5 Contenders Interested In Yankees’ Chapman, Miller
The 34-34 Yankees remain in the thick of the playoff race in the American League, where they sit 5.5 games back of the AL East-leading Orioles and 3.5 games out of a Wild Card position. If the Yankees fall off prior to the Aug. 1 trade deadline and decide to shop elite relievers Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller, they’ll garner interest from the Cubs, Nationals, Giants, Dodgers and Rangers, among other potential suitors, reports FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (video link).
New York could trade both and find a complement to Dellin Betances through free agency, according to Rosenthal, who notes that Chapman, the Dodgers’ Kenley Jansen and the Pirates’ Mark Melancon – a former Yankee – are all on expiring contracts. Of those three, the only one who’s likely to cost a first-round pick to sign is Jansen, who’s a good bet to receive a qualifying offer (worth roughly $16MM) from Los Angeles.
Miller’s connection to the Cubs, Nationals and Giants is nothing new, of course, with the same holding true for Chapman in regards to Chicago and Washington. The Cubs scouted Yankees relievers last week, and multiple reports this month have linked the Nationals to Chapman and Miller. The Giants, meanwhile, were reportedly mulling going after Miller as of two weeks ago. The Dodgers nearly acquired Chapman from the Reds over the winter, but they moved on amid the 28-year-old’s domestic violence issues and pondered pursuing Miller, whom the Yankees ultimately retained.
The Dodgers already rank an outstanding fourth in bullpen ERA (3.12) and ninth in K/BB (2.88), though adding Chapman or Miller to the likes of Jansen, Joe Blanton and Adam Liberatore would improve their odds of catching the NL West-leading Giants, whom they’re 6.5 games behind, or at least keeping pace in the Wild Card hunt.
Despite San Francisco’s success, its bullpen has been mediocre on the whole and lacks anyone in the stratosphere of Chapman or Miller. It helps that either of those two would bring variety to a unit whose best options – Santiago Casilla, Hunter Strickland, Cory Gearrin and Derek Law – are all right-handed.
The Cubs, who lead the majors with a 46-20 record, are all but devoid of weaknesses. They lack a top-end lefty reliever to complement shutdown righties Pedro Strop and Hector Rondon, however, which is why they’re interested in the Yankees’ tandem. Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein acknowledged Friday that relievers are on the team’s radar, saying he “would love” to pick up another quality bullpen arm.
Nationals relievers are eighth in the league in both ERA (3.38) and K/BB ratio (2.9), which has helped the team gain a six-game advantage in the NL East, but closer Jonathan Papelbon is on the disabled list with a right intercostal strain and was merely good before succumbing to injury. There’s also risk with fill-in closer Shawn Kelley – while he has fared brilliantly this season, the 32-year-old is a two-time Tommy John surgery recipient.
Although they’re atop the AL with a 44-25 mark, Rangers relievers are just 25th in ERA (4.84) and a below-average 19th in K/BB (2.38). Sam Dyson, Jake Diekman and Matt Bush are all thriving, but team president and GM Jon Daniels said Saturday that the Rangers would consider looking for outside bullpen help.
Acquiring either Chapman or Miller would clearly be a boon to any of these World Series-contending clubs, though the latter of the two figures to command a heftier return. Not only is Miller locked up through 2018 at a reasonable $9MM salary, but he doesn’t bring any of Chapman’s off-the-field baggage and has been the better of the tandem this season. If shopped, both should require notable young talent coming back, and it’s worth pointing out that ESPN’s Keith Law (Insider required) placed the Dodgers second, the Cubs fourth, the Rangers ninth, the Nationals 15th and the Giants 21st in his preseason farm system rankings.
