Willy Adames

Willy Adames Leaves Game Due To Quad Injury

By Mark Polishuk | September 4, 2021 at 9:52pm CDT

Brewers shortstop Willy Adames left tonight’s game prior to the seventh inning due to what manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including Tom Haudricourt of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) was a re-aggravation of Adames’ nagging quadriceps injury. According to Counsell, Adames hurt himself while avoiding Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt on a pickoff attempt in the fifth inning.

Adames has missed a few games due to this lingering quad problem over the last couple of weeks, but between taking that time off and serving as a DH during a pair of interleague road games against the Twins, it seemed as though Adames was back to good health. Today marked his fifth straight game back at his normal shortstop position, and Adames didn’t look any worse for wear until this evening’s incident.

As per Haudricourt, Counsell “sounds as if [Adames] could miss more time,” though the manager said Adames would be re-evaluated tomorrow. Counsell said earlier this week that the Brewers planned to rest Adames more often down the stretch, so given this latest injury flare-up, a 10-day injured list trip wouldn’t be out of the question to get Adames completely healed up and ready for the postseason. This assumes that his quad injury isn’t anything more serious, though in that regard, it is at least a good sign that Adames was able to play for another inning before eventually departing.

The Brewers already have a healthy lead in the NL Central, due in large part to Adames’ sterling performance since being acquired from the Rays on May 21. Adames entered today’s game hitting .288/.370/.525 with 17 home runs over his first 362 plate appearances with Milwaukee, though perhaps due to his quad issues, his bat has cooled off over the past two weeks.

Luis Urias is the likeliest candidate to shift over to shortstop if Adames does have to miss time, and trade deadline pickup Eduardo Escobar and utilityman Jace Peterson will probably split time at third base. Kolten Wong will return to his customary second base spot once he returns from the paternity list.

Brewers Designate Billy McKinney, Option Pablo Reyes

By Mark Polishuk | May 22, 2021 at 1:14pm CDT

The Brewers designated outfielder Billy McKinney for assignment and optioned infielder/outfielder Pablo Reyes to Triple-A. The moves created roster space for Willy Adames and Trevor Richards, both acquired in yesterday’s trade with the Rays. Righty Alec Bettinger was also called up from Triple-A.

McKinney was initially seen a possible DFA candidate during Spring Training since he is out of options and the Brewers ostensibly had a crowded outfield, but several injuries resulted in McKinney receiving quite a bit of playing time. McKinney appeared in 40 games and hit .207/.260/.359 in an even 100 plate appearances, mostly working as a left fielder but also seeing action in nine games as a first baseman.

Once a top-100 prospect, McKinney is still just 26, and he has played for five different organizations. Considering his value as a bench player, it’s quite possible another team plucks him off the DFA wire. Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said as much to reporters (including MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy) today, noting that “Billy did a nice job for us and he’s probably going to be tough to keep moving forward here. He’s got a good chance to get claimed [off waivers] probably.“

Brewers Acquire Willy Adames In Four-Player Trade With Rays

By Steve Adams | May 21, 2021 at 10:30pm CDT

In a rare May swap of significance, the Rays have traded shortstop Willy Adames and righty Trevor Richards to the Brewers in exchange for right-handed relievers J.P. Feyereisen and Drew Rasmussen. Both clubs have announced the move.

The immediate speculation in the aftermath of the news naturally surrounded Wander Franco, the sport’s top overall prospect and current shortstop for the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate. The trade of Adames clearly opens a spot for Franco in the long term, but Rays general manager Erik Neander announced to reporters that it’ll be top shortstop prospect Taylor Walls who gets the call to replace Adames for now (Twitter link via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times).

For the Brewers, Adames provides a sound defensive option that they’ve lacked all season. Milwaukee cut bait on Orlando Arcia earlier this season after giving the former top prospect myriad chances in recent years. The trade of Arcia to the Braves was intended to create everyday opportunities for Luis Urias at shortstop, but the 23-year-old wasn’t able to handle the position from a defensive standpoint. Urias has already made nine errors in just 310 innings at shortstop and unsurprisingly has negative ratings in just about every defensive metric. Were Urias hitting up to his capability, perhaps the Brewers could’ve stomached the errors, but he’s managed only a .205/.317/.359 slash in 140 plate appearances.

Adames isn’t hitting much himself in 2021, but he had a huge 2020 season and a strong year in 2018 as well. He’s also a very sound defender at his position, evidenced by above-average marks in Defensive Runs Saved (12), Ultimate Zone Rating per 150 games (1.6) and Outs Above Average (3) over the past three seasons.

