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Archives for May 2017

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Orioles, Red Sox, D-backs, Jays, Bucs, Phils, NY

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This week in baseball blogs:

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Mets Claim Tommy Milone From Brewers

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The Mets, continuing an eventful Sunday, have claimed left-hander Tommy Milone off waivers from the Brewers, reports Marc Carig of Newsday (Twitter link). Milone had been in limbo since the Brewers designated him for assignment on Monday.

The 30-year-old Milone could step into the Mets’ injury-laden rotation immediately, replacing Rafael Montero, a source told Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (on Twitter). Ace Noah Syndergaard went down with a partially torn right lat last week and won’t return until after the All-Star break, while Steven Matz and Seth Lugo have dealt with elbow injuries, and Matt Harvey, Robert Gsellman and Zack Wheeler have produced back-of-the-rotation-caliber results this year. Moreover, quality depth has been lacking behind the Mets’ healthy starters, evidenced by the miserable spot starts Montero and Adam Wilk have turned in this week.

With a 4.21 ERA, 6.46 K/9 and a 2.23 BB/9 over 709 1/3 major league innings (135 appearances, 121 starts), Milone’s resume suggests he’ll serve as an upgrade over the likes of Montero and Wilk. However, Milone has struggled mightily to prevent runs dating back to last season, having combined for a 5.88 ERA across 90 1/3 frames with the Twins and Brewers. Nevertheless, with just over $1MM in salary remaining on the $1.25MM he signed with Milwaukee in the offseason, Milone comes at a low price for the Mets. He’s also controllable via arbitration through 2018.

Orioles Activate Chris Tillman

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The Orioles have activated right-hander Chris Tillman from the disabled list in time to make his season debut Sunday against the White Sox. To open up a spot on its roster for Tillman, Baltimore has optioned reliever Stefan Crichton to Triple-A.

Tillman spent the first month-plus of the year on the shelf with a shoulder injury, an issue that began toward the end of last season, general manager Dan Duquette revealed last month.

“We probably could have done a better job getting him back….I’m not sure we rushed him,” said Duquette. “I’m just disappointed he didn’t start the season with us.  We had plenty of time to work with him.  The shoulder was bothering him at the end of last year.”

Even without Tillman, their most established starter, the Orioles have begun the season with an outstanding 19-10 record. The O’s success has come without much help from starters Kevin Gausman and Ubaldo Jimenez, who have combined for a 7.00-plus ERA in 54 innings this season, leaving Dylan Bundy, Wade Miley and occasional fill-in Alec Asher to pick up the slack.

The 29-year-old Tillman should give the Orioles’ rotation another capable option, as he made at least 30 starts in each of the previous four seasons and finished three of those campaigns with a sub-4.00 ERA. In 172 innings last year, Tillman recorded a 3.77 ERA, 7.33 K/9, 3.45 BB/9 and a 41.2 percent ground-ball rate. He’ll try to better that production in 2017, his final season under Orioles control, and make a case for a lucrative contract.

Five Teams Interested In Doug Fister

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A month after they first drew a connection to free agent right-hander Doug Fister, the Mets are still considering signing the 33-year-old, according to Chris Cotillo of SB Nation. New York was among four teams to watch Fister throw last week, joining the Blue Jays, Diamondbacks and Angels, reports Cotillo, who adds that the Giants also took a recent look at him.

The Mets’ rotation is in far worse straits than it was when they were eyeing Fister in early April. Ace Noah Syndergaard has since landed on the disabled list with a partially torn right lat, and he’s unlikely to return until after the All-Star break. Meanwhile, Steven Matz and Seth Lugo still haven’t pitched this year as a result of elbow problems, and Matt Harvey, Robert Gsellman and Zack Wheeler have logged subpar results. In the Mets’ view, Harvey also hasn’t been a model member of the organization behind the scenes, evidenced by the three-day suspension he’s currently serving.

The other four teams targeting Fister have also seen their rotations deal with injuries. Two of Toronto’s top starters, Aaron Sanchez and J.A. Happ, are on the DL. Arizona lost Shelby Miller to a season-ending elbow injury last month, leaving it without an obvious solution to team with Zack Greinke, Robbie Ray, Taijuan Walker and Patrick Corbin. Los Angeles is without two of its starters, Garrett Richards and Tyler Skaggs, both of whom are on the DL. Lastly, San Francisco’s ace, Madison Bumgarner, will sit out until at least midsummer thanks to a dirt bike accident, and fellow starters Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija, Matt Moore, Matt Cain and Ty Blach have recorded mediocre to poor results in the early going.

