East Notes: Yankees, Mets, Phillies, Rays
Yankees first baseman Greg Bird has followed a sensational spring training with a horrid April, having hit .107/.254/.214 with 21 strikeouts in 67 plate appearances, but the team will be patient with the 24-year-old. Asked Sunday if Bird is a candidate for a minor league demotion, general manager Brian Cashman said, “It’s not even an option for me in my mind right now, at all” (Twitter link via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). The Yankees’ other first baseman, Chris Carter, hasn’t fared much better than Bird (.182/.222/.333 in 36 PAs), but their woes haven’t stopped the Bombers from posting a major league-best 15-7 record.
Even more surprising is that the Yankees’ success has come without arguably their best player, catcher Gary Sanchez, who landed on the disabled list April 8 with a right biceps strain. Fortunately for New York, Sanchez is nearing a return – he’ll start a Triple-A rehab assignment Tuesday and could rejoin the big club next weekend, reports Sweeny Murti of WFAN (on Twitter). The Yankees began 1-4 with Sanchez and have gone 14-3 without him, thanks in part to the fact that reserve backstop Austin Romine has filled in with aplomb. The normally light-hitting Romine has unexpectedly done a decent Sanchez impersonation with a .300/.339/.460 line in 56 PAs.
More from the East Coast:
- Mets first baseman Lucas Duda, on the disabled list since April 21 with a hyperextended left elbow, will stay on the DL beyond the 10-day mark. Duda felt a “twinge” in his elbow after playing a rehab game Friday, and the Mets have shut him down until Tuesday as a result, per Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News. The Mets’ offense is just 17th in the majors in runs and 26th in wRC+, so a longer-than-expected absence for Duda isn’t optimal (especially with Yoenis Cespedes also out). With a .238/.360/.571 line in 50 trips to the plate, Duda has been one of the slow-starting club’s top performers this year.
- Given that the Phillies’ Tommy Joseph is off to a dreadful start this season (.190/.235/.270 in 68 PAs), he could lose time at first base to left fielder Howie Kendrick when the latter comes off the DL, writes Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Kendrick got some work at first during batting practice in each of the past two days, and shifting him there would enable the Phillies to keep left fielder Aaron Altherr‘s bat in the lineup, notes Salisbury. First base isn’t foreign to the 33-year-old Kendrick, who has seen action in 89 games there. The offseason trade acquisition from the Dodgers slashed a stellar .333/.395/.487 in 43 PAs before going on the DL on April 18 with an abdominal strain.
- Outfielder Colby Rasmus is closing in on his Rays debut, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Rasmus, who’s working his way back from the hip and core muscle surgeries he underwent as an Astro last October, will play a Double-A rehab game Sunday and could be on the Rays’ 25-man roster by Tuesday or Wednesday. The Rays signed Rasmus to a one-year contract worth a guaranteed $5MM in January.
Rays, Tigers Complete Mikie Mahtook Trade
The Rays have acquired righty Drew Smith from the Tigers, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). He represents the player to be named later from the trade that sent outfielder Mikie Mahtook to Detroit over the winter.
Smith, 23, was taken in the third round of the 2015 draft out of Dallas Baptist University. Coming into the current season, Smith rated as the Tigers organization’s 17th-best prospect, per MLB.com, owing to his solid four-seam fastball and quality curve.
Smith has risen to the High-A this year and is off to a nice start. In 11 2/3 frames over seven relief appearances, he has permitted just one earned run on four his while racking up a dozen strikeouts against four free passes. Though Smith has dealt with control issues at times and isn’t really seen as having a future in a rotation — despite the fact that he often appears for multiple innings — he seems reasonably likely to make it up to the majors in relatively short order.
The 27-year-old Mahtook, meanwhile, has struggled to a .179/.281/.321 batting line in 32 plate appearances for the Tigers. But he has generally put up good numbers in his time at Triple-A and showed well in his 2015 debut with Tampa Bay. If he can move towards a league-average batting line, Mahtook could be quite a useful player, as he is regarded as a quality up-the-middle defender.
Latest On The Nationals’ Bullpen Needs
The Nationals’ bullpen is off to a dismal start to the season, with a collective 4.86 ERA through the season’s first three weeks. Blake Treinen has already been removed from the closer’s role, albeit with a relatively quick hook (he’s thrown just seven innings this year). Koda Glover and Shawn Kelley are presently sharing ninth-inning work, and they’re two of just three Nats relievers that have ERAs south of 5.00 to begin the year. (Matt Albers has not allowed a run in four innings.)
