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Archives for May 2017

Ross Detwiler Opts Out Of A’s Contract, Hits Free Agency

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The A’s have released Ross Detwiler after the left-hander enacted a opt-out clause in his minor league deal with the club, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Twitter link).

Detwiler originally came to Oakland last July after a trade from the Indians, and the southpaw posted a 6.14 ERA, 4.7 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 over 44 innings (seven starts in nine outings) in the green-and-gold.  Detwiler signed a minors contract with the A’s over the winter but opted out of that deal at the end of Spring Training, only to sign a new deal with the club the next week.

Pitching exclusively as a reliever at Triple-A, Detwiler had a 7.50 ERA through 12 innings, though Slusser notes that the lefty had pitched better as of late, with just a 1.17 ERA in May.  Still, it seems as if a call-up to the A’s roster wasn’t in the card, so Detwiler will now look for an opportunity elsewhere.

Best known for a productive stint as a swingman with the Nationals from 2009-14, Detwiler has struggled over the last two seasons, posting a 6.73 ERA over 107 IP with the A’s, Indians, Rangers and Braves.  Never a big strikeout pitcher (only a 5.5 career K/9), Detwiler has had increased troubles allowing walks and homers for the last two years, reducing his margin of error to zero.

Athletics Release Andrew Lambo

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The A’s have released outfielder/first baseman Andrew Lambo, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link).  Lambo had been on the DL at Triple-A Nashville with a wrist injury, but had been recently cleared to play.

Lambo was limited to just 56 minor league games and one MLB game in 2016 after undergoing surgery to treat testicular cancer.  The 28-year-old happily made a full recovery from that procedure and signed a new minor league deal with Oakland last October.

Originally a fourth-round pick for the Dodgers in the 2007 draft, Lambo has hit .189/.230/.295 over an even 100 career plate appearances in the majors, appearing in 60 games with the Pirates and A’s since 2013.  He got off to a slow start in Triple-A this season (undoubtedly the wrist injury was a factor) but overall, Lambo has a .276/.342/.456 slash line in 3340 PA over his minor league career.

Quick Hits: Palermo, Rays, Reds, Giants

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Major League Baseball umpire supervisor Steve Palermo passed away Sunday at the age of 67, the league announced. Palermo debuted as an American League umpire in 1976 and worked until 1991, when a gunshot wound to his spinal cord left him partially paralyzed. He suffered the injury bravely trying to assist two waitresses who were being mugged outside a Dallas restaurant. Thanks to arduous physical therapy, Palermo was able to defy the odds and walk again with the assistance of a cane.

“Steve Palermo was a great umpire, a gifted communicator and a widely respected baseball official, known in our sport for his leadership and courage,” commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “He had an exceptional impact on both his Major League Umpires and baseball fans, who benefited from his ability to explain the rules in our game. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Steve’s wife, Debbie, the World Umpires Association and his many friends and admirers throughout the game.”

MLBTR joins Manfred in sending its condolences to Palermo’s family and friends.

A few notes from both leagues:

  • The Rays made the right decision in optioning southpaw Blake Snell to Triple-A Durham on Saturday, opines Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. While a significant decline in performance since last season is behind Snell’s demotion, there are also accountability issues with the 24-year-old, according to Topkin, who writes that Snell’s postgame comments “routinely drew eye rolls from others in uniform.” Snell apparently took the news in stride, though, with teammate Alex Cobb telling Craig Forde of MLB.com: “He seemed to have a good outlook. He seemed relieved to be able to go down, without the pressure, and work on what he knows he needs to work on. That’s a positive.” One problem Snell will work on in the minors is a lack of fastball command, suggested manager Kevin Cash, who assured reporters that the Rays still believe in the second-year hurler. “For us to be the kind of team we can be, Blake has got to be in our rotation,” Cash said.
  • Left-hander Amir Garrett, whom the Reds optioned to Triple-A last Sunday, will rejoin the big league rotation during the upcoming week, manager Bryan Price said Sunday (Twitter link via C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer). Garrett has thrown two scoreless innings since the Reds sent him down to Louisville. Before that, the rookie impressed at the major league level with five quality starts in six opportunities. Aside from a dreadful April 24 showing against the Brewers, who teed off on Garrett for nine earned runs on eight hits and four walks in 3 1/3 innings, the 25-year-old hasn’t lasted fewer than six frames or allowed more than two earned runs in any of his starts.
  • The Giants are mulling a stint on the disabled list for right fielder Hunter Pence, relays Michael Wagaman of MLB.com. Pence, who has been on the shelf this weekend, underwent an MRI on Sunday that revealed a mild hamstring strain. The 34-year-old is among the many Giants who have started slowly this season, having hit just .243/.289/.338 in 149 plate appearances.

