Quick Hits: Scully, Trumbo, Yankees, Urshela, Cardinals
Vin Scully’s final game behind the mic at Dodger Stadium was a memorable one, as the Dodgers clinched the NL West with a 4-3 win over the Rockies, fueled by a 10th-inning walkoff homer from Charlie Culberson. The legendary announcer has already said he won’t be calling any Dodger postseason action, so the final three games of Scully’s 67-year career will come on September 30-October 2, when the Dodgers head to San Francisco for the last three games of the regular season.
Some stray items from around baseball…
- 2016 is quietly on pace to be one of the biggest home run seasons in the game’s history, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan writes in his weekly “Ten Degrees” column. Hitters are on pace for the second-highest single-season homer total ever, behind only the 2000 season. With power on the rise and more readily available than in recent seasons, Passan notes that Mark Trumbo‘s free agent stock could be hampered. Teams will look harder at Trumbo’s lack of defense or OBP if homers are no longer seen as quite a rare commodity.
- The Yankees have been rumored to be interested in a reunion with Aroldis Chapman, and the New York Post’s Ken Davidoff notes that Dellin Betances‘ recent struggles could exacerbate the Yankees’ need for another big bullpen arm. Betances has only “struggled” since August 1 (3.48 ERA and a 32:9 K/BB rate in 20 2/3 innings) by his high standards, though fatigue could be an issue given how much Betances has pitched both this season and over the last three years on the whole. Signing Chapman in free agency and moving Betances back to a setup role would again give the Yankees an elite end-game pairing, if not quite the uniquely great trio they had earlier in the season with Andrew Miller also in the mix.
- As part of a reader mailbag piece, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer opined that the Indians probably aren’t likely to shop Giovanny Urshela this season now that Jose Ramirez looks like an answer at third base. Urshela is a gifted defender but he has posted just a .608 OPS over his 288 career PA in the majors and a .269/.302/.402 career slash line over eight minor league seasons. Other teams may not be willing to give up much in a trade for a player who has shown so little at the plate.
- The Cubs completely rebuilt their roster from scratch to become a powerhouse team both this season and potentially for years to come, though Cardinals GM John Mozeliak tells ESPN.com’s Mark Saxon that such an extensive rebuild would be unlikely for his club. “They were able to do so without being overly concerned about how they finished for a couple years….I’ve always said St. Louis has been a place that demands winning,” Mozeliak said. “[Owner Bill] DeWitt Jr. and myself, we’re not ever looking at a season where we want to take a timeout or two and try to reshuffle the deck.” Mozeliak implied that the Cards would only explore such a strategy if their minor league system totally dried up, which doesn’t seem like an impending issue given how well St. Louis has drafted and developed young players over the last two decades.
NL Notes: Pirates, Melancon, Dodgers, Cardinals
Given the dearth of quality starting pitchers set to hit free agency during the offseason, it might make sense for the Pirates to use their money on bullpen upgrades if they’re unable to re-sign Ivan Nova, writes Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The Pirates and Nova have engaged in extension talks, but the 29-year-old’s late-season breakout could price him out of the team’s range. If so, Sawchik suggests a reunion with soon-to-be free agent closer Mark Melancon, whom the Bucs traded to the Nationals at this year’s non-waiver trade deadline. As a 31-year-old who lacks eye-popping strikeout numbers, Melancon is likely to garner the cheapest contract among fellow impending free agent bullpen aces Kenley Jansen and Aroldis Chapman. Melancon made his return to Pittsburgh on Friday as a visitor and received an ovation from its fans, though he suffered his first blown save as a National in a 6-5 loss.
