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Reds Roster Notes: Suarez, Senzel, Rotation

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After trying Eugenio Suarez at shortstop during Spring Training, the Reds seem to be moving forward with Suarez as their top choice at the position during the regular season.  “It’s looking like he’s going to end up being the everyday shortstop,” Reds general manager Nick Krall told reporters (including Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer).  “He has played well, he has moved really well at short.  He’s made all the plays in the field.  He’s done everything you need him to do.”

Suarez is no stranger to the position, having played 183 games as a shortstop during his seven Major League seasons.  However, only seven of those appearances have come since the start of the 2016 season, as Suarez settled in as the Reds’ everyday third baseman in large part because of his defensive struggles as a shortstop — Suarez posted a – 9.1 UZR/150 and -14 Defensive Runs Saved over 1463 2/3 innings as a shortstop in 2014-15.

Though Suarez has lost 15 pounds over the winter, it remains to be seen just how effective he’ll be with the glove at his new/old position, and it’s probably safe to assume the Reds are prepared to accept some level of defensive shortcomings in the hope of improving the infield as a whole.  With Suarez at third base, Cincinnati would have deployed Mike Moustakas at second base and then one of Kyle Farmer, Kyle Holder, Max Schrock, or Mike Freeman as shortstop, but the plan is now to use Moustakas at his old third base position and former fifth-overall pick Jonathan India might break into the big leagues as a second baseman.

No decisions have been formally made for the Reds prior to Opening Day, as the team is still waiting on a pair of notable health situations within its position-player mix.  Joey Votto is still recovering from COVID-19 and might need an IL stint to give him more time to fully ramp up, while Nick Senzel has missed the last two Spring Training games due to a mild groin strain.  Krall said Senzel is day-to-day with the injury.

The rotation has also been hit by the injury bug, as Sonny Gray and Michael Lorenzen will begin the season on the injured list.  Pitching coach Derek Johnson told the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Bobby Nightengale and other reporters that after Opening Day starter Luis Castillo, the Reds’ rotation will feature Tyler Mahle, Wade Miley, Jose De Leon, and Jeff Hoffman in a to-be-determined order (though Mahle will likely be the No. 2 starter).  The Reds are optimistic that neither Gray or Lorenzen will miss much time, and despite the presence of De Leon and Hoffman as extra starters, Johnson said the club isn’t planning to eventually adopt a six-man rotation.

Rangers Announce Roster Decisions

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The Rangers are finalizing their plans for Opening Day, as manager Chris Woodward told reporters (including Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram) about some roster decisions.  The team will select the contracts of Ian Kennedy and Matt Bush prior to the opener, and the newly-acquired Josh Sborz has also won a job in the Texas bullpen.  At first base, Nate Lowe will assume regular duties while Ronald Guzman will work as the backup first baseman and likely be in line for DH at-bats while Khris Davis and Willie Calhoun are on the injured list.

Kennedy and Bush were both signed to minor league contracts in the offseason, and the two veterans could now be the Rangers’ top options for save situations with Jose Leclerc, Joely Rodriguez, Brett Martin, and Jonathan Hernandez all ticketed to begin the season on the IL.  Sborz and Taylor Hearn might also get some looks in the ninth inning as the Rangers figure to be relatively fluid with the closer role unless one of the candidates is particularly dominant.

Once his contract is officially selected, Kennedy will lock in a $2.15MM salary for the 2021 season.  The 36-year-old joined the Rangers after five years with the Royals, with the last two seasons spent as a reliever rather than Kennedy’s customary starting pitching role.  He took well to the new assignment at first, posting an impressive 30-save campaign as Kansas City’s closer in 2019, but struggled over 14 innings last season before his season was ended by a left calf strain in late August.

Bush, meanwhile, hasn’t appeared in a Major League game since 2018 due to a pair of elbow surgeries (including a Tommy John procedure).  Texas signed Bush to a two-year minor league deal in the 2019-20 offseason to allow him to rehab throughout the 2020 campaign, with an eye towards making him available this season.  The first overall pick of the 2004 draft, all of Bush’s MLB experience has come with the Rangers, as he posted a 3.35 ERA and 23.4% strikeout rate over 137 innings out of the Texas bullpen from 2016-18, though walks became an increasing problem over Bush’s three seasons.

