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A.J. Cole

East Notes: Sox, Ohtani, G. Torres, Hellickson, Realmuto, Mets

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Angels phenom Shohei Ohtani will start against the Red Sox on Tuesday. If the Sox had their druthers, though, it would be the other way around, per Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. Boston, like just about every other major league team, courted Ohtani during his brief foray into free agency over the winter. The club showed Ohtani a 25-minute video presentation that prominently featured former Red Sox starter/slugger Babe Ruth, the most successful two-way player of all-time, as a recruiting tool. Ohtani is aiming to make a Ruthian impact as both a pitcher and a hitter in the majors, and so far he’s thriving on both ends. The Red Sox would have given Ohtani the opportunity to capitalize on his unique talents, as Silverman details, though he eliminated them (and most other clubs) from the process pretty quickly. “€œI wish we were in a position where we could have tackled that challenge,” said president Dave Dombrowski. “€œWe liked him a great deal, we thought very highly of him. I thought he was a legitimate two-way player.”€ Silverman’s piece, which contains more quotes from Dombrowski and senior vice president of personnel Allard Baird (who scouted Ohtani extensively from 2012-17), is worth checking out in full.

More from the East Coast…

  • Right-hander Jeremy Hellickson could take the ball for the Nationals on Monday when they open a series against the division-rival Mets, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com suggests. Righty A.J. Cole is penciled in at the moment, though signs are pointing to Hellickson making his Nats debut, Zuckerman explains. Promoting Hellickson, whom Washington signed to a minors deal before the season, would require the team to add him to its 40-man roster and jettison someone else. That wouldn’t be the out-of-options Cole, per Zuckerman, who expects him to move to the bullpen in the event of a Hellickson call-up. The 31-year-old Hellickson, a veteran of 197 starts, will earn a $2MM salary if he lands a spot with the Nats.
  • Manager Aaron Boone told Marc Carig of The Athletic and other reporters Sunday that it’s “possible,” albeit “not necessarily” probable, the Yankees will promote top prospect Gleyber Torres during the upcoming week. The Yankees would gain an extra year of control over the infielder by waiting until April 18 to promote him, though general manager Brian Cashman insisted during spring training that the team’s not concerned about that. Torres has made his case for a call-up at the Triple-A level since last year, having hit .333/.407/.496 in 135 plate appearances. If the 21-year-old does join the Yankees soon, he could be a factor at both second and third base.
  • The Marlins’ best player, catcher J.T. Realmuto, is closing in on his 2018 debut. Realmuto, out since late March with a lower back injury, could rejoin the Marlins at the start of their nine-game road trip Monday, manager Don Mattingly informed Steve Dorsey of MLB.com and other reporters. And third baseman Martin Prado is “progressing” in his recovery from a left hamstring strain, per Mattingly, who added that the veteran could begin a rehab assignment soon. Prado, like Realmuto, hasn’t played yet this season.
  • The Mets activated first baseman Dominic Smith from the DL on Sunday and optioned him to Triple-A Las Vegas, Tim Healey of Newsday tweets. The former top 100 prospect had been dealing with a strained quad since the outset of spring training, thus putting the kibosh on his chances of winning a job in camp. Smith, 22, is now behind Adrian Gonzalez, Wilmer Flores (and maybe others) in the Mets’ first base pecking order.

East Notes: Yanks, Bird, Mets, Nationals, Orioles

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Yankees first baseman Greg Bird missed most of last season with a right ankle injury. The 25-year-old is now battling soreness in the same foot and will go for an MRI and a CT scan, per Randy Miller of NJ.com. Bird’s status concerns general manager Brian Cashman, who said Saturday: “I’m worried about it to be honest. I’m not sure what we’re dealing with, but when Greg can’t tee it up, it’s a problem for us because obviously he’s a vital member of our organization.” Cashman went on to indicate that the Yankees won’t attempt to replace Bird via trade if he lands on the shelf. The recently signed Neil Walker and Tyler Austin are among the Yankees’ in-house first base options, but it’s worth noting that they recently had Adam Lind in camp. The club signed Lind to a minor league pact in early March before releasing him midway through the month. Lind remains on the market and would make for a logical pickup on paper, but there’s no word on whether New York is interested in re-signing him in the event of another serious injury to Bird.

