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Giants Place Ian Gardeck On Waivers

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The Giants have placed pitching prospect Ian Gardeck on waivers, Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area tweets. The move clears roster space for fellow righty Vin Mazzaro, who the Giants have added to their 40-man roster. The team also optioned righty Mike Broadway to the minors.

Gardeck will miss the 2016 season after having Tommy John surgery in March. Last year, the 25-year-old earned a spot on the Giants’ 40-man after posting a 3.54 ERA, 10.8 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 86 1/3 innings of relief with Class A+ San Jose.

Broadway struggled after being promoted less than two weeks ago, allowing seven runs in 5 1/3 innings spread over four outings. Mazzaro, meanwhile, performed well for Triple-A Sacramento (albeit with his usual underwhelming peripheral numbers), allowing just one run while striking out nine and walking four in 14 innings. The 29-year-old has appeared in parts of seven big-league seasons, suiting up for the Athletics, Royals, Pirates and Marlins, generally faring well when given opportunities to pitch in relief. He’ll provide the Giants with an extra bullpen arm.

NL Notes: Lyles, Aybar, Diaz, Giants

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The Rockies have optioned righty Jordan Lyles to Triple-A, per a club announcement. Things have not gone as hoped for the 25-year-old, who missed much of last season with a toe injury. Through four starts, he’s lasted only 17 2/3 innings while allowing 11 earned runs on 22 hits and 11 walks, with just eight strikeouts on his ledger. To be fair, Lyles has been hurt badly by a sub-50% strand rate, and he’s still hovering around 50/50 in terms of generating grounders on balls in play. But his swinging strike rate is sitting at a career-worst 5.2% despite a career-high 92.9 mph average four-seamer, and advanced metrics haven’t seen much cause for optimism. (Lyles owns at a 4.85 FIP, 5.50 xFIP, and 5.73 SIERA.) Colorado will hope that Lyles can turn things around at Triple-A; otherwise, he could be headed for a non-tender. It’s worth noting that the right-hander entered the season with 4.060 years of service to his credit, so he could fall shy of reaching his final year of arb eligibility if he doesn’t return for a sufficient stretch of major league action. Lyles is earning $2.98MM in 2016.

Here are a few more notes from the National League:

  • Shortstop Erick Aybar has been a huge disappointment early on for the Braves, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. While the Atlanta front office emphasized that it valued his inclusion in the Andrelton Simmons trade, Aybar has been one of the league’s least productive offensive players over the first several weeks of the season. Hopes were that the 32-year-old would help keep the team competitive and, perhaps, turn into a mid-season trade chip before hitting the market after the season. Instead, he’s followed up on a down year in 2015 with a remarkable -1.1 fWAR thus far, the worst mark in the majors by a full half-win.
  • Interestingly, it’s been quite the opposite tale at short for the Cardinals, who were noted as an organization with hypothetical trade interest in Aybar after losing Jhonny Peralta this spring. Instead, Aledmys Diaz has knocked the cover off of the ball, as ESPN.com’s Mark Saxon explains. Diaz is hitting at a ridiculous .480/.509/.860 clip through 53 plate appearances, and while his .477 BABIP will undoubtedly fall, he’s also recorded only three strikeouts on the year to go with three walks. And though he has recorded five errors at short, his metrics grade out at average (in an undeniably tiny sample). All told, Diaz has already racked up 1.4 fWAR, checking in at fourth in the big leagues by that measure of total value. Trevor Story may have occupied the early headlines, but Diaz has actually been much more productive overall and has perhaps shown a more sustainable, better-rounded offensive skillset.
  • Giants relievers Sergio Romo and George Kontos are both beginning to test out their injured elbows, with the latter slightly ahead of the former, as Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area tweets. Kontos is still at least two weeks away, and the club may get a better read on Romo once he attempts to throw for the first time later this week.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/25/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…

