- The Giants aren’t going to bring left fielder Hunter Pence off the DL during the upcoming week unless they’re convinced he’ll provide a boost to their offense, Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group writes. The 35-year-old Pence was unable to help San Francisco before going on the DL three-plus weeks ago with a thumb issue, as he hit .172/.197/.190 and posted a minus-1 wRC+ across 61 trips to the plate. Now, thanks to his early season woes and manager Bruce Bochy’s desire to carry an extra pitcher, Pence’s return may be delayed.
Giants Rumors
West Notes: CarGo, Fowler, Pence
A combination of poor offensive output and surging young Rockies outfielders staking claims to playing time has led to an unusual “platoon” situation for Carlos Gonzalez, as Kyle Newman of the Denver Post writes. CarGo is hitting just .236/.278/.427 on the season with three homers, while David Dahl and Noel Cuevas both boast wRC+ figures above 100 (though each has a BABIP above .420). Gerrardo Parra has also seen a reduction in playing time thanks to the young duo’s hot streaks. Newman notes that manager Bud Black is making his lineup card each day with many factors each day, including rest, pitching matchups and the hot hand. Gonzalez signed a one-year, $8MM deal with the Rockies this past season after struggling for much of 2017.
A pair of other items out of the West…
- Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that the Athletics could start running more often following the promotion of speedy outfielder Dustin Fowler to the big league club. Enter Thursday’s game, Slusser notes that the A’s were just 7-for-14 in steal attempts on the season; those steals and steals attempts totals both rank second to last in the majors. In the meantime, Fowler was 8-for-10 during his time in Triple-A this year. Manager Bob Melvin describes Fowler as a “true base stealer”. Said Fowler on the subject: “That’s something I’ve worked on my whole career, so I’d like to step it up and see how I can do at the big-league level as much as I can.”
- Giants outfielder Hunter Pence has reportedly resumed his rehab assignment (h/t Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports). Pence, who has been on the DL since April 20th after suffering a thumb injury, was originally expected to miss no more than the ten-day minimum. However, Pence began feeling some recurring thumb soreness during his initial rehab assignment, necessitating a retreat from playing in games for a bit. That was only five days ago, so it appears the setback wasn’t viewed as particularly serious. With Mac Williamson still being held out of games following concussion symptoms, the Giants will hope they can get Pence back into their depleted outfield mix sooner than later.
Giants To Place Johnny Cueto On 60-Day DL, Select Contract Of Jose Valdez
The Giants have announced some pitching-related roster moves, as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area was among those to report (Twitter links). Starter Johnny Cueto will move from the 10-day to the 60-day DL to open a 40-man spot for fellow righty Jose Valdez.
Meanwhile, relievers Derek Law and Josh Osich have each been optioned to Triple-A. The latter had been on the DL with a hip strain after struggling in the majors to open the year.
With the move, the Giants are making a somewhat early call on the length of Cueto’s absence. It had been suggested he would miss six to eight weeks with a forearm strain. With today’s placement, though, Cueto won’t be able to return until June 29, by the calculation of Pavlovic (Twitter link).
By making the move now, the San Francisco organization will have another 40-man spot to work with. That should help the team keep the bullpen fresh, which in turn will help weather the absence of Cueto — particularly while Madison Bumgarner is also working back from the DL.
The 28-year-old Valdez has thrown 50 1/3 innings in the majors over the past three years. This will be his first stint with the Giants after brief runs in the bigs with three other team. Thus far in 2018, Valdez has worked to a 3.71 ERA with 13.8 K/9 and 5.8 BB/9 through 17 innings over a dozen appearances at Triple-A.
Cueto Shut Down For Two Weeks, Pitched Through "Unbearable" Pain
- Johnny Cueto will be shut down entirely for the next two weeks as he rests a sprain in his right elbow, per Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic (Twitter links). The Giants righty told reporters today that he pitched through “unbearable” pain in each of his final three starts before landing on the disabled list. Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that Cueto had mentally prepared himself for the news that he was going to require Tommy John surgery and miss the remainder of the season.
Mets Expect To Trade Matt Harvey
May 8: The Mets have been trying to add a catcher in return for Harvey, per Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitter link). Puma adds that the Padres are also in the mix for Harvey.
May 7: The Mets are “confident” they will strike a deal involving righty Matt Harvey, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). At this point, says Rosenthal, there are “four to five teams interested” in taking a chance on the former ace.
Harvey was formally designated for assignment on May 5th, meaning his situation will be resolved one way or another by Saturday the 12th. If he’s not traded, Harvey would need to go onto waivers; if he were then to pass through unclaimed, he’d hit the open market (whether by release or by rejecting an outright assignment).
