Tigers Select Ronny Rodriguez
The Tigers announced after Wednesday evening’s game that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Ronny Rodriguez from Triple-A Toledo and optioned catcher Grayson Greiner back to Triple-A in his place. The move gives the Tigers a full 40-man roster.
It’ll be the first call to the Majors for the 26-year-old Rodriguez, who signed a minor league deal with Detroit this offseason after previously spending his entire professional career with the Indians organization. The versatile Rodriguez posted a sound .291/.324/.454 slash in 483 plate appearances with Triple-A Columbus last year in his final season with the Cleveland organization, and he’s off to an even better start in his new environs, batting .302/.327/.484 with six homers, 13 doubles, a pair of triples and eight stolen bases (albeit in 13 attempts).
Rodriguez has been primarily a shortstop and third baseman this season with the MudHens, but he’ll bring at least 585 innings of experience at all four infield positions to the Tigers’ roster. He’s also spent more than 300 innings in the outfield over the past three seasons, including 139 innings of work in center field. The right-handed hitter won’t walk much but also hasn’t had much of an issue with strikeouts during his time in Triple-A.
Rhys Hoskins Likely Headed To DL Due To Broken Jaw
A CT scan taken of Rhys Hoskins‘ jaw revealed a fracture that will likely send the slugger to the disabled list, writes Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Hoskins, who fouled a ball into his jaw Monday, is headed back to Philadelphia for further examination by an oral surgeon to determine whether he’ll require surgery or simply just rest and rehab. Salisbury’s colleague, Corey Seidman, writes that the Phillies look poised to recall prospect Dylan Cozens from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to replace Hoskins on the active roster.
Hoskins, 25, took the NL by storm in an explosive rookie season last year, hitting .259/.396/.618 with 18 homers and seven doubles in just 212 trips to the plate. His 2018 work has been solid but diminished, as he’s currently sporting a .233/.363/.415 slash with six homers in 216 PAs with a considerably higher strikeout rate (21.7 percent in 2017, 28.2 percent in 2018).
With Hoskins out of action for the time being, the Phils will likely turn to Nick Williams, Odubel Herrera and Aaron Altherr as their primary outfield contingent, though Cozens will surely be dropped into the mix as well. It’s not clear how long Hoskins would be out in either the surgical or non-surgical route of treatment just yet, but manager Gabe Kapler did call a trip to the disabled list likely.
For the 23-year-old Cozens, this’ll represent the first call to the Majors. The 2012 second-round pick has long been considered to be among the Phillies’ top farmhands, but his star has dimmed a bit in recent seasons. Cozens had no trouble with Class-A Advanced pitching (.282/.335/.411) and utterly obliterated Double-A pitchers at the age of 22 (.282/.352/.594), but he faceplanted with a .210/.301/.418 slash in 542 Triple-A PAs last season.
More troubling was Cozens’ 35.8 percent strikeout rate in Lehigh Valley last year, and while his overall batting line has improved to .228/.323/.432, his strikeout rate is up to 38.3 percent. Cozens has walked in 11 percent of his plate appearances in Triple-A, helping to salvage a decent OBP, but his contact issues do present concern about how he’ll handle MLB pitching. As Seidman notes, though, the left-handed-hitting Cozens has been markedly better against right-handed pitching and does have a 40-homer season on his resume in the minors, so he’ll likely be utilized in a platoon capacity in his first stint with the Phils.
AL West Notes: Verlander, Colome, Mariners, Lincecum
In a candid interview with MLB.com’s Jon Morosi, Justin Verlander reveals that he thought his career was in jeopardy back in 2014 when he exited a start in Pittsburgh after one inning. His fastball clocked in the mid-80s that day, and as Verlander recalls, he “sat down and lost it” in the tunnel to the visitor’s clubhouse. His arm was in enough pain that an MRI would reveal he required shoulder surgery. Instead, however, Verlander eventually came to realize that failure to fully rehabilitate from offseason hernia/core muscle surgery had lingering effects throughout his body. Now healthy and enjoying the best season of his career, the Astros’ co-ace tells Morosi that he hopes to play for another decade. “In my head, right now, I’m thinking 45,” said Verlander when asked how long he wants to continue pitching. “I don’t know if that’s realistic. I’m going to go as long as I can, until something changes.”
