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AL West Notes: Gattis, Trout, Calhoun, Hill, Felix

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The Astros have optioned Evan Gattis to Double-A, where he’ll get comfortable behind the plate, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports (links to Twitter). Houston has yet to utilize the 29-year-old as a catcher, but he broke into the league in that position. With the organization one of several struggling with receiving depth, it seems he’ll have a chance to don the tools of ignorance once again. Gattis, who’s off to a rough start at the plate (.213/.269/.328), says that he’s excited at the development. Kaplan suggests that Gattis is unlikely to spend more than the requisite ten days on optional assignment.

Here’s more from the AL West:

  • Angels GM Billy Eppler made clear that the organization is not going to begin entertaining the idea of trading superstar Mike Trout after the awful pitching news received today, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. The Halos are looking hard at options for the rotation, he says, and still believes in its chances. “This team was up against a lot of adversity last year and fought to the end,” says Eppler. “We’ve got a lot of character, a lot of the same guys on the club. They will not back down from a fight.” Some aren’t so sure that’s the right approach for the Angels. Dave Cameron of Fangraphs argues that the team’s near-term outlook, depleted farm, and continued payroll constraints provide cause to at least consider taking offers on Trout, who’d surely draw unprecedented trade interest. ESPN.com’s David Schoenfield, meanwhile, draws on that piece and looks at a few organizations that could plausibly make a run at a player whose immense productivity and appealing contract make him the single most valuable asset in the sport.
  • The Angels have another quality young outfielder in Kole Calhoun, and Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times profiles his unlikely path to the majors. Long overlooked despite his performances as an amateur, Calhoun has turned into an eighth-round hidden gem for the Halos. “I don’t know what all of professional baseball was thinking,” said former scouting director Eddie Bane. “We were just dumb.”
  • Former Angels prospect Hunter Green is sticking with his plans to retire, Mike DiGiovanna writes for Baseball America. The wiry lefty dealt with significant injury issues, and ultimately decided to hang ’em up after failing to get back on track. While the organization tried to convince him to stick with it, the former second-rounder has apparently decided to move on from the sport.
  • Having seemingly come from out of nowhere to where he is now — a quality starter for the Athletics — Rich Hill’s back story remains of interest. According to Orioles catcher Matt Wieters, Hill showed plenty of signs back when he caught the southpaw in the upper minors, as Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports. “The stuff for a left-hander, I always thought was something you don’t see much with the type of pitches he could throw,” said Wieters.
  • Felix Hernandez has provided the Mariners with typically productive innings, but there’s some cause for real concern, Jeff Sullivan of Fangraphs writes. The veteran righty has seen his velocity steadily decline in years past, but now he’s experienced a sudden drop-off that’s left him sitting below 90 mph with his average fastball. Meanwhile, he’s also struggling to hit the zone. While Hernandez has thus far managed to generate plenty of soft contact, the 30-year-old certainly doesn’t look like the same pitcher he has been in years past. Whether he can continue to put up ace-like results remains to be seen.

AL West Notes: Zych, Butler, Rangers, Richards

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The Mariners will be without right-hander Tony Zych for four to six weeks due to the rotator cuff tendinitis that landed him on the disabled list earlier this week, reports Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. When the Mariners originally announced his injury, Zych had yet to have a followup examination back in Seattle. Those tests have now taken place and produced the timeline for which Seattle will be without its quietly excellent setup man. In 30 1/3 innings since being promoted to the Majors last season, Zych has posted a 2.67 ERA, 12.8 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 with a 51.5 percent ground-ball rate. He’s also averaged 95.7 mph on his fastball and has the 14th-best K-BB% among MLB pitchers with a minimum of 30 innings thrown dating back to last season.

