Now 25 years old, Nix made it to the big leagues with the Padres in 2018 and started nine games, during which time he was tagged for a grisly 7.02 ERA. He missed most of the 2019 season with that UCL injury and was removed from the 40-man roster that October — not long after being arrested on trespassing charges (to which he eventually pled guilty). Between the injury and the arrest, Nix unsurprisingly went unclaimed on waivers.

Nix didn’t pitch with the Padres in 2020 and was not part of their 60-man player pool. He hasn’t been on the mound in a game setting since making one appearance in the 2019 Arizona Fall League. With Tommy John surgery now once again back on the table as a possibility for the righty, Nix could be out of game action until the 2022 season, depending on the course of treatment for his latest injury. With clubs likely to cycle through a broad range of pitchers and a few injuries on the San Diego staff already, Nix at least had a chance to return to the big leagues if healthy.

It’s been a difficult several months for Nix, a promising prospect whom injuries and legal issues weighed down this season. While Nix did debut in the majors in 2018, throwing 42 1/3 innings of 7.02 ERA/5.83 FIP ball, he couldn’t improve on that uninspiring production this year because of elbow problems. The 23-year-old ended up combining for 24 1/3 frames among three minor league levels.

When Nix was healthy enough to take the mound in 2019, he was extremely effective, evidenced by his microscopic 1.85 ERA with 10.7 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9. However, an October arrest on criminal trespassing charges represented the latest setback in the former third-round pick’s career. As of now, though, Nix will stay in the San Diego organization and continue trying to work his way back to the majors.

With the day’s moves, the Friars will bid adieu to Edwards after a brief stay in the organization. He was added as a buy-low candidate in a mid-season swap, but struggled in brief action and ended up going down with injury.

Mejias-Brean was fairly productive at all levels but evidently didn’t convince. The 28-year-old infielder earned his first taste of the majors after slashing .316/.371/.455 in 448 Triple-A plate appearances. He managed two doubles and two dingers in his 33 trips to the plate with the big club.

The future remains unclear for Nix and Yardley. The former had a tough MLB debut showing in 2018 and was then diagnosed with a small UCL tear. He was throwing rather well on a rehab assignment but was arrested in a bizarre incident after the end of the season.

Yardley, 29, was effective all year long at both Triple-A and in a brief MLB debut. All told, he allowed only 17 earned runs in 75 1/3 frames. Yardley didn’t get many strikeouts, but drew huge volumes of grounders and was the rare pitcher who proved largely immune to the long ball in 2019.

Now for some more conventional items from around the league…

• With the Red Sox set to embark on a payroll-cutting campaign this offseason, center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. could wind up on the outs, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic observes (subscription link). “You always think about it,” Bradley told McCaffrey in regards to a potential trade, adding, “It’s one of those things you just have to wait and see what happens.” Trade rumors centering on Bradley aren’t anything new, but no other club has convinced Boston to move him yet. However, the soon-to-be 30-year-old’s team control is dwindling – he’ll be a free agent after next season – while his salary is rising. Bradley’s projected to earn $11MM in 2020, and that could be too rich for the Red Sox’s blood in the wake of a modest season for JBJ. He totaled just 1.4 fWAR, his lowest since 2014, while hitting .225/.317/.421 with 21 home runs, eight stolen bases across 567 plate appearances. Although Bradley’s offensive output in 2019 wasn’t much different than the production he posted over the prior two seasons, his defensive numbers fell off, as he notched both a negative DRS (minus-1) and UZR (minus-0.7) for the first time since 2013.
• While Jorge Alfaro will go into next season as the front-runner to start at catcher for the Marlins, they’ll at least “explore” adding depth at the position this winter, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com writes. Alfaro, whom the Marlins acquired from the Phillies as part of last offseason’s J.T. Realmuto blockbuster, batted .262/.312/.425 with 18 homers over 465 plate appearances during his first season in Miami. Those are acceptable offensive numbers from a catcher, though it’s troubling that Alfaro struck out in at least 33 percent of PA for the second year in a row. Defensively, the cannon-armed 26-year-old did throw out 33 percent of would-be base-stealers, but he struggled in the framing and blocking aspects.

