Matt Duffy

Angels Reinstate David Fletcher

By Anthony Franco | July 28, 2022 at 6:36pm CDT

The Angels have activated infielder David Fletcher from the 60-day injured list. He’s in tonight’s lineup at second base. Michael Stefanic was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake in a corresponding move. To create space on the 40-man roster, the Halos transferred veteran infielder Matt Duffy from the 10-day to the 60-day IL.

It has been a rough season for Fletcher, who’s spent the bulk of the year on the shelf. He missed the first three weeks of the year recovering from a strain in his left hip. Fletcher returned to action for about two weeks, then went back on the IL with recurring hip issues. He underwent adductor surgery in mid-May and has spent nearly three months recovering.

In Fletcher’s absence, the Angels have struggled to a 42-56 record that has them ahead of only the A’s, Royals and Tigers in the American League standings. Lack of production at second base has been among the factors for that, as the Halos have gotten a meager .236/.294/.319 showing out of the position. Six players — Fletcher, Stefanic, Duffy, Luis Rengifo, Tyler Wade and Jack Mayfield — have tallied at least 20+ plate appearances as part of the second base rotation.

Duffy has been out since June 27 with what the team originally termed lower back spasms. There hasn’t been much word on his status over the past month, but he’s evidently not close to a return. The 60-day window backdates to his original IL placement, so Duffy won’t be back on the diamond at Angel Stadium until at least the final week of August.

Angels Reinstate Matt Duffy From IL; Designate Aaron Whitefield

By Mark Polishuk | May 14, 2022 at 7:33pm CDT

The Angels made four roster moves, including the reinstatement of infielder Matt Duffy from the COVID-related injury list. Right-hander Andrew Wantz was also called up from Triple-A Salt Lake, while infielder Jack Mayfield was optioned to Triple-A, and outfielder Aaron Whitefield was designated for assignment.

After manager Joe Maddon hinted earlier today that Duffy could be activated for the second game of today’s doubleheader with the Athletics, Duffy will indeed be available for the nightcap. Both Mayfield and Whitefield were in the starting lineup for the first game as the right fielder and center fielder, respectively, in a 4-3 Anaheim loss.

Duffy spent two weeks on the IL, and the lack of an injury designation implied that his absence was related to COVID-19. Over his first 41 plate appearances, Duffy was off to a decent start, hitting .278/.366/.306 while getting starts at both second base and first base. This figures to be Duffy’s role going forward, as the veteran will continue to work with Tyler Wade, Andrew Velazquez, and Luis Rengifo in the Angels’ middle infield picture while David Fletcher is sidelined following adductor muscle surgery.

Mayfield had also been seeing some utility duty, while Whitefield played five games in the outfield after Los Angeles selected his contract from Triple-A earlier this week. Whitefield’s previous MLB experience consisted of three games with the Twins in 2020, and in eight pro seasons, the 25-year-old has hit .246/.311/.352 over 1920 PA in the minors with Minnesota and Anaheim. Outfield defense and speed (164 steals in 211 opportunities) were Whitfield’s calling cards in the minors, and another team in need of such a skillset could give the Australian a look on the DFA wire.

Angels Place Matt Duffy On Injured List, Recall Jack Mayfield

By Darragh McDonald | May 1, 2022 at 12:31pm CDT

The Angels announced that they have placed infielder Matt Duffy on the injured list. No injury designation was given, indicating Duffy is going on the Covid-related IL. Fellow infielder Jack Mayfield has been recalled to take his place on the active roster.

After slumping in 2019, Duffy had to settle for minor league deals in 2020, ultimately missing out on playing any official games when the pandemic wiped out the minor league seasons that year. He had a nice bounceback with the Cubs in 2021, getting into 97 games and hitting .287/.357/.381, 102 wRC+. He’s carried that over into 2021 so far, playing 14 games and hitting .278/.366/.306, wRC+ of 108.

With Duffy on the shelf, Mayfield will take over his role as the 31-year-old utility infielder off the bench. He’s already gotten into 10 games this year and played well, hitting .281/.343/.469, for a wRC+ of 142. With Duffy on the Covid-IL, the club will have an open spot on their 40-man roster. However, should they use that slot, they will need to make room for him once he’s eligible to return.

Angels Sign Matt Duffy, Place Griffin Canning On 60-Day IL

By Darragh McDonald | March 16, 2022 at 5:49pm CDT

The Angels have announced that they’ve signed infielder Matt Duffy to a one-year deal. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register relays that he’ll make a salary of $1.5MM and that Griffin Canning is going on the 60-day IL to open up a roster spot.

