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Archives for August 2019

Royals Acquire Ryan McBroom

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The Yankees have traded infielder Ryan McBroom to the Royals in exchange for international signing bonus pool money and a player to be named later or cash considerations, according to announcements from both clubs.

Despite quality offensive performance at the highest levels of the minors in recent years, the 27-year-old McBroom is still waiting for his first taste of major league action. Considering that Kansas City’s Triple-A affiliate is ending their season within days, it stands to reason that this move was made with the club expecting to bring up McBroom for a September look.

Across 2911 minor-league at-bats since being taken by Toronto in the 15th round of the 2014 draft, McBroom has mustered a .288/.353/.472 batting line and 101 home runs. With Scranton Wilkes-Barre this year, the righty swinger has mashed to a 145 wRC+ and .315/.403/.570 slash.

Reyes Moronta Exits With Acute Shoulder Strain

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11:15 pm: Giants manager Bruce Bochy informed reporters, including Crowley, that Moronta has an acute right shoulder strain and that the team believes the pitcher has avoided an elbow injury (link).

10:23 pm: Reporters following tonight’s game between the Giants and Padres were aghast at the sight of Reyes Moronta falling to the ground after delivering a 97.5-mph fastball to San Diego’s Luis Urias. Moronta was removed from the mound with the help of a trainer while clutching his right arm. Kerry Crowley described the optics as “really bad”, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle speculated that Moronta was “seriously hurt”, and Grant Brisbee of The Athletic simply summed up the scene as “awful”.

While more official word will presumably follow the conclusion of tonight’s action, there are surely still some white knuckles around the situation in the Bay Area tonight. At 66-68, the Giants don’t figure to extend their wild midsummer run at the Wild Card, but Moronta has been widely viewed as a major part of the SF bullpen moving forward. Since debuting in 2017, Moronta has used his blazing fastball to subdue hitters with consistency. Over 128.1 innings to this point in his career, the righty owns a 2.66 ERA and an 11.22 K/9 mark–though a lack of strike zone management (5.05 career BB/9) has always threatened to undermine his potential.

The Giants, of course, traded away both Mark Melancon and Sam Dyson at this year’s trade deadline, opening an opportunity for Moronta to continue to slide towards the first chair in the team’s bullpen. Further updates to Moronta’s status will be provided at first opportunity.

Cubs DFA Zagunis, Option Bote, Reinstate Zobrist

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Cubs utilityman Ben Zobrist has been reinstated from the restricted list and added to the 25-man and 40-man rosters, according to a tweet from Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic (link). To make room on the active 25-man roster, fellow multipurpose player David Bote has been optioned to Triple-A Iowa; outfielder Mark Zagunis has been designated for assignment to clear a space for Zobrist on the 40-man. A similar report from MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian has since been retweeted by the club itself, essentially comprising what passes for an official announcement in 2019.

Though Zobrist and Bote are certainly the most famous names involved in this transaction, the DFA of Zagunis is certainly noteworthy, as the longtime Cubs farmhand offers lots of control and a relatively accomplished minor league track record. The 26-year-old has only received 55 at-bats in the bigs since debuting in 2017, but his minor league numbers tell of a patient hitter with consistently average-or-better league-adjusted production. With Triple-A Iowa this year, Zagunis has managed a .294/.361/.475 slash in his fourth go-around at the highest level of the minors; last year, his .272/.395/.375 output in 453 Iowa ABs was even better by virtue of weighted measures (111 wRC+). It will be interesting to see if a non-contender takes a flier on him in the hopes that he proves to be a big-league late bloomer.

Zobrist has been out of action since May as he deals with the ongoing ramifications of a divorce.  He wasn’t off to a particularly hot start in 2019, as his .241/.343/.253 slash was far less than fans have come to expect of the multitalented greybeard. At 38-years-old, Zobrist is playing in the last year of a four-year/$56MM deal signed with Chicago prior to 2016.

This is the second time Bote has been optioned this month. Despite a .262/.359/.435 (106 wRC+) profile this year, the 26-year-old has been nonetheless wearing one for the team in recent weeks, as the activation of Steve Cishek saw him down to Triple-A Iowa on Aug. 19, only to be recalled on Aug. 25 when Anthony Rizzo started ailing. With this option, the big league sophomore will need to remain in Triple-A for a minimum of ten days.

