AL East Notes: Bautista, Pineda, Grilli, Boxberger
Jose Bautista‘s future with the Blue Jays has been up in the air since Spring Training, when reports of an asking price north of $150MM emerged, but the right fielder tells Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci that his preference is to remain in Toronto. “I love the city. I’d be stupid to leave,” said Bautista. While that comment will garner plenty of attention, it’s hardly uncommon for stars to voice a preference to remain with the club with which they’ve broken out. Bautista implied that the ball is in the court of first-year president of baseball operations Mark Shapiro and first-year GM Ross Atkins. “I will explore every single option, whether it happens or not with the new regime, to continue to try to stay here,” he added. “That being said, I think teams utilize that a lot against players, [seeking] a discount or bargain price, and I think that’s extremely unfair, especially to have your biggest contributors on the field and try to take advantage of the fact that they like it there and negotiate a tougher deal.” Despite today’s comments, it seems difficult to envision Bautista significantly dropping his asking price — especially when he’s again on pace to top 30 homers.
More from the AL East…
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post points out that if the Yankees want to option right-hander Michael Pineda to the minors in an effort to get the struggling 26-year-old back on track, their window to do so is closing. Pineda, Sherman notes, will reach five full years of MLB service time on June 14, at which point he will have earned the right to refuse a minor league assignment. Cashman tells Sherman that Pineda will make his next start on Thursday (in Detroit), and the club will have further discussions about him following that outing. Pitching coach Larry Rothschild cryptically tells Sherman that he’s aware of what Pineda’s problem is but is electing not to disclose the issue to the media.
- Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins spoke to reporters tonight about his club’s acquisition of Jason Grilli (video link via Sportsnet.ca). Atkins said that he’s been on the lookout for bullpen help since the day he arrived in Toronto, and Grilli’s penchant for missing bats made him an attractive option. “There’s a lot that we like about Jason and how he complements this team,” said Atkins. “The first thing that comes to mind is experience. He’s been on winning teams, [in] very high-leverage situations and gets a ton of swing-and-miss — has gotten a lot of swing-and-miss throughout his career.” Atkins expected Grilli to join the club on Wednesday.
- As Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets, Rays right-hander Brad Boxberger left tonight’s game with a strained muscle in his left side. Following the game, manager Kevin Cash told the media that the injury was “obviously not good,” and Topkin tweets that the sense in the clubhouse is that Boxberger is headed back to the disabled list. Further evaluation will be required tomorrow, he notes, but another absence for the Rays’ presumed 2016 closer appears to be a strong possibility.
Blue Jays Acquire Jason Grilli
5:47pm: The Blue Jays and Braves have both announced the trade.
4:02pm: The Blue Jays and Braves have agreed to a deal that will send right-hander Jason Grilli from Atlanta to Toronto in exchange for right-hander Sean Ratcliffe, reports Baseball Essential’s Robert Murray (links to Murray on Twitter). Additionally, he tweets that the Jays will pay Grilli the pro-rated portion of the league minimum for the remainder of the season, with the Braves paying the rest of his salary. Grilli has a base salary of $3.5MM, meaning Atlanta will still pay him $2.37MM, while the Jays are now on the hook for $344K plus a $250K buyout on his $3MM club option for the 2017 season.
Grilli, 39, is off to a rough start to his 2016 campaign but gives Toronto an experienced arm to add to the back of its bullpen. In 17 innings this year, he’s posted a 5.29 ERA with 23 strikeouts against 13 walks (one intentional). That control (or lack thereof) has been Grilli’s primary undoing, but he enjoyed plenty of success in the Atlanta bullpen as recently as last year, when he logged a 2.94 ERA and 24 saves in 33 2/3 innings before an Achilles injury prematurely ended his season. Grilli’s club option for the 2017 season is for $3MM, so if he’s able to right the ship with the Jays as he nears his 40th birthday, he’ll be an affordable piece for next season.
While he’s struggled for much of the 2016 season, Grilli worked to a strong 3.07 ERA with 11.9 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and 72 saves from 2011-15 with the Pirates, Angels and Braves, so there’s some reason to believe that he could rebound with a change of scenery. Then again, his velocity is down more than two miles per hour from last season, and his ground-ball rate is at an all-time-low 18.9 percent this year — a bad trend to exhibit for any player, let alone one that is moving to the homer-friendly Rogers Centre in Toronto. The prospect price, though, isn’t exactly steep in this deal, and the Jays are taking on a just a small portion of Grilli’s salary, so the risk they’re assuming is rather minimal.
