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Orioles Notes: Draft, Rutschman, Bundy, Hyde, Hays

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With the first-year player draft fast approaching, Orioles fans may want to acquaint themselves with Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman, who could be the team’s next top prospect. The Athletic’s Dan Connolly offers a detailed profile of the college junior and his path to prospect stardom. With the O’s holding the first selection in June’s draft, general manager Mike Elias and company will have their choice of the best amateur players in the country. However, Rutschman is doing what he can to make Baltimore’s pick an easy one; the switch-hitting catcher has emerged as the favorite to have his name called first by commissioner Rob Manfred, earning rave reviews from scouts, coaches, and teammates alike. On the baseball diamond, Rutschman earns praise for his outstanding defense at a premium position, which he pairs with an impressive combination of power and contact at the plate. At a pivotal juncture in the Orioles’ rebuild, the organization’s choice at the top of the draft could be a franchise-altering decision,

Here’s the latest news out of Baltimore…

  • In Connolly’s latest for The Athletic. he offers thoughts on all things Orioles, including a drop in velocity that prompted manager Brandon Hyde to yank Dylan Bundy from his last start in just the fifth inning. The source of the declining velocity is unclear; it could merely be a continuation of a trend that began in 2016, or there could be a health issue, though Bundy claims he is healthy. Regardless, it’s a situation to monitor going forward, whether because of injury, or because the O’s might consider tinkering with Bundy’s repertoire.
  • More from Connolly: Brad Ausmus, who succeeded Jim Leyland as the Tigers’ manager from 2014-2017, offers some advice for rookie manager Brandon Hyde, who finds himself in a similar situation, having to follow in the footsteps of the respected Buck Showalter. Hyde certainly has been, and will continue to be, subjected to his fair share of scrutiny in his first month-plus at the helm of a Big League club. Commandeering a rebuilding team, Hyde has had to balance outsiders’ demands to win with the mandate to identify and develop young players around whom the organization can construct the next great Orioles team.
  • Talented outfielder Austin Hays, a preseason favorite to play his way into in the Orioles’ starting outfield this season, will make his season debut in the coming days. After suffering a thumb injury in March, Hays should join one of the O’s low-level affiliates shortly and work his way through the ranks, hopefully culminating in an extended stay in the Majors, where he could contend for a starting role. Hays has long tantalized fans with eye-popping minor-league numbers, though he struggled in his 2017 debut. After a disappointing 2018, the hope is that Hays will actualize his offensive potential and force his way into Baltimore’s lineup.

MLB Issues Five-Game Suspension To Kevin Gausman

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May 12: Gausman has elected to drop his appeal and will begin serving his five-game suspension on Sunday. He will miss the Braves’ three-game set against the Cardinals, as well as Friday’s series-opener against Milwaukee.

May 6: Braves hurler Kevin Gausman has been slapped with a five-game suspension and undisclosed fine, per a league announcement. The punitive measure relates to a recent incident on the mound.

It was determined that Gausman intentionally threw a pitch at Marlins hurler Jose Urena on Friday night. That assessment was based upon this pitch, which was obviously interpreted as retribution for an incident last season for which Urena himself received a six-game ban.

Gausman is appealing the suspension. That will leave him eligible to make his scheduled start tonight. Whether he’ll ultimately drop the appeal isn’t known, but it shouldn’t be terribly difficult for him and the team to minimize the intrusion. The Braves do have an off day upcoming on Tuesday the 13th to work with as well.

Yankees Claim Breyvic Valera

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The Yankees have claimed infielder Breyvic Valera off waivers from the Giants, according to The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly. He will report to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for his new club. To make room for Valera, the Yankees have transferred first baseman Greg Bird to the 60-day IL, adds James Wagner of The New York Times.

Valera, 27, was designated for assignment by the Giants not long after he was acquired from the Orioles. The Yankees will mark his fifth club since 2017, having spent time with the Cardinals, Dodgers, Orioles, and Giants over the last three seasons. He has amassed just 86 MLB plate appearances owing to a lack of opportunities, though Valera is the owner of an impressive BB:K ratio in his minor league career.

Valera will join a Yankees infield that has been hit hard by injuries early in the season, though the emergence of Gio Urshela and Miguel Andujar’s return to Yanks’ lineup will likely limit Valera’s opportunities to receive playing time. For the time being, he slots into a organizational depth role behind the likes of Tyler Wade and Thairo Estrada.

Angels Release Peter Bourjos

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May 12: The Angels announced that Bourjos has cleared waivers and has been unconditionally released.

May 10: The Angels announced today that they’ve requested unconditional release waivers on outfielder Peter Bourjos, whom they designated for assignment earlier in the week.

