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Tim Beckham Placed On 10-Day DL, Considering Surgery

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Orioles infielder Tim Beckham is going to the 10-day DL with a groin injury, the Orioles announced. Of perhaps greater concern, he’s considering whether to undergo surgery to address the issue, as MLB.com’s Britt Ghiroli was among those to tweet.

The precise nature of the injury and potential procedure aren’t known. It’s also therefore impossible to guess just how long he’ll likely miss whether he does or does not go under the knife.

Beckham, the former first overall draft pick, turned in a strong second half in 2017 after arriving via trade. Entering the season, he was entrusted with regular duties at third base. Beckham has spent most of his career in the middle infield, making him all the more important to a Baltimore roster that is currently missing Jonathan Schoop.

Unfortunately, things haven’t gone well for Beckham thus far in 2018. He’s carrying a .179/.247/.262 slash with one home run and 28 strikeouts in his 93 plate appearances. Though he has graded well at third and on the bases, that’s not enough to sugarcoat the struggles at the plate. Indeed, while Beckham has perhaps been a bit unfortunate to carry a .250 batting average on balls in play, Statcast credits him with only a .254 xwOBA, suggesting the poor results have largely been deserved.

Until Beckham and/or Schoop make it back, they’ll be fairly short-handed in the infield. It seems that Luis Sardinas, Danny Valencia, and Jace Peterson will carry the burden at second and third for the time being. That’s hardly an optimal trio at those two positions.

Athletics Acquire Wilmer Font

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The Athletics have acquired righty Wilmer Font from the Dodgers, per a club announcement. Lefty Logan Salow will head to Los Angeles in return.

Font is out of options, so he’ll need to be added to the active roster by the A’s. He cracked the Dodgers pen to open the 2018 season but was knocked around early. Thus far in 2018, opponents have scored 13 earned runs and cracked five home runs in Font’s 10 1/3 innings of work.

That said, Font is an interesting player to take a risk on. He was lights out as a starter last year at Triple-A, carrying a 3.42 ERA with 11.9 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9. The A’s will hope that Font can rediscover the form that produced those results and convert it into MLB production.

Salow was a sixth-round pick in last year’s draft who showed some swing and miss, but also some command struggles, in his first two dozen innings as a professional. The southpaw has shown well out of the gates at the Class A level in 2018, allowing just one earned run on one hit and two walks while compiling eight strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.

Adrian Beltre Placed On 10-Day DL With Hamstring Strain

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TODAY: Beltre is indeed going to the DL, per a club announcement. The team activated righty Doug Fister and called up Ryan Rua.

Those moves required an additional roster spot , which was created by optioning reliever Matt Bush. That’s obviously a disappointing turn of events for Bush, who needs to iron things out after allowing nine walks in his 11 1/3 innings thus far in 2018.

YESTERDAY: The injury-plagued Rangers took yet another hit on Tuesday, as third baseman Adrian Beltre exited the team’s game against the A’s with a strained left hamstring (Twitter link via Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News). A trip to the disabled list seems likely but is not official yet, Grant notes.

Beltre incurred the injury after lacing a would-be double the gap in right-center field, but he pulled up a few steps out of the batter’s box and hobbled into first base (video link via MLB.com). He walked off the field and headed to the clubhouse immediately.

As Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram details, Beltre seemed dejected after the game and said he’s set for an MRI tomorrow morning. “It’s not feeling great,” he told Rangers reporters. The 39-year-old was partially spiked by former teammate Jonathan Lucroy earlier in the game but made certain to not only tell the media that his injury had nothing to do with that incident but to also take the blame for being poorly positioned: “I was standing right in the middle. It was my fault.”

A trip to the DL for Beltre would put 75 percent of the Rangers’ starting infield on the shelf. Elvis Andrus is likely to miss around eight weeks with a fracture in his right elbow after being hit by a pitch last week, and Rougned Odor is still on the disabled list with a hamstring strain of his own.

