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AL Notes: Minor, Whitley, Giolito, Stewart

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The Rangers received offseason trade interest in lefty Mike Minor but opted to hang onto him to help anchor a thin rotation in 2019. And while USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweeted recently that both the Mets and Phillies are showing “strong” interest in Minor, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News cites three sources in reporting that the Texas organization hasn’t had any recent trade talks regarding the left-hander. It’s likely that the Phillies and Mets have each scouted Minor’s early outings, but other clubs have surely done the same, just as Philadelphia and New York have quite likely scouted numerous other starting pitchers.

For the Rangers, it’s difficult to envision trading Minor to the Mets, Phillies or any other team so early in the year — particularly given their own thin rotation. Minor, earning $9.5MM in both 2019 and 2020, will likely be an oft-discussed trade candidate later this summer, when a greater number of motivated buyers is willing to make an offer (and when additional replacement options have potentially emerged within the organization). At present, however, a trade of that magnitude seems unlikely.

Here’s more from the American League…

  • Jake Kaplan of The Athletic explores the manner in which the Astros will manage the workload of top pitching prospect Forrest Whitley (subscription required). The highly touted righty totaled just 52 1/3 innings between the regular season and the AFL last year, owing to a 50-game drug suspension and a pair of injuries, so Houston will monitor his pitch and inning counts closely. Thus far, Whitley has been limited to five innings or 80 pitches per appearance. Houston opted to have him take the final turn in what is a six-day rotation consisting of three solo starters and three tandem pairings (one including the pairing of Whitley and Cy Sneed). While the organization has a rough idea of where they’d like Whitley’s innings count to land, president of baseball ops Jeff Luhnow suggested that it’s a context-dependent guideline rather than a hard cap. It’s plausible that he could debut as either a starter or reliever, depending on team needs. In general, Houston’s at times unorthodox approach to player development makes for a fascinating read, and that’s all the more true when the focus is placed on arguably the game’s top pitching prospect.
  • The White Sox announced Thursday morning that they’ve placed right-hander Lucas Giolito on the 10-day injured list due to a strained left hamstring. To replace Giolito and outfielder Daniel Palka, who was optioned to Triple-A following last night’s game, they’ve recalled righty Carson Fulmer and outfielder Ryan Cordell. Giolito tells reporters that he expects to only miss a pair of starts with the injury (Twitter link via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Sun Times), but it’s still a discouraging setback for the former top prospect. The 24-year-old had an awful first full season in 2018, stumbling to a 6.13 ERA in 173 1/3 innings, but he’s shown some encouraging signs early in 2019. His fastball velocity is up nearly a mile per hour over his 2018 average, while his swinging-strike rate is up from a pedestrian 8.3 percent to a well-above-average 12.4 percent. After averaging just 6.5 K/9 in 2018, Giolito has already punched out 23 hitters in 18 2/3 frames. He still needs to improve his control, but the early improvements in velocity and missed bats are encouraging even if his ERA is still at an elevated 5.30 mark.
  • Tigers outfielder Christin Stewart landed on the injured list Thursday thanks to a right quad strain, per a club announcement. Infielder/outfielder Brandon Dixon is up from Triple-A Toledo to take his spot on the roster. The 25-year-old Stewart’s bid for an everyday spot in Detroit’s long-term lineup is off to a decent start, as he’s batting .246/.346/.465 through 136 plate appearances dating back to his late-2018 debut. Stewart has drawn a free pass in 12.5 percent of his trips to the plate and smacked five homers, six doubles and two triples in his limited experience, showing off the patience and power that make him an intriguing prospect. He’s unlikely to provide much in the way of defensive value, but he has the makings of a bat-first corner outfielder or designated hitter moving forward.

Blue Jays Designate Javy Guerra For Assignment

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The Blue Jays announced Thursday that they’ve designated right-hander Javy Guerra for assignment in order to open a spot on the active roster for righty Ryan Tepera, who has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list.

