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Mets’ Michael Conforto Diagnosed With Concussion

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7:28pm: Carlos Gomez was removed from tonight’s Triple-A game, leading MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo to speculate that the Mets will purchase Gomez’s contract before Friday’s game.

5:27pm: Mets outfielder Michael Conforto suffered a concussion after a scary collision with teammate Robinson Cano during today’s game.  Both Conforto and Cano were chasing after a Howie Kendrick fly ball near the right field line when their signals got crossed, causing Cano to accidentally elbow Conforto in the head.

Conforto was immediately removed from the game, and will head back to New York for further observation, as manager Mickey Callaway told reporters (including Newsday’s Tim Healey) after the game.  Conforto will be sidelined for at least a week, as per the league’s seven-day concussion IL policy.

The 26-year-old was off to a fantastic start in 2019, hitting .271/.406/.521 with nine home runs over his first 180 plate appearances.  As per the advanced metrics, Conforto even had room to grow, as his .387 wOBA still trailed behind his .405 xwOBA.  Between this hot hitting and an above-average defensive showing as New York’s everyday right fielder, Conforto has already amassed 1.6 fWAR, tying him with Nolan Arenado for 18th among all players.

With Conforto out of action, the Mets could be further shorthanded in the outfield for at least a day or two since Jeff McNeil also left today’s game with abdominal tightness.  The good news in McNeil’s case is that the injury doesn’t seem serious, as he told reporters (including The Athletic’s Tim Britton) that he has faced similar issues before in the wake of multiple hernia operations.

Speaking with WFAN’s Mike Francesca this afternoon (hat tip to SNY.tv’s Steve Gelbs), Callaway said that J.D. Davis will handle left field duties on Friday, indicating that McNeil will miss at least one game.  As for the longer-term absence of Conforto, the Mets have Keon Broxton and Juan Lagares on the 25-man roster, though both have struggled badly at the plate.  Veterans Carlos Gomez, Gregor Blanco, and Rajai Davis are all on hand at the Triple-A level, though any of that trio would need to be added to the 40-man roster.

It’s hard to necessarily forecast anything until we know the severity of Conforto’s injury, as concussion symptoms can potentially linger.  If he faces an absence of weeks rather than days, the Mets might want to consider giving Dominic Smith another look in left field, as the team hasn’t allowed him any outfield work this year, Newsday’s David Lennon writes.  Smith offers far more hitting upside than any of the Mets’ other backup outfielders, and while Smith has hit very well in limited playing time this season, his spot at first base has been blocked by rookie sensation Pete Alonso.

Dodgers To Place Kenta Maeda On 10-Day Injured List

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The Dodgers will place right-hander Kenta Maeda on the 10-day IL before tomorrow’s game, according to Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).  Maeda’s placement caps off a busy day of roster-shuffling for the Dodgers, as the team also activated lefty Caleb Ferguson from the IL and sent catcher Rocky Gale and right-hander J.T. Chargois to Triple-A.  Prior to tomorrow’s game, the Dodgers will also call up utilityman Matt Beaty from Triple-A and select the contract of outfielder Kyle Garlick.

Maeda fouled a ball off his thigh in last night’s game, and the Dodgers are thusly putting him on the IL “as a precaution,” Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets.  Since the Dodgers have two off-days next week, it looks like Maeda will miss one start at the most while he recovers from what looks like a minor injury.

Los Angeles has deployed Maeda exclusively as a starting pitcher in 2019, and the righty has delivered his usual strong results.  Though nine starts and 51 1/3 innings, Maeda has a 3.51 ERA, 9.1 K/9, and 2.60 K/BB rate, numbers that are largely backed up by advanced metrics.  Maeda is inducing soft contact on 27% of his batted balls this season, the second-highest total of any qualified starter in the game.

A 28th-round pick for the Dodgers in the 2015 draft, Garlick will get his first MLB exposure after posting a 1.002 OPS over 136 PA for Triple-A Oklahoma City this season.  The 27-year-old Garlick has a .283/.341/.519 slash line through 1678 career minor league plate appearances.

Rays Acquire Erik Kratz, Designate Aaron Slegers

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The Rays have acquired catcher Erik Kratz and cash considerations from the Giants in exchange for either a player to be named later or cash, per an announcement from the Giants.  Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times was the first to report that Kratz had been dealt to Tampa, adding that he expected right-hander Aaron Slegers to be designated for assignment to make room for Kratz on the 40-man roster (Twitter links).  MLB.com’s Juan Toribio confirmed that Slegers is indeed headed for DFA limbo.

