Mariners Rumors

West Notes: Bumgarner, Ross, Haniger, Gossett

By charliewilmoth | June 11, 2017 at 2:59pm CDT

Giants star Madison Bumgarner is facing live hitters this weekend as he attempts to return from a shoulder injury suffered in a fateful dirt bike accident, as Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News and other reporters have noted. That means Bumgarner could return to game action sooner than anticipated, although manager Bruce Bochy says he doesn’t believe Bumgarner will be back before the All-Star Break. Here’s more injury news from the West divisions.

A pitcher whose return date appears to be closer is the Rangers’ Tyson Ross, who told reporters, including MLB.com’s TR Sullivan (on Twitter), that he’s ready to make his 2017 big-league debut. (The team hasn’t yet set a date for his first start.) The Rangers signed Ross to a one-year deal last offseason knowing it was uncertain when he’d be able to pitch after having surgery to relieve thoracic outlet syndrome. With Ross having four Triple-A rehab starts under his belt, it appears that moment is soon to arrive. Ross, of course, had a great three-year run with the Padres from 2013 through 2015, posting a 3.07 ERA, 9.2 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in over 500 innings during that span. It remains to be seen how he’ll pitch after missing most of the last season and a half with arm trouble, however.
The Mariners have announced that they’ve activated outfielder Mitch Haniger from the 10-day DL, where he landed after suffering a strained right oblique. To clear space, the team has optioned fellow outfielder Boog Powell to Triple-A Tacoma. Haniger joined Jean Segura in getting off to a hot start to his big-league career after arriving in a big offseason trade with the Diamondbacks, but Haniger has been out since April 25. He’s batting .342/.447/.608 in his first 95 plate appearances with Seattle.
Athletics righty Daniel Gossett will make his big-league debut in a start Wednesday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. Gossett will replace Andrew Triggs, who went on the DL Saturday with a hip injury. MLB.com rates Gossett as the Athletics’ No. 5 prospect, praising his durability and the life on his low-90s fastball. He’s produced a 3.41 ERA, 8.0 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 over 60 2/3 innings this season for Triple-A Nashville.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Pirates, Orioles, Twins, Mariners

By Connor Byrne | June 10, 2017 at 8:12pm CDT

At 27-35, the Pirates on track to miss the playoffs for the second straight year. But the club’s recent woes aren’t threatening the job security of either GM Neal Huntington or manager Clint Hurdle, says FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, who reports that the two are good bets to sign contract extensions before the season ends. Huntington has been at the helm since 2007, Hurdle dating back to 2011, and the team has gone to the playoffs three times during their six-plus-year partnership. The Pirates are now headed for their fourth sub-.500 season under the Huntington-Hurdle tandem, though, and look as if they’ll sell at the deadline, as MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth wrote earlier Saturday.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/9/17

By Steve Adams | June 9, 2017 at 5:06pm CDT

Here are Friday’s minor moves from around the league (all courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise noted)…

Latest transactions

The White Sox released left-hander Giovanni Soto, according to the official Twitter feed of their Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte. Soto struggled to a 5.33 ERA over 25 1/3 relief innings in Charlotte, thanks to some uncharacteristic problems with the long ball — he allowed four homers over his 25 1/3 IP this year after giving up just 28 homers in his previous 514 career innings in the minors. It has been a busy 14 months for Soto, who has been property of five different organizations since April 2016.
Right-hander Mike Bolsinger has cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate, the team announced. Bolsinger was designated for assignment earlier this week. The 29-year-old posted a 5.61 ERA, 7.4 K/9 and 1.11 K/BB rate over 25 2/3 IP for Toronto this season, making five starts as a fill-in for the many injury absences on the Jays’ staff.

Earlier today

Right-hander Miguel Socolovich was outrighted to the Cardinals’ Triple-A after clearing waivers. St. Louis designated the 30-year-old for assignment in late May after he allowed 18 runs in 18 2/3 innings of work. The well-traveled righty has a 4.25 ERA over the life of 82 2/3 Major League innings, and he’s averaged 7.5 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9 in that time. Socolovich could’ve elected free agency but instead accepted his assignment and will hope for another crack at the Majors later in 2017.
The Mariners have added shortstop Ryan Jackson on a minor league contract. The 29-year-old last saw Major League work with the Angels in 2015 and has struggled in his limited exposure to the big leagues, going just 2-for-33 in 39 plate appearances. He’s long been a solid performer at the Triple-A level, though, where he’s posted a collective .273/.352/.352 batting line across parts of six seasons.
Former Giants righty Mike Broadway was cut loose by the Nationals after yielding 20 earned runs in 17 1/3 innings for Triple-A Syracuse. The 30-year-old entered the season with a career 2.96 ERA in 127 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level but has been uncharacteristically hittable. Broadway has just 22 2/3 innings of Major League experience, all coming with the 2015-16 Giants. While the resulting 6.75 ERA isn’t pretty, he does have a track record of missing bats and limiting walks in Triple-A.

