Mariners Move Felix Hernandez To The Bullpen
Longtime Mariners rotation fixture Felix Hernandez has lost his job in the starting five, manager Scott Servais told reporters (including MLB.com’s Greg Johns) after last night’s game. Hernandez will be moved to the bullpen, and while Servais left open the possibility that the former ace could become a starter again this season, the focus is clearly on Hernandez getting back any of his old form.
The decision comes on the heels of one of the worst outings of Hernandez’s 14-year career; the right-hander allowed 11 runs (seven earned) over six innings against the Rangers last Tuesday. That start underlined just what a rough season it has been for Hernandez, who has a 5.73 ERA, 7.19 K/9, 2.15 K/BB rate, and a hefty 1.5 HR/9 in 124 innings. Advanced metrics (5.03 FIP, 4.72 xFIP, 4.66 SIERA) paint only a slightly better picture of his performance this year, while Hernandez’s 39.5% hard-hit ball rate is by far the highest of his career and well beyond his 27.7% career average.
Hernandez is a completely unknown quantity as a relief pitcher, as he has started all 398 of his career Major League games, and last appeared as a reliever when he was a 19-year-old phenom pitching at the Triple-A level in 2005. It also remains to be seen how he’ll adjust to the role change on an emotional level — Hernandez simply told reporters “I’ve got nothing to say,” when asked to comment yesterday.
After several years as one of the game’s best and more durable pitchers, Hernandez’s effectiveness began to dip in 2015, and injuries limited him to just 240 total innings and 1.4 fWAR in 2016-17. Aside from a brief DL stint for back soreness in July, health doesn’t seem to be the problem for Hernandez this year, as he simply may have hit a wall at age 32 after all these years and all those innings (an average of 218 IP per season from 2006-15).
Unfortunately for Hernandez and the Mariners, the bulk of the veteran righty’s downturn has mostly coincided with the length of the seven-year, $175MM extension he signed prior to the 2013 season. Hernandez is still owed $29MM in 2019, a number that now looks like a sunk cost for the team. Between Hernandez, Robinson Cano, Kyle Seager, Dee Gordon, and Mike Leake, Seattle has over $100MM in salary committed next season towards five players who have combined for just 5.5 fWAR in 2018 (with the slight caveat of Cano’s 80-game absence due to a PED suspension).
With Hernandez now in the pen, that leaves the quartet of James Paxton, Leake, Marco Gonzales, and Wade LeBlanc as Seattle’s top four starters. Swingman Erasmo Ramirez has spent much of the season on the DL and is still rehabbing, so Casey Lawrence, Christian Bergman, or Robert Whalen could step in as the fifth starter on at least a temporary basis. Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto is no stranger to the trade market, so with the M’s still battling in the wild card race, the team can’t be counted out to make a move for a starter, if they can work out a deal through the August waiver period.
Mariners Notes: Felix, Erasmo, Tuivailala, Scouts
Once among the game’s elite pitchers, former Mariners ace Felix Hernandez has reached a point where he’s so ineffective that he may not continue to keep his spot in the team’s rotation. Hernandez allowed 11 runs (seven earned) on eight hits, including three home runs, in six innings in a loss to lowly Texas on Tuesday, and after the game, manager Scott Servais wasn’t willing to guarantee the 32-year-old would make his scheduled start Sunday in Houston. “We’ll see,” Servais said (via ESPN.com). “You have to take a look at where we’re at going forward here. The next time that spot [in the rotation] comes around, we’ll be over in Houston. They’ve also got a good club.” Hernandez, who’s in the penultimate guaranteed season of a seven-year, $175MM contract, has thrown 124 innings (23 starts) in 2018 and logged a career-worst ERA (5.73), FIP (5.03) and xFIP (4.71).
More from Seattle, which is two games out of a wild-card spot and trying to break a 16-year playoff drought…
- While the Mariners don’t seem sure if Hernandez will make his next start, it’s fair to say fellow righty Erasmo Ramirez won’t serve as an immediate replacement. Ramirez, who has missed most of the season with lat and shoulder injuries, isn’t quite ready to return, Servais told Greg Johns of MLB.com and other reporters. According to Servais, Ramirez “wasn’t that sharp” and “was off a little mechanically” in his latest Triple-A rehab outing Sunday, in which he gave up four runs (three earned) in as many innings. With Ramirez still not ready to rejoin the club, it could turn to Robert Whalen, Casey Lawrence or Christian Bergman if it doesn’t want to start Hernandez against the Astros, Johns notes.
