Braves Outright Luke Jackson, Recall Luiz Gohara
The Braves announced today that they have outrighted righty Luke Jackson. Taking his place on the active roster is southpaw Luiz Gohara, who’ll return to the majors for the first time in 2018.
Jackson, 26, has already been up and down this season, making just two MLB appearances while active. It seems he has accepted his outright assignment, meaning he’ll be available if and when a need arises in the future. He has allowed four earned runs with a 13:6 K/BB ratio in his 9 1/3 Triple-A innings on the year.
As for Gohara, this’ll be his second look at the game’s highest level. He endured a rough offseason and spring, marked by injury and personal loss, and opened the year in the minors — first on a rehab assignment and then on option. The results haven’t been to his typical standards thus far, as he has allowed 22 hits (five of them homers), a dozen earned runs, and ten walks against fifteen strikeouts in his 15 2/3 total innings.
Clearly, the Braves believe Gohara can return to his former trajectory. He was outstanding at all levels in 2018, including a five-start MLB run in which he allowed 4.91 earned per nine but also recorded an impressive 9.5 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9. Gohara averaged 97.0 mph with his fastball and posted a 13.4% swinging-strike rate in the majors. It seems clear that the team still views him as a future rotation piece, but he’ll spend some time in the bullpen for the time being, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted yesterday on Twitter.
Indians Outright Jeff Beliveau; Matt Belisle Elects Free Agency
The Indians have announced the resolutions for two pitchers who were recently designated for assignment. Lefty Jeff Beliveau will remain in the organization after being outrighted, while right-hander Matt Belisle has chosen free agency after he cleared waivers.
Beliveau has the right to take a trip onto the open market, having previously been outrighted off of a 40-man roster. But he’ll instead stay with Cleveland and hope for another opportunity to open there.
Though he was knocked around during his brief time in the majors this year, Beliveau is at least a useful depth piece for a relief staff that has endured some early challenges. He also turned in an eye-opening 8 2/3 inning stint at Triple-A to open the season, with a 14:1 K/BB ratio and just two hits on his ledger.
It seems Belisle will seek better fortunes elsewhere. The 37-year-old has surrendered six earned runs in 10 1/3 innings to open the year, with just one walk but also only four strikeouts. He has appeared in 15 MLB campaigns, working to a cumulative 4.20 ERA in 905 total frames.
Roberto Osuna Charged With Domestic Assault, Placed On Administrative Leave
Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna was arrested early this morning, per John Lott of The Athletic (subscription link). Osuna has been charged with domestic assault of his girlfriend, according to Hazel Mae of Sportsnet (via Twitter).
Osuna has been placed on administrative leave by the commissioner’s office, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by Jake Petricka.
Details are scant at this point, so it’s far too soon to assess the situation. The precise nature of the allegations, possible range of legal ramifications, and potential for league punishment are all completely unknown publicly.
That said, given that this matter reportedly arose in the context of a domestic relationship, it falls within the purview of the MLB-MLBPA Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy. It is worth reviewing some of the most salient aspects of that agreement, which has been deployed several times since it was implemented in August of 2015.
Under that policy, commissioner Rob Manfred has the authority to “place a player accused of” such behavior “on paid Administrative Leave for up to seven days while the allegations are investigated before making a disciplinary decision,” though players also have a mechanism to challenge that treatment “immediately.” That provisional authority was previously exercised in the middle of the 2016 season with regard to Hector Olivera and has again been utilized here. It does not suggest any particular final determination, however.
Manfred also has the power to oversee the full-scale investigatory and punitive regime set forth in the policy. Any ultimate punishment is subject to arbitration, with a “just cause” standard applied to any determinations made by the commissioner’s office. Olivera was ultimately convicted of a crime and suspended for 82 games. Other cases have involved quite different fact patterns and generally resulted in less significant suspensions. Most recently, for example, Steven Wright was suspended for 15 games. Following another recent investigation, it was determined that Miguel Sano would not receive punishment given the evidence compiled. Criminal charges or convictions are not required for Manfred to issue discipline, though surely that’s weighed in the balance.
