Tigers Activate Cameron Maybin; Latest On Nick Castellanos
The Tigers have activated center fielder Cameron Maybin from the 15-day disabled list and optioned shortstop Dixon Machado to Triple-A Toledo, reports Evan Woodbery of MLive.com. Maybin, who went on the DL on Aug. 10 (retroactive to Aug. 6) with a sprained left thumb, will rejoin the Tigers’ lineup Sunday and bat second against the Red Sox.
[RELATED: Updated Tigers Depth Chart]
Maybin has endured two DL stints this season, but the 29-year-old has posted strong numbers in between. In 261 plate appearances, Maybin has slashed .325/.394/.398, also adding 13 stolen bases on 17 attempts. A difficult-to-maintain BABIP of .382 has helped fuel Maybin’s output at the dish, but the former Marlin, Padre and Brave has made legitimate gains this year in terms of plate discipline. Both Maybin’s 14.9 percent strikeout rate and 10 percent walk rate are career bests, and his BB/K ratio of .67 ranks well above the league-average mark of .39.
Maybin’s return is a welcome one for 64-59 Detroit, which has lost two in a row to fall 3 1/2 games behind Baltimore for the American League’s second wild-card spot. In addition to Maybin, the Tigers’ lineup has been without third baseman Nick Castellanos for most of August. Castellanos, who suffered a fractured left hand on an Aug. 6 hit by pitch, is nowhere near ready to swing a bat or return to game action, according to Jason Beck of MLB.com. As a result, the Tigers have increased the timeline of his recovery from the originally announced four weeks.
“Four [weeks] is probably too short,” general manager Avila said, “and we’re hoping seven [weeks] is too much.”
Seven weeks would point to a mid-September return for Castellanos. In the meantime, barring an outside acquisition, Casey McGehee is likely to continue filling in for Castellanos. The 33-year-old McGehee has hit just .264/.278/.283 with one extra-base hit and one walk in 54 plate appearances this season.
Marlins Activate A.J. Ramos From DL
The Marlins have activated closer A.J. Ramos from the 15-day disabled list and optioned right-hander Brian Ellington to Triple-A New Orleans, tweets Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Ramos landed on the DL Aug. 9 (retroactive to Aug. 6) with a finger injury, meaning he ended up staying on the shelf for the minimum amount of time.
[RELATED: Updated Marlins Depth Chart]
Ramos, 29, is amid his fourth consecutive season as a quality option out of the Marlins’ bullpen. This season, his second as Miami’s closer, Ramos has converted 32 of 34 save opportunities and posted a 3.05 ERA and 11.37 K/9 in 44 1/3 innings. On the negative side, control has been an issue at times during Ramos’ major league career – including this year. Ramos currently has a lofty 5.28 BB/9, which isn’t that far above the 4.77 figure he has recorded in 268 innings as a Marlin.
With Ramos back, midseason acquisition Fernando Rodney should head back to a setup role for 64-59 Miami, which is just 1 1/2 games behind St. Louis for the National League’s second wild-card spot. Since Aug. 5 – Ramos’ latest appearance – Rodney has allowed a mere one earned run and five hits in eight innings, though he has walked five against seven strikeouts. In all, the 39-year-old has compiled a 2.25 ERA, 10.4 K/9, 4.5 BB/9 and 56.6 percent ground-ball rate across 52 frames with the Marlins and Padres this season. With him, Ramos and Kyle Barraclough, Miami has an enviable trio of late-game righties.
Blue Jays Option Aaron Sanchez To Minors
In a surprise move, the Blue Jays have optioned one of the American League’s best starters, right-hander Aaron Sanchez, to Single-A Dunedin, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet (Twitter link). To take Sanchez’s roster spot, the club recalled left-handed reliever Aaron Loup from Triple-A Buffalo.
[RELATED: Updated Blue Jays Depth Chart]
Manager John Gibbons said Friday that the Jays were considering skipping a Sanchez start to limit his workload, notes Davidi (Twitter link), so the fact that he’s headed to the minors isn’t a total shock. As long as he’s down for fewer than 20 days, Sanchez will still accrue a full year of service time, tweets Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. That will indeed be the case, as Sanchez expects to rejoin the Jays for an Aug. 31 start against the Orioles, per Davidi (Twitter link).
