AL Notes: Dozier, Donaldson, Doubront, Fasola
ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick has an interesting profile of Twins star second baseman Brian Dozier. The Mississippi native has proven adept at picking up a variety of games and activities. Last year, it seems, he took an interest in hitting lots of home runs. Now that he has established the ability to play at such a high level in the majors, says Dozier, “everything seems different now.” He goes on to explain: “I’ve found the longer you’re in the game, the slower it becomes. The learning curves are there each and every year, but you become wiser and you realize what you have to do in order to succeed.”
Here’s more from the American League:
- If the Blue Jays can’t rebound, they’ll have no choice but to explore a trade of star third baseman Josh Donaldson, Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star argues. Toronto is in a tough spot because of the talent gap between the current MLB roster and the clubs best prospects, many of whom aren’t really that close to contributing in the majors. If this Jays outfit isn’t able to turn around an abysmal start, says Griffin, dealing Donaldson might be the only chance the organization has to add quality, near-MLB talent. Regardless, the team must hope that Donaldson is able to get past his current calf issues as soon as possible.
- Lefty Felix Doubront is still rehabbing for the Athletics, but there are already plans to make a change when he returns. Doubront will return in a relief role, GM David Forst told reporters including MLB.com’s Jane Lee (via Twitter). The 29-year-old has mostly functioned as a starter in the bigs, though he does have experience working from the pen as well. Doubront could return from his Tommy John surgery by June, per the report.
- Rangers righty John Fasola underwent Tommy John surgery today, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports on Twitter. Fasola, 25, isn’t exactly a hyped prospect. But he did win the club’s award as the top reliever on the farm last year after throwing 51 innings of 3.18 ERA ball with 10.2 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9. Fasola went on to have a solid Arizona Fall League run and might soon have been a factor in the major league mix were it not for the injury.
Blue Jays Plan To Call Up Mat Latos This Weekend
The Blue Jays will start right-handers Mat Latos and Casey Lawrence this weekend in place of the injured Aaron Sanchez and J.A. Happ, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). They’ll face an Angels lineup which, as Sherman notes, is largely right-handed.
Latos isn’t on the 40-man roster, so his addition will require a corresponding 40-man roster move. At present, it doesn’t seem that the Jays have any obvious candidates to be transferred from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL, which could suggest that a DFA is on the horizon in Toronto.
Still just 29 years of age, Latos signed a minor league deal with the Jays after his second straight season of struggles in the Majors. Latos has pitched for five teams in the past two seasons, logging a combined 4.93 ERA in 186 1/3 innings between the Marlins, Dodgers, Angels, White Sox and Nationals. He had a rough Spring Training as well (6.75 ERA in 14 2/3 innings) but has been charged with just one earned run through his first nine frames in Buffalo and represents the most experienced depth option the Jays possess.
Lawrence, also 29, logged a 4.17 ERA with 6.0 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 in 162 innings between Double-A and Triple-A last season. He made his Major League debut with Toronto earlier this year but allowed three runs on three hits and five walks (two intentional) with two strikeouts in two innings against the Rays.
The Blue Jays, clearly, will hope the need for Latos and Lawrence to be brief. To that end, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi reported last night that the team received positive news on both Happ and Sanchez yesterday. An MRI on Happ’s problematic left elbow didn’t show any structural damage. Sanchez, meanwhile, underwent a procedure to have roughly a quarter of the nail removed from his ailing finger, per Davidi, which could allow him to return to the rotation in short order. (Davidi notes that down the line, a chemical treatment to prevent the nail from growing back is an option.) Per Davidi, it’s possible that both pitchers could miss only the upcoming starts this weekend.
Angels Acquire Juan Graterol, Designate Ryan LaMarre
The Angels have acquired catcher Juan Graterol from the Blue Jays in exchange for a player to be named later or cash, the teams announced Tuesday afternoon. In order to clear a spot for Graterol on the 40-man roster, the Angels designated outfielder Ryan LaMarre for assignment.
