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Archives for May 2017

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/26/17

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Here are the day’s minors moves from around baseball…

  • The Giants have released first baseman/outfielder Kyle Blanks, tweets Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area. The 30-year-old Blanks missed the 2016 campaign with foot injuries and inked a minor league pact with San Francisco this winter. Through 34 games and 92 plate appearances, Blanks has yet to deliver much in the way of offense despite the hitter-friendly nature of the Pacific Coast League. He’s hitting .232/.315/.390 with three homers and four doubles. The former Padres prospect does, however, have an excellent track record in Triple-A, having slashed .291/.390/.546 with 40 homers in 770 total plate appearances at that level.

Orioles Outright Luis Sardinas

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The Orioles announced that shortstop Luis Sardinas, whom they just claimed off waivers earlier this week, has now cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Norfolk. By outrighting Sardinas, the O’s have opened a spot on their 40-man roster while still retaining control over the 24-year-old infielder.

Sardinas once ranked among the game’s Top 100 prospects according to both MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus (2013-14), but his bat has never fully come around in either the upper minors or in the Majors. He was praised as an excellent defensive shortstop while ascending through the minors, though that hasn’t borne out in his brief MLB experience to date, either.

The switch-hitting Sardinas did post an impressive .287/.353/.417 batting line in 120 plate appearances with the Padres last season after being acquired from the Mariners, but his production cratered in 2017. Overall, he’s posted a very modest .229/.278/.293 batting line through 480 big league plate appearances and a .278/.313/.348 triple slash through 888 Triple-A plate appearances.

Sardinas will provide some infield depth for the Orioles and could eventually challenge veteran utilityman Paul Janish for a spot on the big league roster.

Brewers Place Ryan Braun On 10-Day DL, Activate Junior Guerra

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12:42pm: The Brewers have indeed placed Braun on the DL and activated Guerra, per a club announcement.

May 26, 8:30am: Braun will head back to the DL with the same calf issue from which he just returned, the outfielder tells Haudricourt. “I knew, obviously, when I came back I wasn’t at 100% but I was hoping it was good enough,” said Braun. “I was optimistic I’d be able to work through it.”

Haudricourt writes that given the recurrence of the original injury, Braun is likely facing a DL stint that’ll be lengthier than the 10-day minimum. However, there has not yet been any indication of an exact timeline on his recovery. As Haudricourt point out, the Brewers can simply swap out Braun for right-hander Junior Guerra, who is expected to be activated from a calf injury of his own. Of course, that could be a short-term move, as flipping Guerra and Braun would leave manager Craig Counsell a bit short-handed in terms of position players.

[Related: Updated Milwuakee Brewers depth chart]

May 25: The Brewers will place outfielder Ryan Braun on the 10-day DL, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Twitter links). The veteran left tonight’s action with left calf tightness.

Braun, 33, has been his typical self at the plate thus far, carrying a .265/.353/.529 batting line with seven long balls through 116 plate appearances. He has helped the Brewers to a surprisingly solid start, though the team still faces a big challenge to stay in contention all year long.

Clearly, his absence will tell. Though there’s no reason at present to think it’ll be an extended one, there is added concern here given that Braun was only just activated. Milwaukee will surely hope to allow him to recovery fully before bringing him back. Whether the injury could have any bearing on Braun’s potential summer trade candidacy isn’t apparent at this time.

There’s no word yet on a replacement, but it’ll be interesting to see whether Milwaukee gives the nod to top prospect Lewis Brinson. The exciting center fielder has compiled a .308/.396/.483 batting line over his 144 trips to the plate at Triple-A this year. Though he has fallen off a bit of late, it’s notable that Brinson has already managed 16 walks to go with thirty strikeouts — after drawing just 21 free passes (against 87 strikeouts) in 434 plate appearances in 2016.

Blue Jays To Activate Donaldson, Tulowitzki From Disabled List

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The Blue Jays will activate third baseman Josh Donaldson and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki from the disabled list prior to tonight’s game, manager John Gibbons said today in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link). The Toronto Sun’s Rob Longley had written earlier in the day that both were scheduled to be activated this weekend.

