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Archives for July 2021

Jazz Chisholm, Garrett Cooper Undergoing MRIs

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July 19: Both Chisholm and Cooper are undergoing MRIs today, Wilson tweets. Manager Don Mattingly said simply that it “didn’t look good” for either player. Mish adds that he expects Chisholm to be placed on the injured list. The outlook on Cooper is not yet clear.

July 18: Two of the Marlins’ most prominent players made early exits from today’s 7-4 loss to the Phillies.  Jazz Chisholm Jr. suffered a left shoulder contusion in the first inning and had to leave the game, while Garrett Cooper departed in the eighth inning due to an elbow injury sustained after Travis Jankowski ran into Cooper’s arm during a play at first base.

Marlins skipper Don Mattingly told reporters (including Craig Mish and David Wilson of the Miami Herald) that both players will receive further testing, including an MRI for Cooper tomorrow.  A first set of x-rays on Chisholm’s shoulder didn’t reveal anything, which is a very good sign considering how much pain Chisholm was in after awkwardly landing on the field in his attempt to catch a Bryce Harper bloop single in right field.

Chisholm already spent a few weeks on the injured list this season due to a hamstring injury, and missed a few games but avoided another IL visit while battling through a bad ankle.  After a very hot start to the season, Chisholm has hit only .238/.293/.399 in 209 plate appearances since returning from the injured list on May 16, though he had started to swing the bat a little better over the last couple of weeks.

Overall, Chisholm hasn’t done anything to detract from his status as a building block piece for Miami, but naturally the team would love to see the 23-year-old shake the injury bug and continue to gain more experience (today was only Chisholm’s 91st career MLB game) in what is increasingly looking like a developmental year for the last-place Marlins.  Today’s loss dropped the Fish to a 40-53 record, and with 9.5 games between the Marlins and first place in the NL East, Miami looks like a team that will be in seller mode heading into the July 30 trade deadline.

To that end, Cooper stood out as a potential trade chip, provided he is healthy.  Cooper has quietly been a very productive player for the last three seasons, including a .282/.378/.463 slash line and nine homers in 251 PA in 2021.  Any number of contending teams could be interested in that type of offense from first base or right field, and Cooper is also both controllable (through 2023) and affordable, as he is owed roughly $748K for the remainder of this season.  Even a 10-day stint on the IL, however, could scuttle Cooper’s chances of being moved at the deadline, so the Marlins might have to wait until the offseason to possibly revisit the idea of trading the 30-year-old.

Reds Designate Jose De Leon, Mark Payton For Assignment

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The Reds announced today that they’ve designated right-hander Jose De Leon and outfielder Mark Payton for assignment in order to clear 40-man roster space for right-handers Edgar Garcia and R.J. Alaniz, whose contracts have been selected from Triple-A Louisville. Cincinnati also formally placed righty Michael Lorenzen on the 10-day IL due to a hamstring strain — as manager David Bell first announced yesterday — and optioned lefty Cionel Perez to Louisville.

De Leon, 28, was one of the game’s top pitching prospects but had his development derailed by injuries, most notably Tommy John surgery early in the 2018 season. The Reds picked him up from the Rays in a deal that sent cash back to Tampa Bay, and he’s tossed 24 1/3 innings for them dating back to 2020. De Leon has whiffed 43 of the 126 batters he’s faced in that time (34.1 percent), but he’s also been clobbered for 29 runs in that time. Control has been a problem, as evidenced by a 17.6 percent walk rate and a pair of hit batters in that time.

Cincinnati took Payton, now 29, out of the A’s organization in the 2019 Rule 5 Draft but returned him to Oakland in early July last summer. The Reds thought highly enough of Payton to eventually acquire him in a trade, but he’s yet to produce much in limited chances. Payton has logged just 44 plate appearances since 2020, hitting .175/.250/.200 in that time. He’s hitting .281/.331/.446 in Triple-A this season and has a career .296/.368/.508 slash in parts of five seasons at that level.

Garcia, 24, signed a minor league deal with the Reds last December. He’s pitched in parts of two big league seasons with the Phillies and Rays but struggled to a 6.17 ERA in that time. Garcia has been sharp in Triple-A this season, however, pitching to a 3.38 ERA with a 29.6 percent strikeout rate, a 13.2 percent walk rate and a massive 70.4 percent ground-ball rate. Garcia has spent parts of three seasons in Triple-A and compiled 3.28 ERA in 57 1/3 frames.

