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Steven Souza To Undergo Hip Surgery

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Rays right fielder Steven Souza will undergo surgery to repair an impingement in his left hip on Wednesday, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Souza visited a specialist to have his hip looked at today and told Topkin recently that he’s been playing through discomfort since June.

The 27-year-old Souza had a solid season at the plate and in the field even in spite of the ailment, hitting .247/.303/.409 with 17 homers, 17 doubles and six stolen bases in a career-high 468 plate appearances. He graded out as an above-average defender even in spite of a hip impingement that one would assume impacted his mobility to some extent in the field.

From a big picture standpoint, the surgery doesn’t change too much for the Rays. Topkin notes that Souza is expected to be ready for Spring Training, so he’ll presumably be penciled in as the team’s primary right fielder once again, barring some form of significant setback in his offseason recovery. The Rays will undoubtedly hope that a healthier hip can lead Souza to capitalize more effectively on the combination of power, speed and defense that makes him such a tantalizing talent.

As it stands, the Rays have the least to show at the big league level for the three-team blockbuster that brought Souza to St. Petersburg in the first place, as Trea Turner and Joe Ross look like cornerstone pieces for the Nationals while Wil Myers has enjoyed an excellent breakout season in San Diego. However, they also have Class-A lefty Travis Ott and Double-A first baseman/right fielder Jake Bauers making their way through the minor league ranks. And, of course, Souza won’t even be arbitration-eligible this winter and has an additional four years of club control remaining, so there’s ample opportunity for the Rays to receive more Major League value from that swap.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/19/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves, each coming courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise noted…

  • The Rays have outrighted Tyler Sturdevant to Triple-A Durham. The right-handed reliever was designated for assignment last week despite a solid 3.93 earned run average and a 14-to-6 K/BB ratio in 18 1/3 innings. That small sample represented the first Major League work of the 30-year-old Sturdevant’s career. The former Indians farmhand signed a minors pact with the Rays last offseason and had a nice run with Tampa Bay’s Triple-A affiliate, posting a 3.66 ERA with 11.2 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9 in 39 1/3 frames. Set to turn 31 this December, Sturdevant can again opt for minor league free agency this winter.
  • Lefty reliever Jack Leathersich will forgo minor league free agency and re-up with the Cubs on a minors pact for the 2017 season. The former Mets reliever had a successful debut in 2015 when he posted a 2.31 ERA in 11 2/3 innings, but Tommy John surgery derailed his rookie campaign. The Cubs picked him up on waivers this past November, but he wound up being removed from the 40-man roster and re-signing a minors deal with Chicago. The 26-year-old Leathersich made it back to a minor league mound this year and tossed 23 1/3 innings of 1.93 ERA ball with a hefty 34 strikeouts, though he also issued 13 walks and hit a batter as well. Control has never been a strong point for Leathersich, but he’ll work on reining in the walks as he hopes to bring his career 15.0 K/9 rate back to the Majors at some point next season.
  • Eddy’s post contains several players from teams all throughout the league that elected to skip minor league free agency and sign 2017 deals with their 2016 organizations, though Leathersich is the only one of the bunch with MLB experience under his belt.

AL East Notes: Teixeira, Souza, Hanley

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With his career winding down, Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira took some time to sit down with Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports and reflect on his 14 seasons in the Majors. In an excellent Q&A, Teixeira discusses with Rosenthal the feeling of being traded on two different occasions, including an amusing story of a ruined cell phone on a fishing trip with former teammate David Dellucci that prevented him from learning about his trade to the Braves as quickly as he otherwise might have. The switch-hitting slugger candidly discussed his lone trip through free agency, stating that he “didn’t enjoy it at all” and also explaining how he very nearly signed with the division-rival Red Sox that winter before agreeing to terms with the Yankees. He also discusses the differences of being in a pennant race as an expected contributor and as a veteran role player. I’d highly recommend checking out Rosenthal’s piece, as it pulls back the curtain a bit on free agency and trades and also contains a number of interesting anecdotes from Teixeira.

Here’s more from the AL East…

  • Rays right fielder Steven Souza Jr. is seeing a specialist in Nashville to have his hip evaluated today, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Souza has been playing through lingering discomfort in his left hip that has limited him in the weight room and other non-baseball activities. Souza describes the feeling as a pinching sensation that is stemming from an irregular bone growth in his hip. The possibility of surgery is on the table for the 27-year-old, who has batted .247/.303/.409 with 17 homers and six steals while playing above-average defense in spite of the hip troubles this year.
  • Hanley Ramirez has redeemed himself in Boston after a dreadful first year with the Red Sox, and Alex Speier of the Boston Globe spoke to the slugger about his transformation at the plate. Ramirez feels that a shoulder injury sustained when crashing into the left field wall early last season hindered his ability to catch up with fastballs “a lot,” and Speier examines Ramirez’s complete rebound against heaters in 2016. Ramirez hit just .236 against fastballs last season, with only eight of his 19 homers coming against them. He didn’t hit a single homer off a pitch that was thrown 94 mph or greater, but he’s done so four times in the past three weeks alone, including last Thursday’s walk-off blast against Dellin Betances. Ramirez, whose batting line rests at a magnificent .294/.364/.517 (28 homers), discussed the various changes he’s made to his approach at the plate, specifically a lowered hand position that shortens his swing and increases the power. Manager John Farrell raved about Ramirez to reporters following last night’s two-homer performance (via MLB.com’s Ian Browne). “His comeback, his resurgence, it has been a major factor for where we stand today,” said Farrell.

