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Injury Notes: Harper, De La Rosa, Rasmus, Bour, Gray, Cishek, Zych

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A slumping Bryce Harper was out of the lineup again tonight for the Nationals owing to a seemingly minor neck issue, but the precise nature of his injury has been the subject of some debate. Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post breaks down all the back-and-forth on the topic. In essence, Nats GM Mike Rizzo strongly denied a report from SI.com’s Tom Verducci indicating that Harper may have been playing through a shoulder injury for some time. Rizzo insists that Harper simply has a stiff neck that has not yet required a DL placement.

Here’s more on some injury situations around the game:

  • Diamondbacks righty Rubby De La Rosa has suffered a setback in his efforts to come back from a forearm injury, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com tweets. He’s headed for an MRI to see where things stand. It seems as if there’s little reason to expect the 27-year-old to return to the majors this season. That’s a tough blow for the D-Backs, who surely would like to get a longer look at a pitcher who showed a fair bit of promise this year. Over 47 2/3 innings earlier in the season, De La Rosa worked to a 4.15 ERA with 9.3 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9.
  • The Astros will be without Colby Rasmus for a month or more after he underwent surgery to remove a cyst from his ear, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Rasmus has been struggling for some time, and it’s fair to wonder whether the issue may have played a significant role. He’ll need to return in good form to provide a boost to the ’Stros — and to bolster his fading free agent position.
  • Marlins first baseman Justin Bour isn’t progressing in his attempt to return from an ankle injury, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports on Twitter. In fact, manager Don Mattingly says that Bour “went backwards” of late, with the team’s expectation now being that he won’t return until at least early September. That certainly seems to open some room for Miami to look into adding a bat to chip in down the stretch.
  • Athletics righty Sonny Gray only just began forearm exercises today, John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group reports. He won’t begin throwing again unless and until the inflammation subsides. At this point, it seems far from certain whether he’ll make it back to a major league hill this season.
  • The Mariners may soon send reliever Steve Cishek out on a rehab assignment, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports. It appears that his hip labrum issue is indeed as minor as the team had suggested. Meanwhile, fellow pen righty Tony Zych is also finally making some progress and will begin a rehab assignment on Friday. Adding those two arms down the stretch would provide a significant boost to Seattle’s late-inning mix.

Cardinals, Mets Interested In Carlos Gomez

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8:56pm: The Mets aren’t giving off indications that they have serious interest in Gomez, Marc Carig of Newsday tweets. Though GM Sandy Alderson has “left [the] door open,” says Carig, his comments “sounded like diplomacy” rather than the prelude to a move on the veteran outfielder.

12:40pm: ESPN’s Mark Saxon tweets that the Cardinals are indeed looking into Gomez, and his ability to play center field is a big draw for them. However, he notes that St. Louis could be outbid by the Mets. Saxon adds in a second tweet that Gomez is expected to be traded rather than waived and released. Shortly after Gomez’s DFA earlier this week, the Mets were said to be “open” to reacquiring him. Gomez came up through the Mets’ farm system and was lauded as one of the game’s top prospects before he was traded to the Twins as part of the Johan Santana package.

11:00am: The Cardinals will explore the possibility of adding recently designated center fielder Carlos Gomez, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (on Twitter). According to Goold, they’ll try to ascertain the reasons for his sudden decline and determine whether they believe he can rediscover his form and help the 2016 club. Adding onto that, Goold said in an appearance on the Ryan Kelley Morning Show on 105.7 FM / 920 AM in St. Louis that the Cards have “legitimate curiosity” in Gomez and were intrigued by him even before last night, when left fielder Matt Holliday suffered a fractured thumb that could cost him much of the remaining season.

Gomez was a big-name addition for the Astros last July, when Houston parted with four prospects to pry Gomez and right-hander Mike Fiers away from the Brewers. However, there were some medical concerns about Gomez at the time — a trade to the Mets was reportedly nixed in part due to concerns surrounding Gomez’s hip — and he performed dreadfully in the calendar year for which he donned an Astros uniform. The 30-year-old batted just .221/.277/.342 in 126 games for the Astros — a far cry from the terrific .278/.342/.475 batting line he compiled from Opening Day 2013 until the time of said trade. Gomez remains a base-stealing threat, but even defensive metrics have soured on his once-elite skill set in center field. Of course, he missed time in 2015 with a hamstring injury, played through alleged hip issues last season and spent more than a month on the DL in 2016 after injuring his rib cage while laying out to make a diving catch. Any and all of those issues could contribute to a decline in his defensive prowess in the outfield.

