MLBTR Chat Transcript: Bumgarner, Cubs, Boyd, Greene, Cards
Click here to read the transcript of tonight’s baseball chat, moderated by MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk
Minor MLB Transactions: 7/7/19
Here are the latest moves from around the minors…
- Cody Decker is retiring from pro baseball, as officially confirmed by the Triple-A Reno Aces. The 32-year-old Decker ended his career on a remarkable high note, hitting a walkoff homer on Friday to end his final game. A UCLA product who was selected in the 22nd round of the 2009 draft by the Padres, Decker logged 3843 plate appearances over 1033 games in the minor leagues. After spending his first seven years in San Diego’s farm system, Decker bounced around to five other organizations within the last four seasons, including two years in Reno, the Diamondbacks‘ top affiliate. Though Decker’s only MLB experience consisted of eight games for the Padres in 2015 (that saw him go hitless in 11 at-bats), his lengthy minor league career and colorful personality made him something of a folk hero to teammates and fans. Decker hit .260/.341/.517 in the minors, and his 204 homers were the most of any active minor leaguer. We at MLBTR wish Decker the best in his post-playing career!
- The Rays have signed right-hander Jason Garcia to a minor league deal. The move was announced by the Twitter feed of the independent American Association, as Garcia had been pitching for the Sioux City team since being let go by the Rockies’ Double-A affiliate last season. Originally a 17th-round pick for the Red Sox in 2010, Garcia has a 4.94 ERA, 1.58 K/BB rate, and a 7.2 K/9 over 526 career innings in the minors, though he had posted some strong numbers for Sioux City (including a 2.73 ERA over 56 frames this season). Garcia’s only taste of the big leagues was back in 2015, when he posted a 4.25 ERA over 29 2/3 relief innings for the Orioles.
Nick Senzel Leaves Game With Right Ankle Sprain
5:22PM: Senzel’s sprain doesn’t seem to be particularly serious, as Reds manager David Bell told reporters (including C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic) that he believes Senzel will be ready to go after the All-Star break. This sprain is in a different area than the ankle injury that previously took Senzel out of action in Spring Training, Bell noted.
3:13PM: Reds outfielder Nick Senzel exited Sunday’s game prematurely after suffering a right ankle sprain, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The rookie appeared to snag a cleat on the center field fence while he was going after a Carlos Santana fly ball in the first inning. He played out the rest of the first inning and went on to take an at-bat in the bottom of the inning, but did not take the field for the second inning.
The severity of the sprain is not yet clear—ankle sprains can vary in seriousness and recovery timetable, though it’s notable that the injury wasn’t reported as a high ankle sprain, which tend to be more worrisome. At any rate, the timing of the injury is probably a best-case scenario, with the All-Star break affording Senzel and the Reds the next handful of days off.
Senzel, just 24 years old, has emerged as a key cog in the Reds’ lineup after debuting in May. In addition to slotting into the all-important leadoff spot and providing passable offensive output, Senzel has played exclusively in center field, a premium defensive position, in the Majors.
In Sunday’s game, Senzel was replaced in center field by Jesse Winker, who started the game in left field. Moving forward, the Reds should have several options to fill in for Senzel, should he require an IL stint. Phil Ervin has excelled as a reserve and could get starts in left field with Winker moving to center. Otherwise, Derek Dietrich, Jose Peraza, and Josh Vanmeter all have experience in the outfield. Scott Schebler, whom Senzel replaced in center following the former’s abysmal April showing, remains in the minors and is an option in center field.
Tigers Designate Austin Adams For Assignment
The Tigers have designated right-handed pitcher Austin Adams for assignment, tweets Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic. A corresponding move has yet to be announced and will likely come after the All-Star break. The move will clear a spot on Detroit’s 40-man roster.
Claimed by the Tigers off waivers in May, Adams got a chance to earn a spot in a Major League bullpen with Detroit, but it now appears that his time with the club is nearing its end. Splitting 2019 between the Twins and the Tigers, this season is the first time Adams has pithed in the Majors since 2016.
Adams has pitched 14 innings with Detroit this season, largely failing to produce in that small sample. He’s walked more batters than he has struck out, contributing to a below-average 5.14 ERA. His minor-league numbers have been much more impressive this season, having struck out 28 batters in 18 innings at the Triple-A level. He may remain in the Tigers organization if he goes unclaimed on waivers, and could otherwise be traded or released.
AL West Notes: Astros, Pence, Harvey, Mariners
The Astros will have a difficult decision to make after the All-Star break, when they will need to find a fifth starter to join the current group. As The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan writes (subscription required), Houston has gotten by with only four starters lately, thanks to a schedule that has afforded the team some well-timed off days. Corbin Martin would ideally be the guy to step up, but his season was cut short by an elbow injury. As Kaplan notes, the Astros are widely expected to target starting pitching at the trade deadline, so whoever is chosen will only need to hold down the fort for the next few weeks. With the addition of a fifth starter, of course, someone will lose their roster spot, and that may just be Tony Kemp. Kemp has seen his role diminish of late, receiving only sparing playing time while fellow bench bats Myles Straw and Tyler White fill more essential spots. Notably, Kemp is out of options, meaning that he will need to clear waivers if the Astros would like to demote him while keeping him in the organization.