Here’s more from the division…
- Corey Brock of The Athletic takes a fascinating look at how a pair of 23-year-old first-year employees in the Mariners‘ analytics department helped plant the seeds of the surprising Alex Colome/Denard Span acquisition (subscription link). David Hesslink and Skylar Shibayama led a collaborative effort to brainstorm as many different trade possibilities as they could when looking at the team’s newfound financial resources (following Robinson Cano‘s suspension) and thin farm system, eventually presenting the framework of the deal to GM Jerry Dipoto. Director of analytics Jesse Smith tells Brock that the trade scenario resonated “like a light bulb clicked” with Dipoto, who went to work pursuing the deal and hammering out the financial component of the swap once the Rays proved interested. Brock’s column also takes a look at Hesslink’s unusual path to the team. The MIT grad was pursued by multiple clubs for a front office role but settled on going to Seattle after the team agreed to draft him in the 34th round and let him pitch professionally before moving to the operations side of the game if that didn’t pan out. The column provides an excellent look at the inner-workings of an unusually early trade of significance and the collaborative process the contributes to many deals throughout the league.
- The Mariners announced tonight that they’ve placed catcher Chris Herrmann on the 10-day disabled list due to a strained right oblique muscle and recalled fellow catcher David Freitas from Triple-A Tacoma in his place. Herrmann appeared in just one game for the Mariners upon having his contract selected from Tacoma over the weekend, and he’ll now be shelved for a fair amount of time, it seems, given the fact that oblique injuries can often keep players on the shelf for upwards of a month. Mike Zunino and Freitas have shouldered the bulk of the workload behind the plate for the Mariners this season, but neither has provided much in the way of offense. Zunino does have eight homers, though he’s also registered an ugly .242 on-base percentage.
- It’s long been assumed that Tim Lincecum would eventually claim a spot in the Rangers‘ bullpen, but as T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com explains, that outcome isn’t necessarily a given. As Lincecum has spent the season thus far on the disabled list, the Rangers have seen their relief corps begin to solidify, with Keone Kela, Jose Leclerc, Tony Barnette, Chris Martin, Jake Diekman, Alex Claudio and Jesse Chavez all throwing fairly well. Of course, one injury to that group would make the decision easier for the organization, and it’s not as if the bullpen isn’t without its red flags. Leclerc and Diekman have both displayed terrible control so far, while Matt Bush has already been optioned to Triple-A Round Rock once and hasn’t impressed upon returning. Then again, Lincecum himself hasn’t pitched well in Triple-A; he’s yielded eight earned runs on 13 hits and seven walks with 10 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings.
Dodgers Release Danny Espinosa
The Dodgers have released veteran infielder Danny Espinosa from their Triple-A club, tweets Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. He’d signed with the organization on a minor league pact back in early May.
Espinosa, who turned 31 last month, has bounced all over the league since opening the 2017 season with the Angels. The longtime Nationals infielder was released by the Halos last July, and has since had brief stints with five other organizations: the Rays, Mariners, Yankees, Blue Jays and Dodgers (though he only appeared in the Majors with Tampa Bay and Seattle).
Espinosa’s time with the Dodgers organization will prove to be brief, as he appeared in just 19 games with their Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City and batted .150/.203/.267 with a pair of homers but a 36.9 percent strikeout rate. Espinosa has long carried a strong defensive reputation and did slug 24 homers for the Nationals as recently as 2016, but he’s struggled mightily at the plate both in 2017 and again so far in 2018.
Giants Notes: Samardzija, Upcoming Roster Decisions
The Giants announced on Wednesday that right-hander Jeff Samardzija has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to tightness in his right shoulder. Right-hander Tyler Beede is up from Triple-A Sacramento to take his spot on the roster for the time being, though the organization’s current hope is that Samardzija will only miss one start, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. An MRI revealed some inflammation in Samardzija’s shoulder, per Schulman, but there’s no structural damage. With so many injuries in their rotation, the Giants briefly had all three starters listed as “TBA” this weekend, though they’ve since said that Chris Stratton and Andrew Suarez will start the first two games of the series, while a determination on Sunday’s starter has seemingly yet to be made. Schulman notes that the club had been planning to move lefty Ty Blach to the bullpen, but he’s now a candidate to start in Samardzija’s place on Sunday, as is rookie Dereck Rodriguez.
