The 2018 Major League Baseball Player Chatter, News and Fantasy Thread.

[EmpireMaker]

The Pirates announced today that outfielder Gregory Polanco is undergoing left shoulder surgery. He suffered a dislocation upon sliding into second base this past Friday, and a second opinion from Dr. David Altchek at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York confirmed that diagnosis while also recommending surgery to stabilize the shoulder. It was already known that Polanco would be out for the remainder of the season due to a bone bruise in his left knee that will require at least six weeks of rehab, but the news on his shoulder is nonetheless an unwelcome development for the 26-year-old.
Meanwhile, the Bucs delivered some ominous news surrounding the health of right-hander Chad Kuhl, as well. Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets that Kuhl’s scheduled bullpen session was preempted yesterday when he felt renewed forearm/elbow tightness while throwing from flat ground. He’s already been out since late June and is now seeking another opinion.
For Polanco, there’s no indication that today’s surgery will impact his readiness for the 2019 season. Pittsburgh’s announcement indicates that further details on the procedure and an estimated recovery time will provided “at the appropriate time.” Depending on the severity of the damage in his shoulder and the findings of the surgeons during the procedure, there’s a fairly broad range of timetables that could ultimately be projected.
The 2018 season was an uneven one for Polanco, who opened the season with roughly league-average output through the first two months of play before erupting with a .303/.382/.626 slash with 11 homers, nine doubles and four triples through 179 plate appearances in June and July. His production disappeared entirely in August (.666 OPS), though he looked to be back on track in the week leading up to his season-ending injury.
Back in 2016, Polanco signed a five-year, $35MM contract extension that spans the 2017-21 seasons and also includes a pair of club options. He’s owed at least $27.5MM over the next three seasons under that deal — a figure that includes a $3MM buyout on a $12.5MM option for the 2022 season.
As for Kuhl, hasn’t pitched since June 26 due to discomfort in that right forearm/elbow, and today’s setback is hardly an encouraging one for his immediate outlook. The Bucs will hope, of course, that surgery isn’t ultimately recommended, though forearm tightness has been known to be a precursor to ligament damage in the elbow.
Kuhl, who turned 26 years of age yesterday, turned in 85 innings of 4.55 ERA ball with a career-high 8.6 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 through 16 starts for the Pirates earlier this year. That bottom-line output is roughly in line with his career marks; since debuting for the Pirates in 2016, Kuhl has pitched to a 4.37 ERA through 313 Major League innings (61 starts).

[Cross]

Brew Crew looking super legit right now, opposite of the Phillies.

[jrgum3]

races getting fun to follow

The AL wild card race and the NL division races are especially interesting. I hope the A's are able to overtake the Yankees for the top Wild Card spot but even if they don't I think they're still plenty capable of taking a one game playoff in Yankee Stadium.

[Chi_archie]

