NL Central Notes: Freese, Garrett, Hendricks
Pirates corner infielder David Freese has battled depression throughout his life, often making his reputation as a Cardinals World Series hero (and St. Louis-area native) feel like a burden, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes. Freese’s depression and difficulty defining himself in the wake of his 2011 World Series heroics led to a downward spiral. (Freese also had a previous history of alcoholism and alcohol-related arrests.) “You could tell something was not right,” says Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said. “I don’t know the bloody details what was going on, but I knew the path he was on was going to make life difficult for him to manage.” The Cardinals noticed the problem and provided counseling, but ultimately decided that it was best for both Freese and the team if he had a change of scenery. They then traded him to the Angels, where he wouldn’t have to deal quite so much with the social demands of his popularity in St. Louis. Freese also met the woman who became his wife. Now in Pittsburgh, he feels he’s turned his life around. “I used to be so afraid what would happen to me after baseball,” he says. Now, though, “I can’t wait to get out of bed in the morning. You wake up, and you’re ready to face the world.” Here’s more from the NL Central.
- Lefty Amir Garrett, who’s off to a fast start as a big-league rookie this year, has been in the Reds system since they drafted him out of high school in 2011, but in an unusual arrangement, the team allowed him to play college basketball at St. John’s in his offseasons, writes Tyler Kepner of the New York Times. Garrett averaged 6.2 points per game as a guard at St. John’s for two years while navigating the lower levels of the Reds’ farm system. “That experience, I’d never change it,” he says. “If I could do it all over again, I’d do the same thing. The education I got, becoming a better student, a better person. College taught me how to grow up and be a man.”
- Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks‘ fastball velocity so far this season has been in the 86 MPH range, about two MPH slower than usual, and he’s struggled so far, with 11 runs and four home runs allowed over 16 innings. The Cubs aren’t yet concerned about him, however, as Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune writes. They feel that when his velocity returns, he’ll have enough separation to make his usually devastating changeup effective again. “When he gets back to 87-88 (mph) then you’re going to see that greater separation,” says manager Joe Maddon. “There’s not a dramatic separation between the two pitches, and that’s where the disconnect for him is now.”
Latest On Luis Robert
Here’s the latest on top Cuban outfield prospect Luis Robert, who became eligible for free agency this week and can sign with an MLB club beginning May 20:
- The Braves have interest in Robert, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. “Through the hard work of our international department, led by Gordon Blakely, we are in every game,” says GM John Coppolella. “We like Robert, and so do many other teams, so we will see where it goes.” O’Brien notes, though, that the Braves are “unlikely to get in a major bidding war” for Robert. The Braves were among the heaviest spenders in international free agency last season (nabbing top prospect Kevin Maitan and others), but can still make Robert whatever offer they like before mid-June, albeit with penalties for exceeding their bonus pool.
- The White Sox, Padres, Cardinals, Reds and Astros are among the favorites to sign Robert, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez writes, echoing previous reports. Sanchez also lists the Athletics as a possibility, noting that the A’s have spent heavily on international talent (including Cuban outfielder Lazaro Armenteros) since July and have “strong interest” in Robert. Sanchez further notes that the A’s took the rest of MLB by surprise by signing another Cuban outfield phenom, Yoenis Cespedes, in 2012. Sanchez also tweets that A’s GM David Forst and other team officials are in the Dominican to scout Robert.
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak confirms his team is interested, according to Derrick Goold and Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I know the math,” Mozeliak says. “I think we’ll be in the game.” The Cardinals think he is a “rare talent” who would be worthy of a top draft choice if he were eligible for the draft, Goold writes. Like other teams likely to be involved in the bidding, the Cardinals have already spent heavily on international free agents this signing period, giving seven-figure bonuses to outfielders Jonatan Machado, Randy Arozarena and Victor Garcia as well as pitcher Johan Oviedo.
