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Archives for May 2016

Hector Olivera Receives 82-Game Suspension

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Braves outfielder Hector Olivera has accepted an 82-game suspension, without pay, under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy, the league announced earlier this afternoon. Olivera’s suspension is retroactive to April 30 and will run through Aug. 1. The time he’s served on paid leave from April 30 until now will be retroactively credited toward the suspension, and any pay he has received in that time will be revoked. All told, the suspension will cost him roughly $2.03MM of this season’s $4MM salary. Olivera has accept the punishment and will not file an appeal.

Olivera, 31, was arrested on April 13 and charged with one count of misdemeanor assault and battery. The victim reportedly called 911 the morning of the arrest and told police that she had been assaulted, and she was taken to the hospital with visible bruising. Olivera’s punishment is the strictest yet under Major League Baseball’s newly implemented policy. Aroldis Chapman received a 30-game suspension in his case due to the fact that he was not arrested and criminal charges were never filed. Jose Reyes, meanwhile, received a 51-game ban after criminal charges were reportedly dropped shortly before he faced a criminal hearing. Charges against Olivera, however, have seemingly not been dropped, which is presumably the impetus for commissioner Rob Manfred’s most aggressive suspension to date.

A year ago, Olivera was  a highly touted Cuban free agent and agreed to a six-year, $62.5MM contract with the Dodgers that included a gaudy $28MM signing bonus. However, Olivera’s stay in the Dodgers organization didn’t last long, as he was traded to the Braves as part of a three-team, 13-player blockbuster that sent Mat Latos, Alex Wood and Jose Peraza to the Dodgers, with Olivera, Paco Rodriguez and Zachary Bird going to Atlanta. The Braves reportedly held quite a bit of interest in Olivera while he was a free agent, but he quickly fell out of favor in the organization due to defensive questions about his work at third base. Atlanta moved Olivera to the outfield, but he’s yet to deliver much in the way of offense since being acquired. He’s batted .245/.296/.378 in the Majors.

That, of course, is secondary to his off-field troubles. The Braves are troubled enough by his transgressions that they’ve reportedly attempted to trade him. Unsurprisingly, they’ve had little success. How much he’ll factor into Atlanta’s plans moving forward, or whether he will at all, remains to be seen.

AL East Notes: Buchholz, Yankees, Shreve, Matusz

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It would appear that Clay Buchholz’s spot in the Red Sox rotation is in jeopardy. Tim Britton of the Providence Journal tweets that following tonight’s loss, manager John Farrell conceded that Buchholz’s spot will be under discussion once Eduardo Rodriguez is healthy enough to return to the Majors. The Herald’s Michael Silverman tweets that Farrell made it sound as if Buchholz will leave the rotation, though the manager did emphasize that no decision has been made at this time. Buchholz had a perfect trip the order to open tonight’s game against the Rockies, but he quickly melted down, allowing a two-run homer to Carlos Gonzalez in the fourth inning. By the time his evening was finished, Buchholz had yielded six runs in five innings, causing his ERA to balloon to 6.35. Buchholz was accountable when speaking to reporters after the game. Via Britton (links to Twitter), he offered the following comments: “I’m here to pitch. If I don’t have a spot, that’s part of it. If I don’t like it, pitch better. I’m not demoralized. The team’s still winning. I’m basically the only one that’s struggling.” The Red Sox hold a $13.5MM club option on Buchholz for the 2017 season.

Here’s more from the AL East…

  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes that Yankees manager Joe Girardi appears frustrated by a mismatched roster that features too many players best-suited for DH duties. Both Alex Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran are ill-equipped for regular time on the field, but with A-Rod serving as a strict DH, Beltran is forced into right field. The Yankees’ roster is caught in an odd state of flux, with several young players in an effort to build for the future — e.g. Didi Gregorius, Aaron Hicks, Starlin Castro — and a slew of aging veterans who are no longer healthy enough or defensively competent enough to warrant everyday placement in the lineup.
  • The Yankees placed left-hander Chasen Shreve on the 15-day disabled list due to a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder, the club announced tonight. As Nick Suss writes for MLB.com, an MRI revealed the injury, and Shreve received  a cortisone injection to treat the issue. He won’t pick up a baseball for the next seven days. Girardi says that Shreve’s shoulder has been bothering him for a few days, though the lefty’s struggles have been ongoing for most of the season. Shreve has a 5.21 ERA on the year and has allowed a troubling seven homers in 19 innings of work.
  • Brian Matusz reflected on his time with the Orioles in an interview with MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko and offered nothing but praise for the organization that drafted him back in 2008. Matusz, who was traded to the Braves and promptly designated for assignment by Atlanta earlier this week (the Braves absorbed his contract as a means of persuading Baltimore to part with a Competitive Balance Draft Pick), tells Kubatko that he knew when he got the call informing of the trade that there was a chance he’d be designated quickly. “Obviously, a new team and I was excited,” said Matusz. “But I also realized before the trade happened that a designation was a possibility, so it wasn’t a complete surprise. Just understanding that it’s part of the business, where I was at in terms of how I’ve been throwing the ball.” Kubatko writes that Matusz never wanted to move from the rotation to the ’pen in the first place but played the role of the good soldier when asked to relieve. Asked about the possibility of starting again, he replied: “It’s tough to say right now. … But having the ability to start and be a reliever are two nice assets to have.”

