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CC Sabathia Hopes To Pitch In 2019

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Yankees left-hander C.C. Sabathia indicated earlier this season that this could be the last year of his career, but now he seems likely to return in 2019. Sabathia recently told Jon Paul Morosi of MLB.com that he aims to play next year, health permitting.

“I’m [going] start to start,” Sabathia said. “I go out one start and feel like I can pitch five more years. I go out another start and I’m [feeling] done. But if I can stay healthy — if my knee holds up — hopefully I’ll play one more.”

It’s not a given that the big-bodied Sabathia’s knee will continue to cooperate, given that he dealt with serious troubles in that area as recently as last year. The pain in Sabathia’s right knee was so acute last summer that he nearly retired, in fact, before receiving a painkilling injection that helped him finish the season. His ongoing presence was a major positive for the Yankees, whom he helped pitch to the ALCS before they lost in seven games to the eventual world champion Astros.

Thanks in part to Sabathia’s strong finish in 2017, the Yankees re-signed the then-free agent to a one-year, $10MM guarantee in the offseason. The 38-year-old (his birthday is today) has been more than worth the investment so far in his 10th season with the Yankees, having pitched to a 3.51 ERA with 6.93 K/9, 2.61 BB/9 and a 45.3 percent groundball rate through 100 innings (18 starts). Although ERA estimators such as FIP (4.55), xFIP (4.52) and SIERA (4.45) haven’t been enamored of Sabathia’s work, it’s worth pointing out he has managed to defy severe regression by serving as a soft contact artist. Among qualified pitchers, only Milwaukee’s Brent Suter has induced a lower average exit velocity against than Sabathia’s 84.5 mph, per Statcast (via Baseball Savant), which also shows little difference between his wOBA allowed (.316) and xwOBA (.306).

Based on Sabathia’s performance, it seems the Yankees would have interest in retaining him beyond this season if he remains healthy. It’s unclear whether the Yankees will acquire a controllable starter this summer or during the winter, but even if they do, they’d likely still have room for an effective Sabathia in their rotation. He’s arguably New York’s second-best starter right now, after all, trailing ace Luis Severino. The club also has the home run-prone Masahiro Tanaka and the much-maligned Sonny Gray under wraps past this season. Beyond that, there are plenty of unproven young arms in the fold, with the highly touted Justus Sheffield, the struggling Domingo German and the currently injured Jonathan Loaisiga among them.

At the very least, Sabathia’s a superior option to each member of that group at the moment, and returning in 2019 could help him further his Hall of Fame case. The former ace, who was previously with the Indians and Brewers, owns a 3.70 ERA in 3,417 innings and ranks 36th all-time in pitcher fWAR (66.3), 53rd in wins (243) and 55th in pitcher rWAR (61.0).

Rockies Place DJ LeMahieu On DL, Promote Garrett Hampson, Designate Daniel Castro

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In an unfortunate development for the surging, playoff-contending Rockies, second baseman DJ LeMahieu is headed to the 10-day disabled list because of a left oblique strain. The Rockies will replace him with infield prospect Garrett Hampson, whose contract they selected from Triple-A Albuquerque. To make room for Hampson, Colorado designated infielder Daniel Castro for assignment.

This is the third DL stint of the year for LeMahieu, who most recently missed the second half of May with a hand injury. In addition to the health issues LeMahieu has battled this season, the pending free agent hasn’t performed to his 2016-17 levels on offense, with a .278/.324/.430 line, eight home runs and five steals across 331 plate appearances. LeMahieu has been a standout in the field, however, having posted eight Defensive Runs Saved and a 3.1 Ultimate Zone Rating.

Winners of six straight and within two games of the NL West-leading Dodgers, the Rockies (52-45) will have to make do without LeMahieu – who, based on the nature of oblique issues, could miss significant time. But his injury has helped open the door for Hampson, Colorado’s sixth-ranked prospect at MLB Pipeline. The 23-year-old has logged above-average offensive numbers at each minor league stop since the Rockies picked him in the third round of the 2016 draft. A .306/.366/.443 hitter with four homers and 14 steals over 246 PAs this season, MLB Pipeline praises Hampson’s “quick right-handed swing,” patience and speed. He also has “Gold Glove upside” at the keystone, the outlet contends.