We checked in earlier today on some teams with varying degrees of interest in Harvey. The Giants seem clearly to be involved, though their interest level isn’t clear. (Andy Martino of SNY.tv tweets there’s “very strong” interest, while MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports (via Twitter) that it’s much more tepid, with some significant roadblocks to a swap.) Martino adds the Reds as a possibility, joining the previously reported Mariners in that regard. And Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets that the White Sox are also in the mix. There’s some uncertainty about the status of the Orioles, but they are among the organizations that would make some degree of sense on paper.
Of course, we’ve also seen plenty of reports of other teams that will not be in on the 29-year-old. It appears the Rangers have decided against pursuing Harvey in a trade scenario despite giving it serious consideration. Otherwise, the Rays, Tigers, Red Sox, and Yankees are said not to be involved.
If a deal does, in fact, get done, Rosenthal says not to expect the Mets to shave away much salary. With something on the order of $4.5MM still owed to Harvey for the rest of the season, the New York organization anticipates paying the “vast majority” in hopes of securing “something in return” in a deal.
Reading the tea leaves, then, the Mets aren’t really looking for a MLB asset back that might offset some of the Harvey commitment. It’s possible the team will be able to find another organization willing to give a bit of young talent, but it’ll take deft work for GM Sandy Alderson to achieve significant value.
Harvey, after all, has managed only a 5.93 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in his 212 1/3 innings since the start of the 2016 season. His velocity has continued to trail off as the arm injuries have mounted. As outstanding as he was before a procedure to address thoracic outlet syndrome, Harvey has struggled badly ever since.
Clearly, some front offices around the game still think that Harvey can at least deliver some useful innings from the back of a rotation. Just what they’ll give up to find out remains to be seen.
Latest On Matt Harvey
5:40pm: While the Rangers have discussed pursuit of Harvey, per MLB.com’s TR Sullivan (via Twitter), the organization won’t trade for him. Indeed, GM Jon Daniels confirmed as much in an appearance on 105.3 The Fan (Twitter link). Of course, it still seems possible the organization could be involved if Harvey reaches the open market.
2:36pm: The Giants have also discussed taking a flyer on Harvey, tweets ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. San Francisco learned today that Johnny Cueto will miss the next six to eight weeks, and Madison Bumgarner remains on the disabled list until late May. They’ve been plugging in a struggling Derek Holland in the fifth spot in their rotation, though it’s not clear at all if Harvey would represent an upgrade.
12:51pm: Following one of the most high-profile DFAs in recent memory, the Mets appear to be generating some interest in former ace Matt Harvey. Andy Martino of SNY reports that that the Rangers and Mariners both have some degree of interest in acquiring the righty. MLB.com’s Jon Morosi wrote this morning that Texas’ interest is “mild,” while Martino indicates that Rangers assistant pitching coach Dan Warthen is pushing the organization to roll the dice on Harvey. Warthen was his pitching coach with the Mets prior to 2018.
While Morosi speculates about the possibility of the Orioles and Mets lining up on a deal, Martino hears that the O’s don’t have much in the way of interest. Baltimore did check in on Harvey over the winter, but Martino reports that the Mets circled back to the O’s prior to designating Harvey for assignment and found “little interest” despite the disastrous results of the Baltimore rotation thus far in 2018.
It’s not a huge surprise to see the Rangers connected to Harvey, given not only Warthen’s presence in the organization but also the team’s general approach to adding arms this offseason. The Rangers shopped for volume this winter, stockpiling veteran arms on low-cost deals (in many instances on minor league contracts) in an effort to bolster their organizational depth. Payroll was a factor in Texas’ approach, so it seems unlikely that they’d take on the full chunk of Harvey’s remaining contract — about $4.43MM — but the Mets will almost certainly be willing to include cash in any deal. The alternative, after all, is to release Harvey and simply pay him the money is owed anyway.
As for the Mariners, they’ve endured plenty of rotation struggles of their own. James Paxton’s 4.19 ERA leads Seattle starters, and their rotation as a whole has pitched to a 5.30 earned run average. There’s likely been some poor fortune at play — both xFIP and SIERA peg Mariners starters at 4.05 as a group — but the bottom-line results have not been encouraging. Erasmo Ramirez just went back on the disabled list as well, prompting the Mariners to move veteran Wade LeBlanc from a long relief role into the fifth starter’s slot.
It seems decidedly unlikely that the Mets would receive much in the way of a significant return for Harvey, whose struggles date back to Opening Day 2017. He’s earning $5.6MM this season, is a free agent in November and has undergone both Tommy John and thoracic outlet surgery — both of which (especially the latter) have contributed to his rapid decline.