The Pirates announced today that outfielder Gregory Polanco is undergoing left shoulder surgery. He suffered a dislocation upon sliding into second base this past Friday, and a second opinion from Dr. David Altchek at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York confirmed that diagnosis while also recommending surgery to stabilize the shoulder. It was already known that Polanco would be out for the remainder of the season due to a bone bruise in his left knee that will require at least six weeks of rehab, but the news on his shoulder is nonetheless an unwelcome development for the 26-year-old.
Meanwhile, the Bucs delivered some ominous news surrounding the health of right-hander Chad Kuhl, as well. Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets that Kuhl’s scheduled bullpen session was preempted yesterday when he felt renewed forearm/elbow tightness while throwing from flat ground. He’s already been out since late June and is now seeking another opinion.
For Polanco, there’s no indication that today’s surgery will impact his readiness for the 2019 season. Pittsburgh’s announcement indicates that further details on the procedure and an estimated recovery time will provided “at the appropriate time.” Depending on the severity of the damage in his shoulder and the findings of the surgeons during the procedure, there’s a fairly broad range of timetables that could ultimately be projected.
The 2018 season was an uneven one for Polanco, who opened the season with roughly league-average output through the first two months of play before erupting with a .303/.382/.626 slash with 11 homers, nine doubles and four triples through 179 plate appearances in June and July. His production disappeared entirely in August (.666 OPS), though he looked to be back on track in the week leading up to his season-ending injury.
Back in 2016, Polanco signed a five-year, $35MM contract extension that spans the 2017-21 seasons and also includes a pair of club options. He’s owed at least $27.5MM over the next three seasons under that deal — a figure that includes a $3MM buyout on a $12.5MM option for the 2022 season.
As for Kuhl, hasn’t pitched since June 26 due to discomfort in that right forearm/elbow, and today’s setback is hardly an encouraging one for his immediate outlook. The Bucs will hope, of course, that surgery isn’t ultimately recommended, though forearm tightness has been known to be a precursor to ligament damage in the elbow.
Kuhl, who turned 26 years of age yesterday, turned in 85 innings of 4.55 ERA ball with a career-high 8.6 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 through 16 starts for the Pirates earlier this year. That bottom-line output is roughly in line with his career marks; since debuting for the Pirates in 2016, Kuhl has pitched to a 4.37 ERA through 313 Major League innings (61 starts).

bucs need to see if there is a Surgery to fix lack of hustle and dumb base running for him

[Otters27]

The AL wild card race and the NL division races are especially interesting. I hope the A's are able to overtake the Yankees for the top Wild Card spot but even if they don't I think they're still plenty capable of taking a one game playoff in Yankee Stadium.

Yankees can be beat in any given game

[koz-man]

The Rockies beat the Diamondbacks in dramatic fashion as DJ LeMahieu hits a two-run, walk-off home run to right field to give the Rockies the 5-4 victory. The D-backs bullpen has been a complete disaster the past 10 days or so and Torey Lovullo went back to Yoshihisa Hirano ... it didn't work.

[BigSpoon]

The Rockies beat the Diamondbacks in dramatic fashion as DJ LeMahieu hits a two-run, walk-off home run to right field to give the Rockies the 5-4 victory. The D-backs bullpen has been a complete disaster the past 10 days or so and Torey Lovullo went back to Yoshihisa Hirano ... it didn't work.

Crazy how they manage to keep winning. 15 games over .500 with a -2 run differential.

[El Nino]

The Rockies beat the Diamondbacks in dramatic fashion as DJ LeMahieu hits a two-run, walk-off home run to right field to give the Rockies the 5-4 victory. The D-backs bullpen has been a complete disaster the past 10 days or so and Torey Lovullo went back to Yoshihisa Hirano ... it didn't work.

Had Rockies +$ down 1 run. Loved it! Dbacks bullpen is done.

[JMobile]

Dodgers will win the NL West.

[yisman]

Phillies have been falling apart in September.

[ApricotSinner32]

The Rockies beat the Diamondbacks in dramatic fashion as DJ LeMahieu hits a two-run, walk-off home run to right field to give the Rockies the 5-4 victory. The D-backs bullpen has been a complete disaster the past 10 days or so and Torey Lovullo went back to Yoshihisa Hirano ... it didn't work.

looooooooooooool

[batt33]

The Rockies beat the Diamondbacks in dramatic fashion as DJ LeMahieu hits a two-run, walk-off home run to right field to give the Rockies the 5-4 victory. The D-backs bullpen has been a complete disaster the past 10 days or so and Torey Lovullo went back to Yoshihisa Hirano ... it didn't work.

Rockies got the mojo working ...... always fun when your team is in a groove

[Cross]

Strop pulled his hammy running the bases. Cubs dealing with some injuries this year and still in first. Morrow, Heyward,Bryant, Darvish, Russell,and now Strop.

[jrgum3]

Yankees can be beat in any given game

Agreed and the way the A’s have been playing they’re the last team I’d want to play in the playoffs.

