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Archives for August 2019

Giants Release Scooter Gennett, Select Tyler Rogers

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The Giants announced a flurry of roster moves on Tuesday, most notably requesting unconditional release waivers on second baseman Scooter Gennett. San Francisco also promoted infield prospect Mauricio Dubon (as had been previously reported), selected the contract of right-hander Tyler Rogers (the twin brother of Minnesota closer Taylor Rogers) and recalled outfielder Joey Rickard. Furthermore, Abiatal Avelino was optioned to Triple-A, while righty Trevor Gott was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right elbow strain.

Gennett, 29, enjoyed a pair of excellent breakout seasons with the Reds in 2017-18, hitting a combined .303/.351/.508 with 50 homers in 1135 plate appearances, but his 2019 campaign has been a forgettable one. Gennett began the season on the injured list due to a severe groin strain and, after an absence of nearly three months, struggled to regain his footing in Cincinnati.

A deadline trade sending him to the Giants in exchange for a player to be named later didn’t prove to be a spark, either. In 139 plate appearances, he’s posted an ugly .226/.245/.323 batting line with an enormous spike in strikeout rate (19.6 percent in 2018; 29.5 percent in 2019) and a significant dip in walk rate (6.6 percent in ’18; 1.4 percent in ’19). With Gennett and the recently released Joe Panik out of the picture, Dubon (covered at greater length earlier today) will quite likely be in line for regular work at second base.

While another club could technically claim Gennett off release waivers, there’s almost no way to fathom that outcome. Gennett’s two excellent seasons in Cincinnati bolstered his salary to $9.75MM, and he’s owed the balance of that sum — about $1.78MM — between now and season’s end. Any claiming team would be on the hook for that amount. By contrast, signing Gennett after he clears would only cost Gennett the prorated league minimum — about $95K as of this Thursday (when he’d formally clear waivers).

Turning to the 28-year-old Rogers, this’ll be the first call to the big leagues for the former 10th-rounder. While he’s watched his twin brother rise to prominence as one of the game’s top lefty relievers, he’s been biding his time in Triple-A for parts of four seasons. In that time, the right-handed Rogers has worked to a 3.27 ERA with 6.8 K/9, 3.6 BB/9 and a whopping ground-ball rate north of 64 percent.

The sidearming Rogers features a funky delivery that has at times made him unhittable by opposing righties. While he’s not in the midst of his best season — what pitcher in the supercharged offensive environments in Triple-A is? — he held righties to a putrid .161/.239/.238 line through 159 plate appearances in 2018. For a Giants team that figures to have some extensive bullpen turnover moving forward, it’s worth getting a look at an intriguing righty who could be a piece in future seasons.

Mets Place Ruben Tejada On Release Waivers

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The Mets have requested unconditional release waivers on infielder Ruben Tejada, tweets Jon Heyman of the MLB Network. He’ll be a free agent in 48 hours if he clears.

Tejada, 29, returned to the Mets earlier this month — his first appearance with his original MLB organization since the 2015 postseason. He went hitless in nine plate appearances but has enjoyed a strong season in Triple-A Syracuse, where he’s posted a .330/.408/.476 batting line through 304 plate appearances. The majority of Tejada’s time in Triple-A this season was spent at third base, but he’s also logged innings at second base and shortstop.

Tejada, who bounced from St. Louis to San Francisco to Baltimore between Mets stints, is familiar with all three positions and has played each extensively in the Majors (shortstop in particular). He’s a career .250/.324/.317 batter in 2396 plate appearances as a big leaguer.

Jose Ramirez Out Five To Seven Weeks

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Aug. 27: Ramirez is expected to miss five to seven weeks recovering from the surgery, the Indians announced. That almost certainly puts an end to Ramirez’s regular season while still leaving open the possibility of a postseason return, should the Indians qualify.

Aug. 25: 10:08am: As is typical with fractured hamates, Ramírez needs to undergo surgery, tweets Zack Meisel of the Athletic. He’ll undergo the procedure tomorrow, at which point there’ll be a further update on his recovery timetable.

