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Archives for July 2020

Giants Sign Chris Herrmann

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The Giants have signed catcher Chris Herrmann to a minor-league contract, according to Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group. He’ll be added to the Giants’ 60-man player pool and will join the three-player taxi squad.

Herrmann spent Spring Training with the Rays, signing on with Tampa in January on a minor-league deal. But with a flurry of other catchers included in the Rays’ 60-player pool, Herrmann seemed unlikely to climb the depth chart for playing time, and requested his release a week ago. He played with the Athletics last year, appearing in 30 games.

The 32-year-old brings some versatility to the table and has demonstrated offensive capability in the past, though the last couple of seasons haven’t been so kind to Herrmann at the dish. In addition to suiting up behind the plate, Herrmann has played first base and both corner outfield positions, which fits in well with the Giants’ mix-and-match lineup formation.

For his career, he’s the owner of a .205/.282/.344 batting line, though he’s had success in stints with the Diamondbacks and Mariners. He managed an .845 OPS in 56 games with the D-Backs in 2016 and looked pretty good in 30 games with the Mariners in 2018.

Yankees To Sign Fernando Abad

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July 25: The Yankees have announced the move. Abad has been added to the 60-man player pool and assigned to the Yankees’ alternate training facility in Scranton.

July 24: The Yankees have agreed to a deal with left-hander Fernando Abad, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (via Twitter). The veteran reliever was recently cut loose by the Nationals. It’s likely a minor league pact for Abad, who missed Summer Camp with the Nats while quarantining after a positive Covid-19 diagnosis. Now that he’s been cleared to return to action, he’ll likely head to the Yankees’ alternate site in Scranton and provide the club with some additional bullpen depth. Abad is represented by the MAS+ Agency.

The 34-year-old Abad is a veteran of nine Major League seasons who carries a lifetime 3.67 ERA at the big league level. He’s pitched for six clubs — most recently the Giants in 2019 — and averaged 7.6 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and 1.14 HR/9 with a 41.5 percent ground-ball rate. He’s held lefties to a .234/.283/.378 slash and yielded a .257/.338/.412 slash to righties. Obviously, the latter isn’t particularly encouraging, but Abad’s splits aren’t quite as glaring as is the case with many traditional, pure lefty specialists.

Abad will add another lefty option to a Yankees organization that is a bit limited in that regard. Closer Aroldis Chapman is on the Covid-19 list at the moment, leaving Zack Britton as his likely replacement and Luis Avilan as the lone lefty setup option. Tyler Lyons had been the only left-handed reliever at the Yankees’ Scranton site, so bringing Abad into the mix addresses a depth need in rather straightforward fashion. The Yankees had some space in their 60-man player pool as it is, so they needn’t make a corresponding move once Abad’s deal becomes official.

Stephen Strasburg Scratched From Saturday’s Start

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Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg has been ruled out for tonight’s scheduled start against the Yankees, according to Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic. Strasburg is dealing with a “nerve issue” in his right hand, with manager Dave Martinez telling reporters he’s received an injection as a result and is considered day-to-day. The Nationals will trot right-hander Erick Fedde out to the mound in Strasburg’s place.

Strasburg’s 2020 season debut will be put on hold momentarily. As of now, it doesn’t seem like he’ll require an injured list stint, and he told reporters that he’s not “extremely concerned” that the injury will keep him out for an extended period. Without a doubt, it could serve Strasburg and the Nats well not to push it this early in the season.

Per Todd Dybas of NBC Sports, the nerve impingement in Strasburg’s hand has been an ongoing issue in recent weeks. That said, Strasburg told reporters that he’s already feeling better after receiving a shot yesterday.

After his World Series heroics earned him prestigious World Series MVP award, Strasburg was rewarded with a seven-year, $245MM contract to keep him in D.C. for the foreseeable future. Last year, the 32-year-old authored arguably his best regular season yet, reaching the 30-start threshold for the first time since 2014. In 209 innings, he struck out 251 batters and notched a 3.32 ERA.

Fedde, meanwhile, will have his hands full as he makes his first start of the season. He’ll be opposed by James Paxton and the Yankees, who welcome DJ LeMahieu back to the lineup after a bout with COVID-19. Fedde worked as both a starter and a reliever for the Nationals last year, making 12 starts and 9 relief appearances. His 4.50 ERA was the best mark he’s posted in a season since debuting in 2017, but his strikeout rate declined precipitously, as he averaged just 4.7 K/9, compared to the 8.4 K/9 he tallied over the previous two seasons.

Royals Promote Brady Singer, Option Meibrys Viloria

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July 25: The Royals have officially announced the roster move, optioning catcher Meibrys Viloria and adding Singer to the active roster. The former first-round pick is slated to make his first Major League start tonight in Cleveland.