- The Padres have also confirmed their interest, reports Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. “We have seen him multiple times and will continue to scout him aggressively until he signs,” says Padres international scouting director Chris Kemp. Including penalties, the Padres since July 2 have already spent an amazing total of nearly $80MM on a large collection of international amateur talent headlined by Cuban lefty Adrian Morejon. Lin notes that sources tell him the Padres might not have much more to spend on amateur talent after such an incredible expenditure (although it should also be noted that the team’s international spending has been balanced by a remarkably cheap big-league payroll). The Padres might see Robert as a special opportunity to add top talent, however, particularly given that their ability to spend will be restricted once the current spending period ends.
- At his Twitter page, Baseball America’s Ben Badler has videos explaining which teams look most likely to sign Robert and which teams don’t seem likely. One obstacle for some teams, Badler notes, is that they already have unofficial deals in place with players who are not technically eligible to sign until the start of the next signing period on July 2. Signing Robert before that would cause those teams to incur penalties, thus jeopardizing existing agreements. Such deals are not binding, but backing away from them would be seen as negotiating in bad faith.
Injury Notes: Peralta, Price, Iglesias, Jays, Astros
The Cardinals have placed Jhonny Peralta on the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to April 16, due to an upper respiratory infection and activated lefty Tyler Lyons from the disabled list, the club announced. Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that Greg Garcia and Jedd Gyorko will combine for playing time at the hot corner in Peralta’s absence. However, as Frederickson’s colleague Derrick Goold wrote earlier today, that might’ve been in the cards anyhow; Peralta is off to a dreadful .120/.185/.120 start to the season. Manager Mike Matheny tells Goold that the team is even opening to sliding Matt Carpenter back across the diamond to play over at third base if needed. In particular, though, Matheny spoke highly of Garcia’s glovework at third base. “It’s been fun watching Greg over there,” said Matheny. “He’s making great plays. You can see the amount of ground that he’s covering and just the electricity that comes with that style of play. Jhonny has that capacity. We just have to get him in a better place.”
- There’s another update on Red Sox lefty David Price, whose increasingly lengthy layoff has left the club without one of its best pitchers. Skipper John Farrell acknowledged that Price has dealt with some soreness that led to a bit of a slow-down in his effort to ramp things up, as Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reports on Twitter. But Price was able to long toss “with some intensity” today, per the report, and will throw a pen session tomorrow. Still, there’s no timetable at this point for Price to return.
- Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press writes that the Tigers are expected to place shortstop Jose Iglesias on the 7-day disabled list due to a concussion sustained when he took a knee to the jaw in the final play of Wednesday’s night contest. Detroit is slated to recall prized relief prospect Joe Jimenez from Triple-A Toledo. Jimenez was sent down fewer than 10 days ago, but he can return sooner than the typical 10-day minimum due to the fact that he is replacing an injured player.
- Blue Jays southpaw J.A. Happ picked up a ball for the first time since he went on the DL, as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca tweets. It was just a light throwing session, and there’s no further update at this time, but it’s good news that Happ was deemed ready to resume throwing in short order. He has been dealing with elbow inflammation, but it doesn’t seem to be related to any more significant injury.
- Meanwhile, the Blue Jays got a look at former top prospect Max Pentecost behind the dish on Tuesday for the first time since way back in 2014, as Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca notes on Twitter. Shoulder issues have plagued the 24-year-old, who was taken 11th overall in the 2011 draft. But he’s still trying to gain traction in the Toronto system. Currently, Penecost is hitting .258/.303/.387 through 33 plate appearances at the High-A level.
- Astros righty Jandel Gustave is headed to the 10-day DL with forearm tightness, per Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). The 24-year-old had struggled in the early going, issuing seven walks while recording just a pair of strikeouts over his five frames of action. Replacing him will be fellow righty James Hoyt, who narrowly missed out on a roster spot in Spring Training. The 29-year-old Hoyt has been absolutely brilliant in Triple-A since last year, tossing 60 innings with just 10 earned runs and 101 strikeouts against 21 walks.