More from the National League:
- The blister on Rich Hill‘s left index finger continues to pose a problem, so the Dodgers will scratch him from his Sunday start against the Rockies in favor of the returning Brandon McCarthy, who has been on the disabled list with right hip stiffness since Aug. 14. Hill’s next start is set for Oct. 1, the Dodgers’ penultimate regular-season game of the year, in San Francisco. “We’ve put ourselves in the position that we have the flexibility, or luxury, to do this,” said manager Dave Roberts (via Jack Baer of MLB.com). “With the blister and how we’ve had to manage it since the trade, I think this gives him the best chance going forward to go deeper in a game.” The 88-66 Dodgers hold a seven-game lead in the NL West over the Giants and are on the verge of clinching the division. That affords them the opportunity to take it easy with Hill, who figures to serve as a key member of their playoff rotation.
- Another Dodgers starter, southpaw Scott Kazmir, might not make a start again this year, Roberts revealed Saturday. Kazmir returned Friday from a bout with thoracic spine inflammation to make his first start since Aug. 22, but he exited after one inning because of right intercostal spasms. The current campaign hasn’t gone according to plan for Kazmir, who’s in the first season of a three-year, $48MM deal he inked with Los Angeles as a free agent last winter. While Kazmir can opt out of his contract after the season, his disappointing results and injury troubles might prevent him from taking that route. In 136 1/3 innings, Kazmir has posted a 4.56 ERA, 8.85 K/9 and 3.43 BB/9.
- After Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday‘s injured right thumb swelled up last week, there was concern that the 36-year-old’s season was over. In the latest update, the Cardinals cancelled the live batting practice they had scheduled for Holliday on Sunday because of further discomfort, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The next step for Holliday is a previously scheduled appointment with a hand specialist Monday. If that goes well, Holliday could return during the upcoming week. He has been out of action since Aug. 11.
NL Notes: Giants’ Pen, Garcia, Murphy, McCarthy, Rodriguez
As the Giants have struggled to lock up the ninth inning down the stretch, GM Bobby Evans discusses his decision not to push harder for a top-tier closer at this year’s deadline, as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Evans told Jon Heyman of Fan Rag that the struggles have made him feel like a “knucklehead,” though he notes to Schulman that he was saying that in jest. The San Francisco general manager went on to explain a bit more about the team’s efforts to acquire Mark Melancon, who ended up with the Nationals, from the Pirates. “It was very comparable to what they ultimately got,” he said of the Giants’ offer. “You think about it. ‘Was there something else I could have done? Was there another name I could have pushed across the table?’ They ended up getting one guy who throws 100 and another who throws 98.” But as Evans went on to discuss, it’s ultimately a matter of hindsight. “Those are just reflections,” he said. “… All I can do is think about how I handled it and how far I went.”
- The Cardinals are still tinkering with their pitching mix, and will now re-insert Jaime Garcia into the rotation in the place of Luke Weaver, as Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports. Garcia has shown well in his brief move to the pen, while Weaver has struggled in his most recent outings after an excellent start to his major league career.
- Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy has been diagnosed with a strained glute, as MLB.com’s Jamal Collier reports on Twitter. Murphy last played a full game on September 17th and will rest for a few more contests before returning to action. Obviously, the Nats will be sure to rest him well with the NL East in hand, as Murphy figures to be a key piece of the team’s postseason hopes after posting a remarkable .347/.391/.596 batting line thus far.
- Brandon McCarthy will become the latest Dodgers pitcher to return to action on Saturday, when MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick says the veteran righty will be activated (Twitter link). The 33-year-old has produced strong results despite allowing over six walks per nine in his eight starts on the year, with a 9.9 K/9 mark and just twenty hits allowed helping to offset the free passes. It remains to be seen what role he’ll play in the postseason for Los Angeles after working back from a hip injury.
- Phillies reliever Joely Rodriguez looks to be a keeper, as Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Acquired in the Antonio Bastardo trade, the 24-year-old southpaw has developed upper-nineties heat in a relief capacity. He has allowed just a single hit in his first 5 1/3 major league innings, with four strikeouts and two walks also on his ledger.