So far in 2021, Adames is hitting just .197/.254/.371 through 142 plate appearances, but he entered the season as a career .262/.329/.426 hitter. He also put together a hefty .259/.332/.481 slash with eight home runs last summer and slugged a career-best 20 round-trippers a year prior, in 2019. Adames is far too strikeout-prone, punching out at a 36 percent clip across the past two seasons, but he’s making hard contact and barreling the ball at career-best rates in 2021. He’ll likely continue to hit for a low average if he can’t curb those strikeout tendencies, but the uptick in high-quality contact does suggest that his offensive numbers are still likely in line to improve.

Adames entered the season with two-plus years of big league service time, so he’s a potential piece for the Brewers not just in 2021 but for several years beyond. The Brewers can control Adames all the way through the 2024 season via the arbitration process, should they see fit. He’ll be installed as their starter immediately, and if he takes well to his new settings, it’s possible the Brewers have found an answer at the position for the foreseeable future. Urias will be downgraded to a utility role, but perhaps playing more familiar positions at second base and third base will help him get his bat back on track.

Milwaukee will also add the 28-year-old Richards as part of the deal. The righty has pitched for both the Marlins and the Rays to this point in his career, working to a 4.42 ERA over the life of 305 2/3 innings. Richards looked to be in the midst of a breakout in 2019 after the Marlins traded him to Tampa Bay alongside Nick Anderson, as he logged a 1.93 ERA with a 24-to-5 K/BB ratio in 23 1/3 frames down the stretch. He’s posted a 5.52 ERA in 44 innings since that time, however.

To his credit, Richards has an immaculate minor league track record that gives continual hope of improved performance at the MLB level. Unsigned out of Drury University, Richards began his professional career with the Gateway Grizzlies of the independent Frontier League. He caught the Marlins’ attention, landing a deal with them in 2016 and going on to excel at every minor league stop. Richards has a career 2.35 ERA in 252 minor league frames, and the highest ERA he’s posted at any individual level is his 2.87 mark in Double-A. He’s worked as both a starter and reliever along the way.

Richards is in his final minor league option year, so the Rays can shuttle him back and forth between Triple-A and Milwaukee as much as they like for the duration of the season. He’ll need to stick on the MLB roster next spring, however, when he’ll have exhausted all of his minor league options.

It was surely a difficult trade for the Rays to make. Manager Kevin Cash told Topkin and others that the trade will be felt in the clubhouse, where Adames was beloved and had emerged as a leader. The GM called it a “tear-jerking” move to make, but with the looming presence of Franco, Walls and top middle-infield prospect Vidal Brujan, an eventual trade involving Adames has felt nearly inevitable.

Fans were surely hoping the trade would push Franco to the big leagues, but Walls is a highly touted farmhand in his own right, ranking as the game’s No. 107 prospect over at FanGraphs. He’s considered one of the better defensive prospects in the game at his position, and he’s posted strong offensive numbers at every stop since 2018. His bat has exploded to new heights so far in 2021, as he’s come out of the gates with a blistering .327/.468/.490 slash with a pair of homers and a couple steals through his first 62 plate appearances. Franco understandably gets more attention, but Walls and Brujan have the potential to be vital cogs in the Tampa Bay infield themselves.

Turning to the Rays’ return in this trade, they’ll add a pair of arms to help a banged-up relief corps. Feyereisen is headed straight to the MLB bullpen, Neander revealed, while Rasmussen is ticketed for Triple-A Durham.

There was no way the Rays were going to send the 28-year-old Feyereisen to the minors after the start he’s had in 2021. Through 19 1/3 innings, the righty has pitched to a 3.26 ERA with a 26 percent strikeout rate and a 47.7 percent ground-ball rate.

Walks have been an issue, as Feyereisen has yielded a free pass to 14.3 percent of opponents so far, but his 16.9 percent swinging-strike rate is among the best in the game. Feyereisen’s 59.6 percent opponents’ contact rate is the third-lowest in MLB, trailing only his now-former teammate Josh Hader and surprising Pirates setup man Sam Howard.

