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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.

Cardinals Place Carlos Martinez On DL With Right Oblique Strain

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Jennifer Langosch of MLB.com reports that Cardinals right-hander Carlos Martinez is going back on the disabled list, this time due to a right oblique strain. The Cardinals have also recalled John Brebbia, reinstated Miles Mikolas from the paternity list, optioned Matt Bowman, and added Luke Weaver to the roster as the 26th man for today’s doubleheader against the Cubs.

It’s the latest unfortunate twist in what’s rapidly turning into a disappointing season for Martinez, the young ace the Cardinals planned to lean on heavily in hopes of a playoff berth this year. He certainly began the season strong, pitching to a 1.62 ERA across his first 50 innings before straining his right lat muscle and subsequently spending a month on the DL.

Since his return on June 5th, Martinez has looked like an entirely different (read: ineffective) pitcher. He’s put up a bloated 5.32 ERA while barely averaging 5 innings across nine starts. His walk rate has soared to a remarkable 5.12 BB/9, and he hasn’t even managed to strike out a batter an inning- a department Martinez has excelled in when he’s been in top form.

Oblique injuries are no small matter, to be sure. While we don’t yet know the severity of the injury, more serious strains have kept pitchers out for well over a month. It’s not unfair to think that the Cardinals could potentially be out of the race for the NL Central crown by the time he’s healthy; that’s a factor that could ultimately delay or expedite Martinez’ timetable. For now, though we’ll await further news on the grade of his strain rather than speculate about how much time the right-hander might miss.

For the time being, it’s likely that Luke Weaver will take his spot in the rotation, which also includes Jack Flaherty, John Gant and Miles Mikolas. Lefty Austin Gomber could be a candidate to move to the rotation if and when St. Louis needs a fifth starter, though Michael Wacha could be on track to return from his own oblique injury fairly soon.

Cubs Place Anthony Bass On DL

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The Cubs have made a host of roster moves today (first announced by Patrick Mooney of The Athletic), chiefly among them the placement of right-hander Anthony Bass on the 10-day disabled list due to a back muscle issue. The move creates room for the recently acquired Jesse Chavez to be activated. The club also promoted righty Dillon Maples, optioned fellow righty James Norwood, and recalled righty Luke Farrell as the 26th man for today’s double-header against the Cardinals.

Bass has been excellent across 16 appearances for the Cubs so far this season, pitching to a 2.93 ERA in 15 1/3 innings. He’s also managed an impressive ground ball rate of 53.3%. Bass spent time on the disabled list earlier this month with what was described as an illness. When he’s been healthy, though, the 30-year-old has enjoyed a career-best performance, certainly an upgrade over his 4.51 career ERA and a career K/BB ratio worse than 2:1.

Chavez, recently acquired from the Rangers, has also been quietly enjoying an excellent season, as MLBTR’s Jeff Todd noted at the time the trade was announced. Chavez will presumably see the same type of work with the Cubs as he did with the Rangers: multi-inning relief appearances. Though Chavez appeared 30 times on the mound with Texas, he managed to toss 56 innings during that time.

Trade News & Rumors: Trade Value Rankings, Dozier, Andujar, Britton

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Fangraphs recently released its annual rankings of the top 50 most valuable contracts in baseball, or the players who would have the highest value in a trade. High atop the list sits a pair of Indians infielders (Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor), while Aaron Judge, Mike Trout and Carlos Correa round out the top five. The rankings take into account the amount of money each player is owed and the length of his contract in relation to his expected future performance. While the list is top-heavy with young stars (as one might expect), there are a few surprising names later down in the rankings, and a few top prospects even make the list.

Speaking of trades…

  • Twins second baseman Brian Dozier has drawn trade interest from the Brewers, reports Darren Wolfson of KSTP. That comes as little surprise considering the tight NL Central pennant race and the fact that Milwaukee’s second basemen have combined for the third-worst production in baseball to date. However, Wolfson also reports that another (unnamed team) has been “showing stronger interest”. For their part, the Twins (who now sit 8.5 games out of first place in the division) are open to moving Dozier.
  • The Yankees tried to acquire left-hander Brad Hand (who recently went to the Indians), but balked when they were asked to include young third baseman Miguel Andujar in the return, reports Andy Martino of SNY. That’s just one name the club had been targeting in a search for pitcher, but the prices for some of the available names (Cole Hamels and J.A. Happ, for instance), remain “insane” according to Martino.
  • The trade interest in Orioles lefty Zach Britton is “intensifying”, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Kubatko says that he expects Britton to be the “next Oriole out the door.” The Braves have thrown their hat into the ring recently, while the Cubs, Astros, Phillies, Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers and Giants have also been “in the mix”. As Kubatko aptly points out, the removal of Hand from the pool of available names should turn a lot of attention towards Britton.