In light of those struggles, Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM reports that the Nats have “touched base” with multiple teams on their closers. Specifically, he cites a pair of names that are no stranger to trade rumors: David Robertson of the White Sox and Alex Colome of the Rays. However, Bowden adds that the Nats “aren’t even in the same ballpark” when it comes to the asking price on those players.
Robertson, 32, has allowed just one run through his first 6 2/3 innings this season and logged an impressive 12-to-3 K/BB ratio along the way. He’s earning $12MM this season (of which about $10.6MM remains) and will earn $13MM next year in the final season of a four-year, $46MM contract. The 28-year-old Colome, meanwhile, has yet to allow a run this year, though he’s curiously punched out just four hitters through nine innings after posting a gaudy 11.3 K/9 rate in a breakout 2016 campaign. He’s not yet arbitration eligible and can be controlled through the 2020 season, so it’s hardly surprising to hear that Tampa Bay’s asking price may be quite lofty.
As alternative options, Bowden lists Brandon Kintzler of the Twins, Brandon Maurer of the Padres and any of the Athletics’ late-inning arms, which include Sean Doolittle, Ryan Madson and Santiago Casilla. It should be noted, though, that there’s no specific mention of trade talks with any of those clubs, so the suggestions seem fairly speculative in nature.
Furthermore, each of those names comes with a caveat. Kintzler’s experience as a closer is highly limited, and a year ago at this time he was in Triple-A after signing a minor league deal with Minnesota. As a free agent at season’s end, though, he’s a natural trade candidate. Maurer is controllable through 2019, which could create a significant asking price, and he hasn’t exactly established a track record of dominance himself. And when it comes to the A’s, Doolittle is on a terrific contract, while Madson’s three-year, $22MM looks to be an overpay. Casilla, meanwhile, can’t even be traded without his consent until June 15 given the fact that he only signed with Oakland as a free agent this past offseason (a two-year, $11MM deal).
The Nationals, according to Bowden, believe that the 24-year-old Glover can be their closer of the future, but there’s some question in the organization about whether it’s too early in his career to hand him the job. Glover has just 27 1/3 MLB innings under his belt and has been solid but not overpowering in that time; the former eighth-rounder has a 4.28 ERA, a 22-to-8 K/BB ratio and a 42 percent ground-ball rate in his young career.
Injury Notes: Bumgarner, Span, Hunter, Odorizzi, Locke
There hasn’t been any talk within the Giants organization about filing a grievance against Madison Bumgarner in the wake of the ace southpaw’s dirt bike accident earlier this week, ESPN’s Buster Olney writes (subscription required). It isn’t known whether Bumgarner had some sort of contractual clause (as many players do) prohibiting him from engaging in potentially dangerous activities like dirt biking, though if he did, the Giants would technically be within their rights to pursue recouping some of the salary owed to Bumgarner while he is on the disabled list. Then again, as Olney notes, such a tactic “would be incredibly shortsighted and stupid” for the Giants given Bumgarner’s importance to the franchise, not to mention the fact that Bumgarner is already an enormous bargain thanks to an early-career extension.
Here’s the latest on some injury situations from around baseball…
- Denard Span left last night’s game in the second inning after colliding with the wall while making a catch. The Giants outfielder suffered a mild right shoulder sprain and though Span told MLB.com’s Chris Haft and other reporters that x-rays were negative, manager Bruce Bochy said Span may be out of action for a few days. With Hunter Pence also hampered by a knee strain, the Giants may need to make some type of roster move to fill the gaps in their outfield.
- The Rays placed right-hander Tommy Hunter on the 10-day DL with a right calf strain, recalling Chih-Wei Hu from Triple-A to fill the spot in the bullpen. Hunter, who signed a minor league deal with Tampa Bay in February, has performed very well in his 8 1/3 innings with the club, posting a 1.08 ERA in 10 relief appearances. Hu, 23, will be looking to make his official MLB debut after five seasons in the minors with the Rays and Twins. Baseball America ranked Hu as the fifth-best prospect in the Rays’ system prior to this season.
- In better news for the injury-plagued Rays, Jake Odorizzi told reporters (including Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times) that he feels ready to return from the 10-day DL after a 36-pitch bullpen session and some running drills. Odorizzi was placed on the DL last weekend due to a left hamstring strain, though the injury wasn’t considered to be too serious. The Rays righty is eligible to be activated on Wednesday.