Like the Giants’ starters, the soft-tossing Fister hasn’t been all that effective of late. Once a legitimate middle-of-the-rotation arm (if not more), Fister produced like a back-end type with the Nationals and Astros from 2015-16, posting a 4.48 ERA and a 4.68 FIP in 283 1/3 innings. Further, whether he signs a major league deal or a minor league pact, Fister will surely need some time to tune up at the lower levels before potentially contributing in the big leagues this season.

AL Notes: Fister, Twins, Girardi, Red Sox, Tigers

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The Twins and free agent right-hander Doug Fister had discussions “many, many, many weeks ago,” but there hasn’t been any recent talk between the two sides, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (Twitter link). Minnesota has played surprisingly well this year (15-13, plus-3 run differential), but it will probably have to add to its rotation in order to have any chance to hang around the playoff race. While it’s possible the 33-year-old Fister could provide a back-of-the-rotation upgrade over the likes of Adalberto Mejia, Nick Tepesch and the just-optioned Kyle Gibson, he hasn’t exactly been stellar lately. After effectively using his pitch-to-contact style to serve as a quality starter in Seattle, Detroit and Washington from 2010-14, Fister came back to earth with the Astros and Nationals over the past two years. In 283 1/3 innings, he logged a 4.48 ERA and a 4.68 FIP.

More from the American League:

  • Yankees manager and Illinois native Joe Girardi had a chance to leave the Bombers to manage the Cubs in 2012, and GM Brian Cashman was prepared to help the skipper land the job, details Andrew Marchand of ESPN.com. Cashman told Girardi, who only had one year left on his contract at the time, “If you want to go to the Cubs, let me know.” Cashman explained his stance, telling Marchand: “My interest was in keeping him. But if the endgame is there, let me in, so I can privately prepare to replace you if I’m forced to do something like that. And you can get the most money you can get.” Girardi elected to stay put, of course, leading the then-rebuilding Cubs to hire placeholder Dale Sveum, who lasted two years before Rick Renteria took over in 2014. Renteria managed the team for just one season prior to the Joe Maddon era, which produced the Cubs’ first World Series title since 1908 last year. It’s quite possible Girardi would still be in Chicago had he left the Yankees for the Cubs in 2012, so his decision to remain in New York has had a profound effect on him, Maddon and both franchises (and arguably Tampa Bay, Maddon’s previous employer).
  • Third base has been a black hole this year for the Red Sox, whose hot corner options have hit an AL-worst .245/.291/.340. Nevertheless, it’s too soon to do anything drastic about the position, opines Evan Drellich of CSNNE.com. Thanks to their desire to stay under the luxury-tax threshold, the Red Sox are limited in how much money they can take on for an upgrade at third, notes Drellich, who adds that they should save any prospect trade chips to address a potentially shaky rotation. As such, Boston’s best course of action for now is to wait for the the injured tandem of Pablo Sandoval and Brock Holt to return, Drellich argues.
  • Although Tigers closer Francisco Rodriguez suffered both his third blown save and loss of the year Saturday, the team isn’t ready to remove him from the role, according to manager Brad Ausmus (via Evan Woodbery of MLive.com). “We haven’t had any discussions about using anyone else other than Frankie,” Ausmus said. “Until we decide otherwise, he’s going to be the closer.”  The 35-year-old Rodriguez allowed two earned runs in an 8-7 defeat to the Athletics, and has only racked up five scoreless appearances in 12 tries this season. Across 11 1/3 innings, Rodriguez has given up eight earned runs on 17 hits and four walks.

Injury Notes: Cardinals, B. Anderson, Cespedes, Donaldson

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The Cardinals had a fair amount of concern over center fielder Dexter Fowler’s right shoulder strain on Friday, but it seems he dodged a significant injury. Fowler missed his second straight game Saturday, though he told reporters – including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch – that he only has “general soreness” and is ready to return to the lineup. The Cardinals are understandably taking a cautious approach with their big-money offseason signing, however. Meanwhile, another of their outfielders, Jose Martinez, suffered a groin injury Saturday and will probably head to the disabled list. If so, he’d join right fielder Stephen Piscotty on the DL, leaving the Redbirds with a banged-up Fowler, Randal Grichuk and Tommy Pham as their top outfielders. The likelihood is that the Cardinals will promote High-A outfielder Magneuris Sierra to provide another option, tweets Goold. Sierra, who’s already on St. Louis’ 40-man roster, is known for his defense, as Goold wrote in December for Baseball America when he ranked the 21-year-old as the Cardinals’ fifth-best prospect (subscription required/recommended).

