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Archives for February 2017

Alex Reyes Likely Requires Tommy John Surgery

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6:31pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the MRI results show that Reyes will likely require Tommy John surgery. The right-hander will seek a second opinion before making a final decision. FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweets that he’ll get the second opinion tomorrow, but there’s only an “outside chance” that Reyes will avoid surgery.

3:13pm: Reyes is headed for a second opinion, but the preliminary diagnosis appears to show at least a partial tear of his ulnar collateral ligament, according to ESPN.com’s Jim Bowden. It remains somewhat unclear whether doctors have clearly identified new tearing, as Reyes does have prior UCL damage dating back to 2013. At this point, though, it seems a TJ procedure is likely, per the report.

12:42pm: There is “significant concern inside the Cardinals’ organization” that Reyes may require Tommy John surgery, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).

12:16pm: Cardinals righty Alex Reyes has undergone an MRI after informing the team that he has experienced discomfort in his pitching elbow, GM John Mozeliak tells MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch (all links to Twitter). The prized righty had his scheduled pen session today scratched after failing to receive medical clearance.

The degree of concern is not yet apparent, though the team surely is holding its breath. Mozeliak hastened to note that the club would “wait until tomorrow when we get the [MRI] read” instead of offering any speculation. But there were notes of concern, too. “There must be a significant reason to do this,” manager Mike Matheny noted.

While a rush to judgment would indeed be unwise, it’s important to stress the importance of the 22-year-old to the Cardinals organization — both now and in the future. Already considered a fascinating talent, Reyes boosted the roof on expectations when he turned in 46 innings of 1.57 ERA ball upon receiving his first MLB call last year.

Now, Reyes is expected to fill a key role in a Cards rotation that has plenty of talent but also some questions behind just-extended staff ace Carlos Martinez. Pitchers such as Michael Wacha, Lance Lynn, and Marco Gonzales face varying health questions; Adam Wainwright and Mike Leake will be looking to bounce back after rocky campaigns; and Reyes and Luke Weaver lead a cast of promising younger arms that aren’t yet fully established in the majors.

Indians Hire Grady Sizemore As Front Office Advisor

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The Indians have hired former Major League outfielder Grady Sizemore as an advisor to their player development staff, reports Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. While there’s no specific mention of Sizemore formally retiring, Bastian does reference the the playing career of Sizemore, who was a superstar-caliber outfielder with Cleveland early in his career, in the past tense.

Per Bastian, the 34-year-old Sizemore reached out to Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti over the winter to gauge what type of opportunities were available with the team. That initial conversation led to Sizemore’s current role, where he’ll be with the team’s Major League squad and work with the outfielders early in Spring Training. After a couple of weeks, Bastian continues, Sizemore will transition over to the minor league camp and work with the team’s younger outfielders.

It seems that Sizemore’s ultimate role with the team is yet to be determined, as GM Mike Chernoff tells Bastian that the Indians are trying to “expose him to as much as we can.” Sizemore has participated in closed-door meetings between the front office and the coaching staff, during which each player is discussed and evaluated at length. “When you have a guy of that stature, he’s welcome to help wherever he can,” skipper Terry Francona told Bastian.

If Sizemore’s playing days are indeed behind him, he’ll wrap up his career with a .265/.349/.457 batting line, 150 homers and 143 steals through 1101 games and 4724 plate appearances. Those basic stats, however, don’t tell the full story of Sizemore, who was one of the must dynamic talents in all of Major League Baseball in his early 20s.

Acquired alongside Brandon Phillips and Cliff Lee in the 2002 blockbuster that sent Bartolo Colon to the Expos, Sizemore made his Major League debut as a 21-year-old in 2004 and never looked back. From 2005-08, he was on a short list of MLB’s best players, hitting .281/.372/.496 with three All-Star nominations, two Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger. During that meteoric rise to fame, Sizemore received MVP votes in four straight seasons and averaged 27 homers, 28 steals and 160 games played per season.

