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Nationals Notes: Deadline, Scherzer, Zimmerman

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The resurgent Nationals have won eight of their past 10 games and reached the .500 mark at 40-40. The Nats’ season looked to be completely unraveling in May, but they’re now within seven games of the division lead and just two and a half games back in the Wild Card chase. While the team’s recent play is encouraging, general manager Mike Rizzo isn’t making any proclamations about his team’s approach to the July 31 trade deadline. “We’ve got time to continue to evaluate before we have to make a decision, before the trade deadline, and we’ll do so,” Rizzo tells Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com. “…We’re going to see what the needs of the team are. We’re going to see where we’re at, what opportunities we have to make any kind of changes. This is our time to evaluate.” Rizzo also discusses the team’s bullpen, addressing the unsuccessful Trevor Rosenthal signing as well as the recent pickups of Fernando Rodney and Jonny Venters. The ’pen would clearly be a primary area of focus for Washington if the team does indeed operate as a buyer next month, though it sounds as if they’ll take some time before setting a course.

More from D.C….

  • The Athletic’s Brittany Ghiroli takes a look at the logic behind the Nats buying and behind them turning into sellers next month (subscription required). Notably, she writes that even the Nats do sell there “remains almost no chance” that Max Scherzer would be traded. Scherzer would surely be in high demand, sizable contract notwithstanding, given his continued dominance at the front of the Nats’ rotation, but he’s also under control for another two seasons. The Nats will find themselves in a tough spot if they continue to hover around this mark; as Ghiroli points out, the team’s rotation and starting lineup are excellent, but the glaring lack of depth behind its stars would make an injury or two to a key player even more detrimental than it would to many other teams.
  • Ryan Zimmerman is making good progress on a Double-A rehab assignment and could rejoin the Nationals as soon as this weekend, writes Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. Zimmerman, 34, has appeared in five games with Harrisburg and has played a full nine innings at first base on multiple occasions. He’s been limited to just 22 big league games this season thanks to a bout of plantar fasciitis, but his return would add another solid bat to the Washington lineup. Zimmerman didn’t hit much when on the active roster earlier this season, but he slashed .264/.337/.486 in 323 plate appearances last year and hit a combined .289/.350/.542 in 2017-18. The Nats have received strong production from Howie Kendrick and the red-hot Matt Adams of late, so Zimmerman may not step back into a full workload right away.

Mets, Matthew Allan Agree To Terms

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June 28: Allan will sign his contract today, Heyman tweets. He’s expected to receive a $2.5MM signing bonus.

June 26: The Mets are in agreement on a deal with third-round selection Matthew Allan, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). Allan had been considered a first-round talent who came with some signability issues, so the Mets have likely promised the high school righty a bonus that is considerably higher than his $668K slot value in order to forgo his commitment to Florida. Notably, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets that Allan has yet to take his physical.

Heading into the draft, Allan ranked as the No. 11 prospect in the draft, per ESPN’s Keith Law. MLB.com’s top 200 listed Allan at No. 13, while he was 16th on the top 500 over at Baseball America and 20th at Fangraphs. Law called Allan the best high school pitcher in this year’s draft, praising him for a 92-95 mph fastball and a curveball that is already regarded as a plus pitch. MLB.com’s report notes that Allen’s changeup took a step forward this season as well, giving the 6’3″, 210-pound righty the potential for a third above-average offering.

The Mets saved about $470K on top pick Brett Baty but also went considerably over slot in giving second-round pick Josh Wolf a $2.15MM bonus when his slot value was roughly $1.37MM. However, the Mets selected college seniors in each of the fourth through tenth rounds of the draft, leaving them a considerable bit of cash to allocate to Allan. Each received bonuses of $20K or less, and while that leaves New York with a topheavy draft class, they’ll come away with a pair of players who were widely considered to be among the 20 best talents available. Obviously, there’s plenty of variance in all MLB draftees — high schoolers in particular — so the Mets are taking a fairly high-risk approach in so aggressively frontloading their draft resources to secure this trio of prep stars.

