NL West Notes: Kershaw, Blanco, Rockies
Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw tossed a 40-pitch bullpen session today and is slated to throw a 60-pitch simulated game against live hitters later this week, writes J.P. Hoornstra of the L.A. News Group. There was talk of Kershaw making a pair of rehab starts, manager Dave Roberts tells Hoornstra, but that number has been dropped to one. Kershaw could head out on a minor league rehab assignment in the next week or two, Hoornstra writes. Kershaw himself said that he felt comfortable between simulated innings — a positive step from where he was prior to his placement on the DL. Hoornstra’s piece includes a series of video clips of Kershaw discussing his health and rehab, for those who wish to hear a first-hand account of his progress.
More from the NL West…
- The Giants announced today that outfielder Gregor Blanco has been placed on the 15-day disabled list due to an impingement in his right shoulder. Blanco tells Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that he initially injured his shoulder all the way back in May, but it’s become so painful that it’s even impacting his ability to run (links to Twitter). The second half of the season has been a tremendous struggle for Blanco, who is hitting just .130/.203/.148 in 59 plate appearances since the All-Star break.
- In his latest Rockies mailbag, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post addresses the reasons behind the Rockies’ decision to hang onto trade candidates Boone Logan and Jorge De La Rosa. There was plenty of interest in Logan, per Saunders, but GM Jeff Bridich elected to hold onto the southpaw because the Rockies were still within arm’s reach of the playoffs and were playing quite well. Saunders adds that he heard very little in the way of interest in De La Rosa, who has performed admirably since returning to the rotation earlier this summer. The 35-year-old De La Rosa has a 3.56 ERA over his past 13 starts (78 1/3 innings) and, like Logan, is a free agent at season’s end. Both left-handers are logical trade candidates over the final eight days of the month, now that the Rockies are out of the playoff picture.
Brian Sabean: Giants Have Discussed Adding Carlos Gomez
The Giants have had internal discussions about pursuing newly-minted free agent outfielder Carlos Gomez, president of baseball operations Brian Sabean tells Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News. Sabean ultimately says he’s not sure whether San Francisco will put in an offer, but made clear that Gomez is “in play” as a target. Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweeted earlier that the Giants were a possible landing spot, though Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News notes on Twitter that the club is still “unconvinced” that Gomez would make for a useful acquisition.
Adding an outfielder doesn’t seem like a necessity for the Giants, who have numerous options on their depth chart. On the other hand, some cracks are showing as the club fades in the standings. Though Angel Pagan has found the fountain of youth, Hunter Pence has struggled since returning from the DL, Denard Span hasn’t hit as much as hoped, and Gregor Blanco is well off of his recent productivity. Kelby Tomlinson provides another option, and youngsters Jarrett Parker and Mac Williamson have both shown promise, but the overall unit has lacked punch of late and Williamson is shelved with a shoulder issue.
That’s a fairly crowded mix, and Gomez wouldn’t offer a clear upgrade given the recent struggles that led to his release by the Astros. It’s certainly possible to imagine him sharing time in center with Span, though, as Gomez remains a useful up-the-middle defender despite his offensive fall-off. Plus, he won’t cost anything beyond the league minimum and the impending roster expansion would largely alleviate any pressures in that regard (apart from clearing a 40-man spot).
Whether or not Gomez is a viable option seemingly depends upon his own motivations as much as those of the Giants. Sabean noted that the team needs to know whether the veteran would be willing to possibly accept a part-time role. Presumably, San Francisco isn’t interested in promising regular playing time to a player who carries a sub-.600 OPS in his age-30 season. Still though, Gomez’s lofty established ceiling remains a tantalizing prospect for teams that may think they can help him find his groove.
Injury Notes: McCullers, Cain, Gray, Ross, Soto
The Astros still don’t know whether they can expect top young righty Lance McCullers Jr. to return this season from his elbow woes, as MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart reports on Twitter. “We won’t know until he gets evaluated in a week,” said manager A.J. Hinch. “It’s all guess work at this point.” After climbing back from a rough start to the year, Houston now sits just one game over .500 and is in danger of falling out of contention. The 22-year-old McCullers owns a 3.22 ERA — matching his results from a season ago — and is sorely missed.
Here are some more notable pieces of information on the injury front:
- Giants righty Matt Cain is headed to the DL with a lower back strain, as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to tweet. San Francisco activated righty Cory Gearrin from his own DL stint in a concurrent move, which does at least bolster the pen. It seems possible that veteran righty Jake Peavy could slide back into the rotation in place of Cain, who hasn’t completed six innings in a start since May 21st and was tagged for 11 earned runs over his last two outings.
