Mining the News (2/15/23)

American League

Blue Jays

• George Springer says he’s fine after having a bone spur removed that prevented him from straightening his arm last year.

“I’m in a good spot and I’m very, very happy about it,” Springer said. “It feels good to feel good.”

Following the end of last season, Springer said he stayed in Toronto longer than he normally would have to allow for his concussion symptoms to subside before returning home. Only a short time after, in late October, Springer travelled to see Dr. Keith Meister in Dallas and underwent surgery to remove the bone spur in his elbow that he’d been playing through since at least June.
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The bone spur was large enough that Springer explained he could feel it underneath his skin and, at its worst, he couldn’t hold his arm out straight.

Royals

• The team wants to give Kyle Isbel and Drew Waters a long look in the outfield.

Center field is a major competition this spring after the Royals traded Michael A. Taylor to the Twins. That opened center field for Isbel or Waters, and both will get plenty of looks there this spring. The Royals want to see what each can do with everyday playing time.

The Royals outfield is crowded and here are the OPS projections for the candidates:

Name: Proj Depth Chart OPS
MJ Melendez: .766
Edward Olivares: .724
Drew Waters: .696
Kyle Isbel: .680
Nate Eaton: .664

With Olivares and Melendez handling the other outfield spots, it seems like Eaton is drawing the short straw… unless he’s playing third base.

• Nate Eaton and Matt Beaty might be third-base options.

But Nate Eaton is a capable option at third and the outfield, as is non-roster invitee Matt Beaty.

• Daniel Lynch looks to be in the rotation and Brad Keller is trying to bring back his curveball.

Lynch seems to have an inside track to that fourth spot, and the Royals still like what Keller could bring as a starter, especially since he’s worked on bringing back his curveball this offseason.

Keller never threw a curve in the majors, so no comparisons exist. He needs the curve to give him more options to work through a lineup. Hopefully, it’s at least average because his slider is not even average. Maybe the pitch will make him a streamable starter against weak opponents.

Tigers

• Matthew Boyd is revamping his changeup.

Matthew Boyd: Back in Detroit, we’ll get to see what changes Boyd has made since his flexor tendon surgery in 2021. He threw only 13 1/3 innings last season with the Mariners. Look for a revamped changeup to be Boyd’s key to success.

• Everything is fine in Tarik Skubal’s surgery recovery.

“Everything has gone really well,” Skubal said. “The arm is responding well. I can’t complain about anything. I like where I’m at.” Though he seems encouraged by the progress, it seems he doesn’t want to set a specific target for his return. “I hate to put a date on it,” he said. “I’m going to be focusing on my day-to-day progress. I’m not going to set a date and then, if I’m not back by that date, be discouraged.” But if someone were to say he won’t return at all this year? “I’d call them a liar.”

• Alex Faedo is going back to his old delivery.

The Tigers are implementing science into their pitching programs more than ever before, thanks largely to Lund’s professorial background. They’ve had Faedo throw at Joker Marchant Stadium with Hawkeye radars monitoring his every movement. They analyzed the results and worked to optimize his mechanics. That, in part, led to Faedo returning to a three-quarters delivery that he abandoned not long after coming to the Tigers organization.

How’s this for an interesting quote?

“I think it’s more of my natural arm slot,” Faedo said. “They’ve always been like, ‘When did you start trying to raise your arm slot?’ I was like, ‘When I first got here.’ I felt it was one of those things with prior people that I wasn’t throwing correctly … and as a player your like, ‘OK, I have to change, this is what I’m being told.’

Twins

• Tyler Mahle “feels fantastic”.

Falvey reaffirmed that Kenta Maeda will not have any restrictions this spring following his recovery from Tommy John surgery, and that Tyler Mahle “feels fantastic” after making some changes to his offseason programming following a visit to Driveline.

Yankees

• Aaron Judge was taking throws at first base because no one else was around to do it.

Since first baseman Anthony Rizzo signed a two-year, $40 million contract in November, Tuesday’s workout was just a one-day cameo for the American League’s reigning Most Valuable Player, who has been spotted frequently at the club’s Minor League complex in advance of Wednesday’s official report date for pitchers and catchers.

Don’t look for Judge to get any game reps in the infield this year, though. Following the workout, manager Aaron Boone said in a text message that there was “nothing there.”

National League

Braves

• Ronald Acuña Jr. plans on playing “fully healthy” with no pain.

“I’m not going to have any pain, I’m going to be fully healthy and I’m going to be able to do whatever I’m capable of doing on the field,” Acuña said.