Quick Hits: Mets, Astros, Nats, A’s, ChiSox
Zack Wheeler returning from 2015 Tommy John surgery and replacing Bartolo Colon in the Mets’ rotation, as originally planned, is now far from a sure thing, writes David Adler of MLB.com. Thanks to Colon’s success, “there’ll be a pretty hefty discussion of what’s going to be best for” the Mets’ rotation when Wheeler is set to come back, said manager Terry Collins. The 43-year-old Colon hasn’t shown any signs of his advanced age, having thrown 80 2/3 innings of 3.01 ERA ball and supported that with a 1.45 BB/9. Wheeler could rejoin the team sometime next month, meanwhile, and a six-man rotation is a possibility when he does. “We’ve been [saying] since Spring Training that when Zack gets here, is it the time when we want to add a guy to the rotation anyway, to give guys some time off? Because the days off are going to be a little bit fewer in the second half. Right now I can’t answer where we’d go,” Collins stated.
Here’s more from around the majors:
- The Astros demoted early season slugger Tyler White to Triple-A Fresno on Saturday, tweets Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle. White maintained an OPS above 1.000 for the majority of April, but his production began falling off as the month advanced and continued to plummet in May and June, leading the Astros to send him down. All told, the 25-year-old hit a clearly below-average .211/.296/.386 with seven home runs in 189 plate appearances prior to the demotion. As Roster Resource shows, the Astros are now down to Marwin Gonzalez as their primary first base option. The organization also has highly touted prospect A.J. Reed in Fresno, though he hasn’t produced to expectations in 2016. Former top prospect Jon Singleton hasn’t been great at the Triple-A level this year, either.
- The Nationals are keeping a watchful eye on the amount of innings and pitches 23-year-old right-hander Joe Ross‘ racks up, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post details. Ross has 77 2/3 innings under his belt this year, which is the second fewest among Nats starters. He’s also the only member of their rotation who’s averaging fewer than 100 pitches per start, coming in at 94. Ross amassed 153 2/3 innings between the majors and minors in 2015, and while pitchers often push 200 frames the season after totaling in the 150 range, Janes notes that the Nationals try to avoid that type of one-year jump when dealing with their youngsters. There’s no actual innings limit in place, however, relays Janes (Twitter link). ““His innings are building up, as you can notice, he has the least amount of innings of our starters. We want to take him all the way through September, and hopefully into October,” manager Dusty Baker said of Ross, who has posted a 3.13 ERA, 7.63 K/9 and 2.78 BB/9 this season.
- The Athletics are being careful with injured left-hander Rich Hill as he works his way back from a right groin strain, tweets Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle. The 36-year-old threw a 10-pitch bullpen session Thursday, and there’s no word yet on when the improbable ace/trade chip will return. Hill hit the disabled list on June 9, retroactive to May 30, with the ailment.
- White Sox center fielder Austin Jackson underwent surgery to debride and remove a portion of the medial meniscus in his left knee Friday, according to Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). Jackson – who went on the DL with a meniscus tear on June 10 – will be on crutches for two more weeks and will undergo a reexamination in four weeks, per Kane. Jackson batted a weak .254/.318/.343 through 204 PAs before the injury. In his stead, the free-falling White Sox have opted for J.B. Shuck in center lately.
Heyman’s Latest: Teheran, Ventura, CarGo, Lucroy, Myers, Turner
Writing at todaysknuckleball.com, Jon Heyman breaks down the woes of the Dodgers and Angels. Both teams face difficult decisions over the summer. The Dodgers, at least, still seem positioned to contend and could play an interesting role on the trade market.
Here are more notes from the column:
- Amidst the considerable amount of Julio Teheran chatter, one Braves source tells Heyman, “I don’t see the Braves trading Teheran.” That’s a less-definitive statement than the one Heyman received regarding Freddie Freeman, as a source told him the first baseman is “totally off limits,” which lines up with GM John Coppolella’s offseason comments. Heyman adds that the Braves have “tried to dangle” Erick Aybar in trade talks, but he has no value at this point and could simply end up being released, creating an opportunity for one of Atlanta’s top-tier shortstop prospects (Dansby Swanson and Ozhaino Albies).
- Robin Ventura is on the hot seat with the White Sox, Heyman writes (adding more detail here). A team source tells him that there’s a feeling that “patience has been shown” and a change could benefit the team. Bench coach Rick Renteria, who formerly managed the Cubs, could succeed Ventura. Not that it’s particularly surprising, but Heyman adds that former skipper Ozzie Guillen wouldn’t be a candidate to return to his old post.