- While it’s still far from a sure thing, the Athletics may yet welcome back righty Sonny Gray this year, manager Bob Melvin said yesterday. As Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets, the 26-year-old staff ace is beginning plyometric workouts and is feeling better. He recently hit the disabled list with a forearm strain and has struggled all year long, compiling an uncharacteristic 5.74 ERA in 116 innings of work.
- Tyson Ross has made it through a 30-pitch live BP session with added pen work, giving some hope that he’ll return for the Padres late this year, per Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). Still, the veteran righty will need to throw another such session before a rehab stint can be considered as he tries to return from shoulder troubles. With just one outing on his record for the season, Ross won’t command much if any raise on his $9.625MM arbitration salary in his final year of eligibility, but it will surely be difficult for the Pads to trade him over the winter if he can’t return to full health by the end of the year. Ross may yet feature as a spring or mid-season trade candidate next season, as he’ll qualify for free agency after the 2017 campaign.
- The Angels placed catcher Geovany Soto on the 15-day DL with knee inflammation, as Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Soto had appeared to be a plausible August trade candidate, but his knee surgery earlier this year seems to have lingered. The 33-year-old carries a useful .269/.321/.487 slash on the year, though he has compiled that in only 86 plate appearances. He is set to return to the open market at season’s end.
Giants, Joe Nathan Agree To Minor League Deal
Right-hander Joe Nathan last donned a Giants uniform in 2003, but it looks like he’ll have the chance to do so again in the near future, as Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports that Nathan is set to sign a minor league pact with San Francisco (Twitter link). The deal is still pending a physical, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Originally selected by the Giants in the sixth round of the 1995 draft, Nathan broke into the Majors with the Giants in 1999 and settled in as a strong late-inning relief option with a breakout season in 2003. That campaign preceded a trade that sent Nathan, Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser to the Twins in exchange for A.J. Pierzynski, after which Nathan went on to establish himself as one of the most successful closers in recent history. At 41 years of age and with a recent Tommy John surgery under his belt, Nathan is no lock to perform like he did in his peak years with the Twins and Rangers, but he looked solid during a brief stint with the Cubs in 2016 and will give manager Bruce Bochy some much-needed depth in his bullpen, either later this month or perhaps when rosters expand in September. Schulman tweets that the Giants may not wait until Sept. 1 to bring Nathan up if he is throwing well.
Current closer Santiago Casilla has had some struggles since the All-Star break, most recently blowing a two-run lead against the Orioles by serving up a three-run homer to Jonathan Schoop over the weekend. Nathan could eventually join Hunter Strickland, Derek Law, Sergio Romo and George Kontos as another right-handed option for Bochy to deploy in the final weeks of a playoff push. The six-time All-Star allowed four runs on three hits and five walks with nine strikeouts in 9 1/3 innings on a minor league rehab assignment earlier this summer and fired a pair of scoreless innings for the Cubs (two hits, two walks, four strikeouts) before being designated for assignment and subsequently released.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/16/16
Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…
- Veteran outfielder Chris Denorfia has been released from his minor league contract with the Giants, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). Denorfia, 36, signed with San Francisco back in early June and batted .269/.329/.408 in 143 plate appearances across two levels (most of the time spent in Triple-A) before his release. He’s a veteran of 10 big league seasons and is a career .272/.330/.392 hitter at the Major League level.
- The Dodgers released infielder/outfielder Zach Walters following his DFA on Sunday, reports J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group (Twitter link). Walters received just five big league plate appearances with the Dodgers this season but slashed a respectable .276/.326/.444 in 366 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. Walters has plenty of pop, as evidenced by his 10 big league homers in just 181 plate appearances, but he’s also struck out in 36 percent of his trips to the plate as a Major Leaguer. Still, as a player with power and experience at shortstop, second base, third base and in the outfield, the 26-year-old switch-hitter figures to draw interest elsewhere.
- Right-hander Jeff Ferrell, who was designated for assignment by the Tigers last week, was released by Detroit yesterday, tweets Evan Woodbery of MLive.com. The 25-year-old entered the season as Detroit’s No. 21 prospect, per Baseball America, but he hasn’t pitched since May due to injury. Last season, Ferrell notched a 2.58 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 38 1/3 innings at the Double-A level.