AL West Notes: Fister, Segura, Brugman, Doolittle

By Steve Adams | June 8, 2017 at 5:55pm CDT

Doug Fister’s first start with the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate went quite well, as the veteran right-hander tossed five innings of one-run ball and allowed just four hits and no walks to go along with seven strikeouts. Of the 11 balls put into play against him, seven were hit on the ground (63.6 percent rate). Fister reportedly has a June 21 opt-out in his contract with the Angels, so the Halos can get another couple of looks at him before making a decision on whether to promote him to the Majors, though his first outing was certainly encouraging.

Quick Hits: Maeda, Profar, Beltre, Cruz, Tanaka

By Mark Polishuk | June 7, 2017 at 11:09pm CDT

Kenta Maeda’s early struggles have cost him his rotation spot, as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including J.P. Hoornstra of the Orange County Register) that Maeda will be moved to the bullpen when Alex Wood returns from the disabled list. “This is not temporary for Kenta,” Roberts said. “We need him to get back on track, get some momentum. I don’t know what day he’s going to pitch but he’s open to it, and it’s a credit to him as a teammate.” Maeda has a 5.16 ERA over 52 1/3 IP, thanks in large part to problems keeping the ball in the park; Maeda has already surrendered nine homers this season.

Here’s more from around baseball…

With Adrian Beltre possibly looking at a DL stint, the Rangers will recall Jurickson Profar from Triple-A, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports. Beltre didn’t make his 2017 debut until May 29 due to a lingering calf injury, and collected at least one hit in all seven games he played before suffering an ankle injury on Tuesday. Profar began the season on Texas’ roster but hit just .135/.289/.135 in 46 PA before being demoted to Triple-A.
Nelson Cruz underwent an MRI on his right calf today and wasn’t in the lineup for the Mariners’ game against the Twins. Seattle manager Scott Servais told MLB.com’s Greg Johns and other reporters that he expects Cruz to be out “maybe a day or two,” so the injury doesn’t seem serious, though Cruz has been bothered by his calf for over a week. The veteran slugger is in the midst of another big season, hitting .299/.383/.563 with 14 homers over 230 PA for the M’s.
Should Masahiro Tanaka to be removed from the Yankees’ rotation? ESPN.com’s Andrew Marchand believes so, as Tanaka’s struggles (a 6.55 ERA and a whopping 23.3% home run rate) are hurting New York in the AL East race. Since the team says Tanaka is healthy, Marchand figures Tanaka needs some type of breather just to correct whatever flaw has so negatively impacted his performance. Tanaka also has a 5.60 FIP but other ERA indicators (4.19 xFIP, 4.13 SIERA) have a more sympathetic view of his work this year, and since there isn’t any change in his velocity or hard-hit ball rates, it could simply be that Tanaka has just been terribly unlucky allowing homers. Still, that’s a pretty tough problem to have for a pitcher who calls Yankee Stadium home, especially in a season when home runs are up across the league.

Mariners Extend Jean Segura

By Steve Adams | June 7, 2017 at 3:50pm CDT

3:50pm: The breakdown of Segura’s extension is provided by Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter link). Segura receives a $3MM signing bonus, $9MM in 2018, and then salaries of $14.25MM in each season from 2019-2022. The 2023 club option is worth $17MM, with a $1MM buyout.

12:37pm: The Mariners announced on Wednesday that they’ve locked up shortstop Jean Segura on a five-year contract extension that includes a club option for the 2023 season. The deal will reportedly guarantee the CAA Sports client a total of $70MM over the next five seasons and include full no-trade protection.

“Over the past two seasons, Jean has been one of the premier offensive players in baseball,” said GM Jerry Dipoto in a statement announcing the extension. “His combination of average, power and speed is extremely difficult to find, especially as a top-of-the-lineup hitter at a key defensive position like shortstop. We are all quite excited about having him here with the Mariners and believe he is a key ingredient in our ongoing effort to build a championship level roster.”

The 27-year-old Segura, currently on the disabled list with a minor ankle injury, entered play Wednesday pacing the American League with a .341 average. In addition to that excellent mark, he’s posted a .391 on-base percentage and slugged .462 through 198 plate appearances in his first year as a Mariner. Seattle acquired Segura from the Diamondbacks alongside Mitch Haniger and minor league lefty Zac Curtis in exchange for right-hander Taijuan Walker and infielder Ketel Marte this offseason.

