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Archives for March 2021

Aaron Boone Hopes To Return To Yankees This Weekend

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MARCH 5: Boone is feeling well and going through standard COVID-19 testing procedures, he said Friday (via Lindsey Adler of the Athletic). He hopes to return to the dugout this weekend.

MARCH 3, 8:18 pm: The Yankees released a statement (on Twitter) with an update on Boone’s status: “As previously planned, Manager Aaron Boone will spend the night at St. Joseph’s Hospital to rest and recover. He is currently in good spirits.”

MARCH 3, 3:08pm: Bench coach Carlos Mendoza will take over for Boone during his absence, Joel Sherman of the New York Post was among those to tweet. Cashman confirmed to reporters that Boone shouldn’t miss much time, and the Yankees announced that the procedure went as expected.

MARCH 3, 2:22pm: The Yankees announced Wednesday that manager Aaron Boone will be taking an immediate medical leave of absence to receive a pacemaker. He’ll undergo surgery later this afternoon in Tampa. Boone offered the following statement:

As many of you know, I underwent open-heart surgery in 2009, and I wanted everyone to understand where I’m at regarding the procedure that’s taking place today. Over the last six-to-eight weeks I’ve had mild symptoms of lightheadedness, low energy and shortness of breath. As a result, I underwent a series of tests and examinations in New York prior to the beginning of spring training, including multiple visits with a team of heart specialists. While the heart checkup came back normal, there were indications of a low heart rate which, after further consultations with doctors in Tampa, necessitates a pacemaker.

My faith is strong, and my spirits are high. I’m in a great frame of mind because I know I’m in good hands with the doctors and medical staff here at St. Joseph’s Hospital. They are confident that today’s surgery will allow me to resume all of my usual professional and personal activities and afford me a positive long-term health prognosis without having to change anything about my way of life. I look forward to getting back to work in the next several days, but during my short-term absence, I have complete trust that our coaches, staff and players will continue their training and preparation at the same level as we’ve had and without any interruption.

There’s no clearly defined timeline for when Boone, who’ll turn 48 next week, will rejoin the club. However, the manager’s use of “short-term absence” and mention of getting back to work “in the next several days” indicate that he’s not anticipating a particularly lengthy leave. The Yankees noted that general manager Brian Cashman will meet with reporters later this afternoon, and the team will surely provide updates on Boone as he rehabs from the procedure.

Quick Hits: Godley, Phillies, Mondesi, Angels

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Free-agent right-hander Zack Godley threw for roughly a dozen clubs last week, Steve Adams of MLBTR reports. Godley battled a flexor issue last year, but he’s now healthy. While Godley was an effective starter with the Diamondbacks from 2017-18, his numbers fell off severely over the past two seasons with the D-backs, Blue Jays and Red Sox. He tossed a combined 120 2/3 innings during that span and logged a woeful 6.49 ERA/5.20 SIERA with similarly subpar strikeout and walk percentages of 17.8 and 10.2, respectively.

Other notes from around the league:

  • There are five legitimate in-house candidates to serve as the Phillies’ starting center fielder, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Along with Scott Kingery, Adam Haseley and Roman Quinn, both Odubel Herrera and Mickey Moniak have thrown their hats in the ring. Herrera was a productive starter at the position for the Phillies from 2015-17, even earning a five-year, $30.5MM extension in the last of those seasons, but his numbers tanked from 2018-19 and he sat for most of the latter campaign because of a domestic violence suspension. The Phillies outrighted him before last season, meaning he’s not on their 40-man roster. Moniak, who made a brief major league debut in 2020, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 draft, but he hasn’t matched the hype since then. He owns a .692 OPS across 1,671 plate appearances in the minors, though the 22-year-old has put himself on the radar early in spring training. Moniak went yard twice against the Yankees on Thursday.
  • A foot injury has slowed Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi this spring, but he’s “moving in the right direction” in his recovery, per manager Mike Matheny (via Josh Vernier of 610 Sports Radio). It’s not clear when Mondesi will make his Cactus League debut, though. The 25-year-old batted a below-average .256/.294/.416 with six home runs in 233 plate appearances last season, but he played in 59 of 60 games, easily led the majors in stolen bases (24) and earned good grades at shortstop (plus-2 DRS, plus-0.8 UZR). [UPDATE: Mondesi is in the Royals’ lineup for this afternoon’s spring training matchup with the Dodgers, notes Anne Rogers of MLB.com].
  • It would make sense for the Angels to open extension talks with David Fletcher, writes Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic. To this point, there’s been no discussions between the two sides about a potential long-term deal, Ardaya notes, but there’s little question the 26-year-old has established himself as an important piece of the organization. Fletcher’s on-base skills have helped compensate for his lack of power, with a career .292/.346/.386 line translating to league average offensive production (100 wRC+). Combined with high-end defensive metrics between second and third base, that’s been enough for Fletcher to accrue around seven or eight wins above replacement over his first 283 MLB games. Ardaya examines the framework of a hypothetical Fletcher extension in a piece that might be of interest to Angel fans.

COVID Notes: 3/4/21

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The latest on how the coronavirus is affecting Major League Baseball:

  • Braves left-hander Max Fried will not make his previously scheduled start Friday because he may have been exposed to COVID-19, Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Fried has not tested positive, but manager Brian Snitker said (via David O’Brien of The Athletic) that he’ll “lay low” for a couple of days. At least for now, it doesn’t seem Fried will miss much time. As long as he recovers in short order, Fried could be the Opening Day starter for the Braves, having starred last season with a 2.25 ERA in 56 innings.

MLBTR Poll: Grading The JBJ Signing

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One of the final high-ranked free agents came off the board Thursday when longtime Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. inked a two-year, $24MM contract with the Brewers. Bradley will make $13MM this year, and then he’ll have to decide whether to exercise an $11MM player option for 2022 next winter.

Few would have expected the Brewers to sign Bradley, but now that he’s part of the team, the 30-year-old should further strengthen their outfield. He won’t be their No. 1 center fielder – that job still belongs to Lorenzo Cain, who’s back after opting out of the majority of last season – but will join left fielder Christian Yelich to form a rather promising starting trio. The Brewers also have Avisail Garcia on hand as a fourth outfielder.

In Bradley, the Brewers are getting someone who had one of his most productive offensive years during his last year in Boston (120 wRC+ in 217 plate appearances). However, Bradley has typically been closer to OK than great at the plate, having slashed .239/.321/.412 (93 wRC+) with 98 home runs since he entered the majors in 2013. But Bradley ups his value with well-regarded base running and outstanding work in the field, where he has accumulated 53 Defensive Runs Saved and notched a 36.5 Ultimate Zone Rating across over 7,400 innings in the outfield.

Based on his history, the Brewers seem to have landed at least an average regular in Bradley, and if he’s at peak form, he could certainly amount to much more than that in their uniform. As such, it seems like a reasonable gamble – one that could improve Milwaukee’s chances of winning a wide-open National League Central in 2021. What do you think of the move?

(Poll link for app users)

Injury Notes: K. Calhoun, Lugo, Wick, Pearson

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The latest injury updates from around the majors…