- Reliever Sam Tuivailala left his outing Wednesday with a strained right Achilles tendon, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times was among those to tweet. There’s no word on how much time Tuivailala will miss, but it’s fair to expect a lengthy absence in this case. The Mariners just acquired the 25-year-old from the Cardinals on July 27, when they dealt minor league righty Seth Elledge to St. Louis in a one-for-one swap. Since then, Tuivailala has thrown 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball in Seattle, which – combined with his Cardinals numbers – gives him a 3.47 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 32 frames this year. [Update: Tuivailala is in a walking boot and will require a DL stint, Divish tweets.]
- One more Mariners note: The club has laid off 10 scouts – five on the amateur side, five in the professional ranks – Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets.
Quick Hits: Padres, Cano, Relievers
Ronnie Freeman came close to his first stint on a Major League roster today, as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle details how the Giants minor leaguer was on hand this weekend in case Buster Posey had to be placed on the seven-day concussion DL. Posey left Friday’s game after taking a foul ball off his catcher’s mask, but passed his tests and returned to the lineup today as a first baseman. This left Freeman watching the Giants play from the comforts of the clubhouse, as he wasn’t officially allowed to the join the team in the dugout since he was never selected for the roster. Freeman, a fifth-rounder in the 2012 draft, had spent his entire pro career in the Diamondbacks’ organization before signing with the Giants last spring, and he’ll have to wait at least a bit longer before he makes his proper big league debut.
Here’s more from around the baseball world…
- The Padres let Tyson Ross and Jordan Lyles respectively go to the Cardinals and Brewers on trade waivers earlier today, moves that San Diego general manager A.J. Preller told reporters (including The Athletic’s Dennis Lin) were made to create more room for up-and-coming pitchers on the Padres’ roster. “From our standpoint, it’s an eye toward next year and turning the page right now to give us a head start at looking at some guys we think could be in the bigs with us next year,” Preller said. Right-hander Trey Wingenter had his contract from Triple-A El Paso today, and rookie Brett Kennedy is slated to make his MLB debut in a start on Wednesday. Lin’s piece names some other Padres minor leaguers that could debut between now and season’s end, with the team also taking future roster organization and 40-man protections into consideration given the glut of young talent in San Diego’s system.
- Robinson Cano has been working out as a third baseman in his preparations to return from his PED suspension, which Mariners manager Scott Servais tells reporters (including the Tacoma News Tribune’s TJ Cotterill) is indicative of how Cano’s “just wants to help any way he can. If that means giving Kyle [Seager] a day off at third, or helping at first base, playing a game at second base, he’s going to play wherever we need him to play.” Cano has only played 16 games at third base in his pro career, and none since 2005 when he was in the Yankees’ minor league system. With Dee Gordon stepping in at second base and Nelson Cruz locked into DH duties, the assumption was that Cano would mostly take time away from first baseman Ryon Healy, who has struggled to consistently hit in his first season in Seattle. Seager, however, is actually going through a rougher season at the plate, hitting only .231/.280/.421 with 18 homers (including two today) over 447 plate appearances.
- More position players than ever are being called on for emergency mop-up work as relief pitchers, with ESPN.com’s Buster Olney calculating that a record 39 players have made 49 appearances out of the pen this year. With the trend showing no signs of slowing down, Olney wonders if the MLBPA should make a point of exploring the issue in the next round of collective bargaining agreement talks, given the additional risks faced by players in the unfamiliar role of pitcher.
Injury Updates: Springer, Altuve, Sale, Devers, Erasmo
The latest on some injury situations from around baseball…
- George Springer left today’s game in the third inning with what the Astros described as “left thumb discomfort.” Springer suffered the injury while sliding into second base on an attempted steal, with manger A.J. Hinch telling MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart (Twitter video link) and other reporters that Springer’s thumb was clipped by the glove of Dodgers shortstop Chris Taylor during the tag. The severity of the problem isn’t yet known, though McTaggart tweets that Springer’s x-rays were negative. Jake Marisnick took Springer’s spot in the lineup, and one would think Marisnick or youngsters Kyle Tucker or Derek Fisher would get the bulk of playing time if Springer had to miss significant time. Losing Springer would be another blow to a Houston team that has suddenly been bit by the injury bug, as such key figures as Lance McCullers Jr., Chris Devenski, and (most of all) Jose Altuve have all been placed on the DL within the last two weeks.