There wasn’t much doubt that Guzman would make the roster since he is out of options, though he’ll need to start performing quickly in order to regain a foothold as part of the Rangers’ future plans.  Guzman has hit only .230/.308/.417 with 30 home runs over 809 Major League PA, but given the relatively small sample size and Guzman’s still-young age (26), it isn’t yet out of the question that he could break out at the plate.

Wilson writes that the Rangers are leaning towards using their final remaining 26-man roster opening on a position player, but the team would need to carve out a 40-man roster spot to accommodate either Charlie Culberson or Adolis Garcia (both in camp on minor league deals).  The same would be true if Texas included an extra pitcher on the roster, with minor league signings Luis Ortiz, Hunter Wood, and Hyeon-jong Yang all candidates.

Cubs Option Nico Hoerner, Brad Wieck

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4:11PM: The Cubs announced the move, with both Hoerner and left-hander Brad Wieck optioned to Triple-A.

9:10AM: Last night, the Cubs optioned infielder Nico Hoerner, report Jeff Passan and Jesse Rogers of ESPN (Twitter link). That sets the stage for non-roster invitee Eric Sogard to make the season-opening roster, Passan and Rogers add. Sogard’s contract will need to formally selected to the 40-man roster before Opening Day.

Passan and Rogers suggest the Cubs’ decision not to break camp with Hoerner is fueled by a desire to gain an extra year of team control over the 23-year-old. Hoerner has 1.021 days of MLB service time, so the Cubs would need to keep him in the minors for 36 days to avoid him reaching two full years of service in 2021. Hoerner is presently controllable through 2025, so the demotion could keep him in Chicago until after the 2026 season.

If optioning Hoerner is indeed motivated by service time concerns, it’s a bit of a bizarre decision. The Cubs are coming off a year in which they won the National League Central and are part of a four-team group with a plausible chance at claiming the division in 2021. Accepting a suboptimal second base situation for over a month of this season in order to hold onto Hoerner’s contractual rights for 2026 wouldn’t seem to be a worthwhile trade-off.

There is a case to be made the Cubs are better off, strictly from an on-field perspective, in turning to a Sogard-David Bote platoon at the keystone over Hoerner. While Hoerner flew to the majors after being selected in the first round of the 2018 draft, he hasn’t yet been productive there. Across 208 MLB plate appearances, the Stanford product has hit just .247/.309/.333. He didn’t hit a single home run over 126 plate appearances last year, slugging a punchless .259.

Of course, Sogard is coming off a dismal season of his own, having hit .209/.281/.278 with just one homer in 128 plate appearances with the Brewers. Sogard was quite good in 2019 but he’d never before approached the .457 slugging percentage or 13 homers he hit that year, so it didn’t seem he’d be able to sustain that level of production. Both Hoerner and Sogard have hit well in Spring Training.

Rockies Select Chi Chi Gonzalez To 40-Man Roster

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The Rockies announced they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Chi Chi González. Reliever Scott Oberg has been placed on the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man roster spot. Oberg’s career is in jeopardy after he underwent surgery to remove blood clots from his right elbow yesterday.

González has pitched in twenty games (starting 16) for Colorado over the past two seasons. The former Ranger hasn’t performed particularly well, managing just a 5.66 ERA/5.62 FIP with worse than average strikeout and walk rates (16.8% and 11.7%, respectively). Still, the 29-year-old will give manager Bud Black a multi-inning option capable of working out of the rotation or in long relief.

Additionally, Colorado announced they’ve optioned Lucas Gilbreath and Colton Welker and reassigned a host of non-roster invitees (Greg Bird, José Briceño and Eric Stamets among them) to minor-league camp. Dereck Rodríguez and Connor Joe are the only non-roster players who remain on the major league side of Spring Training.

Pitcher Notes: Dodgers, Gray, E-Rod, Yankees, Fiers

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The Dodgers are still deciding among fifth starter options, manager Dave Roberts informed Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times and other reporters Friday. Southpaw David Price is competing against righties Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin, who impressed as rookies during the Dodgers’ 2020 World Series-winning campaign. As a five-time All-Star and a former AL Cy Young winner, Price certainly carries the best track record of the three – not to mention the highest salary – but he didn’t pitch at all last season after opting out over COVID-19 concerns. Any of those three would join Trevor Bauer, Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw and Julio Urías in what will be a loaded season-opening starting five.