More from around the division…

• A blister issue forced Robbie Ray to leave during the fifth inning of the Diamondbacks’ win over the Reds on Friday, though he told media (including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic) that the removal was somewhat precautionary, as the blister hadn’t actually formed.  As a result, Ray feels he’ll be able to make his next scheduled start.  Ray didn’t want to leave the game but “at that point I’ve got to look at the bigger picture.  It’s tough, but you understand it’s the right thing to do.”  With the red-hot D’Backs on a run of 11 wins in their last 12 games, Ray (now the rotation’s veteran stalwart in the wake of the Zack Greinke trade) certainly wants to remain able to contribute to the team’s push for a wild card berth.
• Franchy Cordero has suffered another setback while rehabbing a quad injury, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes.  Padres manager Andy Green told Sanders and other media members that Cordero’s bothersome left leg “just doesn’t feel as explosive as the other leg,” and that Cordero has “been slowed down to hopefully ramp him up again in a couple days, but I think we know where the clock is on this season. It’s ticking. I don’t know if he or isn’t going to get back.”  Elbow and quad problems have limited Cordero to only nine games in 2019, and since Green said that the club’s priority is to get Cordero healthy for the offseason, the outfielder likely won’t be brought back for a few token appearances if there’s any hint he might not be 100 percent.
• In more promising Padres health news, Green is hopeful that both Garrett Richards and Jacob Nix will be able to get onto a Major League mound before the 2019 campaign is out.  Richards is working his way back from Tommy John surgery, while Nix has been working through a small UCL tear in an attempt to avoid his own TJ procedure.
• Alex Dickerson has missed the Giants’ last four games due to a right oblique injury, and the outfielder will miss more time after receiving a cortisone shot, manager Bruce Bochy told reporters (including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area).  There isn’t yet indication that Dickerson could miss the season’s final few weeks, though this is the second time in Dickerson’s brief San Francisco tenure that he has been slowed by a right oblique injury — he spent two weeks on the IL in August due to a strain.  When Dickerson has been able to play, he has something of a revelation, hitting .308/.374/.579 with six homers over 147 plate appearances in a Giants uniform.  This has put him into the mix for regular outfield duty in 2020, though as Bochy noted, the club would like to get some more evaluation time on Dickerson before the season is out.

More hurler notes to keep handy this Tuesday…

• Jacob Nix of the Padres is grinding his way back from an elbow issue that has sidelined him for the entirety of the 2019 season, as noted in a column from Jeff Sanders of the Union-Tribune. After opting for rest and rehab in recovery from a UCL tear, Nix has climbed back up to Triple-A El Paso, where, on Monday, he struck out six hitters in five shutout innings. The 23-year-old Nix, a third-round draft pick of GM AJ Preller’s in 2015, debuted last year with 7.02 ERA, 4.46 K/9, and 2.76 BB/9 numbers across 42.1 innings. As you might expect regarding someone with such a shaky big league resumé, manager Andy Green indicates to Sanders that Nix’s return will be, in the writer’s words, “predicated on his results”.
• You would be forgiven for not recognizing the name of one Josh Lindblom, but that exact name is drawing a great deal of attention in Korea–and, increasingly, in MLB circles. As The Athletic’s Sung Min Kim points out (link), MLB scouts have been attending the KBO starts of Lindblom in droves as the former big league reliever makes a historic foreign run. A veteran of 114 MLB games, the 32-year-old Lindblom is trouncing KBO hitters in his quest for the all-time record for wins by a foreign pitcher (22) in one season. In 24 starts for the Doosan Bears, Lindblom is 19-1 with a 2.03 ERA–truly intriguing numbers for a pitcher operating in such a hitter-friendly environment. Lindblom hasn’t appeared stateside since pitching for a stint with the Pirates in 2017.

It’s always good to hear that there’s a possible non-surgical path back from an injury to that area. TJ procedures are remarkably effective at giving pitchers a new lease on life, but they generally come with a year-plus recovery timeline and hardly guarantee a full return to pre-surgery ability levels.

The 23-year-old Nix has already had a circuitous path to the majors, so he’ll no doubt be relieved that there’s a possibility he’ll avoid another lengthy detour. Back in 2014, he was slated to sign an over-slot deal to join the Astros organization, but that fell apart as part of the Brady Aiken saga.

Nix landed with the Friars in the third round of the following year’s draft and moved steadily up the ladder thereafter. He turned in ten sparkling upper-minors outings in 2018, working to a 1.84 ERA with 44 strikeouts and nine walks over 58 2/3 innings, before getting his first call to the bigs.

While he was knocked around in his first taste of the majors, Nix entered camp this year with a shot at earning another look. The elbow woes eliminated that possibility, but he could still get back into the mix later this season if he’s able to progress through the rehab program.

7:40pm: Padres right-hander Jacob Nix has a “small” tear in his right ulnar collateral ligament, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. He’ll be evaluated by Dr. Neal ElAttrache before determining whether to undergo surgery. Depending on the extent of the tear, Nix could opt for a non-surgical route — platelet-rich plasma and stem cell injections are sometimes prescribed for UCL tears — though the mention of any degree of UCL tear immediately brings Tommy John surgery to mind.