Johnny Cueto Out Six To Eight Weeks With Elbow Sprain
12:30pm: Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets that Cueto’s timeline to return is actually six to eight weeks.
12:21pm: There’s been no shortage of worry over the status of Johnny Cueto’s elbow following last week’s placement on the DL and visit to multiple specialists, including Dr. James Andrews. FanRag’s Jon Heyman, however, tweets that the Giants received relatively good news on their righty. While Cueto has been diagnosed with a sprain in the elbow, he’s avoided a major tear of the ulnar collateral ligament. Dr. Andrews prescribed rest for Cueto, and he’s expected to miss six weeks of action, per Heyman.
Certainly, a six-week absence for Cueto, who stormed out of the gates hotter than almost any pitcher on the planet, is a critical blow for the Giants. But Cueto has obviously avoided a worst-case scenario by receiving a non-surgical treatment plan. With Cueto and Madison Bumgarner on the shelf for the time being, the Giants will continue to turn to Jeff Samardzija, Chris Stratton, Ty Blach, Derek Holland and Andrew Suarez in the rotation, with Tyler Beede waiting in the wings at Triple-A Sacramento should another need arise in the starting corps.
The 2017 season was one to forget for Cueto, who was limited to 147 2/3 innings by a flexor strain and struggled to a 4.52 ERA in that time. Last year’s struggles prompted Cueto to forgo the opt-out provision in his six-year deal with the Giants, and early on, it looked like a blessing in disguise for San Francisco. Cueto took the NL by storm in April, tossing 32 innings with a 0.84 ERA, 7.3 K/9, 1.7 BB/9 and a 45 percent ground-ball rate. He allowed just one homer in his 32 frames before landing on the DL with what was initially termed inflammation before an MRI and a series of evaluations.
San Francisco has remained afloat in the division with a 19-15 record, four games back from the Diamondbacks for the NL West lead, and just completed a sweep of an exciting young Braves team over the weekend. The loss of Cueto for an extended period will give the club a lengthy look at Suarez, who has admittedly been quite impressive in his first three starts as a big leaguer (3.06 ERA, 18-to-2 K/BB ratio, 53.3 percent ground-ball rate in 17 2/3 innings). The former second-round pick could position himself to seize a long-term starting job for the Giants if he continues at anywhere near that pace.
Would Matt Harvey Be A Fit For The Giants?
- The Giants could be a potential fit as a suitor for Matt Harvey, as the former Mets ace’s arm intrigues some members of San Francisco organization, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (via Twitter). Rather than take on the extra salary that would come with claiming or trading for Harvey during his DFA period, Schulman figures the Giants will wait until he hits the open market before considering a pursuit. The Giants have little salary room to spare as they aim to stay under the $187MM luxury tax limit, so their obvious preference is to sign Harvey for a prorated minimum salary.
- Braves pitching prospect Mike Soroka’s second career MLB start wasn’t nearly as impressive as his first, as Soroka allowed four earned runs over four innings today against the Giants. Manager Brian Snitker told MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (Twitter link) and other media that Soroka is scheduled to make his next start, with an implication being that Atlanta isn’t planning to demote the 20-year-old anytime soon. Anibal Sanchez is still sidelined with a hamstring injury, and will likely be moved to relief pitching when he returns so the Braves can give Soroka a fuller look in his first taste of the majors.
Mac Williamson's Return Not Imminent
- Giants outfielder Mac Williamson’s return from the seven-day concussion DL isn’t imminent, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle suggests. Williamson, who suffered the injury April 24, will likely need a rehab assignment even when he’s healthy enough to play again, Schulman notes. As such, he might not suit up again for the Giants until mid-May or later.
Giants Sign Ryan Hanigan
The Giants have signed catcher Ryan Hanigan to a minor league contract, Jon Heyman of FanRag tweets.
The 37-year-old Hanigan was most recently with the Indians, who signed him to a minors pact in February but released him a month later. While Hanigan has enjoyed some success during his time in the majors, which began with the Reds in 2007, he hasn’t been able to find a big league deal since the Red Sox declined his $3.75MM option after the 2016 season. Nevertheless, he did reach the majors last year as a member of the Rockies, with whom he hit .267/.324/.347 in 112 plate appearances.
Given the Giants’ depth behihnd the plate, returning to the bigs in San Francisco looks as though it’ll be a tall order for Hanigan. Backup Nick Hundley has been outstanding this year behind all-world starter Buster Posey, and the Giants also have promising prospect Aramis Garcia in Double-A (he’s on their 40-man roster) and veterans Hector Sanchez and Trevor Brown at Triple-A.
