- The Athletics haven’t played since Saturday due to a positive COVID-19 test within the organization, which led to the postponement of Sunday’s game with the Astros and games set for today and tomorrow against the Mariners. However, the team’s traveling party hasn’t delivered any further positive results after a round of tests conducted both Sunday and yesterday, Susan Slusser and Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle report. For now, signs seem to be pointing towards the A’s returning to the field on Friday to begin a series with the Padres, as Slusser and MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter links) reports that Thursday’s game with the Mariners will also be postponed. Looking at both the Seattle and Oakland schedules, one would think September 14 or 17 would be natural days for re-scheduled days, as both clubs are off on those days. [UPDATE: The A’s announced the makeup dates for the Mariners series — a doubleheader in Seattle on September 14, and a previously-scheduled game in Seattle on September 26 will now also be a doubleheader.]
- The Astros have re-opened their alternate training site in Corpus Christi, GM James Click told the Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome and other reporters. This was the second time in a little over a week’s time that the facility had been closed down due to a positive coronavirus test.
Astros Rumors
AL West Trade Deadline Recap
With the deadline in the rearview mirror, we’ll look back at each AL West team’s trade activity over the past month.
Houston Astros
- Acquired LHP Brooks Raley from Reds for a player to be named later
Los Angeles Angels
- Acquired INF Franklin Barreto from Athletics for INF Tommy La Stella
- Acquired RHP Gerardo Reyes from Padres for C Jason Castro
- Acquired LHP Packy Naughton and a player to be named later or cash considerations from Reds for OF Brian Goodwin
Oakland Athletics
- Acquired cash considerations from Reds for OF Mark Payton
- Acquired INF Tommy La Stella from Angels for INF Franklin Barreto
- Acquired LHP Mike Minor from Rangers for OF Marcus Smith, INF Dustin Harris and international bonus pool space
Seattle Mariners
- Acquired RHP Jimmy Yacabonis from Padres for cash considerations
- Acquired cash considerations from Blue Jays for 1B/DH Dan Vogelbach
- Acquired a player to be named later from Blue Jays for RHP Taijuan Walker
- Acquired OF Taylor Trammell, INF Ty France, C Luis Torrens and RHP Andres Muñoz from Padres for C Austin Nola, RHP Austin Adams and RHP Dan Altavilla
- Acquired a player to be named later (reportedly RHP Matt Brash) from Padres for RHP Taylor Williams
Texas Rangers
- Acquired a player to be named later and cash considerations from Mets for RHP Ariel Jurado
- Acquired OF Marcus Smith, INF Dustin Harris and international bonus pool space from Athletics for LHP Mike Minor
- Acquired a player to be named later from Mets for C Robinson Chirinos
- Acquired a player to be named later from Mets for INF Todd Frazier
Starling Marte, Archie Bradley Drawing Trade Interest
10:58PM: The Diamondbacks informed teams earlier this month that they were open to discussing almost anyone on the roster, the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro reports. Ketel Marte, Zac Gallen, and Christian Walker were among the club’s few untouchables.
6:14PM: With a 1-10 record over their last 11 games, the Diamondbacks are listening to offers heading into the trade deadline. The Snakes are “open” to discussing such major names as Starling Marte and Archie Bradley, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link). In a longer subscription-only notes post, Rosenthal reports that the Astros have shown interest in Bradley, while the New York Post’s Joel Sherman reports that the Yankees have “checked in” on Marte’s availability.
While the Yankees are loaded with outfielders on paper, injuries to Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton have thinned the depth, and Aaron Hicks just left today’s game with a potential injury to his leg. Marte would presumably immediately take over as the everyday center fielder, with Brett Gardner, Mike Tauchman, Clint Frazier, and Hicks if he’s healthy all handling corner outfield (and maybe DH alongside Mike Ford) duties until Judge and Stanton return.