Unfortunately (not only for Sizemore but for baseball fans everywhere), an elbow injury cut short Sizemore’s 2009 campaign and ultimately required surgery. Upon returning in 2010, he incurred a knee injury that also required surgery and would cut into his 2011 playing time as well. The barrage of injuries didn’t stop there, as Sizemore had back surgery in March 2012 and missed both the 2012 and 2013 seasons in their entirety. Sizemore did return to the diamond in 2014-15, spending time with the Red Sox, Phillies and Rays. In those 209 games, though, his .242/.303/.366 batting line and diminished speed/power no longer resembled the output of his brief but brilliant peak.

Though injuries cut short a potentially sensational career, Sizemore’s natural ability and experience will undoubtedly give him plenty of insight and advice to pass on to Cleveland’s younger players in Spring Training and, potentially, throughout the year (depending on his ultimate role with the club). We at MLBTR wish Sizemore the very best in his new career track and whatever other opportunities he may pursue in the future.

Rangers Acquire Eddie Gamboa From Rays

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The Rangers announced that they’ve acquired right-hander Eddie Gamboa from the Rays in exchange for a player to be named later or cash. Both Prince Fielder and Jake Diekman have been placed on the 60-day disabled list, as well, per the Rangers’ announcement. That brings their current 40-man count to 39.

Gamboa was just designated for assignment by the Rays earlier this morning, though it didn’t take Tampa Bay long to find a team that was interested in the 32-year-old knuckleballer. A longtime Orioles farmhand, Gamboa finally cracked a big league roster with the Rays in 2016 after spending parts of nine seasons in the minors. He logged a pristine 1.35 ERA in 13 1/3 innings with the Rays, striking out 11 but also issuing a more troublesome eight walks in that time.

Gamboa has worked primarily as a starter in the minors and didn’t adopt his knuckleball until the 2013 season. He had a breakout campaign with the pitch last year in 2016, working to a stellar 2.68 ERA with 8.5 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9 across 94 innings. He split his time in 2016 more evenly between the rotation and bullpen than in previous seasons (15 relief appearances, 12 starts), though it’s not entirely clear how the Rangers intend to utilize him this year. The Rangers noted in their press release that Gamboa was originally signed by former Orioles scout James Keller, who is now a special assistant to Rangers GM Jon Daniels, so Gamboa comes as somewhat of a known commodity to at least one Texas exec.

AL Injury Notes: Flynn, Tillman, Richards, Perkins, Smith, Cishek, Doubront

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Royals lefty Brian Flynn is expected to miss eight weeks of action due to injuries suffered in a fall through the roof of his barn, as Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star reports on Twitter. A broken rib seems to be the main injury to the 26-year-old, who turned in 55 1/3 innings of 2.60 ERA ball last year for Kansas City. Though Flynn will clearly now be delayed, there’s no indication that there are any long-term concerns, and the organization’s recent signing of Travis Wood will help restore any lost early-season depth.

Here are some more injury situations developing around the American League:

  • The Orioles may be without righty Chris Tillman to start the year, as the veteran starter undertook a PRP injection in his shoulder in December, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com was among those to report (Twitter links). Tillman is said to be about three weeks behind, though he isn’t expected to miss significant time at this point. Still, there’s little chance he’ll be ready to take the ball on Opening Day, which would break a string of three-straight appearances in the first game of the season. It seems there’s no particular reason to worry about Tillman’s outlook for the season, though it’s fair to wonder whether the shoulder issue will gum up any attempts by the team to lock him up to a long-term deal this spring. Tillman is earning $10.05MM this season before hitting the open market.
  • Angels righty Garrett Richards reported feeling normal after his pen session on Friday, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. That represents a positive start to the spring for a pitcher who once seemed destined for Tommy John surgery. Richards instead elected stem cell and PRP therapy, returning to the hill over the fall before taking his winter rest. The hope remains that he’ll be able to undertake a normal spring and open the season in the rotation. Meanwhile, the Halos are still waiting to see how first baseman Albert Pujols will progress in his return from foot surgery. The high-priced slugger expressed cautious optimism, but wasn’t willing to say for sure whether he’ll be ready by the start of the year, as Fletcher further reports.
  • Twins lefty Glen Perkins felt good after a short, 15-pitch bullpen session, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press tweets. He’s on track to take the hill again late this week. If you like, you can take a look at the former closer’s progress for yourself, as Berardino has uploaded a video of him throwing to YouTube.
  • Red Sox right-hander Carson Smith is expected to throw off of a mound for the first time since his Tommy John surgery on or around March 10th, as Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal tweets. That would presumably set up Smith for a mid-season return; if he’s able to remain on track, he could provide a nice boost to the BoSox pen in advance of the trade deadline.
  • It seems that Mariners righty Steve Cishek has a bit more to overcome than just the hip labrum tear that was previously reported, as Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports (Twitter links). The reliever also needed a microfracture procedure, and now acknowledges that an Opening Day return is optimistic. Though Cishek is only just beginning light throwing, fellow relief candidate Tony Zych will soon progress to 120-foot throwing, Divish adds on Twitter.
  • Athletics lefty Felix Doubront threw a pen for the first time today since his Tommy John surgery about ten months back, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports on Twitter. It’s not clear as yet what kind of timeline can be expected for the southpaw, though it’s certainly promising that he was deemed ready to get on the hill. Doubront re-signed with the A’s on a minor-league pact this offseason.