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/26/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…

  • The Reds announced tonight that right-hander Steve Delabar has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A after clearing waivers. (SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo first tweeted the move earlier this afternoon). Cincinnati designated Delabar, 32, for assignment on Sunday after he struggled through eight innings of relief at the big league level this season. Delabar, who posted a 3.49 ERA in 131 2/3 innings between the Mariners and Blue Jays from 2011-13, has struggled to rediscover that form in the seasons to follow. His 2016 work the the Blue Jays resulted in six earned runs on five hits and an alarming 10 walks in eight innings, though he did also pick up 10 strikeouts in that time. He’ll look to get back on track in Triple-A, where he excelled in 2014, 2015 and earlier this season as well.
  • The Marlins announced that lefty Tim Berry, who was designated for assignment earlier this week, has been outrighted to Class-A Advanced Jupiter. The former Orioles farmhand had a dreadful first run between Class-A and Double-A this year, surrendering an astounding 22 earned runs on 35 hits and nine walks with 17 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings. Berry showed some promise as starter in 2014 with the Orioles organization, but he struggled to repeat that success, and his troubles have continued even following a shift to the bullpen.

Earlier Moves

  • The Twins have placed outfielder Darin Mastroianni on the DL and filled his roster spot by selecting the contract of left-hander Buddy Boshers from Triple-A Rochester, per a club announcement. Minnesota transferred closer Glen Perkins to the 60-day disabled list to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Boshers, 28, spent the 2015 season on the independent circuit but has turned in a strong showing at the Triple-A level this year, working to a 1.42 ERA with a 21-to-5 K/BB ratio in 19 innings out of the Rochester bullpen. Perkins, meanwhile, has been out since early April due to a shoulder injury and recently suffered a setback in his rehab. The earliest he could be activated would be June 10, though that seems unlikely given recent updates on his status.
  • Right-hander Seth Simmons has agreed to a minor league contract with the Padres, MLBTR has learned. Simmons, a former D-backs farmhand, split the 2015 season between Arizona’s Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, working to a 2.99 ERA with 10.4 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 in 75 1/3 innings. The 27-year-old struggled out of the gates with Arizona at the Triple-A level this season and was granted his release recently. The 27-year-old has yet to pitch in the Majors but has posted strong numbers for most of his minor league career, working a 2.97 ERA with averages of 11.6 strikeouts and 3.9 walks per nine innings. The Padres would seem to be somewhat of a logical connection, as San Diego skipper Andy Green has previously managed Simmons during his days as a minor league skipper with the D-backs.

Rich Hill: This Summer’s Sought-After Arm

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Imagine a world without Clayton Kershaw. Following baseball would be a lot less entertaining for those who derive joy from watching a dominant player perform at an all-time great level, but at least the sport wouldn’t be devoid of standout left-handers. The likes of Chris Sale, David Price, Madison Bumgarner, Jon Lester, Cole Hamels, Dallas Keuchel, Jose Quintana and Rich Hill would still be around, after all.

One of those names is eye-catching, and it’s certainly not Sale, Price, Bumgarner, Lester or Hamels, all of whom have long track records of excellence. Keuchel has faltered in the early going this season, but he was stellar in 2014 and followed that up with an American League Cy Young Award-winning campaign in 2015. Quintana, meanwhile, has been one of baseball’s most effective starters since his coming-out party in 2013.

