The 2019 Major League Baseball Player Chatter, News and Fantasy Thread.

[koz-man]

Dodgers' Pollock might need surgery on elbow


SAN FRANCISCO -- The Los Angeles Dodgers said center fielder A.J. Pollock might need surgery because of an infection in his surgically repaired right elbow.

The National League champions put Pollock on the injured list before Tuesday's game against the San Francisco Giants. Pollock, a former All-Star and Gold Glove winner, met with doctors in Los Angeles earlier in the day.

After the Dodgers' 10-3 win, manager Dave Roberts said doctors were performing an exploratory procedure on Pollock's elbow to determine the severity of the infection.

Roberts said he did not have results of the procedure and did not have an update on whether Pollock would need surgery.

Pollock, 31, signed a four-year, $55 million contract with the Dodgers in the offseason but has struggled at the plate. He is batting .223 (23-for-109) with two home runs and 14 RBIs in 28 games. He is hitless in his past eight at-bats and did not play in Los Angeles' first game in San Francisco on Monday.

[Cross]

Some damaged goods there, tough one for them.

[JaimeMiro]

March and April are in the books, think Red Sox finally heat up

[mr. leisure]

Indians lose Corey Kluber to broken forearm after 102 mph comebacker

[jrgum3]

Indians lose Corey Kluber to broken forearm after 102 mph comebacker

This one hurts because Kluber is one of my favorite pitchers and on my fantasy team. He's gonna be gone for a couple months probably so its a major blow to my fantasy team and the Indians will certainly be affected by it as well.

[Cross]

Ouch, Kluber is a really good dude. Hope he is back soon.

[ApricotSinner32]

This one hurts because Kluber is one of my favorite pitchers and on my fantasy team. He's gonna be gone for a couple months probably so its a major blow to my fantasy team and the Indians will certainly be affected by it as well.

[Otters27]

Watched a video of Mike trout hitting in high school. Wow

[Chi_archie]

Watched a video of Mike trout hitting in high school. Wow

Let's see it

[batt33]

Indians lose Corey Kluber to broken forearm after 102 mph comebacker

Always cringe when balls are headed towards the pitchers....... on another note....Giants win a series against the dodgers ..

[dudekid]

Nooooo Klubot guy was dominant in years past

[mr. leisure]

This one hurts because Kluber is one of my favorite pitchers and on my fantasy team. He's gonna be gone for a couple months probably so its a major blow to my fantasy team and the Indians will certainly be affected by it as well.

He was having a though start to the season with a 5.80 ERA . Hope he comes back quickly and stronger .

[JMobile]

So Keuchel is not playing this season?

[BigSpoon]

So Keuchel is not playing this season?

I'm guessing him and Kimbrel will sign one year deals after June 4th. No draft pick comp if they sign after June 4.

[koz-man]

Syndergaard hits homer, goes 9 in 1-0 win


NEW YORK -- Noah Syndergaard became the first pitcher in 36 years to homer and throw a shutout in a 1-0 victory, lifting the New York Mets over the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday.

Syndergaard (2-3) struck out 10 and allowed four hits in his third career complete game, shaking off a sloppy start to the season with a do-it-all effort. He became the first Mets starter to get an out in the eighth this season, and the franchise's first starter ever to hit a home run in a 1-0 complete-game win.

"Thor" did his hammering in the third inning, driving a ball 407 feet to the opposite field in left-center off Tyler Mahle (0-4).


The previous pitcher to homer in a 1-0 complete-game win was the Los Angeles Dodgers' Bob Welch against the Reds on June 17, 1983, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Syndergaard is only the seventh pitcher to accomplish the feat since 1920.

[EmpireMaker]

The Giants announced Thursday that they’ve acquired catcher Francisco Pena from the Cardinals in exchange for cash. Pena, who was not on the St. Louis 40-man roster, will report to Triple-A Sacramento.
San Francisco recently brought veteran backstop Stephen Vogt from Sacramento up to the big leagues, so Pena will step into the spot that had previously been occupied by Vogt. In six games for Triple-A Memphis so far in 2019, Pena has batted .333/.429/.611 with a homer in 21 plate appearances, although that type of production shouldn’t be expected moving forward. Pena is a career .216/.249/.311 hitter at the MLB level and owns a .253/.298/.455 slash in just under 1400 PAs at the Triple-A level. Pena, 29, has caught 32 percent of would-be base thieves at the Triple-A level in his career and has generally received positive marks for pitch framing, though he did struggle in that regard both in the Majors and the minors with the Cards last season.
Stockpiling depth behind the plate has been a clear priority for new Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi in the first year of his tenure with his new organization. Under Zaidi, the Giants have signed or acquired Vogt, Pena, Erik Kratz, Tom Murphy and Rene Rivera, although the latter two are no longer in the organization. (Murphy was traded to the Mariners, while Rivera was released and signed with the Mets on a minor league deal.)

