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West Notes: Angels, Maddon, Giants, Sabean, D-backs, A’s

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Angels manager Brad Ausmus has only been on the job for a year, but the club “would consider” firing him to hire Joe Maddon after the season, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (subscription link). That would require the Cubs to move on from Maddon, whose contract is up, while the Angels would likely need to make the 65-year-old a substantial offer. The first part of that equation looks like a real possibility, but it appears the second would pose a problem. Angels owner Arte Moreno likely doesn’t want to pay two managers, per Rosenthal, who adds it’s very doubtful he’d be willing to match Maddon’s current salary of $6MM. Notably, though, there is quite a bit of history between Maddon and the Angels. He spent 31 years with the organization in a variety of roles before his managerial career began with the Rays prior to the 2006 season.

  • Recent speculation has linked longtime Giants executive Brian Sabean to the Marlins, but the 63-year-old told Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that he isn’t going anywhere. Although Sabean’s contract is about to expire, he and the Giants are in talks to keep him in place for what would be his 28th year with the organization in 2020. “We’re in the process of sorting that out as we speak,” Sabean said. “I’m quite sure my Giant career will continue in some form or fashion. I’m not interested in looking to go anywhere else. We’ll see how it develops in the next month or so.” While Sabean was at the helm of the Giants’ baseball department during all three of their World Series wins this decade, he has taken on a lesser role since the team hired Farhan Zaidi to steer the ship last offseason. Sabean spent a large portion of this season scouting, which is his passion, Schulman notes.
  • The Diamondbacks have shut right-handers Luke Weaver and Zac Gallen down for the season, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports. Weaver sat out all of June, July, August and most of September with forearm and UCL injuries, but he made a successful two-inning return last weekend to cap off his 2019. He and Gallen, whom the D-backs acquired at the trade deadline, figure to slot in near the top of the club’s rotation in 2020. Fellow righty Taijuan Walker could join them if he overcomes the arm problems that have essentially shelved him for two straight seasons. Walker could, however, take the ball for the first and only time of the season in Arizona’s finale on Sunday, Piecoro relays.
  • The Athletics just designated catcher Beau Taylor for assignment for the second time this year, but that doesn’t mean his days with the organization are over. On the contrary, chances are “good” that the A’s will try to re-sign Taylor in the offseason, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. Judging by the glowing reviews of Taylor that prized young catcher Sean Murphy and manager Bob Melvin offer in Slusser’s piece, he clearly has the respect of the A’s players and coaches.

Athletics Reinstate Frankie Montas, Designate Beau Taylor For Assignment

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The Athletics announced Wednesday that they’ve reinstated right-hander Frankie Montas from the restricted list now that his 80-game PED suspension has been completed. Oakland had a full 40-man roster, so catcher Beau Taylor was designated for assignment in order to open a spot for Montas’ return. Montas won’t be postseason-eligible because of that suspension, but he’ll take the ball and start tonight’s game against the Angels.

Montas, 26, hasn’t pitched since June 20 after testing positive for the banned substance Ostarine. As with virtually all players who fail a drug test, Montas claimed to have been unaware he’d taken a banned substance, blaming the positive test on a “contaminated supplement” which he “purchased over-the-counter at a nutrition store here in the United States.” Regardless of intent (or lack thereof), he served out the full 80-game ban that first-time offenders face.

It’s not clear what type of workload Montas will be able to handle, although general manager David Forst indicated earlier this month that the A’s have kept Montas stretched out with a series of simulated games. Whatever volume of innings Montas can handle, they’ll all be pivotal at this point; the A’s are in the thick of a three-team AL Wild Card race with the Indians and Rays.

If the A’s get anything close to the form Montas displayed from March until late June, then they’ll be in excellent shape for tonight’s contest. Through 90 innings earlier this season, Montas pitched to a pristine 2.70 ERA with a similarly strong 2.91 FIP and a 3.42 xFIP. He averaged 9.7 strikeouts, 2.1 walks and 0.7 homers per nine innings pitched while keeping the ball on the ground at a healthy 50.8 percent clip.