For the Cardinals, center field has been a revolving door for quite some time. Last year saw Jon Jay and Peter Bourjos deliver underwhelming performances before Randal Grichuk looked to seize the job, but Grichuk has taken a significant step back in 2016 and has been optioned to the minors on multiple occasions (though he’s back in the Majors now). Beyond Grichuk, the Cards have trotted out Tommy Pham, Jeremy Hazelbaker and even displaced second baseman Kolten Wong as they look to find a dependable everyday solution.

While Gomez is far from a certainty to fill that need, he could add an option with significant upside if he is ultimately released. That fate could very well be his outcome, as Gomez is owed $2.51MM through season’s end, and any claiming team would be on the hook for that sum. (And, while a trade is certainly another possibility, one can imagine that the recent data breach issues between the two teams in question here might create a reluctance to enter into such negotiations.)

Top 20 Trade Candidates: August Edition

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Since last week’s edition of MLBTR’s Top 20 trade candidates, we’ve seen Jim Johnson get pulled back off revocable waivers, thus all but eliminating the possibility of a trade. James Shields had another catastrophic outing — eight earned runs in 1 1/3 innings — making it even more difficult to envision him being moved (though he’ll assuredly clear waivers when he’s placed on them, if he hasn’t already). The activation of Trevor Plouffe and Peter Bourjos from the DL has landed each a spot on the list, and some of the holdovers have been rearranged a bit. (Side note: Rather than knock Ryan Braun off the list following Carlos Gomez’s DFA, I simply elected to expand the list to 21 this week. Bonus player!)