NL Notes: Nimmo, Phillies, Guerra

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The words “bulging cervical disc” are likely to produce a wince from even the most stoic of readers, but it seems that Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo has managed that exact injury well enough to make a return to playing baseball in the coming days. Per Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News, it seems that Nimmo, who hasn’t appeared with the Metropolitans since mid-May, could rejoin the team as soon as tomorrow according to manager Mickey Callaway (link). After a brilliant 2018 in which the 26-year-old slashed .263/.404/.483 with a 149 wRC+, Nimmo was expected to be a large part of New York’s playoff push; instead, his injury largely opened the door for an emergent J.D. Davis, who has more than helped account for Nimmo’s absence with a 131 wRC+ in 374 trips to the plate this year.

Still, fellow Mets outfielder Michael Conforto is excited about Nimmo’s return: “He can be a gamechanger,” Conforto told Thosar. “He gets on base and there are days where he just doesn’t get out. If he’s feeling 100% healthy, he’ll be a serious weapon for us.”

More notes from around the National League on the last day of August…

  • The Phillies were just 3.0 games back in the NL Wild Card race entering play Saturday, but the team can count out three of their pitchers for the rest of the year. According to a tweet from Todd Zolecki of MLB.com (link), Philadelphia hurlers Seranthony Dominguez (elbow soreness), Adam Morgan (elbow), and Pat Neshek (hamstring) will all be held out through season’s end. None of these pitchers have appeared in August action; all were expected to be key contributors to the Philadelphia staff this year, which helps explain how the Phillies pen has struggled to a collective 4.70 ERA on the year (20th in MLB).
  • San Diego Union-Tribune writer Kevin Acee says it “sounds like” the Padres are set to promote relief prospect Javy Guerra when rosters expand tomorrow (link). That a 23-year-old Double-A reliever would receive a September cup of coffee on a losing team is hardly an earth-shattering development–except for the circuitous route that Guerra has taken to this point. When the club acquired Guerra in 2015 as part of the Craig Kimbrel deal, he was seen as the second key piece in a four-player package headlined by outfielder Manuel Margot. Of course, Guerra was a shortstop at the time–and one highly touted enough to slot in immediately as San Diego’s third-ranked overall prospect following the deal. Several years of putrid offensive production followed before Guerra finally started pitching full-time this season. Early results are promising: his first taste High-A yielded a 3.71 ERA and 12.18 K/9, and Double-A results through 4.1 innings included a 2.08 ERA and 14.54 K/9 mark.

Cam Bedrosian To Injured List With Forearm Strain

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The Angels have announced that reliever Cam Bedrosian has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right forearm strain. Bedrosian’s IL placement will be retroactive to Aug. 29. Righty Jose Rodriguez has been called up from Triple-A Salt Lake in a concurrent move.

This is certainly concerning news for Angels brass considering Bedrosian’s intimate relationship with injury–the 27-year-old pitcher had Tommy John surgery while in the minor leagues and saw his 2016 season end early with surgery to repair a blood clot in his arm.

Fortunately, Bedrosian indicated to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register that this forearm strain does not feel similar to the one he experienced prior to his TJ surgery; Bedrosian also told Fletcher that he only expects to be shut down for about a week (link).

2019 had been a solid effort to date for the son of former big leaguer Steve Bedrosian. Across 61.1 innings, the righty has managed a 3.23 ERA supported by a healthy 9.39 K/9 mark and 3.23 BB/9 mark. Those numbers aren’t far off the career numbers he’s compiled over 263.0 frames since debuting in 2014 (3.76 ERA, 9.55 K/9, and 3.76 BB/9 career marks). Bedrosian is making $1.75MM this year in his second turn through arbitration.

Rodriguez, a 23-year-old rookie from Venezuela, will be making his third trip on the Anaheim taxi squad. In 5.2 Angel innings this year, Rodriguez has logged a 4.76 ERA–which actually represents far better results than he’s managed in Triple-A. In 61.2 PCL innings split between the bullpen and rotation, the righty has been tattooed to the tune of a 6.57 ERA and 5.38 FIP.

 

 

Dodgers Notes: Verdugo, Stripling, Lux

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The Dodgers, with an 88-49 record and +217 Run Differential mark on the year, are hardly in need of anyone’s help–but help is just what they’ll be getting in the coming weeks, as recent announcements foreshadow the additions of new and old faces alike to the L.A. active roster.