Mariners Outright Jean Machi

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SUNDAY: Seattle has outrighted Machi to Triple-A, the team announced.

SATURDAY: The Mariners have announced that they’ve designated righty Jean Machi for assignment and selected the contract of fellow righty Ryan Weber from Triple-A Tacoma. Weber will start against the Blue Jays today.

The Mariners selected Machi’s contract just last week with the idea that he’d provide help for their bullpen. He did just that, allowing only two runs (one earned) over 7 1/3 innings, although he walked four batters and struck out just four. He also pitched 2 1/3 of those innings yesterday and therefore would probably not have been much help today, as Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune points out. The Mariners also plan to have fellow reliever Steve Cishek return from the disabled list in the coming days. It was the 35-year-old Machi’s first stint in the big leagues since 2015, when he pitched 58 innings for the Giants and Red Sox.

Weber will attempt to help a Mariners rotation that has lately been decimated by injuries to Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma, James Paxton and Drew Smyly, becoming the ninth starter to take the hill for Seattle this season. The only two healthy starters remaining from the team’s Opening Day 25-man (which itself didn’t include Smyly, who has missed the entire season thus far with elbow trouble) are Yovani Gallardo and Ariel Miranda.

The 26-year-old Weber made seven starts over parts of the 2015 and 2016 campaigns with the Braves. He had an 0.85 ERA and just 1.1 BB/9 in 31 2/3 innings with Tacoma, although with a modest 5.4 K/9.

Neil Ramirez Elects Free Agency

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Reliever Neil Ramirez, whom the Blue Jays designated for assignment on Tuesday, has rejected an outright demotion to Triple-A in favor of free agency, per a team announcement.

The 27-year-old Ramirez didn’t last long with the Toronto organization, which claimed him off waivers from the Giants on May 4 and designated him less than a week later. Ramirez’s only action this year has come with San Francisco, with which he threw 10 1/3 innings and, despite racking up 18 strikeouts against four walks, allowed 15 earned runs on 16 hits.

Ramirez, once an effective option with the Cubs from 2014-15, is now primed to endure his second straight nomadic season. He was a member of the Cubs, Brewers and Twins a year ago, when his issued preventing runs first cropped up. Thanks to both a 21.1 percent home run-to-fly ball ratio and a 6.75 BB/9, Ramirez pitched to a 6.00 ERA in a combined 24 innings with those clubs.

Pitching Notes: Trade Market, Price, Bundy, Cecil

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With so many starting pitchers potentially hitting the trade market in the coming months, don’t be surprised if teams begin selling off rotation pieces as early as mid-June, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. In the event they don’t rebound from subpar starts, unexpected sellers such as the Giants, Blue Jays and Rangers should hasten movement, per Sherman. Further, the new qualifying offer system (which no longer allows teams to receive first-round picks for departed free agents) will almost certainly lead to the Rangers marketing free agent-to-be Yu Darvish and the Blue Jays doing the same with impending free agent Marco Estrada, Sherman contends. The likeliest seller, though, appears to be the floundering Royals, who “are dying to declare,” one AL executive told Sherman. Kansas City could attempt to sell high on contract-year southpaw Jason Vargas, who has stunningly delivered a 1.01 ERA in 44 2/3 innings to begin his age-34 season.