Now we arrive at the 36-year-old Hill, who ranges from four to 10 years the senior of every other southpaw listed above. This is the same Hill who, prior to last September, hadn’t made a major league start since 2009. Between 2007-15, he appeared in the majors with seven different teams – including multiple stints with the Red Sox – and toiled with a slew of minor league clubs. As recently as last August, Hill was in the independent Atlantic League as a member of the Long Island Ducks. The Red Sox then brought back Hill on a minor league deal in mid-August, and they summoned him to the majors a month later. Beginning on September 13th, Hill embarked on a four-start rampage that saw him strike out 32 hitters, walk five and compile a 1.55 ERA across 29 innings. Hill parlayed that resoundingly successful three-week run into the richest payday of his career when he landed a one-year, $6MM deal with the Athletics in November.

Over nearly twice the sample size this year (57 2/3 innings), Hill’s brilliance has continued. Among qualified starters this "<strongseason, Hill ranks eighth in ERA (2.18), ninth in FIP (2.72) and 13th in K/9 (10.13). His 3.60 xFIP is less exciting, albeit still easily above the league-average mark of 4.03, and Hill’s 48.5 percent grounder rate trails only Noah Syndergaard, Kershaw and Danny Salazar among pitchers who have struck out at least 10 batters per nine innings. Amazingly, Hill manages to keep company with their ilk despite neither throwing particularly hard nor possessing an expansive repertoire with which to confound hitters. His 90.4 mph average fastball isn’t exactly imposing, and Hill relies almost exclusively on two pitches. The thing is, opposing offenses can’t seem to figure out either pitch. Hill’s curveball, which he has thrown a little over 50 percent of the time this year, has been the second-most valuable curve in the league to this point, according to FanGraphs. His four-seamer, deployed on 44 percent of pitches, has been the league’s 11th-most valuable fastball, placing him in a class with Syndergaard, Stephen Strasburg and Johnny Cueto.

Moreover, Hill hasn’t shown vulnerability against either left- or right-handed hitters. Lefties have slashed a terrible .200/.238/.254 line while facing Hill, and righties (.207/.320/.280) haven’t exactly resembled Mike Trout. All of that amounts to a .237 wOBA, which means Hill is turning enemy hitters into something resembling the toothless 2016 versions of Jose Iglesias (.234) and Alexei Ramirez (.245).

Everything isn’t perfect for Hill, granted, whose BB/9 of 3.28 is too high. He also could face regression from his 79.2 percent stand rate and .287 batting average on balls in play. Further, Hill has the league’s third-lowest swing rate (40.7 percent), so perhaps his numbers will revisit Earth if opposing hitters adjust and start trying to put the ball in play more against him. Of course, when batters have made contact against Hill, not much has happened. His 16.3 percent infield fly rate ranks seventh in the league, and Statcast (link via Baseball Savant) indicates that Hill has allowed an 86.3 mph average exit velocity on batted balls. Kershaw, by comparison, is at 86.4. As evidenced by some of the other names on the leaderboard, surrendering soft contact doesn’t always guarantee results, but it can’t be construed as a negative. Neither can limiting the distance of batted balls, which Hill has also done. At an average of 191 feet, he’s once again right in line with Kershaw, who’s at 192.

All of this analysis leads us to the fact that the A’s have an eminently valuable commodity on their hands as the August 1st trade deadline creeps closer. At 20-28, Oakland is already nine games out of the AL West lead and 7.5 behind in the Wild Card chase. What’s more, the A’s don’t look like a highly talented team destined for an appreciable turnaround. Assuming the club’s losing ways continue, there won’t be a compelling reason for executive vice president Billy Beane and general manager David Forst to retain Hill beyond the deadline. Not only is Hill a pending free agent, but he’ll likely be the top starter available over the summer if the A’s shop him. That should only serve to drive up the A’s asking price and enable them to secure something enticing in return for Hill.  The only reason trading Hill wouldn’t make sense is if the A’s intend to extend the lefty, which can’t be ruled out.

The A’s and Bay Area-rival Giants aren’t known for dealing with each other, but Hill would seem to fit rather well in San Francisco’s rotation as it tries to secure an NL West title. The Giants have an outstanding trio in Bumgarner, Cueto and Jeff Samardzija, but they’re looking for answers otherwise. Another go-around with the Red Sox might make sense, too, given the uncertainty in their rotation past Price, Rick Porcello and knuckleballer Steven Wright. Teams like the Royals, Tigers, Rangers and Orioles (one of Hill’s previous employers), among others, look more hard up for rotation help than the Giants and Red Sox, and bear in mind that Baltimore may have created some in-season spending room with a pair of trades earlier this week. It’s also possible an injury (or injuries) will open up a need that doesn’t currently exist on another club’s starting staff, of course, thus leading to another potential Hill suitor.

