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Archives for May 2016
Angels To Sign Erik Kratz To Minors Deal
The Angels have agreed with catcher Erik Kratz to a minor league deal, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (via Twitter). He had been released by the Astros after opening the season in Houston.
Over his seven years in the majors, the 35-year-old Kratz owns a .210/.261/.381 batting line in 590 plate appearances. He’s also hit 23 long balls in that span, with a .171 ISO, so there’s certainly some pop in the bat when he connects.
But Kratz struggled to get going in his 15 games this year with the Astros, who picked him up from the Padres late this spring. He ultimately recorded just two hits and a walk, while picking up 14 strikeouts, over his thirty turns at the plate.
Kratz will look to bolster his case for another MLB opportunity by joining the Angels organization and, presumably, heading to Triple-A Salt Lake. The Halos were in need of catching depth with Jett Bandy coming up to replace Geovany Soto, who is on the 15-day DL.
Injury Notes: A-Rod, Teixeira, Shelby, C.J., Forsythe, Flores
Alex Rodriguez is back in the Yankees’ lineup after a quick rehab stint, but fellow veteran slugger Mark Teixeira is still out. It remains to be seen whether Teixeira will eventually require a DL stint, but for now he’s simply taking some time and waiting for a cortisone shot to take effect, as MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch tweets. An MRI seemingly cleared him of any new neck issues, ESPNNewYork.com’s Andrew Marchand tweets, so it seems to be an optimistic outlook. Meanwhile, the Yanks have placed southpaw Chasen Shreve on the DL while his left shoulder is checked out, Hoch also tweets.
Here are a few more injury notes from around the game:
- Shelby Miller continues to be limited by a finger injury, Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale said today, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports. Already struggling on the hill, Miller’s difficulties were exacerbated when he scraped his hand on the dirt in his follow-through. Hale “still not where we’d like it to be,” which Piecoro suggests could set the stage for a DL stint. The 25-year-old owns an unsightly 7.09 ERA in 45 2/3 innings on the season, with just thirty strikeouts to go with 29 walks. When asked whether Miller could be sent to the minors, GM Dave Stewart didn’t reveal much but also didn’t rule out the idea, as Jack Magruder of Fanragsports.com tweets. “We want to get him on track the best way we can,” said Stewart. “We will figure it out and do what’s needed.”
- Angels southpaw C.J. Wilson made his rehab debut yesterday, as Pete Marshall of the Orange County Register writes. The 35-year-old is one of several hurlers filtering back up towards the majors for the Halos, which could eventually lead to some interesting roster decisions. For now, he says his command and mechanics were in a good place, and didn’t suggest that his balky left arm was a problem. It’s certainly promising that Wilson was able to work up to 56 pitches while lasting into the fifth inning. He hopes to make it back to the majors by early to mid-June.
- Also potentially returning in the middle of next month is Logan Forsythe of the Rays, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). His shoulder has improved to the point where he’s able to take grounders, leading to some hope that he could join the Rays at some point after they wrap up an upcoming road trip.
- Mets infielder Wilmer Flores appears ready for activation after a rehab game at Double-A, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. The 24-year-old was off to a slow start, with a .180/.255/.280 slash, before heading to the DL with a hamstring strain. New York lost first baseman Lucas Duda, and Flores could conceivably be part of the solution — with the team’s trade plans somewhat dependent upon how much it trusts Flores and other internal options.
Dodgers To Promote Julio Urias
The Dodgers expect to purchase the contract of top pitching prospect Julio Urias for his MLB debut on Friday, per a club announcement. It appears that the club is waiting to officially make the move until it’s necessary to do so tomorrow.
Urias will take the start that had been scheduled for Alex Wood. The 25-year-old southpaw will be bumped to Monday after experiencing triceps soreness. While any injuries to the rotation would have been a major concern just weeks ago, this one seems to be minor. And the reinforcements are arriving for Los Angeles, with Hyun-jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy moving toward major league readiness.
Of course, Urias is rather an interesting player to turn to in his own right — and not just because of his fascinating personal story. He’s just 19 years old, meaning he’ll be the youngest player in the majors upon his arrival. The left-hander has ascended the ladder quickly after signing for a relative pittance out of Mexico at 16 years of age.
That’s also exceedingly youthful for the Triple-A level, but age hasn’t stopped Urias from dominating all along the way. He’s been as good as advertised at the highest level of the minors, spinning 41 innings of 1.10 ERA pitching. Urias has recorded more strikeouts (44) than he’s allowed baserunners (24 hits, eight walks, one HBP) on the season.
Entering the year, Urias was viewed as one of the game’s very best prospects, and he’s only increased his stock since. In its prospect handbook, Baseball America praises him for an exceedingly rare “combination of stuff and feel for pitching.” Working off of a mid-nineties heater, he can draw swings and misses with a quality curve and change piece as well as a less-frequently-deployed slider.
