Tigers, Athletics Complete Mike Fiers Trade
The Tigers and Athletics have announced the completion of the mid-season trade that sent starter Mike Fiers to Oakland. Righty Logan Shore will head to the Tigers in the deal, making him the second player to be named later.
About one month back, the sides announced the first PTBNL: young righty Nolan Blackwood. In the meantime, Fiers has continued mostly to pile up good innings for the A’s.
Shore, a 2016 second-rounder, is a rather notable prospect to be on the move. The 23-year-old turned in four strong outings at the High-A level before bumping up to Double-A. He has struggled to a 5.50 ERA there in 13 starts, but still seems to be a quality asset to add to the Detroit system. He’s just over two years removed from being selected in the second round of the 2016 draft and, in 2017, turned in a 3.68 ERA with an exceptional 87-to-16 K/BB ratio in 80 2/3 innings of work.
At last look, Shore sat in the No. 14 spot on the MLB.com ranking of the A’s farm. He’s known more for “pitchability than stuff,” as that outlet puts it, so he’s valued more for his floor than his ceiling. Of course, even a perceived floor requires health, and that’s one area that has been a problem in Shore’s brief time as a professional; he was slowed by a lat issue earlier this season and had a pair of trips to the disabled list last year in an otherwise encouraging campaign.
As for Fiers, the 33-year-old has been quite a boon for an otherwise injury-ravaged Athletics pitching staff. He’s taken the mound eight times since donning the green and gold, pitching to a sterling 3.09 ERA with 44 punchouts against just 10 walks in 43 2/3 innings of work. He’s still been far too homer-prone in that time (10 homers allowed), but Fiers has generally been one of Oakland’s most effective starters since joining the team. Oakland can control him through the 2019 season via arbitration.
Rays Recall Austin Meadows
The Rays have recalled young outfielder Austin Meadows to the MLB roster, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported. Also joining the club are righties Austin Pruitt and Chih-Wei Hu as well as southpaw Hoby Milner.
Among these new additions to the active roster, the 23-year-old Meadows is the most interesting. That’s due not only to his top-prospect status and his recent acquisition — in a swap that also brought Tyler Glasnow and Shane Baz to Tampa Bay in exchange for Chris Archer — but also his strong offensive output this season.
Before the swap, of course, Meadows had impressed in a 165-plate appearance debut in the majors. Though his success was predicated in no small part upon a .345 BABIP, it was hard not to like the .292/.327/.468 line (with five homers and four steals) he produced against major-league pitching.
At the same time, though, Meadows had continued his less-than-stirring work at the highest level of the minors, so it was fair to wonder whether that was simply a mirage. The longtime top-100 prospect had hovered in the .700 OPS range in three attempts at Triple-A Indianapolis.
Since arriving in the Rays organization, however, Meadows has thrived. It’s only a 26-game sample, but he laid waste to the International League pitching over 106 plate appearances, slashing .344/.396/.771 with ten home runs.
Whether or not that showing ought to elevate expectations for Meadows is perhaps debatable, but it certainly increase the excitement of his promotion. Of course, he’s not likely to receive a long look just yet. But with Carlos Gomez set to hit the open market at season’s end, it’s possible that Meadows could be in the mix to crack the roster as part of the corner outfield rotation in 2019.
As ever, service-time considerations must be noted as well. Meadows was on the Pittsburgh active roster for 59 days already and will now add another dozen to his tally. That means he could well top a full year of MLB service next season even if he’s held down to open the year.
Angels Select Contract Of Sherman Johnson
The Angels announced that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Sherman Johnson and transferred right-hander Nick Tropeano to the 60-day DL in order to clear a roster spot. The Halos also activated left-hander Tyler Skaggs from the disabled list.
