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John Stearns Passes Away

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The Mets announced Friday morning that former catcher John Stearns, who earned four All-Star nods over a decade-long career with the team and also served on the Major League coaching staff from 2000-01, passed away last night at 71 years of age. He’d been battling cancer.

“No one played the game with more spirit or determination than John Stearns,” Mets president Sandy Alderson said in a statement within this morning’s press release. “He literally willed himself to attend Old Timers’ Day last month so he could visit friends and old teammates. Despite his illness, he even managed to step into the batting cage to take a few swings.  His nickname, ‘Bad Dude’ couldn’t have been more appropriate. A four-time All Star, John was one of the most complete catchers in Mets history. Our thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family.”

The No. 2 overall pick by the Phillies in 1973, Stearns was traded to the Mets alongside Del Unser and Mac Scarce in a Dec. 1974 deal that sent Tug McGraw, Don Hahn and Dave Schneck back to Philadelphia. Stearns appeared in just one game with the Phils prior to that trade and spent the other 809 games of his career with the Mets, for whom he batted .259/.341/.375 in 3081 plate appearances. Stearns was named to All-Star teams in 1977, 1979, 1980 and 1982 — his final full, healthy season in the big leagues. In his career behind the plate, he threw out 37 percent of runners who attempted to steal against him. Persistent elbow troubles, however, cut Stearns’ career short in his early 30s.

Following his playing days, Stearns spent another two decades in baseball, working as a scout, minor league manager and Major League coach between the Reds, Yankees, Orioles, Mets, Nationals and Mariners organizations. He was the bench coach for the 2000 Mets and their third base coach in 2001, and his famous, enthusiastic cry — “He’s out of the cage! The monster is out of the cage!” — following a Mike Piazza double in the 2000 NLCS will forever live on in the memories of Mets fans. Over at MLB.com, several of Stearns’ former teammates and colleagues shared fond memories following this morning’s announcement.

Our condolences go out to Stearns’ family, his friends and to his countless fans as they mourn his passing.

Alec Mills Undergoes Back Surgery

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Cubs right-hander Alec Mills underwent a discectomy procedure on his lower back Wednesday, the team announced this morning. He’d been out since July 3 with a lower back strain and was moved to the 60-day injured list late last month.

The surgery obviously closes the book on Mills’ 2022 season, and it also raises the question of whether he’ll be back with the team in 2023 and beyond. The Cubs can control the 30-year-old righty for three more years, but he’d be due his first arbitration raise this winter after throwing just 17 2/3 innings this season due to that balky back. Mills also pitched 119 frames with the 2021 Cubs, logging a 5.07 ERA with more promising peripheral marks (6.6% walk rate, 51.3% grounder rate, 4.49 FIP, 4.33 xFIP).

Mills has now spent parts of six seasons in the big leagues, nearly all of which has been as a member of the Cubs. He’s tallied 256 1/3 innings of 4.95 ERA ball with a 19.5% strikeout rate, 7.2% walk rate and 48.5% ground-ball rate. At various points in his Major League tenure, he’s looked the part of a back-of-the-rotation starter and interesting reliever, offsetting a below-average strikeout rate with good command and above-average ground-ball tendencies. However, Mills has now also had three separate IL stints due to lower back issues over the past two seasons.

The general hope is that this week’s surgery will alleviate that issue for good. Only time will tell whether he’ll get an opportunity to continue with the Cubs. Chicago has Marcus Stroman, Justin Steele, Keegan Thompson, Adrian Sampson and prospects Caleb Kilian and Hayden Wesneski as potential rotation options for the 2023 season, with lefties Drew Smyly and Wade Miley set to reach free agency. They’ll also hope for better 2023 health for former top prospect Adbert Alzolay. Still, as the team looks to take steps forward, owner Tom Ricketts has vowed to be “active” in free agency, and the rotation is a logical place for president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer to pursue fortifications.

Mills could certainly be retained as rotation depth, although he’s also out of minor league options, so if he’s tendered a contract he’d need to be carried on the Major League roster or injured list. Non-tendering him and re-signing him to a minor league deal is always a possibility, though all of those decisions will hinge on just how quickly he’s expected to recover from Wednesday’s surgery. At present, the Cubs have not provided a timetable for his rehabilitation.

Braves Activate Ozzie Albies, Designate Jay Jackson For Assignment

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The Braves announced Friday that second baseman Ozzie Albies has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Fellow infielder Ehire Adrianza was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained quadriceps to open a spot on the active roster, while righty Jay Jackson was designated for assignment in order to clear a 40-man spot for Albies.