The 31-year-old Duffy has had a real up-and-down career thus far. After making his MLB debut and getting a cup of coffee with the Giants in 2014, he broke out in 2015 to the tune of a .295/.334/.428 slash line over 149 games, producing a 113 wRC+. That offensive output, combined with this excellent defense, produced 4.4 fWAR. 2016 was a step in the wrong direction, however, as his bat slipped below league average and the Giants sent him to the Rays as part of the Matt Moore trade.

2017, his pendulum swung back in the other direction, as he hit .294/.361/.366, for a wRC+ of 107 and 2.5 fWAR. In 2019, injuries sapped him of his playing time and production, as he only played 46 games and wasn’t very good when he was on the field. In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he signed a couple of minor league deals but couldn’t crack the big leagues. In 2021, he parlayed a minor league deal with the Cubs into yet another bounceback effort, playing 97 games and hitting .287/.357/.381, for a wRC+ of 102 and 1.5 fWAR.

Defensively, Duffy spent most of his time at third base last year but also saw significant action at second, as well as cameos at shortstop, left field and first base. For the Angels, the hot corner is spoken for as long as Anthony Rendon is healthy. He was limited to just 58 games last year due to injuries but seems to be fully recovered for this season. For the middle infield reps, manager Joe Maddon recently said that Andrew Velazquez was the favorite to get the majority of playing time at shortstop, with Tyler Wade, Luis Rengifo and David Fletcher also in the mix. One of that group will also have to cover second base, with Duffy now competing against them all as well.

As for Canning, his 2021 season was cut short in August due to back issues that seem to still be lingering. Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reported earlier today that Canning had a setback and wouldn’t be ready for Opening Day.

Free Agent Faceoff: Second Base Battle Royale

By Darragh McDonald | December 30, 2021 at 2:03pm CDT

For those teams looking to improve at second base, many free agent options have already gone. Marcus Semien went to the Rangers, Javier Baez to the Tigers, Eduardo Escobar to the Mets, Cesar Hernandez to the Nationals and Rougned Odor to the Orioles. Chris Taylor and Leury Garcia returned to their clubs from 2021, the Dodgers and White Sox, respectively. It seems some people in the industry believe Trevor Story should be moved to second base, but it’s unclear if Story himself agrees with that assessment. It’s also possible that another shortstop could be moved to second, such as Jose Iglesias, though he has only 21 games of second base experience in his career thus far and hasn’t matched Story’s offensive production. For teams looking to upgrade at the keystone, who’s still available to be signed after the lockout?

Josh Harrison, 34, had an awful campaign in 2019 but has been solid over the past two seasons. Over 2020 and 2021, he got into 171 games and hit .279/.343/.402. That amounts to a wRC+ of 104 and 1.8 fWAR. Of those 171 games, he played second base in 114 of them, as well as lesser time at third and shortstop, with brief stints at all three outfield spots and even one inning at first base. Statcast doesn’t like his defensive work at those tertiary positions, but he was worth 8 OAA as a second baseman in 2021.

Jed Lowrie, 38 in April, only played nine games over 2019 and 2020 due to injuries. 2021 was a solid bounceback, however, as he played 139 games, hitting .245/.318/.398, for a wRC+ of 100, exactly league average. However, almost half of those games saw Lowrie slotted in at DH or appear as a pinch hitter, as he only played second base in 71 of them, along with three innings at third.

Donovan Solano, 34, is coming off the best three years of his career. From 2019 to 2021, he played 236 games, hitting .308/.354/.435 for a wRC+ of 114. In most of those games, 172, he appeared at second base, while also seeing some limited action at third and short. Statcast pegged his defense at second base as close to average over those three seasons.

Jonathan Villar, 31 in May, has alternated hot and cold in recent years. In 2019, he hit 24 homers, stole 40 bases and slashed .274/.339/.453 for a wRC+ 107 and 3.9 fWAR. In the shortened 2020 campaign, he hit just two dingers, stole 16 bases and hit .232/.301/.292 for a wRC+ of 65 and -0.3 fWAR. He turned things around again in 2021, with 18 homers, 14 stolen bases and a line of .249/.322/.416, 105 wRC+ and 2.1 fWAR. He only played nine games at second, as the Mets largely used him at third and short. Statcast wasn’t enamored with his defense in 2021, pegging him at -3 OAA overall.

Matt Duffy, 31 in January, had a rough 2019 and couldn’t crack the big leagues in 2020. Signed by the Cubs to a minor league deal prior to the 2021 season, he was able to crack the Opening Day roster and stick with the club all season long, except for a two-month stint on the IL. He got into 97 games and hit .287/.357/.381, for a wRC+ of 102 and 1.5 fWAR. He played 56 games at third, 21 at second, five at shortstop, three in left field, two at first base and even logged one third of an inning on the mound. Statcast graded him as being -4 OAA at second base in that small sample.