AL East Notes: Drury, Bird, Vlad Jr., Pearson, Mujica
The Yankees may soon have a welcome problem on their hands with multiple infield options, with youngsters Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres performing well as Brandon Drury has tried to sort out a long-standing migraine problem. (Neil Walker and Ronald Torreyes are also on the MLB roster, along with everyday shortstop Didi Gregorius.) As MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch discusses in response to a reader inquiry, there continues to be progress in Drury’s health issue and he could soon be ready to return. While he could be optioned, Hoch suggests the organization could consider moving him around as well, possibly giving Drury time at second, third, and the corner outfield. Hoch also checks in briefly on injured first bagger Greg Bird, explaining that he’s on track to return later this month. Barring further injuries, there’ll certainly be some interesting decisions to be made for a ballclub that has been on a tear.
More from the AL East:
- Blue Jays prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has obviously earned quite a few headlines with his excellent work thus far at Double-A level, leading many to wonder whether he’s a near-term option in the majors. Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca addresses that topic (video link on Twitter), arguing that the team has good reason to ensure the 19-year-old is ready for the huge amount of visibility a promotion would entail. That’s the larger factor than on-field readiness, says Nicholson-Smith, though of course it’s also worth bearing in mind that Vlad Jr. has only taken 118 plate appearances thus far in the upper minors. Nicholson-Smith proposes further experience there, perhaps including some time at Triple-A Buffalo, before weighing a possible mid-summer debut in Toronto.
- Another Blue Jays prospect is in the news, too, but for less promising reasons. Young righty Nate Pearson has been diagnosed with a non-displaced fractured ulna in his pitching arm, per a club announcement. He suffered the injury on a comebacker. At this point, all that’s known is that he’ll be down for four to six weeks before being evaluated further. The 21-year-old, a first-round pick in last year’s draft, was making his season debut after an oblique injury sidelined him to open the year. Pearson was appearing at the High-A level, so he’s likely still a ways away from the majors, but he had already emerged as a top-100 prospect and will now at least lose some development time while rehabbing.
- In other pitching injury news, the Rays have suffered another dent to their depth, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports on Twitter. 21-year-old right-hander Jose Mujica is sidelined with a forearm strain, per the report, which is never the sort of news you want to hear for a young hurler. Mujica had shown well in his first six starts at the Triple-A level, working to a 3.13 ERA with 32 strikeouts against ten walks in his 31 2/3 innings of action. His anticipated timeline is not yet known.
MLB Announces London Series
As expected, Major League Baseball has announced that it is taking its show across the Atlantic to the United Kingdom next year. The Yankees and Red Sox will play a two-game set on June 29th and June 30th at London Stadium, the facility that hosted the 2012 Olympics.
This initiative is the latest in a line of MLB overseas adventures, but the first that is located in Europe. Previously, the league has held regular season contests in Japan, Mexico, and Australia. (Additionally, games have been held on U.S. territory in locales that lack MLB franchises, with recent events in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and Fort Bragg, North Carolina.) That’s all in addition to the World Baseball Classic.
It’s not surprising that the league has first focused on other international markets. The game of baseball has a greater foothold, of course, in Asia and Latin America. That’s not to say that it’s completely unknown in Europe, though. Those interested in learning more about Euroball may enjoy listening to the MLBTR Podcast episode on the topic, featuring subject matter expert Josh Chetwynd, from a few years back.
International engagement is hardly a new concept in baseball or other professional sports, of course. Even the NFL has recently been holding games in London of late. But staging games that actually count in the standings is a relatively more challenging undertaking — and one that was specifically contemplated in the most recent collective bargaining agreement. That’s particularly true for baseball, with its intense travel schedule and near-daily games.
Outrighted: Centeno, Ngoepe, Enns
Let’s run through a few recently-designated players who have cleared waivers and been outrighted:
- Rangers backstop Juan Centeno could have elected free agency but chose instead to take an assignment to Triple-A Round Rock, the club announced. The 28-year-old, a relatively rare left-handed-hitting catcher, has seen action in each of the past six MLB campaigns. He also has not shown much at the plate, with a cumulative .227/.278/.331 batting line.
- Also clearing waivers was Blue Jays infielder Gift Ngoepe. This is the first time he has been outrighted; without significant MLB service time on his record, he had no choice but to head to Buffalo. Not unlike Centeno, Ngoepe is a useful fielder who perhaps will never fully come around with the bat. He had a particularly rough run in limited action this year in Toronto, striking out a dozen times in just 19 plate appearances.