NL Notes: Rockies, Pirates, Cardinals
Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post doubts the Rockies will bring back manager Walt Weiss, whose contract expires after the season, but he argues that it would be hypocritical of loyalty-preaching owner Dick Monfort to let Weiss go. “It’s a bottom-line business,” said Weiss, with whom the Rockies have gone 279-355 since 2013. At 71-77, the Rockies are currently on track to post their best record under Weiss, who deserves a two-year deal, opines Kiszla. Colorado’s talent has clearly increased lately, as evidenced by 24-year-old right-hander Jon Gray‘s complete game, 16-strikeout performance in an 8-0 win over San Diego on Saturday. Weiss agrees, telling Kiszla, “There’s more talent in the stable than in the past. With the horses in this stable, there are more thoroughbreds.
More from Colorado and two other National League cities:
- The recent emergence of another talented Rockies player in his early 20s, Raimel Tapia, has added to an already crowded outfield, writes the Denver Post’s Nick Kosmider, who adds that the team will have some interesting offseason decisions to make because of it. Kosmider wonders if the Rockies will once again deal an outfielder to upgrade their weak bullpen during the offseason. Colorado tried that last winter, sending Corey Dickerson to the Rays for Jake McGee, but the left-hander has been part of the problem for the Rockies’ beleaguered relief corps this year. Among the Rockies’ outfielders is offseason signing Gerardo Parra, who inked a three-year, $27.5MM deal in free agency. Parra, like McGee, has been a major disappointment in his initial season with the Rockies, but the club does like that he has shown an ability to play first base. “How much time he gets over there in the future, I don’t know. But it’s nice to be able to have that,” general manager Jeff Bridich told Kosmider.
- At 74-74 and five games out of a wild-card spot, the Pirates have gone backward this year after three straight playoff seasons. There are a slew of reasons for the team’s decline, as Travis Sawchuk of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review details. One cause has been the starting rotation, where low-ceiling offseason acquisitions Jon Niese and Ryan Vogelsong have contributed little this year. The Pirates traded second baseman Neil Walker to the Mets last offseason for Niese, who pitched to a 4.91 ERA in 110 innings with Pittsburgh before it sent him back to New York for reliever Antonio Bastardo on Aug. 1. Vogelsong, a buy-low signing in free agency, has recorded a 4.87 ERA in 68 1/3 innings. In previous years, the Bucs gambled on high-upside starters like A.J. Burnett, Francisco Liriano and Edinson Volquez, all of whom panned out and helped lead them to the playoffs.
- Like NL Central rival Pittsburgh, the Cardinals have also endured a less-than-ideal season. The 77-71 Redbirds are two games behind the Mets for the NL’s second wild-card spot and are in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2010. That’s thanks in part to team-wide baserunning issues, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Cardinals are the majors’ fifth-worst baserunning team, per FanGraphs, after ranking a more respectable 15th last season. GM John Mozeliak is now formulating a plan to improve baserunning throughout the organization, having already spoken with special assistant Willie McGee, scout Kerry Robinson and farm director Gary LaRocque, according to Goold. “You get so much performance training that maybe there are times you forget about the need to strengthen the baseball skills,” Mozeliak said. “Baseball skills are hitting, defense, and baserunning. What do we need to do to make sure focusing on doesn’t detract from the others?”
Matt Holliday Could Be Done For Season
Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday has been on the shelf for over a month since fracturing his right thumb Aug. 11, and it appeared earlier this week he was on the verge of returning. That’s no longer the case, however, as Holliday’s thumb swelled up Saturday and forced him to cancel a scheduled simulated game, per Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. The swelling occurred a day after Holliday took batting practice, and now there’s concern that he won’t be able to make it back during the regular season to potentially help a St. Louis team that’s two games out of a National League wild-card spot.
Holliday, who had a screw inserted in his thumb Aug. 16, was in the midst of an uncharacteristically pedestrian season before suffering the injury. The 36-year-old has slugged 19 home runs after hitting just four in 2015, but his .242/.318/.450 line in 424 plate appearances is the worst of his career. Part of the problem for Holliday has been a decrease in walks. The 13th-year man posted double-digit walk rates in each season from 2008-15, including a career-best 14.1 percent mark last year (albeit in only 73 games). He’s at 8.3 percent this season, which has helped his on-base percentage tumble 76 points from a year ago.
