Yusei Kikuchi’s Difficult Start
The Mariners made a slew of moves last offseason as part of their “reimagining” plan, but no addition came with more hype than free-agent signing Yusei Kikuchi. The club handed the Japanese star a four-year, $56MM contract – a deal that could turn into a seven-year, $109MM pact – with the expectation it was landing at least a mid-rotation starter. The left-handed Kikuchi could still evolve into that for the Mariners, but their investment hasn’t paid off as planned so far.
In his most recent start last Friday, the Astros lit up the 28-year-old Kikuchi for six earned runs on nine hits, including four home runs, in four innings. The performance dropped Kikuchi’s already uninspiring ERA to 5.49 through his first 118 innings in the majors, with FIP (5.95), xFIP (5.18) and SIERA (5.17) indicating he has deserved his poor run prevention numbers thus far. Home runs have been the main problem for Kikuchi, who has yielded them on 20.1 percent of fly balls and surrendered 2.14 HRs per nine innings. He ranks in the bottom five of the majors in both departments, including dead last in the latter category.
Unlike other recent ballyhooed Japanese imports (Yu Darvish, Masahiro Tanaka and Shohei Ohtani, to name a few), Kikuchi hasn’t excelled at missing bats in his initial MLB action. While Darvish, Tanaka and Ohtani each struck out more than a batter per inning upon reaching the bigs, Kikuchi has only set down 6.41 per nine via K, which outdoes just five qualified starters. Therefore, even though Kikuchi has logged a decent BB/9 (2.9), he sits 13th last in K/BB ratio (2.21). Unsurprisingly, his swinging-strike, chase and contact rates are also subpar.
To this point, Kikuchi has relied on a four-seam fastball (51.3 percent), slider (26.0) and curveball (17.4), per Statcast. The trouble is that two of those offerings – Kikuchi’s fastball and curve – have been eminently hittable. Batters have teed off on Kikuchi’s four-seamer for a .422 weighted on-base average/.386 expected wOBA, while they’ve lit up his curve for a .397/.431 pairing. Although they’ve mustered a .334 wOBA off Kikuchi’s slider, his .271 xwOBA against is far more encouraging. Looking at the location heatmaps for those pitches (via FanGraphs: four-seamer, slider, curve), it’s not hard to believe two have gotten crushed.
Lefties and righties alike have smacked around Kikuchi, who has yielded a .385 wOBA against the former and a .359 versus the latter. While his overall xwOBA against (.339) paints a much more optimistic picture than the actual mark (.369) hitters have put up, that’s not saying much. After all, according to Statcast, Kikuchi still only ranks in the majors’ 24th percentile in the category. Meanwhile, he’s in the league’s 48th percentile or worse in expected batting average against, expected slugging percentage against, hard-hit percentage against, exit velocity against, average fastball velocity (93.0 mph), fastball spin and strikeout percentage.
There clearly hasn’t been much to like about the rookie version of Kikuchi, which isn’t what the Mariners had in mind when they made him their headlining acquisition last offseason. Manager Scott Servais preached patience in regards to Kikuchi on Monday, saying this has been “a developmental year” and he’ll “learn from it.” That may prove to be the case. So far, however, Seattle can’t be thrilled with what Kikuchi has provided.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Nationals Request Release Waivers On Tony Sipp
Lefty Tony Sipp is likely headed back to the open market. The veteran reliever rejected an outright assignment and is now on release waivers, according to Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (via Twitter). Having already cleared outright waivers, it seems a foregone conclusion that Sipp will reach free agency.
Sipp was dropped from the Nationals’ 40-man roster recently as the team completed a reshaping of its relief corps. The southpaw will receive the remainder of his $1MM guaranteed salary, along with a $250K buyout on a 2020 mutual option, regardless of where he ends up landing next.
There’s little doubt that the southpaw specialist will draw interest from other organizations, though it’s hardly clear whether any will woo him with promises of an immediate MLB job. He’ll be available for just the league-minimum rate of pay, with any earnings partially offsetting the Nats’ remaining obligations.
The 36-year-old Sipp may be a tough player to fit on a 25-man roster right now, but he’d surely be welcome once rosters expand. While he didn’t fare well in D.C. by measure of results (4.71 ERA) or Statcast measures (.284 wOBA-against vs. .340 xwOBA-against), Sipp was still capable of a 12.7% swinging-strike rate.
