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Brendan McKay

AL Notes: McKay, Rays, Angels, Rendon, Mariners

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The Rays are expected to receive a fourth option year on left-hander/first baseman Brendan McKay, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. If that indeed proves to be the case, Tampa Bay would be able to option McKay to the minor leagues through the end of next season.

Most players can be optioned for three seasons. After a team exhausts those option years, they have to keep a player on the active roster or remove him from the 40-man roster entirely (thereby allowing other clubs an opportunity to trade for or claim that player off waivers). However, for players who have accrued fewer than five full professional seasons — defined as years with at least ninety days on a major league or minor league active roster — teams may be granted a fourth option year.

Fourth options most often come into play for players who have missed a significant amount of time in their careers on account of injuries. McKay is no exception, as he has barely pitched at any level over the past two seasons. After missing all of 2020 and the first half of this season recovering from shoulder surgery, the southpaw suffered a flexor strain in August that ended his 2021 campaign after just seven minor league outings.

More from the American League:

  • The 2021 season was a disappointment for Angels star Anthony Rendon, who was held to 249 plate appearances by three separate injuries. His season came to a close in early August, when he underwent surgery to repair a right hip impingement. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem that injury is expected to carry over into next season, as Rendon told Grant Paulsen and Kevin Frandsen of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link) this afternoon that he intends to be ready for Spring Training. “That’s the gameplan,” Rendon said. “That was what kind of pushed us to get the surgery done sooner than later. We were dealing with it for the entire year, trying to figure out what was going on and figure out the best way to approach it. … Once we knew where we stood in the standings and whatnot, we needed to knock it out so I could have an entire offseason to be able to get ready for Spring Training. That’s the goal.” The ongoing issues with his hip could certainly offer an explanation for Rendon’s downturn in production. The typically-excellent hitter posted a slightly below-average .240/.329/.382 line, the worst showing of his career at the plate.
  • For the first time in a decade, the Mariners will enter an offseason with some uncertainty at the hot corner. With the club set to buy out longtime third baseman Kyle Seager, Seattle could look to address the position outside the organization. Corey Brock of the Athletic explores the various possibilities, ranging from internal options like Ty France and Abraham Toro to a big-ticket free agent pursuit. Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto has spoken a few times about the team’s ability and desire to make some meaningful upgrades to the roster on the free agent market. Dipoto voiced a specific preference for “adaptable” players who have shown an ability to move around the diamond. Kris Bryant and Chris Taylor — each of whom Brock suggests as a speculative possibility for the M’s to target this winter — both have demonstrated the capacity to bounce between multiple positions, including third base.

Rays’ Brendan McKay Likely To Miss Rest Of The Season With Flexor Strain

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6:51 pm: McKay has a flexor strain in his forearm, Topkin reports.

4:44 pm: Rays’ two-way player Brendan McKay recently suffered an elbow injury, manager Kevin Cash tells reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). He has received a platelet-rich plasma injection and will be shut down from throwing for two to three weeks. With only a little more than five weeks remaining in the regular season, it doesn’t seem McKay will have time to ramp back up and contribute during the stretch run.

This will be the second straight lost campaign for McKay, who last pitched in a big league game on September 29, 2019. He missed all of last season with a shoulder issue that eventually required surgery. McKay has spent the bulk of this season on the minor league injured list recovering from that procedure. The southpaw made one appearance in rookie ball in late June but was then shut down for another month before getting back on the mound. He made it back to Double-A Montgomery on August 6 and appeared in three games before incurring his current injury.

It’s particularly alarming that McKay is dealing with another arm problem, although the elbow injury would seem to be distinct from his prior shoulder issue. The PRP treatment and accompanying 2-3 week shutdown suggest there’s hope he’ll be back to health well before the start of Spring Training in 2022. It seems any chance of McKay contributing to the Rays’ playoff push at the end of this season, though, is now gone.