N.L. Injury Notes: Rodriguez, Wright, Goeddel, Schwarber, Flores

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Braves GM John Coppolella spoke with Bill Shanks of The Macon Telegraph in a wide-ranging interview (audio link) that has plenty of interesting info for Atlanta fans. For our purposes, the most notable segment involved the team’s addition of second baseman Brandon Phillips after the terrifying car crash involving recently added infielder Sean Rodriguez. Per Coppolella, the organization reignited prior talks with the Reds shortly after learning of the accident. It seems that Atlanta isn’t sure as yet just when Rodriguez will be able to join the organization. “We hope that Sean’s family can heal and get right,” said the GM. “… [W]e don’t know when Sean’s going to be back, it’s going to be a long time.”

Here are a host of other notes on injury situations around the National League as pitchers and catchers report:

  • Mets third baseman David Wright has yet even to throw a baseball since his season-ending neck surgery, Marc Carig of Newsday reports on Twitter. Though the club has seemingly given some consideration to trying him out at first base this spring, it seems that there are plenty of prior hurdles to clear before any position change is attempted. It remains unclear just what kind of timeline the veteran will take this spring, or whether there’s a realistic chance he’ll be ready for Opening Day.
  • Meanwhile, the Mets are hoping that bone chip surgery for righty Erik Goeddel could help him return to the solid former he showed as a rookie in 2015. As Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports, the reliever feels healthy after recovering from the procedure, which was performed to help relieve aching that wouldn’t go away. He’ll compete for a pen role this spring.
  • The Cubs are set to find out today whether slugger Kyle Schwarber will be cleared to get behind the plate, though the organization plans to be cautious regardless. As Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune tweets, president of baseball operations Theo Epstein put it in colorful terms, saying that “we’ll walk before we squat.” Regardless, Schwarber is expected to spend the bulk of his time in left field while serving as at most a third catcher, as Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets.
  • Cardinals non-roster camp invitee Kendry Flores is heading for an MRI after reporting shoulder discomfort, according to MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch (via Twitter). The 25-year-old was added on a minor-league deal over the winter, so was likely seen more as a depth piece than a key member of the staff. He owns a 3.78 ERA with 7.0 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 in 150 career innings at Triple-A.

Ron Gardenhire Diagnosed With Prostate Cancer

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Diamondbacks bench coach Ron Gardenhire has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, according to a team announcement. MLBTR joins all those around the game in wishing him the best of luck as he battles the condition.

Gardenhire, who joined Arizona’s overhauled field staff over the offseason, tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link) that he will undergo surgery in mid-April. He is expected to require up to a six-week leave of absence at that point, with expectations that he’ll return to the club at that point.

The former Twins skipper, a respected figure around the game, released a statement as part of the release. “I’m going to fight it and deal with it,” he said. “It’s a bump in the road and it’s not how I envisioned starting Spring Training with a brand new team but it’s part of life. With the backing of this ball club, we’ll get through it and I’ll get through it.”