The latest on a few more pitchers around the game:

  • Reds righty Sonny Gray, who has been dealing with a back problem for a couple of weeks, came out of a sim game unscathed Friday, per Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. After throwing two innings and 30 pitches, Gray said, “I felt good. It was definitely a step in the right direction.” Gray will start the season on the injured list, but he doesn’t expect to miss much time. That’s uplifting news for a Reds starting staff that lost the aforementioned Bauer during the offseason.
  • Eduardo Rodríguez was recently set back by a dead arm but seemed to make some progress this morning. The Red Sox left-hander came out of a bullpen session feeling good about his chances of soon returning to game action, although a season-opening injured list stint remains a possibility (via Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com and Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe). Manager Alex Cora says the club will evaluate how Rodríguez feels tomorrow before making any decisions about his recovery timeline.
  • The Yankees have optioned right-hander Deivi García to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, according to a team announcement. The move suggests Domingo Germán will enter the season as the No. 5 in the Yankees’ rotation behind Gerrit Cole, Corey Kluber, Jameson Taillon and Jordan Montgomery, though odds are that García will make his share of starts this season. The 21-year-old, a former top 100 prospect, made his debut last season with a 4.98 ERA/4.21 SIERA with a 22.6 percent strikeout rate against a stingy 4.1 percent walk rate in 34 1/3 innings.
  • Athletics righty Mike Fiers will begin the season on the injured list, manager Bob Melvin announced to Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle and other reporters. Fiers has been dealing with left hip inflammation since midway through the month and hasn’t faced live hitters during his recovery. His injury could open the door for any of Daulton Jefferies, Cole Irvin or A.J. Puk to at least temporarily join the A’s rotation. Fiers tied for the A’s lead in starts (11) and finished second in innings (59) last season, but he struggled to a 4.58 ERA/5.41 SIERA and managed a personal-worst 14.4 percent K rate.

COVID Notes: 3/27/21

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The latest on the coronavirus’ impact on the sport:

Latest Updates

Earlier Notes

Nationals Select Jordy Mercer, Hernan Perez; Option Carter Kieboom

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The Nationals announced they’ve selected the contracts of infielders Jordy Mercer and Hernán Pérez. First baseman Jake Noll has been designated for assignment to clear 40-man roster space. Washington also optioned five players to Triple-A: Carter Kieboom, Luis Garcia, Sam Clay, Kyle McGowin and Yadiel Hernández. Additionally, the Nats released Yasmany Tomás and T.J. McFarland from their respective minor-league contracts.

Today’s slate of moves lends some clarity to the Nationals’ infield plans. With Kieboom out of the picture, it seems Washington is prepared to turn to veteran Josh Harrison at third base on most days. Mercer and Pérez will be on hand as utility options to back up Harrison, Trea Turner and Starlin Castro around the dirt.

Mercer had a fairly lengthy run as a regular shortstop with the Pirates and Tigers between 2013-19. He signed a minor-league deal with the Nats in February and now locks in a $1MM base salary as a bench piece. He’s joined in that regard by Pérez, who is more familiar with a utility role. The 30-year-old previously bounced around the diamond quite a bit with the Brewers, where he flashed some power and speed but struggled to get on base consistently.

Noll, 27, hit well in the minors up to Triple-A. But he struggled there in 2019 and has only gotten 30 MLB plate appearances over the past two seasons. The Nats have a week to trade or waive him. Noll still has a minor-league option year remaining, so he brings some roster flexibility that could intrigue other clubs.

Tomás and McFarland signed non-roster deals with the Nationals over the offseason. The former was once a regular corner outfielder with the Diamondbacks but has barely played at the MLB level since 2017. The latter pitched in 23 games for the A’s with a 4.35 ERA/4.56 SIERA last season. They’ll now return to the open market. As Maria Torres of the Athletic points out (on Twitter), McFarland’s departure seems to suggest fellow non-roster invitee Luis Avilán will earn a season-opening lefty bullpen role.

Renato Nunez Won’t Make Tigers’ Opening Day Roster

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The Tigers informed corner infielder Renato Núñez he won’t make the Opening Day roster, Cody Stavenhagen of the Athletic was among those to note. Núñez has been in camp as a non-roster invitee. The 26-year-old has the ability to opt out of his minor-league contract if he’d like to explore other opportunities.