July 22: The Royals will promote righty Brady Singer to open the 2020 season, manager Mike Matheny tells reporters including Alec Lewis of The Athletic (via Twitter). Singer is expected to start the team’s second game.

It seems the Kansas City club won’t stand on service-time considerations to put its best foot forward this year. They’d only need to keep Singer down for about a week to gain another year of club control over him, but they’ll instead come right out of the gate with who they feel is their best arms. It’s possible, of course, that Singer could be optioned later or eventually agree to a long-term deal that renders the common service time games moot anyhow.

Singer, who’ll soon turn 24, has yet to appear in the Majors. The No. 18 overall pick from the 2018 Draft opened the season as a consensus top-100 leaguewide prospect, as did promising young Royals arms Jackson Kowar and Daniel Lynch. It seems that Singer will get the first look of the bunch, but that pair and highly touted lefty Kris Bubic might not be far behind.

Singer has just one full professional campaign under his belt, but it was a good one. He blitzed through the High-A level and took 16 starts at Double-A, pitching to a 3.47 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 over 90 2/3 innings.

Tigers Claim Carson Fulmer

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The Tigers announced today that they have claimed right-handed pitcher Carson Fulmer off waivers from the White Sox, who designated Fulmer for assignment on Thursday. The Tigers will need to make a corresponding move to clear a spot for Fulmer on the 40-man roster.

As MLBTR’s Steve Adams examined at length in May, Fulmer still offers glimpses of the tools that made him a coveted prospect in 2015: his fastball, curveball, and cutter all boast near-elite spin rates. And yet, despite those solid numbers, those pitches—particularly the four-seamer and cutter—evidently haven’t gotten the desired results for Fulmer. He’s generated relatively few swings and misses on those pitches, and it’s resulted in a career 6.56 ERA and constant up-and-down movement between the Majors and minors.

That said, this is precisely the type of acquisition that seems ideal for a Tigers team with little to lose this year. Without foundational pitching pieces, Fulmer comes at a small cost, and there’s always the possibility that a change of scenery could allow him to finally grow into a productive Major Leaguer. He’s still just 26 years old, and with expectations low for the team, they can afford to take on reclamation projects such as Fulmer in hopes that something sticks.

Fulmer could be deployed either as a starter or reliever, though it’s unknown as of now what Ron Gardenhire has planned for his newest player; either way, the Tigers will look to do what the White Sox couldn’t and tap into some of the talent that made him a top draft pick five years ago. If pitching coach Rick Anderson can hone Fulmer’s mechanics and command, the Tigers might have found themselves a worthwhile addition who could contribute to their next winning team.

Astros Place Aledmys Diaz On Injured List

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The Houston Astros have placed Aledmys Diaz on the injured list with a groin strain, per Mark Berman, the Sports Director at Fox 26. Taylor Jones is set to take over his roster spot.

Last season was Diaz’s first with the Astros. He joined the club from the Blue Jays in a straight-up swap for righty Trent Thornton. The utility infielder served his purpose in limited playing time last year, slashing .271/.356/.467 over 247 plate appearances. Houston’s stacked infield doesn’t allow for a ton of playing time for Diaz, though he’ll continue to serve as valuable injury insurance for the reigning AL champs. He appeared at first, second, third, short, left, and designate hitter for the Astros in 2019.

Diaz got the start at DH on Opening Day for the Astros this season, notching a single and a run scored in two at-bats before being replaced by Abraham Toro.

Jones, 26, will be making his major-league debut. He spent last season with Triple-A Round Rock, slashing an impressive .291/.388/.501 with 22 home runs, 86 runs, and 84 RBIs. Jones doesn’t offer quite the positional versatility of Diaz – but he’s not far off. Last year he played in all four corners. Despite the strong numbers last season, the 6’7″ Taylor is not considered one of the Astros better prospects. He didn’t make Fangraphs’ list of top-40 Astros’ prospects, though he did draw mention as a “masher” with enough power to rank with at least some big-league potential.

Royals Activate Brady Singer For Debut

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Tyler Zuber made his debut out of the Kansas City Royals bullpen last night in a week that will see quite a number of newly-minted big-leaguers dirty their cleats on major-league soil for the first time in their careers. Count highly-touted Royals’ prospect Brady Singer among them. The 18th overall selection of the 2018 draft is slated to start tonight’s game against the Indians. The Royals activated Singer earlier today, moving Ronald Bolanos to the taxi squad, the team announced on Twitter.

It’s not the ideal debut in that Singer’s friends and family won’t be able to be in attendance, but after just 26 professional starts, the Royals and Singer both are eager to see the 6’5″ righty against the game’s top competition, per Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star. Said Singer, “Obviously, the difference between the Futures Game and your first big-league start is much different. I feel like the Futures Game you’re kind of just showing what you’ve got and getting through that inning. But (Saturday) is day one. Locking in for as many games as I can go. Absolute huge game plan and studying tonight and figuring out what to do.” 

