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Chance Adams

Quick Hits: Bumgarner, Strasburg, Correa, Happ

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Kerry Crowley of The Mercury News boldly calls Madison Bumgarner’s contract situation the Giants’ “elephant in the room”. Crowley wonders whether Bumgarner must be traded in order to spark a rebuild for the club, who failed to make any significant moves at the trade deadline and now sit at 57-58 on the season after struggling to the league’s worst record last year (tied with the Tigers, of course). Whether the club ultimately decides to “rebuild or remodel”, Bumgarner’s the only player on the roster whose contract might warrant teams forking over a significant prospect return; something an aging Giants team could certainly use. Crowley describes Bumgarner’s future as “uncertain” in the amidst a mediocre team with a gargantuan payroll.

More on a few interesting items from around MLB this evening…

  • The Nationals received some welcome news on Stephen Strasburg today, as the right-hander reportedly “felt good” after tossing a 42-pitch bullpen session. According to Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post, he’s likely to throw another one tomorrow and could potentially embark upon a rehab assignment soon thereafter. He’s been on the DL since June 26th with a cervical nerve impingement, but on the bright side he was cleared of any structural damage in his shoulder shortly thereafter.
  • The Astros appear to be even closer to getting a valuable asset back on the field, as Carlos Correa was spotted at Minute Maid Park today, with Christian Boutwell of MLB.com among those eye witnesses. Though he was inactive for today’s game, the former Rookie of the Year shortstop believes he could be back on the field as soon as tomorrow. Correa’s having a down season by his standards, hitting .268/.352/.480 with a slightly-bloated 24.4% strikeout rate.
  • The Yankees, for their part, already got a notable player back from the DL. J.A. Happ was activated today, filling the roster spot left vacant after they optioned Chance Adams to Triple-A last night. Happ’s been on the DL with hand, foot and mouth disease for the past week plus, but will return to the rotation and attempt to provide the value the Bombers envisioned when they traded Brandon Drury and Billy McKinney in order to obtain him. Happ’s posted a 4.05 ERA through 21 starts

Yankees To Promote Chance Adams

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11:57am: Sherman tweets that Adams has been informed by the team that he will indeed be promoted to make his Major League debut Saturday.

9:53am: Barring a “last-second shift in plans,” the Yankees will promote pitching prospect Chance Adams to make his Major League debut Saturday, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter). The YES Network’s Jack Curry suggested on last night’s post-game show that Adams could be an option Saturday.

The 23-year-old Adams will have the unenviable task of making his debut against a loaded Red Sox lineup. He’ll also need to be added to the 40-man roster, though the Yankees have an open spot at present, so there’ll be no need to designate someone for assignment or make a 60-day DL move to accommodate the likely promotion.

[Related: New York Yankees depth chart]

Adams has long rated as one of the organization’s top prospects and entered the season widely ranked as one MLB’s top 100 overall minor leaguers. The start to the year for Adams, though, proved to be disastrous. Through his first 10 starts, the former fifth-round pick (2015) was mauled for a 5.93 ERA as he allowed 22 walks and eight homers through just 44 innings.

However, Adams has largely turned his season around in short order. Over the past 11 starts, he’s looked like a different pitcher, notching a 3.33 ERA with just three home runs allowed in 56 frames. He’s still walked too many batters in that time (26), but Adams has displayed a penchant for missing bats for most of the season. His recent improvements have left him with solid, if unspectacular overall numbers in 2018: a 4.50 ERA, 9.4 K/9, 4.4 BB/9, 1.01 HR/9 and a 43 percent ground-ball rate in 98 Triple-A innings.

The Yankees’ current rotation is in a state of flux following the addition of Lance Lynn and J.A. Happ (who has since been placed on the disabled list) prior to Tuesday’s non-waiver trade deadline. New York announced yesterday that struggling right-hander Sonny Gray is headed to the bullpen, with Lynn stepping into the starting five to take his place. The plan had been for righty Luis Cessa to start while Happ recovers from hand, foot and mouth disease, but Cessa was called upon for 3 2/3 innings of relief last night and was clobbered for five runs on seven hits and a walk in that appearance.

It doesn’t seem all that likely that Adams will be a long-term addition to the rotation this time around, though he obviously has a chance to factor into the team’s plans further down the line. A strong first showing this weekend against a tough opponent would go a long way toward earning him additional looks later this season.

Given the timing of his first call to the Majors, Adams’ earliest path to free agency would come upon completion of the 2024 season, and he wouldn’t be eligible for arbitration until after the 2021 season. Of course, further time spent in the minor leagues could alter both of those timelines.

