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Archives for May 2019

Jimmy Nelson Nearing Return

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Brewers right-hander Jimmy Nelson is closing in on his long-awaited return to a major league mound. Nelson, still on the mend from September 2017 surgery on a partially torn labrum, tossed 5 1/3 shutout innings of eight-strikeout, 86-pitch ball in a rehab start for Triple-A San Antonio on Friday, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays. Having thrown 14 1/3 effective frames at the Triple-A level this year, it appears Nelson will rejoin the Brewers after one more minor league outing on Thursday.

““It’s just time. It’s four Triple-A starts, close to 30 innings with spring training and extended (spring training). He should be ready and healthy for us to make a decision,” said manager Craig Counsell.

Nelson was the leader of the Brewers’ rotation in 2017, a 175 1/3-frame showing in which he notched an impressive 3.49 ERA/3.05 FIP with 10.21 K/9, 2.46 BB/9 and a 50.3 percent groundball rate. But the shoulder injury, which Nelson suffered on the base paths, knocked his career off the rails and robbed the Brewers of a potential front-end starter. Now, after a recovery process that has included some setbacks, Nelson’s not a lock to immediately slot back into Milwaukee’s rotation. Counsell noted the Brewers haven’t determined whether Nelson will start or relieve when he comes back.

Though the Brewers boast the majors’ eighth-best record (27-21), they’ve done it despite lacking a lights-out starting staff. Zach Davies, Brandon Woodruff and in-season pickup Gio Gonzalez have succeeded over a combined 22 starts, helping keep the team in ontention thus far. Chase Anderson has also done well to limit runs as both a starter and a reliever, but he has walked too many hitters and hasn’t exceeded the five-inning mark in any appearance. The team’s other current starter, Jhoulys Chacin, has come up short after a strong 2018. Meanwhile, youngsters Corbin Burnes and Freddy Peralta have endured disastrous campaigns and are currently part of a bullpen that could add Nelson if the Brewers don’t think he’s ready to reclaim a starting job.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/19/19

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We’ll use this post to track the latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Blue Jays have agreed to a minor-league deal with left-handed pitcher Buddy Boshers, tweets Scott Mitchell of TSN. Boshers, who formerly pitched in the bigs with the Angels and Twins, is the owner of a 4.59 ERA in 86 1/3 career innings. He spent last season toiling in Triple-A with the Astros and Pirates organizations, posting a 3.32 ERA. Per Mitchell, the 31-year-old has has been pitching in the Mexican League; however, he’ll now return to affiliated ball, joining the Jays’ Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo.

Mariners Designate Mike Wright

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The Mariners have designated right-handed pitcher Mike Wright for assignment, according to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter link). In a corresponding move, right-handed reliever David McKay has been recalled from Triple-A. The move leaves the team with an open spot on the 40-man roster.

The news—marking the second time Wright has been designated in the last month—comes in the wake of an ugly outing last night, in which Wright was shelled to the tune of five runs in two innings amidst a 18-4 drubbing at the hands of the Twins. Despite the unsightly 9.00 ERA Wright has posted in his brief stint with the Mariners, who acquired the 29-year-old in late April, Wright’s peripherals seem to indicate better underlying performance than during his stay in Baltimore. In seven games with Seattle, he has pitched to a 3.29 FIP, a much better mark than the 7.68 FIP that earned him a one-way ticket out of Baltimore.

Nonetheless, it evidently was not enough to compel the Mariners to keep him around, and Wright could once again find himself on the move should a team choose to take a chance on his stuff. If not, Wright could remain in the Mariners organization and serve to provide minor-league depth. Of course, this is the latest disappointing development in a rocky career for Wright, who has posted a 6.08 ERA in 253 MLB innings.

Meanwhile, 24-year-old David McKay will join the Mariners’ active roster and is slated to make his Major League debut. The right-hander has appeared in 14 games for Triple-A Tacoma, striking out 34 batters in 21 1/3 innings of work. Acquired early last season from the Royals for cash, McKay features a fastball/slider combination that could make him a suitable relief arm in the middle innings.