Feyereisen sits 93.7 mph with his heater and throws the pitch at a 41 percent clip, pairing that heater with a slider (38 percent) and changeup (21 percent). It’s been an effective mix for the 28-year-old rookie, whom the Rays can now control through at least the 2026 campaign. This marks the second notable trade of Feyereisen’s career, as he was traded from the Indians (alongside Clint Frazier, Justus Sheffield and Ben Heller) to the Yankees in 2016’s Andrew Miller deal. New York eventually traded him to Milwaukee for additional international bonus pool space. Feyereisen has a pair of minor league options remaining.

Rasmussen, 25, has pitched 32 1/3 innings for the Brewers since Opening Day 2020, posting a sizable 31.1 percent strikeout rate but a troubling 14.2 percent walk rate that nearly mirrors Feyereisen’s mark. A sixth-round pick by the Brewers in 2018, he ranked as their No. 6 prospect at FanGraphs and No. 14 at Baseball America. He’s already had two Tommy John surgeries, despite his relative youth, but Rasmussen boasts a 97 mph heater and was excellent in the minors when healthy in 2019.

While Feyereisen has two minor league options left, Rasmussen has all three, making him a particularly flexible piece for the Rays in the coming years. Of course, the hope is that he’ll pitch his way into a role where he needn’t be returned to the minors at all. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen notes that Rasmussen has just that type of ceiling — the potential to become a high-leverage option late in games. The pair of surgeries naturally raises injury concern levels, but Rasmussen has the makings of a quality reliever if he can avoid further elbow troubles.

Overall, it’s a notable swap on many levels. It’s rare not only to see a trade of this magnitude in May, but also to see a trade in which two contending clubs are dealing big leaguers from positions of depth to help the other address an immediate, pressing need. The Brewers, after middling results from both Arcia and Urias, surely hope to have found a shortstop for years to come. The Rays, meanwhile, have seen several key relievers go down with injuries, leaving them with a relief corps that has been solid but not as dominant as hoped. The trade clears a path for the Rays to take a look at Walls now, and it puts an even more defined clock on the countdown to Franco’s MLB emergence.

MLB Network’s Jon Heyman first reported that an Adames trade was in the works (Twitter links). MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand first reported that Adames had been traded to Milwaukee. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported the other three players in the deal (Twitter links).

Reds Interested In Willy Adames, Dee Strange-Gordon

By Mark Polishuk | January 30, 2021 at 6:38pm CDT

With several of the top shortstops on the free agent and trade markets now off the board, the Reds are still looking for reliable veteran help at the position. The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans (subscription required) lists some of the names that might still be available for the Reds, including previously-reported trade target Amed Rosario of the Indians and two new names on the radar — the Rays’ Willy Adames and free agent Dee Strange-Gordon.

Cincinnati and Tampa Bay already discussed Adames in trade talks earlier this winter, Rosencrans writes, “but the Reds wanted to explore the free-agent market first.” Since the likes of Didi Gregorius, Marcus Semien, and Andrelton Simmons have all signed elsewhere, it could be possible that the Reds will again circle back to inquire about Adames’ services.

Adames would represent a long-term answer for the Reds’ shortstop position, since he is only 25 years old and under team control through the 2024 season. Originally acquired by the Rays from the Tigers as part of the David Price trade in 2014, Adames has emerged as Tampa’s everyday choice at shortstop, showing gradual improvement at both the plate and in the field.

Over 2393 1/3 innings as a Major League shortstop, Adames has +9 Defensive Runs Saved, though other metrics like Outs Above Average and UZR/150 rank his glovework as subpar. He has also produced at least league-average run production or better over 1112 plate appearances, hitting .262/.329/.426 for his career with 38 home runs (105 OPS+, 106 wRC+).

There are some red flags about Adames’ hitting, however. Amidst an impressive .259/.332/.481 slash line over 205 PA last season, Adames’ .341 wOBA far outpaced his .295 xwOBA, and his 36.1% strikeout rate was one of the worst in baseball. While Adames has gradually improved his hard-hit ball percentages over his three MLB seasons, he is still only middle-of-the-pack in the category.

These could be reasons why the Rays are open to moving a player with Adames’ talent and contractual control, not to mention the fact that Wander Franco is waiting in the wings as Tampa’s shortstop of the future. In the event of an Adames trade, Joey Wendle could take over shortstop until Franco is ready to be promoted, which might not be until at least midway through the 2021 season considering that Franco has yet to even play Double-A ball.

