Braves Reportedly Expected To Sign Francisco Cervelli
Just-released Pirates backstop Francisco Cervelli evidently won’t spend much time on the open market. He is slated to ink a deal with the Braves, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via Twitter). Whether it’s of the major or minor-league variety isn’t known.
Cervelli still must clear release waivers before he’ll be able to sign a new deal. But that’s really just a formality, given that he’s still owed the balance of his $11.5MM salary — about $2.4MM. The Braves will only owe him the league minimum rate for any time spent on the MLB roster, with the Bucs paying the rest.
While it seemed at one point earlier this year that Cervelli would not attempt to return to catching duties, he emphatically quashed that concept and has donned the mask on a rehab assignment. Now, he’ll help the Braves cover for the recent loss of Brian McCann. Whether Cervelli will immediately join Tyler Flowers on the MLB roster isn’t known. It’s also possible that the club will tap John Ryan Murphy for that job and then bring up Cervelli once rosters expand.
Cervelli has hit well on his recent rehab stint, but that’s a limited sample against minor-league pitching. He was far from his peak form to begin the season, turning in 123 plate appearances of .193/.279/.248 hitting before he hit the injured list. With a rising chase rate and swinging-strike rate, declining average exit velocity, and worsening strikeout-to-walk numbers (25.2% K vs. 7.3% BB), the poor output was well-deserved.
The Braves will have to hope there’s more left in the tank. Cervelli has been a solid-two-way catcher for quite some time. Just last year, he was able to turn in a healthy .259/.378/.431 slash line with a dozen home runs. Regardless of the outlook with the bat in hand, the Atlanta organization is obviously interested in adding some veteran depth behind the dish. Better options aren’t likely to present themselves over the next week — after which time it will not be possible to acquire a postseason-eligible player. By picking up Cervelli, the club will add another layer of protection in the event that McCann is slow to return.
Pirates Release Francisco Cervelli
The Pirates announced today that they have released catcher Francisco Cervelli. The 33-year-old had been attempting to work his way back from a concussion.
Today’s move represents a disappointing end to to Cervelli’s generally excellent tenure in Pittsburgh. He has been with the organization since 2015, blossoming from a former Yankees reserve into a high-quality full-time backstop.
GM Neal Huntington issued a statement on the matter, as MLB.com’s Adam Berry covers on Twitter. The club’s top baseball operations decisionmaker explained:
“Out of respect and appreciation for Francisco, we have chosen to honor his request to be released in order for him to pursue an opportunity that potentially gives him a chance at more playing time, as well as an opportunity this season to compete in the postseason.”
Cervelli is owed $11.5MM this season — far too much to make him an appealing waiver-claim target. Instead, the Bucs will continue to pay the remainder, less a pro-rated portion of the league minimum for whatever portion of the season he spends on another MLB roster.
That deal didn’t always seem like dead weight. At the time the three-year, $31MM extension was signed — thus keeping Cervelli from testing free agency before the 2017 season — it looked to be an excellent value for the club. Cervelli ended up missing much more time due to injury than anticipated, but was still able to turn in 404 plate appearances of .259/.378/.431 hitting last year. Over his five total seasons in Pittsburgh, he carried a 100 OPS+ — making him a precisely league average hitter, which is a nice rate of production for a well-regarded defensive catcher.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Ryan Pressly To Undergo Knee Surgery, Miss 4-6 Weeks
The Astros have placed right-hander Ryan Pressly on the 10-day injured list, amidst a series of roster moves. (MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart was among those to report the news.) Astros GM Jeff Luhnow told Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle and other media that Pressly will miss four-to-six weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery.
Infielder Jack Mayfield was optioned to Triple-A, while right-hander Joe Biagini was recalled from the minors and third baseman Abraham Toro‘s contract has been selected for his Major League debut, as reported earlier today.
