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AL West Notes: Heaney, Santiago, Beltre, Zunino

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

A few more notes from the AL West…

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

AL Notes: Rangers, Sandoval, Indians, Keuchel

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Rangers GM Jon Daniels said in an appearance on 105.3 FM The Fan that his club has not made an effort to trade for an impact catcher since Robinson Chirinos’ injury (transcript via the Dallas Morning News). To this point, Daniels says that other clubs haven’t called and marketed potentially available catchers: “No, nobody has really … the guys we’ve heard from the most are the agents who have either free agent catching guys that got released out of camp, or maybe they have a catcher at Triple-A with somebody where maybe they’ve got an out or want us to trade for them.” Daniels said that the Rangers have looked into adding some more organizational depth — defense-first, quality makeup catchers — but is more focused on getting Chirinos healthy than acquiring a potential replacement.

  • Rob Bradford of WEEI.com wonders if some time away from the Red Sox will create the opportunity for Pablo Sandoval to follow the route of former Sox pitcher John Lackey, who was a largely unpopular figure in Boston after the first few seasons of his five-year deal but won his way back into the hearts of Red Sox fans with a very strong 2013 in his return from Tommy John surgery. Bradford notes that it won’t be easy for Sandoval, though right-hander Clay Buchholz tells Bradford that Sandoval’s teammates are all behind him. “We all know what Panda can do,” said Buchholz. “He’s an elite player. He’s battled through some pretty tough criticism and now with this … I hope it’s not anything like it sounds.” Sandoval is currently on the shelf for an undetermined amount of time after visiting Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion on his ailing shoulder.
  • The Indians will activate right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall from the disabled list on Wednesday this week, writes Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com, which means a roster move is forthcoming. Of the team’s four outfielders — Rajai Davis, Collin Cowgill, Marlon Byrd and Tyler Naquin — only Naquin has options and can be sent down without being exposed to waivers. Looking at the pitching staff, Hoynes lists a number of arms that are safe but doesn’t apply that designation to Joba Chamberlain, Ross Detwiler or Dan Otero. Chamberlain and Otero have been strong thus far in the young season, whereas Detwiler has surrendered runs in two of his four appearances on the year.
  • While he’s only made three starts this season, Astros ace and reigning Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel has displayed some notable red flags, Dave Cameron of Fangraphs points out (notably, Cameron’s piece was written prior to Keuchel’s most recent start, though the velocity issues he mentions persisted in that outing). Chief among them is diminished velocity in Keuchel’s sinker, cutter and slider. Velocity peaks in the middle of a season for a pitcher, of course, but Cameron notes that even when comparing Keuchel’s velocity to his velocity last April, there’s a significant dip. Beyond that, Keuchel isn’t commanding the bottom of the strike zone as well as he did last season (or, alternatively, umpires are not being as generous on the bottom of the zone after learning from Statcast data that Keuchel received more favorable bottom-of-the-zone calls than nearly any other pitcher in the league). Cameron stresses that the sample being studied is small, but each is a concerning trend for an Astros club that very much needs Keuchel to approximate his 2015 value to make a run at the top of the division.

Texas Notes: Rangers, Beltre, Gallo, Astros, Giles

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Here’s the latest from the Lone Star State’s two MLB clubs…

