Mining the News (4/5/22)

American League

Angels

• For now, Brandon Marsh, Jo Adell, and Taylor Ward will be splitting time between two outfield spots.

Marsh might have to start taking better care of it, because odds are it’ll get plenty dirty in 2022. After the Angels designated incumbent Justin Upton for assignment, Marsh, former top prospect Jo Adell and fifth-year grinder Taylor Ward are the only outfielders aside from Trout left on the roster.

Three days before Opening Day — by manager Joe Maddon’s own admission — there still isn’t much of a set plan for the Marsh-Adell-Ward carousel.

“To be honest with you, I think it’s going to be a group effort,” Marsh said. “I don’t know what the positions are. I know Trout’s in center … we’re going to fill in the corners.”

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Anticipating injury and frequent platooning, Maddon said it’s likely the three end up with a similar number of at-bats once the season ends.

Here is how the trio is projected to hit this season:

It’s interesting to see Ward projected to hit better than Adell.

Astros

• Justin Verlander’s fastball was sitting at 95 mph late into his last start.

Verlander, 39, said he would still like to get his timing down better but is happy with his secondary pitches. He was throwing 95-96 mph with his fastball early in the game and still sitting at 95 with the heater in his final inning of work. In addition to staying healthy, getting adjusted to his between-starts routine has been a focus.

• Manager Dusty Baker plans on his players getting several days off to start the season.

“Early in the season, I’m going to have to give guys a rest when I wouldn’t normally give them a rest,” Baker said. “They haven’t played three or four games in a row, or nine innings, yet.”

Baker has also handled his pitching staff conservatively. Justin Verlander made four Grapefruit League starts this spring only because that fit with his recovery schedule from Tommy John surgery. The other four hurlers ticketed for the Astros’ starting rotation have combined to make six Grapefruit League starts, working primarily on back fields throwing live bullpens, simulated games or in Minor League games.

“This is a very volatile situation that we’re about to enter into, because if you get hurt early in April, you’ll never get into shape or you’ll be playing catchup the whole time,” Baker said.

• Also Baker plans on rotating several guys through the leadoff spot with Jose Altuve hitting second.

Baker said earlier in camp that Jose Altuve would ideally bat second, but the 2017 AL MVP hit leadoff in the Astros’ final spring contest, going 1-for-3 with a run scored. Shortstop Jeremy Peña, who saw significant time at leadoff this spring, hit eighth on Monday and went 0-for-2 with an RBI groundout.

“It could be a revolving thing between a couple guys,” Baker said of the leadoff role. “It could be who’s hot, what’s working.”

• Chas McCormick and Jose Siri will be splitting time in center field.

Dusty Baker appears set to turn back to the Chas McCormick and Jose Siri timeshare from the ALCS and World Series in center while Jake Meyers remains in Florida to continue his rehab from November shoulder surgery. Both McCormick and Siri are right-handed hitters, so it’s not as if it’s even a platoon situation. If neither produces up to par, there could be a lot of pressure on Meyers to perform ahead of the Aug. 2. trade deadline, where the Astros could survey both the center fielder and corner outfielder markets.

Athletics

• Sheldon Neuse and Kevin Smith will be splitting time at third base along with other positions.

So do the A’s have to choose [Neuse or Smith]? Not exactly.

Working in favor of both players is their positional flexibility. Neuse and Smith have often had the chance to each crack the starting lineup this spring by alternating time around the infield, Neuse mostly at third and second and Smith at third and shortstop.

“Kevin and Sheldon both provide some versatility on the infield,” Kotsay said. “They’ve shown they can make plays. Kevin’s played three spots out there. Sheldon’s been back and forth. Both of them provide that valuable versatility we talk about.”

It’s not like either one is even an average hitter.

Orioles

• Paul Fry, Dillon Tate, and Jorge López will get consideration as the closer.

Fry is among a small group of arms now slated to get looks in the late innings. He will be joined by Dillon Tate, who has turned in an electric spring, and Jorge López, among other bullpen candidates.

Rangers

• Spencer Howard is the Rangers’ fifth starter.

Woodward also informed pitchers Brock Burke, Spencer Howard, Kolby Allard and Matt Bush that they would break camp with the big league club. Burke, Allard and Bush are expected to be in the bullpen, while Howard has won the competition for the fifth starter spot.

Red Sox

• Matt Barnes is fixing his mechanics while dealing with velocity loss.

The lack of velocity from righty Matt Barnes, who is hoping to win back the closer’s job, is one obvious red flag. Cora revealed that a mechanical flaw has been spotted that might help Barnes get back to where he needs to be. The veteran righty’s fastball has mainly been 92-93 mph. When Barnes is right, his heater purrs in at 96-97.