Alaniz will be returning for his second stint with the Reds, who non-tendered him this past offseason. Alaniz has just 15 2/3 innings of work at the MLB level and has yielded 16 runs in that time. Like Garcia, though, he’s been quite effective down in Louisville this year, working to a 2.25 ERA with a very strong 31.5 percent strikeout rate against a 7.1 percent walk rate.

A’s Agree To Terms With First-Rounder Max Muncy

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The Athletics have agreed to terms with first-round pick Max Muncy, reports Carlos Collazo of Baseball America (via Twitter). Muncy, the No. 25 overall pick, will receive a $2.85MM bonus that sits a bit north of his $2,740,300 slot value.

Not to be confused with the Dodgers slugger (and 2012 A’s draftee) of the same name, Muncy is a high school shortstop out of Thousand Oaks High School in California. A late riser up draft boards, Muncy landed 26th on the pre-draft rankings of ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and was generally ranked in the 35 to 50 range on prospect rankings at Baseball America, MLB.com, FanGraphs and The Athletic. He’d committed to Arkansas but will now forgo his college career to ink an above-slot deal with the A’s.

Muncy, 18, draws praise for his plus power, a strong throwing arm, above-average speed and the athleticism to play multiple other positions if outgrows shortstop. Like most high school draftees, there’s a good bit of projection (and risk) baked into the Muncy selection, but he’ll add a high-ceiling, potential middle infielder to the A’s system. He headlines a position-player heavy crop of Oakland draftees in 2021, as the A’s only took a pair of pitchers in their first 10 selections this year before focusing on arms in the back half of their draft class.

Yankees Agree To Terms With First-Rounder Trey Sweeney

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The Yankees have agreed to terms with first-round pick Trey Sweeney, per Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo (Twitter link). He’ll take home a $3MM signing bonus that checks in $242,900 south of the slot value for the No. 20 overall selection.

Sweeney, a shortstop out of Eastern Illinois, posted a ridiculous-looking .382/.522/.712 batting line during his junior season, adding 14 home runs, ten doubles and a pair of triples in 226 plate appearances. Pre-draft rankings didn’t necessarily foreshadow a first-round selection, as he ranked 54th among Baseball America’s top 500 draft prospects, 55th at MLB.com, 63rd at FanGraphs and 89th over at The Athletic. Scouting reports on Sweeney peg him as a candidate for a position change at the pro level — though his plate discipline and raw power could still play at a number of other spots on the diamond.

As Collazo has previously reported, the Yankees have gone under slot with their selections in the second, fourth, ninth and tenth rounds of this year’s draft. The total savings so far have netted them about $623K, which could help them sign high school lefty Brock Selvidge — their third round pick (No. 92 overall) who entered the draft believed to be a tough sign thanks to a strong commitment to Louisiana State University.

Marlins, Starling Marte End Extension Talks; At Least Three Teams Interested In Trades

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Reports from earlier today indicated that Starling Marte rejected the Marlins’ offer of a three-year, $30MM contract extension, making it all the more likely that the outfielder would be dealt prior to the July 30 trade deadline.  Contract negotiations are now over between the two sides, according to The Miami Herald’s Craig Mish (Twitter links), as Marte didn’t want the talks to become a distraction for him as the second half of the season progresses.

MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter) adds the detail that the Marlins’ extension offer was greater than three years and $30MM, but regardless, it now seems that the team will focus on dealing Marte.  As one might expect, Marte is already drawing interest from multiple suitors, as Heyman writes that the Astros, Phillies, and Yankees are three of the teams who have been in touch with the Marlins about the former All-Star.

Marte would be an upgrade for just about any team, considering his impressive .288/.387/.443 slash line, seven home runs over 249 plate appearances this season (though Statcast hints at some regression).  In addition to his bat, the 32-year-old Marte also has 20 steals from 23 chances and he has displayed some impressive glovework in center field.

This is all music to the ears of outfield-needy teams like Houston, Philadelphia, and New York.  The Astros have gotten very solid results both offensively and defensively from Myles Straw and Chas McCormick up the middle, but there is no doubt Marte would represent a big upgrade.  For the Phillies and Yankees, center field has been a revolving door thanks to injuries.

