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Archives for September 2017

Reds Designate Barrett Astin For Assignment

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The Reds announced on Tuesday that they’ve designated right-hander Barrett Astin for assignment in order to clear space on the roster for righty Deck McGuire, whose contract has been selected from Double-A. Cincinnati has also reinstated outfielder Jesse Winker from the 10-day disabled list and recalled right-handed pitching prospect Keury Mella, who will be making his MLB debut when he first takes the hill for the Reds.

Astin, 25, was acquired along with fellow righty Kevin Shackelford in the 2014 trade that sent reliever Jonathan Broxton from Cincinnati to Milwaukee. The former third-rounder out of Arkansas enjoyed a terrific 2016 campaign in Double-A (2.26 ERA, 8.4 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 in 103 1/3 frames) but has posted an ERA north of 6.00 in both Triple-A and a brief Major League stint this season.

In eight big league innings, Astin allowed six runs on nine hits (two homers) and seven walks with just a pair of strikeouts. Astin does have a pair of options remaining beyond the 2017 campaign, so a club that is intrigued by his quality 2016 output could conceivably claim him, bring him to camp next year and option him without first needing to expose him to waivers.

The 28-year-old McGuire is a known name to some thanks to his No. 11 overall selection out of Georgia Tech by the Blue Jays back in the 2010 draft. He’s yet to live up to that draft billing, struggling greatly in Triple-A for the Jays, Athletics, Dodgers and Cardinals before landing in the Reds organization this past winter.

While McGuire spent the year in Double-A rather than the minors’ top level, he notched a strong 2.79 ERA with 9.1 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9 with a 38.8 percent ground-ball rate through 168 innings (27 starts). McGuire has never made it to the Majors, so this call-up represents a payoff after seven minor league seasons working toward that end.

As for Mella, the 24-year-old as billed as the centerpiece in the 2015 trade that sent right-hander Mike Leake to San Francisco, though left fielder Adam Duvall, who was also in the deal, has since proven to be a high-quality return on his own. Mella ranks 21st among Reds farmhands, per Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com, and has pitched to a 4.30 ERA with 7.3 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 and a 46.3 percent ground-ball rate through 134 innings for Double-A Pensacola in 2017.

Royals Claim Mike Morin, Designate Onelki Garcia

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The Royals have claimed righty Mike Morin off waivers from the Angels, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports on Twitter. To create space on the 40-man roster, the club designated southpaw Onelki Garcia for assignment.

Morin had been designated for assignment recently by the Halos. The native Kansan has struggled through 14 1/3 MLB innings this year, allowing 11 earned runs on 21 hits. But Morin has posted solid strikeout-to-walk ratios (8.4 K/9, 2.5 BB/9) in 164 1/3 total frames in the majors over the past four seasons. And he was more effective this year at Triple-A, carrying a 3.20 ERA while also frequently working multiple innings (he compiled 39 1/3 frames in just 22 appearances, including one start).

For now, Morin will join a bullpen mix that’s already loaded with arms due to September call-ups — assuming, at least, that he’s activated. My calculations show that Morin has likely accumulated around 68 days of MLB service this year — owing, especially, to a DL stint early in the season — after entering the year with 2.110 on his ledger. That would suggest he has already passed three full years of service, which would make him eligible for arbitration this fall.

As for the 28-year-old Garcia, who spent last year pitching in Mexico, he made only two MLB appearances on the year and has just five total at the game’s highest level. He spent most of the year working at Triple-A, where he posted a 4.75 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 over 85 1/3 innings.

Mets Acquire Eric Hanhold To Complete Neil Walker Trade

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The Mets announced that they’ve acquired minor league right-hander Eric Hanhold from the Brewers as the player to be named later in the August trade that sent second baseman Neil Walker to Milwaukee.