[Update: The Yankees announced that Bird is dealing with inflammation and will see a specialist Monday.]

More from the East Coast…

  • Right-hander Seth Lugo has won the fifth spot in the Mets’ rotation, meaning fellow righty Zack Wheeler will head to Triple-A Las Vegas, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com was among those to report. Lugo will fill in for injured southpaw Jason Vargas, who will open the season on the disabled list after suffering a fracture to his non-throwing hand last week, behind Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey and Steven Matz. Vargas could return as early as April 9, DiComo notes, and Lugo is likely to head to the bullpen then.
  • Righty A.J. Cole will begin the season as the Nationals’ fifth starter, manager Dave Martinez announced Sunday (via Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com). That’s not surprising, as fellow righty Jeremy Hellickson isn’t adequately stretched out yet after recently signing with the Nats on a minor league deal. Cole will join Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez and Tanner Roark in Washington’s season-opening rotation.
  • Outfielder Craig Gentry is likely to make the Orioles, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com suggested (on Twitter) after they optioned outfield prospect Austin Hays to Double-A on Saturday. Gentry, 34, is in his second year with the franchise; he re-signed on a minor league contract in the offseason after slashing .257/.333/.386 in 117 major league PAs in 2017.

NL Notes: Diamondbacks, Nats, Mets

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Diamondbacks third baseman Jake Lamb and Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez have posted nearly identical career numbers to date, observes Zach Buchanan of The Athletic (subscription required), who wonders if the former could be in line for an extension. Suarez, 27, just received a long-term deal – a seven-year, $66MM guarantee – after hitting .260/.367/.461 and accounting for 4.1 fWAR across 632 plate appearances last season. Lamb, 26, was successful in his own right (.248/.357/.487 with 2.5 fWAR in 635 PAs), and three of the four major league executives and agents Buchanan polled chose him over Suarez. There’s no word on whether Arizona is motivated to extend Lamb, who’s controllable via arbitration through 2020, but Buchanan suggests the team would jump at the chance to lock him up at a Suarez-like rate.

More from the NL:

  • It’s up in the air whether right-hander A.J. Cole will earn the final spot in the Nationals’ rotation. Regardless, the out-of-options 26-year-old is “going to make the team,” general manager Mike Rizzo told Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post and other reporters Monday. Rizzo added that veteran Jeremy Hellickson, also a contender for the No. 5 job, is “way behind” right now – which seems to bode well for Cole’s chances of starting. Given that Hellickson only just signed with the Nationals, they could elect to keep him in Florida for extended spring training so he’s better equipped to succeed if he does get a regular-season opportunity, per Rizzo (via Jamal Collier of MLB.com). Rizzo noted that a couple of the Nats’ signings last year, catcher Matt Wieters and reliever Joe Blanton, struggled mightily because neither had a full spring training. He doesn’t want to go down that same road with Hellickson.
  • Even though Mets left-hander Jason Vargas will undergo surgery on his right hand Tuesday, he might not miss any regular-season time, Tim Britton of The Athletic tweets. It’s not as if the soft-tossing Vargas is going to have to regain lost velocity, manager Mickey Callaway noted – “It’s not going to be too hard to go back and get his 84 again,” he said – while GM Sandy Alderson essentially expressed no concern over the situation. “If he can catch the ball coming back from the catcher, he’s probably good to go,” Alderson offered.

NL East Notes: Mets, Cole, Jay, Braves

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As the Mets have now managed to check off their most pressing needs at fairly reasonable prices, some attention has turned to the question whether the organization might now go on to spend on a starter. GM Sandy Alderson noted that “some opportunities arose for us that probably would not have been expected right after the end of the World Series,” as James Wagner of the New York Times reports. Given the noted health questions for the talented Mets pitching staff, the thinking goes, perhaps the team will look to score some rotation value and thrust itself into clear contention status. To this point, though, the Mets “have yet to engage in meaningful discussions” with free agent hurlers Lance Lynn and Alex Cobb, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter links). Rather, the focus seems still to be on finding some pitching depth.