At the very least, Nix’s injury takes him out of consideration for a rotation spot at any point in the early portion of the 2019 season. He’s one of numerous young Padres arms viewed as potential long-term options in the rotation, a rough 2018 MLB debut notwithstanding. Last season, Nix reached the Majors at the age of 22 but was tattooed for a 7.02 ERA in 42 1/3 innings — a marked departure from the 2.05 ERA, 7.0 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 he logged in 52 2/3 innings of Double-A ball.

Even with Nix sidelined indefinitely, the Padres have a promising group of young arms on which to build. Joey Lucchesi established himself as a viable MLB starter last season, while prospect Chris Paddack has turned heads with a brilliant spring to date (to say nothing of his top 100 prospect billing and excellent minor league numbers in 2018). Lefties Matt Strahm, Eric Lauer and Logan Allen could start games for San Diego early in the season, as could Robbie Erlin — the de facto “elder statesman” of the group (though he’s just 28 years of age himself). Beyond that grouping is another wave of pitching talent featuring names like Cal Quantrill, Michel Baez, Adrian Morejon and MacKenzie Gore, giving the Friars a wealth of pitching depth that few organizations can match.

Latest Updates

• Rockies righty Antonio Senzatela has an infected blister on his right heel and will be out “a while,” per manager Bud Black (via the Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders). Senzatela, 24, was competing for the final spot in Colorado’s rotation with Chad Bettis, who now appears to have the role on lock. The Venezuelan-born righty had made just eight starts above the high-A level before opening the 2017 season with the team, and again played a major role in the club’s wild card-run last season. His fastball-heavy repertoire is devoid, at this point, of a true swing-and-miss pitch, so perhaps the 6’1 righty could indeed use further minor league seasoning. Still, despite some sophomore regression, Senzatela’s been reasonably effective thus far in his young MLB career, and the Rockies are almost certain to require his services at some point this season.
• Padres righty Jacob Nix has been shut down with right arm soreness, per MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. Nix, 23, shares with Senzatela the same allergy to missing bats, but was a legitimate candidate for the fifth spot in a wide-open San Diego rotation. Once the victim of a too-clever Astros draft scheme, in which the team agreed to terms with the young righty but was forced to renege after a bonus-pool shortage resulting from the Brady Aiken fiasco, Nix has long flashed top-of-the-rotation tools but struggled with consistency. Last season’s debut was a disaster: the 6’5 righty was torched to the tune of a 7.02 ERA/5.83 FIP with 8 HRs allowed in just 42 1/3 IP. He, too, is due for a longer minors simmer, having made just one start above the AA level in his young career thus far.

Earlier Reports

• Bryce Harper is day-to-day with ankle swelling, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan (via Twitter). Harper was hit by a pinch in yesterday’s Phillies game, though even by this morning the swelling had reduced. All tests came back negative, per Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter), while a number of reporters quote manager Gabe Kapler as projecting confidence in Bryce’s ability to be ready by Opening Day. All in all, this appears to be much ado about nothing, but as is the case with any injury, it’s worth tracking for aftereffect. Due to the late date of his signing, Harper has seen limited action in spring thus far, going 0-5 with three strikeouts, three walks, and a stolen base, though the focus here is obviously not yet on production. The Phillies season opens less than two weeks from today with their home opener against the Braves on Thursday, March 28th.
• Tigers presumptive right fielder Nick Castellanos remains out of the lineup for the time being, per MLB.com’s Jason Beck (via Twitter). Castellanos is likely to return to Grapefruit League play within a couple of days. He was seen taking batting practice in the cage today and at least provided cursory affirmation that tests on his bruised left hand revealed no significant damage, per Chris McCosky of the Detroit News (via Twitter). Castellanos has been bandied about often here at MLBTR this winter as a trade candidate, which appears likely to continue as there have been no extension talks between the right-handed slugger and the club.
• The Braves may be without their ace until “mid/late April,” per the Athletic’s David O’Brien (via Twitter). Mike Foltynewicz has missed most of Spring Training with a sore elbow after a breakout season. Folty was stellar in 2018 as he went 13-10 with a 2.85 ERA (3.37 FIP) over 183 frames. There was much speculation about the Braves bolstering their rotation this winter, either via free agency or by bundling their prospects in a trade, but they mostly hung tight despite losing Anibal Sanchez – who enjoyed a different variety of 2018 breakout – to the rival Nationals. The Braves have plenty of depth to cover, but much of their standing pat must have been predicated on a healthy Folynewicz leading the charge again in 2019. Atlanta will lean on Julio Teheran, Kevin Gausman, and Sean Newcomb to hold down the fort until Folty’s return.

