One of the best parts of baseball can be the allure of pulling for players who defied the odds to succeed. Tim Lincecum , affectionately referred to as “The Freak”, represents this as well as anyone. He won two Cy Young Awards in spite of his diminutive stature hurling fastballs and breaking down batters with his devastating split-fingered fastball. Lincecum won three world championships with the Giants and seems destined to be a player to live on in folklore.
But with a roster decision looming, the Rangers were forced to make a baseball decision. They took a calculated risk signing Lincecum to a one-year contract and needed to activate him by Wednesday, release him or ask him to accept a minor league designation. Texas has released Lincecum, who recorded a 5.68 ERA at Triple-A with 10 strikeouts and nine walks in 12.2 innings of work. As of this writing, Lincecum has headed out West, presumably to return home and away from baseball. If indeed this is the end for Tim Lincecum , thanks for the memories.
Night Moves
It seems like Tuesday evenings become dominated by a litany of roster moves. This one only reinforces the trend. In an effort to save some time, here’s the abridged version of the latest injury news.
- Jordan Montgomery will undergo Tommy John surgery and will miss the remainder of the season. New York, already rumored to be in the market for starting pitching, will become much more aggressive. Luckily, the team will have about $12 million dollars to work with before exceeding the luxury tax.
- Lingering wrist soreness caused Justin Turner to receive a stim treatment and he will not play on Tuesday. This will need to be closely monitored by his fantasy owners.
- Boston placed Drew Pomeranz on the 10-day disabled list due to left biceps tendinitis. There’s no official replacement slated yet for his start on Thursday, but many hope it will be Jalen Beeks , no not from Coming to America, to be promoted. Beeks is a crafty left-handed starter with three wins at Triple-A, a 2.56 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 80 strikeouts against 14 walks in 56.1 innings.
- Tampa Bay placed Chris Archer on the disabled list with an abdominal strain. He’s in danger of missing one or two starts, but the team feels it’s not serious. Matt Andriese will work the lion’s share of innings on Archer’s turn in the rotation. Of interest, the Rays promoted Diego Castillo to the bullpen. Castillo has four saves, in five chances, at Triple-A with a 1.03 ERA and 0.84 ERA. He can struggle with his control, but, Castillo’s upper 90’s fastball and plus-slider could work well in high leverage for a team needing a replacement for Álex Colomé .
- Both Yadier Molina and Carlos Martínez will be activated and start on Tuesday for the Cardinals. Teammate, Álex Reyes , will head to Philadelphia to see a specialist to determine how long he will miss going forward.
- Colorado promoted Mike Tauchman , the Pacific Coast League’s player of the month for May. Tauchman racked up 44 hits with eight home runs last month and over his 149 games in Triple-A, has 25 home runs and 23 stolen bases with a .345/.398/.587 slash line in 649 plate appearances. Plus, he’s whiffed 14.8 percent of the time compared to an 8.5 walk percentage. Power, speed and some plate discipline? Yes please.
- Toronto’s front office thinks a promotion could be in store for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in July. Of course, it’s only to Triple-A. Patience will be needed here no matter how ready Vlad Jr. looks, the team has zero to gain from calling him up prior to the Super 2 date or in a panic move. It stinks, but it’s the truth.
Did You Know?
Byron Buxton , still out on the disabled list, has a negative three weighted runs created plus metric? He’s played in 28 games with eight runs, four RBI, five stolen bases and a .156/.183/.200 slash line. His present replacement, Ryan LaMarre ’s hitting .310/.355/.362 with four runs, six RBI and a steal in 27 games. And, a weighted runs created plus of 97. Baseball.
Speaking of which, Adam Engel of the White Sox has hit .310/.341/.548 with nine runs, two home runs, five RBI and two stolen bases over the last two weeks. He’s not going to stay this hot due to his 31.8 strikeout percentage, but Engel will play and stay aggressive on the bases.
Last week, Matt Olson seemed due to turn around his slow start in the power department. This week, it could be Justin Bour ’s turn. He ranked tied for sixth in barrels last month with 12, his rest of the season Steamer projects him to hit 17 home runs over the last 88 games with a .254/.354/.461 slash line and 50 RBI. For a comparison, Justin Smoak ’s projected to hit 18 home runs the last 91 games with a .243/.341/.458 line. Only difference, name recognition.
Burning Questions
Would the Dodgers really send Clay Bellinger back to the minors? Will Bryce Harper heat up soon? Who do the Yankees target as a starting pitcher if they do not prefer rentals? When does Manny Machado get traded to a contender?
Many more questions remain unanswered, but no worries, Justin Mason will recap the most pressing matters in Wednesday’s Round Up on Fantasy Alarm to keep you ahead of your competition.
Statistical Credits:
MLB.com
Fangraphs.com
MiLB.com
Player News
Clayton Kershaw (toe, knee) fired six hitless innings on Tuesday in a minor league start in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League.
Kershaw had no issues against lower-level hitters after making a couple rehab outings previously for Triple-A Oklahoma City. The future Hall of Fame southpaw is targeting a mid-May return to the Dodgers’ rotation, so he figures to make at least one additional rehab start before being activated to make his season debut.
Gabriel Moreno is day-to-day with left side soreness.
Moreno was scratched from Tuesday’s lineup in what was described as a manager’s decision at the time. The Diamondbacks revealed after the contest that their starting catcher is dealing with left side soreness. It’ll be Jose Herrera handling the catching duties in his absence.
Julio Rodríguez went 3-for-4 with a solo homer and two runs scored on Tuesday to lead the Mariners to a 5-3 win over the Athletics.
Rodríguez put the Mariners on the board early with solo homer off Jeffrey Springs in the first inning. He added a base hit in the third inning and was hit by a pitch in the seventh. Rodríguez reached for a fourth time with a single in the ninth and scored on a base hit by Cal Raleigh. The 24-year-old outfielder is hitting .221/.323/.407 with six homers, 25 runs scored, and five steals across 161 plate appearances.
Cal Raleigh drove in two runs with a pinch-hit single against the Athletics on Tuesday.
Raleigh entered to pinch hit for Mitch Garver with the bases loaded in the ninth trailing by one run. He came through with a line drive base hit to bring home two runs and give the Mariners the lead. The 28-year-old backstop has been among the top fantasy performers at the position, slashing .246/.364/.577 with 12 homers, 25 RBI, and four steals across 154 plate appearances.
Brent Rooker went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two steals against the Mariners on Tuesday.
Rooker drew a walk in the first inning and stole second before scoring on a base hit to put the A’s on the board. He reached again in the third with a single and stole second again for his second swipe of the day. Rooker later doubled in the eighth and scored a second time before collecting a third hit in the ninth. The 30-year-old slugger is having a solid season at the plate, slashing .255/.323/.497 with nine homers, 25 runs scored, 19 RBI, and two steals across 164 plate appearances.
Carlos Vargas struck out two batters in a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save against the Athletics on Tuesday.
Andrés Muñoz was unavailable for the Mariners on Tuesday after pitching in two of the last three days. It was Vargas who got the call in the ninth to close out the game with a two-run lead. He stranded two runners, striking out two to record the save and secure the win for Seattle.