In terms of contract, Marte is owed around $5.1MM of his original $12.5MM salary for the 2021 season.  This adds another wrinkle to the trade market, as Marte’s three known suitors are all very close to exceeding the $210MM Competitive Balance Tax threshold.  Marte alone could conceivably be added with a bit of maneuvering under the tax line, but that would eliminate pretty much all available payroll space for further trade needs like pitching.

Throughout the winter and into the season, the Yankees and Astros have in particular made several moves indicating that staying under the tax line (and avoiding an escalating repeater penalty) is a priority, though both Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner and Astros GM James Click recently stated that they would go over the CBT line in the right circumstance.  The Phils have never exceeded the luxury tax line, but owner John Middleton has said in the past that he would also be willing to make a tax payment for a difference-making addition.

An argument can certainly be made that Marte is such an addition, though it is also possible that he could be acquired in a trade that wouldn’t require any CBT overage.  The Marlins could be more willing to eat most or all of Marte’s salary if they were offered higher-caliber prospects, though then it becomes a question of just how much prospect value any of the three teams would want to surrender for a rental player.  Marte could also be included as part of a larger trade package that might see multiple players swap clubs, with perhaps a larger contract sent back Miami’s way as some kind of salary offset.

Draft Signings: 7/18/21

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Here’s the roundup of some of the latest prominent signings from this year’s draft class.  For more on the 2021 draft, check out the prospect rankings and scouting reports compiled by Baseball America, Fangraphs, MLB Pipeline, The Athletic’s Keith Law, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.  As well, here is MLB Pipeline’s breakdown of the slot values assigned to each pick in the first 10 rounds, as well as the bonus pool money available to all 30 teams.

  • The Diamondbacks signed second-round pick Ryan Bliss for a $1.25MM bonus, Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo reports (Twitter link).  This represents some noteworthy savings for Arizona’s draft pool, as the 42nd overall pick has an assigned slot price of $1,771,100.  A shortstop from Auburn, Bliss might move to second base in the pros, and he displayed a lot of contact skills at the plate while also flashing some added power potential this year.
  • The Yankees signed second-rounder Brendan Beck, with Collazo reporting that a $1.05MM bonus for the Stanford right-hander.  It’s another below-slot deal, as $1.307MM is the assigned price for the 56th overall selection.  Beck does a good job of mixing a four-pitch arsenal and he already has good command, and Baseball America feels Beck “projects as a back-of-the-rotation starter who has a chance to be more.”
  • The Orioles announced the signing of second-rounder Connor Norby on Friday, with The Baltimore Sun’s Jon Meoli reporting (via Twitter) that Norby received a $1.7MM bonus.  The 41st overall selection has a $1,813,500 assigned price, so Norby signed for slightly below slot.  Fangraphs and Keith Law each had the East Carolina second baseman ranked 25th on their boards, as Norby received praise for his well-rounded approach at the plate.

Reds To Place Michael Lorenzen On 10-Day Injured List

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The Reds will place right-hander Michael Lorenzen on the 10-day injured list prior to tomorrow’s game against the Mets, Cincinnati manager David Bell told reporters (including The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans).  Lorenzen suffered a right hamstring strain while running the bases as an automatic runner in last night’s 7-4 extra-innings loss to the Brewers.

The severity of the strain isn’t known, though it’s still a terrible break for Lorenzen to again be sidelined after his very first game of the season.  Lorenzen suffered a shoulder strain during Spring Training that was slow to heal, and he spent the entire first half of the season on the IL.  In his first game back, he flashed his two-way skills by tossing a scoreless inning of relief and then moving to play right field for the next frame (he struck out in his lone plate appearance).

Lorenzen’s injury marks yet another setback for a Reds bullpen that has struggled all season, as Lorenzen’s return was seen as a big upgrade to the relief corps.  Cincinnati’s front office was likely going to pursue relievers at the trade deadline even with Lorenzen back and healthy, and the club’s search will only intensify now that the veteran will miss some more time.