Castro, 25, is in his second year with the Rockies, who selected his contract for the first time earlier this season. Castro didn’t do much with that playing time before his designation, though, hitting a mere .174/.191/.261 in 47 trips to the plate. The former Brave owns a .210/.240/.265 line in 288 lifetime big league PAs, though he has slashed a more-than-respectable .333/.367/.457 in 227 Triple-A PAs this season.

Activated From DL: Felix, Avisail, Delmonico

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A few notable players were activated from the disabled list today…

  • The Mariners have activated right-hander Felix Hernandez; he’d been on the DL with lower back tightness, though it’s possible the DL stint had more to do with roster management than with the injury itself. The 2010 AL Cy Young Award-winner has continued to trend downwards this season, evidenced by a 5.13 ERA (and a 4.64 FIP that doesn’t paint a much more optimistic picture). He also sports a 7.43 K/9 that would be a full-season career low. In order to make room for the righty on the active roster, Seattle has optioned outfielder John Andreoli to Triple-A Tacoma.
  • White Sox outfielder Nicky Delmonico will finally return after missing two months with a broken hand. After an intriguing 2017 rookie season in which he hit .262/.373/.482, the 26-year-old has failed to replicate that type of production. His .217 batting average and .292 slugging percentage are both dreadful disappointments across his first 139 plate appearances of 2018, though his 11.5% walk rate is a nice silver lining.
  • Avisail Garcia will also make a return to the White Sox. The 27-year-old enjoyed a tremendous breakout campaign last season during which he batted at a .330 clip and slugged 18 homers across 561 plate appearances. However, the 2018 season has seen him walk at just a 1.4% clip, so while his .282 batting average is fairly impressive, his .297 on-base percentage looks almost like a liability. He’s managed to hit nine homers and six doubles across 148 plate appearances, though, which makes for a .542 slugging percentage.

Athletics Acquire Jeurys Familia

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In a trade that has been widely expected since last night, the Athletics have officially acquired right-hander Jeurys Familia from the Mets. In exchange, the Athletics have sent a pair of minor leaguers back to New York: third baseman William Toffey and right-hander Bobby Wahl. The Mets will also receive $1MM in international bonus money, while the Athletics will take on all of Familia’s ~$3MM remaining salary.

With Familia set to reach free agency at season’s end, and the Mets suffering through a miserable 40-55 season thus far on the year, the closer’s ticket out of Queens has been all but purchased for weeks. Familia earned the number two spot on our Top 75 Trade Candidates At The All-Star Break list owing in part to the above factors as well as his excellent start to the 2018 season. Thus far, Familia’s managed an excellent 2.88 ERA and 17 saves to go along with 9.52 K/9 and a 50.5% ground ball rate.

Familia’s excellence goes beyond the common surface stats, too. His peripherals have earned him a 2.54 FIP, for one. He’s also been excellent at limiting homers, with a minuscule 2.8% homer-to-fly-ball rate on the season. An even deeper dive reveals that Familia has allowed hard contact at just a 26.8% clip during a season in which hard contact is up on the whole, and he’s also managed to induce swinging strikes on 12% of his pitches. According to Statcast, the batted ball profile of hitters against Familia gives him an xwOBA of just .289, which is only a few points above his actual wOBA (.273).

The excellent figures above are a well-timed bounce back from a miserable 2017 season for Familia that began with a 15-game domestic violence suspension and got even worse when it was revealed that the righty had an arterial clot in his right shoulder that would ultimately require surgery to repair. By the time he was finally able to return on August 26th, he looked nothing like himself, posting a 4.70 ERA while walking 4.11 batters per nine and not even notching a strikeout per inning. His 2018 comeback not only allowed the team who signed and developed him to capitalize on his success and reap a prospect return, but it also earned Familia a trade to a contending team, and the promise of pitching in meaningful games by which he can boost his free agent pay day.