Matt Carpenter, 36, had a tremendous run from 2012 to 2018, putting up a wRC+ of at least 117 for seven straight seasons. However, it’s been a straight slide downwards since then. He finished 2018 at 140 but dropped to 96, 85 and 70 over the subsequent three campaigns. His strikeout rate also gradually ticked upwards, from 23.3% in 2018 to 26.2%, 28.4% and 30.9% in the three following years. He played 34 games at second base this year and was considered around average by Statcast. There’s no questioning it’s been a rough few years, but if he could get anywhere near his previous peak, he could be an intriguing bounceback candidate.

Each of these players have warts, but none of them should command a huge financial commitment. Villar was the only one to crack MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents, being predicted to get a contract of $14MM over two years. But which one would you prefer? Have your say in the poll below.

(poll link for app users)

Cubs Designate Eric Sogard For Assignment

By Steve Adams | July 23, 2021 at 11:43am CDT

The Cubs announced Friday that they’ve designated veteran infielder Eric Sogard for assignment in order to open a roster spot for fellow infield veteran Matt Duffy, who has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list.

Sogard, 35, signed a minor league deal over the winter but has made his way into 78 games with the Cubs and tallied 180 plate appearances. He’s seen time at second base, where he has a lengthy track record as a plus defender, and third base for the Cubs this season but managed only a .249/.283/.314 batting line at the plate.

Sogard had a strong showing as recently as 2019, when he hit .290/.353/.457 in 442 plate appearances, but he’s struggled both in 2020 and in 2021. The Cubs will have a week to trade him, place him on outright waivers or release him. He has enough service time to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency if/when he clears waivers.

Duffy, another minor league signee, has been out since late May with a lower back strain. When healthy, the 30-year-old had proven to be a nice buy-low pickup for the Cubs, batting .278/.377/.356 and playing top-notch defense at the hot corner. It’s a nice start to what would be a rebound from injury-plagued stretch for the former Giants/Rays infielder. He’ll be a free agent at season’s end, and while the Cubs may elect to keep him around and stabilize the roster after an expected flurry of trades in the coming days, it’s also possible that a club in need of some bench depth might look at a healthy Duffy as an intriguing addition in his own right.

Cubs Place Ryan Tepera On Injured List, Select Adam Morgan

By Anthony Franco | June 29, 2021 at 5:53pm CDT

The Cubs announced they’ve placed right-hander Ryan Tepera on the 10-day injured list with a left calf strain and optioned right-hander Trevor Megill to Triple-A Iowa. Righty Tommy Nance was recalled from Iowa, while southpaw Adam Morgan was selected to the big league roster. To create 40-man roster space for Morgan, infielder Matt Duffy was transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Tepera has been quite productive this season. Through 37 2/3 innings, the righty has worked to a 3.35 ERA/3.28 SIERA. He’s punched out a strong 28.3% of opposing hitters- his second consecutive season missing plenty of bats- against a solid 8.3% walk percentage. Tepera has been a key piece of a Cubs bullpen that has surprisingly been one of the game’s best. Chicago relievers have a 2.95 ERA that trails only the Padres’ 2.85 mark, and they’re also near the top of the league in strikeout rate (29%), strikeout/walk rate differential (17 percentage points) and SIERA (3.67).

Morgan will try to emulate that work in his first taste of big league action this year. The 31-year-old pitched in the majors each season between 2015-20 with the Phillies, and he’ll now get an opportunity for a seventh straight campaign. While Morgan was generally underwhelming early in his career as a starting pitcher, he proved fairly effective upon a move to the bullpen. He has a 4.07 ERA/4.22 FIP with decent strikeout and walk numbers (25.5% and 9.1%, respectively) in 150 1/3 career innings as a reliever.

Unfortunately, Morgan was forced to undergo flexor tendon surgery last October. The Phillies outrighted him and he signed a minor league deal with the Cubs in January. He’s been fantastic over 16 1/3 innings with Iowa, working to a 2.20 ERA with a 32.3% strikeout rate and a 4.6% walk percentage.

Duffy went on the IL with a low back strain on May 23. Today’s transfer rules him out for sixty days from the date of his original IL placement, so he won’t return until at least July 22. The 30-year-old infielder has hit a solid .278/.377/.356 through 106 plate appearances this season.