8:54am: The Indians announced today they’ve placed José Ramírez on the 10-day injured list with a fractured hamate bone in his right hand. Yu Chang has been recalled from Triple-A Coulmbus to take his place on the 25-man roster.

It’s dreadful news for a Cleveland club in the thick of the postseason mix. The Indians sit two and a half back of the Twins in the AL Central and are just one game clear of the Rays and A’s in a tight wild card race. They’ll now have to make that push without their second-best player.

The 26 year-old Ramírez got off to a stunningly bad start in 2019, but he’d started to come along the past few months. Since June 1 (an admittedly arbitrary cutoff date), Ramírez had hit .286/.332/.571 with 16 home runs in 292 plate appearances. Even that hot streak wasn’t quite at the superstar levels Ramírez had shown the past two seasons, but he again looked like an impact bat who continues to dazzle both on the basepaths and defensively. Unfortunately, an apparently long-simmering wrist discomfort came to a head yesterday, when Ramírez left the game in the first inning after a painful swing.

The Indians didn’t announce a timetable for Ramírez’s return, although we’ve seen recent hamate fractures come with an initial four to six week timeline. Cubs catcher Víctor Caratini missed four weeks with a hamate fracture back in April, while Rangers outfielder Joey Gallo has yet to return from a July 25 hamate injury of his own. To be clear, though, there’s no indication as of yet whether Ramírez’s injury is equally, more, or less severe than those sustained by Caratini and Gallo.

With Ramírez down, the Indians will again turn to the 24 year-old Chang. The Taiwanese infielder gets solid-average tools grades across the board from scouts and ranks as Cleveland’s #10 farmhand at Fangraphs. Chang impressed last year in the Arizona Fall League, but he’s been a bit underwhelming this season at Columbus. In 282 plate appearances as a Clipper, he’s slashed .254/.323/.429 with nine home runs, failing to take advantage of the introduction of the MLB baseball to Triple-A the way some other hitters have. He’ll nevertheless give the Indians a capable defensive option on the dirt.

This will be Chang’s second MLB promotion. He was up for two games while Ramírez was on paternity leave in late June. He and Mike Freeman, who replaced the injured star yesterday, each started one game at the hot corner in Ramírez’s absence then, so it’ll be interesting to see how Terry Francona juggles playing time down the stretch.

Giants To Promote Mauricio Dubon

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The Giants are set to get their first look at middle-infield prospect Mauricio Dubon, per Robert Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link). The Giants will promote the 25-year-old, whom they acquired in the deadline deal that sent Drew Pomeranz and Ray Black to the Brewers, prior to tonight’s game. Dubon is on the 40-man roster, so San Francisco will only be required to make a 25-man roster move to accommodate his promotion.

Dubon currently ranks fifth among Giants farmhands at Baseball America, seventh over at Fangraphs and eighth at MLB.com. He’s hitting a combined .302/.345/.477 in 539 plate appearances on the season, including a .323/.391/.485 line (116 wRC+) in 112 plate appearances since being traded over to his new organization. Dubon has long posted low strikeout rates in the minors, but he’s taken that trend to a new level in Triple-A Sacramento, where he’s walked more often (10 times) than he’s struck out (nine).

Originally a Red Sox draft pick in 2013, Dubon went to Milwaukee alongside Travis Shaw in the much-maligned (by Boston fans, that is) Tyler Thornburg swap. However, while he looked to be on the cusp of MLB readiness early in 2018, a torn ACL in May wiped out the remainder of last season for him. Upon returning to the field in 2019, Dubon was suddenly looking up at Keston Hiura and Mike Moustakas in the Brewers’ big league infield, clouding his path to the Majors to an extent. While the Brewers could’ve given him a look at shortstop with Orlando Arcia struggling immensely in 2019, the decision was instead made to utilize him as a means of adding some help to the relief corps.