  • The Rangers’ decision to extend Adrian Beltre was “probably one of the easiest” of Jon Daniels’ tenure with the club, the GM told reporters (including T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com) yesterday during the official press conference to announce Beltre’s new two-year, $36MM contract.  There was a great deal of speculation and, in fact, assumption that the two sides would work out a new deal this offseason, and Beltre joked that the negotiations weren’t settled until two weeks into the season since “I wanted Giancarlo Stanton money, 13 years and $400MM.”
  • Keeping Beltre through the 2018 season won’t have any impact on top prospect Joey Gallo’s future with the Rangers, Daniels said, aside from a probable position shift.  “Joey has a ton of talent and a ton of ability. He has played the outfield and played first base. Those may be options down the line. We’re not making that decision today,” Daniels said.  Mitch Moreland is a free agent this winter, so first base could be Gallo’s best option given that Nomar Mazara and Shin-Soo Choo look to have the corner outfield spots spoken for in 2017 and beyond.  It’s also not out of the question that Gallo could play around the diamond until Beltre’s extension is up, and then take over as the regular third baseman.
  • Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram likes the Beltre extension for the Rangers, as Beltre is still producing at a high level despite just turning 37 years old.  The $18MM average annual value is the cost of doing business, in terms of keeping Beltre off the open market and keeping his contract status from becoming a greater distraction throughout the rest of the year.
  • Though the season is only two weeks old, the early returns on the Ken Giles trade aren’t great from the Astros’ perspective, CBSSports.com’s R.J. Anderson writes.  Houston dealt a hefty package of prospects and young players to the Phillies for Giles and Jonathan Arauz in December, and one of those five players (Vincent Velasquez) has already emerged as an early star of the 2016 season.  Giles, meanwhile, has a 9.64 ERA through 4 2/3 innings and has already allowed as many homers (three) as he did in the entire 2014-15 seasons combined.  As Anderson notes, however, Giles has maintained his velocity and is actually striking batters out at a higher rate, so his early-season homer issues could simply be a fluke.
  • In other Astros news from earlier today, Lance McCullers got through a throwing session with no problems.

AL Notes: Tanaka, Iwakuma, Darvish, Hanley

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Sunday’s showdown between the Yankees’ Masahiro Tanaka and the Mariners’ Hisashi Iwakuma will be the first-ever matchup in the majors between two former Japanese league teammates, writes Ryan Hatch of NJ.com. The two ex-Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles were supposed to face one another in 2014, but rain prevented that from happening. Regarding Iwakuma, Tanaka said, “There’s a little cultural difference. He’s older than [I am], so, I look up to him…He was the ace of the staff [in Japan]. I learned a lot from him…you know, strategies, and facing batters. Stuff like that.” Interestingly, the 35-year-old Iwakuma and Tanaka, 27, have posted nearly identical ERAs (3.18 to 3.17) since emigrating from Japan. Iwakuma debuted in the majors two years earlier (2012 versus 2014), so his success has come over 363 2/3 more innings than Tanaka’s total.

  • In other news regarding Japanese starters, Rangers ace Yu Darvish threw a live batting practice session Sunday and will engage in another Thursday before beginning a rehab assignment with Double-A Frisco on or near April 26, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports (via Twitter). Darvish is recovering from Tommy John surgery, which caused him to miss all of last season. His 50-pitch BP session Sunday drew raves from pitching coach Doug Brocail, tweets the Dallas Morning News’ Evan Grant. “The breaking ball was crisp. The slider was unbelievable,” Brocail said. “The fastball was good and hard with both two- and four-seamers. He threw strikes in a lot of good areas. As we measured it, there were a lot of 0-2 and 1-2 counts.” A May 11 return to the Rangers could be within reach for Darvish if all goes well during his rehab stint, per Grant.
  • Thanks in part to a disastrous showing as a left fielder last season, the Red Sox’s Hanley Ramirez was among the league’s least valuable players during his first year in Boston. But the Red Sox like what they’ve seen this year from Ramirez, who is now their first baseman. “We have a different player,” manager John Farrell told Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). “He’s in a good place,” second baseman Dustin Pedroia said (link via Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald). In addition to finding a more suitable position, Ramirez has shown signs of life offensively, slashing .293/.318/.463 in 44 plate appearances. A shoulder injury helped lead to an uncharacteristically poor season at the plate in 2015 for Ramirez, who hit .249/.291/.426 in 430 PAs.
  • Blue Jays second baseman Devon Travis – who underwent left shoulder surgery in November – will take the field for live batting practice off a coach for the first time this year Monday, tweets Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. Meanwhile, lefty Franklin Morales is better after feeling “weakness” in his shoulder earlier this month and will begin a throwing program Monday, Davidi reports (on Twitter).
  • The Indians are expected to activate right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall on Wednesday after he plays a pair of rehab games with Double-A Akron on Monday and Tuesday, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com was among those to report (Twitter link). Upon returning, Chisenhall – who has been on the disabled list since March with a left wrist injury – will vie for playing time in an Indians outfield that has mostly used Rajai Davis, Marlon Byrd and Jose Ramirez so far this year.