Johnson, 28, will be making his big league debut the first time he takes the field. A 14th-round pick back in 2012, he’s spent his entire career in the Angels’ minor league ranks to this point. Johnson hit poorly in 20 games of Double-A duty this season but was quite productive in 46 games of Triple-A work, hitting at a .277/.359/.459 clip with four homers, seven doubles and four triples in 171 trips to the plate. He’s a career .251/.363/.389 hitter in parts of seven minor league campaigns and has walked nearly as often as he’s struck out to this point of his career (14.3 percent walk rate, 18.1 percent strikeout rate).
Johnson’s promotion is likely in part due to hamstring strain for 24-year-old David Fletcher — an injury that could prove to be a season-ender for the promising young infielder. Johnson can fill in virtually anywhere on the diamond, as he’s appeared at every position except catcher and center field this season (including three innings on the mound in Triple-A).
Yankees Select Justus Sheffield, Move Clint Frazier To 60-Day DL
The Yankees announced today that they have selected the contract of lefty Justus Sheffield, the organization’s top pitching prospect. He’ll be heading up for his first taste of the majors.
To create space on the 40-man roster, outfielder Clint Frazier was moved to the 60-day DL. The Yanks also brought up righty Domingo German to bolster their pitching options down the stretch.
Sheffield’s promotion was already reported over the weekend, but had not yet formally been made. The organization first had to sort out its roster machinations. Frazier, who came to the club along with Sheffield in the 2016 Andrew Miller swap, is going to be sidelined the rest of the year owing to his ongoing concussion issues.
Now that Sheffield is officially on the roster, it’ll be interesting to see how he’s utilized. Perhaps he will have some opportunities down the stretch, while the Yanks seek to hold off the A’s for home-field advantage in the Wild Card game. And it’s still conceivable that Sheffield could earn a role on the postseason roster.
Blue Jays Recall Anthony Alford
The Blue Jays announced today that they have recalled outfielder Anthony Alford. He was already on the 40-man roster, so no corresponding moves will be required.
It’s an oddly timed move on the surface, as Alford — who is by most accounts one of the organization’s top prospects — wrapped up his Triple-A season a couple of weeks back. He’s also the last 40-man player, aside from outfielder Dalton Pompey, to be activated.
As Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca explains, though, the timing makes more sense when you look more closely. Alford is being asked up as a way of rewarding him for his efforts this year, Davidi writes, the club is wary of allowing him to accrue enough service time that he may ultimately qualify as a Super Two.
To this point, despite very limited MLB action, Alford has accumulated 101 days of service. Had he spent all of September on the active roster and cracked the 2019 roster very early in the season, he might have been on track for an early arb trip.
As things have turned out, there’ll be no real consideration of Super Two status — at least, that is, at the beginning of the 2019 season. The longer Alford remains in Triple-A next year, in fact, the more important the number of service days becomes, because it’ll also be possible for the Jays to keep him short of a full season of MLB service.
Ultimately, this timing call is hardly a major strategic undertaking, since Alford still needs to show he’s deserving of a full look in the majors. Certainly, this situation doesn’t merit the kind of scrutiny that has attached to decisions not to promote some other, more hyped young players (including a certain teammate of Alford’s).
Alford, after all, managed only a .240/.312/.344 slash line in his 417 plate appearances at Triple-A. That’s not what was hoped for after a strong showing last year at Double-A and in the Mexican Pacific Winter League. After running a 45:35 K/BB ratio in 289 plate appearances at the penultimate level of the minors in 2017, Alford’s 112:30 mix this year is especially disappointing.
Yankees Promote Justus Sheffield
The Yankees have promoted one of the game’s best pitching prospects, left-hander Justus Sheffield, from Triple-A Scranton, Conor Foley of the Scranton Times-Tribune reports. Sheffield’s not on the Yankees’ 40-man roster, which is full, so they’ll need to create space for him.