[Related: Texas Rangers depth chart]

Texas isn’t without options, of course. First baseman/left fielder Joey Gallo is a natural third baseman and could slide across the diamond, thus opening the door for regular at-bats for well-regarded prospect Ronald Guzman at first base. Renato Nunez was recently claimed off waivers from the A’s and brings a few thousand innings of minor league experience at third base to the table. Wilson speculates that perhaps a DL trip for Beltre could push Gallo to the hot corner and create an opening in left field for top prospect Willie Calhoun; in that scenario, the Rangers would be getting full-time looks at a number of important young options in Gallo, Calhoun, Guzman and Jurickson Profar.

Rays To Select Contract Of Jonny Venters

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The Rays are set to select the contract of left-handed reliever Jonny Venters from Triple-A Durham, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter links). It’ll be the first appearance in the Majors for Venters since way back in 2012. The lefty was a star setup man for the Braves before injuries decimated a promising career. As Topkin notes, Venters has had three Tommy John surgeries in his career — two since his Braves days — as well as a “reattachment” procedure in 2016.

Now 33 years of age, Venters burst onto the scene with the 2010 Braves, working to a combined 1.89 ERA with 9.9 K/9, 4.3 BB/9 and roughly 70 percent ground-ball rate in his first two big league seasons. Venters’ results took a step back in 2012, though he still turned in a strong 3.22 ERA with similar K/BB numbers and slightly diminished ground-ball tendencies in 58 2/3 innings before going down with injury.

Venters didn’t pitch with any team’s minor league affiliate from 2013-15 and tossed just 27 2/3 innings in rehab stints over the past two seasons. He’s allowed a run on four hits and five walks with six strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings thus far in Triple-A Durham.

Tampa Bay has an open spot on its 40-man roster, so no 40-man move will need to be made to accommodate Venters’ promotion. Righty Hunter Wood will be optioned to Triple-A to clear a spot on the 25-man roster, per Topkin. Venters will join Jose Alvardo and Ryan Yarbrough as left-handed options in manager Kevin Cash’s bullpen for the time being.

Mariners Outright Dario Alvarez

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The Mariners announced that lefty Dario Alvarez has cleared waivers and been sent outright off the 40-man roster. Seattle had claimed Alvarez off waivers from the Cubs late in Spring Training.

Alvarez was already pitching for the club’s Triple-A affiliate and will remain there, as the club didn’t announce a corresponding move. The outright, then, was likely little more than a matter of timing. With the lefty struggling considerably in Tacoma — he’s issued six walks, hit three batters and committed a balk in 6 2/3 innings — the Mariners look to have seized the moment to create some additional roster flexibility. This week’s acquisition of Roenis Elias may have contributed to the move as well; had they outrighted Alvarez earlier, they’d have been without any lefty relief options on the 40-man roster in the upper minors.

The 29-year-old Alvarez is a veteran of parts of four big league seasons, during which time he’s pitched to a 5.06 ERA with terrific strikeout numbers (11.4 K/9) against some control issues (4.1 BB/9, 1.88 HR/9) in a total of 48 innings. He’ll continue to serve as a depth piece for the Mariners, should the need arise, though Elias has clearly leapfrogged him on the depth chart.

Seattle’s 40-man roster is currently at a total of 38 players, so there’s room for the M’s to make some additions — be they internal adds to the 40-man or some claims on the waiver wire.

Braves Promote Ronald Acuna

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April 25: Acuna’s contract has been formally selected from Triple-A Gwinnett, the club announced. He’s playing left field and batting sixth for the Braves in his MLB debut.

April 24: The Braves are set to promote top prospect Ronald Acuna to the Major Leagues, Daniel Alvarez Montes of EVTV Miami reports (Twitter link). MLB.com’s Mark Bowman hears the same and adds that Acuna is expected to join the team tomorrow (Twitter link).