[EmpireMaker]

Cubs reliever Pedro Strop pulled up lame after grounding into a double play late in tonight’s contest. He says he expects to miss at least a couple of weeks, as Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune tweets, further depleting the late-inning ranks of the Chicago pen at a critical juncture.
Strop was only up to the plate because the heavily worked relief unit was left without other desirable options. Despite a bases-loaded, one-out opportunity, the Cubs sent the veteran hurler up in anticipation of asking him to throw a second inning to lock up a win.
As it turned out, the club won, but Strop was unable to make it back onto the hill. He and skipper Joe Maddon confirmed after the game that it’s a hamstring issue. Understandably, full details of the injury remain unknown at this time.
In large part, Strop’s recovery timeline will simply depend upon how quickly he responds. Perhaps, though, we can expect further indication as to expectations once he’s examined fully in the coming days.
The news leaves the Cubs without their first and second choices in the closer’s role. Top reliever Brandon Morrow is already on the shelf and facing an uncertain path back to the MLB roster. In his stead, Strop has increasingly operated in the ninth inning. Over twenty appearances since the return from the All-Star break, Strop has recorded 11 saves.
At this point, there’s not much to be done but to hope for the best with regard to both righties. Significant outside acquisitions, after all, aren’t a realistic possibility. (Though trades are still possible, through the revocable waiver process, any players changing hands at this juncture are not eligible to participate in the postseason.)
As with Morrow, the 33-year-old Strop is a key piece even before factoring in any added value in a closing capacity. Through 58 frames this year, Strop owns a 2.33 ERA — his fifth-straight season of sub-3.00 ERA pitching in Chicago. After all, going to the next man up still means reducing the quality of the options in the earlier innings, which could lead to increased demands on what’s already a less-than-dominant rotation.
Even if Strop is able to recover by the start of the postseason, any intervening absence will certainly impact the club’s efforts to hold off the Brewers and Cardinals in the division. That makes for an increased challenge for Maddon and his charges, though it might also lead to an even more interesting race for fans of these three teams.

[Chi_archie]

Cubs reliever Pedro Strop pulled up lame after grounding into a double play late in tonight’s contest. He says he expects to miss at least a couple of weeks, as Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune tweets, further depleting the late-inning ranks of the Chicago pen at a critical juncture.
Strop was only up to the plate because the heavily worked relief unit was left without other desirable options. Despite a bases-loaded, one-out opportunity, the Cubs sent the veteran hurler up in anticipation of asking him to throw a second inning to lock up a win.
As it turned out, the club won, but Strop was unable to make it back onto the hill. He and skipper Joe Maddon confirmed after the game that it’s a hamstring issue. Understandably, full details of the injury remain unknown at this time.
In large part, Strop’s recovery timeline will simply depend upon how quickly he responds. Perhaps, though, we can expect further indication as to expectations once he’s examined fully in the coming days.
The news leaves the Cubs without their first and second choices in the closer’s role. Top reliever Brandon Morrow is already on the shelf and facing an uncertain path back to the MLB roster. In his stead, Strop has increasingly operated in the ninth inning. Over twenty appearances since the return from the All-Star break, Strop has recorded 11 saves.
At this point, there’s not much to be done but to hope for the best with regard to both righties. Significant outside acquisitions, after all, aren’t a realistic possibility. (Though trades are still possible, through the revocable waiver process, any players changing hands at this juncture are not eligible to participate in the postseason.)
As with Morrow, the 33-year-old Strop is a key piece even before factoring in any added value in a closing capacity. Through 58 frames this year, Strop owns a 2.33 ERA — his fifth-straight season of sub-3.00 ERA pitching in Chicago. After all, going to the next man up still means reducing the quality of the options in the earlier innings, which could lead to increased demands on what’s already a less-than-dominant rotation.
Even if Strop is able to recover by the start of the postseason, any intervening absence will certainly impact the club’s efforts to hold off the Brewers and Cardinals in the division. That makes for an increased challenge for Maddon and his charges, though it might also lead to an even more interesting race for fans of these three teams.

genius joe maddon

[ApricotSinner32]

Joe maddon is the real deal or no go?