[EmpireMaker]

I'm guessing him and Kimbrel will sign one year deals after June 4th. No draft pick comp if they sign after June 4.

This is what will happen.

[EmpireMaker]

The White Sox announced today that southpaw Carlos Rodon has been placed on the 10-day injured list. He’ll be replaced by righty Lucas Giolito, who was activated to take the ball this evening. Dylan Covey will ultimately move into the rotation to take Rodon’s place for whatever duration he’s sidelined.
Rodon is dealing with an “edema in the flexor mass,” James Fegan of The Athletic was among those to report (via Twitter). That initial diagnosis doesn’t provide a clear picture of Rodon’s outlook, but it seems as if there’s some reason for worry here. “Everything is on the table,” GM Rick Hahn told reporters including Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link) when asked about the possibility of Tommy John surgery.
Rodon had been off to an interesting, albeit uneven opening to the season. He’s averaging 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings, nearly twice the rate he managed last year. Rodon is carrying a personal-best 12.1% swinging-strike rate despite losing a full mile per hour on his average fastball. Going to his four-seamer instead of his sinker may be helping generate whiffs, though Rodon has seen year-over-year rises in hard contact and batting average on balls in play.
Despite solid marks from ERA estimators (3.52 FIP, 3.89 xFIP, and 3.92 SIERA), the 26-year-old southpaw carries a 5.19 ERA through 34 2/3 innings this year. Unfortunately, it sounds as if he may need some time off before he can work on bringing his earned run average down.
Over five seasons in the majors, Rodon has contributed 529 innings of 4.08 ERA pitching. That’s not quite the level of consistent, high-end output that was hoped for when he was taken with the third overall pick of the 2014 draft. There’s still time for him to get past the health problems and chase his ceiling, but the end of his initial team control is now in sight. Rodon is earning $4.2MM this year in his second of four seasons of arbitration eligibility.
This represents the latest hit to a White Sox rotation that has been in disarray early on. Rodon and Giolito have led the staff with their 5+ earned per nine; the other three hurlers with three or more starts have earned run averages of six or more. The team already ditched Ervin Santana. While the first two outings for Manny Banuelos have gone well, it’s a limited sample and rather a thin silver lining.
Covey will get another shot at proving himself in the majors after failing to do so in 191 2/3 innings over the past two seasons. He may ultimately be joined by top pitching prospect Dylan Cease, who’s off to a nice opening at Triple-A, but a promotion still doesn’t seem to be imminent. Hahn suggested to reporters that he may end up looking for outside arms to help fill things out.

[dudekid]

Rodon has a pretty lengthy injury history too, its too bad he was pitching better than his ERA this year

[batt33]

The Giants announced Thursday that they’ve acquired catcher Francisco Pena from the Cardinals in exchange for cash. Pena, who was not on the St. Louis 40-man roster, will report to Triple-A Sacramento.
San Francisco recently brought veteran backstop Stephen Vogt from Sacramento up to the big leagues, so Pena will step into the spot that had previously been occupied by Vogt. In six games for Triple-A Memphis so far in 2019, Pena has batted .333/.429/.611 with a homer in 21 plate appearances, although that type of production shouldn’t be expected moving forward. Pena is a career .216/.249/.311 hitter at the MLB level and owns a .253/.298/.455 slash in just under 1400 PAs at the Triple-A level. Pena, 29, has caught 32 percent of would-be base thieves at the Triple-A level in his career and has generally received positive marks for pitch framing, though he did struggle in that regard both in the Majors and the minors with the Cards last season.
Stockpiling depth behind the plate has been a clear priority for new Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi in the first year of his tenure with his new organization. Under Zaidi, the Giants have signed or acquired Vogt, Pena, Erik Kratz, Tom Murphy and Rene Rivera, although the latter two are no longer in the organization. (Murphy was traded to the Mariners, while Rivera was released and signed with the Mets on a minor league deal.)

They should have just kept Nick Hundley....He was a good backup for them with power in limited plate appearances .

[Cross]

Kimbrel and Keuchel must be getting advice from Roger Clemens.

[Chi_archie]

Kimbrel and Keuchel must be getting advice from Roger Clemens.

its possible

[BigSpoon]

Syndergaard hits homer, goes 9 in 1-0 win


NEW YORK -- Noah Syndergaard became the first pitcher in 36 years to homer and throw a shutout in a 1-0 victory, lifting the New York Mets over the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday.