A bit more out of San Francisco, where there are several roster decisions looming on the horizon…
- With Joe Panik, Alen Hanson and Mark Melancon all likely to return from the DL this weekend, and Madison Bumgarner likely to be activated next Tuesday, and two of them (Melancon and Bumgarner) will require corresponding 40-man moves. Kerry Crowley of the San Jose Mercury News runs through some possibilities for the roster over the next six days, listing Steven Okert, Roberto Gomez and Jose Valdez as candidates to be designated for assignment in order to clear 40-man spots for Melancon and Bumgarner.
- More complicated, Crowley notes, is the impending return of Hunter Pence from the 10-day DL. Manager Bruce Bochy implied that Pence will return to the 25-man roster when his rehab window expires this weekend, though his exact role looks uncertain. Andrew McCutchen is the team’s regular right fielder, and the Giants have said that Mac Williamson will be given an everyday opportunity in left field. Pence, of course, can’t play center field, so he appears headed for a limited role. Crowley suggests that either Austin Jackson or Gregor Blanco could land on the disabled list as a temporary fix, though it stands to reason that if Williamson proves adept in left field, the Giants could eventually have a more difficult decision on their hands.
Dodgers Promote Dennis Santana, Place Kenta Maeda On Disabled List
6:55pm: Maeda has been placed on the 10-day disabled list after an MRI confirmed that he has a mild hip strain, per a club announcement, which also confirmed Santana’s promotion. The Dodgers did not provide a timeline for Maeda’s return from the DL.
2:05pm: The Dodgers are slated to promote young righty Dennis Santana, as the pitching prospect announced on his own Twitter account. He was already on the 40-man roster but has never previously appeared at the MLB level.
Santana, 22, originally signed out of the Dominican Republic as an infielder but has long since worked exclusively as a pitcher. He was placed on the MLB roster over the winter to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
Already an increasingly intriguing name to prospect hounds before the start of the current season, Santana has increased his stock with a good showing in 2018. Through ten starts — eight at Double-A and a pair at Triple-A — he carries a 2.54 ERA with 11.8 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9.
At present, it is not entirely clear how the Dodgers will utilize the live-armed youngster. He could conceivably make a start or two, fulfill a rotation spot for a lengthier stretch, or step into the bullpen. His performance will obviously help dictate those decisions, as will health developments regarding the rest of the staff.
The Dodgers, of course, have dealt with some rather significant injury issues with their rotation. Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, and Hyun-jin Ryu are already on the DL, and they could soon have additional company.
Veteran righty Kenta Maeda is set for an MRI today on his ailing hip, which forced him out of yesterday’s start early. It’s possible that Maeda will need a trip to the DL, per skipper Dave Roberts. (Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register was among those to tweet the news on Maeda.)
Clearly, the Dodgers will be hoping for a quick bounce back from Maeda, who has recorded 11.7 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9 in his 52 1/3 innings on the year. While his ERA edged north to 3.61 after yesterday’s shortened effort, fielding-independent metrics value him as a rather dominant starter (2.84 FIP / 3.06 xFIP / 3.19 SIERA).
MLBTR Chat Transcript: Allard, Brewers Rotation, Hand, Reyes
Click here to view the transcript for MLBTR Chat With Jason Martinez: May 30, 2018
Twins Put Buxton Back On DL With Fractured Toe, Halt Santana’s Rehab Program
The Twins delivered some unfortunate injury news to reporters today, revealing that center fielder Byron Buxton is headed back to the disabled list due to his fractured big toe and that Ervin Santana‘s rehab assignment has been halted due to ongoing discomfort in his surgically repaired finger (Twitter links via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com and Dan Hayes of The Athletic). Buxton will have his toe re-examined, while Santana will be examined by a specialist.
It’s been a dismal season for Buxton, who landed on the DL in mid-April for what the club hoped would be a minimal stay due to ongoing migraine issues. Instead, Buxton fouled a ball into his foot on his rehab assignment and sustained a fractured toe which has plagued him since.
Though a six-week timetable for the foot to heal completely was provided, the Twins made the surprising decision to activate Buxton from that DL trip without sending him on a minor league rehab assignment. 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson tweets that today’s decision to place Buxton back on the DL stems from the fact that he’s simply been in too much pain to use his lower half at the plate.