Quick Hits: Tulo, Desmond, Revere, Chisenhall

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While the Blue Jays are known for their prolific offense, the most impressive element of their team is their defense, Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com argues. Gammons names catcher Russell Martin, second baseman Ryan Goins, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, third baseman Josh Donaldson and center fielder Kevin Pillar as elite-caliber defenders. Manager John Gibbons believes Tulowitzki’s defense is so great that it cancels out the offensive struggles he has had since Toronto acquired him from Colorado last year. “I don’t care if he doesn’t get another hit all season. His defense is that good,” Gibbons told Gammons. “I’ve never seen anyone who can throw from more angles and positions that Tulo. He’s a big man, but he plays like a little guy. His athleticism is beyond belief,” Gibbons continued. Tulowitzki has indeed been a significant defensive asset throughout his career, and he long paired that with excellent offensive skills as a Rockie. The 31-year-old has hit a paltry .119/.224/.262 with a soaring strikeout rate (28.9%) in 49 plate appearances this season, however, which wouldn’t necessarily be concerning if not for a disappointing .239/.317/.380 output in 41 games as a Blue Jay in 2015.

Here’s more from around Major League Baseball:

  • Rangers left fielder Ian Desmond has hit a stunningly poor .109/.180/.109 in 50 PAs and put up a league-worst -0.6 fWAR this year. On his difficulties so far, Desmond says (via John Henry of MLB.com), “Obviously, the results aren’t there. I’ve just missed a couple balls. I’ve made some good in-game adjustments. But I’m trying to evaluate my swing on a daily basis and not necessarily rely on results alone.” It’s perhaps worth noting that, in addition to his weak production, Desmond’s hard contact (16.1 percent) and line drive rate (9.7 percent) have plummeted to career worsts in the early going this year. That’s not particularly encouraging after Desmond experienced a stark offensive decline last season, and what he has given the Rangers certainly isn’t what they had in mind when they signed the ex-Washington shortstop to a one-year, $8MM deal in February.
  • Nationals outfielder Ben Revere is aiming to return to game action from an oblique injury by his 28th birthday (May 3), he told Bill Ladson of MLB.com. At the very least, Revere would like to resume baseball activities by then. Revere left the Nats’ opener after he felt pain on the right side of his stomach and had difficulty breathing, and the team then placed him on the 15-day disabled list April 6. At 9-1, the Nationals have clearly held their own without Revere, but he could boost an outfield that has gotten little production from players who aren’t named Bryce Harper. Michael Taylor, Revere’s replacement, has compiled a terrible .154/.171/.231 line in 41 PAs and has already accounted for -0.3 fWAR.
  • The Indians aren’t ready to activate right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall from the 15-day DL because he hasn’t performed well enough during his minor league rehab assignment, writes Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. “He thinks he’s pretty close to being ready, and I kind of told him that before he went out [for his latest rehab game], that, ’I’m not trying to be harsh or critical, but when you come back, you’re taking somebody’s job, and you need to be ready,'” said manager Terry Francona. Chisenhall, who hit a meager .246/.294/.371 in 362 PAs last year, is currently rehabbing a left wrist injury in Double-A. When he returns, he’ll join an outfield stable that has prominently featured Rajai Davis, Marlon Byrd and Jose Ramirez so far this year.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/16/16

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the game.

