NEWSFLASH: Eyre Placed On 15-Day DL; Mendoza Recalled; Gabbard Traded To Red Sox
Joey Matschulat
Right-hander Luis Mendoza (pictured) has been recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City.A flurry of Thursday afternoon roster moves have placed one recently activated veteran back on the shelf, recalled a talented but frustrating sinkerballer and purged the lone hurler Texas acquired in exchange for Eric Gagne nearly 21 months ago.
According to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Rangers have assigned right-hander Willie Eyre (aggravated right groin muscle strain) to the 15-day disabled list, summoned right-hander Luis Mendoza -- the reigning Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week -- from Triple-A Oklahoma City and traded left-hander Kason Gabbard to the Red Sox -- who have assigned their former farmhand to Triple-A Pawtucket and are reportedly expected to send him to extended spring training -- in exchange for cash considerations.
My oft-expressed distaste for Eyre notwithstanding, the 30-year-old reliever's 6.23 ERA through 4.1 innings is misleading in that all three earned runs tallied against him in his three appearances thus far this season were plated during the course of his atrocious 1.1-inning appearance against the Royals last Friday evening; Texas ultimately dropped that game by a 12-3 margin, although manager Ron Washington's decision to effectively surrender with seven outs left certainly didn't aid matters. Eyre isn't a particularly good pitcher, and thus his loss is not devastating, but attrition on the relief front dilutes the pool of viable major league bullpen options and exacerbates the 40-man roster squeeze, and the historically pitching-deficient Rangers obviously need to avert such problems.
Mendoza's 10.1 scoreless frames with the RedHawks were a function of his absurd peripherals -- including a 30.2 percent strikeout rate and a 70 percent ground ball rate -- and unsustainable .167 BABIP, both of which have presumably been bolstered by his heightened fastball velocity. RedHawks manager Bobby Jones recently informed MiLB.com beat writer Bob Hersom that Mendoza was clocked at 98 mph multiple times during his April 19th start versus Triple-A Memphis, although inadequate velocity has never been the principal reason behind his major league struggles, and his ability to control his four-pitch repertoire will ultimately dictate whether this latest assignment is anything more than ephemeral in nature.
The extrication of Gabbard from an organization that had evidently soured on the soft-tossing southpaw is unusual in that the Rangers essentially relinquished his services for a pittance of cash and nothing more, and the chances of molding the 27-year-old into a serviceable situational reliever ostensibly still seemed decent; however, D Magazine's Evan Grant reports that Texas cut bait with Gabbard due to his struggles with his fastball command in Oklahoma City, his inability to adjust to a relief role and "long-term injury concerns," so it's probably safe to surmise that few tears are being shed over his departure within the inner circle. Mediocrity is mediocrity, and no amount of sugar-coating in the form of hyperbolic proclamations to the contrary can disguise what you really are.
Quick Hits: Texas possesses "some" interest in free-agent right-hander Pedro Martinez, but does not expect to be "the leader in the clubhouse"; Martinez will reportedly resume throwing off a mound on Friday and could make a decision on his future within the next two weeks ... Eyre's latest stint on the disabled list could last up to a month ... Right-hander Jason Jennings will pitch on back-to-back days at some point, although the Rangers haven't yet determined when that will be ... Andruw Jones made his first-ever major league appearance at first base on Thursday evening ... Manager Ron Washington on Gabbard: "I’m going to miss him because I like his competitive spirit, but this may be the best thing for him. He was a control pitcher, and he was just fighting getting his control back."
Reader Comments (14)
Weird. Does Hicks need some spending money for May or something? Considering that Boston has both Bowden and Buchholtz cooling down in AAA because they have like 28 quality starting pitchers up (and another 28 quality relievers), it would seem unlikely that Gabbard would get any time in the big leagues this year. So I don't get it.
I don't get why they basically gave up Gabbard for nothing. I know they weren't to hot about the number of walks he gives up, but he's still a servicable major league quality left-handed pitcher and that should have more value than cash considerations....
I'm about the furthest thing from a Kason Gabbard fan that there is, but this is a curious transaction from the standpoint that the Rangers still don't have much left-handed relief depth to play with and conceivably could have still groomed him into a LOOGY...additionally, those cash considerations are probably a pittance relative to the major league payroll, so perhaps this was about the Rangers arriving at the determination that Gabbard was no longer a fit in the system and wanting to give him a chance to make something of himself elsewhere rather than holding him back...
I want to know why we still dont feel like Diamond has earned a look. This is his last option year right?
Diamond has to be the next guy up, right? So hang on biggs - it won't be long. I have a feeling Padilla is hurt, and will be headed to the DL soon, too. How else do you explain a 5-7 mph loss on his fastball?
I look forward to the day when Joey doesn't have the opportunity to post so many roster changes for the team in April...
briant:
No doubt, dude.
But we all had to suspect that this would happen, considering the group we went into the season with, comprised almost entirely of: (1) retreads, (2) guys coming off major injuries, (3) guys who have had little success recently, and (4) unproven youngsters.
I think looking back on it, I would have liked to have seen Texas pursue a couple of decent, dependable, consistent guys. Two that I thought would have fit in nicely here were Randy Wolf for the rotation and Russ Springer for the bullpen. I think Wolf could have been had on a 2 year day, and at one point he even made public that he was willing to play anywhere. And Springer at age 39 (or is he 40?) could have been had on a 1 year deal. Who knows if those guys would have singed here, but they're exactly the kind of arms we could have used to settle things down and provide some needed stability.
Oh well, at least we seem to have done well with the Jennings resign.
Yeah, by the way - Randy Wolf, 1 year 5 million with performance bonuses based on IP totals.
Certainly would have been doable.
Russ Springer - 1 year 3.3 million.
Der. "deal" and "signed" above.
Sorry.
We won't sniff the playoffs this year and probably don't have a legit shot until 'll-12. I never would have dreamed while sitting in the stands on opening night of '72 or '73, whichever the first season was, my memory is fading - that this franchise would carry the same karma the Senators had since Walter Johnson. We were supposed to get an expansion team (Toronto?) but Judge Roy Hoffeinz, owner of the Astros at the time, was afraid it would cut into his market, and vetoed the deal. So here we are, another losing season before us with our young pitching still 2 to 3 years away.
A little Birdie has informed me that the reason Gabbard was traded to the Soxs is that Texas and Gabbard didn't agree on how he was being used. They were over using him in ( Bullpens sessions that had high pitch totals and making him pitch with Back stiffness.) The Rangers were being reckless and not concerning themselves with the players health
No lace panties for an organization run by Nolan
And Lord know Gabbard has health issues.
And control issues.
He's good farm filler and trade fodder, though. He'll move around more places yet.
Interesting viewpoint there, Frank.
While I certainly couldn't confirm or disprove this on any concrete basis, anytime the issue of 'requiring' injured pitchers to keep pitching comes up, it makes me a little uncomfortable - CJ in 2008 being one of the more recent examples.
If this was just a case of sour grapes for Gabbard not wanting to be a LOOGY, then it's just too bad for him, because he can't seem to stay healthy enough to keep starting.
But this issue of the Rangers pushing injured pitchers is an issue I would really like to see disappear, even if it exists today only in perception. If these stories circulate far enough for fans to pick up on them , surely pitchers on other teams hear them as well.