- Finally, the Twins will hang onto reliever Dietrich Enns after he, too, cleared waivers under the same essential circumstances as Ngoepe. Soon to turn 27, Enns is off to a poor start this year at Triple-A, where he has given out 11 free passes to go with 11 strikeouts in twenty innings. If he can get back on track, though, perhaps he’ll eventually present a depth option for the Minnesota organization. In his six prior professional seasons, Enns has never finished with an earned run average of over 2.94. In 136 Triple-A innings, he carries a sparkling 2.25 ERA with a more pedestrian combination of 7.1 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9.
Padres Move Bryan Mitchell To Bullpen, Option Kazuhisa Makita
The Padres will shift righty Bryan Mitchell to the bullpen, as Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Recent signee Kazuhisa Makita, meanwhile, has been optioned to Triple-A.
To account for the decision on Mitchell, the club has moved fellow righty Jordan Lyles into the rotation for at least one start, veteran Padres writer Bill Center tweets. Meanwhile, lefty Matt Strahm was activated from the DL to step in for Makita.
These moves reflect the disappointing initial showings of two of the Padres’ most significant offseason pitching additions. Mitchell was the key piece acquired in a trade in which the Friars agreed to take over the remaining $13MM owed to Chase Headley, while Makita signed for $3.8MM over two years (plus a $500K posting fee).
In the case of Mitchell, who is out of options, the results have been awful thus far. He’s carrying a 6.47 ERA with 4.5 K/9 against 7.3 BB/9 in 32 frames over seven starts. His swinging-strike rate, which has never been very compelling in the majors, is down to just 5.0%.
Though Acee writes that the organization still believes in Mitchell and even thinks he could yet be a big-league starter, he’ll need to show something to earn another opportunity. For now, it’ll be Lyles who gets another crack at working from the rotation, though it’s unclear whether he’ll receive an extended shot. He’s still just 27 years of age and broke into the majors as a starter, but has not yet shown that he can hold down a job working every fifth day.
As for the 33-year-old Makita, a veteran of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball but a MLB rookie, he’s shown both some good and bad to open the year. He’s sporting a healthy 15.4% swinging-strike rate and 9.6 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9 over his 16 innings. While a 6.75 ERA is never a good sign, in this case the damage is mostly isolated to a pair of rough outing and is surely a reflection in some part of a 58.5% strand rate that likely will go down. Makita needs to pare back the long balls (1.69 HR/9, 20.0% HR/FB) as well, but generally his unique, soft-tossing pitch mix has shown a fair bit of promise of playing in the majors.
Strahm, meanwhile, will look to make good on his long-observed talent. He was part of the interesting swap swung last year between the Padres and Royals. Strahm, who did not debut with the San Diego organization until 2018, has impressed in 14 1/3 innings this year at Double-A, allowing four earned runs while running a 22:4 K/BB ratio. Though he was knocked around in his debut outing last night, he figures to get a real chance to stick in the bigs.
Tigers Place Jordan Zimmermann, Alex Wilson On DL; Purchase Contract Of Pete Kozma
The Tigers announced a series of roster moves this evening. Starter Jordan Zimmermann and reliever Alex Wilson are both heading to the DL. Meanwhile, the club purchased the contract of infielder Pete Kozma — with Daniel Norris moving to the 60-day DL to open a 40-man spot — and have also recalled righty Zac Reininger.
Zimmermann is said to be dealing with a shoulder impingement, which is certainly not what anyone hoped to hear. That said, there’s no indication that it’s a terribly serious new injury for a player who has had some significant health problems of late.
Soon to turn 32, Zimmermann has been off to another ugly start in the results department, with a 4.88 ERA over 31 1/3 innings. But there had finally been some signs of life for a pitcher who has struggled mightily since signing with Detroit. He’s carrying 9.2 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 on the year, representing a drastic improvement over his strikeout rate in the past two campaigns. Zimmermann is earning $24MM this year and has another $50MM coming over the ensuing two seasons.
As for Wilson, a left plantar fascia strain will sideline him for an unknown stretch. He’s carrying a 4.58 ERA in 19 2/3 frames to start the season. Though Wilson is carrying 7.3 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9, numbers that compare favorably to his career rates, he has allowed four home runs already.