This is the second time that Pressly’s right knee has sent him to the IL this season, as he missed about two weeks in late July and early August due to soreness in the joint. The problem first arose when Pressly was hit in the knee by a ball off the bat of Andrelton Simmons back on July 18, and Luhnow said today that Pressly felt some more soreness after his latest outing. A previously-undiscovered “small issue” was found after a span of Pressly’s knee, and a surgical procedure seems to have been the decided course of action to fix the problem once and for all.
Luhnow is hopeful that Pressly will be able to return to action before the postseason begins, though the four-to-six timeline will make it a close call if Pressly’s recovery time is anything more than minimal. It also creates uncertainty as to whether Houston will have arguably its best bullpen arm fully healthy and ready to go come time for the playoffs.
Pressly’s dominant work earned him the first All-Star appearance of his seven-year career, as the righty has a 2.50 ERA, 11.6 K/9, 50.8% grounder rate, and 5.91 K/BB rate over 50 1/3 relief innings this season. Statcast credits him with the best curveball spin rate of any pitcher in baseball in 2019, and he is also in the 98th percentile of all pitchers in terms of fastball spin. It’s possible Pressly’s numbers could be even more dominant if it wasn’t for some bad luck with the long ball, as he has a 23.1% home run rate.
Losing Pressly is a big blow to any relief corps, even one as deep and talented as the Astros’ bullpen. Brad Peacock recently returned from the IL himself to add some extra depth, and Biagini will make a quick return after being optioned to Triple-A just last week. Aaron Sanchez is currently on the injured list recovering from a pec injury, though once he returns, he is also likely to lineup as a reliever in the postseason since Houston won’t need a fifth starter.
It also wouldn’t be surprising to see the Astros scour the waiver wire for any late pickups, or perhaps try to swing a trade with another team for a pitcher on a minor league contract (players on MLB deals can’t be traded after the July 31 deadline, of course). While Pressly’s loss isn’t likely to cost the Astros the AL West or anything, the team wants to have as many relief options as possible in preparation for what they hope is a long postseason run, especially if there’s any concern as to whether Pressly will make it back in time.
White Sox Activate Yoan Moncada
The White Sox have activated Yoan Moncada from the 10-day injured list, as per a team announcement. Outfielder Ryan Cordell was optioned to Triple-A yesterday to open up a spot for Moncada on the 25-man roster.
Moncada was in the midst of a breakout season when he was sidelined with a Grade 1 hamstring strain back on August 1. The infielder has hit .301/.358/.535 with 20 homers over 409 plate appearances, with some outstanding hard-contact metrics (via Statcast). Moncada ranks in the 98th percentile in exit velocity, and in the 93rd percentile in hard-hit percentage. While the Sox are long out of any postseason contention, Moncada will get five more weeks to add to what has already been an excellent season.
After posting average numbers in his first two Major League campaigns, Moncada’s emergence in 2019 has shown why he was regarded as one of the sport’s best prospects. The White Sox acquired Moncada and three other noteworthy prospects from the Red Sox in the Chris Sale trade back in December 2016, and Moncada now stands as one of the major faces of Chicago’s rebuilding project.
Astros To Promote Abraham Toro
The Astros are calling up third base prospect Abraham Toro, according to reporter Jacques Lanciault (Twitter link). As noted by The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan (Twitter link), it isn’t yet known what corresponding moves will be made to create room for Toro on either the 25-man or 40-man rosters.
As Kaplan observes, the promotion is rather unexpected, as Toro has only 16 Triple-A games under his belt. However, Toro has absolutely raked in that short amount of time (a 1.112 OPS over 79 plate appearances), and also hit .306/.393/.513 with 16 home runs over 435 Double-A plate appearances this season.
While this breakout at the plate didn’t land Toro a spot on any top-100 prospect lists, MLB Pipeline currently ranks him as the sixth-best prospect in Houston’s farm system. As per the MLB.com scouting report, many scouts have long considered Toro to be one of the Astros’ best hitting prospects, an evaluation that has seemingly been proven correct by his big 2019 numbers and a strong performance in the 2018 Arizona Fall League.