Donaldson has been on the disabled list nearly all season due to a right calf injury that has limited him to just nine games in 2017. Tulowitzki, meanwhile, has been limited to 16 games by a strained right hamstring. Ryan Goins has started 31 games at shortstop in Tulowitzki’s absence, while Darwin Barney and Chris Coghlan have shared time at third base in lieu of Donaldson.

The return of Donaldson and Tulowitzki is, clearly, a welcome addition to a Blue Jays team that has dramatically improved since a 2-11 start to the season. The Jays have gone 19-15 since that awful start and have won 12 of their past 19 contests, including three straight. Their overall record of 21-26 still puts them in the AL East cellar, but they’re nonetheless just 4.5 games out of a Wild Card spot in the American League and a still-manageable 7.5 games back from the division lead. The Jays will have a chance to rectify that early-season slump in the near future, as they’ll host the division-leading Yankees in a four-game set to wrap up the 10-game homestand they’re kicking off tonight.

Longley notes in the aforementioned column that the Jays are also inching closer to adding lefty J.A. Happ back to their rotation. Happ made the first of what GM Ross Atkins believes will be three rehab starts on Thursday, which would seemingly put him in line for an early June return.

NL East Notes: Pill, Ruiz, Marlins, Glover

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The Mets are promoting Triple-A righty Tyler Pill to join their pitching staff, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports (Twitter link). It’s not clear exactly what role Pill will have with the club, though DiComo does note that Jacob deGrom is healthy and is making his start tonight, so Pill won’t be stepping directly into the rotation. Pill, who turns 27 this weekend, has done a nice job keeping runs off the board in a tough Las Vegas environment this year, tossing 46 innings with a stellar 1.96 ERA. His secondary stats aren’t as encouraging, as he’s averaged just 4.5 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9 with a 43.4 percent ground-ball rate. Pill isn’t on the Mets’ 40-man roster, meaning New York will have to make some type of move in order to formally select his contract from Triple-A.

Elsewhere in the NL East…

  • Rio Ruiz wasn’t called upon when Adonis Garcia hit the disabled list last week, but after being promoted in the wake of Freddie Freeman’s injury, the 23-year-old corner infielder has impressed the Braves enough that he’ll likely remain their primary third baseman upon Garcia’s activation, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports. Atlanta still has some questions about Ruiz’s strikeout tendencies and ability to hit lefties, but his .320/.393/.480 start to his career and .262/.305/.447 effort thus far in Triple-A have apparently earned him some trust. (It probably doesn’t hurt Ruiz’s case that Garcia was struggling to a dismal .237/.278/.348 batting line at the time he was placed on the DL.) With Garcia nearing activation from the DL, the roster spots of Emilio Bonifacio and Danny Santana could be at risk, Bowman adds.
  • The potential price tag in a sale of the Marlins could dip further below the reported $1.3 billion mark that both the Derek Jeter/Jeb Bush and Tom Glavine/Tagg Romney groups were said to be willing to exceed, reports FanRag’s Jon Heyman. Heyman spoke to one person with knowledge of the Bush-Jeter group in particular and said that group is still short of the necessary capital to formally make such a bid. He adds that some potential suitors for the Marlins have backed away after looking “under the hood,” so to speak, which gels with previous reports that the team’s lack of revenue and long-term payroll commitments could be negatively impacting the sale process.
  • Though he’d already been operating in such a capacity without the title, Koda Glover has been officially labeled the Nationals’ closer by manager Dusty Baker, writes MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman. “We wanted to break him in slowly because this guy’s … shoot, he’s only a year-and-a-half out of college,” said Baker. “So he had said that’s the job he wanted, and so it’s his now.” Glover took the reins from veteran righty Shawn Kelley after Kelley blew a save recently and has excelled since being activated from a minor DL stint. The 24-year-old hasn’t been scored upon in his past five appearances and has been the Nationals’ most effective reliever in 2017, tossing 14 innings with a 2.57 ERA, 7.1 K/9, 1.3 BB/9 and a 47.6 percent ground-ball rate.