The hard-throwing Sanchez was previously scheduled to make his 25th start of the year next Saturday against the Twins. In his 24th outing, Sanchez yielded five runs (four earned) on four hits and a walk in four innings of a 6-5 win over the Indians on Saturday. Despite that less-than-stellar showing, Sanchez has fared brilliantly this season. In his first full year as a starter, Sanchez has emerged as a high-end option while logging a 2.99 ERA, 7.60 K/9, 2.65 BB/9 and 57.1 percent ground-ball rate in 156 1/3 frames. There has been much discussion along the way about an innings limit for Sanchez, who tossed just over 100 last season in the majors and minors. His previous high since joining the Blue Jays organization as a first-round pick in the 2010 draft came in 2014, when he amassed a combined 133 1/3 innings at three levels. When the Jays switched to a six-man rotation earlier this month to help preserve Sanchez, president of baseball operations Mark Shapiro told the media “no scenario” exists in which the 24-year-old will throw 220-plus innings this season.
At 70-53 and in first place in the American League East, the Blue Jays look as though they’ll play into October, which further complicates the Sanchez situation. If Toronto does clinch a playoff berth, the expectation is that Sanchez will factor heavily into the team’s plans as it attempts to win a World Series. For now, though, Sanchez will go down a few levels to help ensure his place in a potential playoff run. His departure will leave the Jays with a capable rotation featuring AL Cy Young hopeful JA Happ, Marco Estrada, Marcus Stroman, RA Dickey and Francisco Liriano.
Rangers Sign Carlos Gomez
The Rangers have officially announced that they’ve signed veteran outfielder Carlos Gomez to a minor league deal, as FanRag’s Jon Heyman was first to report (Twitter links). Gomez is expected to play a few games in the minors before being called up. The Astros requested release waivers on Gomez yesterday after previously designating him for assignment. The Astros will be responsible for most of what remains of his $9MM 2016 salary.
The Rangers might have had interest in Gomez in part because of Shin-Soo Choo‘s recent forearm fracture. They currently have infielder Jurickson Profar listed as their starter in left field, alongside Ian Desmond in center and Nomar Mazara in right. Few would dispute that the 23-year-old Profar is an interesting player, but he has only a handful of games of professional experience in the outfield and might be best utilized elsewhere.
The team also currently has Ryan Rua, Delino DeShields and Drew Stubbs on its active roster (along with Carlos Beltran, who has played in the field only occasionally since the Rangers acquired him). DeShields and Stubbs have not hit particularly well this season, however. Gomez, of course, is only available because he hasn’t hit much this season either, but he does have a more established track record and a still-decent glove. Gomez’s likely role on the Rangers isn’t clear, however — he has typically played center field in his career but isn’t likely to unseat Desmond, who has been successful there. Also, he’s right-handed, as are Desmond, Rua, DeShields and Stubbs. Gomez could potentially play right field against some lefties, spelling the left-handed Mazara.
Gomez once looked likely to land a huge deal in free agency next offseason, but his career has gone way off the rails since the Brewers dealt him to Houston last year. This season, he’s batted just .210/.272/.322, leading to his release from the contending Astros. At 30, it’s surely possible Gomez has upside remaining, but the Rangers will have very limited time to realize it.
Yesterday, MLBTR’s Steve Adams named the Rangers as one of eight potential fits for Gomez. The 30-year-old Gomez had also been connected to the Giants and Marlins.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Astros To Promote Yulieski Gurriel
Over a month after signing him to a five-year, $47.5MM contract, the Astros will promote infielder Yulieski Gurriel to the majors Sunday, reports Julia Morales of ROOT Sports (Twitter link).
[RELATED: Updated Astros Depth Chart]
Gurriel, one of the most accomplished athletes in the history of Cuba, hasn’t gotten off to an overly productive start in a small sample size of 95 plate appearances in America. In his first game action of the season, the 32-year-old hit .229/.293/.361 with two homers while spending minimal time at four different minor league levels. The Astros will now hope to receive something a bit closer to Gurriel’s output in 2015, when he concluded his career in Cuba by notching a hit in exactly half of his 174 at-bats. In 225 plate appearances, he drew 38 walks against a meager three strikeouts and smashed 15 home runs en route to an .874 slugging percentage.
Given their collection of infield talent, there have been plenty of questions regarding where the Astros will use Gurriel. Initially, he’ll serve as their designated hitter, according to Angel Verdejo Jr. of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). That means fellow midseason call-up Alex Bregman will continue at third base, where the highly regarded 22-year-old has spent most of his time since the club promoted him last month.