That team, the Athletics, didn’t look like a serious player for the American League West crown early on in the season. But thanks to a torrid stretch during which they’ve gone 21-7, the Athletics have vaulted themselves into contender status and currently sit just four games out of the second AL Wild Card spot currently owned by the division rival Mariners. A breakout season from third baseman Matt Chapman, a career year from infielder Jed Lowrie, and the continued success from young core players such as Matt Olson and Sean Manaea are all contributing factors to the A’s owning an impressive 55-43 record at this juncture.

Familia will join an elite-level A’s bullpen that’s already 38-0 this season when leading after seven innings. That group includes breakout closer Blake Treinen along with other excellent 2018 performers such as Lou Trivino, Chris Hatcher, Ryan Buchter and Yusmeiro Petit. There’s no word on who will handle the closing duties in the Familia era in Oakland, but it seems quite possible that Familia could supplant the incumbent Treinen in order to suppress his saves, a stat that holds an inordinate amount of weight in baseball’s arbitration process and would therefore help to drive up Treinen’s price tag in future seasons.

As for the Mets, it signals the waving of a white flag on the 2018 season. It’s not clear yet, however, whether the move signals a short retooling phase or a longer-term, larger-scale rebuilding process that could drive them to ship out players with longer-term club control such as Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Michael Conforto. With the meteoric rises of the division-rival Braves and Phillies, and the Nationals unlikely to go south anytime soon, the NL East doesn’t figure to get any easier in the ensuing seasons. Add to that uncertainty surrounding the future of the injured Yoenis Cespedes (who will likely require surgery and a nine-month rehab period), and the development of young players like Amed Rosario and Dominic Smith not working out as planned, it’s possible the Amazins could be motivated to tear down the major league roster and start from scratch.

Though manager Mickey Callaway stated this morning that the Mets would go with a closer-by-committee approach in the post-Familia era, it’s worth noting that he made the exact same comment at the beginning of the season before proceeding to use Familia as his 9th-inning hurler almost exclusively. During times when Familia was unavailable, Callaway turned to multi-inning workhorse Robert Gsellman, who’s earned five saves on the season (including one last night when Familia was kept on the pine amidst trade discussions).

With Familia headed to Oakland, the market figures to focus its attention on Zach Britton, who earlier today was deemed “the next Oriole out the door” by beat reporter Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. In a concurring report, Buster Olney of ESPN tweeted that Baltimore is expected to move Britton as soon as this weekend. Joakim Soria, Raisel Iglesias and Fernando Rodney represent some right-handed alternatives to Familia who could now garner increased attention from the Cubs, Diamondbacks, Indians, Red Sox and Braves (Jon Heyman of Fancred reports that those clubs were all players for Familia). Meanwhile, Zach Duke and Felipe Vazquez could earn the focus of clubs looking for a southpaw.

The trade of Familia marks the latest development in a surprisingly fast-moving trade market for relief pitchers. The Mariners acquired Alex Colome from the Rays back in May, the Nationals landed Kelvin Herrera from the Royals in June, the Indians pried Brad Hand from the Padres before the All-Star break came to a close, and the Cubs traded for Jesse Chavez later that night; and it’s still ten days in advance of the actual trade deadline. It falls in line with a trend we saw this past offseason in which teams are aggressively pursuing reliable relievers, perhaps because they seem to be more valuable than ever before.

Toffey, 23, is a left-handed-hitting third baseman who came to the Athletics by way of their fourth-round pick in the 2017 draft. In 197 plate appearances at Class A Advanced this season, he’s hit .244/.357/.384. Baseball America ranked him as Oakland’s 19th-best prospect headed into the 2018 season, noting his excellent plate discipline. Though he doesn’t possess any serious raw power, scouts believe it’s possible he’ll be able to hit some bombs simply by virtue of his ability to wait and swing at his pitch. Toffey’s best tool, perhaps, is his glove, though his fringe-average speed may prevent his defense from reaching its true ceiling.

Wahl is perhaps the better of the two prospects in this deal. Though his September cup of coffee last season was average at best (four earned runs, eight strikeouts and four walks in 7 2/3 innings), Wahl’s been mowing down opponents at Triple-A Nashville so far this season. Across 39 2/3 innings, the right-hander owns a 14.75 K/9 figure against 3.86 BB/9 and has posted a 2.27 ERA that’s not too far below his 2.52 FIP. If he’s able to produce something close to those numbers at the major-league level, he could be a fixture in the Mets’ bullpen for years to come.

