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Brandon Drury Diagnosed With Fractured Hand

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Blue Jays infielder Brandon Drury has been diagnosed with a fractured left hand, the club announced. He’s heading to the 10-day disabled list, with infielder Richard Urena coming up to take his spot on the active roster.

Drury, who’s closing in on his 26th birthday, has struggled at the plate to open his tenure in Toronto. He came over with Billy McKinney from the division-rival Yankees in a late-July deal that sent J.A. Happ to New York.

The anticipated timeline isn’t yet known, but it seems reasonable to anticipate that Drury will be out for most or all of the remainder of the season. While that’s not necessarily of significant impact to a Blue Jays club who’ve already sold off assets and raised the white flag on the 2018 season, it certainly adds another moral blow to a frustrating season for the former 13th-rounder. Following back-to-back solid (if unspectacular) seasons with the Diamondbacks, Drury looked to have carved out a place on the club’s major league roster for years to come.

Things took an unexpected turn, though, as Drury was shipped to the Yankees in the offseason as part of the three-team trade that sent Steven Souza Jr. to the Diamondbacks. He figured to serve as a stopgap in the Yankees’ infield that would reduce the urgency to promote Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar, but blurred vision and migraines caused him to hit the DL in April, and Drury was optioned to Triple-A when he became healthy. From that point on, Drury was never truly able to get going, as evidenced by his .169/.256/.260 batting line across 86 plate appearances with the Yankees and Blue Jays.

The addition of Drury to the disabled list will thin out Toronto’s infield depth, leaving the uninspiring (and strikeout-prone) Urena as the club’s lone option to back up Yangervis Solarte, Aledmys Diaz and Devon Travis. The club has given no indication that they might add third base superprospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to the major league roster any time soon.

 

Brewers Claim Ariel Hernandez

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The Brewers announced today that they have claimed right-hander Ariel Hernandez off waivers from the Dodgers. He had been designated for assignment recently.

Hernandez worked at 98.1 mph with his fastball and produced a 12.6% swinging-strike rate in 24 1/3 MLB frames last year with the Reds. But he also handed out 22 free passes in that span, which perhaps led the Cincinnati club to designate him for assignment early in the present season.

It’s also clear, though, that teams are intrigued at the idea of harnessing Hernandez’s stuff. The Dodgers had to give up some value to acquire him in mid-April, indicating that there was competition, and now the Brewers will tie up a 40-man spot (for the time being, at least) in the middle of a pennant race.

Thus far in 2018, Hernandez has posted a 2.52 ERA in fifty frames over 37 appearances in the upper minors. But he has also produced just 49 strikeouts to go with 29 walks on the year. Hernandez has struggled in particular at the highest level of the minors; in 42 1/3 total frames there over the past two seasons, he has retired 40 batters on strikes but issued 39 free passes.

Rangers Claim Zac Curtis, Designate Brandon Mann

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The Rangers have claimed southpaw Zac Curtis off waivers from the Phillies, per club announcements. In a corresponding move, the Texas organization designated fellow lefty Brandon Mann for assignment.

Curtis has held opposing hitters to just two earned runs in 9 2/3 innings on the year, but he has also permitted ten walks to go with his ten strikeouts. In 31 1/3 innings of MLB action spread over the past three years, he has worked to a 3.73 ERA but has matched this season’s ugly 1:1 K/BB ratio (26 apiece).

Of course, Curtis has spent most of the season at Triple-A. There, he has worked to a 3.00 ERA with 10.3 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 over his 42 innings. He’ll head to Triple-A on optional assignment when he reports to the Texas organization.

As for Mann, it has been a dream season even if things didn’t pan out fully with the Rangers. Remarkably, he made his MLB debut at 34 years of age, though he struggled through six appearances. Mann did turn in a strong effort at Triple-A on the year, posting 43 1/3 innings of 2.70 ERA ball with 7.7 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9.

Jose Iglesias, Francisco Liriano, Jordan Zimmermann Clear Trade Waivers

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Three prominent Tigers players have cleared revocable trade waivers, according to Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free-Press. Infielder Jose Iglesias, lefty Francisco Liriano, and righty Jordan Zimmermann can all now be traded freely for the rest of the season.