NL Central Notes: Thames, Rosenthal, Arroyo
Eric Thames is the talk of baseball after his preposterous start to the season — Thames is hitting .426/.491/1.000 with seven homers and six doubles through 53 plate appearances with the Brewers — the former KBO superstar spoke to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale about his transformation at the plate. Thames, 30, explains to Nightengale that going to Korea forced him to better his plate discipline; while pitchers there will often top out at 91 mph, the barrage of breaking pitches with which Thames was faced necessitated that he improve his pitch recognition and lay off pitches outside the zone. Thames jokes to Nightengale that in his first stint in American ball, he’d swing at anything within three feet of the batter’s box, but he’s become eminently more selective. Thames’ new approach drew praise from Dodgers VP Alex Anthopoulos, who was GM of the Blue Jays when Toronto let go of Thames, and from Cubs manager Joe Maddon, who called Thames’ swing “lethal,” Nightengale writes.
Brewers GM David Stearns tells Nightengale that Thames was on their radar for quite some time, and Nightengale reports that their first attempt to sign him came in the 2015-16 offseason when he still had time left on his contract with KBO’s NC Dinos. Skeptics of Thames may be interested to learn that he has already been tested for PEDs early this season, in addition to the test he took at the onset of Spring Training.
A bit more on Thames and on the NL Central…
- On the subject of Thames’ selectivity at the plate, Fangraphs’ Jeff Sullivan breaks down the Brewers slugger’s newfound plate discipline at length. As Sullivan explains, Thames was well below the 25th percentile among Major Leaguers in terms of chasing out of zone pitches and was below the 50th percentile when it came to swinging at pitches in the zone during his first run in the bigs. Essentially, he was a free swinger that lacked the strike zone recognition to put himself in favorable counts and find pitches to drive. Now, Thames possesses one of baseball’s lowest chase rates and one of the best O-swing minus Z-swing percentages (that is to say, the percentage of pitches he chases minus the percentage of in-zone pitches at which he swings).
- It may be a small sample of work, but Trevor Rosenthal‘s early command has impressed the Cardinals to the point where he’s quickly becoming a late-inning option once again, writes MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch. Rosenthal has yet to reach a three-ball count with any of the 10 men he’s faced, and his velocity is up noticeably from the 2016 season as well, per Statcast. Manager Mike Matheny tells Langosch that with several of the team’s setup options struggling, Rosenthal “is in the conversation” for a top setup gig following his early work. Rosenthal tossed a 100.6 mph fastball on Monday and is averaging 98.7 mph on his heater, according to Statcast.
- Bronson Arroyo earned his first Major League win in 1,038 days against the Orioles yesterday, though he told reporters after the game that he’s still a bit uncertain about how well-equipped he is to continue on as a big league starter (video link via the Cincinnati Enquirer). Arroyo said that after 75 to 80 pitches, his arm is now feeling like it used to at 100 to 105 pitches, though it’s of course still early in his comeback season. C. Trent Rosecrans of the Enquirer provides more quotes from Arroyo and Reds manager Bryan Price than are available in that video. “I want to give this team the best opportunity to win the most ballgames and that’s just the way it has to be,” says Arroyo. “…if I’m feeling tired after 75, 80 pitches all the time, there might be a time where some of the young guys step into my role and I have to be the long guy in the ‘pen or something like that.” Arroyo’s candor shouldn’t be mistaken for a lack of confidence, though, and Price voiced plenty of faith in the 40-year-old veteran’s ability to continue to build arm strength as the season wears on.
NL Central Notes: Kang, Barbato, Mozeliak, Williams
The appeals hearing for Jung Ho Kang‘s DUI sentence has been set for May 25, Yonhap News’ Jeeho Yoo reports (Twitter link). Kang received an eight-month sentence that was suspended for two years, which theoretically cleared the way for the infielder to return to the Pirates this season, though Kang has yet been unable to receive a visa to return to the United States. Between the May 25 date, any further visa hurdles and some necessary minor league time to get in playing form, it seems like Kang may not appear in a Pirates uniform until the second half of the season (if at all).