  • Diamondbacks outfielder Kole Calhoun underwent surgery on a torn right meniscus Wednesday, but he expects to recover on the shorter end of the four- to six-week timetable, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com relays. Either way, it doesn’t appear the Diamondbacks will go too long in the regular season without Calhoun, who was one of their most productive players in 2020. The former Angel batted .226/.338/.526 in 228 plate appearances and led the team in home runs (16) and fWAR (1.8.).
  • Mets reliever Seth Lugo said Thursday that he is “on track” in his recovery from mid-February surgery on bone spurs in his right elbow, per Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. Lugo, however, did not offer a timetable for his return from the procedure; it was reported then that Lugo would need at least six weeks to begin throwing again, making it likely he’ll miss the beginning of the season. Lugo has been tremendous out of the Mets’ bullpen since 2018, though his numbers dipped when the club experimented with him in a starting role last year.
  • Cubs righty Rowan Wick, who’s recovering from an intercostal strain, is unlikely to be ready for Opening Day, Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets. Wick has been working back from the injury since last season, when he didn’t pitch past Sept. 16. That cut off a second consecutive solid year for Wick, who has managed a 2.66 ERA/4.02 SIERA with an above-average 25.7 percent strikeout rate in 50 2/3 innings out of the Cubs’ bullpen dating back to 2019.
  • Blue Jays hurler Nate Pearson has a Grade 1 right groin strain, but the team is hoping he’ll return “pretty quickly,” according to general manager Ross Atkins (via Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet). The touted right-hander, 24, figures to make a good amount of starts for the Blue Jays this year if he’s healthy. Pearson debuted in 2020, but elbow issues limited him to 18 innings and five appearances (four starts), in which he pitched to a 6.00 ERA/5.95 SIERA.
  • Padres righty Javy Guerra will miss “at least” two to four weeks because of a Grade 1 UCL sprain, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com writes. Guerra (not to be confused with the Nationals’ reliever of the same name) is a former infielder who moved to the mound and threw 22 innings out of the Padres’ bullpen from 2019-20, but he has struggled to an 8.18 ERA thus far in his major league career. The 25-year-old is out of minor league options, so it’s up in the air whether he’ll still be part of the San Diego organization when the season starts.

Jose Castillo To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Padres left-handed reliever Jose Castillo will undergo Tommy John surgery, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. This isn’t surprising news, as Castillo exited a sim game Tuesday with forearm tightness.

The 2021 campaign will go down as another injury-ruined season for Castillo, who threw only two-thirds of an inning in 2019 while dealing with a teres major strain and didn’t pitch in 2020 because of a flexor strain and a torn ligament in his hand. Considering the time it takes to recover from TJ procedures, the 25-year-old Castillo won’t take a major league mound again until sometime in 2022, and that’s if he doesn’t suffer any setbacks. He’ll be eligible for arbitration for the first time next winter.

While the Padres look like one of the majors’ best teams heading into this season, the loss of Castillo is at least a blow to their bullpen depth. A healthy Castillo could have made the team all the more formidable, as he recorded excellent numbers during his rookie year in 2018. He threw 38 1/3 innings then and put up a 3.29 ERA/2.53 SIERA with an eye-popping 34.7 percent strikeout rate.

Red Sox To Sign Danny Santana

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3:58pm: Santana will earn a $1.75MM base salary if he makes it to the bigs and up to $1MM in incentives, Heyman tweets. There’s a $100K bonus if he starts the season in Triple-A.

1:33pm: The Red Sox have agreed to a minor league deal with free-agent infielder/outfielder Danny Santana, reports Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe. The Mato Sports Management client will head to Major League camp as a non-roster invitee. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman had previously suggested Boston was “in the mix” for Santana.

Santana, 30, has been hosting workouts for clubs over the past week or so and reportedly received enough interest that he canceled an open audition that would’ve taken place today. His 2020 season with the Rangers was limited to 15 games before an elbow injury required surgery, but it seems he’s sufficiently rehabbed and will join Boston’s Major League group once he clears intake protocols.

The switch-hitting Santana will add yet another versatile piece for a Red Sox organization that has already signed Enrique Hernandez to a two-year deal and Marwin Gonzalez to a one-year pact this winter. While he managed only a tepid .145/.238/.278 slash in 63 plate appearances due to the aforementioned elbow injury, his 2019 season with the Rangers resulted in an impressive .283/.324/.534 slash with a career-high 28 homers and 21 steals. The juiced ball in 2019 likely had something to do with that sudden power spike, however, as Santana has never shown that type of power in the past.

Santana debuted with the Twins in 2014 and finished seventh in American League Rookie of the Year voting before his bat tailed off for several seasons — some of which were marred by injury. He’s spent the bulk of his time in the big leagues in center field (1143 innings) and at shortstop (918 innings), but Santana has played all three outfield spots and all four infield spots as a Major Leaguer. Overall, he’s a .260/.299/.418 hitter at the game’s top level.