  • The rehab start Red Sox left-hander David Price was supposed to make for Triple-A Pawtucket on Sunday was postponed due to rain, so he threw a 75-pitch simulated game indoors, per Scott Lauber of ESPN.com. Price will start Pawtucket’s game Friday at Triple-A Buffalo, weather permitting, and could rejoin the Red Sox if that goes well. “We’ll re-evaluate following Friday and wouldn’t rule out his return to us if everything goes according to plan,” said manager John Farrell (via John Tomase of WEEI). Price hasn’t pitched yet this season on account of an elbow issue that cropped up in early March.
  • Orioles righty Dylan Bundy has already thrown 51 2/3 innings in 2017, meaning he’s nearly halfway to the career-high 109 1/3 professional frames he tossed last year. That could be a problem for the recent Tommy John surgery recipient, Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com points out. However, despite both Bundy’s innings total and the fact that he has amassed no fewer than 99 pitches in any of his eight starts, manager Buck Showalter isn’t overly concerned about the 24-year-old’s workload. “We’re careful. There is nobody more careful,” said Showalter. “I’m very proud about the health of our pitchers. It’s by design. It’s walk around and talk to them. Knowing their backgrounds. But to try to evaluate someone’s health on how many pitches or innings he’s thrown from one year to the next is a big excuse. It’s more about knowing the evidence and the person. Believe me, I’m concerned about it. I’ll put our track record of that part of it. … We’re watching everything Dylan does.”
  • Cardinals lefty reliever Brett Cecil has fared poorly in the first season of the four-year, $30.5MM deal he signed as a free agent over the winter, having logged a 5.79 ERA and a 4.50 BB/9, and given up a 1.429 OPS to left-handed hitters. When speaking this weekend with reporters – including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch – Cecil used the word “embarrassing” multiple times to describe his performance, though he believes his problems stem from a fixable mechanical issue. “I know I have a good track record,” the ex-Blue Jay said. “Obviously, I know I can get guys out. And these are struggles I’ve dealt with before.”

West Notes: Giants, Dodgers, Mariners, Rangers

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Off to a major league-worst 14-24 start, the Giants look like sellers in the making. The problem is that the veterans they could attempt to move are lacking in trade value, observes Buster Olney of ESPN. The best of the bunch is Johnny Cueto, but the offseason opt-out clause in the right-hander’s contract takes away some of his appeal. Then there’s righty Jeff Samardzija, who owns a 5.44 ERA in 46 1/3 innings (albeit with a 3.43 FIP) and is due upward of $60MM through 2020, as well as aging outfielders Hunter Pence and Denard Span. The 34-year-old Pence is making $18.5MM both this year and next, while Span, 33, is on a $9MM salary through 2018 and has a $4MM buyout for 2019.

More from the West divisions:

  • The Dodgers will keep left-hander Alex Wood in their rotation when southpaw Rich Hill and righty Brandon McCarthy return from the disabled list next week, manager Dave Roberts told reporters Saturday (Twitter link via Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times). Wood opened the season in the bullpen, but the results have been too good to ignore since he moved to the rotation in late April. Across four starts and 22 innings, Wood has allowed four earned runs (all in his May 2 outing), with a whopping 34 strikeouts against four walks. Given that Wood, Hill, McCarthy and Clayton Kershaw are presumably on the cusp of occupying four-fifths of Los Angeles’ rotation, either Julio Urias or Hyun-Jin Ryu will end up as the odd man out.
  • The Mariners’ top four starting pitchers, James Paxton, Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma and Drew Smyly, are all on the disabled list, leading general manager Jerry Dipoto to tell Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune: “You always try to be prepared for the worst-case scenario, but this has set a new bar.” In the latest blow to Seattle’s starting depth, fill-in Ryan Weber left his season debut in the fourth inning of the club’s loss to Toronto on Saturday and is now on the DL with right shoulder tightness. While Dipoto has a reputation as a transaction-happy GM, having averaged one move every 15 hours, 45 minutes since the Mariners set their Opening Day roster (per Dutton, on Twitter), he doesn’t expect to bolster his rotation from outside the organization. “It’s a tough time of year to find external help,” he said. “Our most realistic and best options remain those in house.”
  • Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre continues progressing toward a May return, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. Beltre, who hasn’t played this year because of a strained right calf, took batting practice and fielded ground balls on Saturday. Manager Jeff Banister called the workout “very positive” and added, “It was as good as he has felt through this entire process.” Upon his return, Beltre will take over for Joey Gallo at third base, though the power-hitting 24-year-old should still rack up plenty of at-bats at other positions, including the corner outfield and/or first base.

Aroldis Chapman Could Miss A Month

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10:51am: Chapman underwent an MRI on Saturday that didn’t show any structural damage, per ESPN’s Marly Rivera. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman expects Chapman to miss about a month, reports Mike Mazzeo of the New York Daily News.

9:41am: The Yankees have placed closer Aroldis Chapman on the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to Saturday, with left shoulder rotator cuff inflammation, according to an announcement from the team. The club has recalled right-hander Chad Green from Triple-A to take Chapman’s roster spot.

