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Archives for June 2018

Dodgers Place Clayton Kershaw On 10-Day DL

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6:06pm: Manager Dave Roberts suggests that there’s at least a preliminary expectation that Kershaw will miss over a month of action, Moura tweets.

5:22pm: Star Dodgers hurler Clayton Kershaw returned from the disabled list to start yesterday, but he’s now headed right back to the shelf, as Pedro Moura of The Athletic was among those to indicate on Twitter and the team has now announced. Kershaw has been diagnosed with a lower back strain, as Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times tweets.

It’s really not surprising to hear that Kershaw will need at least at least a brief additional respite. He reported a tight back yesterday that required an MRI and kept him from traveling with the club. During his five innings of action, Kershaw never topped 90 mph with his fastball, which is hardly a promising sign.

At the moment, there’s no firm indication as to the seriousness of Kershaw’s new injury concern. His prior DL stint this year was for biceps tendinitis, but he has dealt with back troubles in the past two years, including a five-week absence last year for an injury with the same description as this one. Until we learn more, though, there’s no way to know how long Kershaw will be down. And the length of the absence will surely be tied to his progress.

Kershaw is hardly the Dodgers’ only injured starter, which complicates matters in the near term. The club just brought up youngster Dennis Santana for his first taste of the majors to help account for the missing arms. Now, righty Brock Stewart will be recalled to take the open spot on the active roster.

Blue Jays Place Josh Donaldson On 10-Day DL

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The Blue Jays have placed veteran third baseman Josh Donaldson on the 10-day DL, per a club announcement. Taking the open roster spot will be lefty Tim Mayza, the club also announced.

Calf tightness is the official cause for the placement, which is backdated to May 29th. Donaldson previously missed time this year owing to a shoulder ailment.

It’s obviously disappointing for the Jays to see Donaldson again hit the DL. There had been at least some hope that he’d manage to avoid it, but evidently the injury was not coming along as hoped. His outlook remains largely unknown, though it seems generally promising that the club felt it worthwhile to wait a few days before deciding upon the move.

Donaldson’s every move is under a microscope given the circumstances. He’s a pending free agent playing for a team that is now six games under .500 and already staring at a 13.5 game deficit in the AL East. That makes Donaldson a potentially significant trade chip. And that’s all before considering his status for the upcoming free agent market.

The 32-year-old Donaldson has long been seen as a big part of a much-hyped 2018-19 free agent class. But he has not been quite himself on the field, with a .234/.333/.423 slash through 159 plate appearances, and the injuries are of increasing concern. There’s certainly plenty of time for Donaldson to get back to health and show he’s still capable of playing to his exceedingly lofty standard, though.

Many of the Toronto faithful will perhaps see this as an opening that ought to be filled by top prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The 19-year-old third baseman has laid waste to Double-A pitching all year long, but there’s no indication as of yet that the front office is considering him for a potential MLB promotion.

David Dahl Diagnosed With Broken Foot

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4:14pm: Dahl says he expects to miss six to eight weeks, per Nick Groke of The Athletic (via Twitter).

3:58pm: The Rockies announced today that outfielder David Dahl will head to the 10-day DL after being diagnosed with a broken right foot. In more promising news, infielder DJ LeMahieu was activated from his own DL stint.

Dahl has certainly had a snakebitten start to his MLB career. After a strong debut in 2016, injuries kept him from appearing in the majors at all last year. He had only made it back for 32 big-league games before this most recent problem arose.

Since his return, Dahl has shown mixed signals. He carries a .275/.309/.484 slash line, which lands right at league average (100 OPS+; 97 wRC+) once adjusted for context. Though it’s certainly promising to see his power up (.209 isolated slugging), Dahl’s plate discipline mix (28.9% strikeout rate and 4.1% walk rate) isn’t particularly compelling.

Tigers Activate Miguel Cabrera, Designate Pete Kozma

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The Tigers have activated star slugger Miguel Cabrera from the 10-day DL, as Jason Beck of MLB.com reports on Twitter. Detroit designated infielder Pete Kozma for assignment to clear a roster spot.

A hamstring injury had shelved Cabrera since early this month. He’ll look to pick up where he left off. Through his first 108 plate appearances of the year, the veteran posted a .323/.407/.516 slash.