With his new organization, Dubon is blocked at shortstop by Brandon Crawford (and his no-trade clause), who is signed through the 2021 season. However, while Dubon has played primarily shortstop in 2019, he has ample experience at second base and could immediately step into a regular role there as he auditions for 2020 at-bats. The Giants recently cut ties with Joe Panik, creating a clear opening for Dubon to slot into the lineup.

Dubon is generally regarded as a hit-over-power prospect, but his home run output has increased in Triple-A this season (though it’s worth noting the important caveat that home runs have skyrocketed throughout all of Triple-A upon switching over to the same ball used in MLB). While there may be questions about his ability to hit for power in the long run, particularly in the cavernous Oracle Park, Dubon typically receives average or better ratings for his hit tool, arm strength, speed and defensive abilities. Paired with a keen eye at the plate and solid upper-minors production, that skill set should earn him a legitimate opportunity at regular playing time with the Giants as they look to transition to a younger core under new front-office management headed by president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi.

By promoting Dubon now, the Giants will put him on track to become eligible for arbitration upon completion of the 2022 season and to reach free agency in the 2025-26 offseason. Future shuttling between the Majors and Triple-A could of course impact that timeline (and Dubon does have an option remaining beyond the current season). As things currently stand, he wouldn’t be a candidate for Super Two status, meaning he’d be arb-eligible the standard three times before hitting the open market.

AL Notes: Dunning, Andrus, Norris

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White Sox righty Dane Dunning recently discussed his Tommy John rehab work with MLB.com’s Scott Merkin. The 24-year-old has begun light throwing, but that’s just the start of a lengthy rebuilding process. He’s hoping to be ready for game action by early June, which would be about 15 months after his procedure. It is certainly possible that the highly regarded hurler could have an impact in the majors as soon as 2020, though odds are that he’ll spend more time regaining his footing in the upper minors. Dunning’s sterling 2018 showing was cut short by forearm issues that ultimately ended in the operating room. But he has already shown he can thrive at the Double-A level. When he is able to make it back, Dunning says he hopes to have an even “stronger foundation” to work from. He says he’s stronger, more aware of how to care for his body, and better prepared “to maintain a healthier balance through the season.”

More from the American League …

  • With the Rangers continuing a tricky roster balancing act, the play of shortstop Elvis Andrus remains a key factor. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News examines the 31-year-old’s status as the 2019 campaign winds to a close. The organization can count on his three-year, $43MM future contract obligations remaining on the books, as Andrus has little reason to exercise his opt-out clause after an underwhelming season. While it’s a manageable-enough sum of money, it’d look a whole lot more palatable if Andrus was hitting near the league-average rate and performing better in the field. Instead, he has hovered at about twenty percent below average in productivity with the bat while showing inconsistency with his glove.
  • Tigers southpaw Daniel Norris has been a bright spot in a dismal season in Detroit, Chris McCosky of the Detroit News writes. Norris is being handled with care down the stretch since he was so limited last season, which reflects the fact that the organization is invested in the 26-year-old’s future. To be sure, it’s not as if Norris has dominated. He has turned in stronger results of late but only owns a 4.70 ERA in 126 1/3 frames to date. As McCosky explains in detail, though, Norris has made some strides that have created a sense of optimism. The club will owe him a raise on his $1.275MM arbitration salary.

August Acquisition Period Ends On Saturday

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We have previously examined the limited means by which teams can add players during the month of August. The rules remain the same when the calendar flips to September, except that newly acquired players can no longer participate in the postseason.

If teams want to add a postseason-eligible player, they’ll have to do so on or before midnight eastern time this coming Saturday. The end-of-August rush won’t be nearly as exciting as it has been in recent years, since there are no more August trades of MLB contracts, but it could still force some action. Teams contemplating whether to expose veteran players to waivers will face a decision point, knowing that those players won’t hold as much appeal if they’re not eligible for the postseason with a new organization.

There’s also still some possibility for surprise opportunities. Most teams placing claims on veterans will be doing so with a focus on immediate needs. But some non-contenders may look at controllable assets. And it’s even conceivable that some interesting players will become available if a contender or two decides to free a roster spot and/or shed excess salary to facilitate another acquisition.