The 23-year-old Hanhold, Milwaukee’s fifth-round selection out of the University of Florida in 2015, spent the 2017 campaign pitching for the Brewers’ Class-A Advanced affiliate. In 30 appearances (three starts, 27 out of the bullpen), he totaled 64 innings with a 3.94 ERA, 8.4 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a whopping 58.6 percent ground-ball rate. Hanhold didn’t rank among the top 30 prospects in a deep Brewers farm system (per MLB.com), but Baseball America wrote at the time of the draft that he featured a 90-94 mph heater that could touch 95 with downhill plane and heavy sink (subscription required and recommended). His go-to breaking pitch is a slider, per that report, though he also broke into pro ball utilizing a changeup as a third pitch.

Hanhold continues a trend for the Mets, who have turned a number of veteran free agent on expiring contracts to a crop of fairly hard-throwing relief prospects that are reasonably close to Major League readiness. Right-handers Jamie Callahan and Jacob Rhame, acquired in the respective Addison Reed and Curtis Granderson trades, have already been added to the big league roster. In addition to Hanhold, Callahan and Rhame, the Mets have added minor league relievers Drew Smith, Stephen Nogosek, Gerson Bautista and Ryder Ryan in trades of Walker, Granderson, Reed, Lucas Duda and Jay Bruce.

To this point, the trade has paid dividends for the Brewers, as Walker has .268/.388/.465 with three home runs and five doubles through his first 85 plate appearances in a Milwaukee uniform.

AL West Notes: Otani, Angels, Rangers

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As many as 16 teams had scouts and/or executives on hand to watch star right-hander Shohei Otani’s most recent start, reports Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times (Twitter links). Of particular note, Hernandez adds that Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto was among the execs on hand to scout Otani. The start was just Otani’s third of the season, as he’s been hampered by ankle and hamstring injuries throughout the calendar year that have prevented him from getting on the mound. It’s not yet certain if the two-way phenom will be posted for MLB clubs to bid on this offseason — the new CBA’s strict limits on international spending have radically limited his earning power in that scenario — but if he does, virtually every team that is not currently restricted for shattering previous bonus pools would have interest in the 23-year-old. Otani posted a 1.80 ERA with a 174-to-45 K/BB ratio in 140 innings on the mound and hit .322/.416/.588 with 22 homers in 382 plate appearances last season. He’s hitting .346/.416/.574 with seven homers through 185 PAs as a designated hitter this year.

More from the AL West…

  • In addition to right-hander David Hernandez, the Angels would likely have traded righty Bud Norris leading up to the non-waiver deadline but didn’t receive much interest in him, the L.A. Times’ Pedro Moura writes in his latest Angels Inbox column. General manager Billy Eppler and his staff weren’t sure the team would have a reasonable enough shot at a Wild Card berth to pursue additions on July 31, though they obviously pivoted in August, acquiring Justin Upton and Brandon Phillips. As Moura notes, Hernandez hasn’t exactly dominated following his trade to Arizona, so that minor swap isn’t likely to be the ultimate difference in whether the Angels secure a Wild Card position or come up just shy. The Halos are one game back of the Twins for that spot at the moment. Moura also gives his thoughts on the team’s chances of retaining Upton and Phillips beyond 2017 and examines some of the Angels’ better low-cost pickups, so Halos fans will want to check it out.
  • Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register writes that Angels lefty Andrew Heaney could miss his next start due to some shoulder troubles. While an MRI showed that Heaney did not have an “acute strain,” it also revealed symptoms “consistent with internal impingement.” Heaney has struggled in four of his five starts since returning from Tommy John anyhow, but the injury-ravaged Angels’ pitching staff hardly needs further injuries to tax the rotation or the bullpen with a Wild Card spot in arm’s reach.
  • Promoting top prospect Willie Calhoun may not have been an easy call for the Rangers, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, as the team didn’t have to add him to the 40-man to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft this winter. And, as Grant points out, the Rangers will already be effectively operating with only 39 spots on their 40-man roster, as they’ll need to carry Prince Fielder throughout the offseason in order to place him back on the 60-day disabled list next spring and collect the insurance on his contract. Nonetheless, injuries to Adrian Beltre, Carlos Gomez, Rougned Odor and Mike Napoli as well — Grant tweets that he could be down for a bit after missing yesterday’s game with “lower body stiffness” — created a need for Calhoun. He’ll likely play left field, with Delino DeShields manning center while Gomez is down.