The 22-year-old Toro was a fifth-round pick for the Astros in the 2016 draft. The vast majority of his pro experience has come at third base, though with Alex Bregman at the hot corner in Houston, Toro has also played an increasing amount of first base and second base this season. For his first taste of the big leagues, however, Toro could very well see most of his time at his natural position, as Bregman could slide over to shortstop while Carlos Correa is on the injured list. Alternatively, Toro could also handle some first base if the Astros use Yuli Gurriel at third base.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/22/19
The latest minor moves from around baseball….
- The Rangers announced yesterday that right-hander David Carpenter has been assigned outright to Triple-A. Carpenter was designated for assignment on Monday, and thus must have cleared waivers before being removed from the Rangers’ 40-man roster. This is the second time Carpenter has been DFA’ed and outrighted this season, following a similar path back to Triple-A in June. The righty appeared in three games during this latest stay on the Texas roster, and for the season has a 10.80 ERA in 3 1/3 innings over four total appearances. After tossing 211 1/3 relief innings for five different teams from 2011-15, Carpenter didn’t make it back to the Major Leagues until this season, after three years battling injuries while bouncing around the minors and independent leagues.
Pirates Place Chris Archer, Clay Holmes On Injured List
The Pirates have placed right-handers Chris Archer and Clay Holmes on the 10-day injured list, the team announced. Archer has been sidelined with inflammation in his throwing shoulder, while Holmes is suffering from left quad discomfort. Right-handers Dario Agrazal and Parker Markel have been called up from Triple-A to fill the two 25-man roster spots.
Some type of IL placement seemed likely for Archer following his abbreviated outing last night, when he left the game after just one inning following an off-target warm-up prior to his second frame of work. This is the first noteworthy arm issue of Archer’s career and only the third IL stint of his eight-year career, though they have all happened within the last two seasons — Archer missed a month due to an abdominal strain in 2018, and right thumb inflammation cost him around three weeks earlier this year.
The seriousness of the shoulder issue isn’t yet known, though if it lingers, the Pirates could just decide to shut Archer down for the remainder of the season. It would bring an early end to what has been a discouraging campaign for Archer, with a career-high 5.19 ERA over 119 2/3 frames. That innings total would mark a new career low for Archer in his seven full MLB seasons, while also posting career worsts in walk rate (4.14 BB/9), grounder rate (36.3%), home run rate (20.2%), xwOBA (.346), and hard-hit ball rate (40.1%).
All in all, it has been a very unmemorable stint in Pittsburgh since Archer was acquired in a trade deadline deal in July 2018. The deal raised eyebrows at the time, and given that Austin Meadows and (pre-injury) Tyler Glasnow both emerged as key contributors for the Rays, the trade is now looking like a significant misfire for the Pirates’ front office.
Archer still has as many as two seasons to turn things around in the Steel City, as the Bucs hold club options on his services for 2020 ($9MM, $1.75MM buyout) and 2021 ($11MM, $250K buyout). Despite his struggles, it still seems very likely that the Pirates will exercise that 2020 option, given the uncertainty in the team’s 2020 rotation. Jameson Taillon will miss all of next season recovering from Tommy John surgery, leaving the Pirates with Archer in all likelihood, as well as some combination of Trevor Williams, Joe Musgrove, Mitch Keller, Steven Brault, and others all in the mix. Since the Bucs are likely to pursue a veteran starter anyway this winter, keeping Archer at a relatively inexpensive price seems like a logical move, especially if Archer can recapture any of his past form.
Holmes has a 6.05 ERA, 1.54 K/BB rate, and 10.0 K/9 over 38 2/3 relief innings for Pittsburgh this season. Control has been a major concern for Holmes over his brief Major League career, as he has a 7.1 BB/9 over 65 frames for the Bucs in 2018-19. This is Holmes’ second trip to the IL in less than a month, as he only recently returned from an absence due to right triceps inflammation.
Braves Place Brian McCann On 10-Day Injured List
The Braves have placed catcher Brian McCann on the 10-day injured list due to a left knee sprain, the team announced. Alex Jackson has been called up from Triple-A to take McCann’s roster spot.