Sheffield entered the professional ranks as a 2014 first-round pick of the Indians, who chose him 34th overall, but only lasted a couple years in the organization. The Tribe, hoping to win a World Series in 2016, dealt a package including Sheffield, outfielder Clint Frazier and lesser pieces to the Yankees for star reliever Andrew Miller at that July’s non-waiver trade deadline. Miller nearly helped the Indians to a title after the trade, but they fell in seven games to the Cubs in the Fall Classic that season.
Sheffield was a well-regarded prospect when Cleveland sent him to New York, and that remains the case. The 6-foot, 200-pounder ranks as the majors’ 22nd-best prospect at Baseball America (subscription required), while both MLB.com (No. 27) and FanGraphs (No. 50) are among other prominent outlets that are bullish on him. In their free scouting report, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com note that the 22-year-old Sheffield may end up with three “plus” offerings – a 92 to 97 mph fastball, a slider that sits in the mid-80s and a changeup – and add that he has the potential to emerge as a No. 3 starter in the majors.
Sheffield has impressed as a starter in the minors, including this season at Scranton, where he logged a stingy 2.56 ERA/3.13 FIP with 8.59 K/9, 3.68 BB/9 and a 44.9 percent groundball rate in 88 innings. But the Yankees did recently prepare Sheffield to work as a reliever upon his first big league promotion, and he may fill that role in the coming weeks. After all, with Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ, C.C. Sabathia and Lance Lynn, the Yankees currently have a set rotation, and that group will shrink if the Bombers get past the AL West runner-up in the wild-card round and advance to the ALDS.
While Sheffield looks like a potential reliever for the Yankees right now, he may have a shot to win a spot in their rotation in 2019. The only two members of the Yankees’ starting staff who are sure to return next season are Severino and Tanaka. Happ, Sabathia and Lynn are set to become free agents, and there aren’t any obvious in-house replacements on hand beyond Sheffield. Fellow youngsters Domingo German – whom the team’s recalling from Scranton, per Foley – and Jonathan Loaisiga have struggled in the majors this season, while Jordan Montgomery will miss a large portion of 2019 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in June. Therefore, the door could be open for Sheffield, who ranks as the Yankees’ No. 1 prospect at Baseball America and MLB.com.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Diamondbacks Select Randall Delgado’s Contract, Place Clay Buchholz On DL
The Diamondbacks have selected the contract of right-hander Randall Delgado from Triple-A, as per a team press release. In a corresponding move, righty Clay Buchholz has been placed on the disabled list with a flexor mass strain in his throwing elbow, an injury we learned last night will end his 2018 season.
Delgado will make his return to Arizona’s big league roster after a turbulent season. He missed the first three months with an oblique injury, only to post a 5.14 ERA over seven innings in relief work, and then get designated for assignment in late July. That DFA placement led to Delgado being released entirely, only for the D’Backs to re-sign him to a minor league contract in late August.
It was quite the unwelcome turn of events for a pitcher who was one of the most valuable members of Arizona’s roster in 2017, when Delgado posted a 3.59 ERA, 8.6 K/9, and 4.29 K/BB rate over 62 2/3 innings working as a swingman (five starts and 21 relief appearances). Delgado’s durability also led to 147 innings in 2015-16 working almost exclusively as a reliever.
In five games and 9 2/3 innings for Triple-A Reno, Delgado seemed to be in good form, allowing just a single run and recording seven strikeouts against just one walk. It seems likely that the D’Backs will again use Delgado as a multi-inning weapon out of the bullpen, as they try to patch holes in both their rotation and bullpen while fighting to remain in the NL playoff race. The Diamondbacks have just seven wins in their last 21 games, putting them 3.5 games out of first place in the NL West and three games back of a wild card slot.
Astros Select Myles Straw’s Contract
The Astros have selected the contract of outfielder Myles Straw from Triple-A Fresno, as the team announced via Twitter. Right-hander Jandel Gustave (who is still recovering from Tommy John surgery) was moved to the 60-day DL in order to create space for Straw on the 40-man roster.