If there were a Triple-A season, it stands to reason that Singer would be making his debut there this season given that he only just reached Double-A in 2019. Still, the Royals would not put him in the majors if they felt he were not ready to handle that level of competition. In his only full season of professional ball, Singer went 12-5 with an eye-catching 2.85 ERA across 26 starts between High-A and Double-A in 2019. Singer notched 8.4 K/9 versus 2.4 BB/9 for an overall 3.54 K/BB as a 22-year-old last season. He’s the #4 ranked prospect in the Royals’ system by both Baseball America and Fangraphs.

Predict The NL Central Winner

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With final roster decisions in the books and the 2020 season underway at long last, it’s time to make some predictions. We’ve started to poll the MLBTR readership on each of the game’s six divisions — starting with the AL Central. With plenty more teams primed to crack the postseason under the inclusive new playoff qualification system, let’s jump the pond and take a look at the NL Central.

Kyle Hendricks gave the Cubs an early lead in the division yesterday with a 2 1/2 hour complete game shutout of the Brewers. The Reds were right there with them in blowing away the Tigers. Many believe the Reds won the offseason, and their beefed-up lineup looks to bullrush the rest of the division. Matt Davidson took the Reds’ DH at-bats in game one, but newcomers Mike Moustakas and Nicholas Castellanos will cycle through as well. The pitching is underrated, and they’re going to be a force. The Brewers roll out two of the most impactful rostered players in the sport in Josh Hader and Christian Yelich, a dangerous pair of superstars in a short season. The Pirates are an organization in transition, and if they manage a string together a competitive 60-game season, it’ll be a surprise. Until a new champ is crowned, however, the Cardinals remain the toast of the NL Central. With Carlos Martinez back in the rotation and Matt Carpenter set to take a healthy slate of DH at-bats, the 2020 Cardinals are a slightly different shape, but no less formidable.

Which team do you think is the best of the bunch? (Poll link for app users.)

Tres Barrera Receives 80 Game Suspension

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Washington Nationals catcher Tres Barrera has been suspended 80 games as part of MLB’s PED testing program, per Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal. Barrera tested positive for Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone.

Per Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com, Barrera’s said through a statement that he “…never, and will never knowingly use a banned substance.” Barrera lost his appeal and will begin serving his suspension, despite his insistence that he does not know how the banned substance got into his system.

Interestingly, Barrera has gone so far as to reach out on Twitter to the lead investigator on the BALCO case. Further, there’s some debate about the particular substance for which Barrera tested positive. Turinabol is a bit of an outdated substance, and it would be surprising for someone in such a public testing protocol to chose it over more modern drugs that leave the bloodstream more quickly, per T.J. Quinn of ESPN (via Twitter). Even if Barrera wasn’t actively seeking PEDs, there’s still some potential culpability depending on how it was the drug entered his system. Still, there is at least some reason to hold off on judgment of Barrera until we know more.

If there’s a positive side to this for Barrera, it’s that he knows that this brand of suspension is not a death knell for his career. Raudy Read served a similar 80-game suspension last season and returned to his slot ahead of Barrera in the organizational depth chart.

Barrera, 25, made his major league debut last year with a pair of at-bats at the end of September. He figured to serve as catching depth on the 40-man roster behind Yan Gomes, Kurt Suzuki, and Read. Still, there was a decent chance that Barrera saw some major league action this year. With Welington Castillo opting out, Barrera’s suspension saps them of further catching depth. The major-league club should be okay with Gomes, Suzuki, and Read, but the suspension will likely push the Nats at add another catcher to their 60-player pool, if nothing else.

The Nats selected Barrera in the sixth round of the 2016 draft out of Texas. He was their regular catcher in Double-A last season, which rostered many of the Nats’ eventual call-ups because of the geographical distance of their Triple-A club. The Texas-native is a defensive-minded catcher whose glove has generally trended ahead of his bat. He authored a triple-slash of .249/.323/.381 across 403 plate appearances.

Orioles Sign 5th-Rounder Carter Baumler

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The Orioles have inked fifth-round right-hander Carter Baumler to an above-slot bonus, Jim Callis of MLB.com tweets. Baumler – the 133rd pick – will receive $1.5MM, a vast increase over the $422,300 recommended value of his selection. Notably, with Baumler under wraps, every pick from this year’s five-round MLB amateur draft class has signed.

The 18-year-old Baumler, who played high school baseball in Iowa, committed to Texas Christian University before the draft. He’ll bail on his TCU commitment in favor of the Orioles, who are getting a player who ranked among the top 150 available pre-draft players at ESPN (No. 100), MLB.com (02), FanGraphs (127) and Baseball America (147). According to MLB.com, Baumler boasts a 90 to 94 mph fastball with encouraging secondary offerings in a curveball and a changeup, as well as a “clean delivery and arm action.”

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