It remains to be seen, though, how much of an impact Urias will have on the major league season. Los Angeles has carefully managed the young lefty’s workload, which is obviously not surprising. He’s yet to top 90 innings in a full season, and likely won’t be allowed to dramatically increase that tally, though surely L.A. will be looking to build his endurance.
The teams plans remain largely unknown. With Ryu, McCarthy, and other options soon to be added to the mix, the Dodgers could get a few starts from Urias and then shift him to the pen — where he could be a powerful, multi-inning option to pair with one or more of the team’s rehabbing or less-productive starters. Or, of course, he might well soon end up back in the minors to continue working out of the rotation.
If Urias is able to stay up the rest of the way, he’d stand to accumulate 129 days of service. That would put him on track to be a potential, but far from certain, Super Two candidate — at least assuming he opens on the major league roster in 2017. Urias’s performance could also certainly impact the organization’s trade deadline and post-season pitching plans. For now, though, we’ll all sit back and watch the phenom show his stuff on the game’s biggest stage.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Rockies Move Jorge De La Rosa To Bullpen
The Rockies have moved left-hander Jorge De La Rosa from the starting rotation to the bullpen in the wake of his 2016 struggles, manager Walt Weiss told reporters, including Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. He’ll be replaced by fellow lefty Chris Rusin.
Weiss said that the move offers De La Rosa an opportunity “to get right” on the heels of an 11.14 ERA through his first six starts of the season. De La Rosa has racked up 29 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings this season, but he’s also allowed 39 hits, issued 15 walks and hit three batters in that time as well. Of the 39 hits he’s surrendered, seven have left the yard. General manager Jeff Bridich had some fairly pointed comments regarding De La Rosa’s start to the season. Via Saunders, the Colorado GM offered the following take on his struggling Opening Day starter:
“It’s now two months of struggle, whether it’s been up here or in the down in the minors for rehabilitation. He’s had one good game, right? One good game that you could say is representative of what we know about Jorge De La Rosa. That’s just not good enough right now. … We have other guys who have earned the right to give us a chance to win every fifth day. Our goal right now is for him to go the to bullpen, settle in, and help us win games out of the bullpen.”
De La Rosa, 35, is in the second season of a two-year, $25MM contract extension that he inked to remain with the Rockies back in August of 2014. De La Rosa opted to take that deal rather than test the waters of free agency, making him a rarity among pitchers, as few voluntarily sign on for additional time calling Coors Field their home. De La Rosa, however, has fared relatively well in his time at Coors, recording a career 4.29 ERA in 522 1/3 innings there (including this season’s struggles). As Saunders points out, he’s currently the franchise’s all-time leader in wins (79), and he holds that distinction in total strikeouts as well (906).
The implications for De La Rosa stretch beyond his immediate role with the team, as well. He’s slated to hit the open market this winter, and a demotion from the Rockies’ rotation certainly does little to build an enticing case for himself as a rotation option on the open market. While De La Rosa will be 36 early next season, he entered the 2016 campaign coming off a very steady three-year stretch in Colorado: 501 innings of 3.92 ERA ball with 6.9 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and a 50.2 percent ground-ball rate. While those numbers don’t immediately stand out, they’re impressive for a pitcher that spends half his time at Coors Field. De La Rosa’s 2013-15 performance is 11 percent better than the league average pitcher when adjusting for his home ball park, per Fangraphs’ ERA-, and it’s 14 percent better than an average starter in the estimation of ERA+. De La Rosa’s age notwithstanding, another solid season out of the Rockies’ rotation could’ve positioned him for a nice payday this winter, whether via another extension in Colorado or with a new team. However, his opportunity to rebuild that stock will be suppressed by this change in role. Even if he finds his way back into the rotation and returns to form, it’s tough to imagine that the ugly start to the season hasn’t already impacted his offseason earning capacity.
Jonny Gomes Not Retiring
9:15pm: WEEI’s Rob Bradford tweets that he spoke to Gomes himself tonight, who said that he is not retiring.
3:01pm: Veteran outfielder Jonny Gomes has decided to retire, according to Chris Cotillo of SB Nation. The colorful performer hangs up his spikes after a 13-year run in the majors.
Gomes, 35, last appeared briefly in Japan, and was said to be hoping to catch on with another major league organization. A suitable opportunity has evidently failed to materialize, however.
Since his debut in 2003, Gomes has compiled a .242/.333/.436 batting line in just over 4,000 plate appearances. He was always at his best against left-handed pitching, of course, as he hung a lifetime .855 OPS on opposing southpaws.
Gomes ended up playing for seven clubs in the majors after opening up with the Rays. He spent six years in Tampa Bay before moving on to the Reds in 2009 via free agency. After a brief stint with the Nationals, Gomes hit his second wind in a strong 2012 campaign for the A’s.