More Reaction & Fallout To The Gerrit Cole Trade

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The Astros and Pirates swung a major trade yesterday, with the World Series champions acquiring Gerrit Cole in exchange for a package of four players (Joe Musgrove, Michael Feliz, Colin Moran, Jason Martin).  We’ve already published one batch of reactions to the deal, and now here are some additional details about the trade talks and further analysis about what this deal means for Houston, Pittsburgh, and other clubs…

  • The Astros were able to land Cole without giving up any of their top prospects, as ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports that Houston wasn’t willing to offer Forrest Whitley, Kyle Tucker, Derek Fisher, or Yordan Alvarez.  Musgrove and Moran were seen as the top two pieces of the trade by the Pirates, and they pulled the trigger on the deal since Pittsburgh felt no other team was offering two top prospects of better quality in exchange for Cole.  Musgrove, Feliz, and Moran give the Bucs 15 years of controllable talent, which was also a factor in their decision.
  • Also from Crasnick, the Yankees were willing to include one of Clint Frazier or Chance Adams in a potential Cole trade, but not both.  New York was also intent on holding onto its top minor leaguers, as Gleyber Torres, Miguel Andujar, Justus Sheffield, and Estevan Florial were considered off-limits in trade talks.
  • The Yankees’ unwillingness to move its best prospects could be due to a belief that Yu Darvish could be signed for a “reasonable” price, John Harper of the New York Daily News writes.  This could be a contract in the range of five years and $80MM-90MM, which would represent a stunning discount from the six-year, $160MM deal MLBTR predicted for Darvish at the start of the offseason.  Even with the unprecedentedly slow nature of this winter’s free agent market, it’s hard to believe Darvish would settle for such a relatively small deal, especially with at least five other teams known to be vying for his services.  Harper also notes that even a five-year/$80MM pact would put the Yankees over the luxury tax limit, unless they were to move another big contract to create payroll space.
  • The Pirates’ return was “more one of quantity than of impact,” ESPN.com’s Keith Law writes, though Cole may only be “a soft upgrade” for the Astros rotation if he replicates his 2017 numbers.  Law feels that Cole’s 2016-17 performance curtailed some of his trade value, and while Houston is obviously hoping that Cole returns to his 2015 form, the trade also could’ve been a way of keeping him away from a chief AL rival like the Yankees.

Latest on Gerrit Cole

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TODAY: Chance Adams and Miguel Andujar could be part of a hypothetical Yankees/Pirates trade for Cole, Kristie Ackert and Bill Madden of the New York Daily News report.  If those two prospects and Frazier are all included, that could mean the Pirates will also include Josh Harrison in the deal.  While the Yankees have also talked to the Diamondbacks about Patrick Corbin and the Tigers about Michael Fulmer, it seems as if Cole is New York’s preferred target of the three pitchers; Corbin is under control for just the 2018 season while Detroit is putting an enormous asking price on Fulmer’s services.

SATURDAY: A trade of Gerrit Cole doesn’t appear to be imminent at this point, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports (via Twitter). Though it seemed at one point that talks between the Yankees and Pirates were picking up momentum, Crasnick says that multiple clubs have engaged with the Pirates since the winter meetings; the prospect of a Cole trade isn’t “Yankees or bust”.

The Yankees don’t appear to have tunnel vision on a Cole deal, either. Though the Bronx Bombers are trying to net Pittsburgh’s prized right-hander with proposals centered around Clint Frazier, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Bombers offered similar packages to the Rays and Tigers for Chris Archer and Michael Fulmer, respectively. From my perspective, it seems as though the Yankees may not be interested in Cole specifically, but rather could have a broader objective to move the 23-year-old Frazier in exchange for pitching help. Following the club’s acquisition of Giancarlo Stanton, it appears as though Frazier is destined to be a high-ceiling depth piece for the Yankees, whose outfield picture features Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks and Stanton, with Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury also on the roster.

In a brilliant piece for the New York Post, Joel Sherman points out that the Yankees can afford to be patient, as they did with Stanton this winter and Sonny Gray this summer. They’re not desperate for pitching right now, as their rotation is set to feature Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, Gray, CC Sabathia and Jordan Montgomery. While each of those pitchers carries a question mark or two (or in Sherman’s words, “red flag possibilities”), the ballclub wouldn’t be chastised if it were to have these five in the rotation come Opening Day. Furthermore, top prospects Chance Adams and Justus Sheffield could reach the majors before long, with Adams being the more likely of the two to contribute in 2018.