More from the division…

  • At a recent Nationals Hot Stove event, GM Mike Rizzo plainly stated that, as things presently stand, right-hander A.J. Cole is his team’s fifth starter (link via TalkNats.com). “Our number five starter, you know, is A.J. Cole which I’m really looking forward to seeing where he’s at this year,” said Rizzo. “If you look at his numbers last year, his last seven starts were outstanding. He pitched in eleven games last year in the big leagues with eight starts and had a 3.81 ERA… Look at the other teams in our division. See where that ERA ranks on those other staffs.” Of course, fielding-independent metrics like FIP, xFIP and SIERA all pegged Cole north of 5.00, due largely to a 4.7 BB/9 rate and a pedestrian 7.6 K/9 mark. One would think, too, that a strong Spring Training effort from someone such as Austin Voth or Erick Fedde could impact that plan, as could the addition of an arm via free agency or trade. At present, though, it’s certainly noteworthy that the job is Cole’s to lose. Cole figures to make the roster in some capacity, as he’s out of minor league options.
  • Jon Jay “appears to be a consideration” for the Marlins in free agency, FanRag’s Jon Heyman writes in his latest notes column. Jay has some local ties, having played his college ball at Miami, though it’s not entirely clear at this point how much the Marlins are willing to spend. Heyman suggests that their payroll is south of the $85MM mark at present, though between the commitments to Wei-Yin Chen ($10MM salary + $8MM deferred signing bonus payment this June), Martin Prado ($13.5MM), Starlin Castro ($10MM), Brad Ziegler ($9MM), Junichi Tazawa ($7MM), Derek Dietrich ($2.9MM), Justin Bour ($3.4MM), J.T. Realmuto ($2.9MM) and Miguel Rojas ($1.18MM) they’re at nearly $68MM. Add in the $13MM they owe Edinson Volquez, the remaining unresolved arb case of Dan Straily and a slate of pre-arbitration players to round out the roster, and it’d seem they’re still north of $90MM.
  • Heyman also notes that the Braves would add a third baseman if they can find a match on a one-year deal, but they’re comfortable using Johan Camargo there for a year while waiting for prospect Austin Riley to finish off his development in the upper minors. More generally, he adds that they’re looking more at “depth” signings than anything else at this point of the offseason.

NL East Links: Marlins, Kelley, Adams, Braves

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There have been reports that the Marlins could consider dealing such major names as Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna or J.T. Realmuto at the deadline, though Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes that the Fish thus far “haven’t shown an inclination” to make a big roster shakeup.  A source tells Jackson that the Marlins are still a couple of weeks away before deciding on trading some players, including closer AJ Ramos.  Much is still in flux due to the potential sale of the team, of course, as Jackson notes that the front office would need to talk to both the new ownership group and Major League Baseball before exploring a big-ticket trade involving Giancarlo Stanton.

Here’s more from around the division…

  • The Nationals placed righty Shawn Kelley on the 10-day DL with a right trapezius strain.  The placement is retroactive to June 17 and A.J. Cole has been called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move.  This is Kelley’s second DL stint of the year, as he also missed some time with a lower back strain.  Kelley’s struggles have been a big contributor to Washington’s bullpen problems this season, as the veteran right-hander has a 7.00 ERA and a whopping nine homers allowed over 18 innings.
  • The Braves will go to a six-man rotation when Bartolo Colon returns from the disabled list next week, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes.  The Braves want a longer look at rookie Sean Newcomb while they’re also not ready to release the struggling Colon, who is owed a little over $7MM for the rest of the season.  It remains to be seen how long Atlanta will deploy the six-man rotation, though things could return to normal if a starter (such as Jaime Garcia) is dealt at the trade deadline.
  • Matt Adams has done nothing but mash since joining the Braves, though the first baseman knows he could be on the move again once Freddie Freeman returns from the DL, Adams tells Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  While he enjoys playing in Atlanta, “whenever Freddie comes back, wherever the next spot may be…I either finish out the season with Atlanta or go somewhere else,” Adams said.  “I’m open to anything right now. I’m taking it day by day.”  The interview is well worth a full read, as Adams discusses his time with the Cardinals and his reaction to being dealt last month.  Adams has a whopping 1.013 OPS and nine homers over just 114 plate appearances in a Braves uniform, making him a very attractive potential trade chip if Atlanta indeed does look to swap him again at the deadline.