[RELATED: Updated Yankees Depth Chart]

While the severity of the flamethrowing Chapman’s injury isn’t known, it’s obviously troubling that he’s dealing with a shoulder issue just over a month into a five-year, $86MM contract. The ailment does perhaps explain Chapman’s recent struggles, though, as he surrendered a combined four earned runs on six hits and two walks in the two outings that preceded his placement on the DL. Those showings are almost solely to blame for Chapman’s relatively underwhelming ERA (3.55) and increased walk rate (4.26 per nine innings) in 12 1/3 frames his season. In his previous 12 appearances (11 1/3 innings), Chapman yielded just one earned run and walked four.

Although Chapman hasn’t quite been himself this year, further evidenced by the second-worst strikeout percentage (36.8, down from 40.5 last year) and second-lowest swinging-strike rate (14.6, compared to 18.6 in 2016) of his career, he’s nonetheless among New York’s most important players. Thanks in part to Chapman’s seven saves in eight chances, the Yankees enter Sunday with an AL East-leading 21-12 mark. They’ll now turn the ninth inning over to lights-out setup man Dellin Betances, who had difficulty as the Yankees’ closer down the stretch last season after they traded Chapman to the Cubs, while relying on the likes of Tyler Clippard, Adam Warren and Jonathan Holder to bridge the gap to Betances. Those four have been outstanding this year for the Yankees, who own the majors’ fourth-best bullpen ERA (2.50).

Indians Designate Michael Martinez For Assignment

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The Indians have designated utilityman Michael Martinez for assignment and selected the contract of outfielder Dan Robertson from Triple-A Columbus, per a team announcement.

[RELATED: Updated Indians Depth Chart]

The 34-year-old Martinez is in the midst of his third season as a member of the Cleveland organization, which briefly separated from in 2016 by way of a July trade with Boston. Martinez ended up returning to the Indians via waivers in August, and he went on to make the final out in the club’s Game 7 World Series loss to the Cubs. While Martinez is versatile in the field, having appeared at six defensive positions in his career (he even pitched earlier this season), he has been an especially poor offensive player in the majors. Martinez owns a .200/.246/.270 line in 592 plate appearances, though he has performed well in an extremely small sample this year (.364/.462/.455 in 14 PAs).

Robertson, 31, made his major league debut with the Rangers in 2014 and has also seen action with the Angels and Mariners, hitting .273/.322/.325 with no home runs in 298 PAs. He has been far more successful at the Triple-A level, having slashed .290/.365/.393 in 1,929 trips to the plate.

Garrett Richards Aiming For Late-Season Return

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Angels right-hander Garrett Richards is eligible to come off the 60-day disabled list sometime in June, but that’s not going to happen. Richards, who hasn’t pitched since April 5 because of an irritated cutaneous nerve in his right biceps, isn’t healing particularly quickly and probably won’t return to action until at least August.

“Looking at the schedule right now, I think that’s realistic,” he told Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times. “I think that’s all going to depend on when I start throwing again. But with the past cases, this was like a one-time thing for these guys. So I’m hopeful on that, too, that this might just be a fluke thing and I just continue on.”

Pitchers who have dealt with Richards’ injury in the past include then-Dodger Brad Penny in 2004 and former Cardinal Chris Carpenter in the same year, as Moura writes. Penny missed two months, and Carpenter sat out the final two weeks of the regular season and the Cardinals’ World Series-winning playoff run. Angels doctors told Richards that his injury isn’t as severe as theirs were, leading to hope that he’ll pitch again this year. And while Richards doesn’t feel any pain in his biceps, the 28-year-old noted that “if it isn’t strong, the elbow is just gonna be shredded, especially with my velocity and my arm speed.”

Richards, of course, missed most of last season with an elbow issue, though he was able to avoid Tommy John surgery by successfully undergoing stem-cell therapy treatment. Unlike last year, though, the Angels haven’t found an alternative recovery method for Richards, whose only hope is to wait for his biceps strength to return to normal. Fortunately, if Richards is able to throw again this season, the Angels are optimistic he won’t need to embark on a long program before returning to the mound.

“Once he’s 100%, he’s probably already gotten some of the legwork and questions out of the way, compared to where he was in the spring,” manager Mike Scioscia told Moura. “Hopefully that build-up will happen in a more timely fashion than our seven-or-eight week spring training.”

As was the case during a 74-win campaign last year, the Angels have stumbled this season without Richards, having posted an 18-21 record to fall 8.5 games behind the AL West-leading Astros. The Halos’ rotation, which is also without the injured Tyler Skaggs – who, like Richards, missed the bulk of 2016 – has been a mixed bag, ranking 11th in the majors in ERA (4.16) but only 23rd in FIP (4.56).

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