The 30-year-old Kozma is a light-hitting utility player who’ll appear in his seventh MLB campaign. Reininger, 25, is back for a second attempt at the majors after a rough debut last year. He has generally been effective thus far at Triple-A in 2018, allowing four earned runs on 18 hits and four walks, while recording 15 strikeouts, in 13 2/3 innings.
The Orioles Need A Complete Overhaul
The Baltimore Orioles are not good. That’s hardly a bold proclamation or a nuanced piece of analysis, but it’s a fact — likely an understated one. The Orioles’ -72 run differential is the worst in Major League Baseball this season. The team has, somehow, scored the second-fewest runs in MLB this year (topping only the Marlins) while simultaneously yielding the second-most runs in the game (trailing only the Rangers). Orioles hitters, as a collective unit, have a .288 OBP. Their pitchers have a 4.95 ERA with metrics (4.61 FIP, 4.40 xFIP) that largely match. If this were a rebuilding club, perhaps that’d be acceptable or at the very least expected. The Orioles, though, spent $76MM in an effort to bolster their rotation in the offseason.
It’s rare to be able to say in early May that a club that planned on contending is effectively eliminated from the playoffs, but that’s the case for the Orioles. Both Fangraphs and Baseball Prospectus list Baltimore’s playoff odds at zero percent. They’re one of two teams, along with the Reds, to hold that distinction. Some fans don’t love postseason odds based on projection systems, though, so let’s present the uphill battle they’re facing in another manner.
In order even to reach the 85-win mark — that was enough for the Twins to sneak into the second Wild Card spot last season — the Orioles would need to go 77-51 through season’s end. (Realistically, it’ll likely take more than 85 wins, but I’ll stick with that for the purposes of this basic exercise.) That 77-51 record would represent a .601 winning percentage. Only three teams in baseball have played above a .600 clip so far in the year, and two of them — the Yankees and Red Sox — are in the Orioles’ division.
In these circumstances, Baltimore should sell off pieces this summer. That much is clear, and it’s seemed nearly inevitable since before the season even began that the O’s would go down that road. Adding Andrew Cashner and Alex Cobb to a poor rotation picture certainly should’ve improved the Orioles somewhat, but it never seemed likely to make them contenders.
As summer approaches, Manny Machado could be the most talked-about trade chip in the game. He’ll be joined by the likes of Zach Britton, Adam Jones and Brad Brach — each of whom is a free agent at season’s end. The O’s will probably also field interest in Darren O’Day. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic suggested as much earlier today. But there’s little reason for the Orioles to stop there.
Realistically, the O’s aren’t going to get the haul for Machado that many fans would hope. He’s going to be a pure rental, and while he’s an elite hitter who can play two premium positions, he alone will not fetch a franchise-altering return. Machado is a younger player with far more defensive value than J.D. Martinez had last summer, but it’s worth reminding that the best bat on the market last year netted three mid-range prospects — none of whom were even considered to be among the D-backs’ best two or three prospects and none of whom received any top 100 fanfare. Machado will probably fetch one premium prospect and another second- or third-tier piece or two. The ship has sailed on Britton netting an Aroldis Chapman-esque return as well. He wasn’t especially good when he was healthy last season, and he’ll be coming off two major injuries that will have limited him to somewhere around 60 innings dating back to Opening Day 2017. He’s also earning $12MM in 2018.
If the Orioles want to dramatically remake their farm system — and they should want to do just that — then they need to be more willing to part with longer-term assets. Jonathan Schoop, Mychal Givens, Kevin Gausman and even Dylan Bundy should all be firmly in play for teams willing to part with considerable packages of talent.
Schoop is a free agent after the 2019 season, so it may be too late for Baltimore to secure an extension at this juncture. Gausman is controlled through 2020, but the chances of Baltimore competing with the Yankees and Red Sox in 2019-20 looks slim with much of their core departing and a bleak farm system. Givens has reportedly been deemed largely untouchable in trade talks, but three and a half years of a setup man with his penchant for missing bats would command serious interest. O’s fans undoubtedly bristle at the notion of dealing Bundy after years of anticipating his arrival and his signs of a potential breakout early this season, but three-plus years of him would be arguably the most coveted asset available in July if he can maintain a K-BB% in the 21 percent range.