The 30-year-old Kozma had appeared at short, second, and third in his 15 games of action this year. He managed just seven hits and a walk in 41 plate appearances. The light-hitting utilityman owns a career .212/.277/.286 slash in 781 trips to the plate at the MLB level.

In other roster news, the club recalled righty Zac Reininger. He’ll take the place of lefty Ryan Carpenter, who hit the DL yesterday.

Mets Select Jose Lobaton, Designate Scott Copeland

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The Mets have selected the contract of veteran catcher Jose Lobaton, as Tim Healey of The Athletic reports on Twitter. To open a roster spot, the team designated just-promoted righty Scott Copeland for assignment.

Lobaton already spent some time in the majors with the Mets earlier this year, but lost his roster spot after hitting just .152/.250/.239 in his 52 plate appearances in the majors. It’s certainly possible that this second stay will be even shorter, unless the club decides to keep three catchers for a stretch.

As for the 30-year-old Copeland, his return to the majors proved fleeting. Though he worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings last night, he was mostly called up to give the team a fresh arm. Now, unless he’s claimed, he’ll end up back in the minors, waiting for another opportunity.

Reds Designate Rosell Herrera, Select Curt Casali

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The Reds have designated utilityman Rosell Herrera for assignment, per a club announcement. That move opens a 40-man spot for just-acquired backstop Curt Casali, whose contract was selected.

It became clear yesterday that Casali would be moving right onto the active roster, as the team announced it was optioning Tony Cruz. Making things official still required another roster decision, though, and that waited until today.

Herrera, 25, got his first brief taste of the majors with Cincinnati after joining the organization as a minor-league free agent over the winter. He has spent most of the year at Triple-A, where he posted a strong .280/.337/.524 slash with three home runs in ninety plate appearances.

Mariners Designate Marc Rzepczynski

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The Mariners announced today that they have designated southpaw Marc Rzepczynski for assignment. His MLB roster spot will go to fellow lefty Roenis Elias, who has been recalled from Triple-A.

Rzepczynski, 32, had signed a two-year deal with the Seattle organization before the 2017 season. He’s earning $5.5MM this season under that contract.

Needless to say, the signing has not really turned out as hoped. This year, he has recorded just 7 2/3 innings in his 18 appearances, allowing eight earned runs on 13 hits while carrying a brutal 10:9 K/BB ratio.

Like most of his prior employers, the M’s have tried to limit Rzepczynski to facing left-handed hitters. And he has largely held them in check, as opposing southpaw swingers own a .222/.323/.333 slash against him this year. But Rzepczynski has been completely helpless in 2018 when facing righties, who have gone 7-for-11 with two home runs and five walks.

That sort of output represents a problem even for a LOOGY, as it’s hard to avoid righties altogether. Rzepczynski has been tagged for a .280/.386/.438 cumulative lifetime slash by hitters that carry the platoon advantage, which has been at least palatable enough given the sub-.600 OPS he has allowed over his career to lefties.

Marlins Acquire Peter O’Brien

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The Marlins have acquired first baseman Peter O’Brien from the Dodgers in exchange for cash, tweets Matthew DeFranks of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. It’s a homecoming of sorts for O’Brien, a Miami-area native, though he’s been assigned to the team’s Double-A affiliate in Jacksonville for the time being. He wasn’t on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster, so no corresponding move is necessary for the Marlins.

O’Brien, 27, came up through the Yankees minor league system as a catcher noted for his tremendous power, but he’s bounced all over the diamond thanks to questionable defensive skills and has ultimately settled in at first base. He’s had a rough start to the season with the Dodgers’ Double-A affiliate, hitting .150/.241/.390. While he’s shown his typical brand of impressive power, clubbing seven homers in 112 plate appearances, he’s also struck out at a 38.9 percent pace so far.

The Marlins will be the seventh organization for O’Brien, who went from the Yankees to the D-backs in the 2014 Martin Prado trade and has since bounced from the D-backs to the Royals, Reds, Rangers and Dodgers in a series of smaller trades and waiver claims. He’s a career .176/.228/.446 hitter in 79 Major League plate appearances and has slashed .254/.306/.495 in 1162 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.