Landing Adames might cost the Reds a significant trade package, however, and a case could be made that Cincinnati might not necessarily want a long-term player at the position, given how many star shortstops will be available in the 2021-22 free agent market. (While the Reds are clearly working with a limited budget this offseason, their financial picture could be different next winter, post-pandemic.) If this is the case, the Reds might just look for a one-year answer like Strange-Gordon, who could act as a stopgap so Cincy could either prepare to add a star free agent next winter, or allow more time for Jose Garcia to develop as the in-house candidate as the shortstop of the future.

“The Reds have at least checked in on Strange-Gordon,” according to Rosecrans, following a dismal season that saw the veteran hit only .200/.268/.213 over 82 PA for the Mariners. It was the worst of a rough three-year stretch in Seattle for Strange-Gordon, and the Mariners unsurprisingly declined their $14MM club option on his services for the 2021 season.

The 32-year-old began his MLB career as a shortstop with the Dodgers but has only played a handful of games at short over the last four seasons, making him something of an imperfect fit as an everyday option. It could be that the Reds might just use Strange-Gordon as something of a utilityman, giving him some time at shortstop but also rotating Garcia and the newly-acquired Kyle Holder at the position.

Trading An Ace In 2014 Is Still Paying Dividends For The Rays

By Steve Adams | April 17, 2020 at 12:10pm CDT

When the Rays traded David Price to the Tigers in a three-team deal back in 2014, the deal was met with a generally negative reaction for the Tampa Bay organization. The Rays weren’t far removed from trading James Shields and Wade Davis in a deal that netted Wil Myers (at the time a top 10 prospect in all of baseball), Jake Odorizzi and Mike Montgomery. Expectations for a return on a Price trade were high in the first place, but landing such a stout package for Shields and Davis was a stunner that might have further bolstered the perception of what Price “should” command.

By the time the trade deadline rolled around in July 2014, the Rays were two games below .500 and eight games out of first place. Price was already earning $14MM and due another raise in what would be his final trip through arbitration the following winter. And Price, true to form at the time, had been outstanding: he’d started 23 games with the Rays and racked up 170 2/3 innings with a 3.11 ERA, 10.0 K/9 and 1.2 BB/9. The Rays’ front office was faced with the choice of moving a year and a half of Price at the deadline or hanging on for a faint postseason hope and likely dealing just one year of him that winter. Then-GM Andrew Friedman surely knew that ownership wouldn’t be keen on committing a nearly $20MM salary to Price in 2015.

Ultimately, Price landed in Detroit in a deal that sent center fielder Austin Jackson from the Tigers to the Mariners as well. The Rays came away from the swap hoping that with the two headliners on their end of the deal, they’d acquired a controllable mid-rotation lefty (Drew Smyly) and a long-term piece in the middle infield (Nick Franklin). Onlookers were skeptical.

“I’m floored that this is all the Rays got for David Price — as are some of the execs I’ve talked to so far — and I can’t imagine that the return this winter would have been any worse,” Keith Law wrote for ESPN when reviewing the trade at the time. While both Smyly and Franklin had the chance to be average regulars, Franklin in particular came with some downside. Franklin didn’t even draw a mention in Dave Cameron’s rundown of the swap at FanGraphs, which praised the Rays for grabbing a ready-made mid-rotation piece in Smyly but painted the move as a win for Detroit. Most reactions to the deal were similar. Cameron noted that the 18-year-old shortstop prospect the Tigers threw in “might have some future value,” and Law called him a “lottery ticket in the scope of the deal.”

Any concerns regarding Franklin’s future proved to have merit. The former No. 27 overall draft pick was touted as a top prospect for years, but he never panned out with the Mariners, the Rays, the Brewers or the Angels. Tampa gave him a decent leash — understandably so, given the nature of his acquisition — but after two and a half years in the organization, Franklin had compiled a lowly .227/.284/.388 slash in the big leagues. His production in Triple-A wasn’t much better outside of a solid run of 57 games in 2015. He was designated for assignment in 2015 and lost on waivers to the Brewers for no return.

Smyly’s time with the Rays proved more fruitful. He tossed 289 2/3 innings of 3.95 ERA ball and logged some encouraging strikeout numbers. At times, Smyly looked like a potential breakout candidate — I admit to thinking as much of him… just before the Rays traded him to Seattle in the 2016-17 offseason. Smyly indeed went on to star for Team USA in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, but he had Tommy John surgery before that season even began and ultimately missed two seasons due to that injury.