Ronald Acuna | Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The timing of Acuna’s promotion has been a source of consternation among Braves fans all season, as many felt he should’ve been with the club from Opening Day after laying waste to minor league pitching in 2017 and outhitting the vast majority of the Braves’ roster in Spring Training. The Braves, however, understandably appear to have wanted to keep Acuna in Triple-A long enough to delay his free agency by a full year. By keeping him in Triple-A until April 14, Atlanta delayed his free agency from the 2023-24 offseason to the 2024-25 offseason.

Acuna, though, got off to a brutal start in Triple-A Gwinnett, which prompted the Braves to keep the 21-year-old in the minors even longer. Not wanting to promote Acuna to the Majors when he was struggling badly against minor league arms, Atlanta waited for their prized prospect to begin to right the ship at the plate. That’s been taking place over the past week, as Acuna has collected 1 11 hits and four walks with eight strikeouts in 37 plate appearances.

Entering the 2018 season, virtually every set of prospect rankings from major outlets considered Acuna to be the game’s top overall prospect. It was a rapid ascent for Acuna, who entered the 2017 campaign as a consensus top 100 prospect but not near the top of any notable rankings. His meteoric rise began last season when he started in Class-A Advanced and skyrocketed to Triple-A by the end of the year. The Venezuelan-born slugger didn’t just move up the ladder, though; his numbers actually improved upon each promotion, culminating with a .344/.393/.548 line in Triple-A.

Overall, Acuna slashed .325/.374/.522 with 21 homers, 31 doubles, eight triples and 44 steals across three minor league levels in 2017 — and he did so all before turning 20 years of age this past December. Even before reading any of the many glowing scouting reports on Acuna — and there’s no shortage of them, as Baseball America, MLB.com, Fangraphs, Baseball Prospectus and ESPN are among the many that have lauded him — it’s readily apparent that he’s a significantly more advanced talent than most prospects. That type of production in Double-A and Triple-A is rare for prospects who are several years older than Acuna, even, but doing so at age 19 is a rather remarkable accomplishment.

It stands to reason that Acuna will be thrown directly into the mix in left field with the Braves, who managed to jettison Matt Kemp this offseason in order to create an easy path to at-bats for the ballyhooed young slugger. Preston Tucker has been holding down the fort in left field and performed admirably as a stopgap, but his bat has cooled substantially since a hot start to the season (.514 OPS over his past 44 PAs).

With Acuna now penciled in as the primary left fielder, Ender Inciarte and Nick Markakis will occupy the team’s other two outfield spots. Tucker or Peter Bourjos remain on hand as reserve options in the outfield, though it’s possible that one could be a roster casualty to make way for Acuna. The Braves already designated one reserve, Lane Adams, for assignment last week.

2017-18 Rule 5 Draft Update

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It’s been more than a month since MLBTR last checked in on the status of the 18 players who were selected in the Major League phase of last December’s Rule 5 Draft. Since that time, Opening Day rosters have been set, and there have been a few notable developments as pertains to this group. Here’s how they’re all faring thus far in 2018:

Active Big Leaguers

  • Victor Reyes, OF, Tigers (selected from D-backs): The Tigers are hanging onto the top pick in December’s draft, though “active” is probably a generous adjective when describing his role. The 23-year-old has received just eight plate appearances and seen action in only eight games all season — most often working as a pinch-runner. The Tigers are obviously high on Reyes, and given their rebuilding status they can afford to roster him while using him in incredibly sparing fashion. At a certain point, though, they’ll need to start getting him into the game, as he’s missing out on valuable reps by riding the bench this often.
  • Brad Keller, RHP, Royals (from D-backs, via trade with Reds): So far, so good for Keller. The 22-year-old was a starter in Arizona’s system and skipped Triple-A to jump right into the K.C. bullpen. Thus far, he’s tossed seven innings and allowed three runs on nine hits and a pair of walks (one intentional) with four strikeouts and a 52 percent grounder rate. The Royals can afford to keep Keller all season as long as performance dictates, and thus far he’s done nothing to really jeopardize his standing.
  • Burch Smith, RHP, Royals (from Rays via trade with Mets): The 28-year-old Smith has big league experience, but that came all the way back in 2013 before a series of injuries slowed his career. The Royals have used him more heavily than Keller, giving him 10 2/3 innings thus far. Smith has a 3.38 ERA  (four runs allowed) and 11 strikeouts in that time, but he’s also issued eight walks (none of which were intentional) and hit a batter. He’ll need better control, but he seems safe for now.
  • Tyler Kinley, RHP, Twins (from Marlins): The Twins have carried relievers for a full season in the past (Ryan Pressly, J.R. Graham), but they’re not really in position to have a reliever they don’t trust in anything but mop-up or blowout scenarios at present. With Minnesota aiming to contend and in the midst of an ugly losing streak that has depleted their ’pen, it’s somewhat surprising that they’re hanging onto Kinley, who has served up nine runs in 3 1/3 innings thus far. A fastball that can reach triple digits is always enticing, but the Twins need more certainty from their relief corps than Kinley can offer at present.
  • Pedro Araujo, RHP, Orioles (from Cubs): Baltimore opened the year with two picks from the 2017 Rule 5 Draft on their roster, but only Araujo is still with the club. He’s been thrown right into the fire by Buck Showalter and worked in some higher-leverage spots than most Rule 5 picks encounter, but the results haven’t been there thus far. Araujo has a 16-to-5 K/BB ratio in 11 innings, but he’s also served up two homers, posted a 5.73 ERA and induced grounders at just a 30.8 percent clip. He’s done a good job of limiting hard contact, however, and fielding-independent metrics feel he’s been better than that ugly ERA (4.26 FIP, 3.87 xFIP, 2.90 SIERA). The O’s already look buried in the AL East, making it easier to let Araujo develop at the MLB level if they wish.
  • Luke Bard, RHP, Angels (from Twins): Bard technically still falls into this category, but that may not be the case for long. The righty broke camp with the Angels but was just designated for assignment over the weekend. Bard is still in DFA limbo, so there’s a chance that another club is enticed by his lofty spin rate and elects to roll the dice on him. Bard did strike out 13 batters against five walks in 10 2/3 MLB frames, but he also hit three batters and served up seven runs on the strength of four homers. If he clears waivers, he’ll be offered back to Minnesota for $50K.

On the Disabled List

  • Julian Fernandez, RHP, Giants (from Rockies): Fernandez won’t be a factor for the Giants in 2018 after undergoing Tommy John surgery earlier this month. He’ll presumably spend the season on the 60-day DL, racking up a year of big league service time, and will retain his Rule 5 status once healthy in 2019.
  • Nick Burdi, RHP, Pirates (from Twins via trade with Phillies): The former Louisville star was a supplemental-round pick of the Twins out of college thanks largely to an 80-grade fastball that can frequently touch triple digits, but injuries have slowed his career. The Twins surprised some by not placing Burdi on the 40-man roster, and the Pirates will have a chance to develop him and gain control of a power arm once he recovers from Tommy John surgery this summer. That Pittsburgh is off to such a promising start to the season could make it difficult for them to hang onto him, though.
  • Carlos Tocci, OF, Rangers (from Phillies, via trade with White Sox): An injury to Delino DeShields (who is now back) got Tocci some extra looks at the plate, but he’s just 2-for-25 with one walk against a dozen strikeouts in 28 total plate appearances. Tocci is on the 10-day DL with a hip contusion at present, but he’ll need to produce more to stick with the Rangers all season. The fact that Texas has already been decimated by injuries and is off to an 8-17 start could actually benefit him, though. If the Rangers ultimately decide they’re destined for a sell-off, they can keep Tocci on the roster in spite of any struggles.
  • Elieser Hernandez, RHP, Marlins (from Astros): The Marlins have yet to get a real look at the 22-year-old Hernandez, as he opened the season on the disabled list after having his wisdom teeth removed late in Spring Training. He’s on a rehab assignment in Class-A Advanced at the moment, where he has not thrown especially well. Hernandez has never even pitched at the Double-A level, though as is the case with the Tigers and Reds, the Marlins are in position to stash just about anyone on their big league roster for a season if they wish. They’ll need to make a call on him one way or another in the near future.
  • Brett Graves, RHP, Marlins (from Athletics): Miami has yet to get a look at Graves during the regular season, as he’s currently on the 60-day disabled list due to an oblique injury. If he doesn’t spend at least 90 days on the active big league roster this year but sticks with the organization, he’d have to carry over his Rule 5 eligibility into the 2019 season until reaching that 90-day total.

