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Astros Acquire Brooks Raley From Reds

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The Houston Astros acquired Brooks Raley from the Reds for a player to be named later, the Reds announced. Raley was designated for assignment on Thursday.

In a corresponding move, the Astros transferred closer Roberto Osuna to the 45-day injured list, per Mark Berman of Fox 26. Osuna is likely to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery.

Raley made four appearances for the Reds this season, giving up four earned runs in four innings. The 32-year-old appeared in the major leagues for the first time since his initial appearances with the Cubs in 2012 and 2013. The southpaw has been a reliable rotation arm in the KBO for the past five seasons, however. Raley made 30 or 31 starts in each season from 2015 to 2019 for the Lotte Giants, totalling a 48-53 record with a 4.13 ERA across 910 2/3 innings. That’s an average season of more than 182 innings per season.

The Astros have struggled to fill out their rotation after an early injury to Justin Verlander. Raley will likely jump into the Houston bullpen if he’s added to the active roster, though his ability to start or pitch multiple innings is certainly a plus for a team looking for length.

Lane Thomas Tests Positive For COVID-19

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Outfielder Lane Thomas it the latest St. Louis Cardinal to test positive for coronavirus, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Major League Baseball had already announced the cancellation of the Cardinals upcoming series with the Pirates, meaning they remain stuck on just 5 games played. They’ve now missed 13 consecutive games, and it’s still unclear when they’ll return to play. It’s not clear how severe any of the  Cardinals cases are, though President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak did say that a couple of players went to the hospital, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN.

The Cardinals have now had 10 players and 7 staff members test positive, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today. There aren’t believed to be any more positive tests coming, though the organization has extended its effort with contact tracing and vigorous testing will continue. If there are no more newly-discovered positive tests moving forward, it’s conceivable that the Cardinals could return to play this weekend. In order for that conversation to happen, however, the Cardinals will first look for consecutive days without a positive test, per Rogers.

Madison Bumgarner To Be Evaluated By Team Doctors

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Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told reporters including The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan that big-ticket free-agent acquisition Madison Bumgarner was removed from today’s game due to back spasms (Twitter links). Bumgarner is returning to Phoenix to be looked at by team doctors.

It’s been a disappointing start to Bumgarner’s career outside of San Francisco. The former Giants’ ace signed a four-year, $72MM deal with the rival Diamondbacks this offseason, and their union is off to a rocky start. Bumgarner is 0-2 with a 7.04 ERA/6.03 FIP through 3 starts. His strikeouts are down to 6.5 K/9 while walks are up to 3.5 BB/9, though feel free to apply any/all small sample size warnings here as Bumgarner has logged just 15 1/3 frames.

The big question with Bumgarner regards his velocity. The former World Series has averaged just 87.9 mph on his four-seamer this season after an average of 91.4 mph last season. The fear with this kind of velocity drop is that there’s an arm issue, though there’s been no indication of that from Bumgarner or the Diamondbacks.

Quick Hits: Yankees, Chapman, Rays, Morton, Nationals, Rizzo, Martinez

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The New York Yankees will make a decision about Aroldis Chapman’s timeline to return to action after a throwing session on Tuesday, per ESPN’s Marly Rivera. Chapman has yet to make an appearance this season. He tested positive for COVID-19 back on July 11th after showing mild symptoms. Chapman has been working his way back to full strength and hopes to return to the back end of the Yanks bullpen shortly. Last season, Chapman put together another top-notch campaign with 37 saves in 60 games and a 2.21 ERA/2.28 FIP while striking out 13.4 batters per nine innings.

  • Charlie Morton of the Tampa Bay Rays left his start today with right shoulder inflammation, per Juan Toribio of MLB.com. The Rays do not appear to be overly concerned about Morton in the long-term. The 36-year-old hasn’t gotten off to a great start with a 5.52 ERA across three starts, though it’s obviously s small sample, and a 4.06 FIP isn’t quite so pessimistic of his performance.
  • The Washington Nationals aren’t any closer to coming to terms on an extension either for manager Dave Martinez or GM Mike Rizzo, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (Twitter links). Both are in the final year of their current deals. The Nationals have proven a fairly conservative organization and one that won’t budge due to public perception. For their parts, both Martinez and Rizzo appear to have great trust in the organization. Given that the Nats are coming off a World Series championship, it’s hard to imagine either man moving on. Rizzo is the longstanding architect of these Nats – one of the most sustainable contenders of the last decade – while Martinez is the culture of the club in its current iteration. He has both the respect and the admiration of his players, by all accounts. This is pure conjecture, but Nats ownership may be taking a principled stance by waiting on these extensions. They’ve routinely let star players play out the final seasons of their deals, and it shows some organizational continuity to do the same with Rizzo and Martinez.

Cardinals-Pirates Series Postponed, Cardinals Expect Additional COVID-19 Positive

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August 9: This week’s series between the Cardinals and Pirates has been postponed in its entirety, as first reported by Jon Heyman of MLB Network. As a result, the Cardinals have had 15 consecutive postponements and will have just 46 days to make up 55 games if they are to play the entire 2020 schedule. In addition, Heyman reports that the Cardinals are expected to reveal “at least one” additional positive COVID-19 test after yesterday’s round of testing.