Robinson Cano Diagnosed With Hamstring Tear
6:50pm: Cano has been diagnosed with a torn hamstring, the team announced and David Lennon of Newsday was among those to cover on Twitter. The specific grade is not clear; neither is the precise timeline. While surgery is not expected to be necessary, it certainly sounds as if Cano is headed for a lengthy absence.
11:45am: The Mets announced Monday that they’ve placed second baseman Robinson Cano on the 10-day injured list due to a strained left hamstring. Fellow infielder Luis Guillorme is up from Triple-A to take his spot on the active roster. The Mets also officially named right-hander Walker Lockett the 26th man for today’s doubleheader against the Marlins. He’ll start the second game of that twin bill.
Cano, 36, has had a poor overall season in his first year with the Mets but had been heating up at the dish of late. Though he’s hitting just .252/.295/.415 through 346 plate appearances, he’d turned in four consecutive multi-hit appearances prior to his latest injury, which was sustained on what looked to be his third double of yesterday’s game. Cano erupted for a three-homer game back on July 23 but collected just two total hits in seven games between that and the beginning of his recent multi-hit streak.
It’s the third time this season that Cano has landed on the 10-day injured list. The Mets didn’t give an indication as to the severity of the strain or any type of expected timeline for his return. In his absence, the Mets can shift Jeff McNeil to second base and play one of Juan Lagares or Aaron Altherr more in the outfield. Alternatively, if the preference is to keep McNeil in the outfield, Cano’s reps at second base can be divided among Guillorme and Adeiny Hechavarria. It’s likely that some combination of those scenarios will be used to cover second base while Cano is out. He’ll join Brandon Nimmo, Jed Lowrie, Dominic Smith and Yoenis Cespedes as Mets position players on the injured list.
Braves To Sign Lucas Duda
The Braves have agreed to a minors deal with first baseman Lucas Duda, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). The Roster Roundup Twitter account first connected the sides.
Duda, 33, will seek to reprise the role he played late last year in Atlanta, when he provided some bench punch in September. He’ll begin by trying to get his swing in form at Triple-A.
This has been a season to forget so far for the veteran slugger. Given a limited role in Kansas City, Duda failed to earn more opportunities. Ultimately, he limped to a .171/.252/.324 batting line in 119 plate appearances for the Royals. He was cut loose recently when the team couldn’t find a trade taker.
Cubs To Sign Alex Wilson
The Cubs have inked a minor-league contract with righty Alex Wilson, according to Robert Murray of The Athletic (Twitter links). Wilson was released recently by the division-rival Brewers.
Wilson, 32, was drubbed at the MLB level to open the season, landing at Triple-A after he was outrighted from the Milwaukee 40-man roster. He wasn’t asked back to the majors by the Brew Crew despite several instances in which the club needed relief pitching.
Even with his awful numbers early in 2019, Wilson is a career 3.44 ERA pitcher in the majors. And he sports a shiny 2.13 ERA over 29 outings and 38 innings at Triple-A since his demotion. Unfortunately, his peripherals were never all that enticing in the majors and haven’t been there this year at San Antonio, where he has allowed eight long balls and carries a solid but unspectacular 31:7 K/BB ratio.
MLBTR Chat Transcript: 8/5/19
Click here to read a transcript of Monday’s chat with MLBTR’s Connor Byrne.
Angels Promote Patrick Sandoval
AUGUST 5: The move is official. Roster space was created by moves involving a pair of right-handers. Luke Bard was placed on the 10-day IL with a right triceps contusion, while Pena was moved to the 60-day IL — no surprise given the recent diagnosis of a torn ACL.
AUGUST 3: The Angels are set to promote pitching prospect Patrick Sandoval to take the ball for Monday’s game in Cincinnati. Ryan Falla of Halo Hangout initially reported that Sandoval was due to be called up (Twitter link), and this report was confirmed by Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic (Twitter link).
A corresponding roster move has not yet been announced, but the Angels may have a ready-made fill-in in the event that Felix Pena–who was injured in tonight’s contest–ends up needing an IL placement.
Sandoval’s ascension to the big league represents something of a homecoming for the 22-year-old, who was developed at nearby Mission Viejo High School before being drafted by the Houston Astros in the 11th round of the 2015 draft. Acquired by Los Angeles in a 2018 deal involving Martin Maldonado, Sandoval has been identified by evaluators as a lefty with a reasonable ceiling as a back-end starter. Fangraphs has him ranked 15th in Los Angeles’s lightly regarded system.