  • Athletics designated hitter Billy Butler says he’s been left in the dark somewhat as to his lack of playing time, as Jane Lee of MLB.com writes. Butler was careful not to complain about his diminished role, but he did tell Lee that he’s in unfamiliar territory as a part-time player. “I’ve played every day of my life from when I was 7 years old, so this is something new,” he said. “I don’t even know how to exactly prepare for what I’m supposed to do because I’ve never had to do it, so I just try to treat it like I’ve treated everything else, like I’m a starter.” Butler, though, acknowledged the constant change and roster fluctuation that comes with any 162-game season and said he anticipates eventually being able to get another chance to prove he can still be an everyday bat. While he was initially told he wouldn’t be in a straight platoon, that’s how it’s played out for the most part thus far, resulting in just 38 plate appearances for the former Royals star. Butler is earning $10MM this year and has another $10MM coming his way in 2017 as part of a three-year, $30MM deal signed with Oakland.
  • The Rangers are flush with possibilities when it comes to their outfield alignment, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports in his latest notes column. Texas officials, according to Rosenthal, have discussed the possibility of shifting Ian Desmond to center field (where he’s already seen a bit of time) upon Shin-Soo Choo’s return from the disabled list, which would keep a spot open for impressive rookie Nomar Mazara. That could give the struggling Delino DeShields some time to work in the minors. Looking longer-term than 2016, though, Rosenthal notes that the Rangers have a plethora of outfield options, most notably including Lewis Brinson, as well as a pair of infield prospects in Joey Gallo and Jurickson Profar, that may not have clear-cut places to be placed on the roster. The Rangers, he concludes, are exceptionally well-positioned to make a major play at this summer’s trade deadline if need be.
  • Not that the Angels need any more injuries in their rotation, but there appears to be some form of issue with ace Garrett Richards, as the Orange County Register’s Jeff Fletcher writes in his latest column. Richards left his most recent outing after four innings due to dehydration, and he’s skipped his regularly scheduled bullpen sessions between starts. According to Fletcher, Richards said that he isn’t hurt but also acknowledged that something is a bit off. “I’m still a little fatigued,” said the Halos’ Opening Day starter. “The body is still tired. I’m still trying to bounce back. Everything doesn’t feel as crisp right now.” The Angels are already without C.J. Wilson and Andrew Heaney, and left-hander Tyler Skaggs has also seen his rehab from Tommy John surgery slowed by some biceps tendinitis. Richards, now, is questionable for his scheduled Friday outing.

Injury Notes: Zych, Perez, Diaz, Orioles, Skaggs

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The Mariners announced tonight that right-hander Tony Zych has been placed on the disabled list due to right shoulder tendinitis (retroactive to May 2). In his place, Steve Johnson’s contract has been selected from Triple-A Tacoma. The loss of Zych is significant for the Mariners, as the 25-year-old has quietly been a dominant relief arm in the Majors since being recalled last season. In 30 1/3 innings at the Major League level, Zych has posted a 2.67 ERA, 12.8 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 with a 51.5 percent ground-ball rate. While he’s far from a household name, Zych has averaged 95.7 mph on his heater in the Majors and rates 14th among MLB pitchers (min. 30 innings) in terms of K%-BB% dating back to last season. There’s yet to be any word on the length of his absence, and manager Scott Servais said today (via the Tacoma News Tribune’s Bob Dutton, on Twitter) that Zych is returning to Seattle to have his shoulder examined. A corresponding 40-man roster move was not necessary due to yesterday’s outright of right-hander Joe Wieland.