MLB officially announced the cancellation with a press release that reads: “Major League Baseball announced today that the upcoming three-game series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates, scheduled for Monday through Wednesday at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, has been postponed.  In light of the most recent positive test results, MLB and the Club believe it is prudent to conduct additional testing while players and staff are quarantined before the team returns to play.  More information regarding the Cardinals’ resumption of play will be announced later in the week.”

August 8, 9:57 PM: It’s been confirmed by Jeff Passan and Jason Mackey (via Twitter). The Cardinals and Pirates’ Monday meeting has been postponed.

6:17 PM: The St. Louis Cardinals have been told that they won’t be coming together again as a team for at least 3-5 days, per The Athletic’s Mark Saxon (via Twitter). Obviously, the implication here is that their upcoming series with the Pittsburgh Pirates will be canceled. Major League Baseball has not made an official announcement as of yet.

Cardinals players will continue with personal workouts for the time being – they haven’t seen game action in over a week. The Cardinals last saw the diamond on Wednesday, July 29th in a 3-0 loss to the Twins. They are likely to go more than two weeks before returning to the field. While most of the rest of the league is pushing towards (or already past) the quarter mark for the season, the Cardinals are stuck on a 2-3 record after dealing with the second major clubhouse outbreak of coronavirus since the game’s reboot. It remains unclear how/when/if the Cardinals will be able to make up the missed games.

Obviously, containing the virus is priority A through Z right now for the Cardinals, who released the names of 8 players who have tested positive for COVID-19. They have the benefit of the Marlins’ experience from earlier this season, but there’s no tried-and-true approach to handling an internal outbreak of this scale. There are, of course, protocols in place, but the nature of COVID-19 leaves a great deal of general uncertainty.

The Pirates will get a couple of days off after facing a scare of a different sort in their game with the Tigers today. Phillip Evans and Gregory Polanco collided on a pop fly in four territory resulting in Evans leaving the game on a stretcher, per Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. It was described as a scary scene, and we will update you on Evans’ condition with a full post as more information about his current status is revealed. Polanco stayed in the game.

As of right now, it does appear that the Pirates (and Cardinals) will have the next couple of days off. The Pirates were scheduled to be in St. Louis on Monday night to begin a three-game series.

Indians Dismiss Zach Plesac After Violating Health Protocols

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The Indians have sent pitcher Zach Plesac home to Cleveland after discovering that Plesac violated MLB’s health and safety protocols by going out in Chicago on Saturday night, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Per Rosenthal, Plesac has been isolated from the team and will be required to quarantine for at least three days, with daily testing, before the Indians decide how to proceed.

The Indians’ action against Plesac is illustrative of MLB teams’ heightened diligence in preventing outbreaks of COVID-19 similar to those that have cost the Marlins and Cardinals considerable portions of their respective seasons. We’ve seen how quickly one case can turn into fifteen or more, as in the Marlins case, and teams would do well to operate quickly and carefully in their efforts to prevent such a spread.

As ESPN’s Jeff Passan adds, the Indians have garnered a reputation as being one of baseball’s most committed organizations in upholding proper coronavirus protocols, and their swift discipline of an emerging star demonstrates that commitment. It’s encouraging to see teams exhibit a willingness to sacrifice their immediate interests in favor of protecting the long-term health of the baseball season.

Plesac pitched on Saturday afternoon against the White Sox, tossing six innings of scoreless ball and striking out seven batters. The 25-year-old has enjoyed a brilliant start to his season, emerging as an increasingly reliable member of the Indians’ already-strong rotation.

Given the Indians’ schedule, Plesac was set to go next on Thursday in Detroit. Should Plesac consistently test negative in the coming days, it appears as though he could be cleared in time for that start, though of course the Indians may opt to take further preventative measures and hold Plesac out for a longer period in the interest of safety. And if Cleveland’s initial decision is indicative of their mindset, one figures that the club would not hesitate to err on the side of caution with such a timeline.

Phillies Promote Spencer Howard

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August 9: Howard has officially been promoted to the Phils’ active roster. His addition comes with a couple of corresponding roster moves, as reported by Todd Zolecki of MLB.com: RHP Enyel De Los Santos was designated for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster, and left-hander Cole Irvin was optioned off the active roster to the team’s alternate training location.

August 8: Phillies pitching prospect Spencer Howard is set to make his Major League debut on Sunday.  According to Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Howard has been told that he will be starting one of tomorrow’s games in the Phils’ doubleheader with the Braves.  Another transaction will need to be made in order to open room for the right-hander on the 40-man roster.

Howard, a second-round pick in the 2017 draft, has looked impressive in his brief pro career, posting a 3.28 ERA, 3.80 K/BB rate, and 12.0 K/9 over 211 1/3 minor league innings.  None of those innings have come at Triple-A, and Howard only tossed 30 2/3 frames at Double-A last season, due in part to some shoulder problems that limited his overall workload to 71 total innings in 2019.