Syndergaard (2-3) struck out 10 and allowed four hits in his third career complete game, shaking off a sloppy start to the season with a do-it-all effort. He became the first Mets starter to get an out in the eighth this season, and the franchise's first starter ever to hit a home run in a 1-0 complete-game win.

"Thor" did his hammering in the third inning, driving a ball 407 feet to the opposite field in left-center off Tyler Mahle (0-4).


The previous pitcher to homer in a 1-0 complete-game win was the Los Angeles Dodgers' Bob Welch against the Reds on June 17, 1983, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Syndergaard is only the seventh pitcher to accomplish the feat since 1920.

Beastly game by Thor. I'm surprised its happened 6 times before he did it yesterday.

[koz-man]

Reds bring up top prospect Senzel for debut


CINCINNATI -- The Cincinnati Reds are bringing up top prospect Nick Senzel for his major league debut.

The 23-year-old outfielder will bat second and play center field against the San Francisco Giants on Friday night. He was ranked as the No. 6 overall prospect in baseball entering this season by ESPN's Keith Law.

Cincinnati selected his contract from Louisville, optioned right-hander Matt Bowman to the Triple-A farm team and transferred second baseman Scooter Gennett to the 60-day injured list.
Senzel was the second overall pick in the 2016 amateur draft from Tennessee and signed for a $6.2 million bonus.

He sprained his right ankle during a minor league spring training game on March 25 and did not make his season debut at Triple-A Louisville until April 23. He hit .257 including one double, one homer and two RBIs in eight games and 35 at-bats.

Senzel played third, shortstop and second before transitioning to the outfield this year.

He hit .310 with six homers and 25 RBIs in 44 games at Louisville last season before season-ending surgery on June 28 to repair a broken right index finger. He returned to play in the instructional league, then had surgery Oct. 16 for bone spurs in his left, non-throwing, elbow.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[JMobile]

I'm guessing him and Kimbrel will sign one year deals after June 4th. No draft pick comp if they sign after June 4.

Roger Clemens probably sent them a text message.

[JaimeMiro]

Sox getting it together, now is the time to back them

[EmpireMaker]

