Marlins Extend Miguel Rojas
Marlins shortstop Miguel Rojas will be reaching free agency a bit later than initially projected, as the organization formally announced a two-year contract extension for the 30-year-old defensive standout Friday. Rojas, a client of the Beverly Hills Sports Council, will reportedly be guaranteed $10.25MM in total. The contract also comes with a vesting option that’d take the deal north of $15MM, if triggered.
The new contract buys out Rojas’ final season of arbitration, guarantees one free-agent season and gives Miami an option for what would be the second free-agent season for Rojas, who’ll turn 31 in February. Rojas earned a $3.155MM salary in 2019 and would’ve been eligible for arbitration for the final time this winter — although his relatively timid offensive profile would’ve prevented him from cashing in on a substantial raise.
The timing of the contract talks are a bit unusual, but the Miami organization is no stranger to September extensions. The Marlins previously worked out a three-year, $40MM extension for Martin Prado as well as a much smaller one-year extension with Greg Dobbs in the final month of a season (not that either deal panned out particularly well for them). Beyond that, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweeted this week that Rojas has “made it clear” to the Marlins that he wants to stay in Miami. The two sides apparently preferred to skip the potentially contentious arbitration process and proactively work out a multi-year arrangement.
Rojas has quietly become a versatile and fairly valuable player in South Florida, logging time at all four infield positions over the past few seasons while proving to be a difficult strikeout at the plate. He’s currently hitting .288/338/.388 with five homers, 27 doubles, a triple and eight steals in 2019, and he’s put together a serviceable (albeit still below average) .274/.327/.368 slash through 1316 plate appearances dating back to 2017. In that time, he’s punched out in only 12 percent of his plate appearances.
Though he’s spent the bulk of his time at shortstop over the past two seasons, Rojas grades out as an above-average defender all over the diamond. He’s generated elite numbers at the shortstop position, where he’s been credited with +26 Defensive Runs Saved and a +14 Ultimate Zone Rating dating back to 2017, which has helped to offset his lack of power and limited on-base skills.
Looking ahead, Rojas now appears poised to serve as the Marlins’ primary shortstop in both 2020 and 2021 — depending on the timeline of prospect Jazz Chisholm. For now, Rojas will likely be joined on the left side of the diamond by continually improving Brian Anderson, with well-regarded prospect Isan Diaz the favorite at second base. Garrett Cooper will likely round out the 2020 infield, although trades and free-agent acquisitions can certainly impact that composition. Rojas had previously been a somewhat under-the-radar trade asset, but a multi-year deal quite likely takes him off the market — at least in the short term.
MLB Network’s Jon Heyman first reported the deal (Twitter links). Barry Jackson and Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald added some financial context, and Heyman tweeted final details.
Cubs Activate Craig Kimbrel From Injured List
The Cubs have activated closer Craig Kimbrel from the 10-day injured list, the team announced. Kimbrel is set to pitch for the first time since September 1 (with an IL placement on September 5), after being sidelined with right elbow inflammation.
Reinforcements couldn’t come at a more welcome time for the Cubs, who are locked in a pitched battle with the Cardinals and Brewers for both the NL Central title and an NL wild card berth. Chicago is three games behind St. Louis as the two rivals begin a critical four-game series tonight, and are also set to meet in a three-game series on the final three days of the regular season. The Cubs and Brewers are tied for the second NL wild card spot, and with an increasingly comfortable cushion on other wild card contenders such as the Mets (three games back), Phillies (3.5 games), and Diamondbacks (4.5 games). Chicago and Milwaukee are also both 1.5 games behind the Nationals for the top wild card position.
While missing close to three weeks of this pennant race surely isn’t what Kimbrel had in mind, his injury absence could serve as something of a potential reset on his tenure with the Cubs. Kimbrel’s well-documented free agent sojourn kept him from signing until early June, and the former seven-time All-Star hasn’t shown anything close to that form in Wrigleyville. Over 19 innings this season, Kimbrel has a 5.68 ERA, a number inflated by both walks (5.2 BB/9) and homers (2.8 HR/9, four times’ Kimbrel’s career average).
If Kimbrel can recapture any of his past form, he’ll strengthen a Cubs relief corps that is pitching its best baseball of the season. Cubs relievers have a cumulative 2.35 ERA in September, the best of any team this month.