“I think it’s something about his leg kick,” Cora said. “Last year, he was a lot tighter. Now, he’s loose. If you want to use a reference, it’s like a figure skater. When you’re open, it slows you down. When you’re closed, you’re actually faster, quicker. So hopefully, that’s what gets him going and kind of engaged in his delivery and he doesn’t have to create [velocity]. Right now in his delivery, he’s just mechanically off, and then he tries to create velocity, and it’s not there.”

Royals

• The Royals are loosening their stance on how much they want to rest Adalberto Mondesi.

Going into the offseason last year, the Royals were planning on creating a workload management plan for shortstop Adalberto Mondesi, hoping to keep him healthy in 2022 after he played just 35 games last season. As Opening Day nears with Mondesi slated to be the Royals’ starting shortstop, the club has backed off that plan, without a set workload schedule for the oft-injured 26-year-old.

“It’s developed more into, ‘Let’s be smart about it and aware of it,’” Picollo said. “… We’ve decided not to go, ‘He’s going to play five days, then sit.’ We’re not going to do that. We just think he’s too valuable to be [off] the field.”

Picollo likened the approach to the way the Royals handled center fielder Lorenzo Cain’s workload, when they were strategic with the schedule while getting him more off days when he needed it after he struggled to stay healthy early in his career in Kansas City.

Here is how often Cain played while on the Royals.

During the World Series runs of 2014 and 2015, Cain never played over 140 games. Mondesi will likely be on a similar plan.

Twins

• Chris Archer’s fastball averaged 94 mph.

Archer worked exclusively with his fastball and slider to get the feel for those pitches with the regular season so close, generating five swings and misses — all with the slider. His fastball averaged 94 mph against the Braves, well above his 92 mph average from last season. It topped out at 95 mph, matching his highest velocity from the 2021 season, with all the stuff around the strike zone.

• Luis Arraez will play some first base this season.

Toward the end of last season, Baldelli briefly mentioned that there’s a chance the versatile Luis Arraez could be asked to add first base to his skillset. That manifested on the field for the first time on Thursday, when the infielder moved to first base for three innings of a game against the Red Sox.

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“It’s going to be good for his versatility and it’s going to be good for us,” Baldelli said.

The Twins will look for any opportunity they can find to get Arraez’s bat in the lineup, particularly with Gio Urshela likely to take up a large chunk of the plate appearances at third base and Jorge Polanco fixed at second base. There could be some at-bats available at designated hitter, but it’s likely that Gary Sánchez will also be in line for plenty of looks in that role.

• Miguel Sanó lost 22 lbs while drinking lots and lots of water.

While they sensed from videos on his Instagram account that Sanó was working hard, team officials didn’t know what to expect. So when he checked into camp earlier this month 22 pounds lighter, the team was overjoyed. Sanó, 28, said he hopes the weight loss and strength gained help him rediscover his dominant offensive form of 2017 and 2019.
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Sanó’s belief in himself fueled a decision to work out this offseason at Cressey Sports Performance, a facility owned and operated by New York Yankees player health and performance director Eric Cressey. Sanó moved to West Palm Beach within two weeks of the 2021 season ending and started to work.

Not only did he hit the gym hard, Sanó changed his diet. He ditched pork and chicken and ate more fish. He also started increasing his water intake, drinking 14-16 glasses per day.

White Sox

• Reynaldo López is trying to throw his curve and slider more.

López is trying to more actively incorporate his curveball and slider after seeing some command benefits of a shortened arm swing last year.

While Lopez’s slider (career 16% SwStr%) has had good results, his curve (career 9% SwStr%) could improve.

National League

Brewers

• Eric Lauer is throwing a bit harder.

Eric Lauer has thrown 18 pitches 95 mph+ in his career, topping out at 95.9 mph. He was flashing 95 and 96 in his outing Saturday.

“It’s a little uptick in velocity.” pic.twitter.com/9UbmnfdPVT

— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) March 28, 2022

• Luis Urías will likely come off the IL in late April.

On March 31, Counsell suggested that the Brewers’ second road trip — which begins April 22 in Philadelphia, 15 days after Opening Day in Chicago — is a more realistic timetable for Urías’ return from a quad injury.

• Hunter Renfroe could spend some time at first base.

Renfroe played five innings at first base in one game, and that’s a position he only has nine career innings at in the majors. Against tough lefties, plugging Renfroe in at first base could give the Brewers a way to get as many good right-handed bats in the lineup as possible (with Taylor able to play in the outfield).

Diamondbacks

• Luke Weaver is moving to the bullpen.

The D-backs’ starting rotation became a bit more clear on Monday after manager Torey Lovullo announced that Luke Weaver, who was expected to be one of the team’s five starters, would open the season in the bullpen.