Guerra, 33, appeared in 10 games for Toronto early in the season but was tagged for six runs on nine hits, four walks and a hit batter. He did manage 12 strikeouts in his brief stint with the Jays, although a well-below-average 6.7 percent swinging-strike rate and 25.7 percent opponents’ chase rate suggest he wouldn’t be likely to maintain that strikeout rate. In 223 1/3 innings at the MLB level dating back to 2011, Guerra has a 3.51 ERA with 7.4 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9 and a 44.5 percent ground-ball rate, but he hasn’t had much success at the MLB level since 2014.

The well-traveled Guerra is hardly a stranger to the DFA process; this is the sixth time in his career he’s been designated for assignment. The Jays will have a week to trade him or run him through outright waivers, with the latter of those two outcomes seeming the more likely route. If Guerra clears, he’d be able to reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency.

In Tepera, the Blue Jays will be getting one of their top late-inning arms back after a three-week absence due to what looks to have been a minor elbow injury. Dating back to the 2016 season, Tepera has turned in 160 2/3 frames of 3.53 ERA ball with 9.4 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9. He’s earning $1.525MM as a first-time arbitration player in 2019. Assuming Tepera can demonstrate that he’s fully healthy over the next couple of months, he’ll likely be an oft-asked-about trade candidate for a rebuilding Jays club this summer.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/18/19

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Some minor moves from around the game…

  • The White Sox signed catcher Brett Nicholas to a minor league contract, per Baseball America’s Kegan Lowe. The 30-year-old is a career .252/.300/.456 hitter in a limited sample of 110 plate appearances, all coming with the Rangers back in 2016-17. Nicholas spent the 2018 season with the Padres’ Triple-A club and, as he’s done in the past, hit well at that level — particularly for a catcher. In 456 PAs last year, Nicholas hit .291/.353/.485 with 16 homers. He’s a lifetime .285/.337/.440 hitter in 2125 PAs at that level. He spent Spring Training with the Rockies but was granted his release late in camp after a rough 1-for-20 showing. Defensively, Nicholas has a marginally below-average 26 percent caught-stealing rate in his pro career, but his framing marks in Triple-A are consistently poor. He’ll give the Sox another depth piece behind Welington Castillo and James McCann.

Latest On Braves’ Bullpen

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After losing closer Arodys Vizcaino to season-ending shoulder surgery Wednesday, Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos unsurprisingly acknowledged that his club will consider multiple avenues to improving what was already a struggling relief corps (links via MLB.com’s Mark Bowman and Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Atlanta, per Anthopoulos, is going to look to “do what we can … both internally and externally.”

Vague as the comment may be, the minds of all Braves fans are zeroed in on one name: free-agent Craig Kimbrel. However, both Bowman and Burns suggest that a match between Kimbrel and the Braves remains unlikely, as the team isn’t keen on inking its former closer to a multi-year pact. Cognizant of upcoming restrictions on their international spending abilities, the Braves are apparently also placing an extra emphasis on the draft pick they’d forfeit to sign Kimbrel. It’d be a surprise if that were a primary factor in their thinking, though. Atlanta already has a deep farm, and they recently ensured that their two brightest young stars will be on the roster for upwards of a decade. Stockpiling depth and trade capital is an ever-important endeavor, but draft forfeitures shouldn’t be the primary roadblock if the two sides eventually land in the same ballpark in terms of years and dollars.

It seems there’s still a gap, although Kimbrel’s precise asking price isn’t clear. A weekend report from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal pegged Kimbrel’s price point at something in the vicinity of the three-year deals received by Wade Davis ($52MM) and Zack Britton ($39MM) over the past two offseasons, but even those contracts have a fairly notable range between them. For Atlanta, the annual value isn’t a sticking point so much as the length. A three-year deal, per Burns, “is a commitment the Braves won’t make.”

The question for the Braves, if Kimbrel isn’t the solution, becomes one of where they can turn for improvement. The free-agent market is rather bare beyond him at this point. Old friend Bud Norris remains unsigned but, like Kimbrel, wouldn’t be ready immediately. Veteran Ryan Madson is without a team, but as of early February, he was reportedly pondering whether he even planned to pitch in 2019. He’d need even longer to get up to speed.