Which players might be candidates to change hands? We’ve also recently listed many such possibilities. Since we compiled that list, several players have indeed hit the wire and ended up being claimed. That includes Billy Hamilton (Braves from Royals), Cory Gearrin (Yankees from Mariners), and Jared Hughes (Phillies from Reds). Others (Adeiny Hechavarria, Chris Iannetta, Jhoulys Chacin) have cleared waivers and hit the open market. And there are a few still-pending waiver-claim candidates, including Nick Martini (Athletics) and Aaron Altherr (Mets).

So … what happens if a player is placed on waivers and one or more contenders have interest? They’ll have to decide whether to place a claim, which will mean taking over the remainder of the contract obligations, or whether to wait and hope the player clears waivers and decides to sign with them as a free agent. If multiple teams place claims on the same player, the commissioner’s office will assign the claim based upon its rules. Claims are processed two days after waivers are sought, at 1 pm eastern time, meaning we could see a bit of a Thursday rush to make players available by Saturday.

The waiver priority system is quite simple: it’s based upon winning percentage. The lower team always has dibs. While the old rules looked first to the league (National or American) of the team seeking waivers, league status now functions only as a tiebreaker if two clubs with the same record each make a claim.

Priority shifts with any move in the standings, so there can and will still be some shuffling. But as of today, this is the order of waiver priority that will govern. (And yes, this also constitutes a current look at the reverse standings for purposes of determining draft order.)

  1. Tigers (39-89)
  2. Orioles (43-88)
  3. Royals (46-86)
  4. Marlins (47-83)
  5. Blue Jays (53-80)
  6. Pirates (55-76)
  7. Mariners (56-76)
  8. Rockies (59-73)
  9. White Sox (60-70)
  10. Padres & Reds (61-69) (tie)
  11. Angels (63-70)
  12. Rangers (64-68)
  13. Giants (65-66)
  14. Diamondbacks (66-66)
  15. Brewers (67-64)
  16. Mets (67-63)
  17. Phillies (68-62)
  18. Cubs (69-61)
  19. Red Sox (70-62)
  20. Cardinals (72-58)
  21. Nationals (73-57)
  22. Rays (76-56)
  23. Athletics (75-55)
  24. Indians (76-55)
  25. Braves (80-53)
  26. Twins (79-51)
  27. Astros (85-47)
  28. Dodgers & Yankees (86-47) (tie)

Orioles Mulling September Promotions

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With nothing on the line in terms of results, the Orioles are looking firmly to the future. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy for the club to simply bring up a wave of prospects in September.

GM Mike Elias explains to Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun that the team is indeed planning to start bringing in fresh faces. “We will start to see a lot of players from our quote-unquote ’prospect list’ on the big league team here in the next month, and early next season,” he says.

But that doesn’t mean the roster situation is straightforward. Even for “the guys that are on the roster already,” says Elias, “it would be inaccurate to say that doesn’t matter, because when you add somebody to the roster, you typically have to take somebody off. That’s a big decision.” While September’s expanded active roster will help, there’ll still be tough 40-man calls to be made.

Beyond the question of maintaining control rights, the club simply needs to fill innings. While some of the players currently holding down active roster spots may well end up being cut loose in the offseason, they’re needed now to avoid over-taxing or otherwise harming the development of young hurlers.

Plus, there are developmental and health considerations to account for. Take Austin Hays, whose own late-2017 promotion serves as something of a cautionary tale. As Meoli further explores, the club has seen some signs of a rebound from the 24-year-old, though it’s still not clear that he’d benefit from an extension of his season after working through health problems.

Elias opened the door in particular to calling up players who are due to occupy 40-man spots in the offseason to come, noting that the organization has “several guys who are amongst our top prospects who will need to be protected from the Rule 5 draft this year.” Such players can be added now in order to get a taste of the majors, though that means giving them service time and perhaps forcing some early decisions on other players.