  • The Rangers sent lefty reliever Andrew Faulkner to Triple-A and recalled righty Nick Martinez, according to John Henry of MLB.com. Prior to the move, Faulkner tossed 4 1/3 innings for the Rangers and allowed four earned runs, five hits and three walks while striking out just one batter. Martinez logged extensive time in the majors last season, totaling 125 innings of 3.96 ERA ball with Texas. ERA estimators like FIP (4.98) and xFIP (4.99) thought far less of his performance. He’ll serve as a long reliever and spot starter for the Rangers.
  • The Brewers have called up righty Zach Davies from Triple-A Colorado Springs to make a spot start against the Pirates on Sunday, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link). In a corresponding move, they sent outfielder Keon Broxton down to Colorado Springs. Davies, whom the Brewers acquired from the Orioles last year, fared respectably in his first big league action in 2015. In six starts (34 innings), he put up a 3.71 ERA to go along with a 6.35 K/9 and 3.97 BB/9. Broxton went without a hit and struck out 11 times in 18 plate appearances before the demotion.
  • The Orioles have released righty Todd Redmond, their Triple-A Norfolk Tides affiliate tweets. The 30-year-old Redmond pitched a combined 152 innings for the Blue Jays in 2013 and 2014, appearing as both a starter and as a reliever, but spent most of last season with Toronto’s Triple-A team. The O’s signed him to a minor-league deal in November, but he struggled after being sent to Norfolk, allowing 15 runs in five innings there. In his big-league career, Redmond has a 4.25 ERA, 7.9 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 171 1/3 innings.

West Notes: Stripling, Story, Beltre

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Dodgers righty Ross Stripling nearly completed a no-hitter in his first big-league start, but he headed into the season with the far more modest hope of avoiding going back to Double-A, Tyler Kepner of the New York Times writes. “I knew we were going to have a lot of guys filter down to Triple-A and that might push guys back to Double-A,” he says. “When they kind of told me early in spring that I was going to Oklahoma City, that was a good thing for me. I was happy to be going up a level.” Beginning the season at Double-A wouldn’t have seemed at all unreasonable for Stripling, at least on paper — it would have been his third year at the level, but he made only 13 starts at Double-A Tulsa while returning from Tommy John surgery in 2015. Instead of going back to Tulsa this year, Stripling quickly made his way to the big leagues and enjoyed an improbable level of immediate success. The last pitcher to throw a no-hitter in his big-league debut, Kepner writes, was Bumpus Jones of the 1892 Cincinnati Reds. Here’s more from the West divisions.

  • Another emerging player, Rockies shortstop Trevor Story, has “hit the ground trotting” with a seven-home-run binge to start the season, writes ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. “He’s been so composed right from the beginning of Spring Training,” says manager Walt Weiss. “He knew he had an opportunity coming into camp, and with some kids, it’s too much for them. But with Trevor, I think it elevated his game. It brought out the best in him.” As Crasnick points out, Story probably would have played for Triple-A Albuquerque this April had it not been for Jose Reyes’ domestic-violence suspension.
  • The Rangers formally announced Adrian Beltre’s two-year, $36MM extension as a press conference this afternoon. Perhaps it’s unsurprising given that the new deal takes him through his age-39 season, but Beltre says he wants to retire as a Ranger, as Stefen Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. Of course, it’s not clear whether that means Beltre will retire when his new deal ends — he remains very productive even at 37, finishing seventh in AL MVP balloting last year and getting off to a fine .283/.340/.52 start so far in 2016.

Offseason In Review: Texas Rangers

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This is the latest entry in MLBTR’s Offseason In Review series. The full index of Offseason In Review posts can be found here.

The Rangers entered the offseason looking to supplement a club that made a surprise run to the AL West Division Championship after a huge splash on last summer’s trade market.

Major League Signings

Notable Minor League Signings

Trades and Claims

Extensions

  • None

Notable Losses

Needs Addressed

General manager Jon Daniels and his staff began the Rangers’ offseason shopping last July with the blockbuster acquisition of Cole Hamels and, not to be forgotten, stellar lefty setup man Jake Diekman from the Phillies. While the Rangers parted with a significant amount of talent, the club had the minor league depth necessary to make a trade of that magnitude without depleting its still-robust pipeline of young talent. Also not to be overlooked is Texas’ July 31 addition of Sam Dyson. While the trade seemed minor enough at the time — catcher Tomas Telis went to Miami in return — Dyson has been nothing short of a revelation in the Rangers’ bullpen and, along with Diekman, further solidified what was already a strength.