After a tumultuous five-month cycle of transactions, Graterol is back with the organization with which he spent the 2016 season. Back in November, the Halos designated Graterol for assignment when claiming Nolan Fontana from the Astros — a move that triggered a subsequent cavalcade of scenery changes for the 28-year-old catcher. Graterol was claimed by the Reds, then claimed by the D-backs before briefly landing back with the Angels following a DFA in Arizona. The Angels, though, failed in their next attempt to pass Graterol through waivers, as the Blue Jays snagged him and brought him to MLB camp. Though he didn’t make the team in Toronto, he previously stood as one of the first lines of defense in the event of an injury to Russell Martin or Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
That changed this past weekend, when the Jays once again designated Graterol for assignment upon selecting the contract of Chris Coghlan. Graterol now changes organizations for the fifth time in five months and will hope to stick on the Halos’ 40-man roster this time around. He made his MLB debut with the Angels in 2016, appearing in nine games and going 4-for-14 at the plate.
While the constant changing of teams has to be frustrating for Graterol, it’s also undoubtedly heartening that so many clubs think highly enough of him to continually place him on a 40-man roster. Graterol doesn’t possess especially gaudy offensive numbers in Triple-A, but his .281/.311/.341 batting line in parts of four seasons there is solid for a player that comes with a sound defensive reputation. Graterol has shut down 39 percent of stolen base attempts him in his minor league career and also consistently rates as a solid, if unspectacular pitch framer (per Baseball Prospectus).
As for LaMarre, the 28-year-old has experienced brief stints in the Majors in each of he past two seasons with the Reds and Red Sox. Though he’s collected just two hits in 30 Major League at-bats, he’s a .273/.340/.406 hitter in parts of five Triple-A seasons. LaMarre has been primarily a center fielder throughout his minor league career but does also come with some experience in both corner slots (more in right field than in left).
J.A. Happ Placed On 10-Day DL With Elbow Inflammation
2:38PM: The Blue Jays officially placed Happ on the DL. Infielder Ty Kelly has been recalled from Triple-A in a corresponding move.
9:19AM: Blue Jays southpaw J.A. Happ is likely to require a 10-day DL stint due to inflammation in his left elbow, according to Jon Paul Morosi of the MLB Network and MLB Network Radio’s own Twitter account (Twitter links). The good news, as per Morosi, is that Happ’s injury isn’t thought to be serious in the wake of the left-hander’s medical evaluation on Monday. It seems possible, then, that Happ could be back as soon as his mandatory 10 days are up, though Toronto could also decide to give Happ more recovery time for the sake of being cautious.
Elbow soreness forced Happ to leave the mound during the fifth inning of Sunday’s 11-4 loss to the Orioles. The left-hander has 20 strikeouts and zero walks over his 16 innings pitched in this young season, though Happ has a 4.50 ERA thanks to four home runs allowed in that stretch. Happ is coming off the best season of his 11-year career, a 20-win campaign in 2016 that saw him post a 3.18 ERA, 2.72 K/BB rate and 7.5 K/9 in 195 innings.
Happ’s likely absence creates yet another problem for the struggling Blue Jays, who are off to a rough 2-10 start to the season. Happ joins Josh Donaldson, Aaron Sanchez and J.P. Howell on the disabled list, and with Happ and Sanchez now both missing time, the Jays face an immediate test of their rotation depth. The Jays have Mat Latos, Brett Oberholtzer, Mike Bolsinger and T.J. House available at Triple-A as possible fill-ins. A decision won’t need to be made until the Jays open a series against the Angels on Friday, as Marcus Stroman, Francisco Liriano and Marco Estrada are all scheduled to start Toronto’s next three games.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Blue Jays, Donaldson, Braun, Orioles
FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal shares some news from around baseball in his latest notes column…
- Josh Donaldson is expected to spend 2-4 weeks on the DL recovering from a calf injury. Though the Blue Jays are in dire need of Donaldson’s bat, I would suspect the team would err on the side of caution and keep Donaldson out of action until he has completely healed, given that the third baseman has been bothered by this injury dating back to Spring Training.
