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Mariners Outright Jean Machi

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SUNDAY: Seattle has outrighted Machi to Triple-A, the team announced.

SATURDAY: The Mariners have announced that they’ve designated righty Jean Machi for assignment and selected the contract of fellow righty Ryan Weber from Triple-A Tacoma. Weber will start against the Blue Jays today.

The Mariners selected Machi’s contract just last week with the idea that he’d provide help for their bullpen. He did just that, allowing only two runs (one earned) over 7 1/3 innings, although he walked four batters and struck out just four. He also pitched 2 1/3 of those innings yesterday and therefore would probably not have been much help today, as Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune points out. The Mariners also plan to have fellow reliever Steve Cishek return from the disabled list in the coming days. It was the 35-year-old Machi’s first stint in the big leagues since 2015, when he pitched 58 innings for the Giants and Red Sox.

Weber will attempt to help a Mariners rotation that has lately been decimated by injuries to Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma, James Paxton and Drew Smyly, becoming the ninth starter to take the hill for Seattle this season. The only two healthy starters remaining from the team’s Opening Day 25-man (which itself didn’t include Smyly, who has missed the entire season thus far with elbow trouble) are Yovani Gallardo and Ariel Miranda.

The 26-year-old Weber made seven starts over parts of the 2015 and 2016 campaigns with the Braves. He had an 0.85 ERA and just 1.1 BB/9 in 31 2/3 innings with Tacoma, although with a modest 5.4 K/9.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/13/17

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league.

  • A week after the Twins designated him for assignment, reliever Michael Tonkin has cleared waivers and will report to Triple-A Rochester, tweets LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune. As such, the right-hander will remain with the only major league organization he has known since going in the 30th round of the 2008 draft. Prior to his designation, Tonkin threw 11 early season innings in Minnesota and offset a 10.64 K/9 with an 8.18 BB/9, the latter of which helped lead to a 6.55 ERA.
  • The Blue Jays have outrighted reliever Neil Ramirez to Triple-A Buffalo, per a team announcement. Ramirez, whom the Jays designated Thursday, came over from San Francisco via waivers on May 4 and hasn’t yet thrown a pitch with the Toronto organization. Despite piling up 18 strikeouts against four walks as a Giant this season, the 27-year-old Ramirez managed an 8.71 ERA in 10 1/3 innings with the club.
  • The Athletics have outrighted outfielder Jaff Decker to Triple-A Nashville, where he began the season. The A’s added Decker to their 25- and 40-man rosters April 15, and he proceeded to hit .200/.322/.260 in a career-high 62 plate appearances before they designated him Tuesday. A former high-end prospect, the 27-year-old Decker owns a .269/.370/.410 line in 1,542 Triple-A PAs.
  • The Cubs have released catcher Carlos Corporan, who joined the organization on a minor league deal in January. In his most recent action, Corporan hit a paltry .197/.246/.333 in 196 combined PAs between the Marlins’ and Rays’ Triple-A affiliates last season. The 33-year-old hasn’t cracked the majors since 2015, and has batted .218/.280/.342 in 780 PAs at the game’s highest level.

Earlier updates:

  • The Marlins have announced that they’ve outrighted righty Joe Gunkel, who they designated for assignment last week when they selected Steve Lombardozzi’s contract. Gunkel has headed from the Orioles to the Dodgers (in a minor trade) and from the Dodgers to the Marlins (on a waiver claim) in the past several weeks, and he’s pitched just 17 minor-league innings so far this season as a result. The 25-year-old had a solid 2016 in the Orioles system, posting a 4.08 ERA, 6.0 K/9 and a very strong 1.1 BB/9 in 141 1/3 innings in the rotation at Triple-A Norfolk.