Kratz was designated himself by the Giants earlier this week, and the veteran will now suit up for the ninth different team in 10 Major League seasons.  Kratz will back up Travis d’Arnaud, himself a recent acquisition, on a Rays team that has seen its catching depth depleted in recent days.  Mike Zunino, Michael Perez, and now rookie Anthony Bemboom have all been sidelined with injuries, with Bemboom hitting the IL earlier today due to a sprained left knee.  It’s probably safe to assume that Kratz’s time with the Rays could be short as players begin to return from injury, though that might still be some weeks away, and d’Arnaud himself is no guarantee to stay healthy.

The money changing hands in the deal should indicate that the Rays won’t be on the hook for much of the approximately $900K that Kratz is still owed for the remainder of the season.

Slegers has a 5.90 ERA over 29 career MLB innings, all with the Twins from 2017-18.  After going to the Pirates on a waiver claim in the offseason, he was acquired by the Rays at the end of Spring Training, and Slegers has managed only a 6.15 ERA over 33 2/3 innings for Triple-A Durham this season.

Odrisamer Despaigne Opts Out Of Reds Contract

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Right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne has opted out of his minor league contract with the Reds, MLBTR has learned.  Despaigne inked the deal back in January, and would’ve earned $875K in guaranteed money had he reached Cincinnati’s Major League roster.

Over eight starts and 41 1/3 innings for Triple-A Louisville this season, Despaigne had posted a 3.92 ERA, 8.7 K/9, and 2.50 K/BB rate.  Those numbers present a solid recovery from a very rough 2018 season that saw Despaigne post a 6.69 ERA over 39 frames for the Marlins and Angels, plus more shaky numbers in those two clubs’ respective farm systems.

Despaigne’s Louisville performance would surely have earned him a call-up in any other season in recent Reds history, though Cincinnati looks to finally be on track after years of pitching futility.  Both the Reds’ rotation and bullpen rank solidly within the top ten in several league-wide statistical categories, leaving less opportunity for Despaigne to crack the roster.  On the plus side, the 32-year-old probably shouldn’t have much trouble landing a contract elsewhere, given Despaigne’s good Triple-A numbers and the number of pitching-needy teams who can offer a clearer path to the Majors.

Nationals Expected To Place Anibal Sanchez On 10-Day IL

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Anibal Sanchez suffered a left hamstring strain that forced him out of today’s start in the second inning, and Nationals manager Davey Martinez told reporters (including Sam Fortier of the Washington Post) that Sanchez is headed for the injured list.  This will keep Sanchez out of action for at least one start, though the veteran righty will undergo an MRI tomorrow to determine the extent of the hamstring problem.

Today’s news only adds to what has been a rough start to Sanchez’s stint with the Nationals, as he has managed only a 5.10 ERA over 42 1/3 innings with the club.  Following a nice bounce-back year with Atlanta in 2018, Sanchez inked a two-year, $19MM free agent deal with Washington in December, but has thus far struggled to replicate his success from last season.

Sanchez is allowing significant less soft contact in 2019 than he did in 2018, and he has also displayed an uncharacteristic lack of control.  Sanchez’s 5.31 BB/9 would be a career high over a full season, far exceeding his 2.7 BB/9 from 2010-18.

The Nationals have already been hit hard with injuries this season, and now have yet another hole to fill with Sanchez set to miss time.  Erick Fedde would seem like the most logical candidate to start while Sanchez is out, though Martinez only said that the club was still discussing its options.  While Fedde has a history as a starting pitcher, the Nats have been using him as a reliever this season, and a jump back to the rotation could disrupt that has thus far been a solid transition to the bullpen.  Fedde allowed four runs to the Mets over 2 2/3 innings today, though he hadn’t allowed a run in eight innings prior to today’s rough outings.

Tigers Designate Reed Garrett For Assignment

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The Tigers have designated right-hander Reed Garrett for assignment, the team announced.  Righty Sandy Baez is on the way up from Triple-A to take the open spot on Detroit’s 25-man roster prior to Friday’s game.

Garrett was selected out of the Rangers’ organization during last December’s Rule 5 Draft, and would be offered back to Texas (for $50K) if no other organization claims him off waivers during the DFA period.  As per Rule 5 regulations, a claiming team would also have to keep Garrett on their 25-man roster for the remainder of the 2019 season in order to fully take over his rights from the Rangers.

Originally a 16th-round pick for Texas in the 2014 draft, Garrett struggled to keep runs off the board as a starting pitcher in the Rangers’ farm system, but 2018 was a breakout season for him as a reliever.  Garrett posted a combined 2.04 ERA, 3.05 K/BB rate, and 8.9 K/9 over 61 2/3 innings at the Double-A and Triple-A levels last year, making him an intriguing selection for a rebuilding Detroit team that really had nothing to lose in taking a flier on a bullpen arm.

Unfortunately for both Garrett and the Tigers, his success in 2018 didn’t carry over to the Major Leagues.  The 26-year-old struggled to a 6.28 ERA over 14 1/3 innings out of the Tigers’ bullpen, with more walks (12) than strikeouts (nine) recorded.