Suddenly, the Rays were left with the lottery ticket shortstop they’d picked up for Price and the two players they’d received from the Mariners for Smyly — that’d be the trio of Willy Adames, Ryan Yarbrough and Mallex Smith (whom they later traded back to Seattle for Mike Zunino and now-23-year-old lefty Michael Plassmeyer, who is still in the system).

Adames, now 24, might not be an All-Star talent at shortstop, but some would argue that he still has that potential. He went from a lottery ticket to peaking at the No. 10 overall prospect in the game on Baseball America’s 2017 rankings, and he’s settled in as the Rays’ primary option at short. In 907 plate appearances to date, Adames has hit .263/.328/.414 with 30 home runs (plus a huge ALDS showing in 2019). He played quality defense in 2019 (12 Defensive Runs Saved, 4 Outs Above Average, 2.5 UZR/150) and has provided some value on the bases. The Rays are dreaming of the day when wunderkind Wander Franco overtakes him, but Adames should have value either at a different infield position or as a trade chip when that time comes. He’s controlled through the 2024 season and won’t be eligible for arbitration until after the 2021 campaign.

The 28-year-old Yarbrough has thrown a near-identical number of innings with the Rays (289) to Smyly’s 289 2/3, and his 4.03 ERA pretty closely mirrors Smyly’s work. But Yarbrough has posted that number at a more hitter-friendly time in the game — his 106 ERA+ and 92 FIP- both top Smyly’s 100 ERA+ and 103 FIP- with Tampa Bay — and has more club control remaining than Smyly did at that point. Last year’s 3.55 FIP, 7.4 K/9, 1.3 BB/9 and 43.8 percent grounder rate seem to suggest that Yarbrough is capable of holding down a spot in the rotation for the next few years.

The Rays were reportedly set to move away from relying so heavily on openers, deploying a more traditional staff of Charlie Morton, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Yonny Chirinos and Yarbrough. Like Adames, Yarbrough is controllable through the 2024 season.

Nearly six years after trading the best pitcher in franchise history for what the club hoped would be a mid-rotation lefty and a potential shortstop who might move to another position, the Rays have… a pretty solid 28-year-old lefty and a quality young shortstop who may eventually move to another spot when their top prospect emerges in the Majors.

They took a roundabout path to this point, and the Rays should have done better in their return for Price in the first place. Price was a capital-A Ace with more than a year of team control remaining and was in the midst of a terrific year on the mound. But while the deal looked like a bust early on, the Rays are still left with some lingering pieces of value that could theoretically help carry the club past the 10-year anniversary of the day they moved Price — if they’re not traded before then.

Rays Broached Extension Talks To Willy Adames, Brent Honeywell

By Mark Polishuk | March 24, 2019 at 11:17pm CDT

The Rays have traditionally been pretty aggressive in locking up young players to early-career extensions, as evidenced by their recent deals with Blake Snell and Brandon Lowe. Beyond that duo, Willy Adames and Brent Honeywell told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that they had also been approached about long-term deals.

Adames has been a consensus top-25 prospect in baseball in each of the last two seasons, and he now projects as Tampa’s everyday shortstop after hitting .278/.348/.406 during 323 plate appearances in his 2018 rookie season. Adames didn’t specify when the Rays first brought up an extension, whether it was this offseason, during last season, or perhaps even before Adames made his big league debut altogether.

For speculation purposes, if a long-term deal was explored this past winter, recent extensions for Tim Anderson and Paul DeJong stand out as comparables for Adames. Both shortstops also had less than a year of service time, and each landed six-year pacts with two club option years, with Anderson getting a guaranteed $25MM and DeJong (signed a year later) $26MM in guaranteed money. It’s probably safe to assume Adames would’ve gotten a bit more, both due to his top-prospect status, and since those deals were almost topped in value by the extension Scott Kingery signed with the Phillies before he ever set foot on a Major League field. (This is also basically the deal Lowe signed, except with one fewer club option year.)

While Evan Longoria and Matt Moore each had just a small bit of MLB service time when they inked their extensions with the club, the Rays have never extended a player who has never appeared in the Major Leagues. A Honeywell extension would’ve therefore been a precedent-setting deal for both the team and for the league as a whole, as no pitcher has ever signed an extension before making his debut in the Show. Moore came closest, as he had just 17 days of regular-season service time when he inked his five-year, $14MM extension (with three club option years) back in December 2011.