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Nevertheless, there was speculation dating back to Spring Training that Howard would eventually suit up for the Phillies in 2020, even if the club was looking to manage his innings so as to not over-extend his arm.  As per Lauber back in March, the shortened nature of the 2020 season will help Howard in this regard, as he could now end up pitching quite a significant portion of the schedule for a team in need of pitching depth.  Due to the week of postponed games in the wake of their exposure to the Marlins’ COVID-19 outbreak, the Phillies have only played seven games, and Sunday is the first of six doubleheaders remaining on Philadelphia’s schedule.

While Howard’s lack of Triple-A experience provides a reasonable case for the Phillies in holding off on his big league promotion, it should also be noted that waiting until a couple of weeks into the season ensures the Phils an extra year of control over Howard before he gains enough service time for free agency.

Howard is a consensus choice as one of baseball’s top pitching prospects, with Keith Law, Fangraphs, Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and Baseball Prospectus all ranking him between 22nd (from Law) and 36th (BP) on their preseason lists of the sport’s best minor leaguers.  A fastball that regularly sits in the mid-90’s and has gone as high as 99mph is Howard’s signature pitch, and he also has what Fangraphs describes as “three nasty secondary pitches” in a curveball, changeup, and slider, though all of these offerings are less consistent.  Howard’s control is also solid, as Baseball America’s notes that his “delivery is simple and repeatable.”

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Pirates To Sign Henderson Alvarez

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The Pirates have reached an agreement to sign free-agent right-hander Henderson Alvarez, according to MLB insider Robert Murray. Alvarez, 30, has not pitched in the Majors since 2017, and has most recently turned up with the American Association’s Milwaukee Milkmen. The deal, which is still pending a physical, will bring Alvarez aboard on a minor league contract, per Adam Berry of MLB.com. He’ll report to the Pirates’ alternate training site in Altoona.

Although it feels like ages since we’ve seen Henderson Alvarez on a Major League mound, he’s still just 30 years old and hasn’t yet eclipsed six years of MLB service time.

He’s best recognized for his stint with the Marlins, where he was a key member of the rotation for the Fish of the early-2010s. Alvarez was one of the pieces sent back to Miami in the 2012 blockbuster trade that seemed to involve half of MLB (it was in fact only 12 plyaers), with Mark Buehrle, Jose Reyes, and Josh Johnson headlining the package going to Toronto. In addition to throwing a no-hitter for Miami in 2013, he enjoyed a career season the following year, even earning an All-Star appearance for his efforts. In 2014, he notched a 2.65 ERA in 187 innings, including three complete-game shutouts.

Unfortunately, a shoulder injury that limited him to just four starts in 2015 ultimately derailed his career. He was non-tendered by the Marlins and struggled to find work thereafter.

Alvarez pitched in affiliated ball as recently as last year, getting work primarily as a reliever with the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate. He appeared in 24 games and posted a 5.94 ERA, striking out just 37 batters in 53 innings. Since then, he’s pitched in the Mexican League before debuting with the AA’s Milwaukee club last week.

His last Major League stint came with the Phillies in 2017, when he made three starts for the team after signing in August. He struck out just six batters and walked 11 in 14 2/3 innings. Alvarez has never been a strikeout pitcher, averaging just 4.7 K/9 for his career; that’s a rarity in today’s game, and could pose a challenge in his path back to the big leagues, though that hasn’t stopped Alvarez from succeeding in the past. And given how long it’s been since we’ve gotten a good look at his stuff, plenty could have changed in the intervening years.

It’s no secret that the 3-12 Pirates are in need of pitching of any kind. Their 5.55 team ERA is the worst mark in the National League. Their bullpen in particular has been stretched thin by injuries to the likes of Michael Feliz, Keone Kela, and Kyle Crick. Evidently, GM Ben Cherington is not entirely satisfied with his internal pitching depth, which has been tested by those injuries. We’ll hope to see Alvarez back on a Major League mound in the near future.

Orioles Claim Jorge Lopez

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The Orioles announced today that they have claimed right-handed pitcher Jorge Lopez off waivers from the Royals. Lopez, 27, was designated for assignment by Kansas City on Friday. He’ll be added to the Baltimore 40-man roster, which is now full.

Lopez made just one appearance for the Royals this year before he was placed on the bereavement list. That preceded his departure from the Royals, who designated Lopez owing to his lack of minor-league options.

Once a highly-regarded prospect, Lopez has thus far failed to find success at the MLB level between stints with the Brewers and Royals, who acquired him as part of the return for Mike Moustakas. In 190 innings at the MLB level, Lopez has a 5.97 ERA while averaging a mediocre 7.4 K/9. Last year, he was a key part of the Royals’ staff, throwing the fifth-most innings on the team as he was deployed both as a starter and in relief.

Lopez should be a viable depth option for an Orioles pitching staff that has actually fared pretty well this year: the Orioles staff is sporting a 3.87 FIP, good for tenth-best in baseball. Granted, the ERA figures have lagged behind thus far, and it’s not a group of world-beaters, but there are some intriguing names in Baltimore. Lopez, if he gets a crack in the Majors, could serve as a starter or reliever for Brandon Hyde.

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