- The Rockies haven’t yet started receiving calls asking about Carlos Gonzalez, but they’re expected to listen to offers despite hovering around .500 to this point of the season. GM Jeff Bridich tells Heyman that his current focus is on winning and adds that prized righty Jeff Hoffman, who headlined the prospects acquired in last July’s Troy Tulowitzki blockbuster, is “closer than he is far away.”
- While Jonathan Lucroy is perhaps the most-cited trade candidate in baseball, GM David Stearns tells Heyman that an extension can’t be entirely ruled out. Heyman notes that if the Brewers are able to move Ryan Braun, they could look to reallocate some of those funds to locking up Lucroy, who is more open to an extension now that the Brewers are performing better than most pundits expected. There could, of course, be some level of gamesmanship there, as it would make sense for any team official to downplay a prime trade target’s availability.
- The Padres are “open” to trading Wil Myers in the right scenario, says Heyman, but it still seems unlikely that’ll come to fruition. San Diego has received hits on Jon Jay and Derek Norris, though, and presumably the organization is more willing to part with those players.
- There was talk of the Tigers pursuing Chris Davis over the winter, and Heyman says that was indeed the case. The club was considering an offer in the $180MM range for the slugger, per the report. Owner Mike Ilitch also pushed for Yoenis Cespedes over Justin Upton, but the club elected to grab the younger player. That choice is certainly up for debate after their respective starts.
- The Phillies are obvious sellers, but most of their marketable assets reside on the pitching side of the equation. But the club sees infielder Andres Blanco as a plausible piece, with Freddy Galvis also potentially on the block. Blanco isn’t quite repeating his surprising 2015 season, but is hitting at around the league average rate and could be a useful utility piece.
- With continued uncertainty surrounding Felix Hernandez, the Mariners are likely to explore the rotation market this summer. The club has received a nice boost from James Paxton of late, but many of its starters have long-term injury questions so it isn’t surprising to hear that the club is readying for an addition in that area.
- Heyman also floats the idea that the Nationals could dangle top position player prospect Trea Turner in trade talks this summer. He wonders whether he could be the chip that lands a top-end reliever, citing Yankees hurler Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman. From my perspective, that would be rather surprising: Turner has shown himself ready for a full crack at the big leagues and is widely considered one of the game’s twenty best prospects. Even if the Nats don’t make him the starter in 2016, he’s a critical part of the team’s middle infield depth right now and an important future piece.
- Veteran outfielder Shane Victorino has rejected several opportunities to join teams on minor-league deals, says Heyman. Victorino is holding out for a shot to join a big league roster.
Nationals Place Jonathan Papelbon On Disabled List
2:30pm: Baker told reporters, including the Washington Post’s Chelsea Janes (Twitter link), that Papelbon initially incurred the injury while warming up on Sunday. There’s no set timetable for his return right now, nor do the Nats have a designated closer to step into Papelbon’s place. Baker noted that he likes Shawn Kelley quite a bit (via MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman, on Twitter) but noted that the team is being careful with Kelley’s arm due to the fact that he has twice undergone Tommy John surgery in his career.
1:17pm: The Nationals have placed right-hander Jonathan Papelbon on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to yesterday, with a strained right intercostal muscle, per a team announcement. Right-hander Matt Belisle has been activated from his rehab assignment to take Papelbon’s spot on the roster. Remarkably, MLB.com’s Jamal Collier points out that this will be the first DL stint of Papelbon’s Major League career (Twitter link).
The Nats neglected to lit a specific timeline for Papelbon’s return, though Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post tweets that skipper Dusty Baker will chat with the media within the next hour, at which point further information should be available. It’s not immediately clear who will inherit the ninth inning during Papelbon’s absence, although Shawn Kelley has been far and away the team’s best short-stint reliever this season, having pitched to a 2.70 ERA with 13.1 K/9 against 1.9 BB/9 in 23 1/3 innings. Those numbers trump even Papelbon, who currently is sporting a 3.28 ERA with 6.9 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 in a similar workload of 24 2/3 innings. Other considerations could be Felipe Rivero and Blake Treinen, though Rivero has struggled quite a bit of late and is sporting an ERA north of 5.00 at the moment.