[BigSpoon]

Joe Maddon is one of us, he likes to gamble.

[yisman]

looks like Philly and Arizona will miss the playoffs


Buchholz mysteriously scratched during yesterday's first inning

[koz-man]

Yankees activate Aaron Judge off DL; still not available to hit

The New York Yankees activated Aaron Judge from the disabled list Friday, but the slugger still is not yet ready to hit in a game, manager Aaron Boone said.

Judge will be available for baserunning purposes and in the outfield, as needed, while he continues his rehab from a chip fracture in his right wrist.

Boone told reporters that the team is a couple of days from making a decision on at-bats for Judge in a simulated game, a step before he will hit in a game. The Yankees want Judge to work off any rust before the postseason.

Judge took live batting practice Monday -- the first time he had faced live pitching of any kind since suffering the injury, which occurred when he was hit by a fastball from Royals pitcher Jakob Junis on July 26.

The Yankees were 25-20 in Judge's absence. On the day he was injured, New York was 65-36 and 4½ games behind Boston in the American League East. On Friday, the Yankees were 90-56, 10½ games behind the Red Sox.

[JMobile]

Dodgers looking good.

[JMobile]

Phillies have been falling apart in September.

Cardinals falling apart too.

[EmpireMaker]

12:09pm: The Mesas are planning on hosting a showcase for all 30 teams in the near future, Sanchez further reports. He lists the Orioles ($6.5MM), Marlins ($4.3MM), Rays ($3.6MM) and Dodgers ($2.78MM) as the teams with the most remaining money to spend.
Of course, as we saw last offseason in the case of Shohei Ohtani, that picture can quickly shift should those teams (or any other interested suitor) pursue additional international spending allotments on the trade market. The eight clubs that under the $300K limitation mentioned below would likely be particularly amenable to parting with some pool space in exchange for minor league talent.
11:19am: Cuban outfielder Victor Victor Mesa and his younger brother, Victor Mesa Jr., have been declared free agents by Major League Baseball and are now eligible to sign with a big league team, reports Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com (via Twitter). The brothers left Cuba in pursuit of Major League contracts back in May. Neither player meets MLB’s minimum age (25) or professional experience (six years) requirement to be considered a professional. As such, they’ll each be subject to international bonus pools.
While both are prospects of note, the elder Mesa brother is widely considered to be the top talent on this year’s international class, offering elite speed, a plus arm and a generally strong performance in his limited time as a professional in the Cuban National Series. At 22 years of age, he could already be advanced enough for a placement in Class-A Advanced or Double-A, per Baseball America’s Ben Badler, who tabs him as an elite center field defender and potential top-of-the-order bat.
In his most recent full season of play in Cuba, Victor Victor batted a hefty .354/.399/.539 with seven homers, 40 steals, 17 walks and just 19 strikeouts in 290 plate appearances. Scouting information on the 17-year-old Mesa Jr. is considerably more sparse, though he’ll presumably have no shortage of interest around the league. The brothers are the sons of Victor Mesa, a baseball legend in Cuba who enjoyed a 19-year career and has also served as the manager of Team Cuba in the World Baseball Classic on multiple occasions.
To this point, the Orioles and Marlins have been the two teams most heavily connected to Victor Victor Mesa. That pair still boasts the largest remaining signing pools, with the Orioles said at last check to have the largest pool available. And while the Orioles have a long history of sitting out the international amateur market, that philosophy has changed in recent months. Longtime owner Peter Angelos has largely ceded oversight of the club to his sons, John and Lou, and general manager Dan Duquette plainly stated after trading Manny Machado that the organization intended to begin investing in international amateurs.
As of early August, the Orioles’ max offering sat at a hefty $8.25MM following the acquisition of international funds in several summer trades, though they traded $750K of that sum away in a deal with the Phillies and have announced a handful of international prospect signings since that time as well. None of the prospects they signed were high-profile in nature, though, and the Marlins’ pool is lagging considerably behind at $4.35MM as of that Aug. 1 update.
Notably, there are eight teams — the Reds, A’s, Nationals, Braves, White Sox, Astros, Cardinals and Padres — that are in the international “penalty box” after shattering previous spending pools by more than 15 percent and are thus ineligible to sign a player for more than $300K. That, presumably, takes them out of the running in this picture.
It should also be noted that the 2017-21 CBA eliminated the possibility of exceeding the league-allotted bonus pool by any sum; teams are now hard-capped, though they can acquire up to 75 percent of their initial allotment in trades with other clubs. Full details on international signing rules can be seen in our most recent international prospect primer. To this point, the Blue Jays, Indians, Yankees and Mets have been among the more aggressive-spending teams on the 2018-19 international market, leaving them with relatively depleted pools.