Bourjos, 32, had a homecoming of sorts when he signed a minor league pact with the Angels this offseason. The Halos selected him in the 10th round of the 2005 draft, and he made his big league debut with the club a half decade later when he emerged in 2010. Playing time in his second stint with his original organization was sparse, however, and Bourjos ultimately hit just .091/.109/.144 in 46 trips to the plate. A career .237/.296/.376 hitter (2334 plate appearances) who can handle all three outfield positions, Bourjos will head back to the open market in search of another opportunity with a club seeking some veteran depth.

Giants Designate Yangervis Solarte, Pat Venditte; Venditte Clears Waivers

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May 12: Venditte has cleared waivers, tweets Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic. Venditte will remain in the Giants organization and will report to Triple-A Sacramento.

May 7: The Giants announced that infielder/outfielder Yangervis Solarte and ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte have each been designated for assignment. Their spots on the roster will go to outfielder Mac Williamson and infielder/outfielder Donovan Solano — each of whom was reported to be joining the MLB club earlier today. San Francisco also optioned outfielder Mike Gerber to Triple-A Sacramento and recalled lefty Williams Jerez.

Solarte, 31, made the club out of Spring Training after coming to camp as a non-roster invitee, but he hasn’t rebounded to form as the club hoped. From 2014-17 with the Yankees and Padres, the switch-hitter was a .267/.327/.419 hitter capable of playing multiple spots on the infield, but Solarte struggled through an awful 2018 season with the Blue Jays (.226/.277/.378) and was worse in 78 plate appearances with the Giants (.205/.247/.315).

Venditte inked a split big league contract this offseason but has been tagged for six runs on four hits, a pair of walks and three hit batters with two strikeouts in just 3 1/3 innings out of Bruce Bochy’s bullpen so far. Venditte has a 5.03 ERA in 68 big league innings and has never been able to stick at the MLB level despite considerable intrigue surrounding his ability to pitch both right- and left-handed. His best work has come as a left-on-left specialist, as he’s held opponents to a pitiful .179/.226/.349 slash through 115 plate appearances in such matchups.

Phillies Place Vince Velasquez On IL, Promote Cole Irvin

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SUNDAY: Irvin’s officially up in place of Davis, the Phillies announced.

SATURDAY: The Phillies announced that they’ve placed Vince Velasquez on the 10-day injured list with a right forearm strain. In a corresponding move, the club recalled lefty Austin Davis from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. However, the Phillies will select southpaw Cole Irvin from Triple-A to start in Velasquez’s place Sunday in Kansas City. Irvin will take the last open spot on the Phillies’ 40-man roster.

This is the latest in a long line of arm injuries for Velasquez, who has logged IL time in the past for a biceps strain and a flexor strain, among other problems. Moreover, it’s worth noting a forearm strain sent budding Rays ace Tyler Glasnow to the shelf for four to six weeks on Saturday.  Velasquez suggested this isn’t nearly as serious as Glasnow’s injury, though, telling Scott Lauber of Philly.com and other reporters that he only expects to miss one start.

Velasquez, 26, hasn’t turned into the front-line starter the Phillies wanted when they acquired the then-prospect in a 2015 blockbuster with the Astros, though he has generally been a capable rotation piece. But Velasquez did endure back-to-back subpar starts prior to his IL placement, and most of his production this year hasn’t been nearly as encouraging as the 3.99 ERA and 9.2 K/9 he has put up over six starts and 29 1/3 frames. Along with those numbers, Velasquez has notched a horrid 5.81 FIP with 4.6 BB/9 and, compared to 2018, seen his swinging-strike and contact rates go in the wrong direction. He’s also yielding more than two home runs per nine and benefiting from a .250 batting average on balls in play and a 90.1 percent strand rate.

With Velasquez down, the 25-year-old Irvin will make his big league debut three seasons after the Phillies chose him in the fifth round of the 2016 draft. The former Oregon Duck had been enjoying his second straight sub-3.00 ERA season at the Triple-A level before his promotion, though the rest of his numbers have gone backward since 2018. While MLB.com ranks Irvin as the Phillies’ 16th-best prospect, lauding “his ability to use his four-pitch mix well to keep hitters guessing and off-balance,” the outlet adds that he only features one above-average offering (a changeup).

Mariners Place Felix Hernandez On IL, Select Parker Markel

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As part of a series of roster moves, the Mariners announced that they’ve placed right-hander Felix Hernandez on the 10-day injured list with a strained pitching shoulder and selected the contract of righty Parker Markel from Triple-A Tacoma. The team has also recalled righty Dan Altavilla from Tacoma and optioned outfielder Braden Bishop.