If the hot corner is where the Astros want Bregman for the long haul, it could push Gurriel to first base or even the corner outfield. First baseman Luis Valbuena suffered a setback with the strained right hamstring that has kept him out all of August, and he could miss the rest of the season, per Todd Karpavich of MLB.com. Gurriel could slot in there in the near term, then, but the Astros have a highly touted prospect who’s currently in the majors in A.J. Reed. In the outfield, Houston hasn’t gotten much production this year from anyone other than George Springer. With Colby Rasmus out until next month with an ear cyst and scheduled for free agency in the offseason, left field seems like a logical landing spot for Gurriel.
Regardless of where he plays, the Astros need the Gurriel signing to pay dividends immediately if they’re going to climb back into the American League playoff race. The Astros were surging when they recalled Bregman on July 24, but they’ve since lost 16 of 25 and are 9 1/2 games behind AL West-leading Texas and 4 1/2 out of a wild-card spot.
Padres Send Ryan Buchter To Minors
The Padres optioned left-handed reliever Ryan Buchter to Triple-A El Paso on Saturday, according to Carlos Collazo of MLB.com. The 29-year-old rookie has been a highly productive part of the Friars’ bullpen this season, but they sent him down amid concerns about fatigue and a decline in spin rate. Buchter has relied almost exclusively on his fastball, which FanGraphs’ Eno Sarris wrote earlier this month has been among the best of its kind in terms of spin rate.
“We’ve pushed him hard all season. He’s got more appearances right now than he’s had at any point in time in his career,” manager Andy Green said in regards to Buchter’s demotion. “He threw 25 innings in winter ball. It’s been a long year for him.”
Prior to Thursday, Buchter had worked 11 straight scoreless appearances and, along with fellow southpaw Brad Hand, served as one of the Padres’ top relievers in 2016. He then pitched in each of San Diego’s previous two games and allowed earned runs in both outings. Buchter recorded just one out Friday and surrendered two runs on a hit and a pair of walks. Still, the offseason minor league signing has been a significant steal for the Padres, with whom he has recorded a 3.00 ERA, 11.33 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 across 54 innings. While the longtime minor leaguer is worst among all qualified relievers in ground-ball percentage (19.5), he has offset that to a degree with a quality infield fly rate (14.9 percent).
With Buchter headed back to the minors, where he pitched with a handful of different organizations from 2006-15, the Padres have recalled fellow southpaw reliever Keith Hessler to take his place in their bullpen. However, Buchter still seems to figure prominently into their plans at the major league level.
“He’s healthy. He just needs a little reprieve,” Green said of Buchter. “I think smart organizations do that from time to time. They look at a guy and recognize what he needs and get him back here and let him back into his role that he’s been dominant in for the better part of the season.”
Twins Promote Adalberto Mejia, Sign Edward Mujica
The Twins have promoted left-handed pitching prospect Adalberto Mejia from Triple-A Rochester, optioned first baseman Kennys Vargas and signed right-handed reliever Edward Mujica to a minor league deal, per a team announcement.
[RELATED: Updated Twins Depth Chart]
The 23-year-old Mejia joined the Twins organization last month in a trade for infielder Eduardo Nunez, whom it dealt to the Giants. Currently Baseball America’s 91st-ranked prospect, Mejia doesn’t have lights-out stuff, but the pundits credit him as a sturdy southpaw who limits home runs and walks and should be able to post strong results with a quality three-pitch mix. It’s unclear when he’ll get a chance to slot into the Twins’ rotation, which has been woeful this year. Entering play Saturday, Twins starters had the third-worst ERA and seventh-worst fWAR in the majors. Aside from steady veteran Ervin Santana, Minnesota’s rotation has been downright disastrous as the last-place team has stumbled to a 49-73 record.
Mejia, whom MLBPipeline.com ranks as the Twins’ 10th-best prospect, threw 19 1/3 innings with Rochester prior to his promotion and logged a 4.66 ERA that belied his excellent strikeout and walk rates of 9.31 and 1.4 per nine. In 65 Triple-A frames since last season, Mejia has posted a 4.29 ERA, 9.0 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9. If he sticks with the Twins through year’s end, he’ll become eligible for arbitration after the 2019 season and will be on track to reach free agency at the conclusion of the 2022 campaign.
The well-traveled Mujica became a free agent when the Royals released him Aug. 10. The 32-year-old lasted less than a month with the Kansas City organization and threw 12 innings for its Triple-A affiliate in Omaha. While Mujica struck out an impressive 14 batters during those frames, he offset that by yielding 11 earned runs on 17 hits. Mujica was previously far stingier as a member of the Phillies’ Triple-A club earlier this season, logging a 3.04 ERA and .92 BB/9 during a 39-inning stint with Lehigh Valley.