Of course, deals need to be struck by the end of the month for any player to have postseason eligibility with a new organization. And any preexisting limitations — such as Zimmermann’s no-trade rights — remain in full force.

Of these players, the former two seem to be likely trade candidates. Both are pending free agents earning reasonably significant money. Iglesias, 28, is playing on a $6.275MM salary, while the 34-year-old Liriano is owed a total of $4MM.

Teams interested in upgrading their infield defense will surely consider Iglesias, who’s among the game’s best fielders at short. He’s also producing at a respectable rate at the plate for a defender of his quality, with a 88 wRC+ for the season. Liriano, meanwhile, likely won’t be pursued as a starter, as metrics don’t really support his 4.37 ERA. That said, he has handcuffed lefty hitters this year and it certainly doesn’t hurt that he’s stretched out.

As for Zimmermann, he’s earning $24MM this year and $50MM total for the following two seasons. That’s a big chunk of change. Plus, Zimmermann has full no-trade rights during the present campaign. (They’ll revert to partial rights at season’s end.)

While similar roadblocks did not stop the club from dealing franchise cornerstone Justin Verlander last August, Zimmermann hasn’t pitched well enough to force the issue in the manner of his former teammate. The 32-year-old Zimmermann has certainly fared better this year than at any prior point in his tenure with the Tigers, with a 4.31 ERA over 77 1/3 innings and improved mix of 8.5 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9. But he has also had some health concerns and still likely won’t be valued at anything close to his remaining contract. Plus, there’s still no reason to believe he’d be interested in waiving his no-trade protection, as geography played a role in bringing him to Detroit in the first place.

Jacoby Ellsbury Undergoes Hip Surgery

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The Yankees announced today that outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury has undergone surgery to repair the labrum of his left hip. He’s expected to require six months of recovery time.

Ellsbury’s season is now over before it ever began. The 34-year-old has been on the disabled list all year with a dizzying array of injuries. He did not appear in game action at any level.

The veteran outfielder joined the Yankees on a monster seven-year, $153MM contract that has not turned out as hoped. It runs through 2020 and also includes a $5MM buyout on a $21MM option for an additional season. It is not clear whether or to what extent the Yanks insured the contract.

Ellsbury has fallen far short of expectations in the Bronx. He was a 3.5 fWAR performer in his first season, but hasn’t even reached 2 fWAR in any of the three ensuing seasons. Though Ellsbury has certainly been worthy of a roster spot, and has produced useful numbers against right-handed pitching, the overall production is nothing close to what the Yanks have paid for.

Nexen Heroes Sign Jerry Sands, Release Michael Choice

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The Korea Baseball Organization’s Nexen Heroes have announced that they have signed former MLB outfielder Jerry Sands (h/t Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net, on Twitter). He’ll take the roster spot of fellow outfielder Michael Choice, another prior big leaguer, who was released.

Sands, 30, has seen action in five MLB seasons, producing a composite .238/.303/.367 batting line. He had spent the past two seasons with the Giants organization. In 371 plate appearances at the Double-A and Triple-A levels in 2018, Sands carries a .269/.361/.505 slash with 16 long balls.

As for Choice, a 28-year-old former first-round draft pick, he has struggled through three hundred career MLB plate appearances (.188/.253/.320) but turned in a big 2017 effort after moving to Nexen last year. Unfortunately, he hasn’t matched that productivity thus far in the present season, as he’s carrying a .258/.339/.458 batting line with 17 home runs.

Choice’s stat line may look fairly robust at first glance, but it’s not all that impressive for the notoriously hitter-friendly KBO. The standards are especially high for foreign players, as each team is capped at three apiece. There are quite a few significant performers listed on MyKBO’s foreign-player leaderboard. As Kurtz notes, today’s transaction occurs just before the mid-August deadline for KBO players to add foreign players to their roster who are eligible for postseason play.

Nationals Sign Greg Holland

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After reportedly agreeing to terms over the weekend, the Nationals have officially struck a deal with veteran reliever Greg Holland. Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post tweeted the news, which has now been announced by the team.