Despite the interesting upside for Wahl, the general consensus in the industry is that the prospect return in this trade isn’t particularly impressive, especially considering the trade value of Familia. It could be that the $1MM in international bonus money is the true prize in this deal, and if that’s the case, we could see the Mets come to terms with one of the top remaining international prospects in the coming days; high-upside Cuban righty Osiel Rodriguez currently tops the list of unsigned players.

Jane Lee of MLB.com was the first to report that two sides had come to an agreement involving two prospects and international bonus pool money. Shortly thereafter Joel Sherman of the New York Post revealed which prospects were headed back to the Mets. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle first noted that the international bonus pool amount was $1MM, and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic made first mention that the A’s were taking on all of Familia’s remaining salary. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/21/18

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Here’s a roundup of some recent minor moves…

  • The Red Sox have signed reliever Mark Montgomery to a minor league contract, Emily Waldon of The Athletic reports. The deal runs through 2019, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. The 27-year-old Montgomery got off to a strong start this season with the Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate, pitching to a 1.98 ERA with 11.2 K/9 and 5.27 BB/9 in 13 2/3 innings. But the Tigers released Montgomery on July 9 on account of elbow inflammation, and it’s unclear whether he’ll be able to pitch again this season, according to Cotillo. Historically, Montgomery has held his own in the minors when he has been healthy enough to take the mound. Also a former Yankees and Cardinals farmhand, the right-hander has logged a 2.71 ERA with 10.5 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 182 1/3 Triple-A frames.
  • Indians lefty Ryan Merritt has cleared waivers and subsequently outrighted to Triple-A Columbus. Merritt has only recently become healthy after spending the entire 2018 season on the disabled list. He owns a 1.71 career ERA and 2.71 FIP in 31 career major league innings (while striking out a hysterically low 3.69 K/9), but the Indians weren’t able to find room for him on the active roster, particularly with an alarming drop on his already-low average fastball velocity. Merritt’s perhaps best known for starting Game 5 of the 2016 ALCS for an injury-riddled Indians club, and even more remarkably allowing no runs across 4 1/3 innings en route to a Cleveland victory that helped them advance to the World Series.

Royals Designate Enny Romero

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The Royals have designated lefty reliever Enny Romero for assignment, Maria Torres of the Kansas City Star reports. The move was made in order to recall right-handed starter Jakob Junis for tonight’s game.

As Torres notes in her above tweet, the Royals are the third team that the 27-year-old Romero has pitched for this season. He didn’t do enough to earn a spot in the league’s worst bullpen, allowing nine earned runs in just four innings pitched to go along with two walks and three strikeouts. On the whole, Romero’s 2018 season has seen him post a miserable 12.60 ERA and 8.46 FIP across eight appearances for the Pirates, Nationals and Royals.

Romero may yet get another opportunity elsewhere, though, as he’s only a year removed from a successful 2017 campaign with the Nationals wherein he tossed 55 2/3 innings of 3.56 ERA ball while missing plenty of bats (10.51 K/9). That may look to be an anomaly amidst Romero’s otherwise uninspiring 5.12 career ERA, but an average fastball velocity that hovers around 96 MPH and a career swinging strike rate of 11.8% still leaves room for some interesting potential. If he does land with a new team, they’ll have to hope he can work out his command issues; Romero’s walked batters at a very high clip throughout his career, issuing a free pass more than every other inning.

Rays Promote Justin Williams

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The Rays have promoted outfielder Justin Williams to the major league club for the first time, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. To make room for him on the active roster, they’ve optioned lefty reliever Hoby Milner to Triple-A.

Williams, who’ll turn 23 next month, was the Diamondbacks’ second round pick in the 2013 draft. He came to the Rays as part of the return for sending right-hander Jeremy Hellickson to Arizona, and has posted above-average offensive numbers at every level of the minor leagues since then. At the Triple-A level so far this year, Williams has posted a .276/.323/.392 slash with a 6.7% walk rate and a 21.0% strikeout rate. At the Double-A level last season, he managed to hit .301/.364/.489 across 409 plate appearances.