  1. Carlos Gomez, OF, Astros: Gomez leaps from not ranked to the No. 1 candidate following his DFA earlier this week. The Cardinals and Mets are among the teams with interest, and ESPN’s Mark Saxon tweeted that a trade was more likely than a release earlier today.
  2. Derek Norris, C, Padres: Norris still isn’t hitting, but the Padres’ motivation to move him keeps him near the top of the list for me. San Diego can see Austin Hedges in September when rosters expand, of course, but getting him to the Majors sooner and giving him more of an opportunity to play even in September by moving Norris makes all the sense in the world.
  3. Danny Valencia, 3B/1B/OF, Athletics: As injuries around the league continue to pile up — Matt Adams, Matt Holliday Jose Bautista, Scott Van Slyke, Nick Castellanos and Ryan Zimmerman have all gone on the DL since last week’s list was written — the potential landing spots for Valencia rise. He’s a poor fielder but a legitimate asset at the plate.
  4. Peter Bourjos, OF, Phillies: Bourjos won’t be a marquee addition, but now that he’s off the DL there seems to be a high likelihood that he’ll be moved. He was in a 1-for-17 slump at the time he was placed on the DL, but Bourjos batted .307/.347/.479 in 152 plate appearances in June and July, and he’s long had a terrific defensive reputation. The Phillies may want to get names like Roman Quinn and Nick Williams more at-bats in September, and flipping Bourjos to a team in need of a fourth outfielder that can handle center makes sense.
  5. Yasiel Puig, OF, Dodgers: Puig’s off-field antics since being demoted can’t have helped him work his way back into the good graces of his current employers. His bat has continually declined as his approach at the plate has worsened, but there’s enough upside here to tantalize a team with some fluidity in its long-term corner outfield picture.
  6. Brian McCann, C, Yankees: One of only two known players to clear waivers so far, McCann can be traded to any team, but the Yankees will have to shift from their reported reluctance to help pay down McCann’s remaining $17MM annual salary (as first reported by FanRag’s Jon Heyman) if they hope to move him and clear a spot for Gary Sanchez to play regularly.
  7. Kurt Suzuki, C, Twins: Not much has changed on the catching front, but the Indians, Red Sox, Mets and others could make sense for a short-term upgrade behind the dish (though it strikes me as unlikely that Suzuki would get to the Mets or even to the Indians on waivers).
  8. Melky Cabrera, OF, White Sox: As noted in the Valencia bullet, there’s been a rash of outfield injuries around the league, and though Cabrera’s ChiSox career started slowly, he’s mashed since June of last year. The $13MM he’s owed in 2017 doesn’t look unreasonable in light of a .295/.338/.449 slash over his past 917 plate appearances.
  9. Trevor Plouffe, 3B, Twins: Plouffe hasn’t hit in 2016, but he was a slightly above-average bat with average or better defense at the hot corner from 2014-15. That makes his upside more along the lines of a solid regular (think David Freese with the Angels) than a star, but a club with corner infield needs could certainly look to Plouffe and hope for improved performance now that he’s healthy. He’s controllable through 2017 and shouldn’t earn much of a raise on this year’s $7.25MM salary due to all of the missed time.
  10. Ervin Santana, SP, Twins: Santana might be the best “available” pitcher on the August market, though the Twins weren’t overly motivated to move him even prior to the non-waiver deadline. He’s owed $28MM in 2017-18 with a 2019 option. Santana is a legitimate mid-rotation starter on a reasonable contract, so the Twins are understandably asking for a fairly significant return in advance of this summer’s woefully poor free agent market for starting pitching.
  11. Adam Lind, 1B, Mariners: Dan Vogelbach hasn’t hit much at all since being picked up in the Mike Montgomery trade, so the urgency to move Lind isn’t as great as it could be. Dae-ho Lee, too, has seen his offense tail off in recent weeks. Lind is hitting better of late which could make him more marketable but also makes him increasingly important to a Mariners club that is just one game out of a Wild Card berth at the moment.
  12. Edinson Volquez, SP, Royals: Reports out of Kansas City continue to suggest that the Royals could make Volquez a qualifying offer, and I remain extremely skeptical. Volquez’s ERA is now north of 5.00 once again after he was rocked in three straight starts. I advocate for teams acting aggressively in extending qualifying offers, as I think accepting rarely makes sense for the player, but barring a late surge, I don’t see how Volquez could reject. It’s in the Royals’ best interest to get some value for him right now if a team is willing to make such an offer (which is no sure thing).
  13. Jeremy Hellickson, SP, Phillies: I hesitate to list Hellickson this high, because it seems unlikely that the Phillies will get a better offer now than they did prior to the non-waiver deadline when they could negotiate with each contending club. Hellickson is a lock to be claimed, but perhaps injuries or an even thinner market for starters in the month of August will motivate the claiming club to make a more substantial offer.
  14. Jeff Francoeur, OF, Braves: Francoeur has cleared waivers and can be dealt anywhere, though the Braves apparently are only willing to do so if they receive some degree of prospect in exchange. Atlanta values Francoeur’s clubhouse presence and doesn’t seem keen on moving him just to open a spot for a younger player or to save a small amount of cash. Francoeur isn’t the most exciting bat and has highly limited range in right field but does still possess a strong throwing arm.
  15. David Robertson, RP, White Sox: With more than $25MM still owed to him and an underwhelming stat line on the year, Robertson isn’t especially likely to go. However, he drew interest from clubs looking for impact bullpen arms, and he figures to clear waivers, giving the White Sox ample opportunity to explore trades with teams in need of relief help. That’s especially true if a contender decides it needs to try for a significant pen upgrade despite the risk. Robertson has a long track record of excellence, and probably carries more upside than any other potentially available relievers.
  16. Ian Krol, RP, Braves: Krol has only allowed one baserunner in his past 6 2/3 innings. He’ll finish the season a couple weeks shy of three years of service, so he’s on target to be a Super Two eligible reliever that is controllable through the 2020 season. He could be a future piece for the Braves, but Atlanta moved a highly controllable lefty in Hunter Cervenka and could do the same with Krol.
  17. Jeanmar Gomez, RP, Phillies: I’m not especially confident that Gomez will move after the Phillies didn’t find an offer to their liking prior to the non-waiver deadline, but as an affordable short-term asset (controllable through 2017) on a rebuilding club, Gomez will be on the list until he’s either traded or pulled back off revocable waivers.
  18. Nick Markakis, OF, Braves: Markakis is on fire and has even found some pop as of late (two homers in August, .128 ISO since the All-Star break). That could be enough to attract attention, but he’s still  a near-lock to clear waivers. He makes more sense as an offseason trade candidate to me, but if a team believes he’s regaining some pop the further removed he is from 2014 neck surgery, then perhaps an August swap can be achieved (if, of course, the Braves eat some money).
  19. Brett Gardner, OF, Yankees: The Yankees made a clear move toward getting younger in July, and dealing the still-quite-useful Gardner would help toward that end, as he’s still a strong enough performer to warrant some solid minor league talent. There’s still $28.6MM on his contract, though, so he’s similar to an outfield version of Ervin Santana — an effective veteran that isn’t teeming with surplus value but comes at a fair price.
  20. Clay Buchholz, SP, Red Sox: Buchholz has had a terrible season but has thrown better as a reliever as of late. A team like the Marlins that is in great need of a back-of-the-rotation arm could roll the dice on Buchholz if the cost of acquisition is low. Buchholz is getting a start this weekend, and how he looks in that outing could impact his candidacy.
  21. Ryan Braun, OF, Brewers: Braun is going to be the best hitter to clear waivers this month, but he has four years remaining on a $105MM extension after this season, recent health issues in his past and comes with the negative PR associated with his steroid suspension. The Brewers want prospects over salary relief with Braun, whose no-trade clause was reportedly a non-starter in the Brewers’ brief talks with the Braves.