While Holliday has gone backward in 2016, he was still a useful part of the Redbirds’ offense when healthy. In his stead, the club has mostly turned to Brandon Moss in left field. Moss has outproduced Holliday this year, but his output has dropped off significantly in the second half of the season. During a crucial September for St. Louis, Moss has hit an unsightly .085/.173/.213 in 52 trips to the plate.
If Holliday is unable to return this year, it’s conceivable the seventh-year Cardinal has taken his final at-bat with the club, notes Langosch. The Cardinals can bring back Holliday in 2017 on a $17MM club option, but that will likely be an unpalatable figure for an aging player coming off an injury. St. Louis could also decline the option and work out a less expensive deal with Holliday if it wishes to retain him.
Cardinals Shopped Jaime Garcia Before Trade Deadline
The Cardinals offered left-hander Jaime Garcia in talks with other clubs prior to the August 1 trade deadline, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports (subscription required). Garcia was deemed expendable since Alex Reyes and Luke Weaver are ticketed for roles in next year’s St. Louis rotation; indeed, both young starters have already stepped into starting roles, with Reyes recently taking Garcia’s spot.
It has been an up-and-down year for Garcia, who has a 4.70 ERA, 7.8 K/9, 2.54 K/B rate and 56.7% ground ball rate over 166 2/3 innings for the Cards this season. On the bright side, that innings total is the second-highest of Garcia’s eight-year MLB career, an encouraging sign for a pitcher who has been plagued with injuries in recent years. Unfortunately, Garcia also has a career-high home run rate (19.2%) that has inflated his ERA. Advanced metrics such as SIERA (3.99), FIP (4.43) and xFIP (3.82) indicate that Garcia has been a bit unlucky to post that 4.70 total, though he hasn’t helped himself with some rough recent outings. Garcia has an 8.28 ERA over his last 29 1/3 innings, a cold streak that forced the Cardinals’ hand in moving Reyes into the starting five.
Despite these issues, Garcia certainly still has some value to other teams. It’s possible that with a full season under his belt after years of shortened campaigns, Garcia will be better suited to avoid a late-season fade in 2017. The Cardinals have a $12MM club option on the 30-year-old for 2017 and Olney notes that some in baseball believe St. Louis will decline that option to part ways with the lefty and allocate that money elsewhere.
This winter’s starting pitching free agent market, however, is so incredibly thin that it might be worth it for the Cards to exercise their option and shop Garcia during the offseason, rather than let him go for nothing. As Olney observes in his piece, the Cardinals will face some difficult decisions in addressing their defense and one-dimensional offense in the winter, so Garcia’s presence gives the club an extra trade chip.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Wieters, Cardinals, Leon, Twins
Some news items from the latest Full Count video clip from FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal…
- The Orioles are meeting with Matt Wieters‘ agent Scott Boras this week to discuss a contract extension, though Rosenthal is doubtful Wieters will remain in Baltimore. The Nationals will have interest in signing Wieters if their own notable free agent catcher (Wilson Ramos) leaves, and Rosenthal also cites the Mets, White Sox and Braves as possible candidates to pursue Wieters. The Braves have perhaps a bit of a geographic advantage, as Wieters is from South Carolina and played college ball at Georgia Tech.
- The Cardinals aren’t likely to lose draft picks as punishment for the data breach of the Astros’ computer network. The league would have to negotiate a reduction of draft picks (and, perhaps most importantly, the Cardinals’ available draft bonus spending pool) with the players’ union since the draft rules are part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Rosenthal believes that the league could instead punish via the Cards via other methods, such as a fine.
- Nobody saw Sandy Leon‘s slugging breakout with the Red Sox coming, including the Nationals, who dealt Leon to Boston in a minor cash deal in March 2015. Rosenthal notes that the Nats are hardly the only team who missed on Leon — literally any club could’ve claimed him when the Sox designated the catcher for assignment in July 2015.