International Notes: July 2 Prospects, Garcia, Robert

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Ben Badler of Baseball America has provided three separate looks at the 2017-18 international free agency period over the past week or so, running down 20 well-regarded prospects as well as their likely destinations once the signing period kicks off on July 2. Badler’s scouting efforts do require a subscription, though I’d highly recommend it for those who are interested in the international market (as well as the upcoming amateur draft, which BA obviously covers extensively as well). Financial details on all of the names within aren’t available, though Badler does report that 16-year-old Dominican shortstop Wander Franco (not to be confused with the Royals prospect of the same name) is expected to sign with the Rays for a bonus just shy of $4MM. Franco also ranked No. 1 on the International Top 30 of MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez — another invaluable resource for those wishing to brush up on the top international prospects on the market in the weeks leading up to the new signing period.  Those seeking a refresher on the new international spending limitations from the most recent collective bargaining agreement can refer back to Badler’s recap from this past December, as well (no subscription required on that one).

A couple more notes on the international market…

  • Cuban shortstop Jose Israel Garcia was recently declared a free agent by Major League Baseball, per Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, and he’s drawing interest from a number of clubs. To this point, the Reds, Astros and Padres have all shown interest in Garcia. That would seem to indicate that he’s looking to sign before the current period comes to a close on June 15, as each of those teams has exceeded its 2016-17 pool allotment to the point that they’ll incur maximum penalization in the 2017-18 class. There’s not much data on the 19-year-old Garcia, though Heyman has described him as “slick-fielding.”
  • ESPN’s Keith Law wonders (Insider subscription required and recommended) whether the White Sox made a mistake in making such a substantial commitment to Cuban star Luis Robert. As Law notes, position players from Cuba have flopped in the Majors more than they’ve succeeded. Law also adds that he’s spoken to a number of scouts to gauge Robert’s abilities, as he’s yet to be able to see Robert himself, and each scout to whom he spoke offered concerns about Robert’s hit tool. All agreed that he’s athletic and is a plus runner in addition to possessing above-average bat speed and raw power as well, however. Conversely, Law suggests that if one team was going to “overpay” and take such a significant gamble on Robert’s upside, the Cardinals had the best rationale. The Cards are without their top three picks in the 2017 draft after forfeiting one to sign Dexter Fowler and losing another two as punishment in the notorious data breach scandal, thus depriving them of means to add high-impact young talent. While Robert is certainly a risk, the Cardinals’ lack of alternative means of acquiring young talent would’ve made them a better fit to make the gamble. St. Louis was also already over its bonus pool even without Robert, while the Sox only just pushed themselves into the penalty bracket with Robert’s deal.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/25/17

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • The Orioles released outfielder Henry Urrutia, per a club announcement. The 30-year-old had been removed from the 40-man roster last year after seeing minimal major league action in 2013 and 2015. Urrutia, who the O’s signed out of Cuba, had struggled to a sub-.500 OPS in seventy plate appearances this season at Triple-A. Through parts of five seasons and over 1,000 plate appearances at the highest level of the minors, he owns a .277/.327/.374 batting line with 13 long balls.
  • Outfielder Jeremy Barfield is heading to the Red Sox after his contract was purchased from the indy ball Sugar Land Skeeters, per an announcement from Boston’s Double-A affiliate. Barfield, 28, has spent quite a bit of time in the upper minors with the Athletics and Rockies organizations but has never cracked the major leagues. He was performing well again for the Skeeters early this season, leaving him with a composite .299/.379/.539 batting line in 878 trips to the dish in Atlantic League action since leaving the affiliated ranks in 2015.

Tommy John Surgery Sucks, But Maybe Not As Much As You Think

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After nearly a decade of climbing up professional baseball’s totem pole, the 14-hour bus rides, the exceptionally poor minor-league shower water pressure, a MLB debut, a pennant race, I have finally reached the pinnacle…. you’re looking at MLB Trade Rumors’ newest employee! Don’t let your dreams be dreams, kids.

My name is Trevor May, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to share my thoughts/stories with you every few weeks. They say that every negative situation has a silver lining; that we have to find the positives after a setback. Well, I had a professional setback, and finding new ways to connect with fans over the last few months has been one heck of a silver lining. Let me take a quick step back and tell you how I got here:

Trevor May | David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

On March 8th, I started the Twins’ exhibition game against Team USA before they went off to compete at the World Baseball Classic. I felt an abnormal tweak in my forearm muscle on a 0-2 curveball to Andrew McCutchen. What was that? I took a step off the mound, gathered myself, and proceeded to throw three consecutive balls for my first walk of the day.