Marte would also provide New York with potential longer-term help, as his contract contains a $12.5MM club option ($1MM buyout) for the 2021 season. Barring something unforeseen, the Yankees would surely exercise that option rather than let Marte leave for nothing, though they could potentially pick up Marte’s option and then flip him in another trade. Or, having Marte around to provide All-Star level production for at least one year could make the Yankees more open to moving Tauchman or Frazier in a deal this winter. (Assuming, hypothetically, that neither would be included as part of a Marte trade with Arizona in the first place.) Adding yet another outfielder with control could also spell the end of Gardner’s long tenure in the Bronx, as Gardner will himself be a free agent this winter if the Yankees decline their $10MM option on his services for 2021.
“The Yankees are believed to not want to add much, if any salary,” Sherman writes, which could be a complicating factor in a potential Marte trade. The veteran is earning the prorated portion of an original $11.5MM salary, and is owed a little under $2MM for the remainder of the 2020 campaign.
It was a little more than seven months ago that Marte was part of another major swap, coming to the D’Backs from the Pirates in a trade that Arizona thought would bolster the lineup of a potential contender. While Marte has done his part (entering today with a .322/.396/.458 slash line over 134 PA), the Diamondbacks as a whole have underachieved, leading to the team’s pivot to being deadline sellers.
The Astros were already known to be looking at Robbie Ray as a potential addition, and now have apparently cast their eyes towards another arm in Bradley. Like Marte, Bradley is also controlled through 2021, as Bradley has one more year of arbitration eligibility and should be due for a nice raise on his $4.1MM salary for 2020. The Astros could see Bradley as a boost to both their 2020 and 2021 teams, as Roberto Osuna’s uncertain injury situation might yet lead to Osuna missing 2021 due to Tommy John surgery.
The righty has performed well as Arizona’s closer, posting a 3.60 ERA, 10.8 K/9, and 4.00 K/BB rate over 10 innings entering today’s play. While Bradley hasn’t surrendered any homers, Statcast indicates that Bradley has enjoyed some good luck (a .318 wOBA that is far beneath his .418 xwOBA) considering all the hard contact he allows.
A’s-Astros Game Postponed Due To Positive COVID-19 Test
11:25 am: Another positive test at the Astros’ alternate site has again forced the organization to shut the complex down, reports Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
9:30 am: Today’s Athletics-Astros game in Houston has been postponed following a positive COVID-19 test in the Oakland organization, the A’s announced. The club is conducting contact tracing and will isolate in Houston pending further testing. An Oakland player tested positive for the virus, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link).
Hopefully, the immediate postponement of games and isolation can prevent a clubhouse outbreak akin to the ones that affected the Marlins and Cardinals earlier this season. More recently, positive tests within the Reds’ and Mets’ organizations have been successfully contained with rapid postponements and isolation. Even in those situations, the affected teams were held out of action for at least four days pending contact tracing and additional testing. It seems likely that Oakland’s upcoming series against the Mariners, scheduled for next Tuesday through Thursday in Seattle, is also in jeopardy (although MLB has not yet addressed those games).
This is the first COVID-related postponement of games in the Western divisions. The Astros’ alternate training site was shut down by a positive test last weekend but was reopened three days later.
Astros Interested In Robbie Ray, Matt Barnes
With a pitching staff ravaged by injuries, it isn’t any surprise that the Astros are exploring adding some hurlers at the deadline. Brittany Ghiroli and Eno Sarris of The Athletic (subscription required) report that two of Houston’s targets include Diamondbacks southpaw Robbie Ray and Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes.
Ray has been a popular figure in trade rumors for a couple of years, and the most recent round of speculation has had some teams interested in acquiring him as a relief pitcher due to his rough performance in 2020. Over seven starts, Ray has a 7.84 ERA in 31 innings, due in large part to a 2.6 HR/9 and a major loss of control — Ray has a league-leading 31 walks and six wild pitches. It’s possible Houston could be one of the teams eyeing Ray as a reliever, perhaps the team feels it can fix his control problems and again turn him into a solid starter.