McKay was one of the sport’s premier prospects a few seasons ago. A two-way star at Louisville, he was drafted and has continued to develop as a two-way player. While he’s proven a solid minor league hitter, his numbers on the mound over his first couple pro seasons were downright exceptional. General consensus has been that his future is brighter as a left-handed pitcher, but McKay did continue to log reps on both sides of the ball in his playing time at Double-A this season. He reached the big leagues in 2019, pitching to a 5.14 ERA across his first 49 innings and logging eleven plate appearances. That run prevention isn’t especially impressive, but McKay posted better than average strikeout and walk rates (25.9% and 7.4%, respectively) as a 23-year-old. Because of the subsequent injuries, that remains his only big league experience to date.

The Rays have kept McKay in the minor leagues all season. He hasn’t accrued big league service time in either of the past two years, pushing back his projected path to free agency to the 2027-28 offseason. Placement on the minor league IL doesn’t remove players from the 40-man roster, so McKay continues to occupy a 40-man spot on an always-tight Tampa Bay club.

The Rays could place McKay on the major league 60-day injured list to clear a roster spot, although doing so would require paying him a major league salary and accruing MLB service time. McKay wouldn’t be in position to reach a full year of service in 2021 even if he were added to the MLB IL at this point, so it’s possible the Rays decide to so when the need for a 40-man roster spot next emerges.

Because Tampa Bay has sent McKay to the minors rather than placing him on the MLB injured list in each of the past two seasons, he’s in his third minor league option year. The majority of players cannot be optioned in more than three seasons in their career. Teams are sometimes granted a fourth option year for players who miss extended time due to injury, and it’s possible McKay could qualify for that exception. That won’t be known until next spring. If the Rays aren’t granted a fourth option on McKay, they’d have to carry him on the big league roster (or injured list) beginning in 2022 or risk losing him to another club.

AL East Notes: Mancini, Kirk, Anderson, McKay, Kluber

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In a bit of good news for Orioles’ fans, Trey Mancini will participate in this year’s Home Run Derby, per The Athletic’s Dan Connolly (via Twitter). Mancini should provide some feel-good coverage for the 2021 All-Star festivities. Having missed last season while being treated for stage 3 colon cancer, Mancini has returned to lead the Orioles with a .260/.337/.466 triple-slash line with 14 home runs and 52 runs batted in, good for a 121 wRC+. Let’s check in with the other clubs in the AL East…

  • Alejandro Kirk has joined the Blue Jays’ Triple-A club in Trenton with the possibility of returning from the injured list as early as July 1, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Kirk must first prove himself ready in Triple-A. After making the team out of spring training, Kirk has been out since May 2nd with a flexor strain. The Jays have also been without starter Danny Jansen for almost three weeks now. Riley Adams, who has three options remaining, will head back to Trenton whenever Kirk is ready.
  • Nick Anderson threw his second bullpen session for the Rays, and he appears on track for an August return. per Adam Berry of MLB.com (via Twitter). Anderson’s value as a bullpen ace is well-known after last year’s breakout campaign — 0.55 ERA in 16 1/3 regular-season innings. The Rays leaned hard on Anderson to get them to the World Series: he appeared in both games of the Wild Card sweep of the Blue Jays, two of the five games in their ALDS win over the Yankees, and three more apiece in the ALCS and World Series.
  • Brendan McKay is in line for a 30-pitch bullpen soon, Berry also notes, and if that goes well, he’ll start to build his strength up to a starter’s workload. McKay last appeared in competitive action in 2019, when he threw 49 innings at the big-league level with a 5.14 ERA/4.03 FIP.
  • The Yankees don’t expect to get Corey Kluber back until August at the earliest, but it could be as late as September, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (via Twitter). Kluber gave the Yankees exactly what they’d hoped in his ten starts: 3.04 ERA/3.77 FIP in 53 1/3 innings. Unfortunately, he also realized their fears when he suffered a shoulder strain that will ultimately knock him out for more than half the year.

 

AL East Notes: Benintendi, Kluber, Rays

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Despite all of the trade speculation swirling around Andrew Benintendi, the Red Sox haven’t “reached a point of no return in trade talks,” The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier writes, and “there’s a solid chance, though not a guarantee” that Benintendi won’t be moved.  One of the obstacles preventing a deal is the number of quality left field options remaining in free agency, so a team in need at the position might prefer to just sign a longer-term answer, rather than swing a trade with the Sox for a player who is only under team control for two more seasons.  Speier notes that the Red Sox themselves could be such a team looking for a longer-term outfielder, and could explore the free agent market themselves if Benintendi is indeed dealt.