Cubs Designate Jason Adam For Assignment, Place Matt Duffy On Injured List

By Steve Adams | May 25, 2021 at 2:58pm CDT

The Cubs have placed infielder Matt Duffy on the 10-day injured list due to a lower back strain and selected the contract of infielder Patrick Wisdom in his place, the team announced to reporters (Twitter link via Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times). In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Wisdom, Chicago has designated right-handed reliever Jason Adam for assignment.

The veteran Duffy, 30, has proven to be one of the best minor league signings any team made this winter. He’s stepped in frequently at third base for the Cubs — Kris Bryant has spent more time in the outfield as a result — and delivered a very solid .278/.378/.356 slash through his first 106 plate appearances.

While he clearly hasn’t hit for much power, Duffy has been a tough strikeout (17 percent), drawn 11 walks (10.4 percent) and gone 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts while playing strong defense. Suffice it to say, he’s been an important piece so far for a Cubs team that, at 24-22, sits one and a half games back in the NL Central.

Adam’s DFA is the culmination of a highly unfortunate sequence. The right-hander was a bright spot in the Chicago bullpen last season and got out to a nice start in 2021. However, he was placed on the Covid-19 list after Chicago’s bullpen coach tested positive, and Adam was shelled for five runs without recording an out in his return. Adam was optioned out to Triple-A Iowa, where he suffered a dislocated ankle while shagging fly-balls prior to a recent minor league game. The injury required surgery that could put an end to his season.

Injured players can’t be placed on outright waivers, so there’s a good chance that Adam’s DFA will ultimately result in the Cubs requesting unconditional release waivers on him. It’s common, but not a given, for players in this situation to quickly re-sign a minor league deal with the organization (as we saw with the Tigers and righty Franklin Perez a couple weeks back).

It’ll be interesting to see whether another club tries to find a way to bring Adam into the fold despite the fact that he may not pitch again in 2021. From 2019-20, he pitched a combined 35 1/3 innings of 3.06 ERA ball between the Blue Jays and Cubs, striking out 26.2 percent of opponents. His 2021 season in Chicago was particularly intriguing, as he punched out a whopping 36.1 percent of his opponents. Adam is something of a Statcast darling, thanks largely to a 99th-percentile spin rate on a four-seamer that has averaged just shy of 95 mph over the past three seasons.

Wisdom, 29, is an experienced Triple-A slugger whose start with the Cubs in 2021 has been a mixed bag. He’s just 4-for-25 in a tiny sample of 34 plate appearances but has slugged three home runs, hit a double, drawn six walks and been plunked by a pair of pitches. The resulting .160/.353/.560 slash is rather unusual, but he’s a career .250/.329/.479 hitter in parts of five Triple-A seasons. He’s homered four times in 88 MLB plate appearances but has an overall .219/.299/.397 batting line with a massive 38.6 percent strikeout rate.

The Best Minor League Deals Of 2021 (So Far): Position Players

By Steve Adams and Anthony Franco | May 20, 2021 at 8:34pm CDT

Minor league contracts don’t generally draw much of a reaction over the course of a baseball offseason, with some rare exceptions. Everyone loves to see an out-of-the-blue comeback story on a non-guaranteed arrangement, but most minor league deals of any note are injured veterans, struggling former prospects or fringe big leaguers who have never really solidified their status as a contributor at the game’s top level. Every year, however, a handful of these no-risk investments produce solid returns.

We’re about a quarter through the 2021 season, so let’s check in on a handful of non-guaranteed pacts that have already proven to be wise investments for their clubs.