Yankees Promote Domingo Acevedo

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After optioning Domingo German to Triple-A following last night’s ugly performance in the Subway Series, the Yankees are set to promote a replacement Domingo. Robert M. Pimpsner of Pinstriped Prospects reported early this morning that the club was expected to promote 6’7″ righty Domingo Acevedo to the big league club; Robert Murray of The Athletic later confirmed the news. The Yankees’ PR department has since announced the promotion.

Prior to the season, Baseball America ranked the 24-year-old Acevedo as the Bombers’ ninth-best prospect, praising his strike-throwing ability despite “a delivery that is littered with funkiness and moving parts.” His fastball sits in the mid- to high-nineties, and he also possesses a slider that some scouts believe could develop into a plus pitch. It’s said that he possesses the ceiling of a middle-of-the-rotation starter, but more interestingly is that BA claims his floor to be that of a power reliever.

Acevedo was a $7,500 international signing in 2012, and has slowly managed to work his way through the club’s minor-league ranks. Last season at Double-A, he made 14 starts while pitching to a 2.38 ERA with an excellent 4.82 K/BB. That earned him a brief 12 1/3-inning stint at the Triple-A level later in the year, though he was sent back to Double-A to begin the 2018 season. Though he hasn’t quite shown the same dominant command so far, he’s still managed to post a respectable 2.84 ERA.

German’s demotion isn’t much of a surprise considering his struggles in the majors so far this season. While the right-hander has managed to rack up an impressive amount of strikeouts (10.38 K/9), his struggles to keep the ball on the ground (37.3% ground ball rate) and in the park (1.64 HR/9) have led to a bloated 5.68 ERA. Last night, German allowed five runs (four earned) in 3 2/3 innings against a pathetic Mets offense that’s tied for the third-fewest runs scored in all of baseball.

Acevedo will become the latest right-handed pitcher to leapfrog top prospect Justus Sheffield for a big-league debut. In addition to a pair of Domingos, right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga also earned his first promotion to The Show earlier this season. Though roster implications no doubt had plenty to do with it (the aforementioned three pitchers are all on the Yankees’ 40-man), it’s fair to wonder why the pitching-needy Yankees continue to keep Sheffield at the Triple-A level despite his excellent performance there so far this year. The southpaw owns a 2.53 ERA to go with nearly a strikeout per inning and a 44% ground ball rate at Scranton-Wilkes Barre.

Mets Notes: Cespedes, Asdrubal, Rivera, Syndergaard

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As we wait to hear about the consummation of a prospective deal that would send closer Jeurys Familia out west, the Mets have served up plenty of other noteworthy news. Here are the other topics of conversation in New York:

  • High-priced outfielder Yoenis Cespedes homered in his return from a lengthy DL stint, but dropped a seeming bombshell after the game. Cespedes said that the root cause of his various leg ailments is in fact calcification in his heels, as Tim Britton of The Athletic and MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (Twitter links) were among those to report. The veteran says the only way to address the problem is a surgical procedure followed by an eight-to-ten month rehab, though it’s not certain that he’ll end up pursuing that course. For now, Cespedes could only say he’s not sure if he’ll be able to play through the rest of the season but hopes to be able to do so. Of course, the current campaign isn’t really the chief concern of the team. With Cespedes promised a total of $58.5MM over the next two seasons, his ability to play out the back half of the deal at a high level — whether in New York or elsewhere — is of much greater importance. At this point, it’s entirely unclear how that situation will shake out.
  • Infielder Asdrubal Cabrera figures to be a fairly notable trade piece for the Mets. The veteran switch-hitter is drawing wide interest, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports on Twitter. While that market is not fully developed, it seems all but certain a deal of some kind will come together by the time the trade deadline arrives. Feinsand cites the Brewers and Diamondbacks as teams “believed to be among [the] potential suitors.” Cabrera placed fifth on our recent ranking of the top 75 trade deadline candidates, though some other infield possibilities could rise in the ranks if their teams move clearly into the selling camp.
  • Cespedes’s situation did not represent the only poor injury news. Infielder T.J. Rivera, who is working back from Tommy John surgery, has been diagnosed with a right elbow sprain, as Tim Healey of Newsday tweets. For now, Rivera will finish a ten-day rest period after receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection, with the ensuing steps presumably still to be determined. The 29-year-old was hoping to reestablish himself as a solid infield piece, but struggled at the plate in six rehab games before this issue arose.
  • Alarm bells rang this evening as Mets righty Noah Syndergaard exhibited a velocity drop (as documented on Twitter by Britton). Fortunately, both the hurler and his manager say there’s no real cause for concern. (See this tweet from MLB.com’s Joe Trezza and this one from DiComo.) Neither his recently problematic finger nor some other issue was to blame for the velo fade. Instead, the team’s viewpoint is that Syndergaard simply experienced fatigue.
  • Blue Jays executive and former Red Sox GM Ben Cherington is emerging as an early potential front office target for the Mets, per ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (via Twitter). Of course, that process is only in the preliminary stages at this point. It’s still not entirely clear just how the Mets will go about addressing the front office uncertainty that arose when GM Sandy Alderson took a leave of absence, leaving a trio of execs to handle things in his absence. Whether or not Alderson ultimately returns in some capacity, though, it seems the club will at least consider bringing in some new voices.

MLB Daily Roster Roundup: Cespedes, Fulmer, Machado, Mazara, Strasburg

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ROSTER MOVES BY TEAM
(July 16th-July 20th)

NATIONAL LEAGUE

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AMERICAN LEAGUE

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FUTURE EXPECTED MOVES

Athletics, Cubs Among Teams Showing Interest In Mets Closer Jeurys Familia

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The Athletics are “among the teams hoping to land” righty Jeurys Familia from the Mets, according to a report from Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The Cubs are also showing interest in Familia, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets.

It seems these organizations are hardly the only ones with interest. At least seven or eight contenders have made contact regarding Familia, according to reports from Andy Martino of SNY.tv and MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. The precise timeline of a deal isn’t at all clear, and will surely depend upon how talks progress. But the Mets are already “exchanging names” of potential prospects with interested teams, Martino adds.

It really isn’t surprising to hear of this broad interest. Familia is an established closer who’ll hit the open market this fall after the struggling Mets wrap things up for the year. We recently tabbed Familia as the #2 player on our list of the top 75 trade deadline candidates. (The top name on the board, of course, has since been moved.)

Some might raise eyebrows, though, to hear that the A’s are one of the teams poking around. The club may only have hopes of challenging the Mariners for a Wild Card spot, after all, and getting Familia would mean offering more than motivated rivals. Plus, the Oakland club already has received impressive performances at the back of its bullpen.

Still, president of baseball operations Billy Beane has made clear he sees the deadline as a chance to get better. While the rotation remains a more obvious area of need, finding a significant improvement there may prove quite challenging given the supply-and-demand situation. And despite the good late-inning work from existing hurlers, modern baseball teams can never have enough good relief pitching. Indeed, the A’s just cut loose veteran righty Santiago Casilla, so they clearly aren’t fully satisfied with their current mix.

From the Mets’ perspective, the hope clearly will be that multiple contenders will push hard for Familia. Heading into the All-Star break, he had compiled 40 2/3 innings of 2.88 ERA ball with 9.5 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, and a 50.5% groundball rate. While there are plenty of talented relievers that could be had, relatively few of those are clearly slated to be dealt away by their current organizations. Zach Britton, Joakim Soria, and Fernando Rodney are perhaps the top alternative pitchers of this ilk.

Mariners Outright Mike Morin

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The Mariners announced today that they have outrighted reliever Mike Morin. That move helped clear the way for two promotions, with first baseman Dan Vogelbach and outfielder John Andreoli joining the active roster.

This is the second time Morin has been bumped from the Seattle 40-man roster this season. The 27-year-old righty has recorded six strikeouts against one walk in his four MLB innings this year but has also allowed three earned runs on six hits.

Morin turned in a strong rookie showing back in 2014 with the Angels. (The Halos organization drafted him and promoted him to the majors while their front office was run by current Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto.) Since then, however, Morin has struggled to find success despite generally sporting promising peripherals. Over his career, Morin carries a 4.66 ERA but a 3.32 FIP, 3.89 xFIP, and 3.42 SIERA.

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