Most fans don’t get too excited when their favorite teams picks up a player who’d been recently designated for assignment by another organization. There’s the occasional C.J. Cron-style exception, where a player is designated in what amounts to a salary dump, but more often than not, a player is designated for assignment after failing to take advantage of opportunities or failing to force his way up to the majors. Trades of such players rarely offer much in the way of return value, but the minimal cost of acquisition makes it all the sweeter when those speculative additions actually pan out.
It’s still relatively early in the season, but it’s not early in the season. Roughly 20 percent of the year’s games are in the books at this point, and a look around the league reveals a handful of recently designated players who were traded to another club for a negligible return, only to thrive — initially, at least — in their new surroundings. It’s probably safe to say that the original organization in each of these swaps would take a mulligan on the decision, if possible:
Dwight Smith Jr., OF, Orioles (acquired from Blue Jays): The Orioles acquired Smith Jr. from the division-rival Blue Jays in Spring Training, sending international bonus space to Toronto in return. The O’s were widely panned for years due to owner Peter Angelos’s refusal to spend on the international market, which often prompted former baseball ops leader Dan Duquette and his staff to trade away international funds for what proved to be minimal prospect returns (or as a means of dumping salary). This trade of international dollars, however, at least gave the O’s an MLB-ready player to plug into a questionable outfield mix, and Smith has made the team look outstanding. He’s hitting .292/.347/.496 with five homers, eight doubles and three steals through 124 plate appearances. He’s fanned at only a 16.9 percent clip thus far, and while his success in limited at-bats against lefties may be BABIP-driven, his overall .318 average on balls in play doesn’t look especially fluky. The Orioles have also done well on waiver claims for Pedro Severino and Hanser Alberto, but Smith looks to be their best DFA pickup since GM Mike Elias took over he club.
Nick Wittgren, RHP, Indians (acquired from Marlins): The sample size with relievers, this early in the season, is always going to be dubious, but it’s hard not to be impressed by Wittgren’s 14-to-1 K/BB ratio and one run allowed in 10 1/3 innings of bullpen work. The 27-year-old is relying more heavily on his four-seamer and curveball so far, and his opponents’ expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA) of .224, as measured by Statcast, ranks in the 96th percentile of MLB pitchers. A few shaky outings can obviously torpedo any reliever’s numbers, but Wittgren was a surprise DFA at the time, and it looks all the more puzzling that the Marlins opted to boot him from the 40-man roster. Right-hander Jordan Milbrath, whom the Marlins acquired in return, has thrown well in 12 1/3 minor league innings this season, but he’s only two months younger than Wittgren and is pitching in Double-A.
Trevor Gott, RHP, Giants (acquired from Nationals): San Francisco picked up Gott in a trade that sent nothing more than cash to the Nationals, and he’s rewarded them with 16 innings of 1.69 ERA ball and a 17-to-3 K/BB ratio. Gott’s 95 mph heater is every bit as fast as it was with the Nats, but he’s significantly cut back on the usage of his sinker in favor of a true four-seamer. His ground-ball rate is down, as one would expect, but the overall results are nothing short of excellent. His success in San Francisco stings that much more for the Nationals given their second straight season of early bullpen implosions.
Connor Sadzeck, RHP, Mariners (acquired from Rangers): Sadzeck chucked fire with the Rangers just as he’s doing with his new club, but the Texas organization couldn’t find a way to keep the 6’7″, 240-pounder in the strike zone. Whether the Mariners will be able to do so for the long haul remains to be seen, but Sadzeck has just four walks against 13 strikeouts in 11 1/3 innings with the Mariners, and his 96.8 mph average heater is right in line with last year’s overall 97 mph average. Sadzeck’s first-pitch strike rate is up eight percent from last season, and the rate at which hitters make contact on his out-of-zone pitches has plummeted from 66.7 percent to 43.5 percent. Sadzeck threw only 9 1/3 innings in the Majors last year, so all of this is reading a lot into tiny samples of data, but so far, the Sadzeck swap looks great for the Mariners. Texas picked up righty Grant Anderson, the Mariners’ 21st-round pick last year, in return. He’s pitched 13 solid innings in Class-A ball but isn’t facing advanced competition relative to his age.
Tom Murphy, C, Mariners (acquired from Giants): The Giants only had Murphy briefly, as they claimed him off waivers from the Rockies and then promptly traded him to Seattle for 20-year-old righty Jesus Ozoria. Murphy has hit well in the nine games he’s logged with the Mariners, but if there’s anyone on this list whose success is especially worth taking with a grain of salt, it’s his. He’s punched out 13 times in 33 PAs, and we have a few years worth of data at the big league level to suggest that Murphy struggles against big league pitching. Still, he’s a former Top 100 prospect who has a productive history in Triple-A, and Seattle acquired him at minimal cost. It’s at least worth keeping an eye on him over the course of the season to see how things go; the Giants have been cycling through veteran catchers left and right, while the Rockies haven’t received any offense from behind the plate in several years.
—
As emphasized throughout, there’s plenty of time for any of these swaps to turn into afterthoughts, but the early success of each player in question makes him more intriguing to follow than most players involved in relatively minor DFA trades. Any organization needs to have success in the draft, in free agency (both domestic and international) and in larger-scale trades in order to put together a winning roster, but a diamond in the rough or two along the way can certainly help to expedite the process.

[jrgum3]

Finally got a dominant start out of Sale so maybe he’s coming around along with the Bosox.

[Chi_archie]

Finally got a dominant start out of Sale so maybe he’s coming around along with the Bosox.

He did very well

[dudekid]

Sale looked good, White Sox are K prone but definitely a step in the right direction

[koz-man]

MadBum is back


Buster Posey is the chiding older brother in his relationship with Madison Bumgarner, with Bumgarner never failing to return verbal fire with the deep sarcasm that saturates their communication. They don't tend to trade any compliments when a good insult would suffice.
So Posey's immediate response to Bumgarner's most recent start, against the Dodgers on Wednesday night, was telling, because Posey is not one for empty praise. "The best stuff he's had all year," Posey said during a postgame interview with Amy Gutierrez of NBC Sports Bay Area.

Bumgarner gave up one run in six innings to the Dodgers, by relying far more -- not less -- on his fastball, a pitch that has drawn the scrutiny of rival evaluators preparing for this summer's trade market and the left-hander's impending free agency in the fall. In Bumgarner's first six starts of this season, his fastball usage peaked at 40 percent, against the Padres in early April, but against the Dodgers on Wednesday, almost 60 percent of his pitches were fastballs.

[Otters27]

Sale looked good, White Sox are K prone but definitely a step in the right direction

Hope he turns it around

[BigSpoon]

Another Yankees player to the IL, James Paxton with left knee inflammation.

[Heltah Skeltah]

Another Yankees player to the IL, James Paxton with left knee inflammation.

Looks like only miss one or two starts at most.

[Cross]

Anyone think Keuchel has some injury concerns? Why is everyone passing on him?