[Cross]

Maddon made a couple poor decisions, but overall an amazing job as manager. Cubs will be going to post season 4 straight seasons under him!!!!

[jrgum3]

Yankees activate Aaron Judge off DL; still not available to hit

The New York Yankees activated Aaron Judge from the disabled list Friday, but the slugger still is not yet ready to hit in a game, manager Aaron Boone said.

Judge will be available for baserunning purposes and in the outfield, as needed, while he continues his rehab from a chip fracture in his right wrist.

Boone told reporters that the team is a couple of days from making a decision on at-bats for Judge in a simulated game, a step before he will hit in a game. The Yankees want Judge to work off any rust before the postseason.

Judge took live batting practice Monday -- the first time he had faced live pitching of any kind since suffering the injury, which occurred when he was hit by a fastball from Royals pitcher Jakob Junis on July 26.

The Yankees were 25-20 in Judge's absence. On the day he was injured, New York was 65-36 and 4½ games behind Boston in the American League East. On Friday, the Yankees were 90-56, 10½ games behind the Red Sox.

Well this is welcome news for the Yankees but too little too late for my roto fantasy team with Judge on it. That team fell off a cliff when Judge and Trout went on the DL and I'm probably going to finish in 8th place out of 10 but I still have my h2h teams which made the playoffs this year.

[ApricotSinner32]

Good morning gentlemen good luck today

[El Nino]

Joe maddon is the real deal or no go?

Nah, limping along a supposed "dynasty."

[Otters27]

Arizona gains some ground

[koz-man]

Best and worst run differentials
1. Astros +240
2. Red Sox +218
3. Yankees +159
4. Indians +139
5. Dodgers +138

30. Orioles -252
29. Marlins -221
28. Royals -197
27. White Sox -156
26. Padres -141

[Chi_archie]

Good morning gentlemen good luck today

Get em patty

[BigSpoon]

Jays turned down a trade last winter that would have sent Donaldson to the Cardinals for a package that would have included Jack Flaherty. This makes me sad. https://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/ml...d-star-rookie/

[yisman]

David Wright and Victor Martinez both retiring after the season, apparently

they each should've retired 3+ years ago

[yisman]

Jays turned down a trade last winter that would have sent Donaldson to the Cardinals for a package that would have included Jack Flaherty. This makes me sad. https://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/ml...d-star-rookie/

that is pretty insane

the Donaldson thing was pretty shady this year


most teams didn't try and get him because he was injured and the rules stated he couldn't be dealt while injured

Toronto took him off the DL, traded him to Cleveland, and then Cleveland put him back on the DL (which means he wasn't healthy yet when the waiver deadline came and they were gaming the system to move him)

[JMobile]

David Wright and Victor Martinez both retiring after the season, apparently

they each should've retired 3+ years ago

Wright should have 5 years ago.

[BigSpoon]

that is pretty insane

the Donaldson thing was pretty shady this year


most teams didn't try and get him because he was injured and the rules stated he couldn't be dealt while injured

Toronto took him off the DL, traded him to Cleveland, and then Cleveland put him back on the DL (which means he wasn't healthy yet when the waiver deadline came and they were gaming the system to move him)

Yeah, the Yankees and Red Sox were very unhappy about that deal apparently.