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Twins Claim Oliver Drake, Johnny Field

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The Twins announced Friday that they’ve claimed right-hander Oliver Drake off waivers from the Blue Jays and outfielder Johnny Field off waivers from the Indians. Drake will step right into the MLB bullpen, while Field will head to Triple-A Rochester for the time being. Minnesota already had two open spots on the 40-man roster, so no additional 40-man moves were necessary to accommodate the pair of claims.

The 31-year-old Drake has already pitched for the Blue Jays, Brewers, Indians and Angels in 2018, making the Twins an incredible fifth MLB organization for which he’ll appear in a single season.

Drake has been rocked for a 7.57 ERA so far, but teams keep taking a chance on him, perhaps in part due to a strong 9.6 K/9 mark against 3.3 BB/9, as well as a healthy 13.3 percent swinging-strike rate. Drake also boasts terrific numbers in Triple-A, where he’s pitched to a 2.05 ERA with 155 punchouts against 43 walks in 110 innings of work. He’s out of minor league options, so the Twins (or a sixth MLB team) will have to carry him on the 25-man roster or try, once again, to pass him through outright waivers.

As for Field, the 26-year-old has batted just .213/.253/.373 through 179 MLB plate appearances this season, but he’s displayed some power and a bit of speed with six homers and a .160 ISO to go along with four steals. He’s drawn positive marks at all three outfield spots, in an obviously small sample, and has a career .271/.325/.440 slash in parts of three Triple-A seasons.

Tommy Pham Diagnosed With Fractured Foot

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Just two games into his Rays tenure, outfielder Tommy Pham is headed to the 10-day disabled list due to a fractured foot, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter links). Lefty Adam Kolarek is being recalled from Triple-A Durham to take Pham’s spot on the roster for the time being.

Pham exited last night’s game after being hit on the right foot by an Andrew Heaney pitch, and while initial X-rays proved negative, further evaluation today revealed the hairline fracture. The injury is another stroke of bad luck to a Tampa Bay club that has already had plenty of that this season.

Topkin notes that the Rays hope that Pham can return in less than a month. The outfielder himself says he’s been given a two-to-four week estimate, so it seems that all expectations are for a relatively brief absence.

While the overall situation isn’t that concerning, then, it’s disappointing news given that Pham only just landed in Tampa Bay. The late-blooming outfielder came to the organization in a surprising deadline-day swap.

Of course, the Rays’ interest in Pham had more to do with future campaigns than the present one. There’s little hope of the team cracking the postseason this year, while the 30-year-old will reach arbitration eligibility for the first time this fall.

Indians Designate Zach McAllister For Assignment

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The Indians announced Friday that they’ve activated lefty Andrew Miller from the 60-day disabled list and cleared roster space by designating right-hander Zach McAllister for assignment. McAllister, who has been with the team since 2010, was one of the team’s longest-tenured players.

McAllister, 30, was traded to Cleveland by the Yankees eight years ago this month as the player to be named later in 2010’s Austin Kearns swap. While he never found his footing as a stater with the Indians, McAllister blossomed into a quality bullpen piece when taken out of the rotation in 2014. Over the next three seasons, from 2015-17, he pitched to a pristine 2.99 ERA with 10.0 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 through 183 1/3 innings of work.

This season, however, has been another story entirely for McAllister. Through 41 2/3 innings, he’s limped to a 4.97 ERA with a diminished 7.3 K/9 mark against 2.2 BB/9 while serving homers at a career-worst rate (1.5 HR/9). He’s yielded seven homers through those 41 2/3 frames after surrendering only eight long balls throug 62 innings in 2017.

The 2018 season would’ve been McAllister’s last year of club control anyhow, as he’s now accumulated the requisite six years of Major League service time needed to reach free agency. Unfortunately for him, he’ll hit the open market on his worst full season as a reliever.

It’s still possible, of course, that another club could snag McAllister and plug him into its relief corps in the hopes that a change of scenery and some different coaching will foster a return to form. McAllister, after all, is still averaging just over 95 mph on his fastball with a near-identical swinging-strike rate to the one he posted in 2017, and his chase rate has actually jumped by nearly five percent. He’s only earning a $2.45MM base salary, with about $773K of that sum yet to be paid out, so he wouldn’t exactly break the bank for a team in search of a bullpen mercenary to close out the season.