The rotation now appears to include Madison Bumgarner, Merrill Kelly 켈리, Zach Davies and Zac Gallen, with the fifth spot to be announced Tuesday morning. Caleb Smith, Humberto Castellanos and Corbin Martin are in the running to fill out the rotation.

Dodgers

• Julio Urías’s fastball velocity is significantly down.

Urías did reach back for a couple 93 mph offerings on Monday. But generally, his fastball ranged between the 91-92 mph mark — a far cry from the average four-seam mark of 94.2 mph last season that buoyed a seventh-place Cy Young Award finish.

Similar murmurings of diminished velocity started to bubble toward the end of last season, across which the 25-year-old had thrown a career high 185 2/3 innings. But Urías said he felt strong and healthy and just needed to go back to watch film of “misfires” from his outing.

Giants

• Brandon Belt may not appear in back-to-back games.

This gives [Belt] a chance to appear in one of the two final exhibitions against the A’s on Monday or Tuesday — he likely wouldn’t be asked to appear in back-to-back games — and create a comfort level for the front office and coaching staff as they tailor their roster for Opening Day.

The article is a little vague on if it was just the two games mentioned or more going forward until he is healthy.

Phillies

• Bryson Stott and Alec Bohm will be part of several platoons limiting their playing time.

Stott started at third base for the fourth time in eight games on Sunday. He is batting .480 (12-for-25) with a 1.261 OPS. Bohm is batting .222 (6-for-27) with a .670 OPS. Asked if Stott is the lead candidate to be at third on Opening Day, Joe Girardi said, “I wouldn’t necessarily say that. I think we’re going to look at some different things we can do, depending on the right-handedness or left-handedness of the pitcher we’re facing. We’re looking at different situations. Platoons. Playing him all over the place.”

More on the situation saying their at-bats will be limited.

In recent days, manager Joe Girardi has spitballed the idea of carrying [Stott and Bohm] on the Opening Day roster. It is not the preferred solution, nor was it an option a few weeks ago, but it is one the Phillies are legitimately considering. What’s unclear is how the Phillies would prioritize everyday at-bats for two of their most promising young hitters while keeping established veterans in the lineup, too.

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“I mean,” Girardi said, “they may not get 600 (at-bats), but I think you could spread the at-bats around.”

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“Especially early on in the year, you’re not going to be running guys out there for more than a couple days in a row,” Girardi said. “You’re not. They haven’t played enough in spring training to be able to do that. So a couple days here, a couple days there. And I think you can get everyone enough at-bats. Now, I’m not saying that’s what will happen, but …”

• Connor Brogdon’s velocity is way down.

Brogdon entered camp a lock, but he has not pitched since Wednesday because of an illness. Before that, he struggled in 2 1/3 innings. Most concerning: his fastball on Wednesday averaged 92.8 mph.

His fastball averaged 96 mph last season.

Pirates

• Besides adding velocity, Mitch Keller added a “sweeper”.

Keller grinned. His secret was out. The sweeper, a pitch that is catching fire all over the majors, had arrived in Pirates spring training camp.

The Dodgers last season had a lot of success with this newfangled slider. This spring, several pitchers at camps in Arizona and Florida are tinkering with their own sweepers. “Yeah, it’s the new thing,” Keller said. “And for good reason, too, because it’s really hard to hit.”

Instead of diving vertically, a sweeper has big horizontal break to the pitcher’s glove side. To achieve that, a pitcher uses a grip that’s different from that of his normal slider — one that allows the seams to catch the air in a way that creates sideways movement.

Reds

• Nick Lodolo will likely get a start in the second series of the season.

Yet Lodolo will be on the team’s charter to Atlanta on Tuesday as a member of the taxi squad and the Reds are planning on having their fifth starter pitch on April 13 at Great American Ball Park against the Guardians. While nobody will say Lodolo is the team’s fifth starter, all signs — flashing neon signs — point to Lodolo taking the mound in the Reds’ second home game that Wednesday against Cleveland.

Reds manager David Bell said Monday that they’d decided on their roster, with four starters to start the season and 11 relievers. The fifth starter, he said, would slot in for that April 13 game and the club would carry 10 relievers through the end of the month as teams are allowed to carry 28 players under a temporary, post-lockout rule.

Rockies

• Signs point to Daniel Bard being the closer.

Rockies reliever Daniel Bard was ready for a chance to reclaim the closer role long before arriving.

While manager Bud Black declined to announce a closer, Bard’s performance in Spring Training and his familiarity in the role points to him receiving the opportunity to protect ninth-inning leads when the season begins Friday at Coors Field against the Dodgers (2 p.m. MT).
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And he’s throwing hard. In the two appearances at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, where Statcast readings are available, his fastball maintained in the mid 97-98 mph range.