Added To The 40-Man Roster: Arano, Moya

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A couple of 40-man additions to kick things off Tuesday morning…

  • The Phillies will add not only Henderson Alvarez to the 40-man roster — as was reported yesterday — but also right-hander Victor Arano, according to CSN Philly’s Jim Salisbury (Twitter link). The hard-throwing 22-year-old, who ranks 27th on MLB.com’s list of the Phillies’ top 30 prospects, spent the season pitching against older competition with Double-A Reading and posted a 4.19 ERA with 8.8 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and a 38.9 percent ground-ball rate. MLB.com’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo note in their free report on him that a move to the bullpen in 2017 and a focus on his slider as his primary breaking pitch have both allowed Arano’s stuff to play up in the bullpen. Arano needed to be added to the 40-man this winter anyhow in order to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, so the Phils will add him a bit earlier and take a few looks at him against MLB pitching down the stretch. He opened the year with an arm injury — reportedly a sprained UCL — but made his way back to toss 38 2/3 innings this season.
  • The Twins look set to add lefty reliever Gabriel Moya to their 40-man roster. Venezuelan journalist Dessiree Castro tweeted that Moya was promoted to the Majors, and Moya’s former pitching coach in the D-backs’ minor league system did the same. Moya rated at the back-end of the Twins’ top 30 at MLB.com before the trades of Jaime Garcia and Brandon Kintzler added a couple of new names to that list. The 22-year-old has posted video-game numbers in Double-A this year, working to a combined 0.77 ERA with 13.4 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 with a ground-ball rate of about 41 percent through 58 1/3 innings. Acquired from Arizona in late July for catcher John Ryan Murphy, Moya would have been added to the 40-man this winter as well, so this move will just give Minnesota an earlier chance to evaluate him for a future role.

Rangers To Promote Willie Calhoun

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The Rangers have given notice to prospect Willie Calhoun that he will be called up, as his brother and girlfriend announced on Twitter and Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News confirms in a tweet. Calhoun came to Texas as the headliner in the deadline blockbuster that sent ace Yu Darvish to the Dodgers.

Calhoun, 22, entered the season as a top-100 prospect leaguewide and has steadily raised his stock throughout the year. He’s carrying a .300/.355/.572 batting line with 31 home runs over 534 plate appearances at Triple-A in his first attempt at the highest level of the minors. While he doesn’t draw all that many walks, Calhoun has struck out only 61 times all season.

Predominantly a second baseman in the Los Angeles system, Calhoun has shifted to the outfield since arriving at Round Rock. It seems reasonably likely that he’ll line up there at the MLB level both now and into the future, though that’ll be determined by his play on the field.

It’s not immediately clear how Calhoun will be used over the next couple of weeks, but he could provide instant offense with his potent left-handed bat. As Grant explains, the Rangers have recently lots several key players to injury. While there’s plenty of depth around with rosters having expanded, none of the team’s fill-in options possess Calhoun’s potential as a hitter.

Despite selling at the deadline, the Rangers have held on in a messy race race for the second AL Wild Card that still features seven clubs (including Texas) within three and a half games of the berth. Beyond the need to create room on the 40-man roster, there’s little downside to calling upon Calhoun, who likely would’ve forced his way into the MLB picture in 2018 regardless.

At this stage of the season, of course, the youngster won’t have much opportunity to build up MLB service time (just 18 days, in fact). But he could well find himself in a position to force his way into the team’s plans for early next season — and might well be a strong possibility to appear on a postseason roster if the Rangers can sneak in.

NL East Notes: Stanton, Familia, Braves

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In the course of discussing his mammoth home run output this year — and the importance of reaching 61 — Marlins star Giancarlo Stanton also addressed his future with Tyler Kepner of the New York Times. Even if the organization wants to and can work out a deal involving Stanton, he’ll have veto power over any deals. But he says that’s not on his mind at the moment. “I’m literally just worried about tomorrow, the next hour,” says Stanton. “I know how everything works around here, so I’m not surprised, and not worried about two months from now or the offseason.”