The mid-April trade market isn’t likely to be any better, as most teams will be reluctant to sell off veteran assets so early. The Blue Jays made a pair of early moves to ship out Kendrys Morales and Kevin Pillar, but financial motivations and a desire to clear space for younger players fueled those deals. Their bullpen isn’t in the same situation. There’s sure to be some depth hitting the waiver wire in the coming weeks, but Atlanta doesn’t have a strong waiver priority, and the preference would presumably be to add more stability than someone who’d recently been designated for assignment anyhow.

Barring a drop in Kimbrel’s asking price, the likeliest outcome looks to be that the Braves try to patch things from within. To this point, none of their vaunted young starting pitching prospects have been tried out as a reliever (with the exception of a lone Touki Toussaint long-relief appearance following a short Sean Newcomb start). It’s worth seeing whether someone like Toussaint, Kyle Wright or Bryse Wilson can step up in the late innings as the team looks for ways to help a relief corps that entered play Wednesday with a 5.43 ERA before being saddled with its second loss in as many days.

NL Central Notes: Burnes, Wood, Pirates

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A fourth ugly start to open the season has put Corbin Burnes’ spot in the Brewers’ rotation in jeopardy, writes Tom Haurdricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “I think we’re going to have a longer conversation this time, and try to figure out what the best way to get him on track is,” said manager Craig Counsell after today’s loss. Counsell wouldn’t guarantee another start for Burnes and spoke of how he thought Burnes threw the ball well but had some mistakes punished in his first few starts; regarding Wednesday’s loss, however, Counsell suggested that Burnes didn’t throw as well and left far too many pitches in the middle of the plate — an assessment with which Burnes himself agreed. With Freddy Peralta hitting the injured list, bouncing Burnes from the rotation would create even more uncertainty in a starting staff that is already accompanied by plenty of questions.

Here’s more from the division…

  • The Reds don’t expect Alex Wood to make his team debut until sometime in May, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Acquired to help round out a revamped rotation, Wood hasn’t pitched in a game setting since late February due to back spasms. A setback at the end of camp pushed his timetable for a return back even further, but he’s now slated for a bullpen session Saturday. The lefty will need multiple rehab starts before he can be considered a big league option, though for the time being, Wood tells Nightengale he’s only focused on coming out of his upcoming bullpen session feeling strong. Given how long it’s been since he’s pitched in a game, the latter half of May seems more plausible than the early portion for a return.
  • The Pirates’ lack of a move to truly address shortstop this offseason has led to some early questions at the position, as Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette addresses in his latest mailbag column. Trade acquisition Erik Gonzalez is hitting just .217/.308/.304 through 54 plate appearances, while prospect Kevin Newman has made a pair of errors in 17 innings a year after grading poorly there in a small sample of 182 innings. Brink notes that Cole Tucker could be a consideration at some point, but he likely won’t be promoted until he’s past the potential cutoff for Super Two status in mid June. Brink also notes that moving Jung Ho Kang to shortstop and playing Colin Moran at third base full time doesn’t appear to be in the cards now. He goes on to look ahead to next year’s free-agent market as well as Tyler Glasnow’s success in Tampa Bay in a column that has plenty of interesting info for Buccos fans.

Athletics Place Marco Estrada On Injured List

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The A’s announced Wednesday that they’ve placed righty Marco Estrada on the 10-day injured list due to a lumbar strain in his back. Fellow right-hander Chris Bassitt is coming up from Triple-A Las Vegas to take his spot on the roster and figures to be an option to step into in the rotation as well.

There’s no word yet on just how long Estrada is expected to miss, although the 35-year-old has a history of back issues in recent seasons. Estrada has twice missed time in the past due to back troubles and has pitched through a herniated disk in his back as well.

He’s off to a rough start in his new surroundings, having surrendered 19 runs (18 earned) on 23 hits and eight walks with 11 strikeouts in 23 2/3 frames. The long ball has plagued Estrada in the past, but his troubles with that issue are more pronounced than ever so far in 2019; in those 23 2/3 innings, he’s already given up seven home runs. His velocity, while never a strong point, is nevertheless down as well, as his fastball is averaging a career-low 87.4 mph that lags well behind last year’s average of 88.6 mph.