MLB Pipeline ranks Williams among the club’s top ten prospects, checking in at #8. Though he hit a career-high 14 home runs last season, the publication notes that scouts expect him to develop more pop in his bat due to the fact that he still hits a lot of ground balls; something that could change as he continues to improve his swing. Baseball America describes him as a hitter who makes consistent contact and manages the strike zone well, in part due to improving pitch recognition. BA goes on to say that he turns on inside pitches well but may need to make some adjustments in order to do a better job covering the outside of the plate.

Mets, Athletics Expect To Finalize Jeurys Familia Trade By End Of Day

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12:45pm: The two clubs expect to complete the deal by the end of the day, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.

Saturday, 11:08am: It’s “down to the medical reviews,” says ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, who expects that the deal should “sail through” once that’s finished. Mets manager Mickey Callaway told reporters today that Familia remains unavailable for today’s game.

Friday, 10:36pm: The A’s are indeed the team trying to wrap up an agreement, Martino tweets. “Barring [a] snag,” Familia will head to Oakland, he says. Olney hears similarly. (Twitter link.)

10:26pm: The structure of a deal is in place but it is not yet final, Olney tweets. Meanwhile, the Mets have informed reporters that nothing will be announced tonight (via Puma, on Twitter). Though Familia is saying his goodbyes in the clubhouse, he says he hasn’t been given any official word (via DiComo, on Twitter).

The Astros are not involved, Olney adds on Twitter.

10:13pm: There’s definitely some fire producing this smoke, as Mets skipper Mickey Callaway tells reporters he was advised not to deploy Familia owing to a possible trade. (Via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, on Twitter.) It remains to be seen if a swap can be completed.

9:51pm: As Jeurys Familia watches from the bullpen rather than entering in a save situation, the Mets are working to finalize a deal to send him elsewhere, Buster Olney of ESPN.com reports on Twitter. The prospective destination is not yet known.

Earlier this evening, it was reported that the Athletics are a suitor for Familia, and all signs are currently pointing to a potential match with Oakland. Many other possibilities seem to have been dismissed. The sides are “well down the road,” per Andy Martino of SNY.tv (via Twitter), though ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick tweets that the A’s are “not willing to take on as much money as another club in the bidding.”

Most other suitors seem questionable at best. The Cubs had been tied to Familia, but Olney says they are not involved at the moment. Also on the sidelines are the Braves, Olney adds on Twitter. Though he suggested the Giants might be a factor, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweets that they are out owing to luxury tax considerations. Meanwhile, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com (via Twitter) and Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (Twitter link) indicate that Boston isn’t deeply involved at the moment, though Crasnick tweets that they have been in the picture.

Despite the intrigue, it may be that talks won’t result in a deal. Andy Martino of SNY.tv tweets that, even if ultimately consummated, agreement may not be struck tonight. Clearly, though, talks are “too close to take a risk,” as a source puts it to Mike Puma of the New York Post (via Twitter).

Familia is the top remaining trade candidate from MLBTR’s recent ranking of deadline assets. There has never been any question he’d be moved since the Mets fell out of contention in the NL East. Though he hasn’t been at his most dominant thus far, Familia is getting good results and showing his typical upper-nineties power sinker.

Teams weighing a move for Familia will surely consider him rather affordable at a $7.9MM salary with no future commitment. If not, Mets front office point-man John Ricco made clear today that the club is willing to pick up the tab if it can achieve sufficient prospect value. (Via Puma, on Twitter.)

This is a developing story …

Antonio Bastardo Receives 140-Game Suspension

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Free-agent lefty Antonio Bastardo has received a 140-game suspension, per a league announcement. He tested positive for the banned performance-enhancing drug stanozolol.

Stanozolol (better known by its popular name, Winstrol) is one of very few anabolic steroids that’s actually been deemed safe for consumption by the FDA; Stanozolol possesses the rare quality of being able to survive both the digestive system and the liver, meaning it can be taken orally (as opposed to intravenously) and still deliver the desired effects. Because of that, it can be legally sold and as such is easy to obtain. Stanozolol is known for its use in competitive body building, occasionally being used in the offseason for building definition (as opposed to enormous muscle growth).