AL West Notes: Stroman, Astros, Yordan, Trout, Laureano

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Marcus Stroman has been mentioned as a possible trade target for not only the Astros, but virtually every team in baseball that could be looking for starting pitching help.  Houston’s interest in the Blue Jays righty, however, dates back to at least 2017, as Peter Gammons reports (Twitter link) that the Astros heavily evaluated Stroman when exploring pitching targets that summer.  Houston “did almost as much work on” Stroman as they did on eventual acquisition Justin Verlander, Gammons writes.  Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle addressed Gammons’ tweet and the Astros’ pitching needs as part of a mailbag piece, noting that Stroman’s pitching style doesn’t match Houston’s preferred model for a starter, though the Astros don’t hold hard and fast to that model — case in point, their signing of Wade Miley last winter.

Here’s some more from around the AL West…

  • Yordan Alvarez left today’s game after three innings due to what the Astros described as “discomfort” in his left knee. (MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart was among those who reported the news.)  The injury isn’t thought to be serious, as Alvarez said he could have continued playing, though manager A.J. Hinch said he removed Alvarez “as a precaution” and “we’ll give him a day or two” to get healed up.  Alvarez initially suffered the injury after fouling a ball off his knee on Tuesday.  The rookie slugger has been nothing short of incredible during his first 65 Major League plate appearances, with seven homers and a .298/.385/.719 slash line.
  • Before Mike Trout signed his record-setting extension with the Angels in March, Phillies fans long wondered if the superstar would one day join the Phils to play closer to his hometown of Millville, New Jersey.  As Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller writes, however, Trout appreciates keeping some space between his real-life home and his adopted hometown of Los Angeles.  “Obviously, a lot of people from home wanted me to come back east.  We were thinking about it, my wife and I,” Trout said.  “But it’s perfect to be able to go back in the offseason and have a life, be myself and spend time back in my hometown. It’s always good to go back.”  The story is well worth a full read for Trout’s loyalty to the Angels, the connection between Trout and Millville, plus the interesting note of how Bryce Harper got in touch with Trout before signing to learn some details about the Philadelphia area, prior to Harper’s deal with the Phillies.
  • The Athletics are known to be considering extensions with several of their players, and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle adds Ramon Laureano’s name to the list of those under consideration for a long-term deal.  “Laser Ramon” has already gained attention for his excellent throwing arm, and has also shown some promise at the plate, entering today hitting .261/.306/.440 with 12 home runs over 314 plate appearances.  An extension for Laureano would probably be a relatively inexpensive investment for Oakland, certainly in comparison to the much greater dollar figures it would take for the A’s to extend the likes of Matt Chapman or Marcus Semien.  But, there’s also no real rush to extend Laureano yet, as the outfielder has yet to amass even a full year of MLB service time.

Rays To Promote Brendan McKay

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The Rays will promote left-hander Brendan McKay to start Saturday’s game against the Rangers, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (Twitter link).  McKay isn’t on the Rays’ 40-man roster, so another transaction beyond a 25-man roster spot will have to be opened before Saturday.

McKay entered the season as one of the consensus top minor leaguers in the game, though pundits gave him something of a wide range of evaluations.  ESPN’s Keith Law and Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen each ranked McKay as the 14th-best prospect in the sport, while MLB.com (29th), Baseball Prospectus (42nd) and Baseball America (49th) weren’t quite as bullish.

Part of the discrepancy could stem from McKay’s unique status as a two-way player.  An outstanding pitcher and first baseman at the University of Louisville, the Rays drafted “Two-Way McKay” fourth overall in the 2017 draft and allowed him to continue at both positions in his pro career.

Thus far, McKay has shown a lot more promise on the mound, with a sterling 1.85 ERA, 6.24 K/BB rate, and 11.6 K/9 over 165 innings pitched, compared to a .216/.348/.356 slash line and 14 homers over 541 plate appearances (though he has hit quite well against Triple-A pitching).  It’s worth noting that McKay’s progress was somewhat slowed by two different oblique injuries in 2018, once sustained as a pitcher and one as a hitter — “highlighting the inherent risk of developing a two-way player,” as MLB.com’s scouting report notes.

Perhaps as a nod to this injury risk, the Rays have seemingly looked to turn McKay (if he remains a two-way player at all) into a more direct copy of Shohei Ohtani, in terms of how the Angels deploy Ohtani when he isn’t on the mound.  McKay has been used exclusively as a DH when appearing in a lineup this season, rather than any more time at first base.