The Orioles non-tendered Núñez over the offseason, a move that surprised some onlookers because he hit a team-leading 43 home runs between 2019-20. When considering Núñez’s on-base and defensive shortcomings, though, it wasn’t particularly shocking. That he couldn’t find a major-league contract on the open market is further affirmation teams have increasingly devalued this type of player in recent seasons.

Still, Núñez would certainly attract interest if he exercises his opt-out clause. He is coming off a year with a strong .256/.324/.492 slash line. There should be no shortage of teams that would like to add him to the organization, even if only on another minor-league deal.

In other Tigers’ roster news, manager A.J. Hinch announced that Rule 5 pick Akil Baddoo will make the Opening Day roster. Selected out of the Twins’ organization, Baddoo has yet to play above High-A but is now in line to make his major league debut. He’ll need to stick on the active roster (or MLB injured list) all season if the Tigers want to retain his rights long-term.

Joe Jiménez, meanwhile, will not be on the active roster to start the year. The Tigers announced they’ve optioned the right-hander to the alternate training site. Jiménez is a formerly well-regarded relief prospect, but he hasn’t found consistent success at the major league level. Last season, he pitched to a 7.15 ERA/4.10 SIERA over 22.2 innings.

Jed Lowrie To Make Athletics’ Opening Day Roster

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The A’s are going to add Jed Lowrie to the Opening Day roster, manager Bob Melvin announced to reporters (including Martín Gallegos of MLB.com and Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle). Oakland still needs to formally select Lowrie’s contract but has a vacant 40-man roster spot to do so.

Interestingly, the A’s plan to deploy Lowrie as the primary second baseman, Melvin said. Lowrie obviously had quite a bit of success in that role in 2018, when he hit .267/.353/.448 and earned an All-Star selection. However, the 36-year-old (37 in April) hasn’t played a single inning on defense since then on account of knee injuries.

Lowrie’s 2019-20 stint with the Mets was a disaster, as those health woes limited him to just eight total plate appearances (none last season). He returned to the A’s on a minor-league deal over the offseason. Lowrie does have a long track record of being a productive regular, which can’t be said of either Tony Kemp or Chad Pinder. The A’s will certainly keep tabs on his workload, but Lowrie looks to once again be Oakland’s go-to option at the keystone.

Angels Re-Sign Jon Jay, Release Jesse Chavez

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MARCH 27: The Angels have re-signed Jay to another minor-league deal, per a club announcement.

MARCH 26: The Angels have released outfielder Jon Jay and right-hander Jesse Chavez from their minor league contracts, per a club announcement. Both are once again free agents. As Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic points out, Jay’s release makes it quite likely that Juan Lagares, another non-roster veteran in camp with the Halos, will make the club as a backup outfielder.

Jay and Chavez become the latest in a long line of veterans to either opt out or be cut loose from minor league deals around the game, as teams whittle down their camp rosters with Opening Day looming. Both Jay and Chavez were Article XX(B) free agents — that is, players with six years of service time who were in camp on a minor league deal after finishing the 2020 season on a big league roster — and could have been retained into the season had the Angels been willing to pay a $100K retention bonus. Instead, they’re now free to pursue opportunities with other clubs.

The 36-year-old Jay struggled quite a bit this spring, going just 2-for-29 with an uncharacteristic 10 punchouts in 33 plate appearances. Jay, who can play all three outfield spots, is typically a contact-oriented lefty bat with a good approach at the plate, but the past couple seasons haven’t been particularly pretty.

He’s coming off a rough showing in 18 games with the 2020 D-backs, when he posted just a .160/.211/.240 batting line through an admittedly tiny sample of 57 plate appearances. Jay hit for a solid but fairly empty average with the ChiSox in 2019 when he batted .267/.311/.315 in 182 trips to the dish.

Like Jay, Chavez struggled this spring on the heels of an ugly 2020 showing. He was tagged for seven runs in 4 1/3 innings with the Angels during Cactus League play, and he was knocked arounf for a 6.88 ERA in 17 innings with the Rangers last season. The veteran righty had an outstanding season as recently as 2018 but has labored through 95 innings since that time.

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