Some other notable injury news from around the league…

  • Indians catcher Roberto Perez suffered a fractured thumb while making a tag at the plate on Odubel Herrera over the weekend, and he now faces the possibility of surgery, writes MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. The team will wait three days before having Perez’s hand re-evaluated, which will let the swelling around the thumb subside and lead to a clearer analysis of the injury. Manager Terry Francona offered a somewhat optimistic outlook, telling the media that a surgical procedure might not come with a considerably lengthier recovery timeline than a simple rest-and-rehab approach. Adam Moore has been called up from Triple-A to serve as the backup to Yan Gomes in the meantime, and if Cleveland is on the lookout for additional catching depth, Texas did designate former Indians backstop Chris Gimenez for assignment earlier today.
  • The Pirates will lose one of their top prospects, catcher Elias Diaz, to right elbow surgery, per a club announcement. As Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes, the club didn’t disclose the type of operation, though he notes that Diaz has previously been dealing with pain on the lateral side of his right (throwing) elbow. Both the club and Diaz himself have said previously that they don’t believe his ulnar collateral ligament is an issue, which would take Tommy John surgery off the table. Diaz, it would appear, had the surgery earlier today, as he shared a post-op photo with Dr. James Andrews on his Instagram.
  • Neither J.J. Hardy nor the Orioles are publicly putting a timeline on his recovery from a fractured left foot, writes CSN Mid-Atlantic’s Rich Dubroff. Per Dubroff, Hardy will be in a walking boot for the next two to three weeks, which would seem to make the shorter end of the reported four to eight week recovery timetable seem a bit aggressive. As Hardy explains to Dubroff, he didn’t initially believe the injury to be serious after fouling a ball into his left foot. However, as the game progressed, his foot tightened up and the pain worsened.
  • Also of note for Orioles fans: Dubroff tweets that left-handed reliever Jeff Beliveau, signed to a minor league deal this offseason while recovering from shoulder surgery, has been activated and assigned to Baltimore’s Class-A Advanced affiliate to begin his progression back to consideration for the big league roster. Beliveau, 29, posted a 2.63 ERA in 24 innings with the division-rival Rays back in 2014 but has scarcely pitched since that time due to a torn labrum. The Orioles believe he can help the big league club later this year, Dubroff adds.
  • Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times tweets that an examination of Angels left-hander Tyler Skaggs confirmed that the rehabbing southpaw is dealing with tendinitis in his biceps. Skaggs, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, won’t throw for a week and will be re-evaluated at that time to see if he can begin his rehab work.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/3/16

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We’ll track the day’s minor moves right here:

  • The Cubs announced that they’ve placed outfielder Matt Szczur on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring and selected the contract of outfielder Ryan Kalish to take his place on the active roster. In order to clear a spot for Kalish on the 40-man roster, the club has transferred infielder Christian Villanueva to the 60-day disabled list. Kalish, 28, was long a top-rated Red Sox prospect and is, as such, quite familiar to president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer. Excellent production in the minors has earned Kalish his first taste of the Majors since 2014 (also with the Cubs). In 20 games (70 plate appearances) at the Triple-A level thus far, Kalish is batting a ridiculous .368/.471/.509 with four doubles, a pair of triples, three steals and more walks drawn (10) than strikeouts (nine).
  • The Mariners announced that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Steve Johnson from Triple-A Tacoma and placed right-hander Tony Zych on the 15-day DL with rotator cuff tendinitis. Johnson, 28, has a fair amount of big league experience — all coming with the Orioles between the 2012-15 seasons. In 59 1/3 innings at the big league level, he’s worked to a 4.25 ERA with 10.5 K/9 against 5.5 BB/9. However, he’s posted a 20-to-2 K/BB ratio in 16 innings with Tacoma this season, so the Mariners will undoubtedly hope that they’ve helped iron out his longstanding control problems. Zych, meanwhile, had a 3.00 ERA in 12 innings this season and had punched out 19 batters against eight free passes (one intentional).

Earlier Moves

  • The Reds have purchased the contract of catcher Rafael Lopez from the Bridgeport Bluefish, the indy league club announced. He’ll head to Triple-A Louisville, providing another depth option for an organization that is filling in for injured MLB starter Devin Mesoraco. Lopez, 28, has only appeared briefly at the major league level. He spent last season at Triple-A in the Cubs and Angels systems, slashing .266/.339/.335 over 246 plate appearances.
  • Righty Matt Buschmann has been outrighted to Triple-A by the Diamondbacks, MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert reports on Twitter. The 32-year-old was designated recently as Arizona continues to cycle through relief pitchers to keep its pen fresh. He surrendered only one earned run in his first 4 1/3  big league frames, but will for head back to Triple-A once again to wait for another shot. Buschmann had been working as a starter in the minors, as he has for much of his minor league career, but it remains to be seen what role he’ll take upon his return to Reno.

Mariners Outright Joe Wieland

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The Mariners announced on Monday that they have outrighted the contract of righty Joe Wieland off the 40-man roster. Wieland, who passed through waivers, remains at the Triple-A level, while Seattle’s 40-man roster now sits at 39 players.