First up is the imminent return of the impressive young outfielder Alex Verdugo. Jorge Castillo of the L.A. Times reports that Verdugo is set to join Rookie-level Ogden tomorrow, where he is expected to remain for a week’s time before returning to the Blue’s lineup next weekend (Twitter link). Verdugo’s been down since Aug. 6 with an oblique strain–the apotheosis of pesky injuries. Before that point, the left-handed hitter had logged very nice production for a 23-year old, with a .294/.342/.475 slash line that felt a little like the vintage work of Andre Ethier, a former Dodgers outfielder that had his own share of success from the left side of the plate in a decade-plus career.

Two more notes from perhaps the scariest team in the National League…

  • The Dodgers rotation already boasts Hyun-Jin Ryu–the man who tied with Jacob deGrom in a recent MLBTR poll on the NL Cy Young race–and will now be supplemented by the return of the underrated Ross Stripling. Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register indicates that Stripling will start for L.A. on Sunday, with rookie Dustin May expected to enter the game after 2-3 innings (Twitter links). It may be a short return for Stripling, but it could be that the club will utilize the 29-year-old in a swing capacity in the postseason. After all, the club has received a sub-4.00 ERA in a mixed bullpen-starting role from the righty in four consecutive seasons.
  • While Verdugo and Stripling are certain to be welcomed back with eagerness from the L.A. fanbase, far more excitement surrounds a possible first-look at prospect sensation and shortstop Gavin Lux. Any number of verbs–destroyed, obliterated, crushed, brutalized–would be accurate in describing what the 21-year-old has done to PCL pitching since being promoted to Triple-A this midseason. His .390/.478/.723 slash would be impressive in any run environment short of the lunar surface, and now again comes word that September roster expansion could precipitate Lux’s addition to the L.A. regular rotation. Prior reports had indicated that Lux would join the club in something of an “apprentice” role, but Dave Roberts has told Castillo that Lux may play a pivotal on-field role in the club’s pursuit of the NL pennant (link). Incumbent shortstop Corey Seager, for what it’s worth, is in the midst of a 2.4 WAR year with a 109 wRC+, indicating that he’s been a smidge above-average overall for a full-time position player. Though L.A. will likely have a little re-ordering to do in the future to accommodate full-time roles for Lux and Seager, the rookie’s handling of stretch-run at-bats likely has everything to do with Max Muncy’s recently broken wrist.

Red Sox Sign Jhoulys Chacin To Minor-League Deal

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The Red Sox have signed free-agent right-hander Jhoulys Chacin to a minor-league deal, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. Many expected Chacin to sign on with the Red Sox, who expressed interest in the ex-Brewer after he threw a bullpen session in front of Red Sox brass.

Chacin hit the open market on Monday after he was released by the Brewers, the team for which he took the mound on Opening Day this season. Evidently, Milwaukee’s opinion of the 31-year-old soured after he mustered only a 5.79 ERA in 88 2/3 innings for the Brew Crew. It’s been a swift fall from grace for Chacin, who just last season pitched nearly 200 innings of 3.50 ERA baseball en route to a game 7 start in Milwaukee. However, David Stearns and company prefer other in-house options, to the point that the club was willing to eat the $6MM remaining on Chacin’s deal.

It shouldn’t be long before Chacin is given a chance to pitch out of the Boston rotation, which has seemingly been in a constant state of turmoil this season. With Chris Sale unlikely to pitch again this year and rotation stalwarts David Price and Rick Porcello failing to meet expectations—to say nothing of Nathan Eovaldi’s underperformance and the flubbed acquisition of Andrew Cashner—the Red Sox are exhausting every last option in hopes that something will stick as the club hopes for a last-minute turnaround. As a last resort, taking a late-season chance on Chacin—who is just a year removed from a career year and whose injuries this year may in part be attributed to injuries—can’t hurt and has some potential for a nice payoff.

Pirates Claim Wei-Chung Wang

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The Pirates have claimed left-handed pitcher Wei-Chung Wang off waivers from the Athletics, according to an official Athletics announcement. Wang was designated for assignment on Friday. It’ll be something of a reunion for the 27-year-old, who joins the same Pirates organization that signed him as a free agent in 2011 to make his professional debut.

Pitching in the Majors for the first time since 2017, Wang’s performance in Oakland was fine, at least on the surface. He’s sporting a nice 3.33 ERA through 27 innings of work, though in that stretched he has mustered a meager 16:11 K:BB ratio. For that reason, along with other peripheral indicators that suggest Wang is unlikely to maintain his current level, Oakland felt more confident in its other lefty options, a deep group that includes new arrivals Jake Diekman and A.J. Puk.