- Cubs senior VP Jason McLeod (whose mother is from Samoa) is the only known minority candidate in the Twins‘ front office search. Rosenthal figures more are probably in the mix, given that Minnesota has hired the same search firm used by Major League Baseball itself last year to prepare female and minority candidates for baseball operations jobs.
Injury Notes: Hamilton, Reed, De La Rosa, Anderson, Kazmir, Oh, Marte
The Reds announced this morning that outfielder Billy Hamilton and left-hander Cody Reed have been placed on the disabled list due to a left oblique injury and lower back spasm, respectively. The moves are retroactive to Sept. 5, but given the fact that rosters are currently expanded, the DL placements likely end the season for the pair of promising young talents. Hamilton, who turned 26 a week ago, enjoyed what has been his best overall season at the Major League level in 2016, hitting .260/.321/.343 in 460 plate appearances. While those numbers certainly don’t stand out, especially not when considering Hamilton’s home park, the .321 OBP is a career-best and represents a marked step forward for a player that posted just a .285 on-base percentage from 2014-15. Of course, he’s also a top-flight defender (13 runs above average per both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating) and the game’s best baserunner (he easily leads the league with 12.9 runs above average on the basepaths, per Fangraphs). Though he’s dealt with some bumps and bruises this year, things are pointing up for Hamilton as he reaches arbitration eligibility this fall. As for the 23-year-old Reed, his debut campaign wasn’t quite what he might’ve hoped. He did manager to strike out 8.1 batters per nine innings, against 3.6 walks, but compiled only a 7.36 ERA over 47 2/3 frames in ten starts. It remains to be seen whether he’ll be able to earn a rotation spot out of camp for 2017.
Here are some more injury notes from around the game:
- It had seemed that Diamondbacks righty Rubby De La Rosa would be shut down for the year due to ongoing elbow soreness, but that may no longer be the case. As Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets, manager Chip Hale says there’s still a chance that De La Rosa could return at the tail end of 2016. He’ll throw side sessions and perhaps even sim games while the team assesses both the health of his elbow and his command, per the skipper. “Maybe the last week of the season we get him in a game to see what he looks like,” said Hale.
- The Dodgers put Brett Anderson on the hill tonight in the Triple-A playoffs and he provided five solid frames, as MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick reports. He is working back from a blister, and showed well with five strikeouts and zero free passes while allowing just one run on three hits. With the victory, Triple-A Oklahoma City stayed alive, meaning that fellow southpaw Scott Kazmir will take his own turn at a rehab outing, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register (via Twitter). Kazmir has been battling thoracic spinal inflammation, and his timeline has remained murky. It’ll be interesting to see whether either or both starters play a role down the stretch or in the postseason for the Dodgers. Kazmir is likely not to opt out of his contract regardless, but Anderson will be looking to show that he’s at full health entering another run at free agency. Still just 28 years of age, back issues have limited Anderson to just a pair of major league outings thus far — neither of which went well at all.
- Cardinals closer Seung-hwan Oh is back in action after resting a groin injury, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch tweets. Oh has been a tremendous find for St. Louis, providing 72 1/3 innings of 1.87 ERA ball on the year, and his return will be critical with just two weeks to go. His 2017 option is already guaranteed — he has accumulated exactly the thirty games finished that he needed — but the team was already surely excited to pick it up at just $2.75MM.
- The Pirates are still awaiting the return of outfielder Starling Marte, who has dealt with back spasms. Skipper Clint Hurdle says that he believes Marte will be ready to go tomorrow, as Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweets. Unfortunately, it’s likely too late for the talented outfielder to impact the team’s postseason chances; Pittsburgh sat 5.5 games out of Wild Card position entering play today. The multi-talented 27-year-old has turned in another high-quality campaign, with a .311/.362/.457 batting line, nine home runs, and 47 steals, and his extension continues to look like an outstanding investment.
Alex Reyes Moves Into Cardinals’ Rotation; Trevor Rosenthal Activated
The Cardinals are set to make some changes to their pitching staff, with rising young righty Alex Reyes taking the rotation slot of Jaime Garcia, as MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch was among those to tweet. Garcia is slated for a move to the bullpen.