From the Pirates’ side, they don’t necessarily need another outfielder. However, it stands to reason that a trade of Cole could set off a domino effect that prompts Pittsburgh to sell off other pieces. As Brink states in a separate article (one that deals with the “what if” scenario of a Cole trade), trading the right-hander could act as “the first tug on the rope that raises the white flag on 2018.” In that case, they’d be highly likely to shop Andrew McCutchen, the 2013 NL MVP, and his hypothetical trade would mean that Frazier could suddenly become a useful piece.

It’s unclear how serious the Pirates’ talks are with other potential suitors at this time, or even whether those clubs have made formal offers. Crasnick notes in his above tweet that a deal probably won’t come together before Christmas, but adds that trade talks could pick up again between then and New Year’s. It stands to reason that Pittsburgh could be patient for months, or even wait until the 2018 trade deadline to trade Cole (if they opt to move him at all). It will of course be far more evident how the Pirates’ playoff chances compare with those of the other NL Central clubs. However, there are plenty of reasons to move him now as well, including the high probability that clubs would be willing to pay more to have Cole for a full season, and the risk that the Yankees might acquire a different starter.

NL East Notes: Marlins, Parè, Neshek, Phillies, Gio

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As you might expect, the Marlins aimed high in their trade talks with the Yankees about Giancarlo Stanton.  According to FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman (Twitter link), Miami initially asked New York about such top prospects as Chance Adams, Justus Sheffield, and Estevan Florial.  Those demands weren’t met, however, and the Marlins had to settle for two lesser prospects (Jorge Guzman and Jose Devers) plus second baseman Starlin Castro in exchange for the big slugger.  It wasn’t as if the Marlins had much leverage, of course, as the Yankees were one of the few teams Stanton was willing to waive his no-trade clause to join and Miami’s top priority was getting as much of Stanton’s enormous contract as possible off their books.

Some more rumblings from around the NL East…

  • The Braves announced the hiring of Jason Parè as their assistant general manager, research and development.  (The previously-reported hiring of Josh Tamin as the club’s director of Major League operations was also announced.)  Parè spent the last two years as the Marlins’ senior director of analytics, and he previously worked with Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos in Toronto’s front office, where Parè worked as an analyst in 2014-15.
  • The Phillies have had internal talks about signing Pat Neshek, NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury reports.  Neshek was acquired by the Phils last winter in a trade with the Astros and then pitched superbly before being flipped to the Rockies for three prospects at trade deadline.  Neshek enjoyed arguably the best of his 11 MLB seasons in 2017, posting a 1.59 ERA over 62 1/3 combined innings with Philadelphia and Colorado, recording 69 strikeouts against just six walks.
  • The Phillies are reportedly open to the possibility of starting the season with a surplus of infielders, though Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer argues that the team is best served by trading at least one of their veteran players (i.e. Cesar Hernandez or Freddy Galvis) this winter and giving J.P. Crawford and Scott Kingery a clear path to regular playing time.  Juggling those four players and Maikel Franco during the year leads to fewer at-bats for everyone and, Gelb notes, less opportunity for Hernandez or Galvis to improve their value for a midseason trade.
  • Could the Nationals use Gio Gonzalez as a trade chip?  MASNsports.com’s Pete Kerzel discusses the possibility, as the Nats could obtain some controllable talent by dealing the veteran as he enters the final year of his contract.  Gonzalez is coming off one of the best of his six seasons in Washington (2.96 ERA, 2.38 K/BB rate, 8.42 K/9 over 201 innings), though advanced metrics were less impressed by his performance, so Kerzel believes the Nats could look for a trade while Gonzalez’s value is high.

Yankees, Athletics Reportedly Discussing Sonny Gray, Yonder Alonso

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10:41pm: Slusser writes that the Yankees, Cubs, Dodgers, Brewers, Indians, Pirates and Royals all had scouts on hand to watch Gray’s start tonight. She adds that the Yankees “are making a strong push” for Gray but also calls the Astros “one of the frontrunners” for Gray despite their lack of a scouting presence at tonight’s game.

Jon Heyman of Fan Rag, meanwhile, hears that the Brewers have “backed off” of talks after finding the asking price to be too steep. Likewise, the Braves are said to be “behind” the Yankees in their pursuit.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post has further detail on some of the contenders for Gray’s services. The Brewers are amenable to considering prospects Corey Ray and Luis Ortiz in a package, though it hardly seems sure that both could be dangled for Gray. As for the Yankees, beyond the previously mentioned Florial and Mateo, it seems that youngsters such as Domingo Acevedo, Freicer Perez, and Albert Abreu could conceivably be in play.