Mujica has pitched in each of the prior 10 major league campaigns and has compiled a 3.85 ERA, 7.0 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 over 546 2/3 innings. Last season, he scuffled to a combined 4.75 ERA with the Red Sox and Athletics in 47 1/3 frames.
Angels Make Handful Of Roster Moves
The Angels have placed concussed third baseman Yunel Escobar on the seven-day disabled list, recalled third bagger Kaleb Cowart from Triple-A Salt Lake, activated first baseman C.J. Cron from the DL, and designated second baseman Johnny Giavotella for assignment, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (Twitter link).
[RELATED: Updated Angels Depth Chart]
Escobar suffered his injury on a fourth-inning bunt attempt against the Yankees on Friday. The ball went off Escobar’s bat and hit him in the face, causing him to leave early.
“We’re going to take it one step at a time, but (the DL) is a possibility,” manager Mike Scioscia said afterward (via Steve Dilbeck of the Associated Press).
Escobar has enjoyed his second straight quality offensive season, having posted a .320/.368/.402 batting line through 479 plate appearances. He’s playing on a $7MM salary this year and has a $7MM club option for 2017, which either makes him an affordable option for the Angels or a potential trade candidate. With the end of August drawing nearer, a concussion issue won’t help the Angels’ cause if they’re willing to deal Escobar, though there’s no word on whether that’s the case. FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reported Thursday that Escobar, 33, drew interest prior to the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline.
Taking Escobar’s place on the roster will be Cowart, whom MLBTR’s Jason Martinez highlighted in his “Knocking Down the Door” series earlier this week. As Martinez noted, Cowart had been swinging a red-hot bat in the minors prior to his call-up and has the ability to play a handful of positions. The 24-year-old has collected just 58 major league plate appearances since the Angels selected him 18th overall in the 2010 draft. He peaked as Baseball America’s 60th-ranked prospect after the 2012 season.
Cron, meanwhile, is returning after landing on the DL on July 8 with a fractured left hand that occurred on a hit by pitch. Cron has been one of the few bright spots for the club, slashing .280/.331/.479 with 11 home runs over 283 plate appearances. That represents nice progress for the 26-year-old, who had only been a slightly above-average hitter in his two previous seasons. Cron also recorded career-best rates in walks (6 percent) and strikeouts (14.5 percent) prior to the injury.
Although he has logged 869 plate appearances with the Angels since last season, Giavotella’s playing time had been dwindling lately in favor of Cliff Pennington and Gregorio Petit, Fletcher wrote Thursday.
“Johnny is a good player,” Scioscia told Fletcher. “But those guys have jumped up and won more playing time.”
The 29-year-old Giavotella is making just over the league minimum and is scheduled for his first trip through arbitration during the upcoming offseason. He has hit .260/.287/.376 with six homers in 367 plate appearances this season and owns a similar .256/.295/.361 line in 1,334 major league PAs.
Mariners Outright Joe Wieland
The Mariners have announced that they’ve outrighted righty Joe Wieland to Triple-A Tacoma, removing him from the 40-man roster. They had optioned Wieland to Tacoma yesterday to create space as Steve Cishek returned from the DL.
This marks the second time the Mariners have outrighted the 26-year-old Wieland this season — they also did so back in May. They returned him to their roster just last week, and he made one start, giving up six runs in five innings. The Mariners acquired Wieland from the Dodgers in a depth move last offseason, and he has spent most of 2016 with Tacoma, posting a 5.38 ERA, 8.1 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 103 2/3 frames.
Nationals Reinstate Ryan Zimmerman, Jose Lobaton
The Nationals have announced that they’ve reinstated first baseman Ryan Zimmerman and catcher Jose Lobaton from the DL. To clear space for the pair on their active roster, they’ve optioned righty A.J. Cole and catcher Pedro Severino to Triple-A Syracuse.
[Related: Updated Washington Nationals Depth Chart]
Zimmerman went on the disabled list two weeks ago with a left wrist contusion suffered after he was hit by a pitch. He’s had a poor season, batting just .222/.284/.394 in 335 plate appearances, but Clint Robinson hasn’t done much better while soaking up at-bats in Zimmerman’s absence, so there is no reason to think Zimmerman won’t continue to receive plenty of playing time.
Lobaton, meanwhile, will replace Severino as the backup to Wilson Ramos. Lobaton had been on the DL since late July with elbow tendinitis. He has batted .194/.301/.361 this season, although he gets good marks for his pitch-framing.