Nationals Activate Koda Glover, Shawn Kelley

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The Nationals have activated righties Koda Glover and Shawn Kelley, per a club announcement. A.J. Cole and Matt Grace were each optioned back to Triple-A to create roster space.

The absence of Glover and Kelley had left a void at the back of the Nats’ bullpen. Washington has struggled to find an order of priority in the late innings as most of the relief unit has scuffled, but the righty pairing seemingly sits atop the closing depth chart at present.

Glover, 24, has been said at times to possess the stuff to handle the role and may be the club’s next homegrown closer. But it’s not clear he’s ready to handle the role now. Before going down with a hip impingement, Glover carried solid, though hardly dominant, numbers. He permitted four earned runs on seven hits over 8 2/3 innings, striking out six and walking one.

As for Kelley, he has landed among the league’s best in generating swinging strikes in recent years. But the 33-year-old is seen as requiring regular rest and careful handling given his history of elbow problems, so he may not be a standalone option in the ninth. Kelley has allowed five home runs in his first ten frames, but otherwise has been his typically dominant self, with 13 strikeouts against three walks.

It remains to be seen, of course, whether either of these pitchers can provide enough certainty in the ninth inning to foreclose the addition of a more-established closer at the trade deadline. If nothing else, though, their return will hopefully reduce the need to consider more drastic moves to shore up the the lead-protection unit far in advance of the summer trade period. Odds are, the Nats will be among the game’s most aggressive pursuers of quality relievers this summer.

Nationals Option Joe Ross; Jacob Turner Stepping Into Rotation

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11:14am: The Nats have now announced the move, adding that right-hander A.J. Cole has been recalled from Syracuse to fill the vacant roster spot. As Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com points out (via Twitter), Cole will need to sit for three games before he’s eligible to pitch, as he still needs to complete a five-game suspension that was issued to him last year for throwing at Pirates infielder Jung Ho Kang.

11:04am: The Nationals made the somewhat surprising decision to option right-hander Joe Ross to Triple-A Syracuse following yesterday’s game, per the team’s transactions page at MLB.com. While the club has yet to formally announce the move, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post confirms that Ross has indeed been optioned out, adding that right-hander Jacob Turner will join the rotation for the time being.

Ross was optioned to Triple-A to open the season as well, though that move was made largely due to the fact that the team didn’t need a fifth starter early in the year, and it also afforded the Nationals a chance to briefly limit the young righty’s innings. This move, however, is more about the Nationals’ desire for Ross to improve his changeup, according to Janes. Ross has been clobbered by lefties in three starts this season and has struggled against left-handed bats throughout his young career, yielding a .301/.374/.469 batting line to opponents that hold the platoon advantage.

That said, it’s still a bit curious to see Ross sent down. Platoon issues notwithstanding, he entered the season with a career 3.52 ERA, 8.0 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and 45.5 percent ground-ball rate through 181 2/3 Major League innings. And while he’s struggled in his past two starts, one of those outings came at Coors Field. Beyond that, Turner has a limited track record in the Majors, having struggled to a 5.09 ERA through 330 innings, though Turner did show well in his own start in Colorado this season (six innings, three runs on six hits and no walks with six strikeouts).

It’s not clear if the demotion of Ross is a short-term move or if he’ll be left to sort things out in the minors for a lengthier stay. It doesn’t seem likely, however, that Ross would stay in the minors long enough to delay his path to free agency, as that’d require a Triple-A stint that spanned the majority of the season. Ross entered the 2017 campaign with one year, 94 days of service time and has already accrued 13 more days of service with his late-April promotion. As such, he needs 65 more days in the Majors to reach two full years of service time, which would keep him on pace to become a free agent following the 2021 season.

The corresponding move for Ross isn’t yet known, though Janes notes that it’ll likely be a reliever. Current options on the 40-man roster include Austin Adams, Trevor Gott and Rafael Martin, while veterans Joe Nathan and Neal Cotts are both in Syracuse on minor league deals.

Stephen Strasburg Placed On DL Due To Elbow Soreness

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12:43pm: Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Strasburg has some inflammation in his elbow that he would pitch through were the team in the postseason (links to Twitter). However, considering their lead in the NL East, the Nationals are being proactive in getting him some rest before the postseason. Per Sherman, there’s no structural damage in Strasburg’s elbow.