5:55pm: Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that the Yankees are “one of at least seven teams” that has scouts in attendance for Gray’s start tonight.

5:42pm: Morosi tweets that Gray has begun his warmups and adds that “all signs point toward” Gray making his scheduled start tonight. Feinsand tweets that the same sources who indicated progress was being made also suggested that a deal is not likely to be completed tonight.

5:30pm: The Yankees have been oft-connected to both Sonny Gray and Yonder Alonso, and MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand now cites multiple sources in reporting that the Yankees are “making progress” toward a deal that could send both players to the Bronx. It’s worth noting that Gray is slated to start tonight’s game in Toronto and has yet to be scratched from that outing, so there’s no immediate indication that anything is imminent.

New York’s need both in the rotation and at first base is readily apparent. The Yankees have already lost Michael Pineda to Tommy John surgery and will see CC Sabathia’s contract expire at season’s end. It’s also possible, depending on how he finishes out that year, that Masahiro Tanaka could opt out and land elsewhere. That’d leave the Yankees with Luis Severino, Jordan Montgomery and trio of vacant spots in the rotation, but adding Gray would fill one such void. The 27-year-old right-hander, who looks to be healthy after a triceps injury in 2016 and a lat strain earlier this year, is earning $3.575MM in 2017 and can be controlled via arbitration through the 2019 campaign.

As for the team’s first base void, that’s been a noted flaw all season. Greg Bird hasn’t been able to get healthy and recently underwent ankle surgery, while Tyler Austin has been out for about a month with a hamstring strain. Chris Carter, signed to a one-year deal this winter, flopped and has since been released. The Yankees picked up 26-year-old rookie Garrett Cooper in a minor swap with the Brewers, but a platoon of Cooper and Chase Headley may not hold the same appeal as plugging Alonso into that spot. Then again, Headley has picked up his production at the plate considerably as of late. Alonso, a rental, is in the midst of a breakout campaign. He’s cooled at the plate recently but is still hitting a robust .264/.363/.535 with 21 homers despite a pitcher-friendly home park.

Feinsand notes that colleague Jon Morosi reported the Athletics’ interest in center field prospect Estevan Florial earlier today and adds infield/outfield prospect Jorge Mateo could also be a part of talks. However, he also notes that one source deemed Gleyber Torres, Clint Frazier, Chance Adams and Justus Sheffield as “close to untouchable” in GM Brian Cashman’s eyes.

Michael Pineda To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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MONDAY: The Yankees announced that Dr. Kremchek confirmed the diagnosis and will perform Tommy John surgery on Pineda tomorrow.

SATURDAY: Pineda will see Dr. Timothy Kremchek in Cincinnati for a second opinion on Monday, and he could undergo Tommy John surgery Tuesday, tweets FanRag’s Jon Heyman.

FRIDAY: Yankees GM Brian Cashman announced devastating injury news to reporters today, revealing that Michael Pineda has been diagnosed with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow (Twitter link via the YES Network’s Jack Curry). He’s seeking a second opinion, but Tommy John surgery has already been recommended.

Suffice it to say, the timing of Pineda’s injury could hardly be worse for the Yankees or for the player himself. Already rumored to be on the lookout for rotation help, the Yankees will now be without a right-hander that was one of their most productive starters for the season’s first two months. Pineda, however, has logged a 6.14 ERA over his past seven starts. It’s not clear exactly when the discomfort in his elbow began, but Curry tweets that he didn’t mention it to the team until a couple of days after his most recent start. The 28-year-old was just two and a half months from reaching free agency at a relatively young age for a pitcher.

Even with that poor stretch, Pineda’s season ERA sits at a respectable 4.39, and he’s averaged 8.6 K/9 against just 2.0 BB/9 through 96 1/3 innings thus far in 2017. However, he’ll obviously miss the remainder of the season if he undergoes Tommy John surgery (as well as most of next year) and would still likely miss most of the remaining season if he undergoes an alternative treatment such as a stem cell procedure or platelet-rich plasma injection.

The best starter that was available on the trade market has already gone to the Cubs, as Jose Quintana was dealt in a surprising cross-city swap just yesterday. Sonny Gray is known to be available, and other options such as Gerrit Cole and Julio Teheran have been mentioned, though asking prices there figure to be extremely high. Rental options include names like Jaime Garcia, Trevor Cahill, Derek Holland and Jeremy Hellickson, though it’s possible that the Yankees simply stick with internal options as well. Cashman told reporters that top prospect Chance Adams “could be” an option in the rotation (via Curry), though for the time being they’ll call on Bryan Mitchell in Pineda’s spot and turn to Luis Cessa for their upcoming doubleheader.