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Though adding Diekman and Dyson to the late-inning duo of Shawn Tolleson and Keone Kela gave the Rangers a strong quartet, the offseason addition of Tom Wilhelmsen added another experienced arm to deepen that unit. The emergence of Delino DeShields Jr. had made Leonys Martin expendable in the eyes of the Rangers, and swapping him for Wilhelmsen saved the club a bit of cash while lengthening the ’pen and allowing Daniels & Co. to pursue an upside play elsewhere in the bullpen. With the prices of setup men ranging from expensive to borderline ludicrous this winter, the Rangers made a $500K bid for Nippon Professional Baseball star closer Tony Barnette — a former D-backs prospect who blossomed into an elite relief arm in Japan. Though Barnette had never pitched so much as an inning in the Majors, the Rangers took a $3.5MM gamble on the 32-year-old after he posted a 1.29 ERA and saved 41 games in Japan last season. The total expenditure was a fraction of what established major league relievers received and is small enough that Texas can hit the eject button without virtually any harm being done to its payroll should Barnette prove overmatched by Major League hitters.

With Hamels in the fold alongside fellow lefties Derek Holland and Martin Perez, ace Yu Darvish on the mend from Tommy John surgery, and (realistically) a lack of financial leeway, Texas looked to stabilize the rotation rather than make another dramatic upgrade via a stacked class of free agents. The result was an affordable one-year deal to bring Colby Lewis back to Texas for his seventh consecutive year. Lewis isn’t teeming with upside, but he’s been a capable innings eater and familiar face that maintained some continuity in the clubhouse for the Rangers. If necessary, Lewis can be shifted to a swingman role at some point, depending on the rest of the rotation, but as the 2014 Rangers can attest, injuries to the pitching staff can come in bunches, so it’s possible that Lewis is again asked to make 30 or more starts.

Texas looked to be largely done with its offseason spending after finishing up the Lewis contract, but the lingering presence of Ian Desmond on the free agent market was too tempting for the front office to pass up. Despite not having an infield spot for Desmond, the club added Desmond to slot in as the everyday left fielder, likely pushing the injured Josh Hamilton to a bench role upon his return.

Keep reading for more analysis after the break …

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Rangers Extend Adrian Beltre

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The Rangers’ hot corner will remain in the capable hands of Adrian Beltre for two more seasons after the club officially struck a deal to keep the star in Texas. Beltre, a client of the Boras Corporation, will reportedly earn $36MM in the pact.

Beltre just turned 37, but remains one of the game’s very best third basemen — as he has been for much of his excellent, 19-year career. It now seems likely that he’ll finish things off in Texas, where he’s played ever since signing as a free agent before the 2011 season.

Feb 28, 2016; Surprise, AZ, USA; Texas Rangers third baseman <a rel=

Talks had reportedly taken place all spring, but it took a bit longer to get things across the finish line. Beltre has certainly helped his cause in the early going in 2016, recording a .310/.370/.571 slash and two long balls over his first 46 plate appearances. And he’s continued his sterling glovework with four Defensive Runs Saved already credited to his ledger.

Beltre has consistently rated as a very good-to-outstanding defender at third base, and he’s largely maintained that level of play even while entering his late thirties. Coming into the season, the biggest question was whether he could return to the top-level offensive production he carried over 2010-14, or whether last year’s dip was a sign of broader decline. While dealing with significant thumb issues, Beltre still managed a sturdy .287/.334/.453 batting line in 2015, but that fell far shy of the .316/.364/.535 slash he compiled across the five preceding campaigns.

At $18MM a year, Beltre’s new contract falls just a bit shy of the AAV achieved in the winter of 2014-15 by Pablo Sandoval, who got $95MM over five seasons. It’s easy to see why the veteran was willing to settle for a bit less to ensure that he would remain in Texas, where he’s enjoyed a phenomenal run, but the contract appears to be quite a nice investment from the team’s perspective. (The Rangers have already made out like bandits on their original contract with Beltre, which ended up paying him $96MM over six years with its 2016 option included.)