  • Lefty Phil Coke will head to Triple-A for the Yankees after his rights were acquired from the indy league Lancaster Barnstormers, Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News reports on Twitter. Coke, 33, has bounced around quite a bit in recent years and was most recently released by the Braves during spring camp. He appeared in the majors last year with the Cubs and Blue Jays, allowing eight earned runs with 12 strikeouts and five walks (two intentional) over 12 2/3 frames.
  • The Cubs have released right-hander Jonathan Pettibone from his minor league contract, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports. Chicago signed the former Phillies right-hander to a minor league pact back in February in hopes that he’d be able to return to health following a pair of shoulder surgeries in 2014 and 2015. Pettibone last appeared in the Majors in 2014, but it was 2013 that he looked the part of an intriguing long-term piece in the Phillies’ rotation. That year (his age-22 season), Pettibone logged 100 1/3 innings with a 4.04 ERA, 5.9 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 49.4 percent ground-ball rate in 18 starts at the Major League level.
  • The Giants have added veteran minor league catcher Steven Lerud on a minors deal, per Eddy. The 31-year-old began the year with the Mariners but didn’t make the big league roster and was released in early April. Lerud, 31, spent the 2015 campaign in the Nationals organization, batting .238/.320/.301 in 231 plate appearances (60 games). Lerud saw brief action for the Phillies in 2012-13, but he’s spent most of his career in the minors and is a lifetime .229/.347/.324 hitter in parts of four seasons at the Triple-A level.
  • Righty Loek Van Mil was released by the Twins, MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger tweets. The 31-year-old, who stands at 7’1, was bombed for 14 earned runs in just 5 1/3 innings at Triple-A this year, while issuing six walks against four strikeouts. The Netherlands native has yet to crack the majors, and has struggled in his time at the highest level of the minors. He has, however, been better historically at Double-A, where he owns a 3.01 ERA in 212 frames with 6.1 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9.
  • The Pirates have released outfielder Antoan Richardson from Triple-A, per a club announcement. Richardson, a speedy 32-year-old, was scuffling in limited duty. He’s been up in the majors before as a late-season option, recording six steals despite taking only 21 plate appearances. In 785 career plate appearances at the Triple-A level, Richardson owns a .261/.377/.347 slash and has 56 steals while being caught only three times.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/22/16

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league…

  • The Giants have selected the contract of third baseman Conor Gillaspie from Triple-A Sacramento and optioned outfielder Mac Williamson to clear a spot on the 25-man roster, the club announced. To clear a space on the 40-man roster, San Fransicso has transferred utility man Ehire Adrianza to the 60-day disabled list. Gillaspie, 28, was originally a supplemental-round draft pick of the Giants in 2008 and made his big league debut in a Giants uniform. He spent parts of three seasons with the Giants before being traded to the White Sox in 2013. The left-handed-hitting Gillaspie spent two and a half seasons as the primary third baseman for the White Sox and batted .260/.314/.397, largely in a platoon capacity. But he was largely ineffective at the plate last year and wound up returning to the Giants on a minor league deal this winter.

Earlier Moves

  • The Phillies have outrighted left-hander James Russell after he cleared waivers, the club announced. Philadelphia designated Russell for assignment two days ago and selected the contract of fellow veteran Andrew Bailey. Russell struggled greatly with the Phils this season, allowing nine runs with four strikeouts against five walks in 4 1/3 innings. Because of his service time (five year, 122 days), Russell will have the right to reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency. The longtime Cubs reliever had a career 4.09 ERA with 6.5 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9 in 334 2/3 inning and has held lefties to a .242 average and .289 OBP, though the .410 slugging he’s yielded leaves something to be desired.

NL West Notes: Lincecum, Van Slyke, Story, Heston

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Free-agent right-hander Tim Lincecum has built up his endurance to the point where he’s throwing 70 pitches on the time frame of a five-man rotation, reports MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (links to Twitter). Lincecum recently threw at the Giants’ Spring Training complex in Arizona, Heyman notes, adding that Lincecum has also pitched “a few other places.” That bit of into shouldn’t necessarily be construed as a workout for the Giants, as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that Lincecum has been granted use of the Giants’ facility more as a courtesy than anything else. Heyman notes that a Lincecum showcase is “expected soon,” though it should be noted that that’s been the steady refrain out of the Lincecum camp for the better part of three months. Lincecum is one of the more intriguing unsigned names in baseball, but there’s no way of truly classifying a front-runner to sign him and no way of knowing when he’s likely to get back onto a big league mound until he auditions for teams. For now, Schulman notes, Lincecum’s representatives are going out of their way to keep scouts away from his throwing sessions until he’s ready for that showcase.