[Related: Updated Cardinals Depth Chart]
Also heading to the major league relief corps is former closer Trevor Rosenthal, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports on Twitter. He had been sidelined by elbow and shoulder issues, but will be activated in advance of tonight’s contest.
The Cardinals’ pen certainly has a different make-up than would have been anticipated at the outset of the year. Garcia is accompanied by Michael Wacha in moving into a different role, though the latter’s switch occurred primarily because his injury issues did not allow time for him to ramp up to make it back to the rotation. Both, though, have had their share of troubles this year.
Tonight’s moves have some broader implications as well. Reyes will potentially make three starts, which could drive his innings up — when one includes his extended spring training work — to a level that could be uncomfortable if the Cards make a deep postseason run. Dealing with that issue would probably be a luxury, though, as the team faces a tough test to qualify.
Certainly, it’ll be interesting to see how Reyes fares while handling critical outings from the rotation. He only just turned 22, and has enjoyed star-caliber results thus far, allowing only four earned runs with 34 strikeouts while surrendering just 16 hits in 28 frames (including two starts). But he has also handed out 16 free passes and unleashed three wild pitches, so there still seems to be some polishing left to his mound work.
Garcia may be the most interesting element to consider. He has finally been healthy enough for a full season for the first time since 2011, but carries only a 4.65 ERA over his 164 2/3 frames. That’s rough enough to raise questions about his $12MM club option for 2017, but with a barren market for starters this winter, that’s probably a reasonable-enough price tag for the veteran southpaw.
As for Rosenthal, reports of his progress have been encouraging. But he had been a major question mark before the injury issues came to light. Despite striking out 13 batters per nine innings, Rosenthal lost his hold on the closer role with a 5.13 ERA and troubling 7.3 BB/9 over 33 1/3 frames on the year. He’ll be due a raise on his $5.6MM arbitration salary, making for an expensive tender decision. It still seems likely that St. Louis will take the risk on a pitcher who has been excellent for the bulk of his major league career, but any ongoing struggles or added injury concerns might conceivably shift the analysis.
Cardinals Activate Michael Wacha For Pen Duty, Consider Rotation Change
The Cardinals have activated righty Michael Wacha today, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch tweets. While that represents a welcome return, he will not slot into his accustomed spot in the rotation. After missing over a month with shoulder issues, there simply isn’t time for him to build up to a full workload.
[Related: Updated Cardinals Depth Chart]
When Wacha moves into the pen, he may soon find company from another starting stalwart. According to ESPN.com’s Mark Saxon, St. Louis is still undecided whether to allow Jaime Garcia to take the ball when he is next scheduled. The 30-year-old lefty has struggled to a 4.65 ERA over 164 2/3 innings on the year, and has been hit hard particularly of late.
Instead, the Cards may turn to young righty Alex Reyes, who continues to impress in multiple roles. Whether functioning as a single-inning reliever, starting, or taking a long relief role, Reyes has racked up the strikeouts (34 in 28 innings) and kept runs off the board (1.29 ERA). After opening the year with a suspension for marijuana use, Reyes has still yet to hit 100 frames — a fair bit shy of his prior career-high of 116 1/3. While he also threw in extended spring training, St. Louis ought to have some flexibility in utilizing him without concern of over-use.
Though the team certainly faces some tough decisions, it seems at least two starters will end up in the pen. That could come in handy down the stretch and (the team hopes) in the postseason, giving skipper Mike Matheny the ability to piggyback starters, get multiple quality relief innings, and generally stay flexible in managing his pitchers’ workloads.
Regarding Garcia, it’s tempting to wonder whether a potential move out of the rotation could be the beginning of the end of his time with the Cardinals. His $12MM club option isn’t exactly a slam dunk given his rough year and past injury issues, though a barren market for starting pitching likely makes that a reasonable value. Even if it is picked up, St. Louis could conceivably market the talented lefty.