It isn’t yet known if the Rays will give McKay any DH at-bats in the big leagues, though Tampa Bay has cycled so many players through the designated hitter spot this season (as a way of keeping everyone fresh) that it stands to reason McKay could also get a look.  Austin Meadows has received the bulk of Tampa’s DH time this season, and with both Meadows and McKay are left-handed hitters, it doesn’t make for an ideal match.  That said, the Rays are flexible with their lineups and positions as any team in baseball, so Avisail Garcia or Tommy Pham could get a breather against the occasional right-hander to allow for McKay to get some exposure to MLB pitching.

More immediately, however, McKay will be used to address the Rays’ pitching needs.  With Tyler Glasnow facing an even longer IL stint after suffering a setback in his recovery from a forearm injury, the Rays are down to Blake Snell, Charlie Morton, and Yonny Chirinos as regular starters, with openers and bulk starters handling the other regular turns through the rotation.  It could be that Tampa doesn’t want to overwhelm McKay in his first taste of the majors, and will keep him as just a pitcher for now.  Getting some quality innings from McKay would be a big boost for the Rays, as the team could then more directly focus on adding relief pitching at the deadline rather than having to think about acquiring a starter as well.

All-Star Game Starting Lineups Announced

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The starters for this year’s All-Star Game have been officially selected, as announced today by Major League Baseball.  The Midsummer Classic will take place on July 9 in Cleveland.  As per the new rules of this year’s selection process, fan votes determined a field of three finalists for every position around the diamond, before the final choice was made from those three players during another fan ballot over a 28-hour voting period.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

NATIONAL LEAGUE

The full rosters, including reserves and pitching staffs, will be announced on Sunday.  The losing finalists aren’t automatically assured spots on the actual All-Star teams, as the reserve spots will be determined via the Commissioner’s Office and a ballot of Major League players.

As noted by Baseball America’s Matt Eddy, there are a lot of fresh faces in this year’s group, as 11 of the 17 starters will be starting an All-Star Game for the first time, while Baez, Freeman, Contreras, and Springer are starting for only the second time.  Arenado is starting his third All-Star Game, while the incomparable Trout (who received more votes than any other player) is receiving his seventh ASG start and eighth All-Star selection overall.

Four members of the AL starting lineup joined their current teams during the offseason, though in Santana’s case, he was back in his familiar stomping grounds in Cleveland after spending just one season with the Phillies.  The most surprising inclusion is Pence, signed a minor league deal with Texas last winter and then embarked on a comeback season for the ages to earn his fourth All-Star selection.

Tigers Discussing Minors Contract With Trevor Rosenthal

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The Tigers are in talks with right-hander Trevor Rosenthal about a minor league deal, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter links).  Rosenthal was released by the Nationals earlier this week, though now appears to be closing in on a new destination.

There’s no real risk to the move from Detroit’s perspective, as the Tigers would only owe Rosenthal a minimum MLB salary if he reaches the Major League roster, as the Nats are still on the hook for the rest of the approximately $3.7MM owed to the righty for the remainder of the season.  The Tigers are in need of help for their struggling bullpen anyway, and if the best-case scenario occurs and Rosenthal rediscovers his old form, he could potentially close games for the team if current ninth-inning man Shane Greene is dealt at the trade deadline.

After missing all of 2018 recovering from Tommy John surgery, Rosenthal inked a one-year, $7MM contract with Washington in the offseason.  Rather than making a triumphant return to the mound, however, Rosenthal instead struggled mightily, posting a whopping 22.74 ERA over only 6 1/3 innings.  Rosenthal’s stint with the Nats was shortened by a five-week injured list absence due to a viral infection, yet both before and after his IL stint, the veteran reliever’s control was non-existent — Rosenthal recorded an astounding 15 walks over his 6 1/3 frames.

While Rosenthal had his share of (much less horrific) control problems even in his heyday with the Cardinals, he isn’t far removed from being a dangerous bullpen weapon.  The hard-throwing right-hander had a 3.13 ERA, 12.0 K/9, and 2.6 K/BB rate over 227 IP from 2014-17, including a 45-save season in 2014 and a 48-save performance in 2015.

Brewers To Designate Hernan Perez For Assignment

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The Brewers are set to designate infielder Hernan Perez for assignment, The Athletic’s Robert Murray reports (Twitter link).  A corresponding move has yet to be announced, though Tyler Saladino seems likely to fill Perez’s spot on the 25-man roster, as Joe Alexander (via Twitter) reported that Saladino and Keston Hiura left the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate in San Antonio prior to tonight’s game, and Hiura’s pending return to the big leagues has already been reported.

