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Austin Riley, Darren O’Day Start Rehab Assignments

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Braves outfielder/third baseman Austin Riley and reliever Darren O’Day started rehab assignments Friday, the team announced. Riley’s playing at the Single-A level, while O’Day is beginning at the rookie level.

The rookie Riley has been on the injured list since Aug. 8 with a sprained knee. The 22-year-old had been in the midst of a cold stretch before hitting the shelf, but he has still given the Braves decent overall production this season. Riley has slashed .242/.294/.504 with 17 home runs and a .263 ISO in 255 plate appearances on the offensive side, and has chipped in 4 Defensive Runs Saved and a 3.8 Ultimate Zone Rating as a left fielder. His absence, not to mention those of fellow injured outfielders Nick Markakis and Ender Inciarte, has weakened the Braves’ depth in the grass. Still, the team has won five in a row and continues to hold a comfortable lead of 5 1/2 games in the National League East.

The Braves’ success this year has come in spite of a maligned bullpen – one that hasn’t gotten a single out from O’Day. The longtime Oriole still hasn’t thrown a pitch for the Braves since they acquired him from the O’s (in a deal centering on the now-gone Kevin Gausman) at the July 2018 trade deadline. O’Day, who was included in the swap for financial purposes, was dealing with a hamstring injury at the time, but a forearm strain has kept him off a major league mound this season.

The 36-year-old O’Day did quality work for Baltimore over 20 innings in 2018, continuing a rather effective career that began in 2008 with the Angels. To this point, O’Day has amassed 555 frames of 2.56 ERA/3.47 FIP ball with 9.28 K/9 and 2.46 BB/9. He’s on a $9MM salary this year, the last season of his contract.

Latest On Willson Contreras

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The Cubs are making do without top backstop Willson Contreras, but it largely goes without saying that the club anxiously awaits his return. There’s optimism within the organization about his health status, manager Joe Maddon told reporters including Tony Andracki of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link).

Contreras has been sidelined since early August with a hamstring strain. At the time, the expectation was that he’d miss about a month of action, and it’s clear he’ll be sidelined at least that long — if not a bit longer. But it’s relieving to hear that things have progressed well to this point.

At present, Contreras has yet to resume baseball activities. Instead, he’s still building up strength in the region of the strain. Both club and player have every intention of exercising ample caution. In addition to the fact that Contreras has previously experienced issues in that area of the body, he’s facing a tight timeline within which to return. A setback would potentially be disastrous with just five weeks remaining in the regular season.

It’s not clear precisely how soon Contreras could be back. The timeline will obviously depend upon the particulars of his recovery. But Maddon noted that his first-choice backstop could begin picking up baseball activities as soon as next week.

Jose Urena Could Return As Marlins’ Closer

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Marlins right-hander Jose Urena hasn’t pitched since June 7 on account of a lower back strain, though his season doesn’t look over. Manager Don Mattingly announced Friday that Urena could return in September as the Marlins’ closer, per Craig Mish of FNTSY Radio.

At 45-81, owner of the worst record in the National League, Miami hasn’t had much use for a closer this season. Indeed, the team traded Sergio Romo – by far its saves leader – prior to last month’s deadline. Nevertheless, it’s good news that the 27-year-old Urena, one of the Marlins’ several promising 20-something pitchers, is likely to make it back this season. Urena reportedly generated interest from other clubs prior to landing on the shelf, and if he returns this year and ends the campaign in solid fashion, he could wind up as a winter trade chip for the rebuilding Fish.

Urena entered 2019 as somewhat of a workhorse for Miami, for which he delivered 169 innings or more of sub-4.00 ERA ball in each of the previous two years. He wasn’t as successful this year before his injury, though, as he pitched to a 4.70 ERA/4.59 FIP with 6.15 K/9 against 2.77 BB/9 and a 50.6 percent groundball rate in 74 2/3 frames. But Urena did fire fastballs at an average of nearly 96 mph in that span, and perhaps his above-average velocity will play up in a short relief role.

Luke Voit Begins Rehab Assignment

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Yankees first baseman Luke Voit is set to begin a minor  league rehab assignment tonight, James Wagner of the New York Times reports. The Yankees are hopeful Voit will rejoin them when they begin a homestand next Friday, per Wagner.

This has been an injury-limited summer for Voit, who has been dealing with core problems since the end of June. He landed on the injured list July 2 with an abdominal strain, returned after 10 days off and then wound up back on the shelf July 31 on account of a sports hernia. There was fear then that Voit would require season-ending surgery, which looked all the more concerning when fellow first base option Edwin Encarnacion suffered a fractured right wrist in early August. But it appears the first-place Yankees will at least welcome Voit back this season.

Dating back to the most recent appearances of Voit and Encarnacion, New York has turned to DJ LeMahieu and Mike Ford at first. LeMahieu, of course, is a batting title contender who has proven himself as one of the best free-agent signings of last offseason. On the other hand, Ford has logged below-average production over the first 102 plate appearances of his career.

Chasen Bradford Underwent Tommy John Surgery

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Mariners reliever Chasen Bradford recently underwent Tommy John surgery, according to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (via Twitter). That makes it unlikely that he’ll return to action before the end of the 2020 campaign.

Bradford missed time earlier this year with a shoulder injury and then a forearm strain. Indication was at one point that he wasn’t expected to require any sort of surgery, but that obviously proved optimistic.

