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Doug Fister Close To Signing; Mets Not Involved

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10:11am: Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the Mets are not signing Fister. He characterizes the Angels as one of multiple “serious considerations” for Fister.

9:48am: Free-agent right-hander Doug Fister is close to signing with a yet-unreported team, per Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports (Twitter link). Though Fister has had interest from both the AL and NL, he’s likely to land with a National League club, per Heyman. In a second tweet, Heyman notes that the D-backs are “in the mix” on Fister, adding that he hasn’t heard much tying him to the Mets as of late. SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets that the Mets, D-backs, Giants, Angels and Blue Jays have all been in the mix to varying extents.

From the listed teams, the Mets jump out as the club in most dire need of rotation reinforcements, as New York has lost Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz and Seth Lugo to injuries already, while right-handers Matt Harvey, Robert Gsellman and Zack Wheeler have all struggled thus far in 2017. The Mets are hopeful that Matz and Lugo will be able to return in late May or early June, though there’s no guarantee that either comes back at full strength just yet. And Wheeler, of course, is on an innings limit in 2017 after missing the entire 2015 and 2016 seasons due to Tommy John surgery.

The D-backs, of course, have had their own brush with injuries, having lost right-hander Shelby Miller for the season due to a torn ulnar collateral ligament that necessitated Tommy John surgery. Arizona, though, seemingly has better depth at the upper levels of its farm, with Braden Shipley, Anthony Banda and Zack Godley among the potential rotation options currently in Triple-A (to say nothing of right-hander Archie Bradley, who is currently in the Major League bullpen but could likely start if deemed necessary).

As for the Giants, they lost Madison Bumgarner for what will likely be most of the first half of the season, if not more, due to a controversial dirtbike accident that resulted in a shoulder injury. None of the Giants’ other starters — Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija, Matt Moore, Matt Cain or Ty Blach — has mustered an ERA south of 4.50 on the season. The Giants also traded one of their upper-level depth options, Clayton Blackburn, to the Rangers earlier this year. However, with Tyler Beede and Chris Stratton both in Triple-A, the Giants do possess some upper-level options should they decide to shuffle the rotation.

The Angels and Blue Jays, of course, both have plenty of cause to seek rotation help as well. However, Heyman seems to suggest that an AL club isn’t as likely, and that’s a logical line of thinking for Fister, who could likely post better numbers in the National League.

It should be noted that Fister is hardly a quick fix for any team’s rotation; the right-hander will almost certainly need a fair amount of time to ramp up before he’s ready to join a Major League rotation. And while he comes with plenty of name value, Fister’s fastball has been in the 86-87 mph range in recent seasons. Unsurprisingly, there’s been a corresponding dip in his effectiveness. Last year he proved a durable rotation piece for the Astros (32 starts) but logged just a 4.64 ERA with 5.7 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9 in 180 1/3 innings.

Blue Jays Place Russell Martin On 10-Day DL, Designate Casey Lawrence

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The Blue Jays have placed catcher Russell Martin on the 10-day DL, as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca was among those to report (Twitter links). Mike Ohlman will come up from Triple-A to take his roster spot, with the club designating righty Casey Lawrence for assignment to open a 40-man spot.

Martin is dealing with a nerve problem in his left shoulder that has been an ongoing issue since the spring, per the report. Though he has obviously been playing through it thus far, a recent collision made things worse and evidently pushed the team to give him a lengthier rest.

While it seems reasonable to hope that Martin won’t be out for long, the Jays will be left with a less-than-ideal situation in the interim. Ohlman will pair with Luke Maile, who was recently added via waiver claim.

The 26-year-old Ohlman is headed to the majors for the first time. He has had some strong years at the plate at times in the minors, and was off to an excellent start this year at Triple-A. Through 85 plate appearances, Ohlman is slashing .246/.388/.594 with seven home runs.

Lawrence, 29, has been utilized as an optionable swingman this year, providing some much-needed flexibility. But he had struggled through 13 1/3 innings, allowing 13 earned runs on 21 hits while recording just seven strikeouts against 11 free passes.

Blue Jays Outright Mat Latos

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The Blue Jays announced that right-hander Mat Latos has cleared outright waivers. The veteran righty could have elected free agency following his outright but will instead report to the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo tonight, per the Jays.

Latos, still just 29 years of age, made three starts for the Jays after having his contract selected from Buffalo last month. Though he turned in one scoreless six-inning performance, his aggregate work in Toronto left plenty to be desired; Latos ultimately yielded 11 earned runs on 19 hits and eight walks with 10 strikeouts before being designated for assignment last week when the club claimed right-hander Cesar Valdez from the A’s.