Blue Jays Option Teoscar Hernandez, Outright Socrates Brito

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The Blue Jays announced Thursday that outfielder Teoscar Hernandez has been optioned to Triple-A Buffalo and that fellow outfielder Socrates Brito cleared waivers and has been assigned outright to Buffalo following his recent DFA. Infielder Richard Urena is up from Triple-A in place of Hernandez.

Toronto has held high hopes for Hernandez since acquiring him from the Astros back in 2017, but while he’s shown flashes of his potential, the 26-year-old has yet to establish himself as a consistent producer. Hernandez treated the Jays to about a half season’s worth of production last year, hitting at an impressive .268/.319/.550 pace with 12 homers, 16 doubles and five triples through the season’s first 54 games (238 plate appearances). Hernandez routinely lit up Statcast leaderboards with premium exit velocity readings and hit some prodigious home runs, but he slumped badly in the season’s second half and has seen his quality of contact take a nosedive in 2019.

So far this season, Hernandez is hitting just .189/.262/.299 with a near-30 percent strikeout rate. He’s connected on three home runs but has seen his average exit velocity dip from a hearty 91.8 mph to just 89 mph in 2019. His hard-hit rate, as measured by Statcast, has plummeted from 45.9 percent all the way to 34.9 percent, and he’s seen both his ground-ball and infield-fly rates increase over last season as well.

The endpoint here is arbitrary, but dating back to the middle of last June when his struggles seemingly begun, Hernandez is hitting .206/.279/.366 with a 35.2 percent strikeout rate through 426 plate appearances. That’s a far cry from his encouraging first two and a half months in 2018, and the Jays will hope that some time against lesser competition in a lower-pressure setting can get Hernandez back on track. If he can rebound, there’s still room for him to be a long-term option in the outfield or at designated hitter, but he’ll need to pare back the strikeouts and rediscover the frequent hard contact he made last season when he was in the 97th percentile of all big league hitters in terms of barreled-ball rate.

Brito, meanwhile, was designated for assignment last week after hitting just .077/.163/.128 in 43 plate appearances with the Jays. He’s already bounced from the D-backs to the Padres to the Blue Jays in a series of DFAs, but he went unclaimed this time around and will join Hernandez in attempting to get back on track in Triple-A.

GM Rick Hahn On Jose Abreu’s Future With White Sox

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Jose Abreu is in his final season of club control, but the White Sox apparently aren’t envisioning a future without him. Asked by MLB Network’s Matt Vasgersian about Abreu’s future (video link), Hahn wasn’t subtle about his desire for Abreu to be a part of the team beyond the 2019 season.

“He’s been here throughout the early stages of this rebuild, and it’s certainly very likely that he’ll be here for the more enjoyable stages that lie ahead of us,” said Hahn of his first baseman after discussing Abreu’s importance not only on the playing field but in the clubhouse.

The debate over whether the Sox should trade Abreu has gone on for years, but despite past interest from multiple clubs and a large-scale teardown of the rest of the roster, Abreu has remained a constant in the lineup and in the locker room. Hahn specifically pointed out that Abreu was not moved as a part of an aggressive rebuild that shipped out Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, Adam Eaton, David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle, Todd Frazier and others as the Sox sought to restock their farm system. While it’s technically possible that the Sox could trade Abreu and then re-sign him as a free agent this winter, Hahn’s implication seemed to be that the organization hopes to retain Abreu moving forward.

There will surely be interest in Abreu once again this summer, as the slugger is off to a .268/.328/.518 start to the season. Through 180 plate appearances, Abreu has connected on 10 home runs and 11 doubles. He’s a career .293/.352/.516 hitter with 156 long balls since his rookie campaign back in 2014 That type of production would fit into the heart of any order, but Hahn stressed that Abreu’s off-field characteristics make him more valuable to the White Sox than to any of MLB’s other 29 clubs.

It’s not a foregone conclusion that the two sides will continue their relationship beyond the 2019 season, but Abreu has spoken openly in the past about his desire to remain with the White Sox, and Hahn’s latest comments make it apparent that the mutual interest on the team side of the equation has not changed. Barring an extension before season’s end, Abreu will be a candidate to receive a qualifying offer from the White Sox. He’s earning $16MM this season, so a qualifying offer — likely a bit more than $18MM this offseason — wouldn’t represent a substantial raise. Issuing a qualifying offer would not prevent the two sides from working out a longer-term arrangement covering the 2020 season and beyond.

Mariners Recall Mallex Smith, Option Shed Long

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Mallex Smith’s time in the minors didn’t last long. Less than two weeks after being optioned to Triple-A Tacoma, Smith has been recalled by the Mariners. In his place, infield prospect Shed Long was optioned to Tacoma.