- It doesn’t look like Rangers designated hitter Hunter Pence will be ready to return to game action immediately following the All-Star break, according to TR Sullivan of MLB.com. As Sullivan notes, Pence, who is recovering from a right groin strain, has yet to get to back to running full speed. Pence hasn’t appeared in a game for the Rangers since the middle of June, when he landed on the injured list. A minor-league signing last winter, Pence has been a revelation for Texas, emerging as a force in the middle of the lineup. His efforts earned him a spot on the All-Star roster, though he won’t be able to participate thanks to the injury.
- After the break, the Angels expect to welcome Matt Harvey back to the starting rotation, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group. On Sunday, he made a start for Triple-A Salt Lake, striking out seven batters in 3 1/3 innings of work. An upper back strain has prevented the veteran from pitching in the Majors since late May. When he has pitched for the Halos, though, the results have not been good: he’s worked to an unsightly 7.50 ERA in 10 starts and has thus far failed to live up to the $11MM contract he received in the offseason. Of course, he’ll have the rest of the season to reverse that, and he certainly has the talent to boost the playoff-hopeful Angels into the Wild Card conversation.
- Mariners right-handed pitcher Dan Altavilla will avoid Tommy John surgery after receiving the results from an MRI, tweets Greg Johns of MLB.com. That MRI showed no damage to Altavilla’s UCL, though he did endure a flexor strain in his elbow. To be sure, there’s nothing encouraging about elbow injuries, but the silver lining is that Altavilla won’t need to undergo Tommy John. Altavilla landed on the injured list after he “felt something in his forearm” while pitching on Friday.
Mariners Outright Mike Wright
According to an official team announcement, the Mariners have outrighted right-handed pitcher Mike Wright, who cleared waivers after he was designated for assignment last week, to Triple-A.
This marks the second time that Wright has been designated and outrighted by the M’s, who acquired the 29-year-old from the Orioles in April. Not long thereafter, he was demoted, but a strong showing in Triple-A earned him a second chance at claiming a spot in the Mariners’ bullpen, though evidently that tryout has not gone his way.
Wright, who has pitched 29 1/3 innings between Baltimore and Seattle this season, has done well to miss bats, striking out more than one batter per inning on average, but hitters have otherwise had their way against the right-hander. He has mustered a mere 8.28 ERA, fueled in large part by a proneness to the long ball. To his credit, though, the home run has gashed him far less often since he was acquired by the Mariners: he’s conceded one home run in 16 innings with Seattle, contributing to a far more serviceable 3.14 FIP, albeit one that still has not translated to results, as evidenced by his 7.31 ERA.
Madison Bumgarner Suffers Elbow Contusion
SUNDAY: Baggarly adds on Twitter that Bumgarner remains on track to start on Saturday for the Giants.
SATURDAY, 10:50pm: X-rays on Bumgarner came back negative, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic tweets. He suffered an elbow contusion.
SATURDAY, 10:12pm: Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner exited his start against the Cardinals on Saturday after two innings. Bumgarner took a first-inning comebacker to the left elbow off the bat of Jose Martinez, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to report. The 29-year-old stayed in immediately after, but his “elbow was really swollen,” Anne Rogers of MLB.com tweets. The Giants opted to pull Bumgarner early as a result.
The severity of the injury is unknown at this time, though removing Bumgarner may have been a precautionary move on the Giants’ part. As Schulman notes, San Francisco doesn’t have any real reason to take a chance with Bumgarner. After all, the multi-time playoff hero stands out as a premier trade chip going into the July 31 deadline.
Bumgarner, possibly the best rental starter on the block, has logged a 4.03 ERA/3.91 FIP with tremendous strikeout and walk rates (9.27 K/9, 1.93 BB/9) over 111 2/3 innings this season. If healthy, plenty of contenders will inquire about Bumgarner this month. At least two already have in recent weeks.
Max Scherzer Dealing With Back Tightness
Max Scherzer‘s spot on the All-Star roster has been filled by a replacement, and Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reports (via Twitter) that the three-time Cy Young Award winner has elected not to participate in the exhibition because of a minor back issue that dates back to his start against the Tigers a week ago.
As Dougherty notes, the injury is not especially serious; Scherzer expects to make his next regular-season start without issue, hopefully benefitting from the extended rest period. The back issue flared up in yesterday’s game, so it’s no surprise that Scherzer and the Nationals will take precaution in hopes that nothing gets worse over the break.
Though he won’t be playing in the Midsummer Classic, Scherzer will still travel to Cleveland to partake in the All-Star festivities. It’s the seventh time that the 34-year-old has been named an All-Star, all of which have come since 2013, when he broke out with the Tigers. Scherzer has been a model of durability in his career, having made 30 or more starts in every season since 2009, and as of now there’s no reason to believe that streak will end in 2019.
For what it’s worth, Scherzer seems to have been unfazed by the injury: he followed up his 14-strikeout outing in Comerica Park with seven innings of shutout ball on Saturday, looking as electric as ever. Of course, that’s easy to say from the outside looking in, and recent performance shouldn’t discount the injury.