More from around the AL East…

  • Since over half the league sent scouts to watch Corey Kluber’s showcase event, it isn’t surprising that there was some significant money on offer for the veteran righty, who ended up signing with the Yankees on a one-year, $11MM deal.  Several teams made eight-figure offers, according to SNY.tv’s Andy Martino, and the Yankees’ offer wasn’t the most expensive contract on the table.
  • Kluber drew plenty of interest from elsewhere in the AL East, as Martino writes that the Blue Jays were one of the clubs “bidding aggressively.”  Speier sheds a bit more light on Kluber’s situation, noting that he “seemed most interested in a clean one-year deal” rather than a one-year contract with a 2022 option attached — a structure that would have perhaps been more appealing to the Red Sox, another team with legitimate interest in Kluber’s services.
  • The Rays also “made a very strong run” at Kluber, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.  With Kluber now off the board, Chris Archer is still under consideration as the Rays continue to look for veteran rotation help.
  • Also from Topkin, he provides health updates on Yonny Chirinos (Tommy John surgery) and Brendan McKay (shoulder surgery).  Chirinos has started to play catch, despite only undergoing his TJ procedure back in August.  While the early progress is a good sign, it would still be a surprise if Chirinos was able to pitch at all in 2021 given the usual timeline for Tommy John recovery.  McKay’s timeline isn’t as clear, as it was estimated last August that his labrum issue would keep him sidelined through at least the start of the spring.  However, Topkin reports that McKay is expected to “soon” start playing catch, which could give both the star prospect and the Rays a better idea of when McKay will be ready for the 2021 season.

AL East Notes: Blue Jays, Catchers, Rays, McKay, Red Sox, Cora

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The Blue Jays are prepared to make impact moves this offseason, but they’re also preaching patience, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. If they do make a move early – beyond what they’ve done so far – GM Ross Atkins thinks it will be a significant one. Per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca, Atkins said, “If we were to move earlier, the impact would be significant. And that doesn’t take us out of significant impact later.” If you’re sensing a theme, you’re not imagining it: The Jays are dreaming big this winter. One of the biggest names available is catcher J.T. Realmuto. The former Phillie would fit the mold described above, but Atkins also says they are “extremely satisfied” with Toronto’s catching situation. And why shouldn’t they be? With Danny Jansen, Reese McGuire and Alejandro Kirk all contributing at the big-league level, they have affordable depth and upside in the form of Kirk, who hit .375/.400/.583 in a 24-at-bat cup-of-coffee in 2020. Still, that depth can be repurposed to make room for a star like Realmuto, especially in the American League where the DH provides opportunity for diversified playing time.

  • Southpaw Brendan McKay remains in Baseball America’s list of top-10 Rays prospects, but J.J. Cooper sounds concerned about McKay’s ability to recover from shoulder surgery on Kyle Glaser’s Baseball America podcast. Cooper notes that Hyun Jin Ryu took about three years to really return to form after a similar surgery. All that said, it’s telling that McKay remains at number six on the list. Until he begins his return and something new emerges, the only confirmed change for McKay is his timeline and his risk profile. The upside that made McKay a top prospect in the first place remains.
  • Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom was given full discretion to make the final hiring decision for the Red Sox managerial opening this offseason. Bringing back Alex Cora wasn’t money in the bank, as it might seem, writes Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. The assumption would be that Bloom had the final say-so, but given the unique nature of Cora’s return, and the fact that Bloom didn’t hire Cora the first time around, it would be fair to wonder how much ownership weighed in on the decision. The idea to interview Cora at all, however, was Bloom’s, per Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe. Bloom and general manager Brian O’Halloran met with Cora in an “empty hangar on the airport tarmac.” It was an exhausting but thorough interview by the accounts of those involved, and it didn’t seal the deal. That interview simply entered Cora into the field. Bloom and O’Halloran kept ownership and their assistant general managers involved in the process throughout, but ultimately the decision was left to Bloom, who went with Cora over the Phillies’ integrative baseball performance director Sam Fuld.  Definitely read Speier’s piece for the full account.

