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Jarlin Garcia

NL East Notes: Scherzer, Chen, Garcia, Phillies

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The discomfort from the neck spasms that forced Nationals ace Max Scherzer from his last start have largely subsided, the right-hander told reporters today (Twtiter link via MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman). Scherzer tells reporters that he played catch today and will throw a bullpen session tomorrow. He’s expected to make his next start for the Nats on Monday of this week.

A few more notes from around the NL East…

  • Tim Healey of the South Florida Sun Sentinel writes that Marlins lefty Wei-Yin Chen is not yet giving up hope on being able to return to the mound in 2017. Chen has missed most of the season, owing to a reported partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow, but he’s thrown six bullpen sessions over the past few weeks. “We’re still talking a little ways,” manager Don Mattingly said of Chen’s possible return. “But I think we’re also getting to the point where we can say he’s progressing to the point where at least it’s on the radar.”
  • Also from Healey, while rookie southpaw Jarlin Garcia has emerged as a valuable setup piece, the Marlins organization isn’t entirely closed off to the idea of him returning to a starting role in the future. “I think it’s something that you at least think about,” said Mattingly. “But I don’t know if anyone has necessarily talked to Jarlin or the organization has really gotten that far.” The 24-year-old Garcia has appeared in 46 games for the Fish this season and has turned in a 3.53 ERA with 7.1 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9. He’s limited opposing lefties to an awful .167/.229/.328 batting line while holding righties to a .212/.278/.415 clip.
  • Phillies outfield prospect Carlos Tocci has forced his way into consideration for a 40-man roster spot this offseason, writes Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The 21-year-old could “play center field in the big leagues tomorrow” from a defensive standpoint, per Phillies international scouting director Sal Agostinelli. But, as Breen explains, his improved play at the dish in Double-A would make him extremely likely to be selected in this year’s Rule 5 Draft after being left unprotected last winter. Tocci is hitting .313/.370/.410 in Double-A this season and has improved as the season wears on. Phillies fans — and those who follow the Rule 5 Draft in general — will want to take a full look at Breen’s piece, as he runs through a number of locks and borderline candidates to land on Philadelphia’s 40-man this winter. (Breen also shares an interesting anecdote about the Rangers actually outbidding the Phillies for Tocci at the last minute while Agostinelli was with Tocci’s family in Venezuela, though Tocci nonethless signed with the Phillies.)
  • In a separate column, Breen speaks to Agostinelli about his excitement over the additional international bonus money that GM Matt Klentak acquired in trades that sent Howie Kendrick to the Nationals and Jeremy Hellickson to the Orioles. “During a period of the year, sometimes you have to give more money than you wanted to a particular guy. A lot of teams don’t have any money left,” Agostinelli explains. He goes on to recall the story of how the Phillies came to sign right-hander Carlos Carrasco, who was throwing 86-87 mph when most scouts saw him leading up to the international signing period but saw that velocity build up to the low 90s later that summer. “We had the extra money and we signed him for 300 grand. It’s kind of the same ideology,” says Agostinelli.

NL East Notes: Nats, Syndergaard, Marlins

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Following the loss of Adam Eaton for what could be the remainder of the season, Yahoo’s Jeff Passan touched on the possibility of a Royals/Nationals trade in his latest Ten Degrees column. The Nationals, according to Passan, expressed interest in Lorenzo Cain this offseason before they acquired Eaton in the first place. While the two sides obviously didn’t line up on a deal at the time, Passan notes that the combination of Cain and closer Kelvin Herrera, whom FOX’s Ken Rosenthal tied to the Nationals over the weekend, could present the Nats with the ability to fill two needs with one trade. While multiple reports have suggested that the Royals aren’t yet ready to sell, Passan notes that Kansas City’s 7-15 record and -37 run differential are both the worst marks in baseball, which means that even a strong performance in May might not be enough to turn their season around entirely.

A bit more from the NL East…

  • Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News spoke to a pair of sports orthopedists about the partial tear of Noah Syndergaard’s right lat muscle, discussing the ways in which it can be treated and the potential absence Syndergaard could face. While all of those factors are dependent on the severity of the tear, neither medical expert suggested that surgery was likely. Ackert offers quotes from both Dr. Anthony Maddalo and Dr. Kenneth Mautner (the latter of whom is a team physician with the Braves), with each going into detail on the nature of lat injuries. While a platelet-rich plasma injection isn’t a standard treatment for a torn lat muscle, both said it could theoretically help accelerate the healing process. Rest, rehab and stretching were also suggested as possibilities, with a program along those lines taking potentially up to six weeks, Ackert notes. There’s still no official word on a timeline from the Mets, though Sandy Alderson will address reporters at 4pm ET.
  • Syndergaard’s injury is obviously a severe problem for the Mets, but Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports opines that the injury is symbolic of a greater problem for baseball as a whole. The increased emphasis on velocity continues to put pitchers at risk, Rosenthal suggests, as young arms focus more on overpowering hitters than prioritizing durability. Rosenthal spoke extensively with Hall of Famer and current broadcaster John Smoltz on the matter. “(In the past), each pitcher was given the opportunity to learn what kind of pitcher they were going to be,” said Smoltz. “Now they’re all robots. … We’re getting dangerously close to every pitcher red-lining when he doesn’t really have to. They’re not preparing to learn how to pitch like it’s a six-gear car. They’re always in sixth gear. Never in fourth or fifth.”
  • Marlins skipper Don Mattingly spoke to Tim Healey of the South Florida Sun Sentinel about the importance of right-hander Jose Urena and lefty Jarlin Garcia to his bullpen. Mattingly suggested that even after Urena was roughed up in his most recent appearance on Friday, the righty has been vital in terms of keeping other relievers fresh (a point that righty David Phelps also emphasized to Healey). Asked if Urena could be a starting pitcher in the long run, as he was in the minors, Mattingly wouldn’t commit to a role for a long-term role for the 25-year-old. As for Garcia, Mattingly offered plenty of praise on the 24-year-old rookie, who made his MLB debut last month. “I think he thinks he’s ready to be here,” said Mattingly, “and that’s always really important for the younger guys. They believe that they can pitch here. Sometimes that takes a little while, gut Jarlin seems to think he belongs here.” Mattingly noted that having multiple southpaws would be preferable, though as Healey notes, the front office emphasized overall effectiveness over handedness this winter.