Seattle acquired Wieland from the Dodgers in exchange for minor league infielder Erick Mejia this offseason. Wieland was originally a fourth-round selection of the Rangers back in the 2008 draft but was dealt to the Padres in the 2011 Mike Adams trade and was then flipped to the Dodgers in the Matt Kemp blockbuster of the 2014-15 offseason. Wieland looked to be a potential rotation option in San Diego back in 2012 when he posted a 4.55 ERA with 7.8 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 in five starts (27 2/3 innings) as a 22-year-old, but he underwent Tommy John surgery that season and missed the entire 2013 campaign. A stress reaction and eventual arthroscopic surgery on his elbow cost Wieland much of the 2014 campaign, making the 2015 season the first in which he was fully healthy in two years.

Last year, Wieland worked to a 4.59 ERA in 113 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level with the Dodgers organization and also tossed 8 2/3 innings at the Major League level, though he surrendered eight runs in that brief big league stint. The 2016 season has been a disaster for the now 26-year-old Wieland, however, as he’s allowed an unthinkable 25 earned runs on 36 hits and eight walks with 10 strikeouts in just 13 innings at the Triple-A level. Perhaps even more amazing is the fact that Wieland actually looked sharp through his first two outings of the year, surrendering a total of three runs with a 7-to-1 K/BB ratio in nine innings. He’s made a trio of starts since that time, though, and failed to escape the second inning while allowing at least five runs in each of the three.

AL West Notes: McBride, Manaea, Zunino, Wilson, Heaney

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The Athletics have called up catcher/first baseman/outfielder Matt McBride in order to prevent the 30-year-old from signing with a club in Japan, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. McBride received an offer from the Yokohama DeNa BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball, Slusser reports, and his contract contains a clause that would’ve allowed him to opt out and pursue the deal. Rather than allow the versatile McBride to leave the organization, Oakland added him to its 25-man and 40-man roster (Felix Doubront was transferred to the 60-day DL). “I’m happy to be here,” McBride told Slusser following the promotion. “I knew it would be one or the other, and I think everyone wants to get the chance to play in the big leagues.” McBride does have some Major League experience, having spent parts of three seasons with the Rockies. In 158 plate appearances in the Majors, he’s batted .199/.228/.305. The A’s, then, will hope that his production can more closely resemble his lifetime .315/.351/.527 line at the Triple-A level (1418 PAs).

More from the division…

  • Slusser also writes that lefty Sean Manaea has an “excellent shot” to stick in the Athletics’ rotation for the long haul if he can approach his numbers from Triple-A. The top prospect, acquired in last summer’s Ben Zobrist trade, could have an audition window of several weeks to impress the front office, as right-hander Henderson Alvarez still figures to be sidelined until mid-May. Should Manaea falter in his initial taste of the Majors, right-hander Jesse Hahn could re-emerge from Nashville, though he’s currently dealing with a blister that prevented him from getting the call on Friday. As Slusser notes, a strong early impression from Manaea will lead to a difficult decision for Oakland, who could have Manaea, Alvarez, Hahn, Sonny Gray, Rich Hill, Kendall Graveman and Chris Bassitt all in the rotation picture. And, for those looking for a bit of a scouting report on the exciting young lefty, Vince Lara-Cinisomo of Baseball America has posted just that, in addition to his thoughts on what to expect from Manaea in the Majors.
  • Mike Zunino spoke with Larry Stone of the Seattle Times about the mechanical adjustments he’s made to his swing and the more relaxed mental approach he’s been able to adopt with the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate this season. Triple-A hitting coach Scott Brosius and manager Pat Listach each weighed in on Zunino’s hot start as well, noting that he’s not only more mechanically sound but also showing greater strike-zone recognition, neglecting to chase sliders on the outer edge of the plate and high fastballs out of the zone. Zunino said to Stone that he doesn’t feel “on edge all the time” like he has in the past while struggling in the Majors, adding that he’s “not chasing base hits” by worrying about the outcome. Zunino has come around on recognizing that hard contact, such as a line drive that turns into an out, isn’t necessarily a bad outcome. Zunino was particularly heartened recently with some success hitting to the opposite field — a component of his game that he freely acknowledged has long been lacking.
  • Angels lefty C.J. Wilson is now targeting a mid-June return, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register writes. The 35-year-old southpaw is slated for a bullpen session on May 9 and a simulated game on May 18, each of which would precede a minor league rehab assignment that is currently scheduled to begin on May 23. “It feels like it’s taking forever,” Wilson said. “I want to pitch. I always want to pitch. When you have a light at the end of the tunnel, it feels a little longer as opposed to ’I’m not going to pitch till next year.'” Wilson added that he’s experimenting with a new arm slot in an effort to maintain his health.
  • Another Angels lefty, Andrew Heaney, hasn’t received as optimistic news as Wilson. As MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez tweets, the team said today that Heaney’s recovery “has slowed,” and the lefty will seek an “additional opinion” on his forearm strain. The club didn’t make any further comment on his health, but it’s now been several weeks since Heaney has thrown, and the continued uncertainty surrounding his recovery (or lack thereof) is discouraging for the team and for Angels fans.