Rays’ Chaim Bloom Among Twins’ Front Office Candidates

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Rays vice president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom is one of the Twins’ candidates for their newly created president of baseball operations position, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter).

Bloom, 33, is a Yale graduate who has been with the Rays organization since 2005 and rose to the position of VP of baseball ops following Andrew Friedman’s departure for the Dodgers organization in 2014. Bloom’s background with the Rays is multi-faceted but involves working with the team’s player development department, contract negotiations, player evaluation and international scouting.

Bloom has been a frequent candidate for GM openings around the league, as he interviewed with the Brewers last winter before their hiring of David Stearns and was also one of three reported finalists for the Phillies’ general manager vacancy prior to Philadelphia’s hiring of Matt Klentak. He joins a growing list of known Twins candidates, including Indians assistant general manager Derek Falvey, Cubs senior vice president of player development/amateur scouting Jason McLeod and Royals assistant general manager J.J. Picollo. Reports have indicated that the Twins’ list of candidates has a fairly analytical bend to it, and Bloom’s inclusion in the list lines up well with that information. It’s not yet clear, based on Rosenthal’s report, whether the Twins have conducted an interview with Bloom, though the team has already interviewed multiple candidates, including Falvey and Picollo.

After a lengthy quiet spell regarding the Twins’ executive search, rumors have begun to pick up with increasing frequency in recent weeks. However, Minnesota’s search has hit some roadblocks, as well-known execs like Alex Anthopoulos, Ben Cherington and David Forst have reportedly passed on the opportunity to interview for the newly created position atop the Twins’ baseball operations hierarchy.

Logan Morrison To Undergo Surgery For Wrist Injury

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SEPT. 16: Yahoo’s Jeff Passan reports that Morrison will indeed undergo surgery to repair the tear in his wrist, though it seems that even with that disheartening news, Morrison has caught somewhat of a break (links to Twitter). The extent of Morrison’s tear is relatively minimal, according to Passan, meaning that the slugger can begin swinging a bat in about 12 weeks and should be ready to go for Spring Training. A more significant tear, Passan adds, could have sidelined LoMo entirely for the next six months.

SEPT. 15: Rays first baseman Logan Morrison has been diagnosed with a torn left wrist sheath, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports on Twitter. Though he’ll receive a second opinion, it seems that surgery will likely be required.

The injury was already believed to be season-ending, but Morrison hoped that he wouldn’t need to go under the knife. While some form of rehab was already inevitable, this certainly doesn’t appear to be the best-case scenario.

Without question, the news will impact Morrison’s market, as it’s a reasonably significant surgery. For instance, Jose Bautista missed the second half of 2012 after an operation to repair his wrist sheath in mid-July. Plus, Morrison lost the chance to finish out the season and pad his batting line.

At first glance, the 29-year-old Morrison had an underwhelming season for Tampa Bay, which acquired him over the winter. But his overall results are weighed down by an unbelievably slow start. Prospective suitors for Morrison got their last looks at him during a 303 plate appearance run to end the year. In that span, he put up a .275/.350/.498 slash and has knocked 14 long balls.

All told, there ought to be plenty of pursuers for a fairly youthful slugger who has had success in the majors in the past. But it’s tough now to imagine him generating the kind of multi-year interest that might have been hoped for with a healthy finish to the year.

Wrist Injury Ends Logan Morrison’s Season

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3:20pm: Morrison now confirms to Topkin (Twitter link) that he’s done for the season. He’ll have an MRI performed on his wrist this Wednesday, which will determine whether he requires surgery. Even if only rehab is required, though, Morrison won’t play again this year.

8:46am: Rays first baseman/designated hitter Logan Morrison believes he’s done for the season after incurring a left wrist injury while taking a swing in yesterday’s game, he tells Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Morrison explains that he heard a “pop” in his left wrist, which had previously given him no issues. He’ll undergo an MRI to determine if surgery is needed to correct an injury that, according to manager Kevin Cash, pertains to Morrison’s tendon sheath, according to Topkin. “More than likely, I’m probably done for the year,” Morrison said. “I’m just hoping everything is all right.”