- Speaking of Altuve, he won’t return from the disabled list after the 10-day minimum, as he’ll instead head to Houston to have his right knee re-examined by team doctors (the Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome was among those who reported the news). The star second baseman hit the DL on July 28, with a backdated placement of July 26, due to knee soreness. “I don’t know that we can consider it a setback other than we can consider that he needs more time to heal,” A.J. Hinch said, while GM Jeff Luhnow said the team saw the re-examination as a “checkpoint on where [Altuve is] at.” The absolute earliest Altuve could return is on Thursday for the start of the Astros‘ series with the Mariners.
- Chris Sale will also spend some extra time on the DL, as the Red Sox ace wasn’t listed as a probable starter during Boston’s three-game series in Toronto from Tuesday to Thursday. (MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith was among those with the information.) Mild shoulder inflammation sent Sale to the DL on July 31 (retroactive to July 28), and the expectation was that Sale would only miss one start, with a return targeted for Wednesday’s game. Instead, Brian Johnson will take the hill for the Sox against the Blue Jays.
- The Red Sox could get third baseman Rafael Devers back for that Wednesday game, as the Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato tweets that Devers will rejoin the team in Toronto after playing in a minor league rehab game on Monday. A hamstring strain sent Devers to the DL on July 28, and Wednesday is the first day he is eligible to return. Devers also missed some time earlier this month with shoulder inflammation. The young slugger has been inconsistent (.245/.295/.425 in 396 PA) over his first full Major League season, and his particular struggles against left-handed pitching could put Devers in platoon duty down the stretch rather than an everyday role at third base.
- Erasmo Ramirez is slated for a rehab outing today and is expected to rejoin the Mariners sometime this week, the Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish writes. Ramirez has been sidelined since April recovering from a teres major strain, and has only made two appearances this season after another DL stint (lat strain) to begin the 2018 campaign. It isn’t yet clear if Ramirez will work as a starter or reliever when he is activated, as his role could hinge on whether the struggling Felix Hernandez can get on track.
Injury Notes: Deal Medicals, Matz, Devenski, Nicasio, Kinsler
WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford took an interesting look at changes that have been made to the process of assessing health in trades. The 2016 Drew Pomeranz swap, and more particularly the fallout from it, sparked the development of a much more robust system for documenting and assessing medical matters. While thee’s obviously an advantage in enhancing the scrutiny, it also leads to what Bradford calls a “tremendously tedious process.”
Here’s the latest on some injury situations around the league:
- The Mets announced today that they have placed lefty Steven Matz on the 10-day disabled list with a flexor pronator strain. That sounds a bit frightening, though indications are that it’s not a terribly concerning injury situation. Still, any arm troubles are somewhat more worrisome for a young hurler that has experienced so many already since his 2015 debut. Matz, who will be replaced on the active roster by right-hander Corey Oswalt, joins Phillip Evans on the shelf. The 25-year-old infielder suffered a non-displaced fracture of his tibia, though it is perhaps still possible he’ll be able to return to action this season.
- The Astros have placed reliever Chris Devenski on the 10-day disabled list with left hamstring tightness, the club announced. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by southpaw Cionel Perez. Devenski had been cruising through another dominant season before he imploded very recently. Devenski had a 1.32 ERA as of July 1st, but has since allowed 13 earned runs in seven outings — including eight without recording an out over his past two appearances. Clearly, something isn’t quite right, so the ‘Stros will give him a chance to get back to full health before the stretch run.
- Also heading to the DL is Mariners righty Juan Nicasio, the team announced. He’ll be replaced by reliever Chasen Bradford. Knee problems have been an issue for the 31-year-old Nicasio this year. He’s now sporting a 6.00 ERA through 42 frames on the season, though he’s also carrying a sparkling 53:5 K/BB ratio.
- Just-acquired Red Sox second baseman Ian Kinsler is likewise set to hit the DL after leaving tonight’s game with a tight hamstring, Bradford tweets. The seriousness isn’t yet apparent, but it doesn’t appear to be a major source of concern. Kinsler will be replaced for the time being by infielder Tony Renda.