John Stanton Group Purchases Majority Ownership Of Mariners

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5:19pm: Stanton will become the chairman and CEO of the Mariners, the team announced today in a press release. Kevin Mather will remain the club’s president. MLB.com’s Greg Johns tweets that the ownership change is subject to approval from Major League Baseball, which won’t be finalized until August. Per the press release announcing the ownership transition, the Mariners franchise was valued at $1.4 billion, meaning that First Avenue Entertainment, the new ownership group, spent $1.26 billion to purchase its 90 stake. Lincoln issued the following statement:

“From the first day of our involvement nearly 24 years ago, Nintendo has had two goals for its investment in the Mariners. First, we wanted to assure the permanence of the team in this great city. And on that count, I am proud and gratified that this agreement further solidifies that goal. On the other hand, I’m equally disappointed that we have not been able to host a World Series game for our fans.”

Stanton, too, issued a statement in the Mariners’ press release:

“My goal and the goal of the entire Mariners ownership and management team is to win a World Series. I believe that the Mariners are well positioned to achieve that goal and it will be my honor to lead the organization. I want to thank Howard for his leadership for the last 17 years and thank the members of the board and ownership for giving me this opportunity.”

2:00pm: Unspecified “ownership changes” have led to the end of CEO Howard Lincoln’s tenure with the Mariners, Mike Salk of 710 ESPN reports. Lincoln is set to resign his position, per the report, with minority owner John Stanton in line to “become the new point person for the ownership group” — though it’s unclear precisely what position (if any) he will take.

It’s obviously difficult at this point to assess the long-term ramifications of the move. It’s not clear whether other front office changes could be afoot, though it would obviously be surprising if there were any immediate impact on baseball operations. A news conference has been scheduled for this afternoon, which may begin to shed further light on the situation, including the underlying ownership modifications that prompted the leadership move.

The 76-year-old Lincoln has held his role since taking over before the start of the 2000 season. A former executive with Nintendo of America, the entity which now owns a controlling share of the ballclub, Lincoln is said to have been involved at the highest levels since the current M’s ownership group took control back in 1992.

Lincoln was obviously a significant part of the team’s financial dealings over the years, including the construction of Safeco Field and the organization’s regional sports network agreement in 2013. He was an immensely powerful figure in the organization, as Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times explains. Of course, his tenure has also come with its share of criticism; among other things, the club’s attendance has dwindled quite a bit and its last post-season berth came way back in 2001.

Among Lincoln’s more recent moves was the promotion of Kevin Mather to president and COO early in 2014, replacing Chuck Armstrong. At the time, the organization was winding up for what it hoped would be a successful 2015 season after shocking the baseball world by signing Robinson Cano. But the on-field results proved disappointing, and the leadership group ultimately fired GM Jack Zduriencik, who has since been replaced at the helm of baseball operations by Jerry Dipoto.

Now, it seems, Stanton will decide the strategic direction of the Seattle organization. He is said to have been looking to enhance his role with the club for some time, as Baker explains (Twitter links). Stanton reportedly controls about one-tenth of the Mariners’ ownership stake at present; it’s not known whether he’ll increase his holdings as part of today’s shake-up.