Segura is already earning $6.2MM this season and, of course, would stand to earn a significant raise upon that salary via arbitration in 2018 before hitting the open market in advance of his age-29 season. With a rough assumption of a would-be $9-10MM salary via that arbitration process this winter, the Mariners secured Segura’s first four free agent seasons for a rough annual value of about $15MM.

Extensions for a player in his service class are relatively rare — especially at this point of the year — though recent examples include Salvador Perez’s five-year, $52MM deal and Brandon Crawford’s six-year, $75MM contract (as shown in MLBTR’s Extension Tracker). Segura doesn’t have the consistent track record that a number of his peers that have secured long-term deals in this service class have had.

Back in 2013, Segura had a terrific sophomore season with the Brewers, hitting .294/.329/.423 with 12 homers and 44 stolen bases through 623 plate appearances. However, that was followed up with a pair of down seasons, during which he suffered the tragic loss of his infant son. A change of scenery that sent Segura to the D-backs in exchange for Chase Anderson and prospect Isan Diaz led to a resurgence for the one-time top prospect. Segura was sensational in his lone year with the Diamondbacks, slashing .319/.368/.499 with 20 homers and 33 steals.

From a long-term perspective, the Mariners are reasonably well-equipped to handle a significant extension. Robinson Cano, Felix Hernandez and Kyle Seager are the only players under club control beyond the 2018 campaign. Segura now joins that core, and the presumptive increase in his salary that will begin with his free-agent years will coincide with the departure of Nelson Cruz, Marc Rzepczynski and Drew Smyly in free agency. The Mariners will also see Steve Cishek, Carlos Ruiz, Danny Valencia and Jarrod Dyson depart via free agency after the 2017 season. Not including the yet-unreported terms of Segura’s extension, the Mariners have committed just under $72MM to their 2019 payroll and just $43.5MM committed to the 2020 payroll.

Jon Morosi of MLB Network and FOX Sports first reported the two sides were close to a deal (Twitter link). Hector Gomez of Z 101 in Santo Domingo tweeted the agreement and the terms of the deal. FanRag’s Jon Heyman reported that Segura would receive a full no-trade clause (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/5/17

By Connor Byrne | June 5, 2017 at 8:07pm CDT

Monday’s minor moves from around baseball:

The Mariners announced that outfielder Andrew Aplin has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma. Aplin, whom Seattle designated for assignment last Friday, joined the team in a trade with the division-rival Astros in late May. The 26-year-old still doesn’t have any major league experience on his resume, and has only hit .245/.341/.333 in 979 Triple-A plate appearances. Aplin’s defense has drawn positive reviews, however, with Baseball America lauding his “above-average, accurate arm” and “good routes and reads.”
The Angels have signed left-hander Jason Gurka to a minor league contract, as shown on the Pacific Coast League transactions page. Gurka opened the season with the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate and posted a 5.40 ERA over 16 2/3 innings, thereby cancelling out excellent strikeout and walk rates of 10.8 and 1.08 per nine, respectively. The 29-year-old comes with some major league experience, though run prevention has been a significant issue for him at the game’s highest level. In 17 1/3 frames with the Rockies from 2015-16, Gurka logged a 9.35 ERA, but he did pair respectable strikeout and walk numbers (7.27 and 2.08) with a solid ground-ball rate (47.7 percent).

West Notes: Angels, Rangers, Rockies, Padres, Mariners

By Connor Byrne | June 3, 2017 at 10:58pm CDT

Hours after Marlins right-hander Edinson Volquez threw the first no-hitter of the year, Angels designated hitter Albert Pujols added another notable accomplishment to the 2017 ledger, belting his 600th home run. Pujols skied a grand slam off Twins right-hander Ervin Santana to become the ninth player in the history of the sport to go deep at least 600 times. The former Cardinal has already hit nine homers this year, and he figures to pass both Sammy Sosa (609) and Jim Thome (612) on the all-time list by the end of the season.

As Pujols joins his teammates and fans in celebrating his historic feat, here’s more from the West divisions…