If Wang gets a chance in the Pittsburgh bullpen, he’ll join fellow southpaws Francisco Liriano and Felipe Vazquez. On the whole, the Pirates’ bullpen has been a strong unit, though it’s a bit of a top-heavy one. There should be an opportunity for Wang to sneak into a role as a low-leverage option for the Bucs and audition for a heightened role.

Wang is in his last option season, meaning that his Pirates tenure could very well be a short one. If he wants to continue his Pittsburgh career beyond this year, he’ll need to crack the 2020 Opening Day roster, otherwise he’ll be subjected to waivers out of spring training.

 

 

 

Tyler Naquin Suffers Torn ACL

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Indians outfielder Tyler Naquin will miss the remainder of the season after an MRI revealed that he has a torn right ACL, writes Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com. The injury was initially announced as a knee sprain, but today the Indians learned that it was in fact as bad as it looked, with Naquin carted off the field after a violent collision with the outfield fence at Tropicana Field. With Naquin heading to the injured list, the Indians have recalled Jake Bauers to take his spot on the active roster.

It is yet unknown if Naquin will opt to undergo surgery to repair the ligament, and while a 2019 return is out of the question, a more precise timeline is likewise unknown. However, it stands to reason that Naquin could miss a significant portion, if not the entirety, of next season.

It’s a devastating break for the Indians and Naquin, 28, who has emerged as a critical part of his team’s second-half success. He had been enjoying his best offensive season since his rookie year in 2016, along with much-improved performance in the outfield, where he has graded out as an above-average defender. His bounce back from a pair of disappointing seasons has been crucial in revitalizing the Cleveland outfield, which stood out as perhaps the club’s most pressing need on Opening Day.

The progress that Naquin, Oscar Mercado, and Yasiel Puig have made will now hit a roadblock, which could hardly come at a worse time for the Indians, who have already lost one of their stars, Jose Ramirez, and find themselves in the thick of the American League playoff race. The team is still within range to overtake the Twins for the AL Central, and while they still own the first Wild Card spot, they’ll need to fend off a pair of strong teams in Oakland and Tampa Bay.

In light of today’s news, though, they’ll have to do so without Naquin, who will likely give way to a combination of Bauers and Greg Allen in left field. That pair has netted roughly replacement level production; while not unplayable in the outfield, there’s little doubt that they come in a step below Naquin, a difference that is magnified in significance for a team in Cleveland’s position. Allen, like Naquin, saw his offensive output jump forward in July, though he’s regressed noticeably in August. For his part, Allen has stood out as a defensive left fielder, though the same can’t be said for Bauers, who has spent the last month in the minor leagues after the arrival of Puig and Franmil Reyes.

Between Naquin, Ramirez, and a slew of pitchers including Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, and Mike Clevinger, the Indians have had their playoff hopes tested by health-related absences to some of their most important contributors. Though they have thus far managed to succeed in the face of those injuries, the season’s final month will no doubt be a considerable challenge, and unexpected contributors will need to emerge if the club is to reach the postseason for the fourth consecutive season.

Sean Manaea To Return Sunday

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Oakland A’s lefty Sean Manaea is set to return to the big leagues when rosters expand. He will get the start against the Yankees on Sunday, tweets MLB.com’s William Ladson.

Manaea was emerging as the ace of Oakland’s staff when he hit the injured list with a left shoulder impingement in late August of last season. Eventual shoulder surgery has kept him behind the scenes of the 2019 season until now. At the time of the injury, Manaea had made 27 starts, going 12-9 with a 3.59 ERA/4.26 FIP across a career-high 160 2/3 innings.

He has been on a rehab assignment since early July where he appears back to his old tricks. In eight starts across High-A and Triple-A, he’s notched 13.1 K/9 while yielding 2.5 BB/9 and an overall 4.71 ERA.

The A’s currently field a veteran-laden, if starless rotation featuring Mike Fiers, Tanner Roark, Chris Bassitt, Brett Anderson, and Homer Bailey. A healthy Manaea should certainly buoy this group, as will the potential addition of prospect Jesus Luzardo at some point in September, though Oakland plans its September additions “to come in waves,” per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter).

Fiers/Roark/Bassitt/Anderson boast ERAs that are a combined 3.98 runs lower than their relative FIPs, though whatever dark arts the quartet are engaged in, they’ve not shared with likely odd-man-out Bailey. With a 5.52 ERA/4.02 FIP in 8 starts since joining Oakland, Bailey is the only one of the five whose ERA has underperformed relative to his FIP. He’ll get at least one more start today, but the A’s could very well use the additional roster space to give each of their veteran hurlers an extra day of rest.

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