12:31pm: Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg was placed on the 15-day disabled list today with a sore right elbow, the team announced this afternoon. Strasburg’s placement on the DL is retroactive to Sunday, and  he’s been replaced on the active roster and in the rotation by right-hander A.J. Cole, who has been recalled from Triple-A Syracuse.

[Related: Updated Washington Nationals Depth Chart]

Strasburg, 28, was in the midst of one of his finest seasons before hitting a rough patch earlier this month. After allowing 19 runs in 11 2/3 innings over his past three starts, he’s seen his ERA balloon from 2.63 to 3.59. This will mark the second DL stint of the season for Strasburg, who missed a couple of weeks due to an upper back strain earlier this summer.

Speculation on the nature of the injury, of course, will be aggressive, but there’s no word of the severity, whether an MRI has been scheduled (or already performed), or when Strasburg could return to action. The Nats do have a sizable 8.5 game lead on the National League East, so it’s possible that they’re simply taking the opportunity to get one of their top arms some rest while leaving him enough time to ramp back up late in the season before a hopeful playoff push.

Strasburg was slated to hit the open market following the 2016 season but surprised many in the industry by opting to instead sign a seven-year, $175MM extension with the Nationals back in early May, forgoing a chance at entering the offseason as the name in free agency.

Nationals Reinstate Ryan Zimmerman, Jose Lobaton

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The Nationals have announced that they’ve reinstated first baseman Ryan Zimmerman and catcher Jose Lobaton from the DL. To clear space for the pair on their active roster, they’ve optioned righty A.J. Cole and catcher Pedro Severino to Triple-A Syracuse.

[Related: Updated Washington Nationals Depth Chart]

Zimmerman went on the disabled list two weeks ago with a left wrist contusion suffered after he was hit by a pitch. He’s had a poor season, batting just .222/.284/.394 in 335 plate appearances, but Clint Robinson hasn’t done much better while soaking up at-bats in Zimmerman’s absence, so there is no reason to think Zimmerman won’t continue to receive plenty of playing time.

Lobaton, meanwhile, will replace Severino as the backup to Wilson Ramos. Lobaton had been on the DL since late July with elbow tendinitis. He has batted .194/.301/.361 this season, although he gets good marks for his pitch-framing.

NL East Notes: Brown, Nats, Black, Murphy

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Domonic Brown’s career with the Phillies may be over, writes Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Brown tumbled over the right field wall while trying to make a catch in last night’s game and exited the contest to be tested for concussion symptoms. He’s not traveling with the team to Boston and will instead meet with a specialist today. Brown has had concussions in the past, and if he’s determined to have one now, it could spell the end of his season and his Phillies tenure alike, as the 28-year-old former top prospect is due a raise on his $2.5MM salary this winter via the arbitration process. Brown is batting .228/.284/.349 in 63 games this season and hasn’t produced since a May surge back in 2013 that led him to an All-Star berth.

Here’s more from the NL East…

  • The Nationals added another pair of arms to a beleaguered bullpen by calling up Matt Grace and Rafael Martin, and James Wagner of the Washington Post writes that additional arms, including A.J. Cole, could be on the way. The Nats could’ve used the extra bullpen help earlier this week, but GM Mike Rizzo explained to Wagner that the team felt OK about its bullpen depth, not expecting Joe Ross to last just 2 2/3 innings in the shortest start of his career.
  • Right-hander Vic Black will be a minor league free agent this offseason after being outrighted by the Mets, but the hard-throwing reliever told NJ.com’s Mike Vorkunov that he hopes to return to the Mets. Black, 27, has been slowed by injuries this season but entered the year expected to be a big contributor in the bullpen. He’s planning to pitch in winter ball to make up for some of the lost innings from 2015. Black admits that his emotions have ranged “from angry to confused to frustrated to bewildered” but says he can’t imagine playing elsewhere: “I love the guys, I love the city and I certainly don’t want to go anywhere else. … Loyalty is a big part of who I am.”
  • Daniel Murphy exited the Mets’ Wednesday contest due to quadriceps discomfort and won’t travel with the team to Miami for its weekend series, writes MLB.com’s Jamal Collier. He’ll be examined by a specialist on today’s off-day, though the team, for now, is calling the move precautionary.
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