Mariners Release Kirk Nieuwenhuis
The Mariners have released veteran outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis from their Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma, as tweeted by Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto,
Nieuwenhuis, 31 next week, has had a tough season in spite of an outstanding 14.8 percent walk rate, hitting just .214/.336/.336 in 324 trips to the plate. While he’s appeared at all three outfield positions with the Rainiers in 2018, the vast majority of his time has been spent in right field. The longtime Mets outfielder has seen his strikeout rates in the upper minors climb at an alarming rate over the past few seasons, culminating in this year’s career-worst 30.6 percent mark.
That said, Nieuwenhuis has a lifetime .253/.348/.441 mark in parts of eight seasons at the Triple-A level and comes with plenty of MLB experience as well. He’s logged just over 1100 plate appearances between the Mets, Brewers and Angels, hitting at a .221/.311/.384 clip. He averaged 80 games and 217 PAs per year at the MLB level from 2012-16 and appeared in 16 games with 31 PAs as a member of the Brewers organization in 2017. He’ll probably latch on elsewhere as a depth option for a club that’s thin on outfield depth, with the hopes of returning the bigs for a seventh consecutive season.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/2/18
Here are Thursday’s minor moves from around the league…
- The Mariners announced that veteran infielder Gordon Beckham cleared waivers and was outrighted off the 40-man roster to Triple-A Tacoma. He’d been designated for assignment Monday after Seattle acquired right-hander Adam Warren from the Yankees. Beckham, 31, appeared in 13 games with Seattle this season and batted just .200/.263/.229 in 40 trips to the plate. At the time of his DFA, he was playing with the team’s Tacoma affiliate, where he’d delivered a productive .305/.406/.469 slash through 315 plate appearances. Beckham has more than enough service time to reject the outright in favor of free agency. Seattle’s announcement didn’t indicate whether he’d accepted, though he’s stuck around with the Mariners on the heels of a DFA multiple times over the past two seasons.
Mariners Re-Sign Marc Rzepczynski To Minor League Deal
The Mariners have re-signed left-hander Marc Rzepczynski to a minor league deal, per Triple-A broadcaster Mike Curto (Twitter link). MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo first mentioned the reunion (also via Twitter).
Rzepczynski, 32, is technically being paid by the Mariners anyhow, as he signed a two-year, $11MM deal with Seattle in the 2016-17 offseason. However, after pitching poorly in each of the first season and a half of that pact, the veteran southpaw was designated for assignment and ultimately released. He landed with the Indians after that and notched 2 2/3 shutout innings before being designated for assignment and released for a second time.
Left-handed relief has been a need for the M’s for much of the season, in part due to Rzepczynski’s own struggles, and he’ll rejoin the organization as a depth piece. However, with James Pazos, Roenis Elias and the newly acquired Zach Duke — picked up in a Monday trade with the Twins — all in the big league bullpen, Rzepczynski won’t have much of a path to the Majors in the near future. In the event of an injury at the MLB level, though, or perhaps as a September call-up, he could potentially return to the big-league level with Seattle.
In 268 innings from 2011-16, Rzecpzynski worked to a 3.56 ERA with 8.6 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9. In parts of 10 Major League seasons, he’s held left-handed opponents to a timid .227/.296/.305 slash in 857 plate appearances.
40-Man Moves: D-backs, Dodgers, Indians, Mets, Mariners, Cubs, Marlins, O’s
This has been a trade-packed day across Major League Basbeall, meaning there are plenty of corresponding smaller moves that have been announced over the past couple of hours as teams make today’s agreed-upon deals official. Here’s a look at the DFAs, contract selections and other 40-man transactions that came along with today’s action…
- The Diamondbacks designated left-handed reliever Jorge De La Rosa to make room for newly added southpaw Jake Diekman, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets. De La Rosa, a longtime Colorado starter who’s in his second season in Arizona, switched to a full-time relief role upon changing teams and hasn’t produced inspiring results. The 37-year-old has logged a 4.38 ERA/4.98 FIP with 7.51 K/9, 4.17 BB/9 in 86 1/3 innings since joining the D-backs. On the bright side, De La Rosa has posted a 48 percent groundball rate and been tough on left-handed hitters. Considering he’s only owed the balance of a $2.25MM salary, perhaps a team will be interested in taking a flyer on De La Rosa.