An Adrian Beltre trade is something the Rangers will have to consider if they end up as sellers at the trade deadline, opines Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter links). Beltre has established himself as a franchise icon since joining the Rangers in 2011, but the potential Hall of Famer will turn 39 next April and is due $18MM in 2018 to conclude his contract. As such, it might make sense for the Rangers to shop him, though Grant doubts they’d be willing to eat any of the money left on his deal. It could be a moot point, anyway, as Beltre has the ability to block any trade via his 10-and-5 rights.
The Rockies will place left-hander Tyler Anderson on the disabled list Sunday, retroactive to May 31, with left knee inflammation, per Nick Groke of the Denver Post. While Anderson has dealt with the issue since early May, he doesn’t believe it’s serious. Neither does manager Bud Black, who indicated that Anderson’s DL placement is “precautionary.” Anderson is one of four Rockies to make 11 starts this year, but he has allowed home runs on 24.1 percent of fly balls en route to a 5.85 ERA over 60 innings. For now, Anderson’s spot in the rotation will go to well-regarded right-hander Jeff Hoffman.
The Padres entered the season with three picks from last winter’s Rule 5 draft on their roster, and one – outfielder/shortstop Allen Cordoba – has stood out, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes. Cordoba, then a member of the Cardinals organization, spent last season in the rookie-level Appalachian League. Now, he’s a .298/.333/.442 hitter over 111 plate trips with the Padres. Manager Andy Green has taken notice of the 21-year-old’s success, saying that Cordoba “continues to impress. He’s earned every bit of the opportunity that he’s receiving right now. Nothing’s been given to him. He’s earned the right to be out there. He’s earned the right to be hitting at the top of the order, and it’s been very, very impressive.”
Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto said Friday that Jean Segura could miss two months with a high ankle sprain, but the shortstop has a much more optimistic outlook, relays Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. “I don’t think this is going to take a month,” Segura stated. “Maybe a couple of weeks. We’ll see how it feels the next couple of days.” Segura went on the DL on Friday after slashing a stellar .341/.391/.462 in his first 198 plate appearances of 2017.

AL West Notes: Segura, Athletics, Street

By Jeff Todd | June 3, 2017 at 8:44am CDT

Here’s the latest on some injury situations around the AL West…

It doesn’t seem as if the Mariners are terribly optimistic about getting shortstop Jean Segura back in the near future. GM Jerry Dipoto tells Dave Mahler of Sportsradio 960 KJR (Twitter link) that the injury could cost Segura a significant chunk of the season. “It’s more likely to be a month than 10 days, which is a somewhat optimistic view,” said Dipoto. “Could be as much as 2 months.” That’s rough news for an organization that came into the year expectations of contending but currently sits five games under .500. The 27-year-old Segura has slashed a robust .341/.391/.462 on the year. His primary replacement, Taylor Motter, has filled in all over the diamond to this point, showing some pop (.180 isolated slugging) but failing to reach base at a palatable clip (.281 OBP).
Athletics reliever Sean Doolittle is officially out on a rehab assignment for his shoulder injury, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The late-inning southpaw may need only two or three outings before rejoining the club, which could occur as soon as the middle of this month.
There’s news on two Athletics starters as well. Kendall Graveman tells MLB.com’s Jane Lee (via Twitter) that his shoulder MRI came back clean. He has begun to work on strengthening the joint, though it’s unclear when he’ll resume throwing. Fellow righty Jesse Hahn, meanwhile, says he thinks he’ll return directly from the DL to the major league rotation, as Lee further tweets. Hahn is dealing with a seemingly minor triceps issue.
The latest news is generally positive on Angels reliever Huston Street. His triceps soreness, which halted his rehab, doesn’t appear to be a major issue; Street tells Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link) that he expects to get back on the hill soon.

Mariners Designate Andrew Aplin, Place Jean Segura On DL

By Jeff Todd | June 2, 2017 at 5:05pm CDT

The Mariners have announced a host of roster moves, with recently claimed outfielder Andrew Aplin losing his 40-man spot and shortstop Jean Segura heading to the 10-day DL. Seattle has called up righty Tyler Cloyd and infielder Tyler Smith.

Two additional corresponding moves were needed as well. Righty Casey Lawrence was optioned to Triple-A, while fellow right-hander Ryan Weber was shifted to the 60-day DL to clear an extra 40-man spot.

Aplin, who was just picked up from the division-rival Astros, has yet to see MLB action with any organization. Seattle will presumably hope that the 26-year-old outfielder will clear waivers this time and land back at Triple-A Tacoma.

It’s not yet clear just what the prognosis is for Segura, who is easily the most significant player involved in today’s moves. He has been diagnosed with a high ankle sprain, per the M’s, who can scarcely afford a lengthy absence from one of the club’s best performers.

As for the newcomers, it’s interesting to see Cloyd moving back to the majors after joining the Mariners from the independent leagues less than one month ago. He has impressed in four starts at Tacoma, though, with a 1.10 ERA and 14:2 K/BB ratio over 16 1/3 frames.

The 25-year-old Smith, meanwhile, is set to make his major league debut. He had been off to an improved start after scuffling somewhat last year at the highest level of the minors. Through 193 Triple-A plate appearances in 2017, Smith carries a .265/.344/.400 batting line with five home runs while lining up primarily at shortstop.

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