[Related: Updated Washington Nationals depth chart]
While there’s no guarantee as to how long Papelbon will be out, the injury raises further questions about the back end of the club’s bullpen. It’s no secret that Papelbon’s peripheral stats have declined in recent seasons; his current strikeout rate, average fastball velocity (90.7 mph) and swinging-strike rate (9.5 percent) are each career-lows, and the aforementioned 2.9 BB/9 rate is the highest it’s been since 2010. Papelbon’s ERA remains serviceable, to be sure, but metrics like xFIP (4.74) and SIERA (4.23) paint a far less-favorable picture.
The Nationals have been oft-connected to a shutdown reliever on the trade market, with both Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller mentioned as targets the Nats hope will become available. The injury to Papelbon only figures to increase the amount of chatter surrounding their hunt for a formidable ‘pen arm — especially if he is to expected to miss more than the minimum 15-day requirement. As MLBTR’s Jeff Todd pointed out last week in running down some of the top trade candidates from around the league, there figures to be a large number of relievers available this summer, whereas many other positions will be considerably more difficult to fill.
Nationals Agree To Terms With Comp Pick Carter Kieboom
The Nationals have agreed to terms with their first selection from this year’s amateur draft, high school shortstop Carter Kieboom, MLB.com’s Bill Ladson first reported. Bonus terms weren’t reported.
He is the younger brother of Spencer Kieboom, a 25-year-old catching prospect who’s also in the Washington system. The younger Kieboom followed his brother to Marrietta, Georgia’s Walton High School. And he, too, committed to Clemson University, but won’t join him in attending.
It’s an open question whether Kieboom can stick at shortstop for the long run, though expectations are that he’d be a quality defender at third regardless. And his bat could be good enough to carry him at the corner infield, with observers giving him high marks for instincts, bat speed, coordination, and approach at the plate.
In the aggregate, ESPN.com’s Keith Law rates Kieboom as one of the thirty best draft-eligible prospects. Other outlets aren’t quite as enamored, with Baseball America placing him 44th and MLB.com giving him #45 billing.
The Nationals have a $2.066MM allocation for the 28th overall slot, which was used to take Kieboom. Washington also had the next choice, which it used on University of Florida righty Dane Dunnning, who is still pitching in the NCAA tournament.
The club didn’t have much of a need for cost savings, as it selected just one high-schooler in the first ten rounds: southpaw Jesus Luzardo, who was plucked in the third round. The Nats gave up their first-round selection by signing Daniel Murphy.
NL East Notes: Collins, Mets, Marlins, Stanton, Harper, Belisle
Mets manager Terry Collins missed today’s game due to illness and will remain in a Milwaukee hospital overnight for observation and further tests, ESPN’s Adam Rubin writes. Collins left Miller Park around a half-hour before the start of today’s Mets/Brewers game, with bench coach Dick Scott serving as interim manager in the 5-3 Brewers victory. Collins was already feeling a little better just before leaving for the hospital, though it isn’t yet clear if he’ll be ready to resume his duties on Tuesday when the Mets host the Pirates. We at MLBTR wish Collins a quick recovery and hope to see him back in the dugout soon. Here’s some more from around the NL East…
- The Marlins have explored the trade market for veteran relief pitching, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports, though they don’t have much to offer teams in return. It’s no surprise that the Fish are looking for bullpen help, with Carter Capps and Bryan Morris both lost to season-ending injuries.
- Also from Jackson’s piece, he writes that the Marlins aren’t yet overly worried about Giancarlo Stanton‘s struggles and feel the outfielder “is simply [in] a slump.” Stanton has 12 homers but only a .192/.299/.415 slash line over 225 PA, with a whopping 79 strikeouts.
- There has been lots of buzz about Bryce Harper‘s next contract crossing the $500MM threshold, though as Sportsnet’s Naoko Asano writes, some factors beyond pure baseball value could determine the final number, such as the terms of the next CBA or if broadcasting rights contracts stop growing over the next few years. That latter factor could be particularly noteworthy given how the Nationals‘ MASN broadcast revenues are limited by their ongoing dispute with the Orioles, though that hasn’t stopped Washington from making a number of big signings that contain deferred money.