Albies, still just 25 years old, hasn’t appeared in a game since June 13 thanks to a broken left foot that ultimately required surgery. The Braves, at one point, were hopeful of a mid-August return for the two-time All-Star and Silver Slugger winner, but Albies’ recovery took a bit longer than that best-case scenario. Even without Albies’ all-around excellence, however, the Braves have been one of MLB’s hottest teams. Since his injury, Atlanta has played at a sweltering 52-28 pace, surging to just one game back of the NL East lead.

Inserting Albies back into the lineup will only make the Braves all the more dangerous. He is, after all, a .270/.321/.470 career hitter whose most recent full-season, 2021, was also the first 30-homer campaign of his impressive young career.

In Albies’ absence, the Braves have cycled through several options at the keystone. None of Orlando Arcia, Phil Gosselin or the aforementioned Adrianza hit particularly well in limited action at the position, however, and the organization eventually made the decision to call top prospect Vaughn Grissom up directly from Double-A in an effort to get more production from second base. Grissom has flashed all the tools that make him such a ballyhooed prospect in his initial look at the MLB level, but his bat has also cooled after a blistering start to the his career. Grissom slashed .420/.463/.660 through his first 14 games (54 plate appearances), but he’s batting just .210/.269/.333 in 17 games since and is has only one hit in his past five games.

For now, Grissom will stay on the big league roster despite the fact that Albies will step back into a full-time role at second base. There’s been talk of giving Grissom some time in left field, where neither Eddie Rosario nor Marcell Ozuna has provided much value to the lineup this season. There are also DH at-bats to go around, of course, so it’s possible for both Albies and Grissom to be in the lineup — which would come at the expense of playing time for some combination of Rosario, Ozuna and deadline acquisition Robbie Grossman.

The 34-year-old Jackson wasn’t on the active roster prior to today’s move but had been occupying a 40-man spot while pitching with Triple-A Gwinnett. He’s handled himself quite nicely there, to put things mildly; in 17 2/3 frames with Gwinnett, Jackson allowed just three runs on 13 hits and three walks with 20 strikeouts — good for a 1.53 ERA.

Jackson’s DFA is largely a case of poor timing and unfortunate (for him) circumstances. He missed the first several months of the season due to a lat strain and never really got much of a look in Atlanta thanks to an already loaded bullpen. The Braves are deep in quality veteran options, with Kenley Jansen, Raisel Iglesias, A.J. Minter, Tyler Matzek, Collin McHugh and Kirby Yates all under contract and pitching well. Rookie left-hander Dylan Lee has quietly been dominant for Atlanta, and the only other spot in the bullpen is currently occupied by out-of-options righty Jackson Stephens, who has pitched to a solid 3.74 ERA in a multi-inning role there.

The Braves could’ve opted to jettison Stephens and go with Jackson, but doing so would have required them to place Stephens on waivers, given his lack of minor league options. Jackson, who returned to the Majors in 2021 after spending the 2020 season in Japan, can become a free agent at season’s end under the terms of the contract he inked, MLBTR has confirmed. As such, the choice effectively boils down to four more years of Stephens versus a few more weeks of Jackson.

Given that Jackson is still owed the balance of a $1.5MM Major League salary, wouldn’t be playoff-eligible for a new team and is a free agent after the season, there’s a good chance he’ll clear waivers even in spite of his big showing in Gwinnett. If that’s the case, he could remain on hand as a depth option who could be summoned in the event of a late injury. Either way, he’ll reach the open market again this winter on the heels of a solid 2021-22  showing in Triple-A and having posted a combined 3.52 ERA with a 30.5% strikeout rate and 12.6% walk rate in 23 big league innings between San Francisco (21 2/3) and Atlanta (1 1/3) over the past two seasons.

Orioles Release Kelvin Gutierrez

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The Orioles released third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez yesterday, as first indicated on the transaction log at MiLB.com. He’d have been a minor league free agent this offseason anyhow and will now get an early jump on trying to secure a new landing spot for the 2023 season, likely on a minor league contract.

It feels like far more than just a few months ago that the 28-year-old Gutierrez was the Opening Day third baseman for the O’s, but that is indeed the case. Gutierrez got the Opening Day nod at the hot corner and started 10 games at third base for the O’s early this season (in addition to a pair of pinch-hit appearances). He appeared in a dozen games, hit .143/.250/.179 in 33 plate appearances, and was designated for assignment on May 2.