The 21-year-old Ratcliffe has yet to climb higher than Low-A ball in his career. Toronto selected him in the 18th round of the 2013 draft, and he’s posted a 4.91 ERA with 6.5 K/9 against 5.3 BB/9 in 62 1/3 professional innings. Baseball America’s Vince Lara-Cinisomo writes that Ratcliffe has a fastball that will touch 93 mph and a “decent” slider with plenty of room for projection as a converted catcher with a 6’4″, 200-pound frame.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Blue Jays Designate Jimmy Paredes For Assignment
The Blue Jays have designated Jimmy Paredes for assignment, the Toronto Star’s Brendan Kennedy reports (Twitter link). In a corresponding move, righty reliever Ryan Tepera was called up from Triple-A.
Toronto claimed Paredes off waivers from the Orioles two weeks ago. He hit quite well (.267/.353/.533) over 17 plate appearances and also filled in around the diamond for the Jays, making one start each at second, third and DH while also appearing in right field for a game. As MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm tweets, however, the Jays needed an extra reliever for their struggling bullpen and other infield bench candidates like Ryan Goins or Darwin Barney are needed with Troy Tulowitzki on the DL.
Paredes has never exhibited much defensive value despite his versatility over his six years in the majors, and he owns a .257/.294/.373 slash line over 862 PA with Toronto, Baltimore, Kansas City and Houston. The 27-year-old was originally signed by the Yankees in 2006, and notably dealt along with Mark Melancon to the Astros in the July 2010 trade deadline deal that brought Lance Berkman to New York.
Blue Jays Place Troy Tulowitzki On DL
The Blue Jays have placed shortstop Troy Tulowitzki on the 15-day DL with a quad strain, Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star tweets. Taking his place on the active roster will be lefty Aaron Loup, who’s returning from an elbow injury.
Tulowitzki played yesterday against Boston (striking out four times) but missed the previous two games due to quad tightness, during which time the Jays used Ryan Goins and Darwin Barney at shortstop. The injury occurred when he was stealing a base against the Yankees on Tuesday. It’s been a somewhat disappointing season thus far for Tulowitzki, who’s batted just .204/.289/.383 in 190 plate appearances this year. It’s been a slow start to Tulo’s Blue Jays career in general, in fact — he hit .239/.317/.380 down the stretch in 2015 after arriving in a high-profile trade with Colorado.
Loup has been a regular in the Toronto bullpen the last four seasons, with a 3.11 ERA, 7.5 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in a big-league career spent entirely with the Jays. The team had been using a six-man bullpen, and Loup’s addition gives the team its usual complement of seven relievers. The move also gives the team a second lefty to go with Chad Girodo.
Minor MLB Transactions: 5/27/16
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- Backstop Michael McKenry has signed on with the Cardinals on a minor league pact, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). The 31-year-old had put up a .220/.389/.341 slash at the Triple-A level with the Rangers thus far on the year. He’s seen six seasons of action in the majors previously, with just-below-average offensive results but a reputation for less-than-stellar defensive work behind the plate.
- The Angels announced that southpaw Lucas Luetge has been outrighted to Triple-A after clearing waivers. He had recently been designated for assignment. The 29-year-old Luetge is among a dizzying array of Halos pitchers involved in various roster moves of late. He’ll return to Salt Lake, where he’s already thrown 19 1/3 innings, posting a 2.33 ERA and 7.9 K/9 versus 4.7 BB/9.
- Catcher Ryan Lavarnway has signed with the Blue Jays, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). He’ll head to the organization’s Double-A affiliate. The 28-year-old had been playing at Triple-A with the Braves before he was released, putting up a .276/.336/.357 slash in his first 107 plate appearances on the season. In 407 trips to the plate at the major league level over the last five years, the one-time top Red Sox prospect has compiled a .198/.258/.316 batting line.
MLB Issues Suspensions For Rangers-Blue Jays Brawl
MAY 26: Odor’s suspension has been reduced to seven games, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network. MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan first reported that Odor’s suspension would be reduced by a slight margin (Twitter link).
MAY 17: 3:37pm: Bautista will be suspended for one game, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo.
3:20pm: Right-hander Jesse Chavez, who hit Prince Fielder in the thigh with a pitch following the initial skirmish, will receive a three-game suspension, reports Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi (Twitter link).
2:56pm: Elvis Andrus will get a one-game suspension for throwing a punch, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via Twitter). That appears to round out the bans on the Texas side of the equation.