The injury occurred in last night’s 5-1 win over the Marlins, as McCann left the game after the third inning. The injury isn’t considered to be overly serious, as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets that the Braves hope McCann is out for “just a couple of weeks.” McCann missed time due to arthroscopic knee surgery last season, though that procedure was on his right knee, rather than his left.
While McCann may not be out for too long, his absence comes at a time when Atlanta is missing a worryingly large number of position players. Dansby Swanson, Nick Markakis, Ender Inciarte, and Austin Riley are all on the IL, with only Swanson and Riley potentially able to return before the end of August. The Braves have the cushion of a six-game lead over Washington in the NL East, though 23 of their remaining games are against the Nationals, Mets, Phillies, and Giants, all of whom are still vying for the NL wild card.
McCann has hit .264/.336/.423 with 10 home runs over 274 PA with the Braves this season, delivering a solid bounce-back performance after last year’s injury-shortened campaign with the Astros. McCann’s offense has helped balance out a down year at the plate for Tyler Flowers, who has only a .696 OPS this season after hitting .261/.360/.411 over his first three seasons (330 PA) in Atlanta.
A right hamstring strain briefly sidelined McCann back in April, opening the door for Jackson to make his Major League debut in the form of three games for the Braves. Jackson was the sixth overall pick of the 2014 draft, though after his career was seemingly stalling out as an outfielder in the Mariners’ farm system, he converted to catcher after joining the Braves’ organization prior to the 2017 season. Jackson will serve as Flowers’ backup until McCann is back in action.
Padres Select Eric Yardley’s Contract, Option Travis Jankowski
The Padres announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Eric Yardley. Outfielder Travis Jankowski has been optioned to Triple-A to create 25-man roster space.
The call-up represents a belated, and undoubtedly very welcome, belated birthday gift for Yardley, who turned 29 on Sunday. As noted by Baseball America’s Kyle Glaser, Yardley was an undrafted player who began his pro career in the independent Pecos League in 2013 before catching on with the Padres.
The righty has a 2.87 ERA, 7.0 K/9, and 3.46 K/BB rate over 413 1/3 career minor league innings, all in San Diego’s farm system. Yardley is an extreme groundball pitcher, easily topping the 60% grounder rate threshold in each of his professional seasons. This includes a 63.7% rate at Triple-A El Paso this year, so between keeping the ball out of the air and some pinpoint control (1.9 BB/9), it isn’t a surprise that Yardley has been able to hold his own in the extremely hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League this season — he has a 2.63 ERA, 7.4 K/9, and 3.92 K/BB rate over 61 2/3 relief innings in 2019.
After being sidelined for much of the season due to a broken wrist, Jankowski appeared in just four games for the Padres before returning to the minors. Jankowski has displayed some impressive speed and defense over 313 games with San Diego since the start of the 2015 campaign, though in the wake of his lost season, he could now be a non-tender candidate this winter. Jankowski wouldn’t be in line for much of a raise on his $1.165MM salary and (as a Super Two player) he has three arbitration years remaining, but the Padres could prefer to just move on, given their depth of outfield options.
Angels Designate Adalberto Mejia For Assignment
Prior to yesterday’s double-header with the Rangers, the Angels designated left-hander Adalberto Mejia for assignment. Righty Jaime Barria was called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move, and Barria tossed five innings while starting the nightcap (a 3-2 Angels loss in 11 innings).
The DFA continues what has been a whirlwind of transactional business for Mejia over the last six weeks. This is the fourth time Mejia has been designated in that stretch, and the second as a member of the Angels. The team claimed him after an initial designation from the Twins, DFA’ed Mejia and then lost him on a claim from the Cardinals, and then the Angels re-claimed Mejia after St. Louis designated the southpaw.
Through it all, Mejia hasn’t pitched very well in 2019, with a cumulative 8.06 ERA over 25 2/3 innings for the Angels, Cardinals, and Twins. A high walk rate (6.0 BB/9) and homer rate (1.4 HR/9) have contributed to his issues, and Mejia also spent over two months on the Twins’ injured list while recovering from a calf strain.