Barnes has also had a tough go of it this season, and for some of the same reasons as Ray. Barnes has a 6.00 ERA over 12 IP out of Boston’s pen, with a 2.3 HR/9 and a career-worst 6.8 BB/9. As per Fangraphs, only 3.2% of Barnes’ offerings have resulted in soft contact this season, as he has a 45.2% hard-hit ball rate and 51.6% medium-hit rate.
The common element between the two pitchers is a lot of missed bats. Ray has a 12.5 K/9 this season and a 12.1 K/9 since the start of the 2017 season; in that same timeframe, Barnes has a 13.2 K/9, which includes an 11.3 K/9 in 2020. After ranking at or near the top of the league in strikeouts from 2017-19, Astros pitchers have combined for an 8.64 K/9 this season, ranked 21st of 30 teams.
Ray is a free agent after the season, while Barnes has one more year of arbitration eligibility before hitting the open market himself in the 2021-22 offseason. This extra year of control might mean Barnes could actually have a higher trade value than Ray at this point, despite Ray’s ability to start games. Astros GM James Click knows Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom well from their time together in the Rays front office, while Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen swung a very notable deal (the Zack Greinke blockbuster) with the Astros at least year’s deadline.
Yordan Alvarez Undergoes Surgery On Both Knees
It’s been known for more than a week that Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez would undergo surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon in his right knee, but the Astros on Friday announced that the reigning Rookie of the Year also underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee as well. That procedure is being termed by the Astros as a “routine cleanup.” The club’s press release indicates that the expectation is for Alvarez to “be ready to play prior to the start of Spring Training” next year.
Knee problems have plagued Alvarez, 23, throughout his professional career — even prior to his big league debut in 2019. On the one hand, it’s discouraging to hear of a dual knee procedure for such a young player, but on the other, the organization surely hopes that these operations will alleviate what has been a longstanding issue for a player who burst onto the scene as one of MLB’s best young hitters.
Alvarez didn’t make his Major League debut until June 9, 2019, but he still launched 27 home runs, ripped 26 doubles and plated 78 runs in just over half a season’s worth of games. Alvarez played in 87 contests last year and batted .313/.412/.655 over the life of 369 plate appearances. He won’t be eligible for arbitration until the 2022-23 offseason and can be controlled via that arbitration system all the way through the 2025 campaign.
Astros Reopen Alternate Training Site
AUG. 25: The Astros have reopened their site, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic tweets.
AUG. 22: The Astros’ alternate training site in Corpus Christi was recently shut down due to a positive COVID-19 test, GM James Click told reporters (including MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart and the Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome). “As the result of a single positive test, we have shut down the facility out of an abundance of caution while we go through the Major League Baseball-managed contact tracing and testing protocols,” Astros GM James Click said.
For now, the issue seems restricted to that lone positive result. Contact tracing efforts didn’t reveal any link between the person who tested positive and anyone on either the Astros’ active roster or traveling party, so “based on the protocols, the big league team is currently unaffected,” Click said.
It isn’t yet known when the alternate site will re-open, leaving the 23 non-MLB members of the Astros’ current player pool in limbo until they are cleared to resume workouts. It would also seem that the Astros wouldn’t be able to call any of these players up to the big league roster unless they pass testing protocols (usually two negative results on consecutive days, and likely some type of brief quarantine period will be required in this case). However the process plays out, the Astros will surely be hampered by the loss of their training site, particularly given that a swath of injuries has already forced the team to reach further into its organizational depth chart.
Latest On Justin Verlander
- It has been nearly a month since the Astros shut down ace Justin Verlander because of a right forearm strain, but the reigning AL Cy Young winner continues to make progress in his recovery. Manager Dusty Baker issued an update on Verlander on Monday, saying to Mark Berman of Fox 26 and other reporters: “I think he threw 20 pitches yesterday. He said he felt pretty good. That’s a positive sign.” It’s still unknown whether Verlander will make it back this year, especially with only about a month remaining in the regular season. Houston has started 15-13 despite only one appearance from Verlander (and several other notable injuries), putting the team two games back of a wild-card spot.