- The Marlins will probably use Jeff Locke out of the bullpen when the southpaw returns from injury, manager Don Mattingly told reporters (including Andre C. Fernandez of the Miami Herald). Locke gives the Fish another lefty out of the pen, and “We still want — we’ve always talked about having a number of guys who can do multiple innings,” Mattingly said. Locke has been sidelined with biceps tendinitis since early in Spring Training and is getting close to beginning a rehab assignment, Mattingly said, though no more specific timeline was provided beyond the skipper saying that Locke is expected back sometime in May. Locke has primarily been a starter during his six-year MLB career, though the Pirates shifted him to the pen last year in the midst of a rough 2016 season for the left-hander. Pittsburgh non-tendered Locke in December, and he signed a one-year, $3.025MM deal with Miami.
Injury Notes: Miggy, Jays, Rox, Britton, Griffin, Reds, Morin, Richards, Cedeno, Kazmir, Garza
Star Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera left tonight’s game with a groin strain, as Evan Woodberry of MLive.com reports on Twitter. For now, there’s no real indication of the severity of the injury; Detroit will take a closer look tomorrow.
Here’s more on the injury front:
- Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca provides an update on some injured Blue Jays hurlers. While there had been some hope that J.A. Happ would be able to return after missing just one start, he was still feeling elbow discomfort when he played catch yesterday. There is still hope, though, that Aaron Sanchez will be ready to return from his blister issues to re-take his turn in the rotation.
- The Rockies have received promising updates on the injury front, as Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports. Ian Desmond‘s hand has healed to the point that he was able to hit off of a tee. He’ll soon be followed by David Dahl, whose latest medical check-brought positive news.
- Likewise, the Orioles have reason to hope they’ll welcome back closer Zach Britton in short order. As Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets, manager Buck Showalter says that Britton’s MRI results were very promising. Britton, who hasn’t been quite his dominant self thus far in 2017, hit the DL with forearm soreness.
- Rangers righty A.J. Griffin is heading to the 10-day DL with what the team is describing as ankle inflammation caused by gout. It doesn’t seem likely to require an extended absence, but the issue arises at an unfortunate time for the 29-year-old (and the struggling ballclub). Griffin is off to a solid start, having allowed seven earned runs on nine hits — and an excellent 16:4 K/BB ratio — over 15 1/3 innings.
- There were a few updates from the Reds, as provided by Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter links). Righty Homer Bailey could be ready for mound work as soon as the end of the month, per skipper Bryan Price. Bailey has made just eight starts since the start of the 2015 season; he’s working back from surgery to remove bone spurs. Southpaw reliever Tony Cingrani, meanwhile, was placed on the 10-day DL with an oblique strain, with outfielder Phil Ervin taking his place on the active roster.
- Alex Meyer made a start tonight for the Angels, taking the roster spot of reliever Mike Morin, who is headed to the DL with neck stiffness, as Maria Guardado of MLB.com tweets. Morin, who’ll soon turn 26, has been hit hard in his 6 2/3 frames to open the season.
- Meanwhile, Angels righty Garrett Richards is said to be making some progress but isn’t yet able to begin throwing, Guardado tweets. Continued biceps weakness is still the culprit. The Halos are understandably taking care to ensure that Richards is at full health before pushing him forward.
- Rays lefty Xavier Cedeno is experiencing forearm tightness will require at least a brief DL placement, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. It’s not seen as a significant injury, but the loss of Cedeno does leave Tampa Bay without a southpaw in the pen. The 30-year-old has not looked sharp early; as Topkin notes, he has struggled to prevent inherited runners to score. And Cedeno has surrendered four walks without recording a single strikeout in his seven appearances.
- Dodgers lefty Scott Kazmir is still dealing with hip tightness that is preventing him from progressing back to the hill, as Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports on Twitter. The veteran southpaw is not yet nearing a rehab stint, per the report.
- The Brewers will welcome back righty Matt Garza from the DL to make a start on Monday, per a team announcement. Garza was not ready to open the year due to a groin strain. He’ll bump southpaw Tommy Milone to the bullpen.
Rays Place Jake Odorizzi On 10-Day DL
Rays right-hander Jake Odorizzi is headed to the 10-day disabled list with a left hamstring strain, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The Rays have recalled righty Chase Whitley from Triple-A to take the roster spot of Odorizzi, who’s unlikely to miss much time.