Acquired earlier in the season in a swap that netted the Friars an extra draft choice, Hughes struggled quite a bit during his brief time in San Diego. In 16 appearances, the former starter allowed 14 earned runs on thirty base hits — including seven long balls.

Hughes did manage 24 strikeouts against just five walks in his 20 2/3 innings with the Pads, but he has missed bats less than he has missed barrels when opposing hitters have made contact. On the season as a whole, the 32-year-old is allowing a whopping 54.1% hard-hit rate. Indeed, Statcast even suggests Hughes has been fortunate, charging him with a .454 xwOBA-against that dwarfs the (already-hefty) .404 wOBA figure that batters have actually produced.

Needless to say, a run of recent injuries has taken quite a toll on a pitcher who had reemerged with the Twins after ending his tenure with the Yankees. Under the terms of the agreement that brought Hughes to the Padres, the organization is responsible for $7.25MM of the remaining salary owed to the righty under his extension with the Twins. The Minnesota org is still on the hook for a chunk of the $13.2MM he’s playing for this year and the balance of the same amount for 2019. While the Twins’ obligations are fixed, the Padres can still save some cash (albeit only a pro-rated portion of the league minimum salary) if Hughes ends up pitching for another club.

Nix was also a high-school star in California, but he’s ten years Hughes’s junior. He famously saw a deal with the Astros torn up when they failed to sign 1-1 pick Brady Aiken back in 2014, though he reached a settlement with Houston and ended up back in the draft in the ensuing winter. Nix went to the Padres in the third round.

Now in his third full season as a professional, Nix has taken a step forward in the results department. Though he has been limited to ten starts in the upper minors this year due to injury, his most recent outing was his first at the Triple-A level. Through 58 2/3 innings in 2018, Nix has allowed just 39 base hits and owns a sparkling 1.84 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9.

Nix, 22, is perhaps best known for suffering the collateral damage of the fallout between Brady Aiken and the Astros following the 2014 amateur draft. After the club failed to come to an agreement with Aiken, the number one overall selection, they didn’t have the leftover draft pool money necessary to sign Nix (their fifth-round selection) on the terms they’d originally had in place with him. Ultimately, the two were unable to reach a new agreement, and the right-hander re-entered the draft the following season. He ultimately ended up signing with the Padres after they selected him in the third round of the 2015 draft.

Since then, Nix has risen quickly through the minor-league ranks. Through his first three professional seasons, he met limited resistance despite unspectacular strikeout rates and an average ground-ball-to-fly-ball ratio, posting FIP figures south of four at each level of the minor leagues. Though a groin strain delayed his start to the 2018 season, the righty went on to post a 2.05 ERA across nine starts with the Friars’ Double-A affiliate. He twirled a scoreless outing at Triple-A as well, and the club evidently feels he’s ready to help their depleted rotation at the major-league level.

MLB Pipeline ranked Nix as the Padres’ 14th-best prospect in their most recent rankings. The publication praises his ability to generate easy velocity by way of a “fluid delivery and smooth arm action” that allows him to touch 97 MPH on the radar gun. They also describe his curveball as a second plus pitch, but adds the disclaimer that his inability to miss bats could hold him back at the major-league level. His ceiling looks to be that of a number three starter, according to MLB Pipeline, though they do believe he’ll stick in the majors; his floor is described as that of a back-of-the-rotation starter.

Of course, Nix thought he had an even larger bonus locked up last year with the Astros, before he was caught up in the Brady Aiken saga. He ultimately landed at IMG Academy for a year and brought a grievance action against Houston (reportedly settling for a six-figure payout).

Now advised by MVP Sports, Nix drew plenty of top-forty pre-draft ratings. Keith Law of ESPN.com was highest on Nix, rating him the 32nd-best player available and saying he has mid-rotation starter upside. Baseball America and MLB.com concurred that Nix had back of first-round talent, while Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs dropped Nix to 81st on his list.

• Several notable names have come off the board early on day two of the draft. Duke righty Michael Matuella went to the Rangers with the third pick of the third round (78th overall). Not long after, the Padres took fellow right-hander Jacob Nix, whom the Astros were unable to sign last year after their deal with top pick Brady Aiken fell through. And the Nationals grabbed Mariano Rivera Jr. with the 134th choice.
• Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs offers his thoughts on yesterday’s draft proceedings, explaining that it is premature to judge the Marlins harshly at this juncture for choosing young slugger Josh Naylor in the first round (much higher than most pundits had him rated). After all, as McDaniel rightly notes, the supposed “value” of a pick will never be as important in the long run as the simple fact of whether that player develops and produces, and at some point teams simply have to take guys they believe in when they can get them. Check out the piece for Kiley’s views on the clubs that chose well on the draft’s first day.
• Amateur players come to clubs through the draft and the international signing market, of course, making comparison difficult. Ben Badler of Baseball America discusses the latest news and analysis on the Cuban market, providing a helpful guide on several notable names by assigning them a rough (and entirely hypothetical) draft value. Notably, Badler does not share the optimism that some have expressed regarding righty Yadier Alvarez and, in particular, outfielder Eddy Julio Martinez.