Injured, Could Return In August

Jon Jay (Padres), Logan Morrison (Rays), Jed Lowrie (Athletics), Huston Street (Angels), Steve Cishek (Mariners)

Also Considered

Yunel Escobar, Fernando Salas (Angels); Jorge De La Rosa, Boone Logan, Jake McGee (Rockies); Ian Kennedy, Kendrys Morales (Royals); Shelby Miller (D-backs); Matt Garza, Chris Carter (Brewers); John Jaso (Pirates); Ryan Madson (Athletics); Brandon Kintzler (Twins); Zack Cozart (Reds)

Tigers Place Jose Iglesias On 15-Day DL

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The Tigers have placed shortstop Jose Iglesias on the 15-day DL with a left hamstring strain, MLB.com’s Jason Beck reports on Twitter. His active roster spot will be taken over by righty Warwick Saupold.

[Related: Updated Tigers Depth Chart]

Detroit will utilize utilityman Andrew Romine at shortstop for the time being. But with third baseman Nick Castellanos also sidelined, there’s increasing pressure on the organization to find an outside addition on the left side of the infield. That’s all before considering the needs that have arisen from injuries to outfielder Cameron Maybin as well as pitchers Jordan Zimmerman and Mike Pelfrey.

Iglesias, 26, has not produced at the league-average rate that he did last year. Over his 399 plate appearances in 2016, he’s slashing just .249/.297/.328. Still, he has managed to rate as a middle-tier starting option at the shortstop position (by measure of fWAR) owing to his top-line glovework.

It’s not yet clear whether Detroit will act to fill the void with a trade — particularly given that there’s no timeline as yet for Iglesias to return. Hamstring issues, it bears noting, are notorious for lingering. While Castellanos is expected back by early to mid-September, he’ll be working back from a fractured hand that could pose its own uncertainties. And his replacement, the veteran Casey McGehee, has struggled of late in the majors, though he was hitting well at Triple-A.

Of course, finding a match is more complicated in August. With the trade deadline having already passed, the Tigers would be left looking at waiver claims or players who have already cleared. Still, with Detroit sitting a half game out of the Wild Card and four back in the AL Central, wins are at a premium. Only one shortstop, Zack Cozart, cracked MLBTR’s latest listing of the top trade candidates, though he’d be a tough target given his appealing contract status and solid play (which not only raises the acquisition cost, but makes him a likely player to be claimed by teams with higher waiver priority). There are several third basemen who could potentially be had, though none would help account for the absence of Iglesias.

The Tigers do have some options kicking around at Triple-A, of course, and it appears that the team is preparing to use them. John Wagner of the Toledo Blade tweets that both shortstop Dixon Machado and outfielder Alex Presley aren’t in tonight’s lineup for the club’s top affiliate, suggesting that either or both could be on the way to the majors in short order. Machado, 24, struggled in limited action in the majors last year, and carries a .266/.356/.354 batting line in his 507 Triple-A plate appearances this season.