Orioles Outright Ty Blach To Triple-A
The Orioles announced that Ty Blach has been outrighted to Triple-A, after the left-hander cleared waivers. Blach was designated for assignment on Monday, clearing roster space for the O’s to claim Eric Hanhold away from the Mets.
Blach was himself a waiver claim for the Orioles back in August, though after coming from the Giants, Blach didn’t add much help to Baltimore’s rotation. He posted an 11.32 ERA over five starts in an O’s uniform, surrendering six home runs over his 20 2/3 innings of work. Between those struggles and a similarly rough performance in his brief time on the Giants’ big league roster in 2019, Blach has a cumulative 12.00 ERA over 27 total innings.
It marked a big step down for a pitcher who looked like a serviceable swingman in 2018, after he delivered a 4.25 ERA over 118 2/3 frames for San Francisco while starting 13 games and coming out of the bullpen on 34 other occasions. Blach has never been a particularly hard thrower or a big strikeout pitcher (only a 4.91 career K/9), and while he had done a decent job of keeping the ball in the park in prior seasons, home runs became a larger issue for Blach both at the MLB and Triple-A levels in 2019. He was far from the only pitcher to suffer through such a homer spike this season, though Blach’s pitch-to-contact arsenal made him particularly susceptible to the long ball.
Domingo German Placed On Administrative Leave Under Domestic Violence Policy
1:04pm: The Yankees announced that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Michael King to fill German’s spot on the 40-man and active rosters. King pitched 46 innings across four minor league levels in 2019 but hasn’t appeared in a game since Sept. 1.
12:43pm: Yankees right-hander Domingo German has been placed on administrative leave under the Joint MLB-MLBPA Domestic Violence Policy, the league announced Thursday. Details surrounding any allegations against German have yet to surface. The Yankees have issued the following statement on the matter:
We fully support all measures being undertaken by the Commissioner’s Office pursuant to the Policy on Domestic Violence. We support this policy which reinforces that domestic violence has no place in our society and cannot be tolerated. We have followed the lead of Major League Baseball and will continue to provide our complete cooperation throughout the investigative process. We reserve any further comment until the investigation reaches its conclusion. All questions pertaining to this matter should be directed to the Office of the Commissioner.
Players placed on administrative leave are paid during their absence unless a suspension is deemed necessary by the Commissioner’s Office, at which point pay issued during said leave is rescinded. The standard period of length for administrative leave is seven days, although the league can continue to extend that period as required by the status of the investigation as it unfolds.
If German is indeed disciplined, any suspension would leave him on the restricted list during the Yankees’ forthcoming postseason run, marking a costly loss for the AL East champions. German, who turned 27 last month, has given the club 143 innings of 4.03 ERA ball while averaging 9.6 strikeouts and 2.5 walks per nine innings pitched.
Further details on the situation will be provided as they emerge.
Angels Select Kaleb Cowart, Place Luis Rengifo On 60-Day IL
5:05pm: The Angels have now announced Cowart’s selection to the MLB roster. To clear space on the 40-man roster, fellow infielder Luis Rengifo has been placed on the 60-day injured list. Rengifo sustained a fractured hamate bone in his left hand, the team announced, thus bringing his rookie season to a close. In 406 plate appearances, Rengifo batted .238/.321/.364 with solid marks for his defense at second base (+2 Defensive Runs Saved, +1.8 Ultimate Zone Rating).
4:00pm: The Angels have added infielder/reliever Kaleb Cowart to their 40-man roster, as Maria Torres of the L.A. Times tweets that Cowart is in New York with the team for tonight’s game. Cowart is on the lineup card as a bench player but isn’t listed with the team’s pitchers, The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya points out (also via Twitter). There’s been no formal announcement from the team about Cowart’s selection to the Major League roster. They’ll need to make a 40-man roster move, though that could simply be putting Mike Trout or Justin Upton on the 60-day IL, as both are on the active roster but out for the season.
Cowart, 27, was outrighted by the Halos back in March and split the season between their Double-A and Triple-A affiliates. The switch-hitter is a former top 100 prospect and first-round pick who at one point was considered to be a potential long-term building block in the infield for the Angels. However, his offensive performance began to diminish upon reaching Double-A, and Cowart was ultimately unable to establish himself with the Angels despite several auditions from 2015-18.