Here’s more from the NL East:

  • While he’s now back on the mound for the Mets after rehabbing from shoulder surgery, righty Jeurys Familia has yet to re-take the team’s closer job, as MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo writes. In fact, he has allowed seven earned runs through eight innings since his return from the DL, with just five strikeouts and six walks. As DiComo notes, Familia’s velocity is well off its usual levels, he’s not yet comfortable working back-to-back days, and he says he’s still working to get to full health. The Mets will obviously have to hope that Familia can rediscover his form after several months of rest over the offseason. Familia, 27, will earn at least a modest raise on his $7.425MM salary in his final season of arbitration eligibility.
  • The Braves have made a pair of front office hires, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). Adam Fisher will come over from the Mets to become Atlanta’s assistant GM, while Perry Minasian is moving from the Blue Jays to take a role as director of player personnel.
  • Meanwhile, the Braves appear to be moving in on a deal with young Korean shortstop Jihwan Bae. Sung Min Kim of River Avenue Blues tweeted the news (from Naver, in Korean) that Bae had evidently reached agreement with a MLB team shortly before the KBO draft, while David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Atlanta is indeed nearing a deal. The signing — which O’Brien pegs in the $300K range — will count against the Braves’ international pool allocation. Not much is known of the 18-year-old Bae, though O’Brien suggests he’s known for his speed and contact abilities at the plate.

Indians Will Try Jason Kipnis In Outfield; Andrew Miller Nearing Return

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After reeling off eighteen-straight wins — soon to be 19– the Indians now possess the best record in the American League. But Cleveland is still working through some injury-related roster issues as the postseason approaches.

In particular, with Bradley Zimmer joining Michael Brantley on the DL, the club is experimenting with utilizing longtime second baseman Jason Kipnis on the outfield grass, as MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian reports. Kipnis is nearing his own return from a hamstring injury, but Jose Ramirez now stands in his way at second with Giovanny Urshela settling in at third. While Urshela doesn’t offer much with the bat, he is regarded as a quality defender at the hot corner.

Given the team’s current needs, then, Kipnis can perhaps be of greater function on the grass. And he won’t exactly be hidden as he attempts the move: manager Terry Francona noted that Kipnis will receive a look in center field. Though the skipper also made clear that the team isn’t exactly committed to the move, and isn’t necessarily giving up on a return from Zimmer, it does seem the experiment will be given some run. It’s worth bearing in mind that Kipnis did features as an outfielder in college (and briefly as a professional), so he does have some background to draw from.

Kipnis says he’s happy to contribute any way he can at this juncture. It has been a tough season for him thus far. In between injuries, he carries a .228/.285/.409 batting line with 11 home runs. Defensive metrics have also soured on Kipnis’s glove, which had rated as a positive over the prior two seasons. If the move sticks in the short term, it’ll be interesting to see if it has any impact on Cleveland’s offseason plans. Kipnis is under contract through at least 2019 for a guaranteed $30.5MM, so he’ll return in some capacity barring a surprising trade.

In other news, also covered by Bastian, lefty relief star Andrew Miller seems to be on the mend from his recent knee problems. A plan for his return to the major-league hill has yet to be nailed down, but it seems that could happen in relatively short order so long as Miller responds well to a live bullpen session that took place today. With the division already all but secured, the Indians will surely be in no rush to get Miller back. Rather, the overarching concern will be ensuring that he’s at full speed for the postseason.

Alex Meyer To Undergo Shoulder Surgery

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Angels righty Alex Meyer is set to undergo surgery to repair a torn shoulder labrum, the club announced. He is expected to be sidelined for approximately twelve months, making it unlikely that he’ll be able to pitch in the 2018 season.

Needless to say, the Halos continue to endure miserable luck when it comes to pitching injuries. A variety of other promising young hurlers have required major surgeries in recent years, too. While most of the earlier injuries are now resolved, Meyer joins Matt Shoemaker and JC Ramirez in going down for the remainder of the 2017 season.