Angels Claim Cody Ege

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The Angels have claimed southpaw Cody Ege off waivers from the Marlins, per an announcement from Los Angeles. Right-hander Nick Tropeano was moved to the 60-day DL to create a 40-man opening.

Ege, 25, will head to Triple-A Salt Lake City to begin his tenure in the Los Angeles organization. He has spent most of the year at that level with Miami, compiling a 4.50 ERA over 44 frames with 7.2 K/9 and 5.5 BB/9.

That obviously isn’t a terribly promising pitching line, though Ege did earn a brief MLB promotion. He was also much better in the upper minors last year — good enough, in fact, to be a part of an under-the-radar deadline trade that has turned out to be more important than it initially seemed.

Ege was dealt along with Tomas Telis in the deal that sent Sam Dyson to the Rangers. That swap has certainly had an impact on both organizations, as Texas has utilized Dyson as its closer while the Fish have been forced to hunt for extra arms at the back of their pen.

Zack Wheeler To Visit Dr. Andrews After Elbow Discomfort

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Mets righty Zack Wheeler is set for a visit to orthopedist Dr. James Andrews after experiencing discomfort in his surgically-repaired right elbow, Mike Puma of the New York Post was among those to tweet. It seems that the flare-up occurred after his most recent rehab outing.

Though it’s still far from clear whether Wheeler has a new injury with which to contend, the news makes it tough to imagine that he’ll return to New York this season. The prized 26-year-old had seemed primed to make a late-season return from Tommy John surgery, potentially giving the Mets a boost down the stretch.

At this point, the greater concern lies in the long run. Wheeler last pitched in the majors in 2014, when he wrapped up a stellar campaign for the Mets. He had been brought back slowly from his UCL replacement procedure, but attempts to ramp things up toward a major league return have not gone according to plan. Now, a dreaded trip to the famed Dr. Andrews may help to ascertain whether there’s a new problem to contend with.

The expectation has long been that Wheeler would constitute a major part of a loaded Mets pitching staff full of frontline starters. But while Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom have continued to thrive, though the former has pitched through a bone spur, but some cracks have formed elsewhere. Though Steven Matz has been productive in his first full MLB campaign, he has dealt with some inconsistency while battling his own elbow bone spur. And Matt Harvey has undergone a shocking downfall, struggling badly before undergoing season-ending surgery.

Wheeler certainly deserves mention in that company. Over his first 285 1/3 innings at the big league level, from 2013-14, Wheeler owns a 3.50 ERA with 8.5 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9. Returning to that form may once have seemed a foregone conclusion, given the prevalence of Tommy John surgery, but the fact is that the surgery isn’t always successful. Indeed, as MLBTR contributor Bradley Woodrum has explained, a prior TJ procedure “strongly predicts a second surgery.”

Rockies Place Mark Reynolds On DL, Designate Gonzalez Germen

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The Rockies have placed first baseman Mark Reynolds on the 15-day DL, according to MLB.com’s Thomas Harding (via Twitter). That move had been expected after Reynolds was diagnosed with a hamate bone injury, though the severity of the injury remains to be seen.

[Related: Updated Rockies Depth Chart]

First baseman/outfielder Ben Paulsen has been called up to replace Reynolds on the active roster. Colorado has also designated righty Gonzalez Germen, whose roster spot will go to righty Matt Carasiti.

It seems likely that Reynolds will be lost for much of the rest of the season, as Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post tweets that the veteran slugger has suffered a break to the hamate bone. That’s a fairly common malady, but one that typically requires four to six weeks off after surgery.

The 28-year-old Germen has bounced around quite a bit in recent years, but managed to accumulated 73 1/3 innings for Colorado over the last two years. But he owns only a 4.66 ERA in that span, with 7.0 K/9 and a troubling 5.6 BB/9 on his ledger.

It’s the first trip to the majors for Carasiti, a 25-year-old reliever who owns a 1.96 ERA over 46 innings (mostly at the Double-A level) on the year. He has struck out 9.4 and walked 1.8 batters per nine over that span of quality work, and had recently earned a promotion to the highest level minors. Carasiti had allowed only two hits in seven frames at Triple-A, leading to his bump up to the majors.