  • Cubs manager Joe Maddon said Saturday that he expects left-hander Brett Anderson to land on the DL, tweets Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com. Maddon added that either Mike Montgomery or Eddie Butler would replace Anderson in the Cubs’ rotation, according to Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago (Twitter link). Anderson started the Cubs’ 11-6 loss to the Yankees, recording just one out and allowing five runs on six hits, before departing with lower back tightness. Injuries are nothing new for Anderson, who missed most of last season after undergoing back surgery as a member of the Dodgers in March 2016. While Anderson has generally been effective during the healthy points of his career, he hasn’t pitched well in his first year with the Cubs. The free agent pickup has registered an 8.18 ERA, 6.55 K/9 and a 4.91 BB/9 in six starts (22 innings).
  • The Mets are sending left fielder Yoenis Cespedes to New York on Monday to take a “fuller look” at why he has had recurring injuries, general manager Sandy Alderson stated Saturday (via MetsBlog). “We told ourselves it wouldn’t happen again,” Alderson said in regards to Cespedes’ strained left hamstring, which is similar to the strained quad he suffered last year. Cespedes has been on the DL since April 28, meaning he’s eligible to return Monday, but that obviously won’t happen.
  • Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson has been on the DL since April 14 with a calf injury, and it seems he’ll remain on the shelf past the originally reported four-week window.  Donaldson is making progress in his recovery, though he revealed Saturday that it’s coming along “slowly” (via Jeff Odom of MLB.com). The 2015 AL MVP is currently using an anti-gravity treadmill at 60 percent body weight, writes Odom, and won’t resume running the bases until he’s at 100 percent.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/6/17

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Saturday’s minor moves:

  • The Marlins have signed left-handed swingman Chris O’Grady to a minor league contract. A 10th-round pick in 2012, the now-27-year-old spent his first five professional seasons with the Angels but never reached the majors as a member of the organization. In 34 2/3 Triple-A innings a year ago (22 appearances, two starts), O’Grady recorded a 4.15 ERA, 6.23 K/9 against 3.12 BB/9, and a 42.6 percent ground-ball rate.

Rosenthal’s Latest: A-Rod, Marlins, Darvish, Giants

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Retired slugger Alex Rodriguez passed on a chance to join the Tagg Romney/Tom Glavine/Dave Stewart group that’s attempting to purchase the Marlins, reports FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. Rodriguez was intrigued enough to meet Wednesday in Los Angeles with members of the Romney faction, but the Miami resident didn’t feel it was the right time to pursue an ownership stake, sources told Rosenthal. Had Rodriguez decided differently, he’d have had to compete against longtime Yankees teammate Derek Jeter, who’s part of a potential Marlins ownership team that includes former Florida governor Jeb Bush. Rodriguez, who made upward of $441MM in salaries during his playing career (per Baseball Reference), now works as a FOX baseball analyst and serves as a special advisor to Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner. He also runs his own corporation, A-Rod Corp., notes Rosenthal, who writes that Rodriguez dreams of one day becoming a big league owner.

More rumblings from Rosenthal (video link):

  • Rival executives expect Rangers general manager Jon Daniels to act aggressively if the club isn’t contending as the trade deadline approaches, says Rosenthal. That could mean moving ace Yu Darvish, a free agent-to-be, but doing so might not be as easy as it seems, Rosenthal contends. Darvish has a limited no-trade clause that could include 10 teams, for one, and Texas has “a unique relationship” with the 30-year-old, according to Rosenthal. As such, the team could try to extend Darvish in lieu of dealing him. However, thanks to the new collective bargaining agreement, there’s less incentive to retain an impending free agent than there was under the previous system. Last offseason, for instance, the Rangers could have extended Darvish a qualifying offer and gotten back a first-round pick had he rejected it and signed elsewhere. In the same scenario next winter, though, the Rangers would only net a pick after the second round as compensation for Darvish’s exit in free agency.
  • The Giants, off to a miserable start, look like sellers in the making. That’s even more true when considering the luxury tax, Rosenthal points out. The Giants exceeded the threshold in the each of the previous two years, and doing so for a third straight season would force them to pay a 50 percent tax (up from their current 30 percent). But if San Francisco rids itself of enough money to get under the limit, it would reset the tax to 20 percent. Trading right-hander Johnny Cueto would help the Giants’ cause from a financial standpoint, though his looming opt-out clause could complicate his market, observes Rosenthal.