The injury comes with the worst of timing for Morrison, who is slated to hit the open market following the 2016 season. He’d gone a long way toward rebuilding his stock after enduring one of the slowest starts of any player in recent history, but season-ending wrist surgery certainly won’t do him any favors as he looks for a new contract this offseason.

Morrison, who recently turned 29, was acquired by the Rays along with Brad Miller and Danny Farquhar in the offseason trade that sent Nate Karns, Boog Powell and C.J. Riefenhauser to the Mariners. He opened the season in dreadful fashion, collecting just two hits through his first 44 plate appearances and didn’t collect a multi-hit game until May 17. Morrison’s overall batting line sat at just .119/.221/.143 through his first 95 plate appearances, and it was questioned in mid-May how long he could hang onto his roster spot.

Morrison answered naysayers emphatically with a brilliant finish to the month of May, though, and continued to hit for the remainder of the season when healthy. (Notably, a forearm strain did cost him more than two weeks of action in late July/early August.) Over his final 303 plate appearances this season, Morrison slashed .275/.350/.498 with 14 homers, 16 doubles and a triple, raising his OPS nearly 400 points in the process.

While Morrison was never going to rank as one of the top 10 free agents of the offseason (in terms of earning capacity), another three strong weeks would’ve helped to further distance himself from that disastrous start to the season. Now, Morrison will simply hope that surgery isn’t required to alleviate the newfound pain in his wrist, as a lengthy rehab would presumably create some hesitation on behalf of interested teams. All of the first base options on the market, of course, will be playing second fiddle to Edwin Encarnacion, but Morrison will join a crop of first basemen that also includes Brandon Moss, Mike Napoli, Mitch Moreland and Steve Pearce this coming winter.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/11/16

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Here are the latest minor moves from around the game, all from Matt Eddy of Baseball America unless otherwise credited.  Check out Roster Resource for updated roster information for the teams cited here and every other team in the majors.

  • The Rays have outrighted Hank Conger to Triple-A Durham, after the catcher was designated for assignment earlier this week.  Conger managed just a .194/.265/.306 slash line and three homers over 137 plate appearances for Tampa this season.  Perhaps even most ominously, Conger’s struggles worsened after he was optioned to Triple-A in July, as he has managed just a .503 OPS over 116 PA for Durham.
  • The Rays have selected the contract of veteran southpaw Dana Eveland, the team announced.  He’ll take the 40-man roster spot of Tyler Sturdevant, who was DFA’ed earlier today.  Eveland has himself been designated for assignment twice this season by the Rays (accepting outright assignments both times), and the lefty has an 8.55 ERA, 8.1 K/9 and 6.8 BB/9 over 20 relief innings out of Tampa Bay’s bullpen this season.
  • The Blue Jays outrighted third baseman Matt Dominguez to Triple-A, the club announced last week.  Dominguez was designated for assignment on September 2.  He owns a .269/.315/.421 slash line and 18 homers over 514 PA for Triple-A Buffalo this season, plus he also appeared in five games for the Jays to clock his first big league action since 2014.  Once a well-regarded prospect, Dominguez enjoyed a 21-homer season with Houston in 2013 but has hit only .231/.273/.371 in 1369 career PA in the majors.
  • The Blue Jays released outfielder Quintin Berry.  The base-stealing specialist just signed a minor league pact with the Jays on August 31, potentially putting him in line for a reprise of his past role (with the Tigers and Red Sox) as postseason pinch-running depth.  Berry appeared in just 31 MLB games in 2013-15 and he hasn’t played in the bigs in 2016, spending much of the year with the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate.
  • The Braves released right-hander Wilfredo Boscan.  The 26-year-old made his Major League debut this season, tossing 15 1/3 innings over six games (one of them a start) for the Pirates and posting a 6.46 ERA.  Atlanta claimed Boscan off waivers in August and then outrighted him off the 40-man roster to make room for September call-ups.
  • The Braves have selected the contract of catcher Blake Lalli from Triple-A, the team announced.  Lalli will replace A.J. Pierzynski, who hit the 15-day disabled list earlier today.  Lalli, who has 22 big league games under his belt, will be looking for his first taste of MLB action since 2013 when he was a member of the Brewers.  He has since played in the Diamondbacks and Braves farm systems.
  • The Marlins released right-hander Andre Rienzo.  The Brazilian hurler posted a 2.85 ERA, 10.1 K/9 and 2.3 K/BB rate over 41 innings split between four levels of the Miami farm system, though 32 1/3 IP came at the Triple-A level.  Control was again an issue for Rienzo, as it was during his 140 1/3 career MLB innings with the White Sox and Marlins from 2013-15 when he had a 4.7 BB/9 (not to mention a 1.6 HR/9 that contributed to his 5.90 ERA).