- Matt Belisle‘s minor league rehab assignment can’t continue past June 22, so the Nationals will soon have a decision to make in their bullpen, MLB.com’s William Ladson writes. Belisle went on the DL with a calf strain near the end of April and has been rehabbing at Double- and Triple-A for the better part of three weeks, and MLB pitchers can only spend up to 30 days on rehab assignments.
- The Mets loaded up on pitching in this year’s draft, a strategy Ken Davidoff of the New York Post wonders is the first step towards the Mets shopping Matt Harvey this offseason. There has been a lot of speculation that Harvey won’t re-sign with the Mets when he hits free agency after the 2018 season, so bolstering the system with young arms could allow the Mets to consider trading Harvey if they feel they have enough pitching depth.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Lucroy, Rays, Cubs, Nats, Reyes
Although the catcher-needy Rays covet Brewers backstop Jonathan Lucroy, their aversion to trading prospects makes them unlikely to acquire the 29-year-old if Milwaukee shops him, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (video link). The Cubs, like the Rays, are also a poor bet to land Lucroy. Chicago inquired about Lucroy’s availability during the offseason and even explored the idea of involving a third club to help make a trade happen with the division-rival Brewers, says Rosenthal, who adds that talks didn’t get serious then and probably won’t around the deadline. As Rosenthal notes, the Cubs have $14MM catcher Miguel Montero at the major league level, and highly regarded prospect Willson Contereras is laying waste to Triple-A pitching.
Even if the Rays and Cubs aren’t in the running to pick up Lucroy, there should still be plenty of suitors for him, as MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk detailed Friday.
More from Rosenthal:
- The Nationals’ top priority before the trade deadline is to acquire a dominant reliever like the Yankees’ Aroldis Chapman or Andrew Miller (as Bill Ladson of MLB.com reported last weekend), but the Bombers might not make either available and the Nats could balk at their asking price if they do, according to Rosenthal. Nationals relievers entered Saturday with the league’s fifth-best ERA (3.11) and sixth-ranked K/BB ratio (3.16), for one, and the organization has a pair of hard-throwing potential reinforcements in Double-A prospects Reynaldo Lopez and Koda Glover. The latter was an eighth-round pick just last year.
- The Rockies have until Wednesday to either add shortstop Jose Reyes to their roster, trade him or designate him for assignment, and executives tell Rosenthal that Colorado is continuing to shop the 32-year-old. However, there are plenty of questions about how much he’s capable of contributing in the majors at this point, per Rosenthal. Reyes, who served a domestic violence suspension through May, is coming off arguably the worst season of his career and is still owed upward of $40MM – including a $4MM buyout in 2018.
Heyman’s Latest: D-Backs, Villar, Mets, Yanks, Gibbons, Ramos
Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart tells Jon Heyman of todaysknuckleball.com that the organization is “not giving up” despite a dismal start to the year. He did acknowledge that “the signs are not real good right now,” though. And in suggesting that the team thinks there’s a chance A.J. Pollock could return by September, Stewart added, somewhat ominously: “Hopefully, we’re still in it.”
Here are some more notes from the column:
- When asked whether the Brewers would consider dealing shortstop Jonathan Villar this summer, GM David Stearns suggested it would be unlikely. “We are looking to acquire players like that,” he said. It’s been quite a turnaround for the 25-year-old since he followed Stearns from the Astros to Milwaukee. Over 250 plate appearances, Villar owns a .306/.405/.450 batting line with a league-leading 22 steals. Better still, he’ll likely fall shy of Super Two status next year, so there’s plenty of cheap control remaining.
- The Mets haven’t tried to open extension talks with either Noah Syndergaard or Jacob deGrom, per Heyman. It seems the same holds true of Matt Harvey, who is further ahead in service time, with a source telling Heyman that the star righty is highly unlikely to be retained past his arb eligibility. It is a bit surprising to learn, though, that the team hasn’t at least looked into whether there might be a bargain to be had amongst the pre-arb righties — deGrom in particular, since he is somewhat older and might be more willing to settle for a team-friendly rate.