One such player is intriguing first base/outfield prospect Ryan Mountcastle. As Meoli notes, Mountcastle has shown well this year but also still has some areas to work on at Triple-A. The 22-year-old’s .308/.340/.528 slash line is outwardly impressive, but it’s just 16% above league average (116 wRC+) in the hitter-friendly International League. With a meager 4.2% walk rate, Mountcastle has been dependent upon an unsustainable .363 batting average on balls in play for his productivity. He’s also still working to land on a defensive home.

That’s certainly not to say that there isn’t any promise. The former first-rounder has long been viewed as a talented player and there’s every reason for the O’s to give him a full shot at the big leagues in the near future. Much the same holds for Hays. Trouble is, the club is already giving showcases to Anthony Santander and DJ Stewart. And it could stand to give further opportunities to Cedric Mullins and Dwight Smith Jr. Ultimately, there are only so many plate appearances to go around.

The bottom line is that the roster finagling is more complicated for the rebuilding Baltimore organization than might be anticipated at first glance. The club can and will continue to provide chances to interesting players, but it’ll already be forced to make some committing choices in the coming weeks.

Latest On Dustin Pedroia

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Rehabbing Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia seems to be in good spirits after his latest knee procedure. As Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports, the veteran reports that “things are going really good compared to where I was before the surgery.”

It’s only two weeks out, but that seems generally to be a promising development for a player whose future remains quite uncertain. As Bradford notes, it’s still not clear just how Pedroia will proceed with rehab work — if he does so at all — after several prior attempts at a return have been stymied.

Pedroia, who recently turned 36, is owed $25MM over the next two seasons. While the Boston organization would no doubt welcome a contribution from the long-time star, it’s hard to imagine the club will rely upon a return as it compiles a plan for the offseason.

Since undergoing season-ending surgery in 2017, Pedroia has appeared in just nine MLB contests. But he was still in good form prior to the onset of the physical ailments. From 2015 through 2017, he compiled a .304/.369/.430 batting line in 1,586 plate appearances.

Regardless of how Pedroia proceeds, it’ll be interesting to see how the Red Sox handle the second base position this winter. Brock Holt and Michael Chavis have spent much of the time there in 2019, but the former is a free agent and the latter is arguably better-suited to playing first base.

Brodie Van Wagenen Discusses Mets Roster

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With just over a month left in the campaign, GM Brodie Van Wagenen took stock of his club in a conversation with Jon Heyman and Josh Lewin on the Big Time Baseball podcast. (Audio link.) We’ll cover a few highlights here.

Van Wagenen wasn’t ready to declare victory, as there’s work left to be done to get into the postseason. But he did call it “very exciting and rewarding” to see the club’s mid-season turnaround. “Most importantly,” he said, “we’re playing meaningful games here in August and hopefully September.”

There aren’t many avenues available to improving the club from the outside at this point, but Van Wagenen suggested he’s bullish on the potential for impact from within. Brandon Nimmo, Robinson Cano, and perhaps even Jed Lowrie could return late. As the Mets GM puts it, “we’re getting back guys that we envisioned being core members of our starting lineup.” Notably, Cano is said to have “already resumed baseball activities to a pretty high degree of workload.”

Asked about how the organization was able to revive itself after a long skid earlier this season, Van Wagenen pointed back. “A lot of it … is related to what we tried to do in the offseason,” he said. The rotation is finally firing on all cylinders, while the bullpen has improved and the club has received contributions from some recent acquisitions (he cited Wilson Ramos and J.D. Davis at points in the interview).

Rookie sensation Pete Alonso has, of course, been an immense part of the success. He was “a key part of our offseason” plan, says Van Wagenen, who explains that the club “gave him a clear runway” in hopes of just this sort of breakout.

Likewise, utilityman Jeff McNeil is now a core cog after an offseason of uncertainty. Van Wagenen says that “we really never wanted to lose or give up” McNeil, even after pushing him off of second base by acquiring Cano. The club “never said yes” to any packages involving McNeil in talks on Cano, says Van Wagenen. The GM added, with respect to some other high-profile trade pursuits (e.g., J.T. Realmuto): “Some of those reports are more about which teams liked our players, and which players were of high priority to them.”

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