FanGraphs pegs Hill’s 2016 contributions at $13.6MM in worth, which means the A’s have already more than doubled their investment so far, and – barring an injury to Hill or a drastic, unexpected decline in performance –  they’re primed to continue building on that surplus value over the next couple months. When those months pass and the season reaches the deadline, the A’s will be in position to transform an aging player on whom they took an offseason flyer into at least one quality young piece from another team. Oakland has made some head-scratching decisions in recent years (the Josh Donaldson trade and the Billy Butler signing come to mind immediately), but the move to buy low on Hill is going as smoothly as the club could have hoped, and has the chance to continue paying dividends in future years.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

List Of MLB Players With Fantex Deals

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Earlier this season, Fantex, Inc. announced that it had reached agreements with five new Major League players. For those unfamiliar with the concept, Fantex offers players an up-front sum of money in exchange for a percentage of their future earnings — typically 10 percent. Fantex essentially then treats the athletes as “stocks,” selling shares of the player to investors that stand to turn a profit if the player in whom they’ve invested ultimately earns enough in their career both on and off the field.

At first glance, a player who sells 10 percent of his future earnings for $4MM, for instance, would become profitable for the investors upon reaching $40MM in career earnings. Of course, there’s quite a bit more to it than that, as it remains unclear how taxes, Fantex fees, and yet other considerations are accounted for. All said, there’s quite a bit of uncertainty surrounding what is a fairly new concept; I took a look at some of the potential far-reaching impacts of Fantex deals when the last wave of deals was announced.

With six players now on board and a seeming likelihood that more will follow, we’ll keep a running list of the players that have entered into such deals. We’ll do so in this post and update each time that a new deal is announced. Here are the two initial groups…

April 27, 2016

  • Jonathan Schoop, Orioles, $4.91MM guarantee (10% of future “brand”)
  • Maikel Franco, Phillies, $4.35MM (10%)
  • Collin McHugh, Astros, $3.96MM (10%)
  • Yangervis Solarte, Padres, $3.15MM (11%)
  • Tyler Duffey, Twins, $2.23MM (10%)

September 11, 2015

  • Andrew Heaney, Angels, $3.34MM (10%)

Unsurprisingly, none of the listed players had reached arbitration eligibility upon signing their deal. Franco, Heaney and Duffey, in fact, each had less than one full year of Major League service time when agreeing. Players that have not yet qualified for arbitration are the likeliest candidates to enter into these types of agreements, as they make the most sense for both the player and the business. By the time a player reaches arbitration, he’s secured more than $1MM in career earnings (at least two full seasons of league-minimum salary, plus whatever arbitration number he has settled upon). At that point, a greater sum would need to be promised to make the deal worthwhile for him, thereby making it a more costly expenditure for Fantex. Presumably, the vast majority of Major Leaguers in these deals will be pre-arbitration players.

The greatest impact of these agreements seems likely to be a reduction in team-friendly contract extensions for pre-arb players. Certainly, the agreements in place for these players don’t mean that they’ll be completely closed off to signing a long-term contract extension, but it stands to reason that each would feel less pressure to do so with some significant earnings already in their pocket. A player who has already secured $2-5MM via a Fantex deal, plus several hundreds of thousands of dollars at the big league level may not still shy away from significant contract extension offers, but it’s easy to imagine those players steering clear of contracts like the ones initially signed by Salvador Perez (five years, $7MM) and Jon Singleton (five years, $10MM — though that one worked for the player, to this point, of course). As such, these deals have the potential to push a greater portion of players to the free-agent market down the road. Those shifting incentives, of course, have important implications for players, teams, and Fantex project itself.

Yankees Release Slade Heathcott

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7:46pm: Jennings reports in a full column that the Yankees are not planning on attempting to re-sign Heathcott this time around. He’ll look to latch on with a new organization.

7:41pm: The Yankees announced today (via Twitter) that they’ve released former outfielder and top prospect Slade Heathcott in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for left-hander Richard Bleier, whose contract was selected earlier today. As Chad Jennings of the Journal News points out (Twitter link), the Yankees likely felt that designating Heathcott would’ve led to a waiver claim by another team, so releasing him gives the Yanks a chance to re-sign him on a new minor league contract.