It’s hard to use a contract that’s over seven years old as a comparable, plus Honeywell’s health situation also adds another unique wrinkle to his case. Honeywell said the Rays discussed the long-term deal after he underwent Tommy John surgery in February 2018. While we can assume that the team’s offer reflected that injury risk, it still represents some courage on Honeywell’s part in betting on himself to recovery from the surgery, rather than getting at least one multi-million dollar payday out of his professional career before even throwing a pitch in the majors.

It’s worth noting that Honeywell received an $800K bonus when drafted, so he has already obtained some financial security. Honeywell was a second-round pick (72nd overall) for the Rays in the 2014 draft, and he has been perhaps even more highly-touted than Adames, with three consecutive years as at least a top-30 prospect in the eyes of Baseball Prospectus, and MLB.com and Baseball America. The three publications had Honeywell respectively ranked 11th, 12th, and 14th on their top-100 lists prior to the 2018 season. Honeywell has a 2.88 ERA, 9.9 K/9, and 4.92 K/BB rate over 416 professional innings, and he was expected to make an impact in Tampa’s rotation last season before injury struck.

Most teams, of course, probably at least float the idea of early-career extensions to much of their young talent. The Rays in particular have made a habit of this tactic, given the team’s financial limitations. Tyler Glasnow and Daniel Robertson didn’t want to comment to Topkin whether or not they had been offered long-term deals or not, while Jose Alvarado said he’s be open to discussions with the club (which could hint that the Rays haven’t yet talked to Alvarado).

The front office, for its part, seems to be open for business. GM Erik Neander said that the Rays “would love to keep the one-[extension]-a-day pace here if we could. We’re very high on the group of players that we have here. It’s a group we believe in. And when there are opportunities to find overlap between our players and our organization that increases the chances they can be here for a longer period of time, that’s something that we will continue to explore whenever those opportunities present themselves.”

AL East Notes: Adames, Araujo, Drury

By Steve Adams | June 11, 2018 at 12:20pm CDT

Top prospect Willy Adames is back with the Rays, who announced today that they’ve placed Daniel Robertson on the 10-day disabled list due to a strained left hamstring and recalled the 22-year-old Adames in his place. It’ll be the second stint in the Majors this season for Adames, who is considered Tampa Bay’s best position-player prospect and is generally regarded among the game’s top 30 or so all-around farmhands. He went 2-for-12 in a brief debut stint with the Rays last month but is hitting a much more palatable .286/.356/.424 in Triple-A despite his relative youth. Adames isn’t teeming with power, but he should stick at shortstop and has the potential to be an above-average bat there. Certainly, that’s the hope for the Rays, who only control Adeiny Hechavarria through season’s end. Hechavarria recently checked in on the first edition of MLBTR’s Top 50 trade candidates, and if he’s moved, then a path to everyday at-bats would be open for Adames.

Rays To Promote Willy Adames

By Jeff Todd | May 22, 2018 at 1:42pm CDT

The Rays are slated to promote infield prospect Willy Adames, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com (Twitter link). He’ll make his MLB debut at 22 years of age.

Adames has long been billed as a high-end prospect, though he was relatively unknown when he was shipped to Tampa Bay as a key piece in the 2014 David Price swap. At the time, he was an intriguing 18-year-old. Since, his profile has risen steadily.

Entering each of the past two campaigns, Adames was generally ranked by prospect hounds among the twenty-five or so best pre-MLB players leaguewide. In response, he has delivered an impressive forty-game stretch at the highest level of the minors. Thus far in 2018, Adames has compiled a .311/.387/.466 slash line with four home runs in 173 plate appearances for Durham.

Of course, Adames had already shown that he could produce at Triple-A. And that output falls in line with what Adames has done in prior seasons. He has long been a consistently quality producer at the plate, with good average, a solid walk rate, and manageable strikeout numbers. While he has yet to break out in the power department, evaluators generally expect there could be some added pop in the tank.

There’s good reason, then, to think that Adames is ready to contribute right out of the gates. He’s considered a polished defender at shortstop with quality makeup, so the expectation will surely be that he’ll be able to step into the everyday lineup if that’s what’s asked.

The Rays’ plans, though, aren’t yet clear. With Adeiny Hechavarria on the 10-day DL, Adames could receive regular time at shortstop, with the team reassessing its options once Hechavarria returns. On the other hand, the youngster may also just be up for a brief visit; after all, his active roster spot is coming from the placement of Joey Wendle on the paternity list, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets and the team has since confirmed.