- The Yankees, meanwhile, won’t sell in the near-term, but will reconsider in the run-up to the trade period. That’s not surprising to hear; the team is, after all, still treading water in the division.
- While the Blue Jays don’t have any inclination to part with John Gibbons at present, Heyman suggests it’s unlikely he’ll be retained past the present season. A “huge year” could change that, though.
- The Nationals dabbled with the idea of upgrading over Wilson Ramos over the winter, but decided against it — or, at least didn’t find a deal to their liking. That’s turned out to be wise in retrospect, as the big Venezuelan is off to a notable start at the plate: .345/.392/.554 with eight home runs and just 21 walks against 13 strikeouts over 181 plate appearances. The pending free agent remains an interesting player to watch the rest of the way.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/6/16
Here are the day’s most notable moves from around the game, all coming courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy, unless otherwise noted…
- The Nationals brought back infielder Steve Lombardozzi on a minors deal, MLB.com’s Bill Ladson reports. Lombardozzi, 27, saw minimal playing time in each of the last two years at the major league level after playing a significant role in D.C. during his 2011-13 stint. After failing to find a suitable opportunity over the winter, Lombardozzi joined the independent league Southern Maryland Blue Crabs to start 2016. He was off to a .367/.401/.428 start with eight steals before the Nats came calling.
- Righty Nick Tepesch has joined the Dodgers on a minor league deal and will take the ball tonight at Triple-A, as Oklahoma City Dodgers broadcaster Alex Freeman tweets. Interestingly, he’s squaring off against his recent teammates at the Rangers’ top affiliate. The 27-year-old recorded over 200 frames for the Rangers over 2013-14, posting a 4.66 ERA with 5.4 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9, but missed all of 2015 and eventually underwent thoracic outlet surgery. After returning for 11 starts at the Triple-A level this year, where he tallied a 4.11 ERA, Tepesch opted out of his minor league deal with Texas.
- Outfielder Jake Goebbert has been outrighted to Triple-A Durham by the Rays after being designated for assignment. The 28-year-old entered the season as an accomplished Triple-A hitter, but he’s struggled mightily with Durham this season, hitting just .183/.288/.275. Even with his career numbers at Triple-A weighed down by his 2016 performance, Goebbert is a lifetime .271/.375/.444 hitter at that level. The Pirates saw enough in him to give him a big league deal this winter, but he didn’t make it through Spring Training and was ultimately claimed off waivers by Tampa Bay after being designated for assignment. He’ll look to get back to his productive ways now that he’s been removed from the 40-man roster and hope to factor into Tampa Bay’s big league plans later in the year.
- The White Sox outrighted outfielder Daniel Fields off their 40-man roster over the weekend, and the 25-year-old was released shortly thereafter (presumably upon refusing the assignment, as was his right having been previously outrighted). Fields is a career .281/.359/.423 hitter in in 672 plate appearances at the Double-A level, but he’s struggled to a .223/.312/.345 line in 957 PAs at the Triple-A level. The former sixth-round pick (2009) had spent his entire career in the Tigers organization prior to this season.
- The White Sox also picked up veteran catcher Brett Hayes in a trade that sent cash considerations to the Diamondbacks. The 32-year-old Hayes tallied 32 plate appearances with Cleveland last season and has appeared in parts of each of the past seven Major League seasons, splitting his time between the Marlins, Royals and Indians. He’s a career .205/.250/.359 hitter at the big league level and a .239/.279/.387 hitter in nearly 1200 PAs at the Triple-A level.
- The Cardinals have signed right-hander Daniel Bard to a minor league deal after he was released by the division-rival Pirates. St. Louis will become the latest organization to attempt to revitalize Bard’s once dominant right arm in the hope that he can resurface as a quality bullpen piece. Bard, a former first-round pick, was a strong setup piece for the Red Sox from 2009-11 (specifically in 2010) but struggled terribly in 2012 and had a cataclysmic decline in the years to follow, as he lost the ability to throw the ball over the plate entirely. His last stint in affiliated ball came with the Rangers’ Class-A affiliate in 2014 when he faced just 18 men and walked nine of them in addition to hitting another seven.