- With the Blue Jays off to a 2-10 start, Rosenthal figures the team will likely be dealing veterans at the July trade deadline but “a major deconstruction would be a tough sell” to fans. A complete rebuild would erase most or all of the gains made in ticket sales and TV ratings during the last two years, when the Jays twice reached the postseason. Rosenthal believes the Jays could use “a strategic re-set” and still aim to contend in 2018. If Toronto does sell at the deadline, they could limit themselves to trading players who will be free agents after 2017 (such as Marco Estrada, Jose Bautista or Francisco Liriano). The tougher calls, of course, would be on deciding to trade Donaldson or J.A. Happ, who are under contract through the 2018 season.
- Ryan Braun will gain 10-and-5 rights on May 14, according to Rosenthal, not on May 24 as previous reports have suggested. No matter the date that the Brewers slugger can gain full no-trade control, however, Rosenthal echoes earlier reports that suggest little will change with Braun’s trade status once he becomes a 10-and-5 player.
- The Orioles‘ lack of international spending is “an ownership decision,” Rosenthal hears from Baltimore executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette. Ben Badler pulled no punches in criticizing the Orioles’ meager spending on international amateur free agents in a piece for Baseball America earlier this week, and Rosenthal adds that the O’s have also spent the least of any team on amateur draft signings over the last three years. While Duquette notes that several homegrown prospects are currently on Baltimore’s MLB roster, Rosenthal points out that with so many big names (i.e. Manny Machado, Adam Jones, Zach Britton) slated for free agency after 2018, the O’s are lacking in young depth to fill what could be several significant roster holes.
- Two sources tell Rosenthal that Duquette wasn’t happy with how the Orioles‘ medical staff handled Chris Tillman‘s shoulder injury. Duquette didn’t specifically comment on this report to Rosenthal, only saying that “We probably could have done a better job getting him back….I’m not sure we rushed him. I’m just disappointed he didn’t start the season with us. We had plenty of time to work with him. The shoulder was bothering him at the end of last year.” Tillman and the O’s are targeting a return date of early May for the right-hander to make his season debut.
Injury Notes: Happ, Hill, Flowers, Segura, Cishek
A day after placing Aaron Sanchez on the DL, the Blue Jays might have lost another starting pitcher today — J.A. Happ will have an MRI after leaving today’s game with elbow trouble, as Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling and other reporters have noted. “I felt kind of a pull, a tug in my elbow,” says Happ. “And then I went back out there for the fifth and it just got progressively worse.” A significant injury to Happ would be yet another blow to a Blue Jays team that is already off to 2-10 start that had already led to whispers that the team could be sellers on the trade market this summer. Here are more notes on injuries.
- Dodgers lefty Rich Hill‘s second start of the season ended just as his first one did — with an early departure due to blister trouble, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times notes. Shaikin further adds in a tweet that the Dodgers will decide tomorrow whether Hill will require another DL stay. The team could even consider moving him to the bullpen, manager Dave Roberts tells reporters, including MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick (link to Twitter). Presumably, pitching shorter outings could prevent blister flareups. Hill pitched just three innings in the Dodgers’ 3-1 loss to the Diamondbacks. “We’ve talked to a lot of different people that have issues with that outside of our game, and we just can’t pinpoint it,” Roberts said before the game of Hill’s blister issues. “We’re going to continue to try. We don’t have an answer.”
- Braves catcher Tyler Flowers is day-to-day with a strained hamstring he noticed during Sunday’s game, as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman notes. “We’re going to re-evaluate him tomorrow and see where we’re at. Hopefully it’s nothing real serious, because he’s swinging that bat real well,” says Braves manager Brian Snitker. The Braves will wait to decide whether to place Flowers on the DL. In Flowers is out for awhile, Kurt Suzuki will start and Anthony Recker will back him up. Both are already on the Braves’ active roster.