- Outfielder Darin Mastroianni has signed a minor league contract with the Rangers, reports Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (via Twitter). Mastroianni, 30, had a nice season as a fourth outfielder for the Twins back in 2012 but battled an ankle injury the following season and ultimately was designated for assignment in 2014. He’s bounced around the league on a number of waiver claims minor league deals since that time, making brief MLB appearances with the Blue Jays and with the Twins (in a second stint). The fleet-footed Mastroianni is a career .271/.341/.349 with 87 steals in 108 tries across 369 games.
- The Marlins released infielder Pedro Ciriaco, per Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. Miami acquired Ciriaco from the Rangers back on July 8 in exchange for lefty Eric Jokisch (who had been designated for assignment), but he hit just .221/.239/.250 in 68 plate appearances with Triple-A New Orleans. The versatile 30-year-old has plenty of big league experience under his belt, having compiled a .268/.294/.368 slash in 649 plate appearances across 272 Major League games from 2010-15.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/14/16
The latest minor moves from around baseball:
- The Diamondbacks have released 2014 third-round outfielder Matt Railey, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). Railey batted just .136/.246/.136 without an extra-base hit in 169 A-ball plate appearances this year before his release. In his time with the D-backs organization, Railey hit .205/.324/.311 in 225 PAs. He also served a 50-game suspension last year after testing positive for an amphetamine.
- Twins left-hander Andrew Albers has cleared waivers after his Friday designation for assignment and been optioned to Triple-A Rochester, per Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press (Twitter link). Albers has already thrown 112 2/3 innings this year in Rochester, where he has compiled a 3.51 ERA, 5.8 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9. All six frames Albers has tossed for the Twins this season came in relief Thursday, when he yielded three earned runs on 11 hits in a blowout loss to Houston.
- The Dodgers have released catcher Spencer Navin, tweets J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group. Navin had been a member of the organization since it selected him in the 11th round of the 2013 draft. The 24-year-old hasn’t yet gotten past the High-A level and owns a .214/.324/.282 batting line in 524 plate appearances across all levels.
- The Giants have signed right-hander Connor Overton to a minor league contract. Overton previously spent time in the minors with the Marlins, who chose him in the 15th round of the 2014 draft, and the Nationals. Overton wasn’t particularly successful with either organization, though, as he posted a combined 6.19 ERA, 7.4 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 across 52 1/3 innings. The 23-year-old opened 2016 with Sioux City of the American Association, an independent league, and threw 36 2/3 frames and recorded a 1.96 ERA, 11.0 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9, leading to his deal with the Giants.
AL East Notes: Yankees, Red Sox, Girardi, Fox
The Yankees‘ aggressive approach to their rebuild contrasts with the path the Red Sox once took, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal writes. This summer, the Yankees have traded veterans and acquired prospects in return, even a number of prospects who aren’t nearly ready for the big leagues. The Red Sox were in a similar position two years ago but took a different approach, dealing Jon Lester for Yoenis Cespedes (who they then sent to the Tigers for Rick Porcello) and John Lackey for veterans Allen Craig and Joe Kelly. (They did deal Andrew Miller for a prospect, Eduardo Rodriguez.) Of course, the Red Sox had a stronger core of young talent than the Yankees did at the time of each team’s series of trades — the Sox’ recent resurgence is due in large part to young talents like Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley who were already in their system. Here’s more from the AL East.
- Joe Girardi’s experience with the 2006 Marlins will be helpful in dealing with the Yankees’ increasingly young roster, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Girardi won the NL Manager of the Year award in ’06 for his work with very young players like Miguel Cabrera, Hanley Ramirez, Josh Johnson, Dontrelle Willis, Anibal Sanchez and Jeremy Hermida. The Yankees recently jettisoned a series of veterans and now have youngsters like Tyler Austin, Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Luis Severino and Luis Cessa on their roster, and they’ll likely add more young talents, such as Clint Frazier, over the next year or so. (Austin and Judge, by the way, each homered in their first big-league plate appearances today.) Girardi says he doesn’t mind having so many young players on the roster together. “For young players, I think it is probably easier to do it in a group,” he says. “Many times they have been through struggles together before in the minors. More important, when one young player struggles in the majors, he can feel alone and singled out among veterans.”
- The Rays and Giants have resolved their issue concerning infield prospect Lucius Fox‘s injury status, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. The Rays acquired Fox two weeks ago in the Matt Moore deal, but Fox ended up having a bone bruise in his foot that would cost him the rest of the minor league season. The Rays had initially hoped to receive additional compensation from the Giants as a result, but the two sides have now agreed that the Rays will not receive such compensation, since Fox’s foot issue had not yet been determined to be an injury.