Unfortunately, Meyer’s injury also appears to be the most serious. Labral tears can be overcome, but frequently aren’t. While the anticipated time off makes Meyer’s procedure seem something like Tommy John surgery, the odds that he’ll make a full return aren’t nearly as high as those of a typical TJ patient. Of course, there’s also an immense amount that we don’t known (and likely wouldn’t fully understand) about the nature of Meyer’s particular case.

Ultimately, it’s far too soon to know how this’ll all turn out, but it’s awful news for the 6’9 righty. Meyer has long dealt with problems with his shoulder, even while struggling to iron out a repeatable delivery that would allow him to harness his compelling raw stuff. The Angels acquired him in an interesting, four-player swap at last year’s trade deadline in hopes that Meyer could still make good on his talent.

Though he had largely struggled in the majors in prior action with the Twins, Meyer finally put together a run of success this year in Los Angeles. Over 67 1/3 innings across 13 starts, he worked to a 3.74 ERA. While he still dealt with control problems, handing out 42 free passes, he also racked up 75 strikeouts and limited opposing hitters to just 48 base knocks and six long balls.

There were plenty of encouraging signs for the former top prospect before he was knocked out with what was then described as shoulder inflammation. Meyer worked at his typical 96.5 mph average four-seam velocity and boosted his swinging-strike rate to a solid 10.7%. He also carried slightly above-average groundball (46.5%) and infield-fly (11.3%) rates. Meyer was never better than in his last outing, a one-hit gem against the Nationals — the team that originally drafted him out of the University of Kentucky.

From this point forward, Meyer faces a long road. Beyond the immediate surgery and rehab, he’ll be battling against a longer trend of health problems. Indeed, Meyer hasn’t thrown more than a hundred innings in a season (at all levels) since 2014. At this point, it’s fair to wonder whether Meyer will even look to return as a starter, or instead move into a relief role once he’s back to health.

In the end, though, there’s still hope that Meyer can return — and do so with the Halos. He will enter the 2019 season with just over two full years of MLB service, so Los Angeles can wait and see how things go without making any financial commitments. And if Meyer can indeed make it back, he’ll still have at least four years of team control remaining.

Jarrod Dyson Out For Remainder Of Season

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Mariners outfielder Jarrod Dyson will miss the remainder of the season, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports (Twitter links). He is slated to undergo surgery for “something similar to a sports hernia,” per the report.

That’s a tough blow for a Seattle organization that had leaned rather heavily on Dyson this year. The 33-year-old’s speed and glovework are of particular value when it comes time to matching up and trying to squeeze out victories late in the year, but the M’s will need to look to alternatives the rest of the way. Divish notes that Guillermo Heredia will likely take the lion’s share of the work in center, with just-claimed newcomer Jacob Hannemann also figuring into the mix.

Dyson has already passed his prior career high in plate appearances, picking up the bat 390 times this season for the Mariners. His .251/.324/.350 slash is closer to his career average than his strong 2016 season. The left-handed hitter struggling badly in limited exposure to same-handed pitching, managing just eight hits, all singles, in 63 trips to the plate.

On the positive side, Dyson did nearly double his career output by hitting five home runs. But that’s obviously not where the value lies. Dyson has continued to provide big value on the bases and in the outfield grass, ranking in the top twenty in both areas by Fangraphs’ measure (see here and here) despite not even being a full-time player. In spite of his limitations, Dyson has posted 2.0 fWAR on the year.

Seattle had shipped out righty Nate Karns to acquire Dyson over the offseason. The veteran outfielder came with just one final year of arbitration control, so he’s slated to hit the open market for the first time at season’s end. Dyson earned just $2.8MM in his last season of arb eligibility, but he’ll surely enter free agency looking for more.

The injury likely won’t hurt Dyson’s market too badly. He’s a known quantity after 661 MLB games and there’s no reason to expect the injury will drag into next year. Dyson ought to be one of the most appealing platoon/reserve outfielders available, particularly since he bats from the left side and can be used as a late-inning replacement even when he doesn’t start.

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