Pirates Place Jameson Taillon On DL, Select Josh Lindblom’s Contract

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The Pirates have placed right-hander Jameson Taillon on the disabled list, retroactive to Thursday, with groin discomfort, per a team announcement. To take Taillon’s roster spot, the Pirates have selected righty Josh Lindblom’s contract from Triple-A Indianapolis.

Fortunately, the 25-year-old Taillon’s injury is not related to the hernia surgery he underwent in 2015, according to the Pirates, but his absence will nonetheless be a blow to the scuffling club’s rotation. Although Taillon’s walks per nine have risen from 1.47 per nine innings as a rookie last season to 3.31 this year, the hard thrower still ranks first among Pirates starters in ground-ball percentage (52.9), second in ERA (3.31) and third in innings (35 1/3). Taillon, Gerrit Cole and Ivan Nova have formed 60 percent of a formidable rotation, but the team’s other two starters, Chad Kuhl and Tyler Glasnow, have struggled.

For now, Taillon’s rotation spot will go to Trevor Williams, who debuted in the majors last season and has come out of the bullpen in 12 of 13 appearances. In six relief outings and 11 2/3 frames this year, Williams has logged a 5.40 ERA, 7.71 K/9, 5.4 BB/9 and a 27.8 percent grounder rate.

The 29-year-old Lindblom, meanwhile, is now in position to make his Bucs debut after signing a minor league deal with the organization over the winter. The former Dodger, Phillie, Ranger and Athletic has served almost exclusively as a reliever, having made just six starts in 110 appearances, and has recorded a 3.82 ERA, 7.97 K/9, 3.82 BB/9 and a 33.3 percent grounder mark over 136 2/3 innings. Lindblom hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2014, when he tossed 4 2/3 frames with Oakland.

Noah Syndergaard Won’t Throw For Six Weeks

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Mets ace Noah Syndergaard’s next stop could be the 60-day disabled list, reports the Associated Press. Syndergaard, who hit the 10-day DL on Monday with a partially torn right lat muscle, went to Dr. Neal ElAttrache for a second opinion earlier this week. During Syndergaard’s visit, ElAttrache told him not to resume throwing for six weeks.

If all goes well during Syndergaard’s six-week layoff, the 24-year-old could begin working his way back around mid-June, but he’d then need to go through a spring training-like program to build up his arm. Unsurprisingly, then, general manager Sandy Alderson said Saturday that “realistically it’s going to take a while” for Syndergaard to return, adding, “It’s going to be much later in the season.”

The latest news on Syndergaard essentially jibes with Joel Sherman’s report from Wednesday, when the New York Post scribe relayed that the flamethrower would miss about three months. Syndergaard is one of three Mets starters currently on the shelf, joining Seth Lugo and Steven Matz, whose respective elbow injuries have kept them out all season. As is the case with Syndergaard, neither Lugo nor Matz return imminently, which means a rotation that entered the season as a strength will be a question mark for a while.

Aside from Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom, Mets starters have left plenty to be desired this year. Matt Harvey, whose 2016 season ended in July on account of thoracic outlet syndrome surgery, no longer resembles the front-end starter he was in 2013 and ’15; Zack Wheeler has been better than Harvey, though the 2015 Tommy John surgery recipient is far from a top-tier option at this point; and Robert Gsellman has so far fallen flat in attempting to replicate last season’s unexpected brilliance. For now, filling out the team’s rotation is Rafael Montero. The 26-year-old ran up a 7.20 ERA in 16 Triple-A starts in 2016 and, in his first big league start this season, yielded five earned on seven hits and four walks in 3 2/3 innings on Friday. In spite of Montero’s poor output, the Mets erased a six-run deficit to knock off the Marlins, 8-7.

Thanks in part to their injury woes, including current DL stints for left fielder Yoenis Cespedes, first baseman Lucas Duda, catcher Travis d’Arnaud and third baseman David Wright, wins have been difficult to come by for the Mets. After posting back-to-back playoff seasons for the second time in franchise history, they’re off to a 13-15 start this year. The Mets overcame a slew of injuries to win 87 games and earn a wild-card berth in 2016, and they’re going to have to fight through similar adversity to once again earn a postseason trip this year.

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