Of course, being legal for sale and consumption doesn’t equate to being sanctioned for use in Major League Baseball, so Bastardo will receive the second PED-related suspension of his career. Five years ago, Bastardo was slapped with a 50-game ban for his involvement in the infamous Biogenesis clinic. As a result, his second suspension is (obviously) much more severe and has the potential to end the lefthander’s career.

Bastardo’s best known for his time spent with the Philadelphia Phillies, in whose system he spent upwards of ten seasons. Bastardo pitched for Philadelphia at the MLB level for parts every season from 2009-2015. The left-hander also tossed innings for the Mets and Pirates, and was certainly known for being effectively wild. His career ERA to date sits just above 4.00, and he managed to strike out 10.76 batters per nine innings while walking a whopping 4.40. During his career, Bastardo has largely served as living proof that even the most extreme fly ball pitchers can carve out a role for themselves at the MLB level. His 28.6% career ground ball rate ranks as the 10th-lowest all time among qualified pitchers ever since the stat first began to be measured.

Bastardo’s career took a turn for the worse at the beginning of the 2017 season, when he made just nine appearances for the Pirates before hitting the disabled list with a left quad strain. Those nine appearances were absolutely catastrophic; the right-hander issued a walk per inning across those nine innings while allowing five homers and giving up 15 earned runs on the whole. After spending two months on the DL, the Pirates elected to designate the veteran for assignment, closing the books on the two-year, $12MM contract he signed with the Mets prior to 2016. He hasn’t pitched at the MLB level since.

The Diamondbacks too a chance on Bastardo at the beginning of 2018, adding him to a large pool of veterans they signed to minors deals prior to spring training. Though he did manage to strike out nine hitters in just 5 2/3 innings (against only one walk), Arizona prioritized other pitchers ahead of him and granted him his release on March 20th. As MLBTR’s Jeff Todd noted at the time, it still seemed possible that the veteran’s track record and decent spring performance would afford him an opportunity elsewhere.

That never ended up coming to fruition, and now Bastardo will have to sit out 140 MLB games before even getting a chance to set foot on a major league mound again. His removal from the 2018 pool leaves Eric O’Flaherty as the lone major league free agent lefty on the market.

Red Sox Activate Rafael Devers, Option Bobby Poyner

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The Red Sox activated young third baseman Rafael Devers from the 10-day disabled list, who had been sidelined with left shoulder inflammation. He’ll return to the lineup and the field after missing just the minimum ten days. To make room for him on the active roster, the club has elected to ship lefty Bobby Poyner back to Triple-A Pawtucket.

The 2018 season hasn’t been kind to the 21-year-old Devers. Though he impressed in his MLB debut last year with a .344 wOBA and 111 wRC+ across 240 plate appearances, this season has seen Devers’ bat go cold. His .242/.291/.424 slash line has been good for a wRC+ of just 87, though his 14 home runs at least prove that he’s shown some pop. All in all, Devers has still been worth 0.7 fWAR, but the Red Sox will surely be hoping he can deliver closer to his true potential as they try to maintain the majors’ best record in the second half.

That potential certainly is lofty, as Devers made a host of top prospect lists headed into the 2017 season. Notably, Baseball America described him as being “the top power-hitting prospect in the system, a future five- or six-hole hitter with plus power and above-average defense.” While their concerns about his aggressive approach have certainly proven valid so far considering a sub-.300 OBP, the reputation of his bat-to-ball skills suggests that his average is likely to improve as he continues to get more reps at the MLB level.

As for Poyner, he’s been shuttled back and forth between Boston and Pawtucket all season long. At the MLB level, he’s chucked 10 2/3 innings across ten appearances while striking out ten batters against just a single walk. He’s also allowed just a pair of earned runs. In Triple-A, Poyner owns a tidy 2.81 ERA across 25 2/3 innings to go with 9.82 K/9 against 2.81 BB/9. The lefty is a former 14th round pick of the Red Sox from the 2015 draft.

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