Returned to Original Organization

Other Cases

  • Albert Suarez, RHP: Suarez accepted an outright assignment from the D-backs after clearing waivers. While a player would normally have to be offered back to his original organization at that point — the Giants, in this instance — Suarez was not required to be offered back to San Francisco due to the fact that he’d previously been outrighted off a 40-man roster in his career. That rare exemption allowed the D-backs to hang onto him, though he’s struggled in Triple-A Reno thus far (7.94 ERA, 10.3 K/9, 5.6 BB/9, two homers in 11 2/3 innings).
  • Dan Winkler, RHP, Braves: Winkler’s Rule 5 status carried over all the way back to the 2014 Rule 5 Draft, as his career with the Braves has been beset by injuries. Winkler, at long last, is healthy and has seen that status expire, meaning the Braves could option him without exposing him to waivers first. Of course, with a 1.59 ERA and a 17-to-5 K/BB ratio thus far, there’s no reason for the Braves to think about doing so.
  • Anthony Santander, OF, Orioles: Santander, too, saw his previous Rule 5 status carry over into the 2018 season, and he’s about three weeks away from fulfilling that goal and allowing the Orioles to option him if need be. That certainly seems plausible, as Santander is toting a dismal .153/.194/.254 batting line through 62 plate appearances thus far. The O’s have been giving him work, but if he doesn’t turn things around at the plate in short order, the 23-year-old switch-hitter could be bound for Triple-A once eligible.

Offseason In Review: St. Louis Cardinals

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This is the latest entry in MLBTR’s 2017-18 Offseason In Review series.  Click here to read the other completed reviews from around the league.

The Cardinals brass made a concerted effort to improve their roster through retooling and talent consolidation this offseason. They’ll hope those tweaks can help them get back to the playoffs after missing them in back-to-back seasons.

Major League Signings

Trades and Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

Cardinals 25-Man Roster & Minor League Depth Chart; Cardinals Payroll Overview

Needs Addressed

The Cards entered the offseason facing the pressure of a roster crunch; myriad players would soon become vulnerable to the Rule 5 Draft, and spots on the 40-man were already prime real estate. They lost right-hander Luis Perdomo two years prior, and would need to navigate the process carefully to prevent losing valuable players such as Alcantara, Tyler O’Neill, Oscar Mercado, Derian Gonzalez and Austin Gomber.

Through some clever maneuvering, the Cardinals managed to entirely avoid being targeted during the draft’s major league phase. Alcantara, along with a pair of pitching prospects, went to the Marlins in exchange for Ozuna, while the latter four players of concern earned protection by way of addition to the expanded roster. Ozuna’s acquisition gave the Redbirds a formidable outfield trio, making Piscotty and Grichuk more luxury than necessity. Because of that, and with the safety net of outfield prospects Harrison Bader and O’Neill, they were able to flip Piscotty and Grichuk to fill a need in the bullpen and pad their farm depth.

It’s worth mentioning that while Ozuna was certainly a high-profile addition who should prove a marked improvement over Piscotty or Grichuk, he’s somewhat of a consolation prize in the Giancarlo Stanton sweepstakes. The birds made a strong run at Stanton over the offseason, and indeed seemed to have made an offer the Marlins liked. Unfortunately for both clubs, the reigning NL MVP and MLB homer champ had no interest in going to St. Louis; he chose not to approve a deal to the Cardinals and ultimately found his way to the Yankees instead.