Gutierrez went unclaimed on waivers and was assigned to Triple-A Norfolk, where he spent the bulk of the 2022 season. In 238 plate appearances with the Tides, he turned in a .242/.315/.384 slash with six homers, eight doubles, a pair of triples, a 21.4% strikeout rate and a 10.1% walk rate. He’s now a .265/.334/.411 hitter in parts of three Triple-A campaigns.

There’s been some turnover in the Baltimore infield, as the O’s have gotten first looks at younger players such as Tyler Nevin, Terrin Vavra and, most recently, top prospect Gunnar Henderson. The latter of that trio has stepped in for six games at third, three apiece at shortstop and second base, and another two at designated hitter. He’s posted a combined .320/.370/.520 in his first 54 big league plate appearances and, in the process, continued his torrid minor league pace and illustrated just why the O’s are so confident he can be a future building block in the infield.

Mets Conducting Interviews For Team President; Sandy Alderson To Eventually Transition To Advisory Role

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The Mets announced Thursday afternoon they’ve begun a hiring process for a new team president. Sandy Alderson will remain in the role until a new hire is finalized, at which point he’ll become a “special advisor” to ownership. Andy Martino of SNY reported the development shortly before the team announcement.

Mets owner Steve Cohen settled on Alderson as team president in the fall of 2020, a couple months before his purchase of the franchise from the Wilpon family was even finalized. As soon as that sales process closed, the club parted ways with then-general manager Brodie Van Wagenen and much of his high-ranking staff and announced Alderson’s hiring.

“When I asked Sandy to come back to the team, it was for a defined period of time and with a specific mandate — revive our culture and this iconic franchise for our fans, partners and employees,” Cohen said today in the press release announcing the news. “Sandy has done those very things and more and we have begun a search for his successor. When we find that person, I have asked Sandy to continue in a new role as special advisor to me and the senior leadership team.”

Alderson originally signed a two-year contract, which Martino reports is set to expire at the end of December. According to Martino, Alderson and Cohen mutually agreed it was time to bring in a new team president. None of the specific candidates are yet known, although Martino adds the people currently under consideration primarily come from business backgrounds as opposed to baseball operations careers. No hiring appears imminent, and Alderson is expected to remain team president until a new hire is found, even if that process stretches past the official expiration of his contract.

The team president role is an overhead position, with that individual responsible for impacting both the baseball and business operations of the organization. Alderson is not the team’s day-to-day baseball ops decision-maker, and the incoming hire is not expected to take that role either. Daily baseball operations tasks fall to general manager Billy Eppler, who signed a four-year contract last November. There’s no indication that Alderson’s change will have any impact on Eppler’s job status; Martino writes that Mets ownership has been “pleased” with Eppler’s work thus far, hardly a surprise considering the team is a lock to reach the playoffs and is battling the defending World Series champion Braves for the NL East title.

Alderson had been the Mets daily baseball operations decision-maker in the past, serving as GM from 2010-18. He stepped away in the summer of 2018 after being diagnosed with cancer. He returned to the organization a year and a half later but has seemingly never had any interest in reassuming his old responsibilities. The 74-year-old was pressed into temporarily running the baseball operations department late last season, but Jon Heyman reported at the time that Alderson had no interest in taking the role permanently.

The Mets hired Eppler this past offseason, with Alderson sliding back into his team president position for the second year of his deal. Martino adds that he and Cohen always planned to limit his time in that capacity to two years; his forthcoming move into a less demanding advisory role isn’t tied to any new health concerns, fortunately.

Alderson’s time as team president was not without a notable misfire. Not long after returning to the organization, Alderson helped orchestrate a GM search process that culminated in the hiring of former Diamondbacks executive Jared Porter. Hired in December 2020, Porter held the position for around one month, before ESPN reported he had sexually harassed a reporter four years prior. The Mets promptly dismissed Porter, who was eventually banned by Major League Baseball through at least the end of the 2022 season.

A few months thereafter, The Athletic reported allegations of sexual misconduct against former Mets manager Mickey Callaway, whom Alderson had hired during his stint as the club’s general manager. Callaway, who was working for the Angels at the time those allegations were made public, was ultimately dismissed and likewise declared ineligible by MLB through at least 2022.

In the wake of the Porter debacle, the Mets promoted assistant GM Zack Scott to acting general manager. Scott appeared a strong candidate to take that role permanently, but he was arrested and charged with driving under the influence in September 2021. The Mets placed him on administrative leave and thrust Alderson into control of baseball operations for a few months.