Rays Reinstate Brendan McKay From IL, Designate Anthony Banda

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The Rays have reinstated Brendan McKay from the injured list and sent him to the team’s alternate training site.  Left-hander Anthony Banda has been designated for assignment to create a 40-man roster spot.

McKay is out for the rest of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery, but the Rays had to officially bring him back off the COVID-19 injured list, and thus needed to create an opening on the 40-man.  McKay tested positive for the coronavirus during Summer Camp and wasn’t cleared to participate at the alternate training site until early August.

The procedural move leaves Banda in DFA limbo.  The southpaw had an ugly outing today, allowing five runs in an inning of work during the Rays’ 12-7 win over the Marlins.  Banda has a 10.29 ERA over seven innings for Tampa Bay this season, with more walks (five) than strikeouts (four).  Once a well-regarded prospect in his minor league days, Banda has yet to establish himself over 51 1/3 Major League innings since the start of the 2017 season, with a big chunk of that time spent rehabbing after Tommy John surgery.

Rays’ Brendan McKay Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

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AUG. 20: McKay underwent surgery to repair a labrum issue, tweets Topkin, who adds it’s “doubtful” he’ll be ready for the start of next spring.

AUG. 18: Rays southpaw Brendan McKay will undergo left shoulder surgery on Wednesday and miss the rest of the 2020 season, the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin reports (via Twitter).  A clear recovery timeline isn’t yet known, though the Rays hope McKay can be ready for the start of Spring Training.

McKay was shut down last week, after already being set back this season by a positive COVID-19 test that sidelined him for virtually all of the Rays’ Summer Camp.  It amounts to a lost year for the fourth overall pick of the 2017 draft, and potentially a very costly one development-wise given McKay’s rather unique status as a two-way player.

The Rays planned to only use McKay as a pitcher this season, though he was an accomplished hitter at the University Of Louisville and showed some promise (.239/.346/.493) during 78 plate appearances at the Triple-A level in 2019.  McKay also already has a big league home run on his resume, as part of an 11-PA cameo with the Rays last season.

It remains to be seen if this shoulder surgery will change the equation on whether or not “Two-Way McKay” will continue to explore both pitching and hitting.  A very impressive 1.78 ERA, 6.11 K/BB rate, and 11.8 K/9 over 172 minor league innings would seem to hint that McKay’s ultimate future could be on the mound, though there isn’t any harm in continuing to explore McKay’s potential at the plate.

On the mound last season, McKay tossed 49 innings and posted a 5.14 ERA, a number somewhat inflated by a 1.5 HR/9, as his other peripherals (3.50 K/BB rate, 10.3 K/9) were solid.  The Rays even included McKay on their postseason roster, and he delivered 1 1/3 scoreless innings over three appearances against the Astros in last year’s AL Division Series.

Rays Shut Down Brendan McKay

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The Rays have shut down young left-hander Brendan McKay on account of tightness in his pitching shoulder, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times relays. The two-way player had been working back from a positive COVID-19 test at the Rays’ alternate training site before the team had to shelve him again.

There’s no word on how long McKay will be down from this injury. Unfortunately, though, shoulder problems aren’t anything new for McKay, a former fourth overall pick who dealt with them as a rookie in 2019, as manager Kevin Cash pointed out.

“Brendan has noted that he has had some issues, even dating back to last year,” Cash said to Topkin. “After his San Diego start (on Aug. 13) he said he didn’t feel right. I’m not totally sure that he has completely gotten past that of having no issue out there.”

McKay did pitch past last Aug. 13, even appearing in three of the Rays’ five playoff games in their ALDS loss to the Astros. Before that, he concluded the regular season with 49 innings of 5.14 ERA/4.03 FIP ball and 10.29 K/9 against 2.94 BB/9.

If healthy, McKay could have been a factor in a Rays rotation that’s currently missing Charlie Morton and Yonny Chirinos, who are on the injured list. And the Rays’ staff may have taken yet another hit Tuesday when righty Andrew Kittredge exited their game against the Red Sox in the first inning because of “discomfort” in his pitching arm, per Juan Toribio of MLB.com. Tampa Bay replaced Kittredge with righty John Curtiss.