Cowart was a two-way star in high school when the Angels selected him with the 18th pick in the 2010 draft, but he focused solely on honing his craft as a position player until the end of the 2018 season. It was at that point that Cowart began to shift his focus to trying his hand as a reliever/utilityman — an idea that clearly intrigued more than just the Angels. Both the Mariners and Tigers claimed Cowart off waivers over the winter, but he found his way back to the Angels via a third waiver claim in late February.
The transition to the mound for Cowart wasn’t exactly a smooth one, though. He tossed 17 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A but was welcomed back to the mound with 20 earned runs in that short time. Opponents tallied 26 hits (three home runs) against Cowart, but the larger issue for him — as one might expect from a player who hasn’t pitched in close to a decade — was locating the ball. Cowart walked 15 of the 96 batters he faced on the mound and hit another four, although he did manage to collect 16 strikeouts as well.
At the plate, Cowart posted solid but unspectacular numbers in the Pacific Coast League’s supercharged offensive environment; in 317 plate appearances, he hit .289/.345/.453 with eight homers, 15 doubles and four triples. He’ll give the Angels an option at all four infield spots and in the outfield corners at the very least — and perhaps an option on the mound if they need someone to work a low-leverage spot in a lopsided game.
Yankees Activate Giancarlo Stanton
Giancarlo Stanton has officially been activated from the 60-day injured list, the Yankees announced Wednesday. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, the Yankees placed Dellin Betances on the 60-day IL. Betances suffered a partial tear of his Achilles tendon in his first appearance of the 2019 season.
Stanton’s return to the lineup — he’s batting fifth and playing left field tonight — is a more-than-welcome sight for the injury-plagued Yankees. However, Stanton won’t play a full game tonight and will seemingly be eased back into the mix. Manager Aaron Boone told reporters that the slugger will play only four to five innings to get some at-bats under his belt (Twitter link via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). Stanton could play a full game as a DH on Thursday, though.
While Stanton’s first year in the Bronx didn’t quite live up to the MVP standard he set in 2017, he nevertheless proved to be a force in the middle of a potent Yankees lineup. In 705 plate appearances (158 games) last season, Stanton hit .266/.343/.509 with 38 home runs, 34 doubles and a triple. He’s been limited to just nine games in 2019 thanks to a biceps strain and a knee strain, but he’ll now have a couple of weeks to ramp back up to game speed as the Yankees prepare for the American League Division Series. New York has lost Mike Tauchman for the season and isn’t likely to get Aaron Hicks back, either, so Stanton will be in line for regular work in left field with Brett Gardner lining up in center and Aaron Judge manning right field.
Blue Jays Claim Ryan Dull
The Blue Jays have claimed right-handed reliever Ryan Dull off waivers from the Yankees, per announcements from both teams. Lefty Tim Mayza, who suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament over the weekend, was transferred to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding roster move.
Dull, 29, has bounced from the A’s, to the Giants, to the Yankees and now to the Blue Jays via waivers in the past six weeks alone. The righty hasn’t had success in the Majors or in Triple-A this season, but he’s only a few seasons removed from looking like a quality bullpen piece in Oakland. While Dull has been tagged for 17 earned runs through just 11 1/3 innings in the big leagues this year and also has a 5.29 ERA across three Triple-A affiliates, he was one of Oakland’s best relievers back in 2016. That year, he tossed 74 1/3 innings of 2.42 ERA ball with nearly a strikeout per frame and just 1.8 BB/9.
Injuries have hit Dull rather hard since that breakout campaign. A knee injury limited him to a total of 45 2/3 innings in 2017, and shoulder trouble hindered him in 2018. Multiple clubs have been willing to dedicate a roster spot to taking a shot at getting Dull back into form, though, and the Jays will now try their hand. Dull does have a minor league option remaining beyond the current season, so the Jays could certainly carry that experiment over to the 2020 campaign if they’re willing to carry Dull on the roster all winter. He’ll be arbitration-eligible this offseason but played the 2019 season on just an $860K salary, so his price tag wouldn’t be prohibitive.