Tyler Naquin, OF, Reds: Naquin’s signing was met with a collective yawn, but one Ohio club’s leftovers have turned into another’s treasure. The former Indians first-rounder has mashed his way into a regular role in Cincinnati, raking at a .265/.346/.530 clip through 133 plate appearances. Naquin parlayed a strong spring and a March injury to Shogo Akiyama into an Opening Day roster spot, but he’s now fourth on the team in plate appearances and third in wRC+ at 135 (min. 20 PAs). He’s hitting so much better than struggling center fielder Nick Senzel that Cincinnati hasn’t hesitated to move Senzel to the infield in the wake of Joey Votto’s injury, creating more playing time for Naquin. This doesn’t appear to be a mere small-sample fluke, either. Naquin ranks in the 95th percentile of MLB hitters in average exit velocity and has similarly strong percentile rankings in hard-hit rate (84th), xwOBA (89th), xSLG (93rd) and barrel rate (90th). He’s also controlled through the 2022 season via arbitration. For an Indians club that has gotten virtually no production from its outfield over the past two seasons, watching Naquin’s start in 2021 has to sting, even if they’re happy for their former prospect on a personal level.
C.J. Cron, 1B, Rockies: Cron’s ability to hit hasn’t really been in question since his 2014 MLB debut, but injuries have dogged him in recent years. Fresh off a season-ending knee surgery in 2020, Cron inked a non-guaranteed pact with the Rockies, made the club out of Spring Training and has unsurprisingly emerged as their primary first baseman. He’s out to an excellent start, hitting .300/.397/.500 in 116 plate appearances. Cron missed 10 days with a back strain and, unlike Naquin, is a free agent at season’s end, so he didn’t grab the top spot on this list. Still, he’s been a bright spot for the Rockies and could give them a summer trade chip if he can stay healthy. It’s still somewhat puzzling that the Tigers didn’t bring him back, given how poorly things have gone at first base in Detroit, but perhaps Cron simply liked the opportunity presented in Colorado better.
Matt Duffy, 3B, Cubs: Duffy began with his MLB career with a stellar year for the 2015 Giants, in which he hit .295/.334/.428 and finished second behind current teammate Kris Bryant in NL Rookie of the Year voting. He never really followed up on that debut effort, though, as underperformance and injuries knocked him off track over the next two seasons. Duffy rebounded to play fairly well with the Rays in 2018 but wound up released after a difficult 2019 campaign. The veteran infielder spent 2020 at the Yankees alternate training site. This offseason, Duffy attracted interest from a few clubs in a coaching and/or front office capacity, but the Cubs offered him a chance to reinvigorate his playing career and have been rewarded for doing so. Duffy made the Opening Day roster and has come out with a .281/.375/.360 line over his first 104 plate appearances, his top offensive output since the aforementioned rookie season. The right-handed hitter isn’t a power threat, but he’s an above-average defensive third baseman with a good approach who makes plenty of contact. Duffy solidifying the hot corner has allowed Bryant to help out an otherwise shaky, inconsistent outfield.
Jed Lowrie, 2B, Athletics: There’s something about Lowrie and the A’s that just clicks every time he dons the green and gold. In his third stint with the team after missing practically all of the 2019-20 seasons as a Met, Lowrie is improbably hitting .254/.329/.394 through 158 plate appearances. With offense down around the league and a cavernous home park, that’s good for a healthy 108 wRC+. The veteran switch-hitter’s bat has cooled since a torrid start to the season, but the early return on his no-risk minor league pact has been strong.
Charlie Culberson, INF/OF, Rangers: A popular utility player wherever he goes, Culberson is well on his way to endearing himself to the Rangers’ fanbase. Through his first 97 plate appearances, the 32-year-old is hitting .264/.316/.429 with three homers. Culberson has made one-off appearances at second base, shortstop and in left field, but the bulk of his playing time has come at third base.
Pablo Sandoval, INF, Braves: Atlanta fans might’ve groaned when the Braves brought the Panda back on another minor league deal, but Sandoval has thrived as a pinch-hitter and seldom-used bench bat. Sandoval has come to the plate as a pinch-hitter 26 times and homered in four of those plate appearances. On the whole, he’s hitting .250/.372/.583 through 43 plate appearances. No one expects the former All-Star to continue at this pace, and you can certainly argue that since Sandoval is effectively a dedicated pinch-hitter, this isn’t an ideal use of a roster spot. Still, it’s hard to argue with four pinch-hit dingers, and we’re talking about minor league deals here, after all.

We’ll check in on this year’s crop of minor league signees a few months from now, as it’s quite likely that we’ll see the tides turn on some of these (and other) contracts. A hot streak from Travis Shaw in Milwaukee could quickly make his deal look all the more prudent, and Connor Joe is out to a hot start with the Rox in a return from last year’s cancer diagnosis, which is a feel-good story in and of itself. At least through the season’s 25 percent mark, however, this group of bats is paying dividends for the teams that rolled the dice.

Central Notes: Maeda, Kepler, Astudillo, O’Neill, Engel, Duffy

By Mark Polishuk | May 16, 2021 at 11:14pm CDT

The Twins suffered a 7-6 walkoff loss to the Athletics today, and the defeat was perhaps a particularly costly one for the Minnesota team. Both Max Kepler (hamstring) and Willians Astudillo (bruised hand) had to make early exits due to injury, while manager Rocco Baldelli told Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press and other reporters that Kenta Maeda was trying to fight through some minor groin tightness that developed during the game.

Astudillo was hit by a pitch in the second inning and remained in the game before being replaced at catcher prior to the top of the fourth. Kepler’s injury occurred during the eighth inning, when he doubled and then advanced to third on a wild pitch before scoring on an Andrelton Simmons home run. Both players are being evaluated, while Maeda’s problem seems to be somewhat minor and perhaps the least-serious of the three injuries.

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