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KBO’s Eric Jokisch Considering MLB Return

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Korea Baseball Organization left-hander Eric Jokisch had a brief run with the Cubs in 2014, but he hasn’t pitched in the majors since then. It’s possible Jokisch will return to baseball’s highest level next season, though, as Robert Murray of Fansided tweets that he’s “considering” a comeback and is garnering interest from MLB teams.

An 11th-round pick of the Cubs in 2010, Jokisch spent most of his stateside time in the minors, including a 570 2/3-inning run at the Triple-A level with the affiliates of Chicago, Miami, Arizona and Oakland. The soft-tossing Jokisch combined for a 4.02 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in Triple-A ball with those organizations. He did, however, post a sterling 1.88 ERA (alongside a far less encouraging 5.30 FIP) with 6.28 K/9, 2.51 BB/9 and a 51 percent groundball rate in his lone taste of MLB action – a 14 1/3-inning sample size.

While Jokisch, now 31, hasn’t established himself in the majors, he has performed brilliantly since immigrating to Korea before the 2019 campaign. In his two seasons in the KBO, Jokisch has pitched to a 2.66 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 over 335 1/3 frames. Jokisch won the ERA title in the KBO in 2020, Murray notes, and now MLB teams are taking notice.

Erik Kratz Won’t Play in 2021

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Veteran catcher Erik Kratz announced that he won’t play in 2021, Robert Murray of Fansided relays.

“My next season will not be as a player, that’s for sure” Kratz told Murray. “I am deciding not to play.”

This could bring about the end of the playing career of the 40-year-old Kratz, who made his major league debut with the Pirates in 2010. Kratz has since been part of a slew of organizations, most recently the Yankees in 2020 – with whom he slashed an impressive .321/.367/.393 (113 wRC+ across 30 plate appearances. Kratz owns a less productive line of .209/.256/.355 (63 wRC+) with 31 HRs in 951 PA for his MLB career, but he has always been regarded as a quality teammate and a leader. That’s more than can be said for most 29th-round picks, which is when the Blue Jays drafted Kratz in 2002.

Latest On Shohei Ohtani

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After back-to-back injury-limited seasons, the Angels expect a healthy Shohei Ohtani for spring training in 2021, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports. Ohtani has been throwing from 120 feet of late with roughly 75 to 80 percent effort, according to Fletcher.

This is welcome news at the outset of the offseason for the Angels. who probably haven’t gotten as much out of the ballyhooed Ohtani as expected since they signed the former Japanese standout before 2018. The two-way Ohtani more than lived up to the hype as a pitcher and hitter in his first year, but elbow problems limited him to 51 2/3 innings then. He subsequently underwent Tommy John surgery, which stopped him from pitching in 2019, and then threw a meager 1 2/3 frames this year because of a flexor strain.

All said, Ohtani has given the Angels 53 1/3 innings of 4.39 ERA/3.89 FIP ball with 11.14 K/9 and 5.06 BB/9 across 53 1/3 innings. As a hitter, the 26-year-old has slashed an easily above-average .269/.340/.503 (126 wRC+) with 47 home runs and 29 stolen bases in 967 plate appearances, though he did struggle in 2020. Nevertheless, Ohtani’s someone the Angels will continue to bank on, both as a starter and a designated hitter, in 2021.

MLBTR Poll: AL Rookie of the Year Finalists

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We have been polling MLBTR readers on this year’s Major League Baseball awards finalists throughout the week (minus the American League Cy Young, which will belong to the Indians’ Shane Bieber). We’ll conclude with the AL Rookie of the Year, an honor that will go to either Mariners center fielder Kyle Lewis, White Sox center fielder Luis Robert or Astros right-hander Cristian Javier. Here’s a look at what they did in 2020…

  • The 25-year-old Lewis had a big season at the plate, hitting .262/.364/.434 (126 wRC+) with 11 home runs, five stolen bases and 1.7 fWAR/1.4 bWAR in 242 plate appearances.
  • Robert, 23, got off to hot offensive start before fading. He still ended up with a respectable line of .233/.302/.436 (101 wRC+) with 11 HRs and nine steals over 227 PA. Robert combined his league-average offense with tremendous defense (eight DRS, 2.6 UZR) en route to 1.5 fWAR/1.6 bWAR.
  • Javier, also 23, helped make up for the Astros’ loss of Justin Verlander to injury. He made 12 appearances (10 starts) in his first year and registered a 3.48 ERA/4.94 FIP with 8.94 K/9 and 2.98 BB/9 across 54 1/3 innings.

Which of these three should win AL Rookie of the Year? (Poll link for app users)

Latest On Marcus Stroman

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Mets right-hander Marcus Stroman opted out of pitching in 2020 because of concerns over COVID-19, but that shouldn’t stop the free agent from securing a big payday during the offseason. The Mets have already issued him a qualifying offer worth $18.9MM for next season, though Stroman could turn that down and test the open market. Indeed, he’s “more likely” than not to reject the QO, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

[RELATED: MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents With Predictions]

This isn’t necessarily a surprise for Stroman, who may be the top starter on the free-agent market after Trevor Bauer. The 29-year-old Stroman has been a quality No. 2/3 type throughout his career, which began in 2014 and has included 849 1/3 innings of 3.76 ERA/3.64 FIP pitching with 7.36 K/9, 2.59 BB/9 and a 58.6 percent groundball rate.