That season in Oakland is probably when the game was fully introduced to the bearded, tattooed, high-spirited platoon man that Gomes will surely be remembered as. He hit full stride the following year with the World Series-winning Red Sox, playing an important role on the club that extended beyond his solid on-field contributions.
Gomes never really put it together from that point forward, though he did still have use against lefties over 2014-15, which he spent in Boston, back in Oakland, and then with the Braves and Royals. Those, it seems, will be the last seasons of his career.
While he wasn’t on the post-season roster for Kansas City last year, Gomes did memorably brandish a large American flag at the massive celebration following the team’s World Series victory. That added yet another enduring image for a player who played the game hard and with notable verve. MLBTR congratulates him an a memorable run.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Four Teams Linked To Cuban Outfielder Yadiel Hernandez
MAY 25: Badler tweets that the Brewers, too, have now hosted a private workout for Hernandez.
MAY 23: Free-agent outfielder Yadiel Hernandez hosted a showcase for clubs last Wednesday, and Ben Badler of Baseball America now reports that the Marlins hosted a private workout for the 28-year-old at Marlins Park on Saturday, with president of baseball operations Michael Hill among those in attendance. Badler also lists the D-backs, Brewers and Rockies as teams that have been connected to Hernandez, who is exempt from international spending limitations due to his age and professional experience in Cuba.
Hernandez was recently declared a free agent by Major League Baseball and is free to sign at any time for any amount. He brings with him a career .324/.449/.487 batting line over the life of 2167 pro plate appearances in Cuba and is known for a discerning eye at the plate and excellent contact skills, though he does also possess some modest pop. (Badler recently noted that he felt Hernandez could hit 10 to 15 homers in a big league season.) Hernandez struck out in just 13 percent of his career plate appearances in Cuba and walked in 17.5 percent of his trips to the plate. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean that one should expect similar rates in the Majors, where Hernandez will face higher-quality pitching. It’s not uncommon for even the most successful Cuban hitters to see their strikeout rates increase by five to eight percent upon jumping to MLB, and Hernandez isn’t as highly regarded as some recent success stories were during their free agencies (e.g. Jose Abreu, Yoenis Cespedes).
The Marlins are somewhat of a curious fit for Hernandez unless they believe him to be more of a fourth outfielder than an everyday bat, as their long-term outfield is seemingly set with Christian Yelich in left field, Marcell Ozuna in center field and Giancarlo Stanton in right field. The D-backs, on paper, have a fairly set outfield rotation for the foreseeable future as well, with David Peralta, A.J. Pollock (once healthy) and Yasmany Tomas in addition to a pair of young infielders, Chris Owings and Brandon Drury, seeing time on the outfield grass, too. Beyond that, Arizona has a fairly promising outfield candidate in Socrates Brito in the upper minors.
Colorado and Milwaukee are a bit less settled, if for no other reason than the potential trade candidacy of star-caliber players Carlos Gonzalez and Ryan Braun (more so Braun, given Colorado’s 21-21 start to the season). Both could see their names floated on the trade market this summer, although both organizations also have highly regarded outfield prospects of their own that are in reasonable proximity to the Majors (namely, David Dahl in Colorado and Brett Phillips in Milwaukee).
Hernandez would almost certainly require some time in the minors to get comfortable in a game setting once again, whenever and wherever he ultimately chooses to sign. His last full season in Cuba came in 2014-15 (their season is played in the winter), so it’d be understandable if Hernandez came with a fair bit of rust. Those wishing to get a lengthier look at Hernandez can reference a full scouting report from Badler’s Top 20 Cuban prospects last season. A subscription is required, though with the 2016 Draft and the July 2 international free agent kickoff both looming, it’s well worth the price of admission for those seeking insight into the upcoming waves of amateur talent that will soon be available to MLB clubs.
NL East Notes: Harvey, Cespedes, Beimel, Kelley
Mets manager Terry Collins put a swift end to speculation on Matt Harvey’s immediate future, at least for the time being. The righty will make his next scheduled start, as Mike Puma of the New York Post was among those to report. “We saw some real positive things early in the game [Tuesday] night,” Collins told the media. “When he hit a wall in the fifth inning, I said I wasn’t surprised. I told Matt about it, I said I was proud of the fact the way he prepared for it and we saw some positive things early in the game.” Collins maintains that the Mets are focused on the big picture with Harvey, saying that the right-hander is “too big a piece to write him off” or to be put in the bullpen. MLBTR readers weighed in this morning on what the Mets should do, with a slight plurality preferring to see the club skip a Harvey start rather than maintaining the status quo or taking more drastic action.