I got the ball back from the catcher, gripped it tightly and told myself, “You have two options: come out of this game or gut it out.” I threw the next 40 pitches with everything I had, and left the game with a very real sense of accomplishment — I made it through the outing. After spending more than three months the previous year on the DL with a mysterious back issue, seeing my offseason work pay off was a damn good feeling. My elbow though? Not so much. Torn UCL.  

I knew it was torn two days later when routine soreness was replaced with consistent, jolting pain. Imagine hitting your funny bone, and that feeling just not going away. This meant it was time for my favorite activity: cram into a tube most certainly not designed for a 6’5″, 240-pound frame and lay on my arm for 45 minutes until it goes to sleep, all the while enjoying consistent, ear-shattering noise. Wait, I meant getting an MRI. Pro Tip: just, like, avoid MRIs.  

“A complete tear, surgery is recommended.”

Well, damn.  

Injuries suck, guys. There’s nothing in the world that I want more than to be on that field with my teammates. But sometimes, life wants to punch you square in the jaw, and all you can do is wear it, bring your gloves back up and throw one right back. Mike Tyson Punchout style. Fix it, move on. I can’t live my dream on the field this year, but I can still live it off the field. And, I’m already amazing at rehab, so this is cake.

Silver linings, friends.

I’m a professional baseball player rehabbing his elbow, a partnered Twitch Streamer, a DJ, a Social Media connoisseur, an E-Sports Entrepreneur, a gaming tournament organizer and commentator, and obviously an exceptional writer. I am Trevor May, and this is my year after Tommy John surgery.

To be continued…

Padres Receiving Trade Interest In Brad Hand

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TODAY: Several organizations have held “preliminary dialogue” with the Pads regarding Hand, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. He’s “drawing keen interest,” per Lin, who suggests that the southpaw could be the first player the team deals away this summer.

YESTERDAY: The Padres recently reaffirmed to clubs that they’re “open for business,” and lefty reliever Brad Hand is the “primary” piece that they have on the table at present, according to ESPN’s Buster Olney (Twitter link).

San Diego’s willingness to sell off pieces isn’t exactly a new development, though the fact that the Padres are marketing Hand (or are at least willing to part with him) is of note. It does not, however, seem that there have been any serious trade discussions regarding Hand just yet; Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union Tribune tweets that the Friars have had some “very preliminary” on the lefty. Lin adds in a full column that Hand has “emerged as a coveted trade piece.”

It’s early in the year to see a trade for such a notable commodity take place, though the Padres have been a definitive seller for quite some time now, so perhaps they’d be more willing than most to move a quality reliever. The 27-year-old Hand may not be a household name, but he’s emerged as a dominant relief arm since the Padres plucked him off waivers from the Marlins in early April last year.

Since joining the Padres, Hand has turned in 115 1/3 innings of 2.65 ERA ball with a 146-to-46 K/BB ratio. He’s held left-handed opponents to a comical .123/.234/.221 batting line in that time but also shut down right-handed batters to the tune of a .219/.295/.350 triple slash.

That level of excellence figures to appeal to just about any club in need of bullpen help, but the most appealing aspect in a potential Hand trade could be the amount of club control remaining on his contract. The former second-round pick still has two years of control beyond the 2017 season remaining, and he’s earning a modest $1.375MM in 2017. That makes him financially affordable for virtually any team in the Majors, although the low salary and considerable amount of control remaining should also make the Padres’ asking price rather substantial.

It’s also worth noting that struggles from Hand’s teammate, Brandon Maurer, have opened up the ninth-inning picture in San Diego somewhat. Maurer worked the eighth inning tonight in a one-run game (and fired a perfect frame against the Mets), while Hand was tabbed for the save by manager Andy Green. The outing wasn’t exactly pretty — Hand loaded the bases on a pair of singles and a walk before recording an out — but Hand did manage to fire a scoreless inning to notch his third career save. Green, however, said after the game that Hand is not necessarily his new closer (Twitter link via MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell). Rather, the Padres will take save opportunities on a case-by-case basis and mix in both Maurer and Hand.