Of course, skeptics will attribute that apparent breakout to Montas’ failed drug test, and there’ll be nowhere near enough time in 2019 for him to prove that he’s capable of sustaining that level of pace post-suspension. He’ll surely have a place earmarked in Oakland’s 2020 rotation, at which point he’ll strive to continue upon this year’s breakout and distance himself from that suspension as best he can. He’ll presumably be joined by Sean Manaea and Mike Fiers in that regard. Righties Chris Bassitt, Daniel Mengden and Jharel Cotton will compete with top left-handed pitching prospects Jesus Luzardo and A.J. Puk for the final spots in Oakland’s rotation.

Montas, who’ll turn 27 next March, lost more than half a season’s worth of service time but will still ever-so-narrowly eek out enough service to reach two full years of big league service in 2019. As such, he’s still controlled through the 2023 season and remains on track to be arbitration-eligible following the 2020 campaign.

As for the 29-year-old Taylor, this won’t be the first time he’s been cut loose by the A’s. Oakland outrighted him off the 40-man roster following the 2018 season but re-signed him to a minor league deal, and the Athletics also designated Taylor for assignment earlier this year. He landed with the Blue Jays via a waiver claim but was eventually DFA’ed by Toronto and returned to Oakland on a second waiver claim.

Taylor is 5-for-30 with a pair of homers in a tiny sample of 36 MLB plate appearances. He’s spent parts of three seasons at the Triple-A level and batted a combined .256/.373/.385 there. He’s been about a percentage point below average in terms of caught-stealing rate for his pro career and has drawn average or better pitch-framing grades in the past few seasons.

Athletics Claim Beau Taylor, Designate Chris Herrmann

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The Athletics announced today that they have claimed Beau Taylor off waivers from the Blue Jays. To clear 40-man space, the club designated fellow backstop Chris Herrmann for assignment.

Taylor, 29, lands back with the A’s after previously going from Oakland to Toronto through an August waiver claim. He had appeared in just one MLB contest with his new team and struggled at the plate in brief Triple-A action before being designated recently.

Before that recent stint, Taylor had spent his entire career with the Athletics — much of it at the Double-A level (307 games in parts of six seasons) — so he’s obviously a familiar face. He had put up career-best offensive numbers this year at Triple-A, slashing .257/.408/.461 in 240 PCL plate appearances before the mid-season move.

As for Herrmann, 31, he just hasn’t delivered the kind of offensive numbers the A’s anticipated when they inked him to a $1MM deal. Since returning from knee surgery, he has hit a meager .202/.280/.274 with a single long ball and 29 strikeouts in 94 trips to the plate.

Blue Jays Select Anthony Kay, Designate Beau Taylor

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The Blue Jays have selected the contract of southpaw Anthony Kay, as per a team announcement.  Kay will make his Major League debut tonight, starting Toronto’s game against the Rays.  To create room on the 40-man roster, the Jays have designated catcher Beau Taylor for assignment.

It was less than six weeks ago that Kay came to the Jays from the Mets, joining fellow pitching prospect Simeon Woods-Richardson as the return in the trade that sent Marcus Stroman to New York.  Kay had struggled to a 6.61 ERA over seven appearances for the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse at the time of the deal, though the change of scenery to the Jays’ Triple-A team in Buffalo proved fruitful, as he had a 2.50 ERA over seven starts (36 innings) with a 9.8 K/9 and 1.77 K/BB rate.  Kay’s control suffered a bit on his new team, as he posted a 5.5 BB/9, though he did cut back on the home runs that plagued him at Syracuse.

Kay will reach the big leagues less than two years after making his professional debut.  Drafted 31st overall by the Mets in 2016, the UConn product missed all of 2017 recovering from Tommy John surgery, and then threw 122 2/3 frames in 2018 pitching at two different A-ball levels.  All in all, Kay has a 3.58 ERA, 9.1 K/9, and 2.46 K/BB rate over 256 1/3 innings in the minors.

Between his short track record and his issues at Triple-A, it wasn’t a resume that lent itself to a blue-chip (or even a top 100) prospect ranking, as Kay was only the fourth-ranked prospect in a middling Mets farm system.  Some Toronto fans and pundits were critical of what seemed like a light return for Stroman prior to the trade deadline, though as events unfolded on July 31, it was clear that few teams around baseball were willing to surrender any sort of premium minor league talent.