Stroman has posted 200-inning seasons on two occasions, and when he last pitched, he racked up 184 1/3 frames. That type of durability would  be welcome for the Mets or any other team looking for a starter capable of racking up a lot of frames and performing well. Just about every club is looking for a hurler like Stroman for its rotation, meaning he should rake in quite a bit of money in free agency.

Padres, Royals Complete Trevor Rosenthal Trade

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The Padres and Royals have completed their August trade that saw reliever Trevor Rosenthal head to San Diego for a player to be named later. The Royals have acquired right-hander Dylan Coleman in exchange, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets.

Now 21, Coleman was a 2018 fourth-round pick of the Padres who has done well at the lower levels, minus a rough High-A debut a year ago. Coleman has pitched to a 3.18 ERA with 10.8 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 56 2/3 innings during his minor league career.

The 30-year-old Rosenthal, a former lights-out Cardinals closer who has battled injuries of late, enjoyed a rebound campaign between the Padres and Royals in 2020. He didn’t allow a single earned run over 10 frames as a Padre and ended the year with a 1.90 ERA/2.22 FIP and 14.45 K/9 against 3.04 BB/9 in 23 2/3 frames. Rosenthal is now one of the most desirable relievers on the open market.

A’s, Padres Complete Jorge Mateo Trade

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The Athletics and Padres have completed their late-June trade that sent infielder Jorge Mateo to San Diego, Oakland announced. The A’s will receive outfielder Julio Perez in return.

The 19-year-old Perez debuted in the minors in 2018 and then blossomed in rookie ball the next season, when he batted .268/.349/.512 with 11 home runs and 11 stolen bases across 238 plate appearances. FanGraphs then ranked Perez as the No. 22 prospect in a deep Padres system.

Mateo, 25, was a high-end prospect in his younger days, but he hasn’t been that productive in the minors or the majors over the past couple of seasons. He made his MLB debut in 2020 and batted .154/.185/,269 without a home run in 28 PA.

Diamondbacks Acquire Ronny Simon From Cubs

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The Diamondbacks and Cubs have completed the pre-trade deadline deal that sent left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin to Chicago for a player to be named later. The D-backs have acquired infielder Ronny Simon for Chafin, Arizona announced.

Still just 20 years old, the switch-hitting Simon tore the cover off the ball at the rookie level in 2019. Simon amassed 196 plate appearances then and batted .333/.411/.571 (164 wRC+) with three home runs, 14 stolen bases and almost as many walks (21) as strikeouts (25) over 196 plate appearances. Based on what he has done in the minors, Simon seems like a nice get for Arizona.

Chafin was a productive reliever for the Diamondbacks for several years, but with the team out of contention and with him nearing free agency, it made sense to part ways. The 30-year-old gave the Cubs 3 1/3 innings of one-run ball (including playoffs) but is now on the free-agent market.

Braves, Orioles Complete Tommy Milone Trade

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The Braves acquired left-hander Tommy Milone from the Orioles for two players to be named later prior to the Aug. 31 deadline. A little over two months after the fact, those players’ identities are now known. The Orioles are getting infielders AJ Graffanino and Greg Cullen, per an announcement from the Braves.

AJ Graffanino, the son of former major league infielder Tony Graffanino, joined the Braves as an eighth-round pick in 2018. He has since ascended to Single-A ball, where he slashed .301/.333/.378 in 153 plate appearances during his draft year. MLB.com ranked the 23-year-old as the Braves’ No. 23 prospect before the trade, writing that “he has very good hands and a strong arm suited for shortstop.” However, with just one professional home run so far, it’s unclear how much of an offensive impact Graffanino will make in the majors.

Cullen entered the pros in the same draft class as Graffanino as a 15th-round pick. He was not a high-ranked Braves prospect, but Cullen, also 23, did slash .270/.393/.401 (138 wRC+) with nine homers in 568 PA in Single-A ball in 2019.

However these prospects turn out, the Milone acquisition didn’t go as planned for the Braves. The soft-tossing veteran posted a disastrous 14.90 ERA in 9 2/3 innings with Atlanta. Between the two teams, the now-free agent logged a 6.69 ERA/4.76 FIP over 39 frames in 2020, though he did record excellent strikeout and walk numbers (9.23 K/9, 1.38 BB/9).

MLBTR Poll: NL Rookie of the Year

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National League Rookie of the Year Award finalists have been announced. The voting will come down to Brewers right-handed reliever Devin Williams, Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm and Padres infielder Jake Cronenworth. Here’s a look at what they did this year…

  • Williams was likely the most dominant reliever in baseball in 2020. The 26-year-old wasn’t the hardest-throwing pitcher in the sport – though he did average an impressive 96.5 mph mean on his fastball – but how do you beat a .33 ERA/.86 FIP over 27 innings? By the way, Williams posted 17.87 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9.
  • Bohm didn’t join the Phillies until the middle of August, but he quickly solidified his spot in their lineup. The 24-year-old slashed an outstanding .338/.440/.481 (138 wRC+) with four home runs in 181 plate appearances.
  • Cronenworth, whom San Diego acquired from Tampa Bay last winter, proved to be a gem for the Padres in 2020. He played all four infield positions and batted .285/.354/.477 (125 wRC+) with four HRs over 192 PA during his first MLB season.

Who’s the NL Rookie of the Year? (Poll link for app users)

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