Perez has been a useful utility piece for Milwaukee since joining the organization partway through the 2015 season.  Playing primarily as a third baseman and corner outfielder, Perez has seen time at every position on the diamond except catcher during his time as a Brewer (including six appearances on the mound as a mop-up reliever.  Perez showed a bit of pop with 27 homers in 2016-17, though overall, hit just .261/.291/.402 with 42 homers over 1620 plate appearances for Milwaukee.

Perez was arbitration-eligible for the second time this past winter, avoiding a hearing by agreeing to a $2.5MM deal with the Brewers.  A team claiming Perez off DFA waivers would be responsible for the approximately $1.15MM remaining in salary, though it could be more likely that Perez clears waivers and is signed as a free agent if released, or the Brewers could keep him in the organization by outrighting him to Triple-A.

The versatile Saladino can take over the backup infield duties for Perez and he also has limited outfield experience, though Ben Gamel’s role on the team as the lone proper backup outfielder takes on larger import.  Overall, the Brewers are costing themselves some positional flexibility with today’s moves, given how both Perez and Shaw were options at a wider range of positions than Saladino and Hiura.  (Shaw’s demotion, however, had a lot more to do with his lack of hitting than his fielding.)  It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Brewers further shuffle their roster on the trade front as the club continues to chase the either NL Central title or a wild card berth.

Brewers To Promote Keston Hiura, Option Travis Shaw To Triple-A

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The Brewers are bringing top prospect Keston Hiura back to the majors, The Athletic’s Robert Murray reports (Twitter link).  In a corresponding move, the struggling Travis Shaw will head down to Triple-A.

This will be Hiura’s second stint in the major leagues, as he made his debut in a 17-game cameo for Milwaukee earlier this season while Shaw was on the IL with a wrist injury.  During that brief time with the Brewers, Hiura lived up to his status as one of baseball’s consensus top prospects, hitting .281/.333/.531 with five homers over 69 plate appearances.  While Hiura struck out in 23 of those trips to the plate and benefited from a .361 BABIP, he was also doing damage when he did make strong contact, with a .369 xwOBA that exactly matched his .369 wOBA.

Given his tendency to strike out and the fact that Hiura doesn’t turn 23 until August, it may be a bit much to expect the youngster to continue being an above-average offensive producer for the remainder of the season (or as long as he’s still on the 25-man roster).  Yet it was clear that some type of upgrade was needed for Shaw, who has become a weak link on a Brewers team with postseason aspirations.  His wrist problem, which cost him three weeks on the injured list, certainly could be a factor, though there isn’t much to like about what Shaw has done at the plate this season.

After hitting .258/.347/.497 with 63 homers over his first two seasons in Milwaukee, Shaw has managed only a .166/.278/.293 slash line and six home runs through 209 plate appearances this year.  His power numbers and contact rates have cratered while his strikeouts have gone through the roof, as Shaw’s 33% strikeout rate and 13.4% swinging strike rate are far and away his career highs.

Shaw still had two option years remaining, and was earning $4.675MM this season in his first of three arbitration-eligible years.  While it isn’t a stretch to consider if Shaw could be a non-tender candidate this winter, there’s still lots of time for him to get on track against Triple-A pitching and again contribute to the Brewers this season.  While Hiura is certainly the Brew Crew’s second baseman of the future and potentially the present, Shaw could again be an option at third base since Mike Moustakas is only signed through this season, as he and the Brewers share an $11MM mutual option for 2020.  Moustakas has been lacking in free agent suitors in each of the last two seasons, though one would think he’ll decline his side of that option to again seek a multi-year commitment, given that the Moose is enjoying his finest season at the plate.

Looking even longer-term, even if Hiura spends the rest of the season on the Brewers’ big league roster, he won’t amass enough Major League service time to himself qualify for future Super Two status.

Hiura has played exclusively as a second baseman during his young career, so his addition to the roster will almost mean that Moustakas will again be spending much of his time at the hot corner.  Playing second base for the first time in his MLB career this season, Moustakas ended up acquitting himself decently well at the keystone (+1 Defensive Runs Saved, -1.6 UZR/150), and obviously the position switch had no impact on Moustakas’ ability to hit.

Angels Activate Andrelton Simmons From Injured List

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The Angels have activated shortstop Andrelton Simmons from the 10-day injured list, with right-hander Jaime Barria heading down to Triple-A following last night’s game. (Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group was among those to report the news.)