As the now-infamous free agent freeze continued through December, the most daunting task for St. Louis was to find stability for the back end of a bullpen that had lost Trevor Rosenthal midseason to Tommy John surgery, and saw three more relievers depart in free agency. Part of this was addressed relatively early on with the Gregerson signing, and with the acquisition of Leone from the Blue Jays for Grichuk in mid-January. When Bud Norris’ price tag had fallen far enough, the team seized yet another opportunity by nabbing him on the cheap.

But even at this point, the club’s job of patching up its relief corps could only be given a B grade at best. The Birds still lacked a truly reliable shutdown presence; this only became more glaring when Gregerson began to deal with injuries during spring training. Leone didn’t exactly have an extensive MLB resume, and it would be fair to describe Norris’ 2017 season as up-and-down.

Greg Holland | Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY SportsThe result of these circumstances was a game of free-agent chicken with free agent closer Greg Holland. Though the two seemed to be an obvious match throughout the majority of the offseason (which I briefly mentioned in both Holland’s Free Agent Profile and our Offseason Outlook for the club), the Cardinals went on record multiple times saying that they weren’t interested in a lengthy commitment to a reliever. Holland’s market failed to develop as he and agent Scott Boras had hoped after he declined both a $15MM player option and a $17.4MM qualifying offer, and subsequently turned up his nose at a Rockies offer reportedly in the range of the three-year, $52MM deal Wade Davis ended up signing. Ultimately the Cardinals won the stare-down, as they ended up locking Holland into a one-year, $14MM deal that was less than all three of the pacts he’d rejected across the previous months.

The Cardinals didn’t just need relievers, though. With the subtraction of Lance Lynn (and reported lack of interest in bringing him back), they needed to fill at least one hole in the rotation, or else rely heavily on both the oft-injured Adam Wainwright and unproven prospect Jack Flaherty. They opted for the former, and did so creatively by signing Mikolas, who was fresh off another impressive performance in Japan in 2017.

Though they didn’t need to tinker with their infield much, the Cardinals addressed a long-term need by inking shortstop Paul DeJong to a six-year, $26MM extension. He certainly earned that deal after leading the club in homers last season despite not getting a promotion until mid-May. It didn’t come as much of a surprise; as I mentioned in the offseason outlook for the Cards, they’ve got a track record of extending players before they hit free agency, and DeJong seemed a prime target for one of those pacts.

Questions Remaining

It would be a stretch to claim that the Cardinals have any glaring weakness remaining. But at the same time, it would be tough to make the case that any one area of their roster stands out as a strength. Their outfield, infield and bullpen could all be described as above average, while the rotation seems stable enough. But outside of the Reds, the NL Central is unlikely to be a pushover. The Cardinals have neither the offense to out-slug the Brewers, nor the pitching to out-duel the Cubs.

If they do have a strength, it’s offensive depth. St. Louis has a strong pair of outfield prospects (Bader, O’Neill) and a group of infielders that can play multiple positions, which has already proved useful this season during Jedd Gyorko’s temporary absence. Luke Voit and Yairo Munoz aren’t top-end talent but could certainly step in and perform at least passably if called upon.

Jack Flaherty | Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY SportsPerhaps the most concerning issue facing the Cardinals right now is the club’s starting pitching depth, or lack thereof. With Adam Wainwright back on the shelf, the Cardinals are already being forced to use their most viable depth option in Jack Flaherty. Top prospect Alex Reyes could return from Tommy John surgery in late May or early June, but the Cardinals reportedly plan to use him out of the ’pen for at least part of his first season since going under the knife.

Outside of swingman John Gant, none of their other decent pitching prospects have more than a handful of innings’ worth of experience beyond the Double-A level. If the Cards end up in a position where they’re forced to turn to Gant or Gomber for more than a spot start, there’s likely to be some white-knuckling on the part of the front office and in the club’s dugout.