Overall, Buxton has turned in a brutal .159/.187/.205 slash this season, and he’s gone just 6-for-47 since coming off the disabled list and trying to play through the fractured toe. That, obviously, is a far cry from what looked to be a breakout year for Buxton in 2017, when he batted .253/.314/.413 with 16 homers and 29 steals while winning Gold Glove and Platinum Glove honors for his work in the outfield.
[Related: Updated Minnesota Twins depth chart]
With Buxton on the shelf, the Twins will have a number of options to handle center field duties. Ryan LaMarre is currently on the big league roster and can see some time at the position, though both of the Twins’ primary corner outfielders, Eddie Rosario and Max Kepler, are also capable of playing center field.
The news on Santana is equally if not more disheartening for a Twins club that had hoped to get its primary rotation anchor back in the near future. The 35-year-old Santana underwent surgery on his middle finger in February and had been hopeful of returning at some point in May or in early June, but it seems he’ll now need a new wave of testing and could see his season debut delayed quite a bit further.
Since signing with the Twins on a four-year, $55MM deal, Santana has turned in 500 2/3 innings of 3.47 ERA ball. He was especially effective in 2016-17, logging a 3.32 ERA with 7.2 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 (though fielding-independent metrics indicated that he had a fair bit of good fortune on his side over that span). With Santana now sidelined indefinitely, the Twins will continue to lean on Jose Berrios, Jake Odorizzi, Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn and impressive rookie Fernando Romero in the rotation for the time being.
Phillies Select Mitch Walding, Transfer Jerad Eickhoff To 60-Day DL
The Phillies announced that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Mitch Walding from Triple-A Lehigh Valley and created a spot on the 40-man roster by shifting righty Jerad Eickhoff from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL. Walding will step into the spot that had been previously occupied by Pedro Florimon, who has been placed on the 10-day disabled list. Florimon sustained a broken bone last night when he fouled a ball into his foot.
Walding, 25, has played third base almost exclusively in the minors, so he won’t be able to replicate Florimon’s ability to handle shortstop. But he’ll bring a productive Triple-A bat to the table, having slashed .271/.379/.484 through 182 plate appearances so far in his first crack at the Triple-A level. Though Walding’s 29.7 percent strikeout rate and .372 BABIP in Lehigh Valley suggest that his overall line is likely to regress, he’s also walked at a 14.3 percent clip and largely continued the uptick in power he displayed at the Double-A level in 2017, when he smacked a career-high 25 homers.
As for Eickhoff, the move is largely a procedural one. The right-hander was placed on the 10-day disabled list at the beginning of the season due to a strained lat muscle, and the team recently halted his rehab program after he experienced some numbness in his fingertips. Eickhoff wouldn’t have returned by the 60-day mark of the season anyhow, and the move to the 60-day DL doesn’t reset his DL “clock,” so to speak, meaning he’ll still be eligible to be activated whenever the Phillies deem him healthy enough to embark on and complete a new minor league rehab assignment. That said, it’s not clear at all just when Eickhoff might be medically cleared to do so.
Mets Designate P.J. Conlon For Assignment
The Mets announced that they’ve designated left-hander P.J. Conlon for assignment and transferred Juan Lagares to the 60-day disabled list on Wednesday. Their spots on the 40-man roster will go to right-handers Tim Peterson and Scott Copeland, each of whom has been selected to the Major League roster (as was reported earlier today). Furthermore, New York optioned right-hander Jacob Rhame and infielder Phillip Evans to Triple-A Las Vegas and recalled left-hander Buddy Baumann from Triple-A.
Conlon, 24, enjoyed a strong season with the Mets’ Double-A affiliate in 2017, tossing 136 innings of 3.38 ERA ball with 7.2 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9, but he’s endured a disastrous 2018 campaign so far. Though Conlon has had one significant milestone in 2018, making his MLB debut, his results on the mound have been ugly in both the Majors and the minors. The former 13th-round pick (2015) was tagged for seven runs on 12 hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings for the Mets, and he’s limped to a 6.58 ERA with 7.5 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 39 2/3 innings out of the rotation in Las Vegas.
The Mets will have a week to trade Conlon or place him on outright or release waivers. He’s not considered to be an elite prospect, but he entered the year ranked 24th among Mets farmhands, per MLB.com, where Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo suggested that he could ultimately function as a multi-inning bullpen piece capable of setting down both lefties and righties.