Roster Notes: Tigers, Marlins, Mets, Braves, Padres, Indians

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Here are a few roster moves from around the game:

  • The Tigers announced that, after Friday’s game, they optioned righty William Cuevas to Triple-A Toledo and promoted righty Warwick Saupold to take his place. Cuevas made his 2017 big-league debut Friday and didn’t make a good impression, giving up four runs over just a third of an inning. Saupold was off to a good start for Toledo, allowing just two runs and three walks while striking out nine over 10 2/3 innings.
  • After a 16-inning ballgame depleted the Marlins bullpen, the club has called up southpaw Jarlin Garcia, as Tim Healey of the Sun Sentinel reported. Righty Nick Wittgren was sent back down to Triple-A on optional assignment in a corresponding move.
  • Miami’s opponent in that marathon game, the Mets, also dipped into their farm for an arm. New York announced that Sean Gilmartin will take a spot in the pen. Utilityman T.J. Rivera will be optioned for the time being, though he seems likely to return once the pitching staff gets back on its feet.
  • Braves outfielder Matt Kemp, meanwhile, is slated to return on Wednesday from a hamstring issue, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets, meaning he’d only miss the ten-day minimum. Meanwhile, Atlanta has called up righty Luke Jackson for his first stint with the club. Fellow right-hander Jason Hursh was optioned to create an opening.
  • The Padres have also done some roster tweaking, activating catcher Hector Sanchez from the 7-day concussion DL and also calling back righty Kevin Quackenbush. The club also announced that Jabari Blash and Jake Esch were optioned to make way on the active roster. While Blash has been outrighted off the 40-man in the past, and was only recently re-added when he was recalled, he’ll hold onto his spot for the time being while reporting to Triple-A.
  • The Indians have swapped a pair of righties, with the club announcing that Nick Goody will come up and Shawn Armstrong will head down. The move gave the team a fresh arm after Armstrong threw 49 pitches Thursday. Goody pitched two scoreless innings in his 2017 big-league debut last night.

Added To The 40-Man Roster: Friday

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Tonight at 8:00pm ET is the deadline for teams to add players to their 40-man roster and thereby protect them from this year’s Rule 5 Draft. In other words: there will be a significant amount of 40-man roster moves made over the course of the next 13 or so hours. Six clubs already made moves to protect prospects from the Rule 5 yesterday, and each of the remaining 24 clubs should make moves today as well.

In brief: players drafted/signed at 18 years of age or younger must be added to the 40-man roster within five years of signing or be exposed to the Rule 5 Draft. Players drafted/signed at 19 or older must be added within four years. Those interested in all of the specifics can refer to articles from MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo and J.J. Cooper of Baseball America. Perhaps of greater interest is that Mayo lists all of the prospects from MLB.com’s Top 100 list and from their organizational Top 30 lists that much be protected in advance of tonight’s deadline, while Cooper provides brief write-ups on each player that has been protected (and will continue to do so as additions are made).

Here are today’s additions to the 40-man roster. You can check out Baseball America’s coverage to learn more about the individual players listed below …

Earlier Updates

Rule 5 Rumors: Mets, Verrett, D’Backs, Pena

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The Rule 5 draft goes down tomorrow and we’ll keep track of the latest rumblings here..

  • The Blue Jays are unlikely to pick anyone in the Rule 5 draft and are worried about losing two or three of their guys, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet (on Twitter).
  • Some names being talked about in advance of the Rule 5 draft are Jarlin Garcia of the Marlins, Carlos Melo of the Indians, and J.R. Graham of the Braves, according to Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com (via Twitter).
  • The industry expectation is that the Mets will lose right-hander Logan Verrett in tomorrow’s Rule 5 draft, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter).  Clubs see Verrett working as a back end starter or a seventh-inning reliever.
  • There’s talk that the Diamondbacks might select Astros catcher Roberto Pena with the top pick, according to Jim Callis of MLB.com (via Twitter).
  • Meanwhile, Callis (Twitter link) says it’s very possible that someone will take a chance on Delino DeShields Jr. and pluck him from the Astros.  Yesterday, Houston GM Jeff Luhnow told reporters, including Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle, that he did not anticipate a team taking the former No. 8 overall pick.

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