New York parted ways with Scott after the season while his criminal case was still pending. Scott was acquitted this January, with the trial court judge writing that he “performed (field sobriety) tests in a manner in which no neutral observer would conclude he was drunk, especially to the point of intoxication.” Scott hasn’t returned to baseball operations with an MLB team, although Tim Healey of Newsday reported in April that he’d turned down front office jobs to work with a private consulting firm.

In the wake of Scott’s departure, the Mets conducted a highly-publicized search process for their baseball operations leader last offseason. The Mets reportedly made runs at Theo Epstein, Billy Beane and David Stearns (among others) before tabbing Eppler. While the Mets have consistently maintained they’ve been happy with Eppler’s performance, some fans and outside observers have speculated about the possibility of the club making another run at one of those notable executives this winter. Alderson stepping down may add some fuel to that fire, but it’s worth reiterating the team president vacancy is a more overarching position than the jobs that Epstein, Beane and Stearns have held in recent years.

Beane and Stearns remain with the A’s and Brewers, respectively, with both working as their clubs’ president of baseball operations. Milwaukee owner Mark Attanasio blocked the Mets efforts to interview Stearns last winter. He remains under contract with the Brewers through 2023, although a deep postseason run this year (either to the NLCS or the World Series) would reportedly allow him to opt out of that deal at the end of this season. Milwaukee is currently 1 1/2 games out of the final Wild Card spot in the National League. Epstein and Beane were permitted to speak with the Mets last fall, but both eventually took themselves out of consideration for the job.

At this point, the most likely course of action is that the Mets eventually bring in a business-oriented team president while continuing to delegate baseball operations to Eppler. Even if the incoming president isn’t brought aboard to take over daily baseball decisions, it marks a notable hire for Cohen and his staff. For the third straight winter, there’ll be some key changes in the Mets executive hierarchy.

Twins Designate Jharel Cotton For Assignment

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The Twins have designated righty Jharel Cotton for assignment, tweets Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press. The move is made in preparation for the activation of Bailey Ober from the 60-day injured list, which is expected to be finalized tomorrow.

Cotton is no stranger to DFA limbo, as he’s been on and off the Minnesota roster all year. Claimed off waivers from the Rangers over the offseason, the 30-year-old opened the year on the active roster but was DFA a week into the season. He cleared outright waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A St. Paul, kicking off a series of moves between the majors and Triple-A dependent on the Twins’ need for pitching depth. Minnesota has selected Cotton’s contract on four separate occasions, but he’s now been designated for assignment after each promotion.

On every prior occasion, the four-year MLB veteran has gone unclaimed and accepted an assignment back to the Saints. It’s surely frustrating not to carve out a permanent spot on the roster, but Cotton has navigated the constant shuffling and performed very well in Triple-A. Over 25 innings with the Saints, he has a 2.88 ERA with a massive 37.1% strikeout rate. He’s gotten swinging strikes on a whopping 16.9% of his offerings in the minors.

Cotton has had similar success keeping runs off the board in the big leagues this year, carrying a 2.83 ERA through 35 innings. Unlike his Triple-A production, he’s not posted especially promising peripherals against MLB hitters though. Cotton has a below-average 21.5% strikeout rate and an elevated 11.5% walk percentage. He’s benefited from a meager .182 batting average on balls in play, and Minnesota’s front office has clearly maintained justifiable skepticism Cotton can continue keeping runs off the board at his current rate.

He’ll yet again find himself on waivers in the next few days. If he clears again, it’s possible he accepts another assignment back to St. Paul, but he’ll have another opportunity to test the free agent market if no other team puts in a claim.

As for Ober, he’s slated to start tomorrow night to kick off the Twins’ biggest series of the season. Minnesota will play five straight against the AL Central-leading Guardians, including a doubleheader on Saturday. The Twins trail Cleveland by four games, with the White Sox sitting one game above Minnesota in a three-way battle for the division title. The Wild Card spots look likely to go to the Rays, Mariners and Blue Jays in some order, leaving the division as the best chance for any of the AL Central teams to secure a playoff spot.

It’s a key outing for Ober, who steps right into the fire after a three and a half month absence. First sidelined on June 2 with a right groin strain, the big righty was eventually moved to the 60-day injured list and didn’t head out on a rehab assignment until this month. He’s made two appearances in Low-A and one outing with St. Paul, working 4 2/3 innings and 66 pitches on Monday evening. He’ll presumably be on some kind of pitch count tomorrow, but it stands to reason skipper Rocco Baldelli would be happy if Ober’s capable of effectively turning the Cleveland lineup over twice.