The severity of Hernandez’s strain is unknown, but it’s the latest sign of deteriorating durability for the longtime workhorse, once a perennial 200-inning ace who hasn’t approached that mark since 2015. Hernandez devolved into a back-end starter the next season and hasn’t rebounded yet. After recording a career-worst 5.55 ERA/5.18 FIP in 2018, he’s at 6.52 and 5.30 in those categories through 38 2/3 innings this year – which could prove to be his last with the Mariners.

Hernandez’s injury created an opening for Markel, a 28-year-old who’s finally in position to make his major league debut eight years after the Rays selected him in the 39th round of the 2010 draft. Markel stuck with the Tampa Bay organization through 2016 and then signed with the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization entering the 2017 campaign, though he asked the club to terminate his contract before he ever pitched for them.

Markel returned to action stateside last year at the Double-A level, where he pitched for independent Sioux City, before signing with the Mariners in the fall. He got off to a dominant start this season across the minors’ top two levels, combining for 35 strikeouts against seven walks and giving up just one earned run in 17 1/3 innings, to earn a big league promotion.

Yankees Recall Chad Green

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The Yankees have recalled right-handed reliever Chad Green from Triple-A Scranton and optioned lefty Nestor Cortes Jr., the team announced.

After a marvelous run with the Yankees from 2017-18, during which Green logged a 2.18 ERA/2.33 FIP with 12.26 K/9 and 1.99 BB/9 in 144 2/3 innings, he got off to such a poor start this season that the team demoted him to Scranton on April 24.

Before the Yankees temporarily booted him from their 25-man roster, Green worked 7 1/3 nightmarish frames in which he allowed 14 earned runs – the same amount he yielded in 69 innings two years ago – on 15 hits (four home runs) and issued four walks against seven strikeouts. Green also saw his hard contact rate soar to nearly 55 percent, up from the low-40s over the previous two years, as hitters crushed him for a .512 weighted on-base average/.459 xwOBA, per Statcast. Most of the damage has come versus Green’s previously irreproachable four-seam fastball, against which batters have hit .435 and slugged .870 this season.

Fortunately for Green and the Yankees, the 27-year-old reverted to his dominant ways during his 7 1/3-inning trip to the minors, where he fanned 14, walked two and allowed two earned runs on five hits. He’ll now rejoin a Yankees bullpen that has fared well in 2019 even in spite of Green’s woeful big league output. A pair of expensive offseason signings – Adam Ottavino and Zack Britton – as well as the revived Tommy Kahnle have all been effective bridges to closer Aroldis Chapman, and New York’s hope is Green will add another imposing force to that game-ending group upon his return.

Rays “Keeping In Touch” With Craig Kimbrel

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The Rays were reportedly in contact with free-agent closer Craig Kimbrel as of late March. A month and a half later, Kimbrel remains without a job, and the Rays are still among clubs “keeping in touch” with the seven-time All-Star, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The 24-14 Rays own baseball’s second-best record thanks in part to their bullpen, which ranks second in the majors in ERA and seventh in K/BB ratio. And they’ve done it without an established closer, having deployed Jose Alvarado, Diego Castillo and Emilio Pagan for at least three saves apiece. All three have been highly effective this season, as has fellow reliever Jalen Beeks, but with the juggernaut Yankees-Red Sox tandem breathing down Tampa Bay’s neck in the American League East, there’s room for outside reinforcements.

The main question for Kimbrel suitors, especially the low-budget Rays, centers on what type of offer would convince him to end his protracted stay on the open market. The 30-year-old entered free agency in November with designs on a contract befitting of a Cooperstown-caliber reliever. However, even after Kimbrel reportedly dropped his price to a more reasonable level last month, the market for the ex-Braves, Padres and Red Sox star has been shockingly tepid.

At this point, with the June 3-5 draft just a few weeks away, Kimbrel seems likely to continue without an employer until sometime next month. As MLBTR’s Jeff Todd explained this week, teams have held off on signing Kimbrel for this long, so it doesn’t seem one will blink until it no longer has to surrender draft pick compensation for adding the qualifying offer recipient.

If the Rays were to sign Kimbrel prior to the draft, though, they’d have to part with their third-highest pick. On paper, that’s the smallest penalty available to clubs, but in the Rays’ case, it would mean losing the valuable 39th overall choice. Of course, the financial ramifications accompanying a Kimbrel signing also seem to stand in the way of a union with Tampa Bay. The Rays own the majors’ lowest 40-man payroll at just north of a paltry $53MM, so there should be room for Kimbrel or another pricey pickup(s) in theory. The franchise has never been known for spending, however, and Kimbrel may land a multiyear deal that would add a sizable commitment to its limited payroll beyond this season.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Vlad Jr., Twins, Marte, Astros, Yanks, Brewers

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This week in baseball blogs…

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