NL News & Rumors: CarGo, Utley, Rizzo, Roark, Giants
Here’s the latest from the senior circuit…
- Carlos Gonzalez was removed from the second inning of tonight’s game due to left ankle inflammation, as noted by several reporters (including MLB.com’s Thomas Harding). The Rockies star sprained that same ankle last Wednesday and has missed two of Colorado’s four games in the interim. It’s a situation worth monitoring given Gonzalez’s checkered injury history, not to mention the Rockies’ attempt to stay afloat in the NL wild card race. Losing Gonzalez for any extended amount of time is an obvious blow for the Rox, naturally, though the club did get some outfield reinforcements when Gerardo Parra was activated off the DL today.
- Chase Utley told reporters, including Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times (Twitter link), that he intends to play in the 2017 season. Utley, who turns 38 in December, will be a free agent at season’s end and was still putting up above-average offensive numbers as recently as 2014. He has somewhat rebounded (.250/.327/.372 with seven homers in 395 PA) this season after a very rough 2015, and he is still providing solid glovework at second base. Utley could have a tough time matching the one-year, $7MM contract he got from the Dodgers last winter, though teams will certainly take a look at a respected veteran with Utley’s excellent career track record.
- The trade that brought Tanner Roark to the Nationals may be the best of GM Mike Rizzo’s career with the club, as MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman gives his ranking of Rizzo’s top 10 trades. Roark and Ryan Tatusko were acquired in a July 2010 deadline deal that sent Cristian Guzman to the Rangers, and Guzman’s 15 games with Texas ended up being the last of his career. Roark wasn’t a heralded prospect at the time (Tatusko was actually a better-regarded arm) but the right-hander has blossomed into a major contributor on Washington’s staff.
- The Giants aren’t likely to add any major pieces during the August waiver trade period, Grant Brisbee of the McCovey Chronicles opines. Exceptions could be made in the case of injury or if the Giants unexpectedly end up with a player they claimed only as a blocking maneuver (a la their pickup of Cody Ross in 2010), though Brisbee notes that there are seemingly few cost-effective players available at San Francisco’s positions of need who would actually be upgrades.
Rays May Seek Compensation For Lucius Fox Injury
After weeks of build-up, the Rays shipped lefty Matt Moore to the Giants at the trade deadline for a package that included young infield prospect Lucius Fox. As it turns out, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, Fox was dinged up at the time of the trade — which may lead Tampa Bay to seek added compensation from their trade partner.
The 19-year-old is said to have been playing through a bruised foot that was not disclosed to the Rays. While not a significant problem, it may prevent Fox from returning to action before the end of the minor league campaign. That wouldn’t seem to be a major long-term issue, but could take away some valuable developmental opportunities heading into the offseason.
The other two pieces of the pact — infielder Matt Duffy and minor league righty Michael Santos — were both on the DL at the time of the deal, with known injuries. But Fox’s malady was apparently not accounted for in striking the agreement.
It’s important to note that there’s no suggestion that Fox would be sent back to the Giants, who only signed him last summer; to the contrary, Topkin says that’s not on the table. For the Rays to achieve any recompense, they’ll have to “work through MLB,” according to the report.
Fox, a switch-hitting Bahamian shortstop, has not been overly impressive in game action in his brief professional career. He owns only a .207/.305/.277 slash over 331 plate appearances in the Sally League. That didn’t stop the Rays from ascribing rather significant value to him, though, and he certainly comes with an impressive prospect pedigree after receiving a $6MM bonus last year as an amateur.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/5/16
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- The Indians announced that outfielder Joey Butler has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A. Butler, 30, hasn’t seen the majors this year after posting a useful .276/.326/.416 batting line in 276 plate appearances last year for the Rays. Though he once seemingly represented a corner outfield option for Cleveland this year, he hadn’t yet earned a promotion and now loses his 40-man spot after running up a .238/.306/.360 slash at the highest level of the minors — well off of his .841 career OPS in extensive Triple-A action.
- Likewise, Giants infielder Ramiro Pena has cleared waivers and is ticketed for Triple-A, Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area tweets. The 31-year-old did excellent fill-in work for San Francisco, slashing .299/.330/.425 in his 91 plate appearances. But with the Giants welcoming back several players from the DL and re-aligning their infield mix, he was without a spot. Pena is a handy defender — he played at short, second, and third this year alone — but typically isn’t quite as productive at the plate as he has been in 2016. He carries a .636 OPS in his 701 trips to the plate as a big leaguer, though he has been swinging a good stick at Triple-A in each of the last two years.