Estrada told reporters this afternoon that he’s been trying to pitch through discomfort but reached a point where he felt unable to do so (Twitter link via the San Francisco Chronicle’s John Shea). “I don’t hit guys. I don’t walk guys,” said Estrada, who walked three batters and hit another in 3 1/3 innings yesterday. “I couldn’t pitch yesterday.”

Oakland signed Estrada to a one-year, $4MM contract this offseason in hopes that he could bounce back from a down year in Toronto and serve as an affordable rotation stabilizer. The A’s have a number of arms on the mend from 2018 surgery — Sean Manaea, Jharel Cotton, A.J. Puk and Daniel Gossett among them — and are leaning on a somewhat patchwork group to hold things together at the moment.

Mike Fiers, Brett Anderson, Frankie Montas and Aaron Brooks are all in the rotation at the moment, while Daniel Mengden, Paul Blackburn and Tanner Anderson are all in Triple-A. The A’s also signed righty Edwin Jackson to a minor league contract last week, and he’ll provide further depth once he’s up to speed.

Rangers Sign Jen-Ho Tseng To Minor League Deal

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The Rangers announced Wednesday that they’ve signed right-hander Jen-Ho Tseng to a minor league contract. The former Cubs righty, who was designated for assignment released recently, will head to extended Spring Training begin a throwing program, per Rangers executive vice president of communications John Blake.

Tseng, 24, was a fairly high-profile signing for the Cubs back in 2013, receiving a $1.625MM signing bonus as an 18-year-old amateur out of Taiwan. He was considered one of the Cubs’ more promising young arms for years after his signing and breezed through much of his minor league tenure, posting quality numbers against older, more experienced competition en route to a brief cup of coffee with the big league team in 2017.

The 2018 season, however, was a disaster for Tseng. After logging a 1.80 ERA in 55 1/3 Triple-A innings in 2017, Tseng was tattooed for a 6.27 earned run average in 136 1/3 frames there last year. He allowed a career-high 2.9 walks per nine innings pitched and a career-worst 1.32 homers per nine frames in last year’s ugly showing. While Tseng’s modest strikeout rate made that 2017 ERA look ripe for at least some regression even at the time, few would’ve expected such a stark downturn in his performance. Spring Training wasn’t any prettier in 2019, as Tseng yielded eight runs on eight hits and two walks with just one strikeout in 4 2/3 innings in Major League camp.

Those struggles were enough for the Cubs to move on, but the Rangers, known to be on the lookout for rotation depth, are in a better position to give a chance to a young arm not far removed from success in the upper minors. Unlike the Cubs, the Rangers didn’t enter the season with legitimate postseason aspirations. Given the patchwork nature of their rotation (plus injuries to Yohander Mendez and Edinson Volquez), Texas not only has a need for depth but also a relatively clear path to an opportunity for Tseng if he can get out to a strong start once he joins a minor league affiliate.

Arodys Vizcaino Undergoes Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

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The Braves have announced that closer Arodys Vizcaino has undergone season-ending shoulder surgery. The procedure involved a labrum clean-up and the removal of scar tissue.

This news represents a major hit to a Braves relief unit that was already under fire. That’s true of many other clubs — including several division rivals — but that doesn’t make it easier to bear. A.J. Minter, the club’s other top option for the ninth inning, has scuffled out of the gates. Others in the bullpen currently include Wes Parsons, Luke Jackson, Jesse Biddle, Shane Carle and Chad Sobotka, although of that bunch, Carle and Sobotka have struggled quite a bit in the season’s first few weeks.

The Atlanta organization isn’t short on promising arms in the upper minors, though the bulk of their top-regarded arms are in rotation roles. Bryse Wilson and Kyle Wright opened the year in the big league rotation, in fact, though each has since been optioned down to Triple-A Gwinnett. Southpaws Luiz Gohara and Kolby Allard are both starting at the Triple-A level as well.

Right-hander Mike Soroka, arguably the most promising young arm the Braves have in-house, didn’t appear to be an option in the hours leading up to the news on Vizcaino’s shoulder. To the contrary, Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweeted that afternoon that it’s likely that Soroka will be recalled to start tomorrow’s game for the Braves. He’ll at least temporarily step into a rotation that is expected to get top starter Mike Foltynewicz back by the end of the month.