AL West Notes: Beckham, Astros, Gallo, Tocci

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The Mariners optioned Gordon Beckham to Triple-A Tacoma last night, but as a player with five years of Major League service time, he’ll have the ability to decline the optional assignment in favor of free agency. It doesn’t appear that Beckham has made up his mind yet, as MLB.com’s Greg Johns tweets that the Mariners are hopeful he’ll decide to remain in the organization but apparently have not yet been informed whether he’ll report. The veteran 31-year-old hit just .206/.270/.235 in 39 plate appearances with Seattle, but he raked at a .300/.412/.500 pace in 114 plate appearances at the Triple-A level prior to having his contract selected earlier this season.

Here’s more from the division…

  • Jake Kaplan of The Athletic takes an interesting look at the Astros’ revamped scouting department in its first full year of deployment (subscription link). The Houston organization took plenty of heat for electing not to renew the contracts of eight pro scouts last season, and Kaplan examines the new operation and chats with GM Jeff Luhnow about the team’s scouting processes. While the Astros still send scouts to watch amateur talent (high school, college, Latin America, etc.), their pro scouting now relies primarily on video and data analysis. As Kaplan notes, they’ll occasionally send scouts to a park to watch a Major League or Minor League player if they feel they need a closer look, but the organization no longer does so with regularity. “It’s allowing us to have what we think is the best balance for us of field scouting versus information scouting,” says Luhnow. “Because we’re capturing a lot of information out in the field from technology, from video, from other things, and we have to spend a tremendous amount of time reviewing that information.”
  • The Rangers’ decision to option Ryan Rua to Triple-A has pushed Joey Gallo into the role of backup center fielder for the time being, writes Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Manager Jeff Banister explained that he’s comfortable playing Gallo at any of the three outfield spots if needed, though Gallo would only need to shift over to center field if Delino DeShields were unable to take the field due to an injury. It’s a bit surprising to see Gallo in that role, though as Wilson notes, it’s possible that he may only need to be DeShields’ backup for a matter of days. Texas has to activate outfielder Carlos Tocci from the disabled list this weekend, and as a Rule 5 pick, he’ll have to either be added back to the 25-man roster or designated for assignment. It’s not clear which way the Rangers will go, but given that they’re already out of contention on June 1, the team can certainly afford to roster a Rule 5 player through season’s end if they choose. Tocci, 22, has just two hits and a walk through 28 plate appearances for the Rangers this season. The fleet-footed outfielder has a strong defensive reputation, though, and hit well for the Phillies’ top two minor league affiliates in 2017 (.294/.346/.381).

Red Sox Release Hanley Ramirez

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June 1: The Red Sox formally announced that Ramirez cleared waivers and has been released. He is now a free agent.

May 30: The Red Sox have requested release waivers on first baseman/designated hitter Hanley Ramirez, whom they designated for assignment late last week, reports Rob Bradford of WEEI.com (via Twitter). He’ll likely clear those waivers in 48 hours and become a free agent who can sign with a new club for the pro-rated portion of the league minimum.

The move to release Ramirez comes as no surprise. While Boston surely explored trade possibilities for Ramirez, the slugger had more than $15MM remaining on his 2018 salary at the time of his DFA, and his contract also contains a $22MM vesting option that would trigger if he received another 302 plate appearances. Any team acquiring him via either trade or waivers would also be on the hook for that salary and the potential vesting option, both of which are highly unappealing for potential suitors.

However, once Ramirez is released by the Red Sox, those provisions will fade away. He’ll still be owed the balance of this season’s $22MM salary, but the Red Sox will be on the hook for that sum (minus the pro-rated league minimum he’d be paid by another club). The vesting option, meanwhile, is tied to the contract from which he is about to be released and will not apply when he signs a new contract with a new club.

Ramirez, 34, looked resurgent early in the season, raking at a .330/.400/.474 clip in the month of April as he distanced himself from last year’s shoulder troubles. However, Ramirez’s bat has gone ice cold in recent weeks; his Red Sox tenure ended in an 0-for-21 freefall, and he’s posted a putrid .163/.200/.300 batting line since May 1, which has more than offset his strong April showing. By measure of OPS+ (88) and wRC+ (90), his overall offensive output on the season rates worse than that of a league-average hitter.

All that said, a player with Ramirez’s raw ability and track record will surely attract interest from teams in need of help at first base/DH or a corner bat off the bench. He’ll soon have the chance to listen to offers from interested parties before ultimately selecting a new team. Speculatively speaking, it seems likely that a 34-year-old with postseason experience will prefer the opportunity to latch on with a contending club.

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