If he ultimately is run through outright waivers and clears, McAllister does have enough service to reject an outright assignment to the minors in favor of free agency while retaining the rights to the remainder of his salary. At that point, he’d be a free agent available to all 29 other teams for only the pro-rated league minimum.

Jung Ho Kang Undergoes Wrist Surgery

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1:18pm: Kang did indeed have surgery to debride the cartilage in his wrist this morning, the Pirates announced. However, it’s not a guarantee that the injury will end his season. Per the team’s press release:

“The Pirates are very appreciative that Dr. Birdsong was able to clear a time slot on his schedule to expedite the timing of the surgery.  The typical return to play from this type of surgery is four to six weeks.”

11:51am: Pirates infielder Jung Ho Kang will require season-ending surgery to repair his left wrist, according to Jee-ho Yoo of South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency. The operation is said to come with a three-month recovery period. Kang has been on the minor league disabled list with a wrist issue since late June.

The 31-year-old Kang hasn’t played in the Majors since the 2016 season due to ongoing legal issues in his native South Korea. The former Nexen Heroes star was arrested and charged with his third DUI during the 2016-17 offseason, leaving him unable to secure a work visa and costing him the entire 2017 season as a result. Kang eventually acquired a visa and was ablt to return to the United States back in May. He spent a few weeks ramping up (but still on the restricted list) before being optioned to the minors in mid-June. He played in just seven Class-A Advanced games and nine Triple-A contests before incurring the injury.

It seems possible, if not likely, that Kang’s injury will end his tenure with the Pirates organization. He’s earning a $3MM base salary in 2018 — though he wasn’t paid while on the restricted list earlier this season or in 2017 — and is under control for the 2019 campaign via a $5.5MM club option. That option comes with a modest $250K buyout, and it seems far likelier that the team will go that route than to roll the dice on a player who hasn’t set foot on a big league field since October 2016. It’d be somewhat of a surprise for any organization to exercise that option, but the cost-conscious Pirates, in particular, seem likely to take a pass.

The question for Kang, then, will be whether his considerable off-field issues will prohibit him from receiving a look with any other big league organization. In addition to the DUI charges he faced in Seoul, Kang was also accused of sexual assault in Chicago back in the summer of 2016, though the allegations never led to any charges being filed.

Kang did bat .273/.355/.483 with 36 home runs in 837 plate appearances as a member of the Pirates, so there’s at least reason to believe that with a mostly healthy offseason and a full Spring Training, he could be a productive on-field asset. If he were to get another opportunity, it seems likely that it’d come on a minor league pact with an invitation to 2019 Spring Training, though there will quite likely be some teams that decide to steer clear of Kang entirely, given those off-field issues and the long layoff between would-be MLB appearances.

Mets Notes: 2019 Plans, Matz, General Manager

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Despite a disastrous 2018 season in which only four teams have produced inferior records, the Mets aren’t planning to embark on any kind of rebuild, assistant GM John Ricco tells reporters (Twitter link, with video, via MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo). Ricco suggests that while the next two months “won’t be the be-all and end-all,” they’ll help to evaluate players such as Jeff McNeil as the team looks to determine its areas of need in the offseason — most specifically on the position-player side of the equation. Ricco adds that he believes Dominic Smith will be a part of the team moving forward, stating that he’s “getting more experience” in left field. While the Mets will be facing a significant number of holes in the offseason and myriad health uncertainties, Ricco states plainly: “We’re going to try to be competitive and be a playoff team next year.”