Rays Designate Tyler Sturdevant For Assignment

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The Rays have designated right-hander Tyler Sturdevant for assignment, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.

The 30-year-old Sturdevant is in his first season with the Rays organization. He has thrown 18 1/3 major league innings this year and recorded a 3.93 ERA, 6.87 K/9 and 2.95 BB/9. Sturdevant was even better with Triple-A Durham, where he logged a 3.66 ERA, 11.25 K/9 and 2.75 BB/9. Previously, he spent seven years with the Indians organization after going in the 27th round of the 2009 draft. Sturdevant served a 50-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs last season.

Rays To Sign Alexei Ramirez

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The Rays have signed veteran shortstop Alexei Ramirez, who was recently released by the Padres, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). The signing of Ramirez comes less than a week after the news that shortstop Matt Duffy would likely undergo season-ending surgery to alleviate a nagging Achilles injury.

Alexei Ramirez

The 34-year-old Ramirez inked a one-year, $4MM contract with the Padres on the heels of a disappointing 2015 season — albeit one that saw him finish with a strong .282/.329/.426 in the season’s final three months — but received woeful results from the longtime White Sox infielder. Ramirez batted just .240/.275/.330 through 444 plate appearances with the Friars, and while he’s long graded out as a plus defender at short, Defensive Runs Saved pegged him at -17 this season, with Ultimate Zone Rating offering a similar assessment (-15.1).

Furthermore, Tampa Bay’s decision to sign Ramirez rather than bring the recently demoted Tim Beckham back to the Majors sends a strong message to the former No. 1 overall pick (as Topkin tweets). Beckham was demoted for a trio of baserunning blunders just prior to roster expansion, two of which directly stemmed from a lack of hustle. While the 26-year-old showed some improvement at the dish this season, hitting .247/.300/.434 in 215 plate appearances, he’s yet to justify his elite draft spot or even cement himself as a viable long-term option for the Rays.

Details on Ramirez’s contract aren’t yet clear, but it’s presumably just a one-year Major League pact, meaning it would run only through the end of the 2016 season. The Rays, then, would be on the hook for nothing more than the pro-rated portion of the league minimum. While that’s a fairly negligible investment, it’s still something of a mildly unexpected bonus for the Padres, who will save about $70K due to the Rays’ unexpected expenditure.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AL East Notes: Tillman, O’Day, Rays, Green

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As the Orioles look to work their way back into first place in the American League East, they’ll soon be joined by a pair of key players that have been on the disabled list, per MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko. Baltimore’s top starter, Chris Tillman, is slated to throw one final bullpen session on Friday before making a return to the rotation against the Tigers on Sunday. Notably, manager Buck Showalter said that no one will come out of the rotation when Tillman returns, as Baltimore will instead go with a six-man starting staff. Meanwhile, setup man Darren O’Day, who has been out since early August with a rotator cuff strain, threw 26 pitches today and felt good. Like Tillman, he’s lined up for a Friday bullpen session, but he’ll require a few days of rest and then a simulated game before he’s cleared to return. The Orioles are hoping that will happen at some point next week, per Kubatko.

A couple more items from the division…

  • The Rays have dismissed longtime hitting coach Derek Shelton and promoted minor league hitting coordinator Chad Mottola to take his place, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Shelton had served as Tampa Bay’s hitting coach for the past seven seasons and spent five years as the Indians’ hitting coach prior to that. The timing of the move is somewhat strange, Topkin points out, but the thought process behind the switch is to allow Mottola to begin building his rapport with the Rays’ hitters as soon as possible. Mottola will serve as the team’s hitting coach at least through the end of the 2017 season, he adds. President of baseball ops Matt Silverman and manager Kevin Cash indicated to Topkin that perhaps Shelton’s message had grown stale. Said Silverman: “…the connections with the players, we think that there is a possibility and a hope that some of that can improve with a different person in that chair, with a different voice, different relationships, a fresh start.”
  • Chad Green won’t pitch again for the Yankees this season, but the rookie right-hander looks to have emerged relatively unscathed from a potential brush with Tommy John surgery, writes Chad Jennings of the Journal News. Green has a strained flexor tendon, but exams by team physician Dr. Chris Ahmad revealed that there was no damage to his ulnar collateral ligament. Green will spend the next several weeks rehabbing his flexor injury but is anticipating a normal offseason and plans to be ready for Spring Training. Acquired in the offseason trade that sent Justin Wilson to the Tigers, Green made his big league debut this season with the Yankees. While he posted very strong strikeout and walk rates  (10.3 K/9, 3.0 BB/9), the 25-year-old also had an issue with homers, surrendering 12 long balls in just 45 2/3 innings. The result was a 4.73 ERA, though metrics like xFIP and SIERA, which normalize a pitcher’s homer-to-flyball rate, feel that Green should’ve been in the 3.60 to 3.70 range in his brief sample.
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