- The Dodgers designated righty Ariel Hernandez for assignment to open a spot for John Axford, per the MLB.com transactions page. Hernandez, 26, scuffled through his first MLB action last year with the Reds and hasn’t made it back since. Over fifty frames this year in the upper minors, he’s carrying an appealing 2.52 ERA, but has also handed out 29 walks to go with his 49 strikeouts.
- The Indians announced that they’ve designated outfielder Johnny Field for assignment. His spot on the 40-man will go to newly acquired outfield prospect Oscar Mercado, whom Cleveland acquired in a rare all-prospects trade with the Cardinals (full details here). Field, 26, only recently landed with the Indians himself after spending most of the year (and his entire professional career to that point) with the Rays. Field posted a meager .213/.253/.373 batting line in his first 179 MLB plate appearances, all accumulated earlier this season.
- The Mets announced today that they’ve claimed infielder Jack Reinheimer, who was designated for assignment last week, off waivers from the Diamondbacks. A former fifth-round pick, Reinheimer received a cup of coffee with the D-Backs last year but hadn’t done much to force his way back to this point in 2018. In his fifty games at Triple-A, Reinheimer owns a .237/.312/.353 batting line. Additionally, outfielder Matt den Dekker cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Las Vegas. He’ll have the right to elect free agency now or at season’s end.
- Outfielder Isaac Galloway is on his way to the Majors to make his MLB debut with the Marlins, the club announced. It’s a long time coming for an eleven-year pro who has never before tasted the majors. Through 356 plate appearances this year at Triple-A, Galloway carries a .262/.315/.429 triple-slash.
- Galloway’s contract was selected following the trade of Cameron Maybin to the Mariners, who opened a spot for Maybin by moving right-hander Dan Altavilla from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL in yet another 40-man move. Similarly, Cubs righty Justin Hancock was transferred to the 60-day disabled list in order to open a spot for Brandon Kintzler, who was acquired from the Nationals today.
- The Orioles are selecting the contract of right-handed reliever Cody Carroll, who will step into the roster spot of Kevin Gausman following today’s trade to Atlanta. Carroll landed with the Baltimore organization in the recent swap that sent reliever Zach Britton to the Yankees.
- First baseman Ryan O’Hearn had his contract selected by the Royals, per a team announcement. Infielder Cheslor Cuthbert moved to the 60-day DL to open a spot. It’s the first crack at the majors for O’Hearn, who’ll get the call despite tepid results (.232/.322/.391) this year at Triple-A.
- Righty Warwick Saupold cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A by the Tigers. The Aussie hurler threw 34 1/3 innings of 4.46 ERA ball this year in Detroit, but managed only 16 strikeouts and a 6.1% swinging-strike rate in that span.
Mariners Acquire Cameron Maybin
The Marlins and Mariners have announce a deal that sends veteran outfielder Cameron Maybin to Seattle, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets. Prospect Bryson Brigman and $250K of international pool money are heading to Miami in the deal, per reports from Divish, Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter), and MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter).
Maybin, 31, is earning just $3.25MM on the season under the one-year deal he inked over the winter. That makes him an affordable addition to the Seattle organization.
Though he struggled for much of the early portion of the season at the plate, Maybin has turned things on recently. Over the month of July, Maybin owns a .309/.427/.456 batting line with three home runs and five steals through 68 plate appearances. On the year, he’s producing at about 10% below the league-average rate, much as he did last year.
Of course, much of Maybin’s value is tied up in his legs and glove. He’s grading poorly on the basepaths this year, but that’s likely a blip for a player who was once an elite baserunner and has been quite good in the recent past. Maybin has performed well at all three outfield spots this year in Miami.
For the Mariners, this move adds another versatile piece to the outfield mix. The club added Denard Span a few months back, and he has performed quite well. Mitch Haniger has proven worthy of regular time and Ben Gamel has knocked around opposing righties. Maybin could ultimately displace Guillermo Heredia, who has stalled out at the plate, or join him to form a pair of right-handed options to go with the lefty-hitting Span and Gamel.
Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald (via Twitter) and Craig Mish of MLB Network Radio (via Twitter) reported that the Fish were about to make another swap.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.