Kay’s early returns in Buffalo have been promising, however, and what was already thought to be a near big-league ready arm will make his MLB debut perhaps even earlier than expected.  MLB Pipeline’s scouting report gives Kay a pretty steady grade across the board (55 on the 20-80 scale for his fastball, changeup, and curve, plus a 50 for control) and cites the high spin rate on his fastball, which usually sits in the 92-94mph range.  A good showing in September would surely put Kay in good position for a rotation job for the pitching-needy Blue Jays next spring.

Taylor was claimed off waivers from the Athletics in mid-August and appeared in just one Major League game for the Jays, bringing his career total to 17 big league contests over the last two seasons.  Taylor has hit .258/.355/.372 over 2843 career plate appearances in the minors, all but 39 of them in Oakland’s system after being a fifth-round pick for the A’s in the 2011 draft.

Blue Jays Claim Beau Taylor

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The Blue Jays have claimed catcher Beau Taylor off waivers from the Athletics, per a club announcement. He’ll begin his tenure with the Toronto organization at Triple-A.

Taylor was likely targeted to bolster the Jays’ catching depth. The team seems likely to continue utilizing Danny Jansen and Reese McGuire at the major-league level for the duration of the present season, barring injury.

Though it’s possible Taylor could end up losing his 40-man roster spot at some point, he may also be retained and given a shot to compete in spring camp next year. The 29-year-old can still be optioned and has produced big offensive numbers this year at Triple-A, with a .257/.408/.461 batting line in 240 plate appearances.

Athletics Designate Beau Taylor

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The Athletics announced that they have designated catcher Beau Taylor for assignment. His 40-man spot was needed for the team to select the contract of Corban Joseph, as had previously been reported. Outfielder Nick Martini was optioned for active roster space.

Taylor, 29, has spent his entire career with the Oakland organization since being taken in the fifth round of the 2011 draft. He has seen minimal action at the MLB level in each of the past two seasons. In 240 plate appearances at Triple-A in 2019, Taylor carries a strong .257/.408/.461 slash line with eight long balls.

Latest On Athletics’ Catchers

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Injured Athletics catcher Nick Hundley is within 10 days of a rehab assignment as he recovers from back and knee issues, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Once Hundley comes back in August, though, the team could jettison him or one of the other three catchers on its 40-man roster, per Slusser. Indeed, when Hundley’s healthy enough to return, the Athletics “seem likely” to designate him, Chris Herrmann, Josh Phegley or Beau Taylor for assignment, Slusser observes. With the exception of Taylor, all of those backstops are out of minor league options.

The A’s goal entering the season was to roll with Hundley and Herrmann – both free-agent signings – as their two catchers, Slusser writes, but that plan changed when the latter underwent right knee surgery March 6. Herrmann sat out the first couple months of the season recovering from the procedure, only just coming off the IL on Tuesday. The 31-year-old emphatically introduced himself to Oakland that night, smashing a grand slam in a win over Minnesota (one of his ex-teams), and added a 4-for-4 performance in another victory against the Twins on Thursday.

While the lefty-swinging Herrmann’s off to a propitious start as an Athletic, he didn’t bring much of a big league track record to his new team. Also a former Diamondback and Mariner, Herrmann has hit just .206/.283/.354 (69 wRC+) in 903 major league plate appearances. He also hasn’t been a tower of strength behind the plate.

Hundley’s much more of an established commodity in the majors, where the well-traveled 35-year-old has typically provided solid offense for his position. That hasn’t been the case in 2019, though. Before Hundley headed to the IL with back spasms June 8 and then underwent arthroscopic left knee surgery on the 18th, the righty batted an unappealing .200/.233/.357 (54 wRC+) with 18 strikeouts against two walks in 73 PA. At the same time, Hundley threw out a mere 5 of 23 would-be base stealers and earned poor pitch-framing marks.

Herrmann’s absence helped reopen the door for Phegley, an Athletic since 2015 who entered this season off three straight low-impact years in the majors. Phegley’s now enjoying what could go down as a career offensive season, however, with a .259/.303/.463 line (102 wRC+) and nine home runs in 219 attempts. The righty-hitting Phegley has been particularly tough on lefties, whom he has teed off on for a .939 OPS, though his overall offensive production has nosedived since the start of June. Like Hundley, Phegley has not garnered rave reviews as a framer this year. Worsening matters, the 31-year-old rates as Baseball Prospectus’ second-worst blocker.