Once one of the game’s more reliable young starters, Latos hasn’t turned in an effective season since a 2014 campaign that was shortened by knee surgery. Since that time, Latos has struggled to a 5.05 earned run average in 201 1/3 innings between the Marlins, Dodgers, Angels, White Sox, Nationals and Blue Jays.

Given the injuries the Blue Jays have experienced in their rotation this season, it’s feasible that Latos could once again be called upon as a depth option — especially if the Jays aren’t able to turn things around and elect to sell off some more marketable veteran assets at the trade deadline this summer (e.g. Francisco Liriano, Marco Estrada). The Jays are currently 11-20 and sit 10 games out of the division lead in the American League East.

AL East Notes: Wieters, Rays, Sanchez, Hanley

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Matt Wieters will return to Baltimore tonight for the first time since signing with the Nationals, and he spoke with Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com about his offseason departure from the Orioles as well the emotions he’s feeling in advance of tonight’s return to Camden Yards. Wieters’ podcast appearance also included talk of Dylan Bundy’s breakout and the experiences he’s had when being managed by two of our generation’s most successful managers: Buck Showalter and Dusty Baker.

Some more AL East-related notes…

  • Though Rickie Weeks has gotten off to a dreadful start to his 2017 campaign with the Rays, the “clock isn’t ticking yet,” writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. It doesn’t appear that Weeks is on the brink of losing his roster spot, despite an ugly .163/.317/.286 batting line to open the season, though Topkin notes that he’ll need to turn things around sooner rather than later. Topkin also notes that the Rays face a decision when Matt Duffy returns from the disabled list late this month. Duffy is in line to be the starter, but the Rays will have to determine if Tim Beckham or Daniel Robertson is the better option to serve as a utility option.
  • Both Aaron Sanchez and the Blue Jays were encouraged by a 33-pitch bullpen session yesterday, writes Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith. Sanchez felt comfortable enough to throw his curveball — the same pitch that has led to the blister issues and a subsequent removal of part of his fingernail — and is now slated to pitch in an extended Spring Training game on Tuesday. If that outing goes well, he’ll be an option to return to Toronto’s rotation this weekend against the Mariners, per Nicholson-Smith.
  • Hanley Ramirez has yet to appear in a game at first base this season due to a shoulder issue, but he’s ready to take the field for the Red Sox’ upcoming interleague series in Milwaukee, writes Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald. That should allow the Red Sox to deepen their lineup against left-handed pitching, he points out, with Chris Young sliding into the DH slot and Ramirez playing at first over the left-handed-hitting Mitch Moreland. While Moreland has more than held his own against southpaws in a small sample of work this season (.879 OPS in 24 plate appearances), he’s struggled against lefties throughout his career. And, as manager John Farrell points out to Mastrodonato, Moreland isn’t accustomed to playing first base on an everyday basis (due largely to his platoon issues), so the ability to keep him fresh by mixing Ramirez in at first base is important in multiple regards.

AL East Notes: Rays, Biagini, Yankees

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Some items from around the AL East…

  • When selling and acquiring notable players in trades over the years, the Rays have done well in acquiring low-level minor leaguers in these deals and developing them into valuable pieces, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.  Impressive young players and prospects like Daniel Robertson, Jake Bauers, Willy Adames, Lucius Fox, and Patrick Leonard weren’t the headline pieces in recent trades but they’re all big parts of the Rays’ future (and Robertson part of the present, hitting well in a utility role for Tampa this season).  “There is less certainty with them, and their potential impact is further away,” president of baseball operations Matt Silverman said.  “But if we do our homework well and they continue to develop, these players can be a big part of our long-term success. It’s where our patience and our long-term focus can really benefit us.”
  • Joe Biagini pitched well in his first MLB start today, moving from the Blue Jays bullpen to the rotation to throw four innings of two-hit ball with only one unearned run allowed in Toronto’s 2-1 win over the Rays.  The performance will earn Biagini another start, Sportsnet.ca’s Ben Nicholson-Smith writes, as the Jays continue to look for rotation help with J.A. Happ and Aaron Sanchez still on the DL.  Sanchez could be ready to return on Sunday, Nicholson-Smith writes, and Mike Bolsinger could be in line for a spot start sometime this week.
  • Do the Yankees have a better bullpen now than they did last year with Andrew Miller in the fold?  George A. King III of the New York Post observes that with Adam Warren, Jonathan Holder and Tyler Clippard all pitching well, the Yankees have more depth in the pen to better bridge leads to Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman.  The only “weak link” is Tommy Layne, King writes, who has a 9.45 ERA through his first 10 appearances (6 2/3 IP) of the season.  If Layne continues to struggle, I would think the Yankees would target left-handed relief help at the deadline, since Chasen Shreve is the only other situational lefty available.