Here’s more from around the NL Central…
- The Pirates will use the newly-acquired Johnny Barbato as a multi-inning reliever at Triple-A “and go from there,” MLB.com’s Adam Berry tweets. The Yankees stretched Barbato out as a starter during the spring, so the Bucs seem to have some flexibility in using Barbato as a depth piece for either the rotation or bullpen depending on needs during the season.
- With the Cardinals are off to a National League-worst 4-9 start, GM John Mozeliak told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch) before Monday’s game that all ideas about improving the team are being considered. “In terms of personnel moves or roster changes, I don’t think there’s anything I could go to right now in [Triple-A] Memphis that’s necessarily going to directly change the trajectory of this club,” Mozeliak said. “But I will say that everything is on the table right now, so if we continue down this path, we may have to do something different.” Changes seem to include less playing time for Jhonny Peralta and Matt Adams, while Mozeliak also said the team would consider a position change for Matt Carpenter.
- Reds GM and president of baseball operations Dick Williams took an unusual path to his position, as he explains to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand in a wide-ranging Q&A piece. Williams discusses such topics as not exploring a baseball career until his mid-30’s, his family’s ties to the Reds franchise, Joey Votto‘s importance as a franchise leader, and more.
NL Notes: Pirates, Cardinals, D-backs, Nats
Although towering right-hander Tyler Glasnow has gotten off to a slow start this year, the Pirates aren’t considering demoting the starter to Triple-A, writes Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. While Clint Hurdle told Biertempfel that Glasnow must earn the right to stay in the majors, the manager is “a firm believer, as I believe everybody else is, that the greatest opportunity for growth is for him to pitch at this level and meet the challenges of the game at this level — and to understand the consequences of not being able to do the things you need to do at this level. You feel a lot more here than you do at Triple-A. There are games in the minors that nobody knows about. You don’t care. Up here, there’s a different care.” Glasnow had control problems in the minors last season, but the star prospect nevertheless dominated at Triple-A. The majors have been less forgiving for the 23-year-old, whose control issues haven’t dissipated since he debuted last season. So far this year, Glasnow has allowed nine earned runs on 10 hits and seven walks in 6 2/3 innings (two starts).
A few more notes from the National League…
- Cardinals brass spent the offseason preaching defense, but Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wonders where the improvements are. The Redbirds rank among the majors’ bottom five in both errors (10) and Defensive Runs Saved (minus-14), and, in Ortiz’s estimation, have relied far too heavily on Matt Adams in left field (FanGraphs’ Dave Cameron echoed a similar sentiment Friday). Adams slimmed down during the winter, but he still entered the season as a first baseman with no outfield experience, which has been obvious to those who have watched the Cardinals in the early going.
- The Diamondbacks‘ usage of fledgling super-reliever Archie Bradley has been suboptimal thus far, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic suggests. Bradley has been stellar out of the bullpen, having thrown 6 2/3 shutout innings and struck out 10 (against four hits and two walks), yet the Diamondbacks were on the wrong end of blowouts in two of his three appearances, as Piecoro points out. Manager Torey Lovullo has left open the possibility of Bradley becoming more of a high-leverage reliever, which makes sense for a team whose bullpen hasn’t been great. “We may change the inning based on what he’s doing,” Lovullo said. “We’re very well aware of what you’re saying. We know he’s had some quality outings and we want that to continue. It’s just going to be in any format possible to help us win a moment.”
- Nationals shortstop Trea Turner, on the shelf since suffering a hamstring injury April 8, doesn’t expect his stay on the disabled list to last beyond the 10-day mark, per Jamal Collier of MLB.com. Turner could return as early as Wednesday, though that will depend on how he fares while testing out his hamstring before then. The speedster showed progress when he ran sprints, took batting practice and fielded grounders prior to the Nats’ game against the Phillies on Sunday. He’s one of two Washington shortstops dealing with hamstring injuries – Stephen Drew is the other – which has left the position in the hands of Wilmer Difo.