Cafardo On Hellickson, Amaro, Quintana, Middlebrooks

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Here are a few highlights from the latest column by Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe:

  • The Phillies are willing to listen to trade offers for righty Jeremy Hellickson. That’s hardly a surprise, since Hellickson is a short-term asset pitching for a 13-19 team that’s trying to rebuild, but it was also recently reported that the Phillies could also consider extending Hellickson, who accepted their qualifying offer last winter. Hellickson has posted a 3.49 ERA, 4.0 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 38 2/3 innings thus far in his second season in Philadelphia.
  • Speaking of the Phillies, former GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has won praise from current team execs for his series of trades before being dismissed following the 2015 season. Those trades include an impressive haul for Cole Hamels and Jake Diekman that included Jerad Eickhoff, Jake Thompson, Jorge Alfaro, and Nick Williams; the trade of Jonathan Papelbon to the Nationals, which brought back Nick Pivetta, a starter who made his big-league debut this year; the trade of Jimmy Rollins to the Dodgers, which brought back Zach Eflin, who’s pitched well for the Phillies this season; and the deal of Marlon Byrd to the Reds, which returned Ben Lively, who’s emerging as a good depth rotation option. Amaro is currently the Red Sox’ first base coach.
  • Former White Sox teammate Chris Sale thinks oft-rumored trade target Jose Quintana should be able to thrive anywhere, Cafardo writes. “He’s not a guy who lets outside factors bother him,” says Sale. “I think his middle name was ‘No-Decision,’ and how he handled himself through those times where he went out there seven innings, gave up two runs, and had nothing to show for it, never altered his attitude or his work ethic. And seeing that was impressive.”
  • Rangers third baseman Will Middlebrooks hopes to return in mid- to late June after breaking his hand in April. It’s been awhile since the 28-year-old Middlebrooks made much of an impact in the Majors, but after signing a minor-league deal with the Rangers last winter, he was off to a hot start at Triple-A Round Rock, batting .313/.377/.625 in his first 53 plate appearances there.

East Notes: Red Sox, Volquez, Yankees, Mets

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The Red Sox have struggled at third base this year, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe writes. The team planned to have Pablo Sandoval as their main third baseman, a dicey proposition since Sandoval missed most of last season. The team has since lost Sandoval, Brock Holt and Marco Hernandez to injury, forcing Josh Rutledge into duty at the hot corner. Red Sox third baseman have struggled to the tune of a .237/.286/.320 line this season. Holt (vertigo) is on a rehab assignment in Triple-A Pawtucket, though, and could soon to the big leagues, as WEEI’s Rob Bradford tweets. Here’s more from the East divisions.

  • The Marlins have announced that they’ve reinstated righty Edinson Volquez from the 10-day DL and optioned fellow righty Brian Ellington to Triple-A New Orleans. Volquez will start tonight against the Braves. Volquez spent the minimum required time on the DL while dealing with a blister issue. He’s posted a 4.71 ERA, 10.0 K/9 and 6.9 BB/9 in 28 2/3 innings thus far this season for Miami.
  • The Yankees’ three-game losing streak at the hands of the Reds and Astros raises a number of questions about the team, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. CC Sabathia has struggled lately, Chris Carter hasn’t hit well in place of the injured Greg Bird at first base, and the team is relying heavily on young players. Of course, as Sherman points out, it was never realistic to hope that the Yankees would sustain the blistering 21-9 pace at which they began the season.
  • The injury-riddled Mets could use relief help, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News writes. Jeurys Familia’s injury is just the latest for a Mets team that has had more than its fair share, and the team doesn’t have reinforcements on the way from Triple-A. Ackert mentions White Sox closer David Robertson as a potential possibility, but notes that Robertson can block a potential trade to the Mets as part of his limited no-trade clause. Besides, as she points out, significant trades rarely happen this early in the season.

Nationals Extend Bryce Harper Through 2018

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The Nationals have announced that they’ve agreed to terms with Bryce Harper on a deal for the 2018 season. Harper will receive $21.625MM, making his 2018 salary the largest ever for a player who would have been eligible for arbitration, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag writes (Twitter links). Harper can also receive up to a maximum of $1M in bonuses, according to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (Twitter links) — he can receive the full $1M for winning the NL MVP, $500K for second, $250K for third, $150K for fourth and $100K for fifth, and he can also receive $100K each for winning an All-Star berth, a Gold Glove or a Silver Slugger. Harper was already under team control through 2018, so he can still become a free agent following the 2018 campaign.