Overview

In essence, the Cardinals were able to check off every item on their to-do list over the course of the offseason. While Ozuna was probably the only acquisition that could be considered splashy, each individual move they made served to solve a problem with a reasonable solution. An outgoing pitcher was replaced with one who projects to do just as well. Four strong bullpen arms were added to replace three free agent relievers and one lost to injury. They began with a surplus of outfielders, which they essentially consolidated to add a more talented one. And while one could argue that they only marginally improved the team this winter, they’re certainly likely to see improvements from a number of talented young players.

How would you grade the Cardinals’ offseason? (Poll link for app users)

How Would You Grade The Cardinals' Offseason?
B 53.66% (1,700 votes)
C 19.98% (633 votes)
A 18.15% (575 votes)
D 4.42% (140 votes)
F 3.79% (120 votes)
Total Votes: 3,168

Wei-Yin Chen, Dan Straily Nearing Return To Marlins’ Rotation

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The Marlins could soon be installing a pair of veteran arms into their struggling young rotation. Craig Mish of SiriusXM reports that lefty Wei-Yin Chen will be activated to start Saturday’s game against the Rockies (Twitter link), and it seems that right-hander Dan Straily won’t be far behind (link via Doug Padilla at MLB.com). Straily tossed 88 pitches in yesterday’s rehab assignment and, so long as his arm feels good today, his next outing will likely be at the big league level.

Late last season, the Marlins organization expressed uncertainty as to whether Chen, who had a minor tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow, would be able to pitch at all in 2018. However, he’s made multiple rehab starts in extended spring camp and Class-A Advanced and is now set for his 2018 debut. MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweets that a scout who was at Chen’s most recent start felt he looked ready to return to the big leagues. Chen allowed one run on five hits and a walk with 11 strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings in his two Class-A rehab appearances.

A healthy Chen would have to be considered a huge bonus for the Marlins, who have routinely trotted out a collection of inexperienced arms thus far in the season. Jose Urena is the most seasoned arm in the Marlins’ rotation at present, with rookies Caleb Smith, Trevor Richards and Dillon Peters following him up. Lefty Jarlin Garcia technically isn’t a rookie, but this is his first big league season as a starter and just his second year in the Majors overall.

The 32-year-old Chen, unsurprisingly, forwent the opt-out clause in his five-year, $80MM contract this offseason, as opting out would’ve meant leaving $52MM on the table. That enormous financial commitment remains immovable for a Miami team that tore down the vast majority of its roster this offseason, and that’s highly unlikely to change regardless of how Chen performs. If Chen rounds into form, though, perhaps we’ll see Miami offer to eat a notable chunk of the remaining salary on his contract this July in an effort to at least partially unburden themselves — though a lot will need to go their way for that to even be possible.

Miami inked Chen prior to the 2016 season in large part due to the durability he displayed with the Orioles. While he never cleared the 200-inning mark in the regular season, Chen averaged 29 starts per year (30 if you count his postseason work). Since signing in Miami, however, he’s pitched a total of just 156 1/3 innings over two seasons combined, due to the previously mentioned elbow issues.

Straily, on the disabled list for the first time in his big league career, has also been working his way back via minor league rehab appearances after his 2018 debut was delayed by a forearm injury. Unlike Chen, he’ll immediately become a relatively desirable trade asset, assuming good health. Controlled for two seasons beyond 2018 and earning a modest $3.375MM this season, Straily has made 64 starts and pitched to a combined 4.01 ERA over the past two seasons combined. Straily drew plenty of interest on the trade market last summer, and it stands to reason that he’ll be in demand again as one of the few controllable starters available in trade.

MLB Daily Roster Roundup: Buehler, Garcia, Lauer, Perez

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ROSTER MOVES BY TEAM
(April 23rd-April 24th)

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FUTURE EXPECTED MOVES

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