“He’s fine. We anticipate this will be a short stay,” manager Kevin Cash said of Odorizzi’s DL stint (via Scott Lauber of ESPN.com).
Making his third start of the year Saturday, Odorizzi left after throwing just one inning against the Red Sox. Odorizzi had lasted six frames in his two previous starts, and has so far allowed six earned runs (with eight strikeouts and three walks) over 13 innings this season. The 27-year-old has been one of the Rays’ top starters since 2014, his first full season, having posted a 3.74 ERA, 8.35 K/9 and 2.72 BB/9 in 537 innings dating back to then.
Odorizzi’s next turn through the rotation was scheduled for Thursday against Houston, meaning Tampa Bay will have to settle on a fill-in by then. The Rays could tab swingman Erasmo Ramirez or choose someone from a Triple-A rotation consisting of Ryan Yarbrough, Chih-Wei Hu, Taylor Guerrieri, Jacob Faria and Whitley (Yarbrough is the only one not on the team’s 40-man roster). Highly touted prospect Jose De Leon, acquired from the Dodgers for second baseman Logan Forsythe over the winter, hasn’t pitched yet this season on account of flexor mass discomfort.
Minor MLB Transactions: 4/14/17
Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…
- Righty Casey Fien has accepted a Triple-A assignment with the Mariners after clearing outright waivers, as Bob Dutton and TJ Cotterill of the Tacoma News Tribune report (Twitter links). Fien, who said it was an easy call to remain in the organization, was designated after a few rough outings. But the 33-year-old still has plenty of life to his fastball and was registering swings and misses, and he figures to be one of the first players up if a need rises.
- The Angels have selected the contract of righty Deolis Guerra, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. Clearing a 40-man spot wasn’t difficult, as the club was able to shift rehabbing lefty Andrew Heaney to the 60-day DL. Soon to turn 28, Guerra pitched to a 3.21 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 1.2 BB/9 last year, but nevertheless lost his 40-man spot over the winter. He is out of options, so he’ll have to stick on the active roster or face a DFA.
- The Rays have selected the contract of outfielder Shane Peterson, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Peterson will take the place of Mallex Smith, who is headed to the 10-day DL with a hamstring injury. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, right-hander Brad Boxberger has been transferred from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL. The 29-year-old Peterson saw MLB time with Oakland in 2013 and with Milwaukee in 2015, hitting a combined .225/.322/.346 over the life of 234 plate appearances. Peterson has plenty of action at all three outfield slots and has a very strong .298/.383/.470 batting line in 418 Triple-A games (1808 plate appearances). His stay with the Rays could be a brief one, though, as Colby Rasmus will soon resume his minor league rehab assignment. As for Boxberger, he’s dealing with a flexor strain, Topkin reported last week, and now won’t be eligible to return to the big league roster until June.
AL East Notes: Machado, Price, Barnes, Rasmus
Manny Machado‘s capability to play shortstop could impact the Orioles in both the short- and long-term picture, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The 24-year-old Machado will hit the open market following the 2018 season, and he tells Rosenthal that he still thinks about playing his natural position of shortstop even though he’s spent the bulk of his career at third base (and become one of the best defensive third basemen in the game — if not of all-time). Asked about the thought of playing shortstop on a consistent basis, Machado replies: “I’m not going to lie. It’s always been there. … I played a little bit there (last year). That was fun. I trained this year to play there just in case anything happened.” Machado also acknowledges, though, that he’s experienced great success at third base, rhetorically asking, “So why change?”
As Rosenthal notes, the Orioles hold a $14MM option over J.J. Hardy at season’s end, and the ability to move Machado to short could impact their thinking. (Although the option would vest and become guaranteed if Hardy tallies 600 PAs.) Beyond that, though, Rosenthal wonders if Machado would be enticed by the opportunity to play shortstop on an everyday basis when he reaches free agency in the 2018-19 offseason, whether in Baltimore or elsewhere.
A few more notes pertaining to the AL East…
- Red Sox left-hander David Price threw a 20-pitch bullpen session today and came away from the workout feeling good, he told reporters (via Chad Jennings of the Boston Herald). The key for the former AL Cy Young winner, however, will be seeing how he feels tomorrow. Price has yet to pitch for the Sox this season after a forearm issue led to a scare during Spring Training and, prior to today, hadn’t thrown off a mound since Feb. 28, Jennings notes. Farrell said that if Price feels strong tomorrow, another mound session would be lined up for Wednesday. There’s still no definitive timeline when it comes to Price’s return, but Jennings notes that he won’t pitch in the Majors until at least May.