"<strongHarper’s massive 2018 salary surely provides a bit of satisfaction for his agent Scott Boras, whose love of precedent-shattering contracts is well known. Harper is making $13.625MM in 2017, his second to last season before hitting the market. His $21.625MM salary next season gives him a big raise that’s difficult to evaluate, since so few players have come anywhere near that figure during their arbitration-eligible seasons. Jake Arrieta was the highest paid arbitration-eligible player last offseason, at $15.637MM; the year before that, Aroldis Chapman made the most, at $11.325MM. That year, Josh Donaldson agreed to a two-year extension that bought out two seasons of arbitration eligibility at $11.65MM and $17MM. In 2014-15, David Price received $19.75MM from the Tigers for his last arbitration season. The year before that, Clayton Kershaw received a salary of $4MM plus an $18MM signing bonus in agreeing to a long-term deal that bought out his last year of arbitration eligibility.

Of those, the Price and Kershaw salaries stand out as the clearest precedents for Harper’s current deal. Another is Mike Trout’s current long-term contract with the Angels. That deal is, of course, significantly different in structure and purpose than Harper’s 2018 deal, but it pays him $19.25MM for this season, which he entered with five-plus years of service time.

Harper’s $5MM 2016 salary was relatively low in part because he agreed to it following the 2014 season as part of a two-year extension that settled a grievance between with the Nats about a clause in the contract he signed upon being drafted. But Harper got a huge $8.625MM raise for 2017 (shattering MLBTR’s projection) that probably came thanks largely to his monstrous 2015 season, in which he batted .330/.460/.649 while hitting 42 home runs and winning the NL MVP award. That big 2017 salary established a baseline that led to his record-breaking deal for 2018. After somewhat of a down year in 2016 that might have been partially due to shoulder troubles, Harper has begun the 2017 season on an MVP-caliber pace yet again, hitting a ridiculous .372/.496/.717 so far.

In the past, Harper and Boras have shown intense interest in testing the free agent market rather than signing a long-term deal, and Harper’s new contract for 2018 does nothing to change that. He’ll still be eligible in the 2018-19 offseason, joining a headline-grabbing free agent class that also includes Donaldson and Manny Machado. Harper will still be just 26 at that point and could yet again set a contract record, particularly if anything resembling his current 2017 pace continues until then. Following the 2015 season, Harper suggested to a reporter that he thought he could make over $400MM on the open market.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cubs Promote Ian Happ

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12:54pm: The Cubs have optioned righty Felix Pena to Iowa to make room for Happ, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets.

12:32pm: The Cubs will, in fact, promote Happ, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune writes (Twitter links). Happ will bat second and play right field for the Cubs today. No corresponding move has yet been announced.

11:28am: The Cubs could promote top prospect Ian Happ as a short-term replacement today as a result of injuries to Addison Russell, Jon Jay and Kris Bryant, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com’s tweets. Russell is currently listed as day-to-day with shoulder soreness. Jay left yesterday’s game due to back spasms, and Bryant sat out yesterday due to illness. A promotion would give Happ his first taste of big-league action. He is not yet on their 40-man roster.

The 22-year-old Happ was the ninth overall pick in the 2015 draft out of the University of Cincinnati. He’s raced through the minors and is off to a hot start with Triple-A Iowa, batting .298/.362/.615 with nine homers in 116 plate appearances thus far in 2017. MLB.com currently rates him the No. 23 prospect in the game, with Baseball America placing him at No. 55 and ESPN’s Keith Law (Insiders only) at No. 63. MLB.com’s praises the switch-hitter’s bat speed and plate discipline, noting that he could eventually become a 20-20 player in the big leagues.

Happ has split his time between second base and the outfield as a pro, although MLB.com suggests his eventual destination is left field. The Cubs, of course, have Kyle Schwarber in left and Javier Baez and Ben Zobrist available at second, although they’re generally flexible in their lineup construction, and it doesn’t appear they’re planning to clear a permanent space for Happ right now anyway. If they were to promote him now, the move might well be temporary, as Muskat suggests — the Cubs have plenty of talent if everyone is healthy, and Happ has limited Triple-A experience and would likely become a Super Two player if he were to arrive in the big leagues and remain there.

5 Key Stories: 5/6/17 – 5/12/17

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Here are some of the biggest stories from the last week at MLBTR.

Jameson TaillonJameson Taillon has surgery for suspected testicular cancer. Young Pirates righty Jameson Taillon had surgery this week for suspected testicular cancer. Both player and team will surely be focused primarily on making sure the cancer is gone before thinking ahead, so there’s no current timetable for his return.