2:24pm: Toronto skipper John Gibbons will be hit with a three-game suspension, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. He’s being punished for returning to the field after previously being ejected.
2:04pm: Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor is set to receive an eight-game suspension for his role in the recent brawl with the Blue Jays, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports (Twitter links). Odor is expected to appeal the ban, which will at least delay its application and could theoretically result in some reduction.
Additional suspensions are expected for players involved in the fracas, but it’s hard to imagine that anyone will get anything approaching Odor’s level of punishment. The youngster pushed and then punched Jays’ star Jose Bautista after a rough slide into second base, precipitating a large melee. Of course, there was more to it than that, as Bautista had previously been plunked by Matt Bush — a move interpreted by some as retaliation for the slugger’s dramatic bat flip in last year’s postseason.
All told, the move isn’t of major consequence for the Rangers. Odor can play while his appeal is considered, and the organization has plenty of options to fill in for whatever stretch he ends up missing. Hanser Alberto would represent the most obvious replacement who is currently on the active roster, but Jurickson Profar might also be an option. As Jamey Newberg noted earlier today on Twitter, Profar has shifted over to second base for his game today at Triple-A.
AL East Notes: Travis, Sox Pen, Sanchez
Second baseman Devon Travis is on his way back up to the Blue Jays, according to Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). He’ll finally make it back from shoulder issues that have kept him away from the club since late last July. Travis impressed in his first 239 big league plate appearances, putting up a .304/.361/.498 slash with eight home runs. Even if he can’t keep up that pace, there’s every hope that he’ll significantly upgrade a unit that owns one of the league’s least productive batting lines.
Here are a few more notes from the AL East:
- The loss of Carson Smith leaves the Red Sox in need of an additional quality pen arm, Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald writes. That’s not to say there’s any particular rush to the trade market, which president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski made clear would not be the case. But Drellich argues that the organization needs to begin lining up targets for the summer. Meanwhile, WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford takes a look at a few possibilities who could be available.
- Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez suffered what GM Brian Cashman is calling a “cracked thumb” in last night’s action, Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre beat writer Shane Hennigan tweets. The 23-year-old is one of the game’s most highly-regarded backstop prospects, and seemed ready for a full shot at the majors after opening the year with a .290/.333/.529 slash in 147 plate appearances. Of course, the Yankees are all set at the big league level for the time being. The club will hope that the injury won’t take too big a chunk out of Sanchez’s season, but his outlook remains unclear at present.
David Aardsma Opts Out Of Blue Jays Contract
Veteran reliever David Aardsma has opted out of his minor league contract with the Blue Jays, MLBTR has learned (Twitter link). The right-hander is free to sign with any club.
Aardsma, 34, spent a considerable chunk of the 2015 campaign with the Braves, tallying 30 2/3 innings out of the team’s bullpen and posting a 4.70 ERA with 10.3 K/9, 4.1 BB/9 and a 29.5 percent ground-ball rate. He inked a minor league pact with Toronto and has posted an unsightly 5.27 ERA in 13 2/3 innings with their Triple-A affiliate this season, though the bulk of the damage done against him came in one outing.
The former Mariners closer posted strong numbers at the Triple-A level from 2014-15 (though a groin injury ended his 2014 season with the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate) and has a lifetime 4.27 ERA with 340 strikeouts against 183 walks in 337 innings at the Major League level. Presumably, he’ll hope to find a similar minor league contract with another club and earn a spot on a big league roster, as he did in Atlanta last year.
East Notes: Storen, Red Sox, Howard, Harvey
The Blue Jays have told teams that right-handed reliever Drew Storen is available, reports Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun. Storen, whom the Jays acquired from the Nationals for outfielder Ben Revere in the offseason, is on an $8.38MM salary this year and is then slated to become a free agent. Formerly a capable late-game option with the Nats, Storen has already allowed 13 runs on 22 hits in his first 15 innings with the Jays. To his credit, the 28-year-old has continued his career-long trend of posting quality strikeout and walk rates (9.6 and 2.4 this season, respectively), but PITCHf/x indicates that his velocity is down a couple miles per hour.
Now let’s check in on some other clubs from baseball’s two East divisions:
- If lefty starter Eduardo Rodriguez and right-handed reliever Carson Smith don’t serve as adequate in-season reinforcements, the 26-17 Red Sox are open to acquiring outside talent and increasing their $201MM-plus payroll in the process, writes Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Team ownership is “as committed as ever” to putting a winner on the field after enduring back-to-back last-place finishes, said club president Sam Kennedy.