More from the NL West…

  • Dodgers outfielder Scott Van Slyke won’t be cleared for baseball activities until next week, tweets Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times, and he could miss as much as another month with the back problem that has kept him from game action since April 10. Van Slyke hit the DL a bit more than a week ago after making just 10 plate appearances this season. He’s the latest in a slew of Dodgers outfielders to be shelved, as both Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford are on the DL as well. (Crawford, though, was sent on a minor league rehab assignment today.)
  • In light of Trevor Story’s outstanding start to the season, Dave Cameron of Fangraphs explores the legitimacy of his power using exit velocity and launch angle. Cameron and Baseball Prospectus’ Russell Carleton have pointed out that while bottom-line results in this type of a sample size are often mirages, batted ball trends such as these take less time to stabilize. Story leads the league in balls hit at 105+ mph with a launch angle of greater than 20 degrees, and while he’s not likely to continue to hit them at such a prolific rate, Cameron writes that it’s unlikely that Story has lucked his way into this type of company on the leaderboards. Acknowledging Story’s enormous strikeout rate and likely dip in overall production, Cameron concludes that while this overall type of production won’t continue, there’s a case to be made that Story’s power is realer than some skeptics believe.
  • The Giants optioned right-hander Chris Heston to Triple-A yesterday, and Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News spoke to manager Bruce Bochy about the difficulty of the move for Heston, who of course tossed a no-hitter for the Giants last season. Heston went from the 2015 rotation to a long relief role with San Francisco this season, and the Giants will hope that stint in the Triple-A rotation can help get his mechanics back on track. “It’s never easy, making a move like this,” said Bochy. “The best thing is for Chris to get his groove back.” Baggarly notes that part of the reason for stretching Heston out is also to shield the Giants in case of a sudden need in the rotation. It’s worth noting that Matt Cain and Jake Peavy have each struggled tremendously in their first three starts of the season.

George Kontos Headed To DL With Flexor Strain

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7:20pm: Tests have revealed that there’s no damage to Kontos’ ulnar collateral ligament, tweets Shea’s colleague, Hank Schulman. Furthermore, Kontos tells Schulman (link) that he’s hopeful of returning in just two weeks, calling his injury “mild tendinitis” as opposed to Bochy’s previousy stated flexor strain. Kontos was officially placed on the disabled list this afternoon.

8:04am: Giants righty George Kontos is destined for a trip to the DL after suffering a flexor strain in his right elbow, as John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. He’ll join pen mate Sergio Romo in rehabbing from the same injury.

Kontos, 30, has quietly delivered excellent results in a middle relief role for San Francisco. He was leaned on heavily early in 2016, leading all MLB relievers with eight appearances. Over his 5 2/3 innings, Kontos has allowed just one earned run on five hits and two walks while striking out four opposing batters.

Skipper Bruce Bochy says that the roots of the injury trace to the spring, when Kontos experienced some elbow discomfort. He was obviously able to battle through, but now is set for at least a 15-day absence. Indications are that Kontos will not be able to throw for at least a week, but it remains unclear precisely how long he’ll be out. Generally, flexor strains require fairly lengthy absences.

Even after dipping into their pitching depth to account for Romo’s absence — Derek Law received the call-up — the Giants have a host of available arms. 40-man relievers at the Triple-A level include righty Mike Broadway and lefty Steven Okert. The club could conceivably turn to a young starter as well, with Clayton Blackburn, Ty Blach, and Chris Stratton all on optional assignment to the Giants’ top affiliate.

NL West Notes: Reyes, Padres, Norris, Giants

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Here’s the latest from around the NL West…

  • There’s a good chance Jose Reyes has played his last game for the Rockies, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes as part of a reader mailbag piece.  Saunders postulates that the team will wait until Reyes completes his probable suspension under MLB’s domestic violence policy and then release him outright.  The suspension will erase some of the $46.25MM still owed to Reyes through the 2017 season (counting the $4MM buyout of his club option for 2018) and Saunders believes the Rockies will simply then eat the rest of the money in order to sever ties with the troubled shortstop.
  • Of the veteran Padres most often cited in trade rumors, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune opines that catcher Derek Norris is the most likely to be dealt.  Following Norris are, in order, Andrew Cashner, Tyson Ross, James Shields and Matt Kemp.  Sanders covers several other Padres topics as part of this online chat with Union-Tribune readers.
  • With Mac Williamson not getting regular at-bats while sitting on the Giants bench, Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle thinks the team could make another roster move this week to recall a shortstop and more directly fill the spot of injured infielder Ehire Adrianza.  The Giants didn’t want to be “hasty” with a 40-man roster spot to address Adrianza’s loss, though if Ian Gardeck is shifted to the 60-man DL, the team could add an experienced shortstop like Hak-Ju Lee and send Williamson back to everyday duty at Triple-A.
  • The Diamondbacks could be in for a few days’ worth of roster shuffles after using nine pitchers in Saturday’s 14-inning loss to the Padres, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes.  “It could be one of those things where this whole week is flip-flopping people.  [We] might have to go down to 12 position players, too, at some point,” manager Chip Hale said.  Shelby Miller had to leave Saturday’s start after just 1 2/3 innings under odd circumstances, as he twice banged his throwing hand against the mound and scraped his knuckles after extending his follow-through on pitches.  The D’Backs entered Sunday’s action with a league-high 47 1/3 bullpen innings, though Patrick Corbin gave the staff some breathing room by tossing 6 2/3 frames in today’s win.

Giants Place Ehire Adrianza On DL, Recall Mac Williamson

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7:15pm: Williamson will get the call, Pavlovic tweets. The well-regarded 25-year-old corner outfielder struggled in a late-season call-up last year but is off to a strong start at Triple-A.