Jeurys Familia has surgery. Mets closer Jeurys Familia had surgery this week after being diagnosed with an arterial clot in his right shoulder. He’s likely to miss several months and could be out the rest of the year. Familia joins a lengthy injury list for the Mets, who are also missing Noah Syndergaard, Yoenis Cespedes (although Cespedes could be back soon) and others. The Mets claimed Tommy Milone from the Brewers this week to aid their ailing pitching staff. In the midst of all this, they also suspended Matt Harvey, although Harvey returned to pitch yesterday.

Zach Britton to miss six weeks or more. Orioles lefty Zach Britton has a forearm strain and is expected to miss six to eight weeks, although Britton is hopeful he can return after closer to six weeks. Brad Brach will continue to close in Britton’s place, although the Orioles will surely miss last year’s Cy Young contender for as long as he’s gone.

Andrew Toles tears ACL, will likely miss rest of season. Dodgers outfielder Andrew Toles was diagnosed with a torn right ACL that would require surgery, and it seems likely his season is done. Toles was off to a .271/.314/.458 start with five home runs in his second big-league season.

Doug Fister close to signing. Free agent righty Doug Fister is reportedly close to finally finding a new team. The Mets, despite the injury troubles described above, do not appear to be among the key contenders. The Diamondbacks, Angels and other teams are among the teams that have emerged as possibilities.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Steven Wright Considering Surgery That Could End His Season

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Righty knuckleballer Steven Wright is meeting with the Red Sox today to consider potentially season-ending surgery on his injured left knee, Evan Drellich of CSNNE.com writes. Wright has visited a knee specialist, but has not yet reached a decision about his path forward.

The Red Sox placed Wright on the 10-day DL with a knee sprain earlier this week, and the team is set to purchase the contract of Kyle Kendrick tomorrow to fill out its rotation. Wright’s terrific 2016 season was cut short due to bursitis in his shoulder, and as he completed his recovery from that injury in Spring Training, it emerged that he had been wearing a knee brace to deal with soreness in that area.

Wright began the 2017 season in the Red Sox’ rotation, but struggled in five starts spanning 24 innings, posting an 8.25 ERA, 4.9 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9. If Wright were to return to health and effectiveness, it would be a boon to a Red Sox rotation that has already dealt with injuries to David Price and Drew Pomeranz in addition to Wright. Of course, today’s news would seem to indicate it’s unlikely Wright will be able to make a quick recovery.

Giants Place Brandon Crawford On 10-Day DL

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The Giants have announced that they’ve reinstated shortstop Brandon Crawford from the bereavement list and placed him on the 10-day disabled list with a right groin strain, retroactive to Wednesday.

Crawford left Tuesday’s game due to the groin strain, which he experienced while running the bases. The team then recalled fellow infielder Kelby Tomlinson to take his place on the active roster. Rookie Christian Arroyo has started in Crawford’s place.

Crawford had already been scheduled to leave the club on Wednesday to attend a family funeral, so he has effectively served three of the ten days required for a stint on the DL. There has been no official word on the severity of his injury, although he would, obviously, be able to return quickly if it turned out to be minor.

Crawford was batting .263/.284/.434 in the early going. He has been one of the Giants’ top players in each of the last two seasons, posting a combined fWAR of 10.3 in 2015 and 2016 while batting .273/.335/.431 with outstanding defense.

Angels Designate Greg Mahle For Assignment

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The Angels have designated lefty Greg Mahle for assignment, Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times tweets. The move clears space on the Angels’ 40-man roster for righty Jose Valdez, who was promoted today along with fellow righty Daniel Wright as the team placed C.J. Cron and Tyler Skaggs on the disabled list.

The 24-year-old Mahle pitched 18 1/3 innings of relief as a rookie for the 2016 Angels, posting a 5.40 ERA, 6.9 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 while throwing his fastball in the 89-MPH range. He’s pitched ten innings this season for Triple-A Salt Lake.

The Angels outrighted Jose Valdez in November after he pitched 23 1/3 innings of relief with a 4.24 ERA and 8.5 K/9 but a way-too-high 6 2/3 BB/9 in 2016. He has pitched just twice for Salt Lake since April 20, so he should provide the Angels’ bullpen with a fresh arm.

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