Five Teams Interested In Doug Fister

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A month after they first drew a connection to free agent right-hander Doug Fister, the Mets are still considering signing the 33-year-old, according to Chris Cotillo of SB Nation. New York was among four teams to watch Fister throw last week, joining the Blue Jays, Diamondbacks and Angels, reports Cotillo, who adds that the Giants also took a recent look at him.

The Mets’ rotation is in far worse straits than it was when they were eyeing Fister in early April. Ace Noah Syndergaard has since landed on the disabled list with a partially torn right lat, and he’s unlikely to return until after the All-Star break. Meanwhile, Steven Matz and Seth Lugo still haven’t pitched this year as a result of elbow problems, and Matt Harvey, Robert Gsellman and Zack Wheeler have logged subpar results. In the Mets’ view, Harvey also hasn’t been a model member of the organization behind the scenes, evidenced by the three-day suspension he’s currently serving.

The other four teams targeting Fister have also seen their rotations deal with injuries. Two of Toronto’s top starters, Aaron Sanchez and J.A. Happ, are on the DL. Arizona lost Shelby Miller to a season-ending elbow injury last month, leaving it without an obvious solution to team with Zack Greinke, Robbie Ray, Taijuan Walker and Patrick Corbin. Los Angeles is without two of its starters, Garrett Richards and Tyler Skaggs, both of whom are on the DL. Lastly, San Francisco’s ace, Madison Bumgarner, will sit out until at least midsummer thanks to a dirt bike accident, and fellow starters Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija, Matt Moore, Matt Cain and Ty Blach have recorded mediocre to poor results in the early going.

Like the Giants’ starters, the soft-tossing Fister hasn’t been all that effective of late. Once a legitimate middle-of-the-rotation arm (if not more), Fister produced like a back-end type with the Nationals and Astros from 2015-16, posting a 4.48 ERA and a 4.68 FIP in 283 1/3 innings. Further, whether he signs a major league deal or a minor league pact, Fister will surely need some time to tune up at the lower levels before potentially contributing in the big leagues this season.

Injury Notes: Cardinals, B. Anderson, Cespedes, Donaldson

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The Cardinals had a fair amount of concern over center fielder Dexter Fowler’s right shoulder strain on Friday, but it seems he dodged a significant injury. Fowler missed his second straight game Saturday, though he told reporters – including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch – that he only has “general soreness” and is ready to return to the lineup. The Cardinals are understandably taking a cautious approach with their big-money offseason signing, however. Meanwhile, another of their outfielders, Jose Martinez, suffered a groin injury Saturday and will probably head to the disabled list. If so, he’d join right fielder Stephen Piscotty on the DL, leaving the Redbirds with a banged-up Fowler, Randal Grichuk and Tommy Pham as their top outfielders. The likelihood is that the Cardinals will promote High-A outfielder Magneuris Sierra to provide another option, tweets Goold. Sierra, who’s already on St. Louis’ 40-man roster, is known for his defense, as Goold wrote in December for Baseball America when he ranked the 21-year-old as the Cardinals’ fifth-best prospect (subscription required/recommended).

  • Cubs manager Joe Maddon said Saturday that he expects left-hander Brett Anderson to land on the DL, tweets Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com. Maddon added that either Mike Montgomery or Eddie Butler would replace Anderson in the Cubs’ rotation, according to Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago (Twitter link). Anderson started the Cubs’ 11-6 loss to the Yankees, recording just one out and allowing five runs on six hits, before departing with lower back tightness. Injuries are nothing new for Anderson, who missed most of last season after undergoing back surgery as a member of the Dodgers in March 2016. While Anderson has generally been effective during the healthy points of his career, he hasn’t pitched well in his first year with the Cubs. The free agent pickup has registered an 8.18 ERA, 6.55 K/9 and a 4.91 BB/9 in six starts (22 innings).
  • The Mets are sending left fielder Yoenis Cespedes to New York on Monday to take a “fuller look” at why he has had recurring injuries, general manager Sandy Alderson stated Saturday (via MetsBlog). “We told ourselves it wouldn’t happen again,” Alderson said in regards to Cespedes’ strained left hamstring, which is similar to the strained quad he suffered last year. Cespedes has been on the DL since April 28, meaning he’s eligible to return Monday, but that obviously won’t happen.
  • Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson has been on the DL since April 14 with a calf injury, and it seems he’ll remain on the shelf past the originally reported four-week window.  Donaldson is making progress in his recovery, though he revealed Saturday that it’s coming along “slowly” (via Jeff Odom of MLB.com). The 2015 AL MVP is currently using an anti-gravity treadmill at 60 percent body weight, writes Odom, and won’t resume running the bases until he’s at 100 percent.

