in a timely fashion. Doing so could theoretically displace Yonder Alonso, who has enjoyed a .319/.406/.420 start to his season. Much of that is owed a to a .359 BABIP, however, as Alonso still offers little power, especially relative to his first base peers.
Pat Murphy To Manage Padres For Rest Of Season
The Padres announced this afternoon that they have named Pat Murphy their interim manager for the remainder of the 2015 season. Murphy had been serving as the team’s manager at Triple-A El Paso.
“Pat Murphy’s 30 years of experience coaching and managing, and his success at every level, stood out to me as I came to this decision,” said Padres GM A.J. Preller in the press release announcing the move. “His leadership ability, his respect in the clubhouse and his familiarity with our system will make this transition a smooth one for our players and coaching staff.”
The 56-year-old Murphy was in his third season as El Paso’s manager and spent the two years prior to that managing for San Diego’s A-Ball affiliate. He also has an extensive college coaching career, most notably with Arizona State. Murphy was long hailed as one of the best coaches in the college game, but his time at ASU wasn’t without controversy. Murphy was reportedly forced to resign in 2009 after allegations of academic fraud and recruiting violations marred his tenure as the team’s head coach.
Recently, the Brewers had interest in interviewing Murphy for a coaching position on the Major League staff, but the Padres did not grant Milwaukee permission to do so. Speculation emerged shortly thereafter that Murphy “had been made promises” by the organization. While that may or may not be the case, it does certainly seem likely that the Padres were at least considering Murphy as a possible coach, if not manager, in the event that Bud Black was let go. The Padres dismissed Black yesterday after parts of nine seasons on the job.
Padres Expected To Name Interim Manager Today
The Padres are expected to name an interim manager that will hold the position through the end of the season today, reports Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union Tribune. More than likely, it’ll be an internal candidate, Lin adds. He hears that Triple-A manager Pat Murphy and bench coach Dave Roberts (who managed last night’s contest in Black’s absence) are the two likeliest candidates. First-year hitting coach Mark Kotsay has been discussed internally, he adds, but Kotsay is viewed as a less likely candidate.
Both Will Carroll of Fanduel and Keith Olbermann of ESPN heard yesterday that Murphy was on his way to San Diego, though Olbermann’s source indicated that it was possible that Murphy could become either the bench coach or the manager (Twitter links). Jon Heyman of CBS Sports writes that some view Murphy as the favorite to succeed Black, at least for the remainder of the season, and he will indeed be interviewed (or, perhaps, was already interviewed last night). Heyman writes that general manager A.J. Preller is said to want a manager with a fiery personality, and the Padres recently declined to let Murphy interview for a big league coaching position with the Brewers, perhaps indicating larger plans for him.
While Lin’s report makes Kotsay appear unlikely, Joel Sherman of the New York Post did tweet yesterday that the most common names he’s heard from executives outside of the Padres organization are Kotsay and Murphy. Scott Miller of FOX Sports Southwest and Bleacher Report added third base coach Glenn Hoffman’s name into the mix as well.
Padres To Sign Second Rounder Austin Smith
The Padres have agreed to a slightly above-slot deal with second-round pick Austin Smith, Jim Callis of MLB.com reports on Twitter. Smith will receive a $1.2MM bonus after being taken 51st overall, which came with a $1,178,400 allocation.
The high school righty was regarded as one of the forty to fifty best prospects available by draft observers. MLB.com likes Smith’s “easy” velocity, while noting that he has some work to do in building out his secondary offerings. ESPN.com’s Keith Law calls Smith “a rawer version of Nationals prospect Joe Ross,” noting that he comes with the upside of a mid-rotation starter.
Smith was San Diego’s first pick . The club already went over-slot to add its next choice, righty Jacob Nix, but has saved plenty of money on several other signings and still has flexibility to use in locking up other players.
Padres To Sign Jacob Nix
The Padres have agreed to terms with righty Jacob Nix on a $900K signing bonus, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports on Twitter. The 86th choice in the draft came with a $687,300 pick value, meaning that San Diego went over $200K over slot to add Nix.
Of course, Nix thought he had an even larger bonus locked up last year with the Astros, before he was caught up in the Brady Aiken saga. He ultimately landed at IMG Academy for a year and brought a grievance action against Houston (reportedly settling for a six-figure payout).