It was a brief but perhaps much-needed respite for Smith, who got out to an awful .165/.255/.247 start to the season as Seattle’s regular center fielder. The slow start likely hasn’t done much to sway the organization’s hope that Smith can be a long-term option in center field, and it’s possible that his 10-game run in Tacoma provided just the reset he needed. In 48 Triple-A plate appearances, Smith hit .333/.375/.467 with a homer, three doubles and a perfect seven steals in seven tries. Most encouraging of all, he struck out just four times after punching out at an alarming 30 percent rate through his first 110 MLB plate appearances.

The 23-year-old Long, meanwhile, will go back to Tacoma and continue to receive the type of regular reps that weren’t available to him on the big league roster. Recalled as an injury replacement last week, Long appeared in just three games with the Mariners and went hitless in 11 plate appearances. He’s far too important to their long-term outlook to be languishing in a seldom-used bench role, so the decision to send him back to Tacoma, where he hit .276/.350/.504 in 32 games prior to his promotion, makes perfect sense. He’ll quite likely be back later this season and is will at some point have the opportunity to win an everyday role with the Mariners — likely at second base.

Someone Should (Finally) Put Andrew Cashner In Their Bullpen

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Back in 2017, Andrew Cashner posted a solid 3.40 ERA in 28 starts and parlayed that into a two-year, $16MM deal in Baltimore despite the fact that he ranked at the bottom of the league in terms of strikeout rate and swinging-strike rate in the season leading up to free agency. The contract almost seemed destined to be a misstep, and his 2018 campaign indeed looked regrettable. Cashner logged a 5.29 ERA with 5.8 K/9, 3.8 BB/9, a career-high 1.49 HR/9 and a career-low 40.4 percent ground-ball rate. His once blazing fastball checked in at a pedestrian average of 92.4 mph.

Andrew Cashner

On the heels of that showing, the new Orioles front office, led by former Astros assistant GM Mike Elias, was understandably interested in clearing Cashner’s salary off its books. Cashner, after all, has a $10MM vesting option for the 2020 season that kicks in if he reaches 187 frames this year, and while that’d be a career-high for him, it’s not out of the realm of possibility. Given that context, it wasn’t much of a surprise when The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported earlier this week (subscription required) that Baltimore was willing to eat virtually all of Cashner’s 2019 salary in Spring Training to facilitate a trade. Obviously, nothing came together.

The 2019 season is only a quarter through, but Cashner suddenly looks more like a passable fifth starter than he did a year ago. Through 48 1/3 innings, he’s averaged 7.5 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 with a revitalized 51.7 percent grounder rate. His velocity is actually up to 93.5 mph on average, and Cashner’s 9.2 percent swinging-strike rate is the highest it’s been since way back in 2012. Cashner is throwing more four-seamers and more changeups, and he’s generally received more positive results. A contending club with a thin rotation could probably acquire Cashner for little more than a bit of salary relief and use him fifth starter. The upside in that scenario is minimal, however, and Cashner’s vesting option would be a deterrent for any interested team.

The more intriguing scenario would be for one of the many bullpen-needy teams — the Braves, Twins, Red Sox, Dodgers, Brewers or even the Cubs (his original club) — to acquire Cashner and drop him directly into the bullpen. This isn’t exactly a revolutionary concept. Putting Cashner in the bullpen has been a suggestion for years (hence this post’s title). But it’s also a fact that there are very few teams willing to sell at this point in the season, and the ones who are willing to do so would put a high price on most bullpen targets given the short supply of available arms in mid May. That’s unlikely to be the case with the Orioles and Cashner. Elias & Co. know full well that they’ll be summer sellers, and they’d be happy to shed whatever they can of the $5.89MM that remains on Cashner’s 2019 salary.

Beyond that is the fact that there’s some evidence to suggest that Cashner would thrive in shorter stints. Opponents are hitting just .212/.272/.347 against Cashner the first time through the order so far in 2019, and he’s struck out 24.7 percent of the hitters he’s faced the first time through as well. Cashner’s velocity will quite likely tick up even further in shorter stints, which could help him to improve on that ability to miss bats, but he’s already sporting a 3.50 xFIP when facing opponents for the first time in a game. That alone is worthy of intrigue, particularly given the minimal cost of acquisition. Putting Cashner in the ’pen also mitigates any concern about his vesting option, and while he may prefer to work as a starter and have a chance to lock in that 2020 salary, he’d set himself up for a solid payday next winter if he can thrive in a multi-inning relief role.

This time of year, there are far more clubs looking for bullpen help than there are arms available. That’s not going to enhance Cashner’s trade value much — the O’s probably won’t get much beyond some salary relief — but the lack of available alternatives should still lead teams to explore the idea of finally converting him into a full-time reliever.

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