More on the Mets…

  • DiComo also writes in a full column that while an MRI ruled out any structural damage in Steven Matz’s forearm and elbow, the left-hander is nonetheless expected to require a stint on the 10-day disabled list due to a “mild flexor-pronator strain.” It doesn’t appear that the team currently believes Matz will face an extended absence, with both Ricco and manager Mickey Callaway suggesting that a DL placement would be a “conservative” approach to the injury. If and when Matz does land on the disabled list, DiComo notes that right-hander Corey Oswalt is the likeliest candidate to replace him.
  • Ricco spoke with the New York Post’s Kevin Kernan about perhaps the most critical component to his team’s 2019 success: injury prevention. “A lot of this stuff is systemic,” Ricco acknowledged, emphasizing a need to change the mindsets, routines and habits of his players as well as the team’s internal medical processes. A focus on younger players isn’t necessarily a cure-all for the Mets’ injury woes, he noted, as there’s been no shortage of younger players incurring notable injuries troubles (e.g. Matz, Noah Syndergaard, Michael Conforto). As Kernan writes, while Mickey Callaway has had some hiccups in his first exposure to managing at the MLB level, he’s also been vocal about some of the team’s internal organizational deficiencies — a trait which Ricco calls “one of the reasons we brought him in.”
  • Following up a recent report from colleague Buster Olney, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets that former Red Sox GM Ben Cherington is increasingly mentioned as a “likely top candidate” for the Mets’ GM vacancy. Crasnick adds that Diamondbacks assistant GM Jared Porter, also a former high-ranking Red Sox executive, is also “generating some buzz” with regard to that opening. Currently, the Mets have the trio of Ricco and special assistants Omar Minaya and J.P. Ricciardi heading up baseball operations in place of Sandy Alderson, who stepped away from the role to undergo treatment for a cancer relapse. That arrangement, however, is not permanent, though Ricco himself figures to be among the candidates to take the GM chair in Queens in the offseason.

Yankees To Promote Chance Adams

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11:57am: Sherman tweets that Adams has been informed by the team that he will indeed be promoted to make his Major League debut Saturday.

9:53am: Barring a “last-second shift in plans,” the Yankees will promote pitching prospect Chance Adams to make his Major League debut Saturday, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter). The YES Network’s Jack Curry suggested on last night’s post-game show that Adams could be an option Saturday.

The 23-year-old Adams will have the unenviable task of making his debut against a loaded Red Sox lineup. He’ll also need to be added to the 40-man roster, though the Yankees have an open spot at present, so there’ll be no need to designate someone for assignment or make a 60-day DL move to accommodate the likely promotion.

[Related: New York Yankees depth chart]

Adams has long rated as one of the organization’s top prospects and entered the season widely ranked as one MLB’s top 100 overall minor leaguers. The start to the year for Adams, though, proved to be disastrous. Through his first 10 starts, the former fifth-round pick (2015) was mauled for a 5.93 ERA as he allowed 22 walks and eight homers through just 44 innings.

However, Adams has largely turned his season around in short order. Over the past 11 starts, he’s looked like a different pitcher, notching a 3.33 ERA with just three home runs allowed in 56 frames. He’s still walked too many batters in that time (26), but Adams has displayed a penchant for missing bats for most of the season. His recent improvements have left him with solid, if unspectacular overall numbers in 2018: a 4.50 ERA, 9.4 K/9, 4.4 BB/9, 1.01 HR/9 and a 43 percent ground-ball rate in 98 Triple-A innings.

The Yankees’ current rotation is in a state of flux following the addition of Lance Lynn and J.A. Happ (who has since been placed on the disabled list) prior to Tuesday’s non-waiver trade deadline. New York announced yesterday that struggling right-hander Sonny Gray is headed to the bullpen, with Lynn stepping into the starting five to take his place. The plan had been for righty Luis Cessa to start while Happ recovers from hand, foot and mouth disease, but Cessa was called upon for 3 2/3 innings of relief last night and was clobbered for five runs on seven hits and a walk in that appearance.

It doesn’t seem all that likely that Adams will be a long-term addition to the rotation this time around, though he obviously has a chance to factor into the team’s plans further down the line. A strong first showing this weekend against a tough opponent would go a long way toward earning him additional looks later this season.

Given the timing of his first call to the Majors, Adams’ earliest path to free agency would come upon completion of the 2024 season, and he wouldn’t be eligible for arbitration until after the 2021 season. Of course, further time spent in the minor leagues could alter both of those timelines.

Mariners Release Kirk Nieuwenhuis

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The Mariners have released veteran outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis from their Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma, as tweeted by Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto,

Nieuwenhuis, 31 next week, has had a tough season in spite of an outstanding 14.8 percent walk rate, hitting just .214/.336/.336 in 324 trips to the plate. While he’s appeared at all three outfield positions with the Rainiers in 2018, the vast majority of his time has been spent in right field. The longtime Mets outfielder has seen his strikeout rates in the upper minors climb at an alarming rate over the past few seasons, culminating in this year’s career-worst 30.6 percent mark.