Now advised by MVP Sports, Nix drew plenty of top-forty pre-draft ratings. Keith Law of ESPN.com was highest on Nix, rating him the 32nd-best player available and saying he has mid-rotation starter upside. Baseball America and MLB.com concurred that Nix had back of first-round talent, while Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs dropped Nix to 81st on his list.
Padres Fire Bud Black
The Padres announced that they have relieved manager Bud Black of his duties. The team will begin a formal search for an interim manager to play out the remainder of the 2015 season immediately, per a Padres press release. Until that search is concluded, bench coach Dave Roberts will serve as the club’s manager.
Black’s nine years as manager of the Padres have helped to make him one of baseball’s most respected skippers. The move has been speculated upon in the past, but it still comes as somewhat of a shock to see it actually executed. In 1362 career games as a manager, all with San Diego, Black has totaled a record of 649-713 despite routinely having to work with one of baseball’s lowest payrolls. A pitching coach prior to his work as a manager, he’s drawn praise for his work with many of the Padres’ young arms over the course of his career in the dugout.
The 32-33 Padres have yet to fully live up to expectations, although it’s tough to pin those struggles on Black. San Diego entered the season with the combination of Alexi Amarista and Clint Barmes to handle the team’s shortstop woes, and the outfield defense was questioned from the moment that it was announced the team would field an outfield of Justin Upton, Wil Myers and Matt Kemp. The team also possesses few quality left-handed bats, leaving it somewhat vulnerable to strong right-handed pitching.
Quick Hits: Astros, Huntington, Reds, Nola
Collin McHugh‘s recent struggles have only sharpened the Astros‘ need for starting pitching help, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle writes. McHugh has a 7.77 ERA over his last four starts, leaving ace Dallas Keuchel as the only truly reliable rotation option, as it’s asking a lot of rookies Lance McCullers and Vincent Velasquez to immediately help carry a playoff-contending team (though McCullers has been outstanding in six starts.) Here’s some more from around baseball as we head into the new week…
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington tells David Manel of the Bucs Dugout blog that the club will again “walk that balance between now and the future” in making any deadline additions. “We want to do everything we can to put this club in a position to make the playoffs this year, win a World Series this year. At the same time, we want to be able to be in that position as many years in the future as we can,” Huntington said. Pittsburgh will face a lot of competition in making deals only a few teams are truly out of the race at this point; as Huntington puts it, “this is absolutely a sellers market, at this point in time.”
- The rising costs of youth baseball has led to fewer young athletes choosing the game, Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. The Pirates value having versatile players who are able to play multiple positions, and the best fits for this model are those who played baseball and other sports growing up, so they have a larger athletic toolbox. With more youngsters specializing only in one sport growing up, however, these well-rounded athletes are harder to find.
- Despite the Reds‘ struggles, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer doesn’t think manager Bryan Price’s job is in jeopardy. “It would be hard and foolish to fire Bryan Price given all the injuries” the Reds have had to deal with, Fay writes.
- Most scouts feel that the Reds wouldn’t trade Aroldis Chapman “if push came to shove” and they became deadline sellers, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports. There hasn’t been any indication that the Reds are willing to deal Chapman, though his name has at least been floated in talks with the Nationals.
- Also from Cafardo, some scouts following the Reds have mentioned Brandon Phillips, but while he’s having a good season, Cafardo feels the second baseman’s large contract is still a deterrent to a trade.
- The Padres, White Sox and Indians are three of the many clubs still relatively close to a postseason spot but unsure if they’ll be able to make a legitimate run, ESPN’s Buster Olney writes (Insider subscription required). San Diego’s situation is particularly tricky given their major winter expenditures and rival evaluators doubt that the Padres would engage in any major sell-off if they continue to struggle.
- Top Phillies pitching prospect Aaron Nola has been promoted to Triple-A, the club announced earlier today. Nola, the seventh overall pick of the 2014 draft, posted a 1.88 ERA and 6.56 K/BB rate over 76 2/3 innings at Double-A this season, with the only minor red flag being a middling 6.9 K/9. At this point, Nola seems well on pace to earn a promotion to the Show late this season.