NL Notes: Arroyo, Gray, Gilmartin, Cards
Right-hander Bronson Arroyo is only two starts into his comeback attempt with the Reds, but the 40-year-old is seemingly giving himself a short leash to produce on the mound, writes Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Following an outing in which he surrendered five runs in six innings yesterday, Arroyo told reporters, “The next two times out, if I don’t see something a little bit crisper and able to keep us in the ballgame a little bit better, maybe you’re at a dead end street. I’m not sure.”
A bit more from around the Senior Circuit…
- Rockies right-hander Jon Gray left last night’s contest after aggravating a toe injury that bothered him in Spring Training, and MLB.com’s Thomas Harding writes that Gray will be reevaluated this morning. The problematic toe is on Gray’s plant foot on the mound, and the Rockies want to be careful with the injury so he doesn’t alter his mechanics to compensate for the pain. Gray could miss a start with the injury, though to this point there’s been no talk of him becoming the latest in a long list of Rockies to land on the disabled list.
- The Mets are planning to promote southpaw Sean Gilmartin prior to tonight’s contest in order to add a fresh arm to their bullpen in the wake of last night’s 16-inning marathon game, per Betsy Helfand of the Las Vegas Review Journal (Twitter link). The Mets went through eight pitchers last night, including four relievers who threw two or more innings. As Helfand points out, Gilmartin and right-hander Erik Goeddel are essentially the only two viable options on New York’s 40-man roster, and Goeddel has been slowed of late by a groin injury. The Mets have long been touted for their rotation depth, but multiple injuries and the trade of Gabriel Ynoa to the Orioles has thinned out their upper-level options on the 40-man roster.
- ESPN’s Mark Saxon breaks down each element of the Cardinals‘ struggles thus far in the 2017 campaign, noting that the team’s rotation and run production figure to be sound in the long run, but the bullpen and defense look far shakier. As Saxon observes, Alex Reyes‘ injury now looks costlier than ever with the underperformance of the bullpen. Matt Adams continues to represent a clumsy fit for the Cardinals’ roster as well, with Saxon suggesting the team seek to trade him in exchange for a true fourth outfielder that can play all three positions. That may prove difficult, of course, as the team wasn’t able to drum up much of a market for Adams this offseason in a crowded market for players with similar skill sets.
NL Central Notes: Schwarber, Thames, Cards’ Pen, Adams
Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago tells the interesting tale of how Kyle Schwarber put himself on the Cubs‘ radar — with a big assist from longtime scout Stan Zielinski, who unfortunately passed away recently. Zielinski drew quite a picture of Schwarber upon seeing him in person, invoking none other than Babe Ruth and calling Schwarber “the best college bat I’ve seen in a long time” — adding, “and remember I’m so old I’ve seen a lot of them.” It’s an interesting read that’s well worth your time.
Here’s more from the NL Central:
- This profile of new Brewers slugger Eric Thames, from Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca, also merits a look this morning. Interestingly, as Nicholson-Smith writes and Thames explains, the 30-year-old has flattened his swing out since he last appeared in the majors. While there’s an increasing trend toward doing just the opposite to drive power enhancements, Thames engineered his return to the bigs by posting massive home run tallies in Korea.
- The Cardinals aren’t denying that there’s a bit of worry with the early performance of their relief corps, as ESPN.com’s Mark Saxon reports. While the unit got the job done last night, Trevor Rosenthal — who was handed the ball in the eighth — was touched for three hits and a run while recording just one out. Closer Seung-hwan Oh and major free-agent signee Brett Cecil have each struggled through the season’s first nine games, among others. Short sample alarms are by now obviously blaring, and there’s not a whole that that could be done at this stage anyway. But that doesn’t mean the front office isn’t keeping an eye on the situation. “I’m concerned, but I also realize it is still too early to panic,” said GM John Mozeliak.
- That’s not to say that the Cardinals aren’t open to trying things in hopes of jolting the club out of its uninspiring start. After all, lumbering first baseman Matt Adams has now seen 27 1/3 innings of action in left field — a decision that boosts the lineup but also comes with some tradeoffs. Matheny acknowledges as much, as Saxon further reports. “We’re going to get what we get out of a guy who hasn’t played a lot there,” Matheny said in discussing Adams’s transition to the grass. “We’ve seen opportunities to make an impact offensively and, right now, we need both.”