It won’t go unnoticed that there is still a rather prominent free agent reliever still left unsigned. Long-time Braves closer extraordinaire Craig Kimbrel held talks earlier in the winter but failed to come to terms with the value-conscious Atlanta organization. He’s still reportedly seeking a multi-year deal; the Braves will be loath to commit to a lengthy accord, but Kimbrel’s leverage may be on the rise as late-inning relief units falter around baseball.

Signing Kimbrel before the June draft would cost the Braves a pick in the 2020 draft, as Kimbrel rejected a qualifying offer from the Red Sox upon conclusion of the 2018 season. Nevertheless, the on-paper fit is now more pronounced than ever, and fan outcry for the organization to broker a reunion with an already beloved franchise icon has been audible since late in the offseason.

The Braves kicked off the winter with a high-profile signing of Josh Donaldson but then went largely dormant, negotiating only small-scale returns for Brian McCann and Nick Markakis. At the time of the Markakis signing, general manager Alex Anthopoulos spoke of the contract’s below-market rate perhaps giving the team flexibility to make further moves down the line — in addition to Braves leadership already having spoken of increased spending capacity earlier in the winter — but that has yet to come to fruition.

As for Vizcaino, the injury may well prove to be the end of his Braves tenure. The hard-throwing righty entered the season with five years, 168 days of Major League service time, meaning he’s already now surpassed the six-year service mark needed to qualify for free agency. Perhaps the Braves will look to retain him on a bargain contract next offseason, but Vizcaino will have the ability to listen to offers from any and all interested parties. He’ll quite likely be forced to settle for a one-year deal with a low base salary and plenty of incentives, if not a minor league contract, as teams throughout the league look at him as a potential bounceback candidate. He won’t turn 29 until November, though, so at the very least, Vizcaino will have age on his side in free agency.

Matt Moore To Miss Remainder Of Season After Knee Surgery

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Tigers lefty Matt Moore is slated to miss the remainder of the 2019 season, the club told reporters including MLB.com’s Jason Beck (Twitter link). While the procedure was known, the prognosis comes as quite a surprise.

It had been expected that Moore wouldn’t be sidelined for more than six weeks or so, as he was slated only to undergo a common procedure to address a meniscus tear. The reason for the change in the outlook isn’t yet known, but something obviously didn’t go as anticipated.

This news represents poor fortune all around. The Detroit organization will come away with little to show for the $2.5MM it invested in Moore last winter. And Moore won’t get a full shot to boost his value before reentering the market.

The 29-year-old southpaw did turn in two scoreless outings, compiling nine strikeouts against one walk over ten frames, before going down with what seemed to be a minor injury. That included a promising jump to a 14.5% swinging-strike rate, so it’s at least conceivable that some teams will have seen enough to make an investment in the still-youthful hurler based only upon that limited showing.

Moore follows Michael Fulmer in suffering a season-ending injury. It seems the Tigers will now have little choice but to give a full run to Daniel Norris, who is facing something of a make or break year. Other depth options include Ryan Carpenter and Matt Hall. The club may at some point also take a look at some of its lauded young pitching prospects who don’t yet have 40-man roster spots.

Brad Miller Elects Free Agency

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The Indians announced today that infielder Brad Miller has elected free agency after clearing waivers. Recently designated for assignment, Miller had expressed some frustration with the organization’s decision and preferred not to take a spot at Triple-A.

This move puts an interesting player back onto the open market. The 29-year-old is a fairly accomplished left-handed batter with some defensive versatility. He opened the current campaign with forty plate appearances of .250/.325/.417 hitting and ought to be ready to hit the ground running with a new club.

That being said, Miller may still need to take up residency with an affiliate for a stretch before returning to the majors. He could have been claimed had any team really wanted him on its active roster. After all, he was slated to earn only $1MM for the season under the deal he inked with the Indians. (Having signed an advance consent clause, the club must pay only for about a sixth of that amount.)

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