A few more notes on the NL East…
- Yoenis Cespedes has been as good as anyone could have hoped since returning to the Mets, and Ken Davidoff of the New York Post wonders whether there’s any chance of the sides getting back together on a new deal. Cespedes seems well on his way to returning to the open market via his opt-out clause, of course, having gotten off to a tremendous start to the season in advance of a considerably weaker free agent class than the one in which he found himself last winter. The 30-year-old is batting .309/.387/.678 and leading the National League in OPS, slugging percentage and RBIs while holding the MLB lead with 15 home runs. Assistant GM John Ricco said that there’s been no talk between the two sides about working out a new deal, though he also acknowledged: “There’ll be a time and place for that and I think when that time comes, we’ll see what happens.” Davidoff suggests multiple hypothetical offers the Mets could make to Cespedes now, though the slugging outfielder could ultimately find himself positioned as the top free agent on the market, especially now that division-rival Stephen Strasburg is off the market following a seven-year extension.
- Left-hander Joe Beimel had a visit with Dr. James Andrews after his recent minor league agreement with the Marlins fell through due to physical concerns, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (links to Twitter). Andrews gave Beimel’s shoulder and elbow a clean bill of health, though clearly there was something that gave Miami some degree of pause. Of course, for a 39-year-old veteran of 13 big league seasons, it wouldn’t be surprising to see some degree of wear and tear in his arm. Beimel has pitched well with the Mariners across the past two seasons, working to a combined 3.12 ERA in 92 1/3 innings and holding lefties to a .226/.281/.381 batting line and whiffing nearly 18 percent of the same-handed opponents he faced in that time.
- Nationals right-hander Shawn Kelley has quietly been one of the game’s most dominant relievers in recent years, writes MLB.com’s Mike Petriello. As Petriello notes, the Nationals’ new setup man, who signed a three-year contract in free agency this winter, has the lowest ERA in baseball across the past calendar year, and while some may think his dominance has come out of nowhere, he’s actually been strong dating back to 2013, Petriello points out. Only 11 pitchers registered a higher strikeout percentage in that time. Kelley is enjoying his best season yet, and while he hasn’t altered his pitch selection much, Petriello explains that Kelley has significantly improved the command of his fastball, moving the pitch more to the edge of the zone as opposed to the center of the plate, resulting in more strikeouts and more pop-ups. The bottom-line result for Kelley has been a 1.13 ERA with a 22-to-3 K/BB ratio in 16 innings this season
Marlins, Carlos Corporan Agree To Minor League Deal
The Marlins and catcher Carlos Corporan have agreed to terms on a minor league contract, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. The 32-year-old MDR Sports Management client had recently been released from a minors pact with the Rays, where he’d batted .200/.246/.308 in 70 plate appearances.
Corporan has quite a bit of Major League experience under his belt, having spent parts of six seasons in the big leagues. He’s spent time with the Brewers, Astros and, most recently, the Rangers, combining to bat .218/.280/.342 in 780 trips to the plate as a Major Leaguer. Behind the plate, he’s caught 23 percent of attempted base thieves over the course of his career — a number that improves to 25.6 percent if one is willing to overlook some throwing struggles he had in his first extended look at the big league level back in 2011. He drew strong framing marks from Baseball Prospectus from 2011-14 but turned in slightly below-average numbers in that regard last season and again in his limited time at Triple-A this season.
Corporan will provide the Fish with some depth and figures to head to Triple-A, where Tomas Telis (acquired from the Rangers in exchange for Sam Dyson last summer) and Adrian Nieto have split catching duties. While Telis has hit exceptionally well at the minor league level this season (.361/.430/.470), Nieto has batted .116/.244/.116 after struggling at the Double-A level last season. In the Majors, the Marlins have the quietly solid J.T. Realmuto handling the bulk of the work behind the dish. Veteran Jeff Mathis is his primary backup, though the 33-year-old is hitting just .152/.176/.212 in 34 plate appearances this season.
Rays Designate Jake Goebbert
The Rays have designated first baseman/outfielder Jake Goebbert for assignment, as Roger Mooney reports on Twitter. Righty Ryan Garton was called up, creating the need for a 40-man spot, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweeted earlier.
Goebbert, 28, has seen just one major league stint in his career, slashing .218/.313/.317 in 115 plate appearances with the Padres in 2014. But he’s shown a high-OBP approach in the upper minors, making him a popular name on the waiver wire — which is how Tampa Bay grabbed him earlier in the year from the Pirates. Goebbert has struggled thus far at Triple-A Durham, though, with a meager .163/.258/.221 batting line in his 97 plate appearances.
The 26-year-old Garton earned his first big league promotion with a strong campaign in his first go at Triple-A. He’s shown improved command and punch-out ability in recording 11.5 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9. Over 22 2/3 frames, Garton owns a 2.38 ERA.