That said, Nieuwenhuis has a lifetime .253/.348/.441 mark in parts of eight seasons at the Triple-A level and comes with plenty of MLB experience as well. He’s logged just over 1100 plate appearances between the Mets, Brewers and Angels, hitting at a .221/.311/.384 clip. He averaged 80 games and 217 PAs per year at the MLB level from 2012-16 and appeared in 16 games with 31 PAs as a member of the Brewers organization in 2017. He’ll probably latch on elsewhere as a depth option for a club that’s thin on outfield depth, with the hopes of returning the bigs for a seventh consecutive season.

MLB Daily Roster Roundup: Frazier, Happ, LeMahieu, Turner, Syndergaard

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ROSTER MOVES BY TEAM
(August 1st-August 2nd)

NATIONAL LEAGUE

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AMERICAN LEAGUE

  • MINNESOTA TWINS | Depth Chart
    • Added to 25-man roster: INF Logan Forsythe
      • Forsythe grounded out as a pinch-hitter in his Twins debut on Wednesday.

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FUTURE EXPECTED MOVES

Blue Jays Sign Mike Hauschild

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The Blue Jays have signed right-hander Mike Hauschild to a Major League contract, as first noted by Shi Davidi and Mike Wilner of Sportsnet (Twitter links). The Jays didn’t make a formal announcement of the move via press release or on Twitter, but Hauschild is on tonight’s lineup card. Furthermore, Davidi tweets that manager John Gibbons said Hauschild is expected to follow Tyler Clippard in a bullpen game of sorts tonight. It appears that infielder/outfielder Darnell Sweeney was the necessary roster casualty, as he’s not on tonight’s lineup card, and the Jays had a full 40-man roster prior to bringing Hauschild aboard.

Hauschild, 28, was recently released by the Astros after posting a 4.88 ERA with 8.6 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, 0.65 HR/9 and a 53.6 percent ground-ball rate. He has a bit of big league experience, having been a Rule 5 pick of the Rangers in 2016 and subsequently logging eight innings at the MLB level for them in 2017. He was ultimately returned to the Houston organization after surrendering 10 runs in that small sample.

Though Hauschild’s numbers in Triple-A this season weren’t his best, he still brings a career 3.97 ERA with better than eight strikeouts per nine innings and a ground-ball rate north of 50 percent at the Triple-A level to his new club. He’ll join the Jays’ bullpen for the time being, though all 76 of his career appearances at the Triple-A level have been starts. He could eventually emerge as a rotation option in Toronto, particularly if the team moves a veteran like Marco Estrada in the month of August.

Sweeney, 27, appeared in a pair of games for the Jays and went hitless in four plate appearances. He’s spent most of the season at Triple-A Buffalo, where he’s batted .235/.310/.398 in 255 plate appearances. The former Dodgers and Phillies prospect has a career .254/.322/.393 slash in 1718 career plate appearances at that level.

Pablo Sandoval To Undergo Hamstring Surgery

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Pablo Sandoval’s season for the Giants is over, as he’ll require surgery to repair a “significant” tear in his hamstring, manager Bruce Bochy told reporters (Twitter links via USA Today’s Bob Nightengale and NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic). An MRI taken this morning revealed the extent of the injury.

Sandoval, 31, hasn’t approached his peak levels with the Giants in 2018, but he’s had a modest rebound all the same. Through 252 plate appearances, the Panda has posted a .248/.310/.417 with nine homers, 10 doubles and a triple. He’s logged time at first base, third base and even second base with San Francisco this year — albeit just seven innings at the latter of those positions. Though he’ll likely never return to the .292/.345/.464 (124 OPS+) form he showed from 2009-14, Sandoval’s 2018 production came out just narrowly south of league average after adjusting for park and league (97 OPS+, 97 wRC+).

The Giants will have the same decision to make on Sandoval that they did at the end of the 2017 season, as he’s technically still under contract for the 2019 season — the final guaranteed year of the ill-fated five-year, $95MM deal he signed prior to the 2015 campaign. Of course, San Francisco can keep him around for only the league minimum in 2019, with the Red Sox on the hook for the remainder of the $23MM he’s owed next year ($18MM salary plus the $5MM buyout on a 2020 club option).

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