Outrights: Mazeika, Davis, Arihara

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An update on a trio of players who’ll remain with their prior organizations after being designated for assignment and clearing waivers…

Latest updates

  • The Giants outrighted catcher Patrick Mazeika to Triple-A Sacramento, tweets Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. Mazeika, who’d been DFA this week, didn’t make a big league appearance with San Francisco. Claimed off waivers from the Mets last month, he’s spent the past couple weeks on optional assignment to Sacramento. Mazeika hasn’t hit well there, but he’d posted solid numbers with New York’s top affiliate earlier in the season. Mazeika has never previously been outrighted and doesn’t have three years of MLB service, so he’ll stick in the organization for this year’s final few weeks. He’d reach minor league free agency over the offseason if he’s not added back to the 40-man roster.

Earlier

  • Red Sox outfielder Jaylin Davis went unclaimed on outright waivers and was assigned to Triple-A Worcester, tweets Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. The 28-year-old Davis has spent time with the Twins, Giants and Red Sox organizations over the past five years but has never carried his stout Triple-A production over to the big league level. Granted, none of those clubs has given him much of a look in the Majors; Davis has just 95 plate appearances in the big leagues, during which time he’s posted a tepid .207/.274/.299 batting line. Davis turned in a colossal .306/.397/.590 slash with 35 homers in 541 plate appearances between the Triple-A affiliates for Minnesota and San Francisco in 2019, but even his Triple-A output has deteriorated since that standout showing. He’s had 353 turns at the plate in Triple-A this season and hit just .211/.317/.343 with a 30.9% strikeout rate.
  • Right-hander Kohei Arihara, designated for assignment by the Rangers this week, cleared outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Round Rock, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. That’s not particularly surprising, given Arihara’s struggles and the fact that he’s still owed the balance of this season’s $2.6MM salary. It’s “only” about $286K, but given that Arihara has yielded 21 earned runs in 20 innings this season and carries a 7.57 ERA in 60 2/3 frames dating back to 2021, he was never likely to be claimed. Texas signed the now-30-year-old righty on the heels of a solid six-year run in NPB (3.74 ERA, 18% strikeout rate, 5.6% walk rate), hoping that he could provide some innings at the back of the rotation. That two-year, $6.2MM contract hasn’t panned out, however, and this is now the second time Arihara has been outrighted by the Rangers.

Tigers Sign Daniel Ponce de Leon To Minor League Deal

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The Tigers signed right-hander Daniel Ponce de Leon to a minor league contract this week. He made his organizational debut with Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday, tossing six innings of one-run ball.

It’s the third organization of the season for Ponce de Leon, who is still searching for his first big league call of the year. He opened the season on a non-roster deal with the Mariners, spending three months with their top affiliate in Tacoma. Ponce de Leon struggled to a 7.95 ERA there and was released in mid-July. He caught on with the Nationals not too long after, making seven Triple-A starts before being released earlier this month.

Between the three clubs, the 30-year-old has a 6.96 ERA in 24 starts at the minors highest level. He’s punched out a solid 25.7% of batters faced over that stretch, but he’s also walked an alarming 11.5% of opponents and struggled to keep the ball in the yard. Before this season, the former 9th-round pick had a stronger track record in the upper minors. Over parts of five Triple-A seasons, he owns a decent 3.88 ERA.

Despite his series of minor league deals this year, Ponce de Leon has only appeared in the majors with one club, the Cardinals. He suited up as a swing option in St. Louis from 2018-21, starting 22 of 57 outings. Through 147 2/3 MLB frames, Ponce de Leon owns a 4.33 ERA with a 23.9% strikeout rate but a 12.7% walk percentage.

The Tigers rotation has thinned out significantly in the past few months. Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal have long since been lost for the season, and Rony García was also knocked out for the year. Meanwhile, Detroit released Michael Pineda last week. Of late, Detroit has turned to a starting five of Eduardo Rodríguez, Matt Manning, Joey Wentz, Tyler Alexander and Drew Hutchison. Rodríguez and Manning are the only members of that group who are likely to open next season in the rotation (although Wentz may get an opportunity to compete for a job in Spring Training), so there’s room for Detroit to take a look at Ponce de Leon during the season’s final few weeks if they’re intrigued by his form in Toledo.

The Angels’ Promising Young Lefties

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For years, there have been commonly cited (and generally deserved/accurate) narratives surrounding the Angels: They’re squandering the primes of Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. They can’t keep their roster healthy. They overspend on the wrong free agents. Holy cow, do they need pitching.