- The Phillies’ front office has put Pete Mackanin in a tough position with first baseman Ryan Howard, whom the manager is hesitant to bench, opines Ryan Lawrence of Philly Voice. Howard is hitting a paltry .161/.233/.381 in 133 plate appearances, but he’s a popular figure in the clubhouse and Mackanin doesn’t want to send the wrong message by removing him from the lineup in favor of recent call-up and platoon mate Tommy Joseph. Thus, writes Lawrence, the front office should step in and handle it for Mackanin. Howard, 36, has long been in decline and is likely in his last year with the Phillies, who will buy him out for $10MM at season’s end in lieu of paying him $23MM to remain on the team in 2017. Considering both that and Howard’s weak output, it would make sense for the Phillies to give Joseph the lion’s share of time at first.
- A scout who has followed Matt Harvey since his amateur days offered his assessment of the struggling Mets right-hander to Kevin Kernan of the New York Post. “There’s no deception in his delivery. “He is throwing across his body and the hitters are getting a good look at everything,” said the scout, who added that Harvey looks out of shape and is presenting “no fear factor, no intimidation.”
AL East Notes: Smith, Holt, Gibbons, Yankees, Hensley
The Red Sox announced today that they’ve placed right-hander Carson Smith and left fielder Brock Holt on the 15-day and 7-day disabled lists, respectively. Smith is dealing with continued soreness in his right elbow, and Holt has what the Sox termed a “mild” concussion. In that duo’s place, right-hander Noe Ramirez and catcher Blake Swihart have been recalled, although the Sox’ press release announcing the moves referred to Swihart as a catcher/left fielder, so presumably he will continue the outfield work he began at Triple-A in his latest big league stint. That’d mean that Swihart could platoon with outfielder Chris Young in Holt’s absence, and Swihart’s presence also will allow manager John Farrell to be a bit more liberal in terms of pinch-hitting for either Christian Vazquez or Ryan Hanigan in late situations. Swihart gets the call over high priced outfielder Rusney Castillo, who remains at the Triple-A level with a .263/.315/.316 slash line through 124 plate appearances.
Here’s more from the AL East…
- Blue Jays president of baseball operations Mark Shapiro said to hosts Jeff Blair and Stephen Brunt on Sportsnet 590 The FAN this morning that he remains confident in manager John Gibbons despite a “disappointing” start for the reigning AL East champions (via Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith). “To spend time around Gibby is to be incredibly confident in his leadership and to recognize that he’s part of the solution,” said Shapiro. “We feel that he’s a guy who’s consistent. He is strong. He is tough. He is committed, and I feel like he’s the right guy to help guide us through the challenges that we’re facing now.” Rather than focus on potential changes to the field staff, the Blue Jays are instead already having internal discussions about trades and other roster changes, said Shapiro. It’s still rather early to expect significant trades, of course (as White Sox GM Rick Hahn recently noted when revealing that his club has already had talks with other teams), but the groundwork that goes into a trade can often be the product of months of effort.
- ESPN’s Buster Olney opines (Insider subscription required) that while the Yankees have a chance at playing October baseball this season, their focus should be on improving the 2017 club without completely tearing down the 2016 product. That, he writes, means playing Aaron Hicks regularly even if it costs Carlos Beltran and Alex Rodriguez some at-bats. Olney, in fact, believes it’d be wise for the Yankees to explore the idea of trading Gardner to a contender for prospects as a means of getting Aaron Judge some playing time in the Majors later this summer. Other contributing pieces that could be moved without significantly tanking the club’s chances, he continues, are Brian McCann and one of Aroldis Chapman or Andrew Miller. The Yankees currently sit at 18-22, last place in the division, although there’s clearly time to turn things around, and they’ve won seven of their past 10 games.
- Yankees prospect Ty Hensley is lost for the season due to a setback in his recovery from Tommy John surgery, reports Chad Jennings of the Journal News. The 2012 first-rounder has seen a once-promising career decimated by injuries to this point, as hip surgery cost him the entire 2013 season and he missed all of 2014 due to the aforementioned Tommy John procedure. Jennings doesn’t state that Hensley needs a second Tommy John surgery, and the specific nature of the setback isn’t entirely clear, but Jennings does note that both GM Brian Cashman and VP of player development Gary Denbo have confirmed that Hensley will miss the 2016 campaign. Now 22 years of age (23 in July), Hensley hasn’t pitched since 2014 and has pitched in just 16 games since being drafted, posting a 2.98 ERA with 54 strikeouts against 18 walks in 42 1/3 innings.