Knocking Down The Door: Adames, Ferguson, Kingham, Kopech, Poche

By Jason Martinez | April 24, 2018 at 6:50pm CDT

The 2018 debut of “Knocking Down The Door” is here!

Over the next four months, I will be identifying Minor Leaguers who I believe are putting themselves in position to earn a big league call-up in the near future. Walker Buehler and Gleyber Torres would’ve gotten serious consideration had they not already been promoted. Many others who make this list will get never get the call. Ask Chance Adams, who made this list in 2016 and 2017.

Here’s a look at five Minor Leaguers who are currently “Knocking Down The Door” to the Major Leagues.

Willy Adames, INF, Rays (Triple-A Durham) | Rays Depth Chart

The Rays didn’t get a great immediate return from the trade that sent away one of the best pitchers in baseball, David Price, nearly four years ago. Nick Franklin never panned out, and Drew Smyly made 49 starts in two and a half seasons before being flipped for outfielder Mallex Smith and lefty Ryan Yarbrough. Smith and Yarbrough are both on the roster now and controllable for years, and the trade could soon pay additional dividends with the 22-year-old Adames closing in on the Majors.

After hitting for the cycle Monday, Adames is slashing .345/.441/.582 in the first 16 games of his second Triple-A season. Year one wasn’t overly spectacular, though Adames was one of the league’s younger players at 21 years of age, and did have some very productive stretches. His strong start to year two, however, has to have the Rays’ infielders on notice. A current 10-for-22 hot streak could help the light-hitting Adeiny Hechavarria deflect any current thoughts of Adames taking his starting shortstop job. Second baseman Joey Wendle (.867 OPS) and fill-in third baseman Daniel Robertson, who went 4-for-4 on Sunday, are also doing what they can to extend Adames’ Triple-A tenure.

In all likelihood, Adames will be in the Majors very soon. The only question is where he’ll play. While he should be able to make a quick transition to second base, he’s played all but 21 games in his career at shortstop (10 games at third base in the Dominican Summer League and 11 games at second base in ’17). With Hechavarria in the last year of his contract and the Rays unlikely to compete for a playoff spot, Tampa Bay could look to trade him or move him into a part-time role where he could help mentor Adames.

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Drew Ferguson, OF, Astros (Triple-A Fresno) | Astros Depth Chart

The combination of Derek Fisher, Marwin Gonzalez and Jake Marisnick appeared to be a sufficient stopgap for top prospect Kyle Tucker, who would presumably need at least a few months in Triple-A before taking over as the team’s starting left fielder. But despite a strong start by the Astros, they’ve gotten very little production out of the Fisher-Gonzalez-Marisnick trio. While Tucker is doing just fine early on in his first Triple-A season (.270/.360/.392) and Tony Kemp continues to be productive (.324/.427/.405), it’s the 25-year-old Ferguson who is making the most noise.

The former 19th-round pick is slashing .362/.457/.580 with two homers, five doubles and nine multi-hit games. He might not be the long-term answer in left field, but he could certainly give a spark to the Houston offense, particularly the bottom third of the order.

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Nick Kingham, SP, Pirates (Triple-A Indianapolis) | Pirates Depth Chart

It was three years ago that Kingham was closing in on an MLB rotation spot. After allowing one run through five innings in an early May start at theTriple-A level and striking out the leadoff man in the sixth, though, he exited the game with elbow discomfort.

Kingham underwent Tommy John surgery a few weeks later and didn’t return until late in the 2016 season. Despite making 19 starts in Triple-A last year, he never quite made a push for a big league call-up. But after four starts into what is his fourth season in the International League, it appears he’s finally back on track. The 26-year-old pitched five shutout innings with 10 strikeouts in his 2018 debut, followed it up with back-to-back quality starts and another strong outing on Sunday (5 2/3 IP, ER, 6 K).

While Steven Brault has done a decent job filling in as the No. 5 starter, he could possibly give the Pirates a bigger boost as a multi-inning lefty out of the ’pen. The same could be said for Joe Musgrove, a setup man with the World Champion Astros, who was slated to the be the team’s No. 5 starter before landing on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. But that all depends on whether Kingham can lock down a rotation spot once he’s given a chance. And he deserves a chance.

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Michael Kopech, SP, White Sox (Triple-A Charlotte) | White Sox Depth Chart

A prospect of Kopech’s caliber isn’t necessarily waiting for a big league spot to open for him. When he’s ready, the White Sox will make room soon thereafter. But the need for a spot starter in Saturday’s double-header and an injury to Miguel Gonzalez—his spot is being filled by Chris Volstad on Tuesday and will come up again on Sunday—could at least force them to decide if the 21-year-old is ready now.