AL East Notes: Price, Biagini, Yankees

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Here’s the latest from around the American League East…

  • David Price is tentatively scheduled to make his 2017 debut for the Red Sox on May 29 or 30, as per a rough timeline that manager John Farrell gave WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford and other reporters today.  Price (who has been sidelined since early March with elbow problems) will throw a second simulated game on Tuesday, and then minor league rehab games on May 14, 19 and 24 according to the club’s current plans.
  • The Blue Jays will start right-hander Joe Biagini against the Rays on Sunday, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and others reported.  Biagini will be making his first MLB start as the Jays continue to look for rotation help with J.A. Happ and Aaron Sanchez on the DL.  Biagini has been excellent in 74 career relief outings for Toronto, and his importance to the bullpen was why the Jays ultimately decided against stretching him out as a starter in Spring Training.
  • With the Yankees rolling, there are naturally several trade acquisition questions from fans in the latest reader mailbag piece from NJ Advance Media’s Brendan Kuty.  It may still be a bit early to cement the Yankees as contenders, Kuty notes, or to guess whether GM Brian Cashman would be more comfortable giving up multiple top prospects for a front-of-the-rotation starter (i.e. Gerrit Cole or Jose Quintana).  New York could explore being both buyers and sellers at the deadline, such as giving up prospects for pitching and then dealing a starting position player like Brett Gardner to recoup some minor leaguers, as long as the Yankees feel Aaron Hicks or another youngster is ready to fully step into an everyday role.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/6/17

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Here are the minor moves of the day:

  • Rays outfielder Shane Peterson has cleared waivers, but will still have an opportunity to decide whether to accept an outright assignment, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports on Twitter. He had been designated for assignment recently. The 29-year-old has hit quite well in the upper minors, and was off to a solid-enough start with Tampa Bay (.263/.317/.395), but will need to await another opportunity at Triple-A or strike out on the open market.
  • The Rockies have outrighted infielder Cristhian Adames after he cleared waivers, the team announced. Also a DFA casualty, Adames will take up residence at Albuquerque. The 25-year-old saw 121 games of action last year for Colorado, but was used minimally in the early going of the current season, failing to record a hit in 14 plate appearances.
  • The Blue Jays have acquired catcher Pat Cantwell from the Rangers, per announcements from both teams. A player to be named or cash will head to Texas in return. The 27-year-old, a third-round pick in the 2012 draft, was off to a rough start this year at Triple-A. He has managed only a .226/.296/.265 batting line in 286 plate appearances at the highest level of the minors.
  • After his recent release from the Orioles, outfielder Michael Choice has signed on with the Brewers on a minors deal, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link). Once the tenth overall pick of the draft, Choice has bounced around in recent years. Choice was struggling badly at Triple-A with the O’s, with just a single hit in 32 plate appearances. He’ll report to Double-A with his new organization.

Blue Jays Designate Mat Latos, Claim Cesar Valdez

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The Blue Jays have claimed Cesar Valdez off waivers from the Athletics, the clubs announced. He’ll open his tenure at Triple-A Buffalo on optional assignment. Toronto has designated righty Mat Latos to clear a 40-man spot.

Valdez, 32, made it back to the big leagues with the A’s after a long layoff. While he was hit hard in 9 1/3 frames — his first since way back in 2010 — the veteran evidently showed enough to catch Toronto’s eye. Valdez did make an interesting showing last year at Triple-A with the Astros, spinning 180 innings of 3.25 ERA ball with 7.0 K/9 against just 1.0 BB/9.

He’ll take over the 40-man spot that had been held by Latos, who was also occupying a spot in the MLB rotation. With Neil Ramirez heading onto the active roster after he, too, was claimed, there was a need to open space there as well.

Latos, who’s still just 29 years of age, made three starts for the Jays. But he lasted only 15 innings and gave up 11 earned runs on 19 hits — five of them homers — while compiling ten strikeouts against eight walks. On the positive side, Latos was sitting at 91.9 mph with his fastball, up a tick from last year, and had produced an 11.0% whiff rate in the short sample.

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