Injury Notes: Bradley, Posey, Segura, Osuna, Desmond, Gray/Bassitt, Weaver
The Red Sox have placed center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. on the 10-day DL, as Ian Browne of MLB.com was among those to report. Bradley was diagnosed with a knee sprain caused by a misstep while running the bases. An MRI did not reveal more significant damage, so the hope is he won’t miss much more than the minimum.
Let’s check in on a few health situations of note from around the game …
- Giants star Buster Posey departed the club’s game today after being struck in the head by an errant pitch, but thankfully indications are he escaped any significant injury. As Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News writes, Posey passed a concussion test and told teammates he was fine. That’s not conclusive, of course, but for now the team does not plan to make a roster move to fill in for the stellar backstop, as Baggarly further notes on Twitter.
- Mariners shortstop Jean Segura was also pulled today with an injury, though it doesn’t appear to be a major concern. Manager Scott Servais told reporters, including MLB.com’s Greg Johns (Twitter link), that it’s a “very mild” hamstring issue. For now, at least, the key offseason addition won’t be headed for the DL, with Servais calling him day to day.
- The Blue Jays anticipate that closer Roberto Osuna will be able to return to action tomorrow, as Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports. The excellent young reliever opened the year on the 10-day DL owing to a cervical spasm, though that placement was backdated. He made it through a sim game and now seems ready to return to the majors — where he’ll try to pick up where he left off in a strong 2016 season.
- There are several important Rockies players still working back from injury, and Nick Groke of the Denver Post has the latest. Ian Desmond, Tom Murphy, and David Dahl all seem to be progressing, with the trio possibly slated to return by the end of the month. Desmond, who’ll suit up at first base for the first time when he’s ready, seems to have the clearest progression at this point. Per Groke, Desmond will start to throw and field at some point this week.
- Athletics righties Sonny Gray and Chris Bassitt are making strides in their rehabs, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Grey’s lat strain is healing well enough that he was able to work up to 35 pitches from the bullpen today. That could leave him on track to return tot he majors before April is out, per the report. Bassitt, meanwhile, is on the cusp of a rehab stint, though Slusser notes that he’s likely to take a full month in the minors since he’s working back from a year-long layoff owing to Tommy John surgery.
- Though he’s currently stashed at Triple-A, Cardinals righty Luke Weaver is a key piece of the organization’s depth (and future rotation plans). He is headed for a DL stint with lower back stiffness, as MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch reports on Twitter. At present, it’s not clear what kind of an absence is anticipated.
Minor MLB Transactions: 4/10/17
Here are the latest minor moves from around the game:
- Righties Ray Black and Ian Gardeck have reached minor-league agreements with the Giants after clearing waivers, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). Both 26-year-old relievers were moved off the 40-man recently. Black possesses a huge fastball and has shown big strikeout tallies at times, but he also has yet to demonstrate anything close to the command needed to succeed in the majors. Gardeck, meanwhile, is returning from Tommy John surgery. In 2015, he pitched to a 3.54 ERA with 10.8 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 over 86 1/3 innings at High-A.
- The Mets have reached a minors deal with first baseman Cody Decker, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). Decker, 30, has also spent some amount of time at most every other spot on the diamond. He earned a brief call-up in 2015 with the Padres, the organization he had been with for his entire career until last season. Last year, Decker bounced between the Royals, Rockies, and Red Sox organizations, hitting a combined .230/.284/.484 with 19 home runs in 335 plate appearances in the upper minors.
- Joining the Cardinals on a minor-league deal is first baseman Rangel Ravelo, per Matt Eddy of Baseball America (Twitter link). The 24-year-old played most recently in the Athletics organization, where he was known for his high-contact approach and solid on-base abilities. Ravelo struggled last year, though, slashing just .262/.334/.395 with eight long balls in 416 Triple-A plate appearances.