Rays Reinstate Kevan Smith From Injured List, Option Daniel Robertson

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TODAY: After just one day, Smith has been reinstated from the IL and Robertson has been optioned back to the Rays’ minor league training site.  Manager Kevin Cash told the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin and other media members that Smith’s second COVID-19 test came back negative, and thus the catcher was cleared to take the field.

AUGUST 1: The Tampa Bay Rays have recalled infielder Daniel Robertson just a couple days after sending him to their alternate training site. Catcher Kevan Smith was placed on the injured list, per the team.

Smith, 32, has been suffering from cold symptoms, prompting some coronavirus concern, though he’s tested negative, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Given his symptoms, he will need a second negative test before being cleared to return to the team. Smith has served as a defensive replacement early this season, catching 5 innings over the course of three appearances with just a lone plate appearance.

Mike Zunino and Michael Perez are the other catchers currently on the Rays active roster. Ronaldo Hernandez, Rene Pinto, and Brett Sullivan are the other backstops in Tampa’s 60 player pool. Assuming the veteran receiver gets his second negative test and returns to normal health, Smith shouldn’t be away from the team for long.

Robertson has not yet made an appearance this season, though he’s been a steady utility presence for the Rays the past three seasons. The 26-year-old right-hander splits his time evenly between second, third, and short with occasional emergency spells in the outfield. His usefulness to the Rays is in his utility. Inconsistent results at the plate have kept him from a regular role. An 11.6 BB% suggests a sound approach at the plate, though his career strikeouts rate (25.2%) is a little higher than would be ideal. The bigger issue with Robertston would appear to be a shortage of pop (career .122 ISO).

In other Tampa news, highly-touted two-way player Brendan McKay has returned to the club’s alternate training site after previously testing positive for COVID-19, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. He will need multiple weeks to get ready.

Rays Option Seven Players To Triple-A

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The Rays cut seven players from their 26-man roster today, as per a team announcement (Twitter link).  Outfielder Randy Arozarena, right-hander Trevor Richards, left-hander Anthony Banda, infielders Nate Lowe and Mike Brosseau, first baseman/outfielder Brian O’Grady and two-way player Brendan McKay are were all optioned to Triple-A.

Given how the Rays so often shuttle players from Triple-A and the big leagues, it’s safe to assume all seven of these names will wind up seeing action for the club this season, should the season get underway.  Tampa Bay is perhaps better equipped than most teams to handle the challenges posed by a potential shortened schedule and an effort to fit as many games as possible into an abbreviated period of time, as the Rays’ strong farm system gives them a lot of extra depth, and many of their players (especially pitchers) are already used to frequent trips up and down the ladder.

Since Lowe, Ji-Man Choi, and the newly-acquired Yoshitomo Tsutsugo are all left-handed hitters, it made sense that the younger Lowe would be the odd man out of the first base/DH mix.  The same is true for O’Grady, acquired in a trade with the Reds back in November.

Arozarena is also a newcomer to Tampa Bay, having been acquired as part of the multi-player trade with the Cardinals in January that brought Jose Martinez to the Rays.  Martinez is the right-handed complement to Choi and Tsutsugo (though the Rays have been experimenting with Tsutsugo as a part-time third baseman and outfielder), while Arozarena will provide outfield depth at Triple-A.  Arozarena’s chances of making the Opening Day roster were lessened when the Rays picked up Manuel Margot from the Padres, though Arozarena’s ability to play all three outfield positions will very likely make him the first call-up should an injury or need arise in the Rays’ outfield.

The delayed start to the season should give Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow time to get fully healthy, which meant McKay and Richards were suddenly expendable.  Since the Rays still plan to occasionally spell their starters by using openers, Richards will probably get action either in a traditional starting role or as a bulk pitcher behind an opener — he served in both capacities after being acquired by the Marlins at last year’s trade deadline.  In fact, it could be easy to see a scenario where Richards and “Two Way McKay” are combined together in a piggyback outing, with the intriguing McKay (one of the game’s top prospects) also serving as an X-factor at the plate.

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