Here are some links to check out as we look back at yesterday and look forward to the rest of the draft:

• Baseball America lists the best players still available, which includes names like high school righties Donny Everett and Dakota Chalmers as well as former Astros pick Jacob Nix.
• The most intriguing player still on the board, perhaps, is Duke starter Michael Matuella, who was at one point regarded as a possible 1-1 selection but underwent Tommy John surgery late in the season and has dealt with other injury issues. It has to be considered at least possible at this point that he’ll return to college for his senior year; indeed, he acknowledged as much recently, as Laura Keeley of the Charlotte Observer reported. “That’s definitely an option I’m evaluating,” said Matuella. “I’m hoping a good opportunity presents itself. I really haven’t come up with a certain [draft round] cutoff. I’ll evaluate it case by case and see if there’s a good opportunity for me.” Of course, it would not be surprising to see a team with a large bonus pool take a shot on him today.
• Diamondbacks scouting director Deric Ladnier says that the club has been locked in on first overall pick Dansby Swanson for some time, as Teddy Cahill of Baseball America writes in breaking down the first day of the draft. “This is the player we wanted,” said Ladnier. “We wanted him for a while.”
• Astros GM Jeff Luhnow tells MLB Network Radio (audio link) that Houston saw second overall pick Alex Bregman (LSU) as a “no-brainer” of a selection, noting that the club believes Bregman is plenty capable of sticking at short. The team’s top baseball man noted that he’s not worried about the possibility of a future infield logjam. “The good thing about having guys at the premium positions is … their fall-back is to play another position,” said Luhnow.
• It goes without saying, really, that it’s too early to evaluate the results of day one, but Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com compares the Astros’ haul to their 2012 draft in terms of the volume of premium talent. Houston made plenty of noise yesterday — as might have been expected given its league-high bonus pool — in adding highly-regarded high school outfielders Kyle Tucker and Daz Cameron to go with Bregman. Heyman also notes that the Dodgers seemingly achieved good value in nabbing righties Walker Buehler and Kyle Funkhouser with the 24th and 35th selections.
• Jim Callis of MLB.com pegs the Blue Jays’ selection of Missouri State righty Jon Harris (29th overall) and the Rockies’ choice of high school hurler Mike Nikorak (at 27) as two of the best three picks, joining Cameron. The biggest suprise, per Callis, was the Marlins’ decision to grab young first baseman Josh Naylor in the 12th slot.
• As a reminder, MLBTR’s draft primer contains links to many essential draft materials.

Here are some more stray notes from around the game:

• 31-year-old righty Kevin Slowey has joined the MLBPA as a special assistant, per a press release. He’ll assist in the union’s preparations for the coming collective bargaining negotiations. Slowey, who spent the spring in Phillies camp, has appeared in the big leagues with the Twins and Marlins. All said, he compiled 662 innings of 4.62 ERA pitching, striking out 6.7 and walking 1.5 batters per nine along the way.
• Bob Nightengale of USA Today spoke with Jacob Nix, the righty who saw his deal with the Astros fall through last year as part of the Brady Aiken fallout. Nix explains that he has tried to stay positive, but did not sugarcoat the difficulties he faced. “Last year pretty much sucked,” said Nix. “I was literally in the wrong place and the wrong time. It was a bad situation. The whole year was pretty difficult for myself and for my family.” Houston ultimately offered Nix a $620K bonus after pulling back the $1.5MM deal that had been struck, says Nightengale, but he declined. Nix was set to attend UCLA — even driving out to the campus — but ultimately ended up at the IMG Academy as eligibility issues loomed due to the NCAA’s rules (which are, in my view, remarkably unfair). While winning a grievance against the Astros that “paid him a fraction of his original signing bonus,” Nix says he also pushed his development on the mound and is now a much more complete pitcher entering this year’s draft. The whole piece is well worth a read and comes highly recommended.
• Exhibition baseball is likely heading to Cuba next year, as commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters yesterday, including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link). The expectation is that clubs chosen by the league will head to the neighboring island during Spring Training.