Padres Option Nick Margevicius, Recall Cal Quantrill

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The Padres have optioned left-hander Nick Margevicius to Double-A Amarillo and sent reliever Gerardo Reyes to Triple-A El Paso, per a team announcement. To take their roster spots in San Diego, the club recalled righty Cal Quantrill from El Paso and reinstated reliever Trey Wingenter from the 10-day injured list.

The Margevicius demotion ends his run in the Padres’ starting staff, at least for now. Although the 22-year-old is not a top prospect and had never pitched above the High-A level entering the season, he spent the first month and a half of 2019 in the Friars’ rotation. The returns were great at first, but the soft-tossing Margevicius has gone into a tailspin since mid-April. In his most recent start, a 7-2 loss to the Pirates on Saturday, he yielded six earned runs on eight hits (including four homers) in four innings. Margevicius now carries a 4.96 ERA/6.00 FIP with 6.55 K/9, 2.98 BB/9, a 43.4 percent groundball rate and a 21.2 percent HR-to-fly ball rate over 45 1/3 major league frames.

Margevicius’ struggles have opened the door for Quantrill, who will have a chance to make a case for a starting job. The promising prospect, 24, will take the ball Sunday for his third start of the season. He could eventually hand the ball off to Wingenter, who got off to an effective start this year before right shoulder inflammation forced him to the shelf two weeks ago.

White Sox Sign Odrisamer Despaigne

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The White Sox have signed right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne to a minor league contract, per an announcement from their Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte. Francys Romero of Las Mayores was first to report the news.

Prior to Sunday, Despaigne had spent the entire season with the Reds’ Triple-A team in Louisville, where he logged a 3.92 ERA/4.60 FIP with 8.7 K/9, 3.48 BB/9 and a 53.4 percent groundball rate in 41 1/3 innings. Despaigne’s brief Reds tenure concluded Thursday when he opted out of the minor league deal he signed over the winter.

Considering the struggles of Chicago’s pitching staff, Despaigne could make it back to the bigs this year if he shows well with Charlotte. The 32-year-old is an experienced major leaguer who has piled up a combined 349 2/3 innings, 106 appearances and 47 starts of 4.94 ERA/4.35 FIP ball in stints with the Padres, Orioles, Marlins and Angels. Despaigne struggled at the major league level in Miami and Anaheim in 2018, though, thus relegating him to the minors this season.

Giants Designate Aaron Altherr

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The Giants have designated outfielder Aaron Altherr for assignment and activated left-hander Drew Pomeranz from the 10-day injured list, Maria Guardado of MLB.com was among those to report.

This is the second time this month that a team has booted Altherr from its 40-man roster. The Phillies did it previously when they designated Altherr on May 4, leading the Giants to claim him off waivers last weekend. Even though San Francisco’s outfield has been a mess this season, the club didn’t give Altherr much of an opportunity, allowing the 28-year-old just one at-bat before cutting him.

In fairness to the Giants, Altherr hasn’t exactly made a case for a big league roster spot over the past couple years. Altherr was a solid offensive producer in Philadelphia in 2017, when he hit .272/.340/.516 (121 wRC+) with 19 home runs in 412 plate appearances, but he has only batted .165/.272/.304 with eight long balls across 316 PA since then. Altherr’s 60 wRC+ is tied for eighth worst among hitters who have amassed at least 300 trips to the plate dating back to last season.

Phillies Activate Scott Kingery, Option Nick Williams

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The Phillies are set to activate utilityman Scott Kingery from the 10-day injured list, Matt Gelb of The Athletic tweets. The club has confirmed Kingery’s activation, adding that it has optioned outfielder Nick Williams to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

The Phillies have been without Kingery since he landed on the IL on April 19 with a right hamstring strain. Before that, Kingery looked to be establishing himself in the majors after a rough rookie season in 2018. Along with slashing .406/.457/.719 (208 wRC+) with two home runs in 35 big league plate appearances, the versatile Kingery has seen action at shortstop, third base, second base and in left field this year. He’ll add another position on Sunday – center field – Gelb reports.

The Phillies have gotten next to nothing from center fielder Odubel Herrera or third baseman Maikel Franco this year, so Kingery could potentially see plenty of time at those spots as the season progresses. Despite the struggles of those two starters, the Phillies are 26-19 and leading the National League East by a game and a half over the Braves.