- Mariners infielder Jean Segura and reliever Steve Cishek are close to returning from injury, writes MLB.com’s Greg Johns. Segura has been doing some supervised running to test his ailing hamstring, and hopes to return on Friday, when is when he’s first eligible to come back after going on the DL last Tuesday. Cishek, meanwhile, is beginning a rehab assignment with Double-A Arkansas. Cishek is still making his way back after having microfracture hip surgery last October.
AL Notes: Blue Jays, Yankees, A’s, Red Sox
With Toronto off to a 2-9 start, executives from rival teams are already wondering which players the Blue Jays might shop in the coming months if they don’t turn their season around, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Olney lists several possibilities, the most prominent being onetime MVP-winning third baseman Josh Donaldson, who’s currently on the disabled list with a calf injury. Three members of the Jays’ rotation – J.A. Happ, Marco Estrada and Francisco Liriano – as well as right fielder Jose Bautista and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki are also candidates to end up on the move, per Olney.
More from the American League:
- Designated hitter Matt Holliday hasn’t been a member of the Yankees for long, but the 37-year-old has quickly emerged as one of their strongest leaders, writes Andrew Marchand of ESPN.com. One important member of the organization Holliday has impacted is high-end outfield prospect Clint Frazier, who told Marchand the longtime Cardinal is “the best guy” he has met in baseball. “He is the nicest guy. He has a lot to offer about [how] to go about your business on the field and how to go about it after the game and how to handle things at home,” continued Frazier. “He is someone I want to emulate, to be like him on and off the field.” The addition of Holliday has also been a positive between the lines for the Yankees, as the free agent signing has thus far hit a productive .242/.419/.394 in 43 plate appearances.
- The Athletics have placed shortstop Marcus Semien on the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to Saturday, with a right wrist contusion and recalled infielder Chad Pinder from Triple-A (depth chart). It’s possible Semien has a fracture, but the A’s will know more after he undergoes a CT scan on Monday, tweets Joe Stiglich of NBC Sports California. Semien’s wrist has been acting up since last month, which has likely contributed to the 26-year-old’s lack of power early this season. After homering 27 times and posting a .197 ISO last year, Semien has shown almost no pop in his first 46 PAs of 2017 (zero HRs, .057 ISO).
- Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr., on the DL with a right knee sprain, could return as early as Friday, reports Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com. The 2016 All-Star is first slated to play five innings in center with Triple-A Pawtucket on Tuesday and then nine Wednesday, per manager John Farrell. Bradley hasn’t been in Boston’s lineup since April 8, leaving Chris Young to fill in during his absence. Young has handled left field, thus shifting Andrew Benintendi to center.
Blue Jays Send Aaron Sanchez To 10-Day DL
Blue Jays right-hander Aaron Sanchez is headed to the disabled list, retroactive to Saturday, with a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand, according to the team. Toronto has recalled left-hander Matt Dermody from Triple-A to take Sanchez’s roster spot.
Sanchez’s blister has been a problem since March, and it played a part in the 24-year-old’s poor start against the Orioles on Friday, tweets Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. In 5 1/3 innings, Sanchez gave up five earned runs on seven hits, which paled in comparison to his seven-frame, one-run season debut against Tampa Bay last week. Thanks to his latest outing, Sanchez’s early season numbers are no match for his production from 2016, when he logged a 3.00 ERA and a 54.4 percent ground-ball rate over 192 innings.
The Blue Jays are off Monday, meaning they might be able to avoid having to recall a starter from Triple-A if Sanchez’s injury only keeps him out for one turn through the rotation. Otherwise, minor league options include a slew of familiar names in Mat Latos, Lucas Harrell, Brett Oberholtzer and T.J. House, though none are on the Jays’ 40-man roster. Fellow minor leaguer Casey Lawrence is on the 40-man, however, and has already seen action this year with 2-9 Toronto. He contributed to the Jays’ woes during two relief appearances, allowing three earned runs on five walks in a pair of innings.