Braves Claim Kyle Kubitza, Designate Manny Banuelos For Assignment

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The Braves have claimed third baseman Kyle Kubitza off waivers from the Rangers, according to an announcement from Rangers VP of communications John Blake. Texas had designated the 26-year-old infielder for assignment earlier this week. The Braves, too, announced the move, adding that left-hander Manny Banuelos has been designated for assignment.

[Related: Updated Atlanta Braves Depth Chart]

Kubitza is a known commodity for the Braves, who selected him in the third round of the 2011 draft. The Texas State product ranked among the Braves’ top 30 prospects from 2011-14, per Baseball America, but he was traded to the Angels in January of 2015 in exchange for minor league lefty Ricardo Sanchez and minor league right-hander Nate Hyatt. Kubitza’s stock tumbled with the Halos, however, and he ultimately landed with Texas after Anaheim designated him for assignment. In 928 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, Kubitza is a .249/.342/.399 hitter. He’s walked in a strong 11.8 percent of his plate appearances at that level but has also struck out at a 25 percent clip. He has drawn praise in the past for a strong throwing arm and soft hands at third base.

Banuelos, 25, made his big league debut with Atlanta last season. The once-vaunted Yankees prospect managed just a 5.13 ERA in his 26 1/3 innings at the big league level, though, and the 2016 season has been a considerable struggle for him. He’s battled elbow issues this season and is currently on the disabled list with Double-A Mississippi. Banuelos has a collective 5.33 ERA in 50 2/3 innings across three minor league levels this season, and he walked more batters (22) than he struck out (21) in 30 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level.

Mariners Designate Daniel Robertson For Assignment

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The Mariners announced today that they have designated outfielder Daniel Robertson for assignment in order to clear a spot on the roster for right-hander Joe Wieland, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Tacoma. Wieland will start tonight’s game for Seattle.

[Related: Updated Seattle Mariners Depth Chart]

The 30-year-old Robertson made 21 plate appearances for the Mariners this season and batted .263/.300/316. He’s had limited experience across the past three seasons between Seattle, Anaheim and Texas, compiling a .273/.322/.325 batting line in 298 trips to the plate. The Mariners claimed Robertson off waivers from the Angels this past winter — the second time that GM Jerry Dipoto has claimed Robertson (he also did so when he was the Angels’ GM). Robertson, who is capable of playing all three outfield positions, batted .281/.341/.418 with 14 doubles, seven triples, six homers and 10 steals with Triple-A Tacoma this season.

Wieland, also acquired this offseason (from the Dodgers), started the season terribly and found himself outrighted off the 40-man roster. However, after posting a 17.31 ERA through his first 13 innings, he’s rebounded with a 3.67 ERA and an 83-to-23 K/BB ratio in 90 2/3 innings across his past 17 starts. Wieland looked like a potential rotation option for the Padres when he came up as a 22-year-old back in 2012 but underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2013 season. Since that time he’s been traded from San Diego to Los Angeles (in the Matt Kemp blockbuster) and struggled to stick in the big leagues. Now 26 years of age, Wieland has a 5.85 ERA in 47 2/3 Major League innings, though his recent work in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League is certainly more encouraging.

Phillies Claim Patrick Schuster From Athletics

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The Phillies announced today that they have claimed left-hander Patrick Schuster off waivers from the Athletics and optioned him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Oakland had designated the 25-year-old Schuster for assignment earlier in the week.

Schuster made his big league debut with the A’s this season but surrendered eight runs on nine hits and six walks in 6 2/3 innings. While those numbers aren’t much to look at, Schuster has dominated at the Triple-A level this year, posting a brilliant 1.16 ERA with 39 strikeouts, 12 walks and a 44.44 percent ground-ball rate in 38 2/3 innings. Schuster was at one time the first pick of the Rule 5 Draft (2013) and has an overall solid minor league track record. He’ll give the Phillies a depth option in the bullpen and could get a chance to prove that he can be a long-term piece in their bullpen with a September call-up this season, as he remains on the 40-man roster (which is now at 40 players) after being optioned to the minors.

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