6:14pm: Giants infielder Ehire Adrianza has been diagnosed with a fractured left foot, Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area reports on Twitter. He’s expected to miss at least six weeks of action and will obviously require a DL stint.

San Francisco has dealt with a few injury issues in the early going, and Adrianza will join reliever Sergio Romo on the shelf for reasonably significant stretches of time. The 26-year-old reserve was off to a nice start in limited action, though obviously he functions as a utilityman behind a highly-talented starting infield unit. Over parts of four seasons of MLB action, Adrianza owns a .214/.293/.311 slash in just 272 plate appearances, but obviously he’s valued more for his glove than his bat.

Up-the-middle Giants regulars Brandon Crawford and Joe Panik are both dealing with seemingly-minor hip issues, and there doesn’t appear to be much cause for concern so long as they can manage those matters with a bit of rest. The loss of Adrianza certainly complicates things, but Kelby Tomlinson remains on hand and is capable of playing short, second, or third.

Fill-in possibilities include minor league free agents Grant Green, Conor Gillaspie, Ramiro Pena, and Hak-Ju Lee, with the latter two representing more versatile defensive options, but each of those players would require a 40-man roster spot. Top prospect Christian Arroyo is a theoretical candidate as well, but calling him up would mean putting him on the 40-man and starting his service clock, and the 20-year-old has only just reached the Double-A level for the first time this season. Alternatively, the Giants could add another arm or go with a 40-man outfielder such as Mac Williamson or Jarrett Parker, which Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle suggests is the likelier outcome. (Twitter link.)

Sergio Romo Headed To DL With Flexor Strain

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Giants reliever Sergio Romo will be placed on the 15-day DL after being diagnosed with a flexor strain in his right elbow, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to report on Twitter. Romo will not even resume throwing for two weeks, at which time he’ll be reevaluated before being cleared, so he’ll almost certainly be out longer than the minimum.

Romo had been generating typically strong results in his first several outings, but there were some warnings signs. His swinging strike rate is down quite a bit, and Romo has only recorded one strikeout in four appearances. Of greater concern, he has lost around 1.5 to 2 miles per hour on all of his offerings as against his 2015 average velocities.

It’s not clear at this point how long of an absence is to be expected, but as Alex Pavlovic of CSNBayArea.com notes, a similar malady cost righty Matt Cain a full three months last season. Of course, Cain had to rebuild his pitch count in a way that Romo won’t need to, but that experience shows the potential that this kind of injury has. Fellow reliever Carson Smith of the Red Sox is still working back from his own version of the impairment suffered over three weeks ago.

San Francisco will surely also try to avoid risking further injury by rushing a return. Certainly, it’s far from uncharted territory, and there are clear risks. Doug Fister suffered a velocity decline after his return from a flexor strain last year, while Cliff Lee was shelved for the year in 2014 after he suffered a flexor tear upon his return from a two-month DL stint for a strain.

It appears that Cory Gearrin will move up the depth charts into a more prominent set-up role in Romo’s stead. Of course, the club can also turn to high-powered righty Hunter Strickland in front of closer Santiago Casilla, so there’s sufficient depth on hand for the time being. It’s not yet clear which minor leaguer will be summoned to occupy Romo’s active roster spot, but San Francisco appears to be weighing a variety of options.

Giants, Alex Torres Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Giants have agreed to a deal with left-handed reliever Alex Torres, reports Michael Mayer of Metsmerized Online (Twitter link). It’s a minor league contract, MLBTR has learned.

Torres, 28, spent the 2015 campaign with the Mets after coming over from the Padres in a Spring Training trade. He worked to a 3.15 ERA and struck out 35 batters in 34 1/3 innings of work, but he also averaged 6.8 walks per nine innings and was largely ineffective against left-handed batters, who hit .268/.406/.393 against Torres in 69 plate appearances. Despite a strong ERA, Torres was designated for assignment on Aug. 7 when the Mets acquired Eric O’Flaherty and subsequently outrighted to Triple-A Las Vegas. This offseason, he signed a minor league deal with the Braves, but he didn’t make the club after allowing four earned runs on six hits and five walks with seven strikeouts in eight spring innings.

The 2015 campaign marked the second straight season in which Torres had struggled considerably more against left-handed opponents than against righties, but he was outstanding against both in 2013 with the Rays. The Giants will hope that Torres can rediscover that form, though for the time being he’ll serve as a depth piece in the upper minors. Javier Lopez and Josh Osich are the club’s primary left-handed relievers. Those are the only two left-handed relievers on the club’s 40-man roster, though lefty Ty Blach is in the Triple-A rotation and could conceivably be an option as well.

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