AL West Notes: Murphy, Heaney, Skaggs, Lee, Rasmus

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The Athletics announced today that minor league right-hander Sean Murphy has died suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of 27. A former 33rd-round draft pick, Murphy was recovering from 2014 Tommy John surgery prior to his untimely passing. He pitched 490 2/3 innings with a 4.26 ERA in parts of five minor league seasons with Oakland. Current and former teammates have taken to social media to express both disbelief and sadness at the news, and MLBTR joins the many in the industry offering its sincerest condolences to the friends, family and loved ones of a young man who is gone from the world far too soon.

A few notes from around the division…

  • The Angels received a pair of health updates on left-handers Andrew Heaney and Tyler Skaggs yesterday. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets that Heaney, on the disabled list due to a flexor strain in his left arm, received another MRI after progress in his rehab was said to have plateaued. The test revealed no further injury in his arm and upheld the original diagnosis of a strained flexor muscle. However, Heaney has yet to resume throwing, so he’ll need to progress through a throwing program before embarking on a minor league rehab assignment, which suggests that a return in the near future shouldn’t be expected.
  • As for Skaggs, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez writes that the 24-year-old was scratched from his start for Triple-A Salt Lake yesterday because he was “feeling some fatigue” from last Wednesday’s outing, in the words of Angels GM Billy Eppler. Asked if Skaggs would make his next scheduled start on Saturday, Eppler was noncommittal, telling Gonzalez that the club would take a day-to-day approach and “continue to be extra cautious with him.” Skaggs had Tommy John surgery late in the 2014 campaign and missed the entire 2015 season rehabbing from the procedure.
  • Yahoo’s Tim Brown spoke to Mariners first baseman Dae-ho Lee about the difficult decision he made to jump to leave superstardom in Asia to test himself in Major League Baseball. Lee, who batted .303/.387/.514 with 323 homers in 15 seasons between the Korea Baseball Organization and Nippon Professional Baseball, explained that he’s dreamed of playing in the Majors since childhood but elected to go to Japan when his first crack at free agency in Korea arose. “I had a little opportunity before but I didn’t make my decision to challenge the major leagues,” he said through his translator. “I wanted to learn more. So I decided to go to Japan and learn more baseball.” Countryman and division rival Ji-man Choi called Lee’s decision to make the jump to the Majors at age 33 inspirational to him and other Korean players. Lee has started six times in 19 games as the left-handed component of a platoon with Adam Lind, and he’s batting .235/.316/.588 with a pair of homers in 19 plate appearances.
  • Colby Rasmus’ improved selectivity and gains in contact rate have him on the precipice of a breakout season, opines Chris Perry of SB Nation’s Crawfish Boxes. Perry notes that while Rasmus, of course, isn’t going to sustain his current 56-homer pace, the early power surge and improved approach at the plate make the first 30-homer season of Rasmus’ career a distinct possibility.

West Notes: Valencia, Erlin, Skaggs, Castro, Mariners

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The Athletics announced following tonight’s game that third baseman Danny Valencia will be placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a hamstring injury suffered in yesterday’s contest. Valencia, though, tells reporters that he doesn’t consider the issue to be serious and doesn’t anticipate missing more than the minimum amount of time (Twitter link via the Bay Area News Group’s John Hickey). “I will be very upset not to be in [the] lineup,” said Valencia in reference to the end of his 15-day DL window. The A’s didn’t announce a corresponding roster move, but Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that it’s “clear” that the versatile Tyler Ladendorf will be recalled from Triple-A.