The 30-year-old Bradford has thrown in each of the past three MLB campaigns. He turned in a productive 2018 effort, working to a 3.69 ERA in 53 2/3 innings, but only made it through a dozen appearances this year before hitting the shelf.

A former 35th-round pick, Bradford will end the present season with just over two years of MLB service. He won’t yet be eligible for arbitration, but it seems unlikely he’ll hang onto his 40-man spot throughout the offseason.

Angels Activate Andrelton Simmons, Designate Wilfredo Tovar

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The Angels announced today that star shortstop Andrelton Simmons has been activated from the injured list. He is returning from a long absence due to a severe ankle sprain.

Infielder Wilfredo Tovar was designated for assignment to create roster space. In other news, the club officially placed Griffin Canning on the injured list — he was declared out for the season yesterday — while recalling southpaw Jose Suarez.

It’s all but certainly too little, too late for the sinking Halos. But it’s still good to see Simmons return to action. The peerless defensive aficionado hadn’t been hitting quite as well as he did in his prior two campaigns, but will now have a chance to get back on track before the season wraps up.

Tovar, 28, received his lengthiest stint in the majors this year for the Angels. Through 88 plate appearances in 31 games, he managed only a .193/.239/.253 slash line.

Nationals To Sign Jake Buchanan

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The Nationals have agreed to a deal with righty Jake Buchanan, according to Todd Dybas of NBC Sports Washington (via Twitter). It’s a minor-league arrangement for the 29-year-old, who was recently cut loose by the Athletics.

Buchanan has seen time in four MLB campaigns, but has not established himself in the bigs. Indeed, he hasn’t appeared there since 2017. Over the past two campaigns, Buchanan has worked as a starter at the Triple-A level without notable success.

It’s likely that this move is designed only for depth for the Nats, who have hunted for low-cost pitching all season long. Buchanan carries a 6.16 ERA in 99 1/3 Triple-A frames on the year, with 6.4 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9.

Rangers Designate Shane Carle

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The Rangers have designated righty Shane Carle for assignment, per a club announcement. His 40-man spot will go to fellow right-hander Luke Farrell, who was activated from the 60-day injured list.

Farrell is also heading onto the active roster for the Texas organization. He’ll take the place of southpaw Locke St. John, who was optioned down.

Carle was picked up from the Braves in late July after being designated by the Atlanta club. He has not appeared in the majors since. Though he turned in excellent results in 2018, the performance was driven by home run (0.29 per nine) and BABIP (.258) suppression that never seemed terribly likely to continue.

This year, Carle struggled mightily in six outings for the Braves before he was sent packing. He hasn’t been much better this year at Triple-A, where he carries a 5.62 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 over forty total innings.

Mariners Call Up Justus Sheffield

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As expected, the Mariners have called up lefty pitching prospect Justus Sheffield, per a club announcement. He’ll take the roster spot that the team opened by dropping Cory Gearrin.

Sheffield, 23, has seen brief MLB action in each of the past two seasons. But he hasn’t yet made his first start — a milestone he’ll reach this evening when he takes the ball against the Blue Jays.

While Sheffield’s early appearances in the bigs haven’t been laden with promise, he has long been considered a significant talent. Drafted in the first round back in 2014, he has since headlined a pair of major trades (from the Indians to the Yankees and then on to the Mariners).

At the same time, the lefty hasn’t quite sustained the top-100 prospect hype he carried for the past four seasons. He just doesn’t seem to be showing quite the upside that had once been posited, with some command issues and stagnant K/BB rates over multiple seasons in the upper minors.

The consensus still seems to be that Sheffield will turn into a solid MLB starter, which would work just fine for the M’s. He struggled quite a bit at Triple-A to open the year, allowing a dozen home runs with a middling 48:41 K/BB ratio in 55 innings there. But Sheffield has turned it up since in a dozen Double-A starts, over which he carries a 2.19 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9.

If all goes well, it’s possible Sheffield will position himself for a spot in the 2020 Seattle rotation. It remains to be seen how many innings he’ll be allowed to accumulate down the stretch. Sheffield is already at a career-high 133 in the present campaign, though he’s probably in position to build up further after averaging more than 120 frames per season in the prior three campaigns.

Yankees Claim Cory Gearrin, Release Domingo Acevedo

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The Yankees have claimed righty Cory Gearrin from the Mariners, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). In a corresponding move, the New York club announced that it has released fellow right-hander Domingo Acevedo.

Gearrin is a well-established hurler who has seen action in eight MLB campaigns. He has long been effective despite uninspiring peripherals, with a career 3.59 ERA. That’s much the story again in 2019, as he owns a 3.92 ERA in 41 1/3 innings while carrying 8.5 K/9 against 4.6 BB/9 and a 46.6% groundball rate.

[RELATED: So, What Can Teams Do In August?]

As we explained in our recent listing of possible August waiver candidates — which included Gearrin and others — teams have a variety of possible motivations for exposing players to waivers at this time of year. With respect to a player such as Gearrin, who wasn’t dealt at the deadline, it’s likely the club considered factors such as salary savings, roster space for younger players, and a desire to allow a veteran a chance to play in a postseason race.

Acevedo, 25, has at times been considered a significant prospect. But he has had some health issues and was moved into a relief role this year. Evidently, the Yanks didn’t really love what they saw. Acevedo has maintained 9.4 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 in his 51 2/3 total innings over 32 appearances, but has also allowed 11 long balls and 4.35 earned runs per nine in that span.

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