Brewers

A nice three-part story here. Jesse Winker had neck surgery to fix several ailments…

Winker, who used to torment the Brewers when he played for the Reds, heard stories about hockey players, NFL players and MMA fighters coming through similar spinal surgeries. It was rarer for baseball players, but after dealing with discomfort and mobility issues in his neck for parts of three years — especially as he grinded through the least productive year of his career with Seattle in 2022 — it was time to try something.

…

Gone, he said, were years-long symptoms like trouble looking to his right or upward, weakness in his arms, diminished grip strength and tingles running down his arms.

…and will DH to start the season…

Health will play a big part in what happens in Winker’s final season before free agency. Brewers manager Craig Counsell has said he sees Winker serving as the designated hitter early in the year to get a foundation before Milwaukee plays him regularly in the outfield.

…so Tyrone Taylor, who is out of options, will get a long look in the outfield.

Taylor is out of options and has an opportunity, since the Brewers traded last year’s regular right fielder, Hunter Renfroe.

I’m not sure Taylor is a good hitter (Steamer 600: .230/.289/.409, 22 HR, 8 SB) but could be worth a late dart in redraft leagues to see if his batting average heads up.

Cubs

• Nick Madrigal is taking reps at third base.

To that end, Madrigal took his place at third base following his round of batting practice on Field 1 during Tuesday’s informal workout. He and Patrick Wisdom took turns gloving grounders and firing throws across the diamond. As spring shifts into full swing, Christopher Morel will also be an option at third.

How I’m reading this situation is that he is being groomed to a bench utility bat, nothing more.

Diamondbacks

• Tommy Henry, Ryne Nelson, Drey Jameson, and Brandon Pfaadt are vying for the last rotation spot.

That leaves one spot open, and there are a slew of young pitching candidates who could fill it. Tommy Henry, Ryne Nelson and Drey Jameson — who made their big league debuts last year — along with Brandon Pfaadt — who would have if not for the fact that the D-backs didn’t need to add him to the 40-man roster this winter — are the lead candidates.

I’ve seen all the names mentioned before but Tommy Henry. In nine starts last season, the 25-year-old posted a 6.9 K/9, 4.0 BB/9, 1.9 HR/9, and a 5.36 ERA. Part of his problem is that he throws a below-average 91.5 mph fastball 56% of the time while his non-fastballs (slider, curve, and change) each have a swinging-strike rate of over 12%. The curve is near elite with a 17% SwStr% and a 56% GB%. But he only threw it 15% of the time. Considering his other offerings, he needs to be closer to 40% usage on the curve. If Henry gains some control and reworks his pitch mix, he could become relevant.

Marlins

• Sixto Sánchez has touched 88 mph.

Sánchez, who has thrown five bullpen sessions, reached 88 mph his last time on the mound. His arm feels more fluid after the second surgery.

While Sánchez is preparing to participate in Spring Training, he said he is at 85%. Regardless of whether Sánchez pitches in a Grapefruit League game this spring, the Marlins were able to get a fourth Minor League option for him.

Only 13 mph more to go to reach his max “touched” value from last season (101 mph).

• Joey Wendle will be the team’s shortstop according to his manager.

He said “Joey Wendle is our shortstop” and that he’s excited to watch Jon Berti play some there. He several times mentioned shortstop prospect Jacob Amaya, who figures to begin the year in the minors.

• According to their manager, Bryan De La Cruz and Jesús Sánchez could end up in a platoon.

Schumaker will let left field to play out this spring. It could end up being a Bryan De La Cruz/Jesus Sanchez platoon or one winning the job.

“They’ll tell you,” he said. “Sanchez is a fun player to watch. De La Cruz showed what he is capable of doing. Both will get plenty of opportunities to make a case for themselves. They will tell you when they’re ready.

“You never want to fall in and out of love with someone in spring training” because sometimes they’re batting against minor-league arms.

Could it be a platoon situation? “We’ll find out. De La Cruz and Sanchez are exciting players. Looking forward to seeing them taking the next step.”

I’m not sure why this two would end up in a platoon since both struggled against lefties.

Name: Career OPS vs RHP, vs LHP
Cruz: .776, .666
Sanchez: .760, .558

By the season’s end, I expect Cruz to take the job over full-time.

Reds

• Nick Lodolo is trying to improve his change while Graham Ashcraft is tinkering with his slider and ditched his plans for adding a change.

Lodolo is also trying to sharpen his changeup to become a strong third pitch. Ashcraft is trying to make his slider a third-pitch option, though he decided not to integrate a changeup as a fourth pitch.

While the results on Lodolo’s change were great, the comps were even better.

Hopefully, he doesn’t mess with the pitch too much.

As for Ashcraft, his slider was fine, but his comps stand out.

The issue with Ashcraft is that he threw his fastballs a combined 72% of the time and the slider down at 27%. By just bumping up the slider’s usage could help him take a step forward.