Williams, 25, hasn’t played in the minors since 2017, making his trip to Lehigh Valley particularly notable. Since Williams’ midseason promotion to the majors two years ago, the former top 100 prospect has amassed 856 PA and offered roughly league-average offense (.262/.322/.431 with 30 home runs – good for a 101 wRC+). However, Williams has struggled in the outfield, as shown by his minus-30 Defensive Runs Saved and minus-12 Ultimate Zone Rating, thereby limiting him to replacement-level value. He’s also hitting at a career-worst level this year, with a .180/.231/.262 line (33 wRC+), a single homer and 18 strikeouts against two walks in 65 tries.

Because Williams hasn’t quite panned out since the Phillies acquired him from the Rangers as part of a 2015 trade for Cole Hamels, Philly made other corner outfield arrangements this past offseason. They brought in high-priced free agents Bryce Harper and Andrew McCutchen to take over for Williams and Aaron Altherr, the latter of whom joined the Giants via waivers last weekend after the Phillies designated him for assignment.

Joe Girardi Discusses Future

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It has now been a season and a quarter since Joe Girardi last managed in the majors, but the current MLB Network analyst told Chris Cwik of Yahoo Sports this week that his plan is to return to the dugout.

The 54-year-old Girardi is arguably the most appealing free-agent manager available, having helped the Yankees to a 910-710 regular-season mark with six playoff berths and a World Series title (2009) from 2008-17. The Yankees then parted with Girardi on the heels of a season in which they took the world champion Astros to seven games in the ALCS, replacing him with Aaron Boone. Since then, Girardi has unsurprisingly drawn interest from teams in need of a manager. Girardi interviewed for the managerial vacancies in Cincinnati and Texas this past offseason, but he withdrew from contention for the Reds job, and the Rangers decided he wasn’t the right fit for their post.

Taking over in Cincy or Texas would have meant grabbing the helm of a rebuilding team, which Girardi has done in the past and seems open to doing again. Girardi managed the Marlins in 2006, and though they only won 78 games, he took home NL Manager of the Year honors. Reflecting on his time in Miami, Girardi told Cwik: “You know what, I had a blast with the rebuild I had in Florida. The unfortunate situation is that I didn’t get to see it through. I was only there for the one year. Working with those young players was rewarding. It was exciting. It was fun to watch them understand that they did belong at that level.”

A willingness to join a rebuilding franchise should only help Girardi’s cause as he seeks a return to the majors, but there are clubs with win-now aspirations that could turn to him. For instance, Mets manager Mickey Callaway is reportedly in jeopardy of losing his job in the coming days. If that happens, a return to New York could be on the table for Girardi. As with Callaway, Nationals skipper Dave Martinez may not be on the most solid footing given his team’s dreadful start. And it’s likely that long-running speculation surrounding Girardi and the Cubs will continue if he doesn’t find a new job by the offseason. Not only is Girardi an Illinois native and an ex-Cubs catcher, but Joe Maddon isn’t under contract beyond this year.

Mike Hazen: D-backs Will Likely “Look To Add” Starting Pitching

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The Diamondbacks’ starting staff has been a respectable unit this season, though the club hasn’t been able to find a capable fifth option to plug into a rotation that includes Zack Greinke, Luke Weaver, Robbie Ray and Merrill Kelly. Zack Godley has received ample rope this year, having racked up eight of the nine starts that haven’t gone to Greinke, Weaver, Ray or Kelly, but hasn’t come close to replicating his useful production from either 2017 or ’18. Godley turned in his latest unappealing performance of the year Saturday in a loss to the Giants, whose normally impotent offense chased him after totaling four earned runs on six hits in 3 1/3 innings.

Earlier this week, before Godley’s outing against San Francisco, Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen told reporters (including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic) that it would be “ideal” for the 29-year-old to regain form and lock down a rotation spot going forward. However, with Godley battling a velocity drop and ranking last in ERA (7.90), fifth worst in K/BB ratio (1.52) and 15th from the bottom in FIP (5.45) among 109 major leaguers who have thrown at least 40 innings this season, it doesn’t look as if the Diamondbacks can continue holding out for a resurgence.