Beginning the year with his second stint in Double-A, Sandoval overwhelmed hitters across his first five appearances, logging a 14.40 K/9 and 1.76 FIP in 20.0 innings before receiving a promotion to Triple-A. The PCL has been less kind to the southpaw, as his 6.41 ERA through 60.1 innings isn’t all that much better than his 4.97 FIP mark. Nevertheless, in a season challenged by pitching injuries, the Angels will look to provide MLB opportunity to this college-aged hurler.
D-Backs Announce Pitching Roster Moves
The Diamondbacks announced a series of pitching moves. Heading onto the roster are lefty Robby Scott and righty Kevin Ginkel. The latter had to be added to the 40-man roster.
Clearing the 40-man spot was accomplished by designating Zack Godley for assignment, as expected. To procure an additional active roster spot, righty Taylor Clarke was optioned down.
Ginkel, 25, heads up to the bigs for the first time after an impressive showing in the upper minors this year. In 35 1/3 total frames on the season, he carries a 1.78 ERA with an eye-popping 16.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9. Ginkel has allowed only 19 base hits.
Nationals To Sign Asdrubal Cabrera
Not long after his formal release by the Rangers, veteran infielder Asdrubal Cabrera has agreed to join the Nationals, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). It’s a major-league deal, per the report.
Because Cabrera was cut loose, the Rangers will remain obligated to him for the remainder of his $3.5MM salary. But they’ll save a pro-rated portion of the league minimum for whatever time Cabrera remains with the Nats.
It has been a few years, but Cabrera is a familiar face in D.C. He spent the last few months of the 2014 season with the club after a trade from the Indians, his long-time team. Cabrera has appeared with four additional teams in the intervening years.
The match is a clear one given the current roster demands faced by the Nationals. Howie Kendrick just joined Ryan Zimmerman on the injured list, leaving the team with light-hitting utilityman Adrian Sanchez as its lone reserve infielder.
It remains to be seen whether Cabrera will be a temporary fill-in or key roster piece down the stretch. His performance will no doubt help dictate the situation.
The switch-hitting Cabrera will be looking to bounce back from a brutal run with the Rangers. Not only did he limp to a .235/.318/.393 batting output, one of the worst extended runs of his career, but Cabrera was actually fortunate to post those numbers in light of the low-quality contact he made (.308 wOBA, .287 xwOBA).
Cubs Place Craig Kimbrel On IL; Anticipate Month-Long Absence For Contreras
The Cubs got some unwelcome injury news today on two fronts. Closer Craig Kimbrel was placed on the 10-day IL with a knee injury, while further examination revealed that catcher Willson Contreras is expected to miss about a month of action. ESPNChicago.com’s Jesse Rogers covered the news (links to Twitter).
Righty Duane Underwood Jr. is coming up to replace Kimbrel on the active roster. The hope, clearly, is that it won’t be a lengthy absence for the recently added veteran.
All that’s really known at the moment is that Kimbrel is dealing with inflammation, though it seems he has already been cleared of major structural issues with an MRI. The veteran hurler says he’s confident he’ll be ready to return after the minimum absence.
Kimbrel has already saved nine games for the Cubbies. But the new relationship has been a bit rocky. In 12 2/3 innings, Kimbrel has already coughed up four home runs. He has exhibited a clear loss of velocity and sports a 17:8 K/BB ratio (a 15.0% K%-BB% is less than half his career average), though he’s still managing a strong 16.5% swinging-strike rate that’s right at his career mean.
Hopefully, the Chicago org will welcome back an even better version of Kimbrel once he has taken a brief respite and sorted out his knee. The team is facing a rather more worrying situation with its top backstop.
Contreras suggested that he expects at least four weeks on the shelf, as Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Tribune reports (Twitter links). He indicated that he’ll be taking a cautious recovery path — no doubt a good idea given the timing. While there’s every reason to believe Contreras will be fully healed in time for the stretch run and postseason, it’d only take one setback to put that at risk.
It stands to reason that the Cubs will be on the hunt for another receiver — a search that’ll be complicated by the new August acquisition rules. The club had Martin Maldonado briefly, but shipped him on to the Astros before the trade deadline. At present, Victor Caratini and Taylor Davis are holding down the fort.