There’s merit to each and every one of those criticisms, but perhaps the longest-running critique has been that the Angels are in dire need of starting pitching. Year in and year out, the team would trot out an expensive core of position players while hoping to patch things together on the pitching staff.

Generally speaking, the Angels have shown an aversion to committing virtually any long-term risk to a starting pitcher. The team’s pursuit of Gerrit Cole is an exception to this thinking, but he may have been the exception. And the (obvious) fact of the matter is that even if the Angels were legitimately interested, Cole chose to sign elsewhere. The last time the Angels signed a free-agent starter for multiple years, Jerry Dipoto was the GM and Joe Blanton was inking a two-year deal.

That the Angels haven’t spent on starting pitching is just a fact — one that spans multiple general managers, thus pointing more toward an ownership preference. The team’s lack of investment beyond one-year deals, often for former stars in need of a rebound (e.g. Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, Julio Teheran), was generally apparent in the results. A repeated inability to develop homegrown arms is as big a factor, if not a larger factor of course, but from 2016-21, the Angels’ rotation ERA ranked 20th (4.78 in 2016), 12th (4.38 in 2017), 19th (4.34 in 2018), 29th (5.64 in 2019), 29th again (5.54 in 2020), and 22nd (4.78 in 2021). Taken as a whole, the 2016-21 Angels ranked 24th in the Majors with a 4.76 rotation ERA and 29th with just 39.8 fWAR out of their starting pitchers — about 42% of the nearby Dodgers’ MLB-best 92.4 fWAR in that time.

With yet another diappointing season brewing in Anaheim, it’s tempting to assume that it’s more of the same. The Angels, once again, stuck to one-year free agent deals for Syndergaard and Michael Lorenzen. They didn’t trade for anyone meaningful. And yet… the Angels’ rotation this season has not only been pretty good — ninth-best ERA in the sport — but finally appears poised for some longevity.

Ohtani, of course, is at the center of all things Angels — well, when Trout isn’t homering in seven straight games — and he’s been a huge part of the Angels’ rotation success this year. A lower innings count will probably keep Ohtani from legitimate Cy Young candidacy, but he’s tossed 141 innings of 2.55 ERA ball with a 33% strikeout rate that trails only Atlanta’s Spencer Strider for best in the game among starters. For once, Ohtani isn’t the only horse pulling his weight, however. Here’s a look at the next three up in the Anaheim rotation:

  • Patrick Sandoval, 25, LHP (controlled through 2026): 132 1/3 innings, 2.99 ERA, 23.6% strikeout rate, 9.3% walk rate, 3.19 FIP, 3.95 SIERA
  • Reid Detmers, 23, LHP (controlled through 2027): 113 innings, 3.82 ERA, 23% strikeout rate, 9.1% walk rate, 4.03 FIP, 4.13 SIERA
  • Jose Suarez, 24, LHP (controlled through 2026): 91 1/3 innings, 3.84 ERA, 22.3% strikeout rate, 7.9% walk rate, 4.03 FIP, 4.03 SIERA

It’s an impressive group of lefties all under 26 years of age and all controlled for at least four seasons beyond the current campaign. Health and year-to-year volatility are obviously considerations with any group of starting pitchers, but the Angels still have a solid trio here on which to build.

Sandoval is the “most experienced” of the bunch, though he’ll finish the season with just over two years of big league service time. Yesterday marked the 18th time in 24 starts this season that Sandoval has allowed two or fewer runs to an opponent.

The Halos originally acquired Sandoval from the Astros alongside a $250K international bonus slot in exchange for a Martin Maldonado rental back in 2018. (Maldonado re-signed in Houston a couple years later and has since signed an extension.) It’ll go down as one of the best moves now-Mets GM Billy Eppler made during his time as general manager of the Halos, as Sandoval looks to have established himself as a high-quality hurler.

While the 25-year-old southpaw isn’t a flamethrower, he’s turned in an above-average strikeout rate, a slightly worse-than-average walk rate, a strong ground-ball rate, and very good marks in swinging-strike and opponents’ chase rates (13.1% and 35.6%, respectively). He generates plenty of spin and whiffs with his breaking pitches and sits in the top quarter of big league pitchers in terms of limiting hard contact.

Dating back to last season, Sandoval has a 3.28 ERA in 219 2/3 innings. He’s fanned nearly a quarter of his opponents in that time — a bit more than a batter per inning — and kept nearly half of the batted balls against him on the ground.