Simmons will return to action a little over a month after suffering a Grade 3 ankle sprain back on May 21.  It represents a remarkably quick recovery, all things considered, given that Grade 3 sprains are usually severe enough to merit absences in the range of 8-to-12 weeks.  However, Simmons was able to begin a rehab assignment last week and, despite a very minor setback over the weekend, he’ll now be back in his usual spot quarterbacking the Angels’ infield.

As Fletcher noted in another tweet earlier today, the Angels now have Simmons, Justin Upton, Shohei Ohtani, and Andrew Heaney all active for the first time all season.  Despite these injuries and some middling-at-best performances from the rotation and bullpen, Los Angeles has held its ground, entering today’s play with a 41-40 record.  This puts them four games out of a wild card position, and 8.5 games behind the slumping Astros in the AL West race.  The Halos can’t be counted out of the postseason hunt by any means, especially if they were to add an arm or two before the July 31 trade deadline.

Simmons had a .298/.323/.415 slash line over 195 plate appearances at the time of his injury, representing a 99 wRC+ and a dip below the slightly above-average offensive production he delivered in the previous two seasons.  Perhaps more troubling is his lack of hard contract, as Simmons has only a .276 xwOBA (well below his already-modest .320 wOBA).  His defense had also somewhat declined, if only in comparison to his usual all-world standards — Simmons has “only” a 14.4 UZR/150 and +4 Defensive Runs Saved over 379 innings at short this year, numbers that are still the envy of just about every other shortstop in the game.

AL Central Notes: Kluber, Carrasco, Turnbull, Buxton, ChiSox, Abreu

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The Indians have been without Corey Kluber since May 3, when he suffered a forearm fracture upon being hit by a comeback line-drive, but Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer provides some reason for optimism regarding his return.  Kluber went through his throwing motion while wearing “stabilizing straps” this week and is slated to undergo MRIs to determine whether his fracture has healed.  If that proves to be the case, he’d be cleared to begin a throwing program.

There’s also some progress to report on Carlos Carrasco, who is out indefinitely due to an undisclosed blood condition.  Carrasco played catch this week, Hoynes notes, and the Tribe could learn within the next two to three weeks whether his condition can be managed.  If that’s the case, he could rejoin the Indians’ rotation even before Kluber.  That said, the Cleveland organization still isn’t fully sure when or if either righty will return to the 2019 club.

Here’s more from the division…

  • Tigers right-hander Spencer Turnbull left today’s start after just two innings due to shoulder fatigue, manager Ron Gardenhire told The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen (Twitter link) and other media.  An MRI didn’t reveal any structural damage and Turnbull didn’t feel any pain, but rather the club decided to make the move due to a drop in Turnbull’s fastball velocity.  It isn’t known yet if Turnbull will miss any time, though it would mark yet another pitching injury for Detroit’s rotation this season.  Turnbull’s emergence helped the club fill one hole in the starting five, as the rookie has a 3.31 ERA, 8.43 K/9 and 49% grounder rate over 89 2/3 innings.
  • Byron Buxton is “getting close to his return” from the injured list, MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park tweets.  Buxton was sidelined on June 18 (IL placement retroactive to June 15) with a wrist contusion after being hit by a pitch, and while the Twins outfielder has already exceeded the 10-day minimum IL stint, the injury isn’t considered to be serious.  Buxton was expected to face live pitching today in the Twins’ indoor batting cage, though rain kept him participating in on-field batting, Park notes.  Buxton’s all-around play has been a key factor in Minnesota’s rise to the top of the AL Central, as he has provided his usual excellent center field defense and baserunning while also hitting .266/.324/.527 with nine homers over 227 plate appearances.
  • The White Sox have been open about their desire to keep Jose Abreu beyond the 2019 season, and the first baseman also has no plans to leave the south side, he tells Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.  “I’ll always be a White Sox….I’m a part of this organization. This is the organization that gave me a chance to play at this level and made all my dreams come true. I hope to stay here a very long time,” Abreu said.  While there’s nothing stopping the Sox from trading Abreu at the deadline and then re-signing him after the season, Abreu said he expects to remain with the club.  As Sullivan notes, this might leave Alex Colome as the only real trade chip for the White Sox at the deadline, as Chicago’s other veteran players apart from Colome, Abreu, and James McCann (who might also be retained) have largely struggled.

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