Astros Place Yordan Alvarez On 45-Day Injured List
August 23: Alvarez was transferred to the 45-day injured list today, reports Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Right-hander Chase DeJong had his contract selected for the 40-man roster, while Humberto Castellanos was optioned.
August 18: The Astros announced that DH Yordan Alvarez has been placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to August 16) due to right knee discomfort. Infielder Taylor Jones has been called up from Houston’s alternate training site to take Alvarez’s roster spot.
Alvarez has appeared in only two games for the Astros this season, as he missed all of Summer Camp for undisclosed reasons and thus needed a few weeks to ramp up before joining the active roster. Even once playing and even while homering and singling over his nine plate appearances, Alvarez was hampered by his knees, as he was a late scratch from Sunday’s lineup. An MRI was negative, as Alvarez’s issues may simply be chronic.
“I asked [Alvarez] when did he start having these problems, and he said back in Double-A,” manager Dusty Baker told MLB.com’s Alyson Footer and other reporters yesterday. “Most of the time when you have knee problems, they don’t subside very quickly. And when they do, they have a history of coming back.”
The Astros were only planning to use Alvarez only as a DH this season, and it seems possible that the 23-year-old might already be ticketed for DH-only duty at this early stage in his career if his knee problems prevent him from taking the field at first base or in left field. That certainly puts a limitation on Alvarez’s overall value, though he has already shown a lot of talent at the plate — a whopping .313/.412/.655 slash line and 27 homers over 369 PA in 2019 earned Alvarez the American League’s Rookie Of The Year award.
Pitching injuries have been the story of the Astros’ season thus far, though the club is now missing two of its top bats with Alvarez and Michael Brantley both on the IL. Jones, a 19th-round pick in the 2016 draft, may be more suited for bench depth than a regular role, though he did hit .291/.388/.501 over 531 Triple-A plate appearances in 2019 (albeit in the most hitter-friendly Triple-A season in history). Jones made his big league debut earlier this season, appearing in one game for the Astros.
Astros Activate Michael Brantley; Place Josh James On 10-Day IL
The Astros have activated outfielder Michael Brantley from the 10-day injured list, as per a team announcement. Brantley will be available for tonight’s game against the Padres, as he will immediately take the roster spot opened after right-hander Josh James was placed on the 10-day IL. James is battling left hip discomfort.
Brantley is back after spending a minimal ten-day stint on the IL due to a right quad injury, though his activation comes as something of a surprise. Manager Dusty Baker said just yesterday that he was “not real optimistic” that Brantley would be activated as soon as he was eligible to return, though apparently the veteran slugger showed good enough progress during pregame drills today that the Astros felt comfortable putting him back on the 28-man roster.
Since stepping on the foot of Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly during a play at first base on July 29, Brantley has been bothered by foot and quad problems, though it wasn’t stopping him from continuing to produce at the plate. Brantley had been limited to DH duty, however, and Houston ultimately deciding an IL stint was necessary to get Brantley back in good enough health for regular outfield duty. That choice may have been spurred by the return of Yordan Alvarez, though with Alvarez now gone for the season due to knee surgery, the DH spot will again be available for Brantley or any other Astros players to get a partial rest day.
Brantley’s return brings some relief to an Astros lineup that is already without Alvarez, Alex Bregman, and Aledmys Diaz. Brantley has hit .286/.375/.446 over 64 PA this season, continuing the strong hitting that has defined much of Brantley’s career, though he has also dealt with his share of injuries over his 12 Major League seasons.
James’ injury seemed to arise on Thursday, as the righty had to be helped off the field after fielding a grounder during Thursday’s 10-8 Houston victory over the Rockies. The IL placement continues what has already been a rough season for James, who has struggled in both the rotation and bullpen to the tune of a 10.97 ERA over 10 2/3 innings.