Taylor, 29, hasn’t gotten much of a chance in the majors since the A’s chose him in the fifth round of the 2011 draft. Dating back to his brief MLB debut last year, Taylor has collected 30 plate appearances at the game’s highest level. The lefty’s now at Triple-A Las Vegas, where he has slashed an excellent .306/.463/.524 (149 wRC+) across 160 tries this season. Despite that production, the A’s may not regard Taylor as a major league-caliber option, in which case his time on their 40-man could soon end.

Athletics Place Nick Hundley On IL, Select Beau Taylor

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The Athletics have placed catcher Nick Hundley on the 10-day injured list with back spasms and selected the contract of fellow backstop Beau Taylor from Triple-A Las Vegas, per a team announcement.

Hundley, whom Oakland signed to a minor league contract in February, made its roster but got off to a miserable start prior to his IL placement. The 35-year-old hit just .200/.233/.357 (55 wRC+) in 73 plate appearances before landing on the shelf. Nevertheless, he and Josh Phegley are the only Athletics catchers who have logged playing time this season.

A fifth-round pick of the A’s in 2011, Taylor experienced a brief stint with the club in 2018 but only picked up six PA. The A’s then outrighted Taylor on Nov. 5, only to re-sign him to a minor league deal a week later. The 28-year-old slashed an excellent .297/.450/.492 (141 wRC+) with five home runs and 33 walks against 38 strikeouts in 151 PA as a member of the team’s Triple-A affiliate before it called him back up.

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/13/18

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We’ll use this post to track the latest minor moves from around the game …

  • The Royals announced that they’ve signed right-hander Michael Ynoa to a minor league contract. There’s no mention of an invite to Major League Spring Training. Ynoa, now 27, signed a hefty $4.25MM bonus with Oakland as an amateur back in 2008. He never found his footing in the organization, though, and was traded to the White Sox alongside Jeff Samardzija in the deal that brought Marcus Semien to Oakland. Ynoa made his big league debut with the ChiSox in 2016 and pitched to a 4.42 ERA with 8.1 K/9 against 5.9 BB/9 in 59 innings of work from 2016-17. He was out of affiliated ball entirely last year and is currently pitching in the Dominican Winter League, where he’s allowed just one run on four hits and four walks with 13 punchouts in 10 1/3 innings.

Earlier Moves

  • The Athletics have reached a deal to bring back catcher Beau Taylor, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). Thus ends a brief foray onto the open market for the 28-year-old, who was outrighted and became a minor-league free agent recently. Taylor made it up to the majors in 2018 just long enough to record his first hit, but he’s still hunting a second.Odds are he’ll head back to the Triple-A level, where he spent almost all of the 2018 season. Through 519 career plate appearances at the highest level of the minors, the former fifth-round pick has a .261/.364/.363 batting line.

Athletics Outright Beau Taylor

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The Athletics have outrighted catcher Beau Taylor off the 40-man roster, as first noted on the Pacific Coast League transactions page. The 2011 fifth-round pick is now a free agent, as his initial minor league contract has expired. The A’s have 34 players on their 40-man roster.

Taylor, 29 in February, made his big league debut in 2018 and went 1-for-5 with a double and a walk in seven plate appearances. While the seven games in which he appeared this year represent the entirety of his MLB experience to date, Taylor has shown strong on-base skills in the upper minors, hitting .261/.364/.363 with a 13.5 percent walk rate against a 23.3 percent strikeout clip in Triple-A across the past two seasons. Defensively, he’s been a bit below average in terms of throwing out would-be base thieves (24 percent) but has generally drawn average or better framing marks dating back to the 2014 season.

With Taylor now off the 40-man roster and Jonathan Lucroy hitting free agency, the only remaining backstop on the Oakland 40-man roster is Josh Phegley. The A’s have a well-regarded prospect looming on the horizon in the form of Sean Murphy, but he’s only played three games at the Triple-A level and is likely viewed as a prospect in need of additional development. Additional help behind the plate figures to be an area of focus for the A’s this winter.

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