Twins’ Falvey On Odorizzi: “We Wish Him Well”

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With Jackie Bradley Jr. now headed to the Brewers, right-hander Jake Odorizzi is the clear top free agent left on the board. Oftentimes, when a player’s market drags to this extent, there’s continued speculation about a return to his prior team. There’s been some of that with regard to Odorizzi and the Twins, but president of baseball operations Derek Falvey all but ruled out the possibility in an appearance on MLB Now with Brian Kenney yesterday (video link).

“We look at our team as primarily put together here,” Falvey candidly replied when asked about a reunion with Odorizzi. “We know Jake contributed exceptionally well for us over the last few seasons, and certainly we wish him well. For us, our focus is on the players who are internally in camp at this point. We feel really good about the pitching we have already.”

Odorizzi has spent the past three seasons in Minnesota and had previously expressed interest in extending that stay, but he set out into free agency seeking a lucrative multi-year deal this winter at a time when the Twins have been focused on short-term additions. Minnesota has brokered one-year deals with Nelson Cruz ($13MM), Andrelton Simmons ($10.5MM), J.A. Happ ($8MM), Alex Colome ($6.25MM), Matt Shoemaker ($2MM) and Hansel Robles ($2MM) over the course of the winter. That series of moves has pushed the payroll to about $129MM — a number that could further rise by as much as $10MM as Kenta Maeda reaches his annual incentives for games started and innings pitched.

With Odorizzi seemingly out of the picture, the Twins will field a rotation of Maeda, Jose Berrios, Michael Pineda, Happ and Shoemaker. Randy Dobnak is on hand as a sixth starter or possible long man, and other in-house options to start games include lefties Devin Smeltzer and Lewis Thorpe. Prospects Jordan Balazovic and Jhoan Duran could both be ready for a look later in the 2021 season, and the Twins have some non-roster arms with big league experience in camp as well (e.g. Andrew Albers, Glenn Sparkman).

As for Odorizzi, the uncertain outlook on his market continues. Earlier this week, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman suggested the right-hander is content to wait for the right offer to arise rather than to substantially drop his asking price. It’s possible that injuries in camp will open some opportunities. The Astros are suddenly facing a very lengthy absence for Framber Valdez, for instance, and other clubs figure to encounter similar setbacks in their rotation as the spring schedule ramps up.

Diamondbacks Sign Anthony Swarzak

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The Diamondbacks have signed veteran right-hander Anthony Swarzak and added him to Major League camp as a non-roster invitee, per a club announcement. The Jet Sports client worked out for clubs back in January after he didn’t pitch with an organization during the 2020 season. (He was with the Phillies on a non-roster deal but was cut loose at the end of summer camp.)

It’s been a few years since Swarzak, 35, enjoyed a full, healthy season at the big league level. He inked a two-year, $14MM deal with the Mets prior to the 2018 season — a move that proved regrettable when shoulder and oblique issues derailed much of his 2018 season. The Mets included him in the Robinson Cano/Edwin Diaz/Jarred Kelenic blockbuster, primarily as a financial counterweight. He was traded to the Braves early in the year and went on to pitch reasonably well with Atlanta, though he again spent time on the IL that summer due to shoulder problems.

Back in 2017, Swarzak thrived in a career year split between the White Sox and Brewers. Through 77 1/3 innings, the righty worked to a 2.33 ERA with a terrific 30 percent strikeout rate against a strong 7.3 percent walk rate.

It’d be a stretch to expect that level of dominance at 35 years old and after a year of not pitching, but since returning from a KBO stint in 2015, Swarzak has tallied 201 1/3 innings of 3.98 ERA ball with peripherals that generally match that output. He’ll give the D-backs some depth in the bullpen and, given the unsettled nature of their relief corps, ought to have a chance at winning a spot on the Opening Day roster. Arizona has shored up the bullpen a bit over the past month, signing Joakim Soria and Tyler Clippard, but there are still multiple spots up for grabs.

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