Mark Shapiro Not Looking To “Overhaul” Blue Jays Despite 1-9 Start
The Blue Jays 1-9 start is their worst in the history of the franchise. Team president and CEO Mark Shapiro says, though, that he isn’t planning significant changes at this time, as Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi writes.
“Less than 10 games in, this is not the time to start looking at external help,” says Shapiro, issuing the standard line executives (mostly correctly) use when their teams struggle in April. “There may be a time and a place when you start to think about that, but you’re not going to replace five hitters.”
Indeed, teams are rarely willing to make big trades in April, either as buyers or sellers, and teams’ early-season problems can be misdiagnosed due to sample-size issues. The Blue Jays have scored just 2.8 runs per game thus far, and Devon Travis, Russell Martin, Jose Bautista and Steve Pearce in particular have struggled. With what would appear to be a good veteran lineup, though, that could change in time. Shapiro says the team is now focused on making the most of the talent it has.
“When it goes collectively as badly as it does right now with our offence, a lot of what we’re dealing with is we need to get to a point where guys stop trying to do too much and stop trying to take responsibility for it individually,” says Shapiro.
And as Shapiro also notes, the team’s pitching has been capable. The team has gotten good performances thus far from Marcus Stroman and relievers Joe Biagini, Joe Smith, Ryan Tepera and Aaron Loup in particular, and J.A. Happ currently has 17 strikeouts and no walks despite posting a 5.40 ERA in the early going.
“Not everything is wrong,” says Shapiro. “We’re pitching well, dominant at times, there are a lot of good things going on both in the rotation and in our bullpen and we’re playing good defense. We’re not looking at overhauling the entire team.”
The Blue Jays do have their share of both short- and long-term issues — they recently had to place superstar Josh Donaldson on the DL with a calf injury, and the team’s somewhat unwieldy reliance on veterans (including Donaldson, Martin, Bautista, Pearce, Kendrys Morales, Troy Tulowitzki, Marco Estrada, Francisco Liriano, Happ and Jason Grilli) creates pressure on the team to succeed now. It might be unwise, however, for the Jays to overreact to the ten-game slump that has started their season.
Blue Jays Select Chris Coghlan, Place Josh Donaldson On 10-Day DL, Designate Juan Graterol
5:51pm: Catcher Juan Graterol has been designated to clear 40-man space, the club announced. Graterol was claimed just before camp and seemed slated to function as the third catcher. But the Jays recently added Luke Maile through a waiver claim, and he evidently stepped into the top spot on the minor-league depth chart.
3:00pm: The Blue Jays have selected the contract of veteran outfielder/infielder Chris Coghlan, as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca first reported on Twitter. Coghlan would have been eligible to opt out of his deal at the end of the month, Davidi notes.
Unfortunately, the move was necessitated by the calf injury that felled star third baseman Josh Donaldson. He’s heading to the 10-day DL, though it seems the organization hopes that he won’t require an extended stint. Toronto will also need to clear a 40-man spot.
The Jays will hope that Coghlan can provide a boost against right-handed pitching, as he has done for much of his career. He became available when the Phillies cut him loose late in camp, after Coghlan reportedly declined to sign an advance consent waiver that would’ve allowed the Phils to avoid a full-season guarantee by trimming him from the roster within 45 days of the start of the season.
Instead, Coghlan headed to the open market and landed in Toronto on a new minors deal. The 31-year-old will look to pick up where he left off last year with the Cubs. He slashed .252/.491/.388 in 128 plate appearances with Chicago after struggling earlier in the season for the A’s.
Coghlan is best utilized as a platoon player, as his lifetime OPS splits (.766 vs. righties, .618 vs. lefties) would suggest. He does offer some defensive versatility, though, having lined up at second and third as well as his natural corner outfield in recent years.