- Right-hander Felipe Paulino, who was granted his release from the Indians in order to pursue a deal in Japan late last month, has signed a deal with the Seibu Lions of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, his agents at Octagon tweeted last week. The 32-year-old Paulino, a veteran of six Major League seasons, was pitching quite well for Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate, having logged a 2.77 ERA in 10 relief appearances. He’s worked as a starter for the vast majority of his career and has displayed an ability to miss bats at the big league level but has nonetheless struggled to a 5.22 ERA in 403 2/3 big league frames. This will be Paulino’s first stint in NPB, but as we often see, players that have struggled to thrive in the Majors can still make an excellent living pitching in Asia.
NL East Notes: Turner, Phillies, Mets, Walker
The Nationals optioned top prospect Trea Turner back to Triple-A Syracuse on Monday as the team activated Ryan Zimmerman from the paternity list, as MLB.com’s Jamal Collier writes. Manager Dusty Baker contends that “right now there’s no room” for Turner on the big league roster when everyone is healthy, though the struggles of Danny Espinosa certainly seem to create such a spot. Collier writes that the Nats value Espinosa’s glove over a potential offensive upgrade from Turner, though I personally can’t help but wonder how much longer the team will stick with Espinosa, who is hitting just .196/.291/.346 even after homering five times in his past 10 games. While the power surge is nice, Espinosa is hitting just .182 with a .250 OBP in that 10-game stretch, so his overall offensive contributions aren’t as impressive as the power would otherwise indicate. Nats shortstops, as a collective unit, are hitting a dismal .195/.261/.337 on the season. Turner, meanwhile, is batting .312/.365/.452 at Triple-A and went 3-for-3 with a walk and a double in his brief call-up this weekend. Espinosa’s glove is solid, to be sure, but he isn’t Andrelton Simmons on defense, and the Nats rank ninth in NL in runs scored.
More from the NL East…
- The Phillies hosted a workout for potential No. 1 overall pick Kyle Lewis today, tweets Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Lewis, a slugging outfielder out of Mercer University, is batting .395/.535/.731 with 20 homers, 11 doubles, two triples and more walks (66) than strikeouts (48) on the season. The 6’4″, 210-pound NCAA superstar spoke with MLBTR’s Chuck Wasserstrom back in late April as part of MLBTR’s Draft Prospect Q&A series. The Phillies have been linked to a number of names atop the draft, with Florida lefty A.J. Puk also being connected to them prominently in recent weeks.
- Though the Mets currently have David Wright, Lucas Duda and Travis d’Arnaud on the disabled list, the team isn’t keen on parting with prospects or significantly adding to its $135MM payroll to bring in a bat from outside the organization via trade, reports Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News. Ackert spoke to two sources within the organization who “absolutely” expect Wright to return this season, and both said they don’t believe that Wright’s neck problem was caused by or even exacerbated by his spinal stenosis. The Mets will receive a 75 percent refund on Wright’s salary for each day he is on the disabled list beyond 60 days.
- Mets second baseman Neil Walker spoke with Newsday’s Marc Carig about the trade that sent him from his hometown Pirates to New York. A native of Pittsburgh, Walker admitted that while he didn’t feel angry toward the Bucs, he did feel slighted: “I thought, ‘Wow, they don’t want me around here anymore.’ … But when that got through, I was like this is an unbelievable opportunity. I just want to make sure I’m prepared to come here and help this team win.” Walker, as Carig writes, was underwhelmed by the Pirates’ attempts at signing him to a long-term deal. “It’s hard to say I feel like I deserve the Andrew McCutchen treatment because Andrew is a better player than I am, you know what I mean?” he said. Walker added that he didn’t feel disrespected but rather that the two sides simply could have had “a little bit more legitimate conversation” about the matter when it was time to talk. Of course, his new environs are treating him just fine; the free-agent-to-be is hitting an outstanding .279/.348/.505 with 13 homers thus far and is well-positioned to land a significant multiyear pact on the open market this winter.