A 12th-round pick in the 2015 draft, Straw will be making his Major League debut as a specialist on the Astros roster, as The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan (Twitter link) suggests that Straw will be primarily used as a pinch-running specialist. Straw’s base-stealing ability has been his calling card over his brief pro career, particularly this season, as he has a whopping 70 steals (out of 79 chances) over a combined 131 games at the Double-A and Triple-A levels. All told, Straw has been successful in 151 of his 190 stolen base chances in his minor league career.
Beyond his speed, Straw also has a .302/.394/.376 slash line over 1830 PA in the minors, though he has only managed to hit .257/.349/.317 over 304 plate appearances for Fresno this season, which represents his first taste of Triple-A action. MLB.com ranks Straw as the 14th-best prospect in the deep Astros system, citing a strong throwing arm and good center field defense to go along with his “plus-plus speed.” His lack of power and “an extreme opposite field approach” make Straw’s future as a consistent big league hitter questionable, though for now, his bat won’t be much of a concern to a Houston team eyeing him as a potential base-stealing threat for the postseason roster.
Tigers Select Pete Kozma, Transfer Jose Iglesias To 60-Day DL
The Tigers have selected the contract of veteran infielder Pete Kozma from Triple-A Toledo and created roster space by transferring Jose Iglesias from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL, per a club announcement.
The move formally brings an end to Iglesais’ 2018 season and could very well mark the end of his time with the Tigers. The defensive standout is set to hit free agency after the 2018 season and may not factor into the mix for the rebuilding Tigers, though the team doesn’t have an heir-apparent waiting in the upper minors. Dixon Machado could perhaps get another shot, but he’s already been designated for assignment and outrighted off the 40-man roster this season — a move the organization surely wouldn’t have made if it held much belief that he could be a regular contributor for them in 2019 and beyond.
Iglesias will have age on his side as he enters free agency, as he’ll turn 29 in January. His bat has tailed off since a pair of impressive seasons in 2013 and 2015 — he missed 2014 due to injury — but he remains a premium defender at short. In 464 plate appearances this season, he batted .269/.310/.389 which, paired with his strong glovework, made him worth a bit more than two wins above replacement (2.2 rWAR, 2.6 fWAR).
Kozma, 30, spent 15 games with Detroit earlier this season and hit .175/.195/.300 through 41 plate appearances. The former Cardinals infielder hasn’t hit much in Toledo either, posting a dreadful .203/.260/.295 slash through 296 trips to the plate, but he’ll give the team a quality defensive presence off the bench for the final couple of weeks.
Braves Activate Arodys Vizcaino, Place Luiz Gohara On 60-Day DL
The Braves announced Friday that they’ve activated right-hander Arodys Vizcaino from the 60-day disabled list. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, Atlanta reinstated lefty Luiz Gohara from the minor league disabled list, called him up to the Majors, and placed him on the MLB 60-day DL due to shoulder soreness of his own.
Vizcaino, 27, was in the midst of a dominant season when he hit the disabled list due to shoulder inflammation in mid July. That injury cost him two months of the season, but he’ll return to finish off a season he began with 32 2/3 innings of 1.65 ERA ball. Along the way, Vizcaino picked up 15 saves and averaged 9.4 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and 0.55 HR/9 with a 32.9 percent ground-ball rate. His return will give the Braves another power arm to add to the relief corps at a time when top relievers A.J. Minter and Dan Winkler have had some struggles.
The Braves, at this point, have all but locked up the National League East, as they hold a 7.5 game lead over a rapidly fading Phillies club that has won just twice in its past 10 contests. A healthy Vizcaino, though, should better position Atlanta for success in an eventual NLDS appearance that few would’ve predicted prior to Opening Day.
As for Gohara, he’ll receive an extra 18 days of big league service that he may not have been expecting when he landed on the minor league disabled list in late August. He’ll still finish out the 2018 season with under a full year of service time, though he’ll be paid at the MLB rate for the final few weeks of the year even though his season is now definitively over.