Reds Claim Nefi Ogando

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The Reds have claimed righty Nefi Ogando off waivers from the Pirates, according to Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter). He follows Lisalverto Bonilla in moving from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati via the waiver wire.

Ogando, 27, already swapped jerseys earlier this winter (on paper, at least) when the Pirates grabbed him from the Marlins in another waiver move. Now, he’s on the move to the Bucs’ NL Central rivals, who are obviously still looking to bolster their relief ranks after the unit turned in an unsightly overall effort in 2017.

The righty brings a big fastball and has shown strong groundball results in his limited time in the majors, though he has recorded just ten strikeouts against ten walks over his 19 2/3 MLB frames. Over his 52 2/3 innings at the highest level of the minors, Ogando owns a 3.08 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9.

 

Starting Pitcher Arbitration Decisions Released

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Arbitration decisions on several first-year arb-eligible starting pitchers have been released. According to prior reports, the outcomes of the pending cases were being held until all had been heard and decided, to avoid earlier results impacting later decisions.

Three starters won their cases:

  • Collin McHugh, Astros: With his victory, McHugh will earn $3.85MM rather than the $3.35MM that the team had argued for, as Brian McTaggart of MLB.com first reported on Twitter.
  • Jake Odorizzi, Rays: In another relatively high-dollar case, the right-hander will get his requested $4.1MM payday over the club’s $3.825MM submission, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter).
  • Marcus Stroman, Blue Jays: Stroman takes home $3.4MM in his Super Two year instead of the team’s $3.1MM proposal, also via Heyman.

Teams prevailed against three others:

  • Taijuan Walker, Diamondbacks: The new Arizona rotation member, who’s also a Super Two qualifier, will earn $2.25MM instead of his filing figure of $2.6MM, per Jack Magruder of Fan Rag (via Twitter).
  • Chase Anderson, Brewers: Anderson, the final Super Two member of this bunch, will settle for the team’s $2.45MM proffer rather than the $2.85MM he sought, according to Heyman.
  • Michael Wacha, Cardinals: In his first year of eligibility, Wacha will take home $2.775MM, falling shy of his $3.2MM request, per Heyman.

Rockies Re-Sign Mark Reynolds

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FEBRUARY 14: Reynolds would earn $1.5MM if he makes the roster, and can add up to $2MM via incentives, per Heyman (via Twitter).

FEBRUARY 1, 7:50pm: Colorado has announced the deal, noting that it unsurprisingly includes an invitation to MLB camp.

7:05pm: The Rockies have agreed to a minor-league deal with first baseman Mark Reynolds, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. His potential salary and opt-out opportunities remain unreported at this time.

Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise, at this stage at least, that Reynolds couldn’t find a 40-man spot. There just wasn’t enough demand to account for all of the available power-hitting, first base/DH types that were on the market. Righty sluggers Mike Napoli and Chris Carter remain unsigned, as do a variety of lefty bats.

That said, Reynolds has also put together a string of relatively disappointing seasons. He hit at an approximately league-average rate in his 441 plate appearances for Colorado — the .282/.356/.450 batting line was obviously influenced by the altitude — but launched only 14 long balls and didn’t quite capitalize on his opportunity at regular playing time. It was an improvement, at least, over the prior two seasons, when Reynolds combined for a .213/.301/.396 slash over 865 plate appearances with the Cardinals and Brewers.

[RELATED: Updated Rockies Depth Chart]

For the Rockies, the low-risk addition creates some interesting possibilities. When a southpaw takes the hill, the club can now utilize Reynolds at first while bumping Ian Desmond into the outfield in place of one of the team’s many lefty-swinging outfielders. (It should be noted, though, that Reynolds carries minimal lifetime platoon splits and actually struggled against southpaws last year.)

Of course, Reynolds will need to make the roster first. Though he’s no longer the prolific home run hitter he once was, Reynolds still packs some punch. And he does typically draw solid defensive ratings for his glovework at first base. But he also offers nothing in the way of defensive versatility, meaning that the organization may have to decide between carrying a bench bat or an extra reliever as camp draws to a close.

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