- In a Red Sox bullpen that has quite a bit of uncertainty throughout its ranks, right-hander Matt Barnes has emerged as the primary setup option for closer Craig Kimbrel, writes Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal. That could change, potentially, when Tyler Thornburg is ready to come off the disabled list, but Barnes’ early showing and the struggles of many of his teammates have him primed for a big role in the Boston ‘pen. ““A guy that’s maybe a little bit more seasoned than some others in some of those big spots, he’s going to be a pivotal guy in our bullpen,” said Sox manager John Farrell to MacPherson. The 26-year-old Barnes averaged 9.6 K/9 against 4.2 BB/9 with a 45.6 percent ground-ball rate out of the bullpen last season, and he’s logged a 5-to-1 K/BB ratio through his first 3 2/3 shutout innings in 2017.
- Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that Colby Rasmus‘ rehab assignment with the Rays‘ Class-A Advanced affiliate in Charlotte is still on hold for a few more days, likely pushing the outfielder’s debut back until next week. Rasmus was involved in an outfield collision in Charlotte last Thursday, as Topkin reported, and while he remained in that game, the team is now proceeding rather cautiously. Topkin also suggests that speedster Mallex Smith will likely head to Triple-A Durham once Rasmus is healthy enough to rejoin the Major League roster. Rasmus, who signed a one-year, $5MM contract with Tampa Bay this winter, is recovering from offseason hip surgery.
AL East Notes: Bradley, Upton, Osuna, Yankees
Jackie Bradley Jr. underwent an MRI on his right knee this morning and he isn’t in today’s Red Sox lineup, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reports (Twitter link). Bradley took an awkward step while rounding first base during a flyout in the ninth inning of yesterday’s 4-1 loss to the Tigers, though he told Abraham and other reporters after the game that he was “all good…everything is intact” and joked that he was “built like Secretariat.” Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told Abraham that the MRI didn’t reveal anything that would require a DL stint for Bradley, so it seems like Boston is simply being careful with its center fielder. Given how the Red Sox roster has already been decimated by a flu bug, it’s hard to blame the team for guarding against Bradley potentially aggravating a minor injury. Here’s more from around the AL East…
- The Rays didn’t seek out a reunion with Melvin Upton for multiple reasons, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes, one of which was the club’s desire to give Peter Bourjos a chance. Bourjos was only just acquired in a late-March trade with the White Sox, and like Upton, is a right-handed hitting outfielder capable of playing all three outfield spots. Upton has been the much better hitter than Bourjos over the course of his career, though Upton’s own run-creating numbers have been well below the league average in three of the last four seasons. Upton signed a minor league deal with the Giants after being released by the Blue Jays at the end of Spring Training.
- Roberto Osuna reported no pain during a 24-pitch simulated game yesterday, the Blue Jays closer told Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi and other media. Osuna began the season on the DL due to a cervical spasm, though the injury was thought to be fairly minor and Osuna is on pace to be activated for Toronto’s home opener on April 11.
- With so much uncertainty within the Yankees lineup, ESPN.com’s Andrew Marchand opines that an extended DL stint for Gary Sanchez could ruin the team’s chances of contending. The Yankees are off to a rough start both on the field and with the injury bug, as Sanchez and Didi Gregorius are on the DL and Greg Bird has been bothered by a sore ankle. (Not to mention the concerning reports on the elbow of top pitching prospect James Kaprielian.) Speaking of Bird, the first baseman tells MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (Twitter link) and other reporters that his ankle is feeling better, though he is currently bothered by the flu.
Rays Release Cory Rasmus
The Rays have released right-handed reliever Cory Rasmus, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). As Topkin notes, Rasmus was limited by injury this spring after inking a minors deal with the organization over the winter.
Rasmus had followed his brother Colby to Tampa Bay in hopes that the two might appear on the same major league roster for the first time. (They have previously squared off in game action.) But the pitching member of the family appeared in just one spring game.
Over parts of four seasons in the majors, Rasmus has thrown 123 innings of 4.17 ERA ball — mostly for the Angels. Though he has shown some swing-and-miss ability, with 8.9 K/9 for his career, Rasmus has also issued 4.2 free passes per nine innings and has proven susceptible to the long ball (lifetime 1.3 HR/9). He also struggled quite a bit last year, recording a 5.84 ERA with 17 strikeouts and 16 walks in his 24 2/3 frames while battling groin issues — just as he did this spring.