Holland will head straight onto the Nats’ MLB roster, the team announced. Righty Jimmy Cordero was optioned back to Triple-A to create space.

In a sense, this represents a culmination of years of dalliances between Holland and the Nationals. Though the sides did not line up during either of his trips onto the open market, the Scott Boras client obviously held appeal all along to the D.C. organization.

Of course, the premise is quite a bit different now than it was in the prior two winters. Holland was recently cut loose by the Cardinals after a rough stint with the team. The St. Louis organization will remain responsible for the remainder of his $14MM annual salary, less a pro-rated portion of the league minimum.

This move represents the latest twist in the Nats’ recent bullpen saga. Even as the club decided not to blow things up at the deadline, it moved veteran reliever Brandon Kintzler. Days later, the team designated and dealt Shawn Kelley after he slammed his glove and stared into the team’s dugout in the midst of a mop-up outing.

In parting with those two hurlers and adding Holland, the Nationals are certainly taking some chances while saving salary. It’s arguable, at best, whether there’s greater upside in the current mix; the floor, surely, is lower.

Holland has a history of excellence and was a quality performer for much of the 2017 season. But he’ll now rejoin former ’pen mate Kelvin Herrera — a mid-season acquisition in Washington — with considerably less fanfare than he would have at most points in the past.

After all, through 25 frames this year, Holland has coughed up exactly as many earned runs and walks as he has recorded strikeouts, with 22 of each. That startling fact is backed by some other problems. Holland has lost another mile per hour on his fastball, even against his diminished post-Tommy John levels. And he’s generating swinging strikes at an 11.8% rate that’s the lowest since his first, brief taste of the majors in 2010.

If there’s cause for optimism, it lies in Holland’s relatively improved work since he took some time off in the middle of the season. He was tuned up for five earned runs in a July 8th appearance against the Giants, but otherwise has thrown 11 innings over which he allowed three earned runs with an 11:5 K/BB ratio since his return in mid-June.

Diamondbacks Designate Deven Marrero

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The Diamondbacks have designated infielder Deven Marrero for assignment, as MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert was among those to tweet after last night’s game.

Marrero had been working back from a stint on the disabled list. Clearly, the organization decided not to bring him back onto the active roster. Marrero is out of options, so this was the only other choice.

Soon to turn 28, Marrero was picked up from the Red Sox just before the start of the season. Valued highly for his glovework, the former first-rounder has never come around with the bat. In 85 plate appearances this year, he managed only a .167/.224/.205 slash line, leaving him with a 39 wRC+ in 343 trips to the MLB plate over the past four seasons.

Diamondbacks Release Jorge De La Rosa

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The Diamondbacks announced today that they released lefty Jorge De La Rosa after he cleared waivers. He had been designated for assignment at the trade deadline.

De La Rosa, 37, had been working out of the pen after cracking the roster on a minors deal this spring. He’s owed $2.25MM for the season, his second in Arizona.

The veteran southpaw managed only a 4.63 ERA in his 35 innings for the Snakes before he was cut loose. Though he carried a solid 51.9% groundball rate, De La Rosa posted a marginal combination of 6.9 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 while allowing homers on twenty percent of the flyballs put in play against him.

Corey Seager To Undergo Hip Surgery

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Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager is slated to undergo surgery on his left hip tomorrow, the club announced. He is already out for the year after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

The organization says in its statement that Seager is “expected to resume baseball activities in January.” That would seemingly make it possible for him to participate fully in Spring Training.

Of course, that timeline is somewhat tighter than seems preferable. Seager has already been out for over three months and was experiencing some hip problems just before his elbow ligament popped. It obviously would have been preferable to use that time to rehab both issues. Presumably, there’s an explanation, though it hasn’t yet been given publicly.

Seager, 24, has been a high-end performer since breaking into the league at 21 years of age late in the 2015 season. He had not been in top form in the early stages of the 2018 season, though that might well have changed with a hot streak. All said, Seager carries a .302/.372/.494 slash with 54 home runs through 1,528 MLB plate appearances. He’ll be eligible for arbitration for the first time this fall, though his ill-timed health problems will significantly dent his expected earnings.

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