Heathcott, 25, was the 29th overall pick in the 2009 draft and rated as the game’s No. 63 overall prospect (No. 2 in the Yankees’ system) heading into the 2013 season, according to Baseball America. Just 21 years old at the time, he earned those rankings on the heels of a .302/.380/.461 season at Class-A Advanced. However, his production at Double-A in 2013 failed to mirror those numbers, and he wound up missing the majority of 2014 due to injuries (which have been a recurring theme for Heathcott throughout his minor league career). This past offseason, BA rated him as the team’s No. 18 prospect, praising him as an above-average defender in center field with an above-average arm and the ability to hit to all fields. Despite that quality review, though, Heathcott hasn’t performed at the Triple-A level to date, batting just .257/.303/.334 in 368 plate appearances there (including a .230/.271/.310 line there in 97 PAs this season). He did perform well in a small sample of 30 Major League PAs last year, collecting 10 hits (including two homers and two doubles) in 25 at-bats.

Nonetheless, that package of plus defense and a solid approach at the plate could indeed pique the interest of other organizations, though it’s worth noting that the Yankees have previously non-tendered and re-signed Heathcott to a minor league contract back in 2014. Whether that’s the case again remains to be seen, but the Yankees do have a fairly crowded outfield mix. Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran and Aaron Hicks are all options at the big league level, while slugging right fielder Aaron Judge looms at the Triple-A level.

Cubs Outright C.J. Riefenhauser

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Cubs left-hander C.J. Riefenhauser has cleared waivers and had his contract outrighted off the 40-man roster, the team announced on Thursday. The move drops the Cubs’ 40-man roster count to 37.

The Cubs claimed Riefenhauser, 26, off waivers from the Orioles this offseason, thereby capping off what was a whirlwind of transactions involving the left-hander over the winter. Riefenhauser began the offseason as a member of the Rays but quickly found himself traded to the Mariners in the Nate Karns/Logan Morrison/Brad Miller trade. Seattle, however, didn’t hang onto him for long, as the M’s flipped him to Baltimore alongside Mark Trumbo. Baltimore then designated Riefenhauser for assignment upon acquiring Odrisamer Despaigne from the Padres, leading to the Cubs’ waiver claim.

This time around, Riefenhauser went unclaimed, likely in part due to his struggles at the Triple-A level this year. Riefenhauser has allowed 10 runs on eight hits and eight walks in 12 innings of relief pitching for Triple-A Iowa this season. He’s punched out 12 hitters in that time as well, continuing a trend of missed bats at the Triple-A level, but the work isn’t close to the 2.86 ERA he posted in 34 2/3 innings at that level last season. Riefenhauser also has 20 innings of big league experience under his belt, although the 6.30 ERA he’s posted in the Majors is quite the departure from his career 2.66 ERA in 125 1/3 innings at Triple-A.

Marlins’ Bryan Morris Considering Back Surgery

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Marlins setup man Bryan Morris was placed on the disabled list today due to a herniated lumbar disc in his back, reports Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald, and the 29-year-old tells Spencer that he is considering season-ending surgery to repair the injury.

“At this point, surgery is the only option that can fix what is the issue,” Morris explained. “I can [also] take the route of taking cortisone injections and pitching through the season.” Morris said that he believes he could return by September if he elects to undergo surgery, though there’s certainly the possibility that the surgical route could bring his season to a close. Morris, however, said he feels as though he’s been pitching “at 60 percent” for most of the season.

Though the pain has been plaguing Morris, his bottom-line results on the season have been sound; Morris currently has a 3.06 ERA in 17 2/3 innings this year, though he’s also walked 10 batters and hit another in that time, demonstrating the weakest control of his career. Morris’ velocity is also down a full two miles per hour, as he’s averaging 93 mph on his heater this season as opposed to the 95 mph he averaged in 2015.

Morris was acquired by the Marlins from the Pirates in a 2014 trade that sent a Competitive Balance (Round A) pick to Pittsburgh, and he’s quietly been an outstanding member of the Miami bullpen over the past two calendar years. Since being acquired by Miami, Morris has pitched to a 2.30 ERA, averaging 7.1 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9 to go along with a ground-ball rate near 56 percent. He agreed to a one-year, $1.35MM contract this offseason, avoiding an arbitration hearing as a first-time arb-eligible player. Miami controls him through the 2018 season.

The injury to Morris is the latest hit to a Miami relief corps that has already lost right-hander Carter Capps to Tommy John surgery and spent the bulk of the season without left-hander Mike Dunn. Miami was tied to bullpen help following the loss of Capps, and it stands to reason that the Fish could explore the trade market for help if Morris is indeed lost for most or all of the next four months. For the time being, Miami has recalled right-hander Nick Wittgren from Triple-A New Orleans to take his place.