Among the 104 pitchers who’ve totaled at least 200 innings since Opening Day 2021, only eleven have induced swinging strikes at a greater clip than Sandoval, and the names atop him on the list are a group of the game’s best: Corbin Burnes, Shane McClanahan, Max Scherzer, Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Clayton Kershaw, Robbie Ray, Shane Bieber, Carlos Rodon, Cole and Ohtani. Not bad company! Sandoval has also posted the ninth-lowest opponents’ contact rate, trailing only Burnes, Cease, McClanahan, Freddy Peralta, Bieber, Kershaw, Scherzer and Blake Snell. Again — not a bad list of names with which to surround oneself.

Good as Sandoval has been, it might be Detmers that proves the best of the bunch. The No. 10 overall pick in the 2020 draft, Detmers sprinted through the minors and made his big league debut less than 14 months after being selected. Had there been a minor league season in 2020, the former Louisville standout might have reached the Majors even sooner.

Last year’s debut was rough for Detmers, and there’s no sugar-coating that fact. He was excellent across three minor league levels but was absolutely rocked in the Majors, yielding a 7.40 ERA with disappointing K-BB numbers and a hefty five long balls allowed in just 20 2/3 innings (five starts). Not the way anyone wants to make his debut — and certainly not a top prospect and former first-rounder who comes with a good bit of hype and lofty long-term expectations.

Detmers improved early in the 2022 season, even throwing a May 10 no-hitter against a contending Rays club. Skeptics could point out that he managed only two strikeouts that day, but a no-hitter in any capacity is a feat. The greater course of concern was simply that Detmers’ no-no was bookended by general mediocrity; as of late June, Detmers had a 4.66 ERA and 5.36 FIP in 58 innings. His career, to that point, included 17 starts of 5.38 ERA ball with peripherals that generally matched.

On June 22, Detmers was optioned to Triple-A. On July 8, he came back a different pitcher. Detmers threw 47.8% fastballs, 21.5% curveballs, 16.6% sliders and 14% changeups prior to being optioned. Since returning, he’s thrown 42.7% heaters, 32.4% sliders, 15.3% curveballs and 9.6% changeups. The slider usage is way up — nearly doubled — and all other offerings have been scaled back a few percentage points.

Prior to being optioned, Detmers’ 4.66 ERA/5.36 FIP were backed by an 18.6% strikeout rate, an 8.9% walk rate, a 35.9% grounder rate and an 8.7% swinging-strike rate. Since returning and ramping up his slider use, Detmers touts a 2.95 ERA/2.62 FIP with a 27.5% strikeout rate, a 9.4% walk rate, a 42% ground-ball rate and a 12.5% swinging-strike rate.

Detmers has given up eight runs in his past 9 1/3 innings — beginning the very day I mentioned this altered repertoire in a broader piece for our Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers… sorry for the jinx, Reid — but he also threw his slider less frequently in Monday’s start than he has since the June 21 outing that saw him optioned. It’s also worth pointing out that Detmers is up to 119 innings on the season between his one minor league appearance and 22 big league starts; there’s probably some fatigue for a pitcher who only threw 82 2/3 innings last year and didn’t have an actual minor league season in 2020.

The bottom line for Detmers is that he features high-end breaking stuff, even if his fastball is more hittable. Opponents are hitting .206/.257/.302 and have fanned in 29.2% of the plate appearances Detmers has ended with a slider this year; they’re hitting .192/.288/.365 off the curve and punching out at a 27.1% clip. No wonder he’s throwing the heater less and less often.

Not to be overshadowed, the 24-year-old Suarez has had a fine season of his own. He’s flown even more under the radar than his two teammates — so much so that I initially planned to title this “The Angels’ Pair of Promising Lefties” before reminding myself what a strong season Suarez has had.

Suarez hasn’t been as flashy as either Sandoval or Detmers. He throws a bit softer than both (92.8 mph average fastball compared to 93.3 mph for Detmers and Sandoval), doesn’t have a gaudy strikeout rate and is about average in terms of his walk rate. Suarez limits hard contact nicely, but not anywhere near league-leading levels. He’s posted solid but not elite marks in swinging-strike and opponents’ chase rate. Suarez hasn’t excelled in any one specific category, but he also hasn’t been bad or even much below-average in many areas, either.

It’s not the dominant ace profile around which to build your rotation… but no one’s asking Suarez to be that. He’s the Angels’ fourth starter right now, and he’s posting solid numbers while averaging 5 2/3 innings per start. It’s the second straight year that Suarez has notched an ERA right in this same vicinity — he was at 3.75 in 98 1/3 innings last year as a swingman — but he’s improved each of his strikeout rate, walk rate, swinging-strike rate, chase rate and first-pitch strike rate. Suarez has been more aggressive in the strike zone, and a quite likely corollary has seen hitters chase off the plate more often (while making contact on those chases at a lower rate than in 2021).