A few more notes from the game’s Western divisions…

  • The Padres have placed left-hander Robbie Erlin on the 15-day DL and recalled right-hander Leonel Campos from Triple-A El Paso, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes. “He’s had some tightness in his forearm,” manager Andy Green said of Erlin. “He’d pitched through it, was capable of continuing to pitch through it. … We just thought it best at this point in time to shut him down for a couple weeks and get on top of it.” The Padres haven’t announced a replacement yet, but Lin tweets that Double-A right-hander Cesar Vargas was scratched from his start tonight and does not have an injury, making him a definite possibility. The Friars gave Vargas a big league contract and put him on the 40-man roster this offseason despite the fact that he’s never pitched in the Majors. Vargas has a 1.42 ERA through his first two starts this season and has a career 2.58 ERA at that level.
  • Angels lefty Tyler Skaggs tells MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez that he’s throwing his fastball between 90 and 94 mph and is ready for a return to the Majors. However, Skaggs is still building up his endurance and says he understands the Halos’ cautious approach to his return. “I haven’t had any input or anything,” said Skaggs. “They said they want to save my innings for the end of the year, which completely makes sense. It’s frustrating for me because I want to pitch more. But it’s a good thing that they care about me, care about my future, about my health.” A healthy Skaggs could be a boon to an Angels rotation that is without C.J. Wilson and is going to be without Andrew Heaney for an indefinite amount of time. Heaney went on the disabled list with a forearm strain and, as of earlier this week, was said by manager Mike Scioscia to have “plateaued” in his rehab from the injury.
  • Rockies right-hander Miguel Castro is dealing with shoulder inflammation and could land on the disabled list, writes MLB.com’s Thomas Harding. The hard-throwing 21-year-old, acquired in last summer’s Troy Tulowitzki blockbuster, has been outstanding for the Rockies early in the 2016 season, allowing just one run on two hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in six innings pitched.
  • The Mariners’ revamped bullpen has delivered excellent results early in the season, writes Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. Incredibly, as Dutton points out, none of the seven relief pitchers that are currently in manager Scott Servais’ bullpen were on the Mariners’ Opening Day roster in 2015. GM Jerry Dipoto acquired four of the club’s current relievers (Steve Cishek, Joaquin Benoit, Joel Peralta and Nick Vincent — this offseason, but Dipoto explained to Dutton that he’s all too aware of how fleeting the success could be. “I spent my entire major-league career pitching 400 pitched games in the bullpen,” said Dipoto. “Never did anything else. If you think you’ve got it figured out, you don’t. The bullpen is about as unpredictable as it gets.”

AL West Notes: Heaney, Santiago, Beltre, Zunino

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Angels manager Mike Scioscia tells reporters, including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (Twitter link) and Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com (Twitter link) that left-hander Andrew Heaney has “plateaued” in his rehab from left forearm tightness. Heaney is “still feeling something when he throws harder,” per Fletcher. Gonzalez adds that Heaney is stuck playing catch from 60 feet and unable to ramp up his workouts from that point. The 24-year-old Heaney hit the disabled list earlier this season after experiencing a drop in velocity over the course of his lone start of the season. The Halos, who are without C.J. Wilson for an indefinite time and have seen Jered Weaver’s velocity dip to the very low 80s, and a prolonged absence would only further raise questions about the starting staff. On the plus side, Nick Tropeano has stepped up with a pair of excellent starts for the Angels in Heaney’s stead.

A few more notes from the AL West…

  • Hector Santiago of the Angels is showing an early velocity bump, as MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez explains. The southpaw matched a career high of ten strikeouts in a sterling start yesterday, aided by a heater that touched 96 mph. He has posted an average fastball velocity of over 92 mph over his first three starts after hovering below 91 mph in the past two seasons. Notably, Santiago is showing significant improvement in other important areas, with a 12.0% swinging strike rate and 47.3% ground-ball rate that dwarf his career marks.
  • Fangraphs’ Craig Edwards examines the two-year, $36MM contract extension to which Adrian Beltre agreed with the Rangers, writing that Beltre’s steady excellence at the plate and in the field gives the contract significant bargain potential. Perhaps more interestingly to some, Edwards juxtaposes Beltre’s age-31 through age-36 seasons with some of the game’s all-time great players and does the same with projections for his upcoming seasons, noting that Beltre is building quite the Hall of Fame case.
  • Mariners catcher Mike Zunino is off to a blistering start at Triple-A Tacoma this season, batting .447 with six homers through his first nine games/40 plate appearances. However, manager Scott Servais tells Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune that Zunino isn’t in line for a quick promotion to the Majors as a result of his torrid opening stretch. “It needs to be a process for (Zunino),” said Servais.“And if he does take an 0-for-10, how is he responding to that? … But Mike needed to get off to a good start, which he did. Have success and (experience) confidence-building. It’s really, really good for him. And for us.” For the time being, Chris Iannetta and Steve Clevenger are the catching options for the Mariners on the 25-man roster.
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