MLB Issues Suspensions For Rangers-Blue Jays Brawl

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MAY 26: Odor’s suspension has been reduced to seven games, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network. MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan first reported that Odor’s suspension would be reduced by a slight margin (Twitter link).

MAY 17: 3:37pm: Bautista will be suspended for one game, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo.

3:20pm: Right-hander Jesse Chavez, who hit Prince Fielder in the thigh with a pitch following the initial skirmish, will receive a three-game suspension, reports Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi (Twitter link).

2:56pm: Elvis Andrus will get a one-game suspension for throwing a punch, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via Twitter). That appears to round out the bans on the Texas side of the equation.

2:24pm: Toronto skipper John Gibbons will be hit with a three-game suspension, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. He’s being punished for returning to the field after previously being ejected.

2:04pm: Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor is set to receive an eight-game suspension for his role in the recent brawl with the Blue Jays, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports (Twitter links). Odor is expected to appeal the ban, which will at least delay its application and could theoretically result in some reduction.

Additional suspensions are expected for players involved in the fracas, but it’s hard to imagine that anyone will get anything approaching Odor’s level of punishment. The youngster pushed and then punched Jays’ star Jose Bautista after a rough slide into second base, precipitating a large melee. Of course, there was more to it than that, as Bautista had previously been plunked by Matt Bush — a move interpreted by some as retaliation for the slugger’s dramatic bat flip in last year’s postseason.

All told, the move isn’t of major consequence for the Rangers. Odor can play while his appeal is considered, and the organization has plenty of options to fill in for whatever stretch he ends up missing. Hanser Alberto would represent the most obvious replacement who is currently on the active roster, but Jurickson Profar might also be an option. As Jamey Newberg noted earlier today on Twitter, Profar has shifted over to second base for his game today at Triple-A.

Mike Moustakas Out For Season With Torn ACL

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3:58pm: Moustakas is indeed out for the season, manager Ned Yost confirmed to reporters, including Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link).

3:17pm: The Royals announced today (via Twitter) that third baseman Mike Moustakas has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Outfielder Brett Eibner has been recalled from Triple-A Omaha to take his spot on the 25-man roster. Kansas City did not give a timeline for Moustakas’ return, but certainly a tear of his ACL would seem to put the remainder of his 2016 season in jeopardy. Moustakas suffered the injury in a foul-territory collision with Alex Gordon this past weekend — a doubly devastating accident for the Royals, as it also resulted in a fractured wrist and a trip to the disabled list for Gordon.

The 27-year-old Moustakas, long hailed as one of baseball’s top prospects, struggled through the early stages of his career but had a full-fledged breakout in 2015 when he batted .284/.348/.470 with 22 home runs and excellent defense at the hot corner, helping to fuel the Royals’ second consecutive trip to the World Series as well as their eventual victory. The driving factor in his emergence as a star was a dramatic improvement against left-handed pitching; after hitting just .211/.267/.328 against lefties from 2011-14, Moustakas crushed same-handed pitching to the tune of a .282/.328/.482 batting line in 2015. This season, he’s been limited to 27 games due to a minor fracture in his left thumb but had maintained his production versus lefties and delivered a solid overall line of .240/.301/.500 with characteristically strong defense.

For the Royals, the in-house options at the hot corner are most likely highlighted by a combination of prospect Cheslor Cuthbert and utilityman Whit Merrifield — each of whom was recently added to the big league roster. Kansas City has also seen 2013 first-rounder Hunter Dozier, who had an abysmal 2015 campaign at Double-A, enjoy a terrific resurgence playing primarily third base at Triple-A. Dozier has batted .296/.324/.521 through 17 games this season after obliterating Double-A pitching at an even more impressive .301/.370/.590 pace in 26 games to open the season. Dozier, it should be noted, is not on the 40-man roster, though if it’s determined that Moustakas will indeed miss the season, a spot could be opened simply by transferring him to the 60-day disabled list. Also of note is that early June is typically looked at as the threshold to safely avoid Super Two designation for well-regarded minor leaguers, so there’s some degree of financial incentive for Kansas City to keep Dozier at the minor league level a bit longer.

Alternatively, shifting Omar Infante across the diamond (though he’s struggled with the bat since signing in Kansas City) could be an option. Infante does have more than 600 career innings at third base, although he hasn’t seen any time at the position since 2012. Given that contingency of internal replacement candidates, it seems likely that the reigning World Series Champions will at least take some time to evaluate existing alternatives before looking outside the organization to acquire some help at the hot corner.

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