Hazen, cognizant of Godley’s struggles, revealed in the wake of Taijuan Walker’s newest arm injury that Arizona will likely “look to add” starting pitching leading up to the July trade deadline. Hazen didn’t even close the door on a pursuit of free-agent left-hander Dallas Keuchel, per Piecoro, saying: “We’re going to look at starting pitching now, I would imagine, as we move forward. We’ll see how we get through this next brief period of time. And then I’m sure we’ll be looking at all options of starting pitching.”

Keuchel may finally end his holdout and sign somewhere once the first few days of June pass, given that a team would no longer have to surrender draft pick compensation for inking the qualifying offer recipient. But the longtime Astro might not be able to help a club for at least a few weeks after signing, considering he’d probably have to ramp up before returning to a major league mound, and could still score a payday outside the Diamondbacks’ comfort zone.

Whether or not the Diamondbacks land Keuchel or swing a summer trade for rotation help, it appears they’ll have to continue trying to make do with in-house possibilities for the time being. That could mean demoting Godley from the rotation – something the Diamondbacks already did earlier this season before reinstating him – in favor of one of their younger choices.

Promising prospect Taylor Clarke, the only other D-back to get a start this year, has impressed over a limited sample of work and is eligible for a recall after the team optioned him May 9. The 26-year-old Clarke has turned in ugly results with Triple-A Reno this season, though, which could give the big league club pause. On the other hand, fellow prospect Jon Duplantier has been Reno’s top starter and has held his own in Arizona across 12 innings as a reliever. Duplantier, 24, may be the team’s best hope right now to stabilize the back of its rotation. Either way, the 25-21 Diamondbacks are going to have to figure something out quickly in order to maximize their chances of earning a wild-card spot.

Latest On Don Mattingly’s Future

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Although manager Don Mattingly is in the throes of his fourth straight trying season at the controls of the Marlins, it doesn’t appear his job is in jeopardy just yet. Mattingly will “probably” stay on through the end of the season, but it’s “likely” the team will replace him after that, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (video link).

The talent-starved Marlins have gone a league-worst 12-31 in 2019 and only mustered a 231-296 mark since hiring Mattingly, though it’s hard to fault him for the team’s failures. In 2016, Mattingly’s first year on the job, the Marlins won their most games since 2010 (79). However, the late-season death of ace Jose Fernandez cast a pall on the campaign and has continued to loom over the franchise. As they moved on without Fernandez, the 2017 Marlins – buoyed by an NL MVP-winning season from outfielder Giancarlo Stanton – did contend into the summer, but they tailed off in September to finish 77-85. As unimpressive as that record appears, it looks downright good compared to the direction the Marlins have gone in since.

One of co-owner Derek Jeter’s first acts of business after taking over the franchise from the loathed Jeffrey Loria was to conduct a firesale following the ’17 season. The decision to launch a full rebuild stripped the Marlins’ roster of a great outfield consisting of Stanton, Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna and starting second baseman Dee Gordon, all of whom were dealt in cost-cutting, farm system-bolstering moves. The Yelich trade looks especially egregious at the moment, largely because he went from an under-the-radar standout with the Marlins to a MVP-winning demigod with the Brewers. Meanwhile, the package the Marlins acquired for Yelich and team-friendly contract hasn’t yet yielded dividends in the majors.

Unsurprisingly, without their best outfielders and Gordon, the Marlins limped to 63 wins in 2018. Afterward, they shipped out another homegrown star – now-Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto – as he was unwilling to sign an extension with the club and was getting closer to free agency. That deal may pay off for Miami, which acquired a package featuring its No. 1 prospect, righty Sixto Sanchez, for Realmuto. That can’t be of much consolation to Mattingly right now, though. He’s in charge of a roster that got even weaker with Realmuto’s departure, after all, and the results bear that out.

Prior to his Marlins tenure, Mattingly oversaw much more respectable Dodgers teams from 2011-15. Mattingly’s time in LA could convince a manager-needy club to give him a chance if the Marlins do go in another direction sometime soon. Changing managers would be an especially interesting decision coming from Jeter, however, considering he and Mattingly are Yankees icons who were briefly teammates and still stand as the two most recent captains of the franchise.

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