In the bigger picture, Lorenzen’s hopes for a strong platform year in advance of free agency have taken another hit.  Heading into the season, Lorenzen was aiming to win a job in Cincinnati’s rotation to further enhance his future free agent value by re-establishing himself as a starting pitcher.  His bid was put on hold by his shoulder injury, of course, and the Reds planned to use him strictly as a reliever (and part-time outfielder for late-game maneuverability purposes) during the second half.  Should Lorenzen’s hamstring problem linger long enough that 2021 becomes something of a lost season for the right-hander, his hopes at landing even a multi-year deal could be in jeopardy, though he’ll certainly still get attention based on his solid track record prior to 2021.

MLB Hoping To Return To Nine-Inning Doubleheaders, Modified Extra-Inning Rules In 2022

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TODAY: The automatic runner rule in extra innings might be modified rather than removed, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes.  The rule could be altered so that the auto runner wouldn’t become part of the game until the 11th or 12th inning, with the first extra frame or two played until regular rules.

JULY 13: “I don’t think seven-inning doubleheaders are going to be part of our future going forward,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters (including ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan and MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand) today.  Additionally, Manfred also suggested that the league could do away with the modified extra-innings rule that saw a runner automatically placed on second base at the start of each extra frame.

JULY 11: As part of the MLB – MLBPA agreements on health and safety protocols, doubleheaders have consisted of a pair of seven-inning games over the past two years. “Barring heavy resistance” from the Players Association, the league is planning to return to the traditional nine-inning affairs for twin bills starting in 2022, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

It’s not clear how hard the MLBPA would need to push back against the return of nine-inning doubleheaders for the league to agree to keep the seven-inning format in place, nor is it even apparent there’s much interest on the players’ side in doing so. The seven-inning doubleheader format has been in place the last two seasons as a COVID-19 mitigation measure. With viral spread among teams contributing to the cancellation of games in bulk (especially last season, before the availability of vaccines), a few teams had to play a series of doubleheaders in relatively rapid succession. Fear of overworking players — particularly on the pitching staff — led the parties to knock two frames off games during doubleheaders. The hope and expectation is certainly that COVID-19 mitigation efforts won’t need to be as prevalent next year.

Concern about overexerting pitching staffs is also a reason for another COVID-inspired rules change of 2020-21: the automatic runner in extra innings. There’s been no indication of MLB’s plans with regards to that alteration beyond this season. (Notably, that rule was put into place throughout the minor leagues in 2018, well before the pandemic).

There’s little doubt the rule has indeed served its purpose of preventing marathon games. There hasn’t been a single MLB game to exceed thirteen innings in either of the past two seasons; there were 23 such games in 2019 alone. Nevertheless, the rule has predictably proven divisive among fans, many of whom perceive the placement of a free runner on second base to start extras as gimmicky.

Of course, any rules discussions will take place amidst broader negotiations between MLB and the MLPA on the state of the game. The collective bargaining agreement is scheduled to expire December 1, setting the stage for a new round of CBA talks in the coming months.

Cardinals Sign First-Round Pick Michael McGreevy

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TODAY: McGreevy received an $2.75MM bonus, according to MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis (Twitter link).

JULY 16: The Cardinals announced this evening that they’d come to terms on a contract with first-round pick Michael McGreevy. Terms of the deal remain unclear. The slot value for the #18 overall selection, with which McGreevy was selected, is $3.4813MM.

McGreevy dominated hitters over his three-year career at UC Santa-Barbara. The righty worked to a 2.33 ERA across 189 1/3 innings as a Gaucho, striking out 25.1% of batters faced while walking only 4.0% of opponents. The Big West isn’t among Division I baseball’s few best conferences, but there’s still little doubt McGreevy was one of the top performers in the country.

There’s a bit more divisiveness among public evaluators about where exactly he fit among the draft’s top arms, though. Baseball America was extremely bullish on the 21-year-old, naming him the 16th most talented player in the class. BA lauded his elite control and plus curveball in calling him a potential mid-rotation starter.

Each of Kiley McDaniel of ESPN, Eric Longenhagen and Kevin Goldstein of FanGraphs, and Keith Law of the Athletic slotted McGreevy between 35th and 50th on their respective draft boards. Those outlets expressed some concerns about McGreevy’s below-average velocity (90-93 MPH range), although he draws unanimous praise for his athleticism and strike-throwing acumen.

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