After all, Beltre has already compiled a Hall-of-Fame worthy resume — and that’s not just because of his early-career work. Indeed, he’s fourth in all of baseball among position players in total fWAR since the start of his tenure in Texas. The glove provides a strong floor, and Beltre’s bat seems a good bet to continue producing even if his 30-homer seasons are a thing of the past. He’s succeeded at the plate in large part due to impeccable plate discipline and a propensity for making frequent, hard contact.

Simply put, there’s no way that the Rangers could have found anything close to this kind of value on next year’s free agent market. Even in his “down” 2015, the veteran racked up 4.6 fWAR and 5.8 rWAR, and he seems set to do that and more with better health in 2016. Indeed, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes noted back in February that a three-year deal of $60MM or more seemed a reasonable target on the open market next winter, had Beltre been allowed to reach it.

It’ll be interesting to see how the signing impacts the Rangers’ other decisions moving forward. The club is now locked in at third, short (Elvis Andrus), and second (Rougned Odor), yet likely expects top youngsters Jurickson Profar and Joey Gallo to be fully prepared for big league action in 2017. Either could profile as major trade chips, though there’s probably also room to be found. After all, Profar could provide insurance if Andrus can’t turn things around, and Gallo — a third baseman by trade — could factor in the outfield or slide in at first for pending free agent Mitch Moreland. If everything breaks in the club’s favor in terms of health and development, it’ll ultimately be a good problem to have.

MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan first reported that a deal was nearing and had the final salary (links to Twitter). Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported the term and salary parameters, and tweeted that the deal was in place pending physical.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AL Notes: Betances, Gattis, Rangers, Perkins, Pablo

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Yankees righty Dellin Betances was one of several players who couldn’t agree to terms with his team on a pre-arbitration salary over the offseason, and George A. King III of the New York Post reports that the relief ace ended up being renewed at the league minimum of $507.5K. New York had offered Betances $540K, but dropped it down when he declined (on the advice of his agent) to agree to that amount. To be clear, he’s not complaining; the small protest was, of course, his only recourse. Betances, 28, will be in much better standing next winter, when he’ll reach arbitration for the first time. Though he doesn’t have a big history of saves to bring to the arb table, he has racked up quite a few innings for a reliever and has all the other numbers (including holds) needed to run up a significant tab.

Here’s more from the American League:

  • The Astros are readying Evan Gattis for duties behind the plate in the near future, as MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart reports. Gattis broke in as a backstop, of course, but the 29-year-old didn’t see any time there last year, as Houston utilized him almost exclusively as a DH (with 11 outfield stings also mixed in). Houston has relied on a combination of Jason Castro and Erik Kratz at the catching position to open the year, having acquired the latter after presumed reserve Max Stassi was lost to injury. He’s expected back before long, but the opportunity to plug Gattis in at times could open some interesting roster possibilities for the Astros.
  • While the Rangers already utilized some significant prospect capital to add Cole Hamels last year, the organization could be in a position to do the same for another quality starter at this year’s trade deadline, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports.  The club’s blue chip youngsters surely won’t be parted with lightly, but Rosenthal says that they could be pried loose if a top-quality, controllable rotation piece can be had over the summer.
  • The Twins may be looking at a reasonably protracted absence from closer Glen Perkins, as LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. According to Perkins, his shoulder troubles arose only recently, but he doesn’t expect to be ready after his 15-day minimum DL stint has passed.
  • Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval has undergone an MRI on his ailing left shoulder, with results expected tomorrow, team president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters. He’s already been placed on the disabled list, of course. One major factor seemingly underlying Sandoval’s on-field struggles, of course, is his ongoing battle with weight, and Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald provides interesting insight from Sandoval’s former trainer, Ethan Banning. According to Banning, who worked with Sandoval in the winters before the 2011 and 2012 seasons, the former Giants star had to participate in concerted training efforts to cut back the pounds he had added over both of those offseasons. Per Banning, Sandoval’s struggle relates not to exercise but eating habits. He expressed confidence that the 29-year-old can overcome the issue, but suggested that he’ll need concerted oversight to make it happen.
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