Baltimore’s problems, though, extend beyond the roster at present. Both GM Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter are in the final seasons of their respective contracts. Rosenthal and others have reported on the shifting dynamic in the team’s front office, with vice president of baseball operations Brady Anderson said to be taking on greater responsibility and Duquette’s influence fading. Similarly, Lou and John Angelos, sons of owner Peter Angelos, are said to be increasingly involved in operations, with the Angelos sons and Anderson reportedly pushing hard to finalize the signing of Cobb.
Whoever is calling the shots for the O’s, there are multiple organizational philosophies that need an upheaval. Most glaring and baffling is Baltimore’s seeming refusal to spend any money international prospects. Each year, the Orioles routinely trade away their international bonus allotments for fringe prospects and fringe big leaguers. None of those moves have yielded a quality regular to this point, and a large reason that the team’s farm system is in such disrepair is a bizarre decision to sit out one of the primary avenues of amateur talent acquisition.
Beyond that, the Orioles would be wise to actually make use of the Competitive Balance draft selections they receive on an annual basis. In years past, the O’s have befuddled onlookers by using those picks to help them shed small-scale financial obligations to middle relievers. The Orioles effectively sold their pick in 2015 to the Dodgers in exchange for L.A.’s agreement to take the remaining year and $2.75M on Ryan Webb‘s contract. A year later, they “sold” their pick to the Braves in order to shed the remaining total of roughly $3MM on Brian Matusz‘s contract. In 2014, the O’s traded their Comp Balance pick to the Astros alongside Josh Hader and L.J. Hoes in order to acquire Bud Norris, although that trade at least netted some immediate big league talent.
Bottom line: the O’s have had Competitive Balance picks in each of the past five seasons but have only held onto those selections on two occasions. Norris gave them one strong season in 2014, but they’ve received nothing from the other trades involving picks.
Three years ago on the MLBTR Podcast, Jeff Todd and I discussed how the Reds were in position to rapidly rebuild their farm system by trading not only rental pieces (e.g. Johnny Cueto, Mike Leake) but also several players with additional control remaining. Doing so would’ve meant selling high on assets like Todd Frazier, Jay Bruce and Aroldis Chapman — a tough sell for the fanbase but one that likely would’ve been considerably more beneficial than the route the Reds ultimately took in holding onto those stars and watching their value diminish.
The Orioles find themselves in a similar spot — buried in a strong division with a weak farm system and little in the way of immediate hope for contending in 2019-20. They have several obvious rental pieces to market in July, but by opening themselves up to shipping off other assets with multiple years of control left on the books, they can stockpile a host of near-MLB assets and potentially avoid the style of lengthy, arduous rebuild that’s happening in Cincinnati at the moment. With an aggressive seller’s mentality this July and newfound commitments to both the international prospect market and the amateur draft, the Orioles should be able to establish the type of prospect pipeline they’ve lacked for years.
Cubs Place Yu Darvish On 10-Day DL
The Cubs have placed righty Yu Darvish on the 10-day DL, per a club announcement. He is dealing with the flu.
Without knowing more, it would rate as a surprise if the treatment for this common illness mandates anything other than a brief respite. At this point, though, there’s not much of an indication of what kind of an absence the club expects.
Of course, there’s a broader slate of concerns surrounding Darvish, who joined the Cubs on a six-year, $126MM contract over the winter. He has allowed twenty runs in thirty frames over his first six starts with his new team. Perhaps, then, this DL placement will also allow the veteran hurler a chance at a more general re-set.
Darvish has carried a strikeout rate of 11.1 K/9, right at his typical level. But he’s getting swinging strikes on just 9.4% of his offerings, which is well off his career average, while doling out an uncharacteristic 4.8 free passes per nine. Plus, Darvish has been rather prone to the long ball (1.80 HR/9, 20.0% HR/FB).
It’s hard to know just what has gone wrong for Darvish thus far. Arm speed isn’t the problem, as he’s throwing both his four and two-seam fastballs harder than ever. His typically excellent slider has not been clicking, and he has seemingly experimented with throwing the pitch harder — but with less movement — over the course of the year. (See here, here, and here.) Darvish is also fiddling with his pitch mix, without yet finding the answer.
Clearly, getting Darvish back to full health is only a part of the puzzle now facing the Cubs. It’s also unclear just what the club will do to replace him in the rotation. A corresponding move has not yet been made.