MLBTR’s Jeff Todd listed Hand among the game’s likeliest summer trade candidates last week when previewing some names to keep an eye on as the July 31 non-waiver deadline draws nearer. Hand figures to be just one of many assets that the Padres market to rival clubs this summer as general manager A.J. Preller continues his effort to stock his farm system and build a sustainable contender. Trevor Cahill, assuming he returns to health, would be another ideal trade candidate for the Padres. Names like Yangervis Solarte, Clayton Richard and perhaps Maurer (if he regains his form) also figure to frequent the rumor circuit this summer.

West Notes: Gray, Halos, Lamet, Hand, Shelby

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Sonny Gray’s two most recent starts for the Athletics have altered his stock in a hurry, writes ESPN’s Buster Olney. Gray’s struggles over the past 13 to 14 months have been tied not only to injury but to a (quite possibly related) drop in his swinging-strike rate, but he’s racked up swings-and-misses in his each of his past two outings thanks to a revitalized breaking pitch. Gray’s velocity spiked in his most recent start, as well — an outing in which he completed seven one-run innings and whiffed 11 Marlins hitters on just 88 pitches. Olney suggests that Gray could emerge as the top trade target on the market if this trend continues much longer, as the A’s are typically willing to deal earlier than most clubs, there are motivated buyers already (e.g. Cubs, Yankees, Astros) and Oakland may wish to cash in while Gray is looking impressive.

More from the game’s Western divisions…

  • Injured Angels relievers Huston Street, Mike Morin and Cam Bedrosian are all making good progress in their recoveries, writes Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. And while Morin has minor league options remaining and isn’t a lock to return to the big league club right away, the returns of Street and Bedrosian will give manager Mike Scioscia some interesting decisions when it comes to late-inning bullpen usage. Bud Norris has been outstanding in a ninth-inning role, but Bedrosian has been the team’s best reliever for a year, and Street is has the track record and salary of a veteran closer. Fletcher notes that the Angels only have two relievers with minor league options at present, one being left-hander Jose Alvarez, who won’t be going anywhere. As such, it seems that another 40-man move could be necessary. Bedrosian is set to start a rehab assignment within the next week or so.
  • Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union Tribune takes a look at right-hander Dinelson Lamet’s unlikely path to the Major Leagues in advance of the 24-year-old’s MLB debut. Lamet, who will start for the Padres tonight, is the rare Dominican-born prospect that did not sign until after his 20th birthday, Lin notes. Most Dominican ballplayers that show big league potential are snatched up beginning at age 16 and possibly a year or two later, but Lamet signed less than two months before turning 22 and is now set to debut less than three years later. As Lin writes, Lamet was poised to sign with the Phillies, but a documentation issue torpedoed that deal. Lin chats with former Padres exec Randy Smith about what the team saw in Lamet as an amateur and how they went about closing the deal.
  • Padres manager Andy Green won’t name Brad Hand his new closer despite the lefty’s save in last night’s win over the Mets, but he did tell reporters that Hand and former closer Brandon Maurer will both be in the mix for saves (link via MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell). “It’s going to be looking at the game and seeing what’s best for the group of guys we have at that point in time,” says Green. “I think we’ll just bounce guys around and utilize them in the best way possible going forward right now. Wouldn’t be shocked at all to see Brandon Maurer in that situation in the ninth. Wouldn’t be shocked to see Brad Hand back in that situation.” Hand, of course, saw his name pop up as a trade target in a couple of reports last night and figures to be an oft-rumored trade candidate in the months leading up to the non-waiver deadline. For that matter, though, Maurer could also generate interest, though he’d first need to distance himself from a rough stretch of games through which he struggled in mid-May.
  • Jack Magruder of FanRag Sports adds some context to Shelby Miller’s recent Tommy John surgery, tweeting that Miller was diagnosed with a 50 percent tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. The extent of the tear doesn’t necessarily change Miller’s timeline for recovery, of course. He’ll still miss the remainder of the 2017 season and hope to return to the D-backs’ rotation at some point in the first half of the 2017 campaign.

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