Phillies Designate Fernando Salas For Assignment
The Phillies announced Friday that they’ve designated veteran right-hander Fernando Salas for assignment and reinstated right-hander Tommy Hunter from the 60-day IL. Philadelphia also reinstated center fielder Adam Haseley from the 10-day IL and optioned him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Salas, 34, pitched just one inning for the Phils, recording a strikeout but also surrendering a solo home run. Salas opened the season in the Mexican League and pitched quite well, prompting the Phillies to ink him on a minor league contract earlier this month. In 6 2/3 frames with the Phils’ top affiliate, he allowed one earned run on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts.
A veteran of nine prior big league seasons, Salas has a career 3.91 ERA with 8.7 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, 1.05 HR/9 and a 37 percent ground-ball rate in 488 innings. The Phils will have a week to trade Salas, release him or pass him through outright waivers, although Salas has the service time to reject an outright assignment even if he does clear waivers.
Hunter, 33 next week, signed a two-year, $18MM contract with the Phils prior to the 2018 season. He turned in 64 innings with a 3.80 ERA, 7.2 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 0.84 HR/9 and a 52 percent ground-ball rate in the first season of that pact. He’s yet to pitch at the MLB level in 2019 thanks to a forearm strain that has kept him on the IL all season until today’s activation.
Rays Designate Nick Ciuffo For Assignment
The Rays announced Friday that they’ve designated catcher Nick Ciuffo for assignment. His 40-man spot will go to top prospect Brendan McKay, whose previously reported promotion to the Majors is now official. Tampa Bay also reinstated lefty Jose Alvarado from the restricted list and recalled Casey Sadler from Triple-A Durham. Lefty Jalen Beeks and infielder Mike Brosseau were optioned to Durham in a pair of corresponding moves.
The 24-year-old Ciuffo was a first-round pick back in 2013 but has yet to live up to the potential that came along with that draft billing. His DFA will come with somewhat atypical circumstances, as Ciuffo is on the injured list in the minor leagues after undergoing thumb surgery that was expected to sideline him for eight to ten weeks. There’s still another four to six weeks to go on that projected recovery time. Because Ciuffo is on the IL, he can’t be outrighted, which means the Rays will likely release him and then hope to re-sign him to a new minor league contract. That’s a fairly common outcome in the rare instances that an injured minor league player is designated for assignment.
In 134 plate appearances with Durham this year, Ciuffo batted .228/.276/.350. He’s posted a .529 OPS in a tiny sample of 50 big league plate appearances and is a career .250/.292/.369 hitter in 370 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level.
Alvarado, also 24, was on the restricted list after stepping away from the club for family reasons. He’s arguably Tampa Bay’s best reliever, having posted a 2.85 ERA (2.50 FIP) with 10.8 K/9 against 4.2 BB/9 in 117 innings since making his MLB debut as a 21-year-old in 2017.
The 25-year-old Beeks has been excellent for the Rays in 2019, serving primarily as a followup pitcher to frequent opener Ryne Stanek. In 61 1/3 innings, Beeks has a 2.79 ERA (3.48 FIP) with 7.5 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9. Despite that strong performance, Beeks is a casualty of yesterday’s 18-inning marathon win over the Twins. Beeks pitched 3 1/3 innings yesterday and wouldn’t have been available for a couple of days. The Rays, in need of fresh arms, sent him down for some additional depth, but it’s likely that Beeks will be back once the 10-day minimum length of his optional assignment has been met.
Reds Activate Scooter Gennett
The Reds are welcoming one of their best hitters back to the lineup, as they announced Friday that second baseman Scooter Gennett has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Cincinnati already had an open spot on its 40-man roster, so the only corresponding roster move came in the form of placing catcher Tucker Barnhart on the 10-day injured list due to a strained right oblique muscle.
Gennett, 29, has proven to be one of the best waiver claims in recent history. Designated for assignment by the division-rival Brewers in Spring Training 2017, Gennett has broken out as an everyday player and an All-Star since being claimed by his hometown team.
In 295 games and 1135 plate appearances with the Reds, he’s mashed at a .303/.351/.508 clip while teeing off on 50 homers, 52 doubles and six triples. One of the main knocks on Gennett in Milwaukee was a perceived inability to hit left-handed pitching, but he’s earned more at-bats against southpaws as his tenure with the Reds has progressed. In 202 plate appearances against lefties in 2018, Gennett batted .294/.335/.439. That breakout led to a $9.75MM salary for Gennett in his final trip through arbitration this past offseason.
A severe groin strain incurred toward the tail end of Spring Training ultimately cost Gennett half of the 2019 season — a crushing loss both for the Reds and for Gennett himself, who is slated to become a free agent at season’s end. His absence has undeniably been felt by a Reds lineup that somewhat surprisingly is tied for the fifth-fewest runs scored in all of Major League Baseball. Cincinnati hitters rank as a bottom-six team in terms of batting average and on-base percentage as well.
Gennett’s return could push another surprise slugger, Derek Dietrich, the outfield with more regularity. He’s batted .222/.350/.567 with a career-best 18 home runs and seen regular work at second base thanks to his power surge. But Dietrich has experience in the outfield corners, at first base and at third base, so he could bounce around the diamond a bit more now that Gennett is back in the fold.
As for Barnhart, he’ll hit the injured list with an oblique issue, leaving Curt Casali as the primary backstop and Kyle Farmer as the reserve. The 28-year-old Barnhart is in the midst of his worst season at the plate, having batted just .191/.290/.315 in 187 plate appearances. That downturn in production comes on the heels of a combined .257/.331/.374 batting line over his previous four seasons.
Nationals Notes: Deadline, Scherzer, Zimmerman
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
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
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
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
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
- First Base: Carlos Santana, Indians (over Luke Voit/Yankees, C.J. Cron/Twins)
- Second Base: DJ LeMahieu, Yankees (over Jose Altuve/Astros, Tommy La Stella/Angels)
- Third Base: Alex Bregman, Astros (over Hunter Dozier/Royals, Gio Urshela/Yankees)
- Shortstop: Jorge Polanco, Twins (over Gleyber Torres/Yankees, Carlos Correa/Astros)
- Catcher: Gary Sanchez, Yankees (over James McCann/White Sox, Robinson Chirinos/Astros)
- Outfielders: Mike Trout, Angels…George Springer, Astros…Michael Brantley…Astros (over Aaron Judge/Yankees, Mookie Betts/Red Sox, Eddie Rosario/Twins, Joey Gallo/Rangers, Austin Meadows/Rays, Josh Reddick/Astros)
- Designated Hitter: Hunter Pence/Rangers (over J.D. Martinez/Red Sox, Nelson Cruz/Twins)
NATIONAL LEAGUE
- First Base: Freddie Freeman, Braves (over Josh Bell/Pirates, Anthony Rizzo/Cubs)
- Second Base: Ketel Marte, Diamondbacks (over Ozzie Albies/Braves, Mike Moustakas/Brewers)
- Third Base: Nolan Arenado/Rockies (over Josh Donaldson/Braves, Kris Bryant/Cubs)
- Shortstop: Javier Baez/Cubs (over Trevor Story/Rockies, Dansby Swanson/Braves)
- Catcher: Willson Contreras, Cubs (over Brian McCann/Braves, Yasmani Grandal/Brewers)
- Outfielders: Christian Yelich, Brewers…Cody Bellinger, Dodgers…Ronald Acuna Jr., Braves (over Charlie Blackmon/Rockies, Nick Markakis/Braves, Jason Heyward/Cubs, Kyle Schwarber/Cubs, Albert Almora Jr./Cubs, Joc Pederson/Dodgers)
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
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
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.