It’s not an out-of-nowhere development, either. Suarez doesn’t have the big-time draft pedigree that Detmers does. Still, he was a well-regarded prospect in an admittedly thin Angels system, even reaching top-100 status at FanGraphs back in 2019, when he was listed baseball’s No. 79 prospect. At the time, Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel noted on their scouting report that an uptick in velocity elevated Suarez to “project as a good fourth starter,” which is exactly what he’s become.

Understandably, the long-term focus for Angels fans is on what the future holds for Ohtani. Will he be traded? Can a new owner somehow convince him to sign an extension, even though Ohtani has publicly stated a desire to win? Those questions might not be answered until it’s clear who’s purchasing the team and when that theoretical new owner might be installed as the club’s control person.

At least for the time being, however, Ohtani is in line to return for his final season of club control, when he’ll both serve as DH and the ace to a staff that can follow him with a pair of solid No. 2/No. 3 starters (Detmers, Sandoval) and a quality No. 4 starter (Suarez). It’s a very nice foundation on which to build a starting staff, and while the Halos might need another starter — or even two, if they continue to deploy a six-man group — for once, the primary question surrounding them won’t be, “When are they going to get some pitching?”

Pirates Designate Tyler Beede, Dillon Peters For Assignment

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The Pirates designated right-hander Tyler Beede and lefty Dillon Peters for assignment this afternoon, per a team announcement. Southpaw Eric Stout was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis to take Beede’s spot on the active roster; Peters had been on the injured list, so there’s no corresponding transaction in his case. Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster count drops to 38.

Beede spent four months in Pittsburgh, working primarily as a multi-inning reliever. Since being claimed off waivers from the Giants in mid-May, he’s worked 51 2/3 innings across 25 appearances (including five starts). It was Beede’s longest stretch of MLB action since 2019, but the 29-year-old generally struggled. He posted a 5.23 ERA with the Bucs, only striking out 14.8% of batters faced on a modest 9.1% swinging strike percentage. Beede has induced a fair number of ground-balls, but the lack of swing-and-miss eventually squeezed him off the roster.

A former first-round pick, Beede had spent his entire professional career with the Giants before this year. He made 22 starts in 24 appearances with San Francisco three years ago, pitching to a 5.08 ERA but working in the mid-90s with nearly average peripherals. It was enough to offer some hope that Beede might be a back-of-the-rotation option for a few seasons, but his 2020-21 campaigns were mostly wiped out by injury. He underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2020, keeping him out of action until last July. After a month primarily spent working his way back into game shape, he suffered a lower back strain that ended his 2021 campaign after a lone big league outing.

Beede is out of minor league option years, so the Giants had to carry him on the big league roster or make him available to other teams this season. He spent the first month in the Bay Area, coming out of the bullpen six times. After walking more batters than he struck out, he was designated for assignment and placed on waivers. Pittsburgh used their relatively high priority on the waiver wire to bring him aboard, but he didn’t manage to sustain some early success. Beede carried a 2.64 ERA as a Pirate through the end of July, but he’s been tagged for an even 9.00 ERA in 21 frames since then.

The Bucs will now place him on waivers themselves. He’s averaged 95.6 MPH on his sinker this season, with the still-intact arm strength perhaps intriguing enough another team will roll the dice on a claim. Beede is slated to be arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason and would be controllable through 2025 if another team is willing to give him a roster spot.

Peters, meanwhile, was first acquired from the Angels in July 2021. The 30-year-old picked up six starts down the stretch last season, but he’s worked primarily as a long reliever this year. Peters has started just four of his 22 outings in 2022, tossing 39 1/3 innings. He owns a 4.58 ERA and has fanned 15.8% of batters faced while walking opponents at an elevated 10.3% clip. He landed on the 15-day injured list in early August with inflammation in his throwing elbow, but he’s apparently ready for reinstatement after a pair of rehab outings at Double-A Altoona.

Like Beede, Peters is out of minor league options. The Bucs would’ve had to reinstall him onto the MLB pitching staff now that he’s healthy, but they’ll instead take him off the 40-man roster. He’ll land on waivers in the next few days. Peters is a virtual lock to qualify for early arbitration as a Super Two player this winter if another team were to claim him and keep him in the big leagues. He’s controllable through 2026.

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