One of the best pitching prospects in the game, Kopech has a 4.4 BB/9 and 11.6 K/9 since being drafted by the Red Sox with 33rd pick in the 2014 draft. But in six Triple-A starts (three at the end of ’17 and three in ’18), he’s shown more control (3.0 BB/9) while maintaining his high strikeout rate. In his most recent start, the right-hander walked one and struck out 10 in five innings of work. He’s yet to reach 100 pitches in any of his three starts—he surpassed that total five times in ’17—but as long as he continues to throw strikes consistently, he should be able to navigate past the fifth inning on a regular basis against MLB hitters.

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Colin Poche, RP, Dbacks (Double-A Jackson) | Diamondbacks Depth Chart

There is “dominant,” and then there’s whatever Poche has done in his first eight innings in Double-A. The 24-year-old lefty has allowed just one hit and one walk. Of the 24 batters he’s retired, he’s struck out 19. Left-handed hitters have yet to put a ball in play against him. He’s struck out all seven.

Keep in mind that another Diamondbacks lefty, Gabriel Moya, also had great success in Double-A last season (0.82 ERA, 14.2 K/9 in 43.2 IP). But instead of getting the call-up for Arizona’s playoff run, he was traded to the Twins in July for backup catcher John Ryan Murphy. In other words, the front office wasn’t all that impressed with Moya despite him making this list a month earlier. Still, it’s impossible to ignore what Poche has done thus far. He should be able to help the D-backs at some point in 2018.

“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.

AL East Notes: Brach, Red Sox, Rays, Archer, Stroman

By Mark Polishuk | July 16, 2017 at 9:37am CDT

Orioles right-hander Brad Brach may be receiving more trade interest than closer Zach Britton, as there is “heavy traffic on” Brach’s services, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko reports. Brach would come at a lower prospect cost than Britton, hence the larger degree of interest. Both pitchers have one year of arbitration eligibility left, with Brach ($3.05MM this season) on pace for a much lower salary than Britton ($11.4MM) even though Brach has pitched very well as Baltimore’s interim closer while Britton has spent much of the year on the DL. Brach already drew a lot of looks in the offseason and may be even more popular now that teams know they can potentially use him as a closer as well as a setup man.

Here’s more from the AL East…

The Red Sox have placed two relievers on the 10-day DL in as many days, with Joe Kelly sidelined with a left hamstring strain yesterday and veteran righty Blaine Boyer announced this morning as suffering from a right elbow strain. The hard-throwing Kelly has a 1.49 ERA over 36 1/3 relief innings for the Sox this season, with peripheral stats indicating some good fortune (.228 BABIP, 88.1% strand rate) to go along with Kelly’s 54.9% grounder rate. Boyer, meanwhile, has a 3.00 ERA, 7.5 K/9 and 3.33 K/BB rate over 24 innings after signing a minor league deal with Boston in April. The Red Sox were already rumored to be looking for relief help at the deadline, and it’s likely that the search will intensify after losing two bullpen arms.
The Rays asked the Marlins about relief pitching when the two sides were negotiating the Adeiny Hechavarria trade last month, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. With the Rays looking for bullpen help and Miami seemingly open to moving any veteran player, it seems that the two sides are likely to re-open talks as we approach the deadline.
Also from Topkin, he reports that one team (not necessarily the Marlins) asked the Rays for both Brent Honeywell and Willy Adames in exploratory discussions about relievers. Needless to say, it would be a big surprise if either top prospect was actually dealt, though it gives an example of the high price tag that teams are placing on top-shelf relief pitching at the deadline.
The Cubs checked in on Chris Archer and Marcus Stroman during their wide-ranging search for young and controllable pitching, Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com writes. Archer has long been linked to Chicago in trade rumors, though the most recent talks unsurprisingly went nowhere since the Rays want to keep their ace to make a playoff run. As for Stroman, the Blue Jays informed the Cubs that the 26-year-old righty would cost Chicago a player from its big league roster. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently observed in his “Taking Inventory” analysis on the Jays, Stroman probably isn’t a likely trade candidate unless Toronto decides to embark on a total rebuild. The Cubs, of course, acquired Jose Quintana earlier this week and are reportedly still on the lookout to add another controllable arm to their rotation.

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