Pirates Select Contract Of Jake Elmore
The Pirates have selected the contract of utilityman Jake Elmore, per a club announcement. He’ll fill out the active roster down the stretch.
Elmore, 32, was on and off the Pittsburgh 40-man roster earlier this season. He has appeared in parts of six MLB campaigns, each time with a different ballclub, making him something of the consummate journeyman.
For his career, Elmore carries a modest .208/.287/.269 batting line in 498 plate appearances. He has spent most of his time at Triple-A, where he’s a .294/.389/.381 hitter over eight campaigns.
While he’s obviously not an especially productive hitter, Elmore has carved out a niche as a handy swiss army knife to have stashed when a need arises. He’s primarily a middle infielder. But at some point or another, Elmore has appeared at every single position on the diamond as a professional (including on the mound and behind the dish).
Yankees Activate Luis Severino, Designate Breyvic Valera
The Yankees announced Tuesday that they’ve reinstated Luis Severino from the 60-day injured list. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, New York has designated infielder Breyvic Valera for assignment.
Severino’s return to the rotation tonight will be a boon for a Yankees club that has seen its starters struggle immensely in the season’s second half. If Severino is able to quickly round back into form, he’ll surely play a prominent role in the team’s postseason pitching plans. The 25-year-old righty, who signed a four-year, $40MM contract extension in the offseason, has yet to pitch this season due to shoulder and lat injuries but gave the Yankees 384 2/3 innings of 3.18 ERA ball (3.01 FIP) with 10.5 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 from 2017-18.
The 27-year-old Valera, claimed off waivers from the Giants earlier this season, appeared in a dozen games for the Yankees and hit .219/.324/.313 in 37 plate appearances. He’s appeared with four different big league teams in the past three seasons, having also spent time with the Orioles, Dodgers and Cardinals. (Valera never played in the Majors with the Giants.) Los Angeles sent him to Baltimore in last summer’s Manny Machado swap, though it was clear at the time of the deal that he wasn’t as well regarded as the younger players sent to the O’s in that trade.
In parts of four Triple-A seasons, Valera has a .302/.374/.442 batting line. He’s spent the bulk of his career in the minors at second base but also has 1434 innings at shortstop, 823 innings at third base, 932 innings in left field, 303 innings in right field and 68 innings in center under his belt. Valera will be out of minor league options next season, so any club that claims him would either have to include him on 2020’s Opening Day roster or attempt to pass him through waivers themselves.
Corey Dickerson Out For Remainder Of Season
The Phillies announced that outfielder Corey Dickerson has been placed on the 60-day injured list due to a fractured navicular bone in his left foot, thus ending his season. Right-hander Edubray Ramos was activated from the injured list in his place.
The move to acquire Dickerson from the Pirates for international bonus allotments and salary relief proved to be a nice pickup for the Phillies, as the 30-year-old slugger went on to hit .293/.307/.579 with eight homers, 10 doubles and a pair of triples in 137 plate appearances. Injuries prevented Dickerson from playing as often as the organization would’ve liked, surely, but he nonetheless proved to be a high-quality bat who came with a low cost of acquisition.
Dickerson’s season didn’t start until June due to a shoulder strain and will end early due to this foot injury, but the portion of time for which he was healthy will serve as a reminder to clubs of just how potent his bat can be as he enters free agency for the first time. In all, Dickerson came to the plate 279 times this season and raked at a .304/.341/.565 clip with a dozen homers, 28 doubles and two triples.
That marks the sixth consecutive season in which Dickerson has been an above-average hitter, although it’s worth noting that last year’s surprisingly excellent defensive metrics regressed toward his sub-par career levels in 2019. Bat-first corner players haven’t been treated well in free agency in recent seasons, and Dickerson’s modest 5.8 percent career walk rate won’t do him any favors in negotiating with clubs. Still, he’s a clear weapon against right-handed pitching who has held his own against southpaws (.272/.310/.409) in his career and should find work as a regular in someone’s corner outfield and/or designated hitter mix this winter.
Because Dickerson was traded midseason, the Phillies won’t be eligible to issue him a qualifying offer — not that they would be likely to do so even if he were eligible — so he’ll hit the open market without the burden of draft-pick compensation.