Knocking Down The Door: Adams, Blackburn, Fisher, Meadows, Therrien

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This week’s installation of “Knocking Down The Door” includes two highly-touted center field prospects, a reliever who had been doing his best Kenley Jansen impression in Double-A before a recent promotion to Triple-A, and a pair of starting pitchers who can’t be too far off from making their MLB debuts after dominating in their last outings.

Chance Adams, SP, New York Yankees (Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre)

If the Yankees, one of three teams in baseball to have only used five starting pitchers this season, need to dip into their farm system for rotation help, they appear to be in good shape with Chance Adams waiting in the wings.

The 22-year-old right-hander has risen up the ladder swiftly without much of a struggle in 220 2/3 minor league innings. After posting a 1.03 ERA in six Double-A starts to begin the season, he hasn’t slowed him down one bit since a promotion to Triple-A. He recently lowered his ERA to 1.57 after tossing one-hit ball over six shutout innings with two walks and a season-high 12 strikeouts in his fourth start with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

There doesn’t appear to be an immediate opening in the Yankees’ rotation, although Masahiro Tanaka’s recent performance—21 earned runs and 30 hits over his last 17 2/3 innings—might be an indication that he’s not completely healthy and could use a stint on the disabled list.

Yankees Depth Chart

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Paul Blackburn, SP, Oakland Athletics (Triple-A Nashville)

Acquired from the Mariners this past offseason for Danny Valencia, Blackburn has not wasted time in impressing his new organization. After not allowing a run in three of his last four starts, including seven shutout innings on Sunday, the 23-year-old has his ERA down to 3.26 with a 2.4 BB/9 and 6.7 K/9.

With Jharel Cotton’s demotion to Triple-A last month lasting only two starts due to injuries to Kendall Graveman and Jesse Hahn, Blackburn’s emergence could afford the A’s the opportunity to get him back down to there to work on things for an extended period this time around.

Athletics Depth Chart

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Derek Fisher, OF, Houston Astros (Triple-A Fresno)

It’s clear that Fisher’s overall game needs some work—50 strikeouts in 53 games; caught stealing 10 times in 19 attempts—and the powerful Astros lineup doesn’t appear to need any help right now. But it’s hard to ignore the rest of his numbers (.338/.397/.606; 14 HR, 16 2B, 19 BB) and not wonder how much more firepower he could add to the bottom of the Astros’ lineup in place of left fielder Nori Aoki, who isn’t doing much out of the No. 9 spot (.624 OPS).

Prior to a hitless game on Sunday, the 23-year-old Fisher had been on a nine-game hitting streak in which he had a .486 batting average (18-for-37), four doubles and four homers. It would likely benefit him to continue working on his game down in Triple-A, but he could also learn on the job in a low-pressure environment while giving the Astros much more production than they’re currently getting out of left field.

Astros Depth Chart

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Austin Meadows, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates (Triple-A Indianapolis) 

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When the Pirates were in need of an outfielder in mid-April after the 80-game suspension of Starling Marte was announced, Meadows was in a deep slump and not deserving of his first MLB call-up. With Marte’s return still more than a month away, however, it’s not too late for the Pirates to get a look at their top prospect, who has turned things around and has the potential to give a struggling team a much-needed shot in the arm.

Since posting a .503 OPS with five walks and 20 strikeouts in April, the 22-year-old has hit .302 with two homers, 12 doubles, 11 walks, 20 strikeouts and six stolen bases over his last 31 games. Adam Frazier, who is currently getting most of the starts in left field, has been one of the few bright spots for the Pirates. His ability to play multiple positions, however, makes him valuable as a super-utility man, which will be his role if Meadows gets the call.

Pirates Depth Chart

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Jesen Therrien, RP, Philadelphia Phillies (Triple-A Lehigh Valley)

Therrien is only one scoreless appearance into his first Triple-A stint, but if his numbers at Double-A are any indication—1.26 ERA, 28 2/3 innings, 14 hits, three walks, 39 strikeouts—the 24-year-old right-hander shouldn’t be far away from helping a beleaguered Phillies bullpen.

With Joaquin Benoit on the disabled list, Jeanmar Gomez demoted to the bottom of the depth chart and Edubray Ramos not having the impact the team was hoping for, the rebuilding Phillies could not only use some reinforcements, they could also start looking towards the future and finding out which young arms will be able to help them in 2018 and beyond.

Phillies Depth Chart

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“Knocking Down the Door” is a weekly feature that identifies minor leaguers who are making a case for a big league promotion.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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