Still, it’s promising for baseball fans that Scherzer, who has been an iron man throughout his career, has shown that he can pitch through the injury if needed, and doesn’t expect to miss any meaningful games for the playoff-hopeful Nationals. Washington has ridden Scherzer’s excellence to a 46-42 record that lands the club on the brink of playoff contention. Since a dreadful start that saw the team fall to a 19-31 record, they’ve reversed their fortune on the back of stellar performances from Scherzer and Anthony Rendon, among others.
Wilson Ramos Discusses Mets’ Future
Wilson Ramos is in his first year as a Met, having signed a two-year, $19MM contract with the club last offseason. Amidst a disappointing few months in Queens, Ramos acknowledged the possibility this might be his only season in orange and blue. “If they make a decision to trade me, you know, it’s happened before in my career, so it’s not going to surprise me,” Ramos told Newsday’s Kenny DeJohn.
As DeJohn notes, Ramos has seen his playing time dwindle in recent weeks. Ostensibly brought in to be New York’s top backstop, Ramos has started just five of their last nine games, ceding playing time to 25-year-old teammate Tomas Nido. This doesn’t seem to be indicative of any health concerns, as Ramos tells DeJohn he’s surprised at his downtick in playing time.
Indeed, Ramos’ comments are especially noteworthy coming on the heels of reports Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard have developed a better rapport with Nido than with the veteran slugger. A glance at the respective catchers’ defensive metrics might offer an explanation. Baseball Prospectus tabs Nido as a slightly above-average pitch framer and ball blocker, in accord with his strong defensive reputation as a prospect. Ramos, meanwhile, rates near the bottom of the league in both categories. (In fairness to Ramos, he rated as an average defender between 2017-2018, so it’s possible there’s room for improvement).
Regardless of one’s opinion on pitch-framing metrics, that the Mets’ top hitting catcher hasn’t gelled with the club’s top two arms is obviously suboptimal. Ramos did catch deGrom Friday night for the first time in nearly a month, but Syndergaard has been paired with Nido in each of his two starts since the fireballer returned from the IL last week. The Mets, amidst organizational chaos, seem likely to sell off short-term assets anyway, and Ramos’ reported disconnect with the team’s top arms could make a change of scenery best for everyone involved.
Despite his defensive shortcomings, it’s not hard to see Ramos piquing some interest on the trade market, although any prospect return will be marginal and will require the Mets pay down some of the deal. His .275/.350/.413 line, while down from his career-best hitting in 2018, is still plenty formidable for a catcher. Ramos’ 105 wRC+ ranks ninth among catchers with at least 200 plate appearances. Even with midseason catcher trades being difficult to pull off, Ramos’ 121 wRC+ since the start of 2017 will interest some contenders.
Speculatively speaking, an AL club who can rotate Ramos through catcher, first base and DH to keep him healthy and creatively work his bat into the lineup might make the most sense, but it’s not hard to see an NL team viewing Ramos as a sufficient offensive boon to live with mediocre glovework behind the plate. The A’s, Rangers, Rockies and Pirates all remain on the fringes of contention despite lackluster production from their backstops. Texas, in particular, has set itself up to be a modest buyer with its surprising 47-42 record, and GM Jon Daniels noted last month that any acquisition would likely be under team control for 2020, as Ramos is. Pairing Ramos with Jeff Mathis, a gifted defender whose bat has cratered to unplayable levels, could give Texas a much-needed jolt behind the dish.
Regardless of Ramos’ ultimate destination, the Mets’ decision to pursue him last offseason, while understandable at the time, hasn’t gone as planned. While far from the team’s biggest blunder in their series of aggressive moves, the Mets may be left footing some of the bill for their veteran backstop to move elsewhere over the next few weeks.
Gio Gonzalez Nearing Rehab Assignment
Brewers left-hander Gio Gonzalez, out since June 1 with a dead arm, is finally progressing toward a return. He’ll start a rehab assignment at the High-A level on Wednesday, Sophia Minnaert of Fox Sports Wisconsin reports.
Gonzalez threw a bullpen session of 40-plus pitches Saturday without incident – a notable step for someone who suffered a setback during a bullpen on June 26. The hope prior to then was that Gonzalez would come back before the All-Star break. It’s now unclear how long he’ll take to ramp up before rejoining the Brewers, but his return will be a timely one with the club fighting for a playoff spot and in need of starting help.
Despite the holes in their pitching staff, the reigning National League Central champion Brewers are 47-43, in possession of a wild-card spot and a half-game back of the Cubs in a wide-open division. The Brewers are in playoff position thanks in part to Gonzalez, who looked like a quality bargain pickup before going on the IL.
After signing a $2MM deal with the Brewers in late April, the former Athletic and National began the season with a 3.19 ERA/3.24 FIP, 7.55 K/9 against 2.61 BB/9, and a 45.5 percent groundball rate over 31 innings and six starts. There’s a case Gonzalez has been the Brewers’ second- or third-best starter this season on a per-inning basis, trailing the emergent Brandon Woodruff and perhaps Zach Davies.