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Yankees Activate Aaron Hicks, Designate Shane Robinson

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The Yankees announced that they’ve activated outfielder Aaron Hicks from the disabled list and designated fellow outfielder Shane Robinson for assignment in a corresponding move. Hicks will return to the lineup tonight as the designated hitter for the Yanks.

The switch-hitting Hicks will be a welcome addition to the Yankees’ lineup. Hicks went 2-for-4 on Opening Day for the Yankees this season before surprisingly landing on the DL due to a strained intercostal muscle the following day. Last year, the 28-year-old former first-rounder slashed .266/.372/.475 with 15 homers and 10 steals in 361 plate appearances over the life of 88 games, but oblique strains on both his right and left sides hampered his ability to stay on the field. Nonetheless, Hicks demonstrated enough for the Yankees to consider him their primary center fielder heading into 2018, and he’ll likely reclaim that role moving forward.

As for the 33-year-old Robinson, he always looked to be a short-term add for the Yankees, though it likely still stings to be cut loose after reaching three times and swiping a base in his lone game with the Yankees. The speedy veteran’s contract was only selected Tuesday, and he went 1-for-3 with a couple of walks in last night’s emotionally charged game against the Red Sox.

Robinson has been up and down between the Majors and Triple-A for much of his pro career, appearing at the big league level in each of the past seven seasons but never reaching 200 plate appearances in a year. Overall, he’s a lifetime .227/.296/.297 hitter in the Majors and a .281/.341/.388 hitter in more than 1600 Triple-A plate appearances.

Yovani Gallardo Elects Free Agency

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The Reds announced that right-hander Yovani Gallardo has cleared waivers and rejected an outright assignment to the minors in favor of free agency. Cincinnati had designated him for assignment earlier this week.

Gallardo’s tenure with the Reds will go down as a brief 2 1/3-inning stint over a span of just three games. Cincinnati picked up the veteran righty after he didn’t make the Brewers’ Opening Day roster, but the 32-year-old will once again hit the open market in search of a new club.

Gallardo was a quality big league starter from 2009-15, averaging 32 starts and 191 innings of 3.69 ERA ball per season with Milwaukee (and, in 2015, with the Rangers). However, his strikeout rate began to deteriorate in 2013. His fastball, which averaged 92.5 mph during his best seasons, fell to an average of 90.4 mph in his lone season with Texas, and the start of his Orioles career was marred by a shoulder/biceps issue which shelved him for roughly six weeks. He gained some of his velocity back in 2017 with Seattle, though that spike is likely in part attributable to a brief move to the bullpen.

Over the past two seasons, Gallardo has struggled to a 5.57 ERA with just 6.5 K/9 against 4.4 BB/9 and 1.4 HR/9 as he’s become increasingly susceptible to the long ball. Still, a club in need of some rotation depth could certainly look to bring the veteran into the fold as a depth option — depending on his willingness to head to the minors. It’s possible that a club particularly thin on pitching, such as the Marlins, could look to plug Gallardo directly into its staff (that’s merely my own speculation), though most clubs would view him as more of a Triple-A depth option at this point.

AL East Notes: Poyner, Walden, Rays, Jones

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The Red Sox announced this morning that left-hander Bobby Poyner has been placed on the 10-day DL due to a strained left hamstring incurred in last night’s game. He’ll be replaced on the 25-man roster by righty Marcus Walden, who’s been recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket for his second stint with the Red Sox in the young season. Poyner, 25, surprised many by forcing his way onto the Opening Day roster with a terrific Spring Training effort, and he’s done nothing to make that decision look questionable through his first seven innings. The former 14th-rounder has allowed just a run on eight hits and a walk with eight strikeouts through those seven frames in his MLB debut, and his absence will leave Brian Johnson as the lone southpaw in Boston’s bullpen. As for Walden, the 29-year-old made his big league debut with five innings of two-run ball spread across three relief appearances earlier this season. Just three years ago, Walden was pitching on the independent circuit in search of a return to affiliated ball.

More from the AL East…

  • Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal spoke to multiple Rays officials and players about the team’s unconventional pitching staff in 2018. Tampa Bay opened the year with just three starters in its rotation and a plan to patch together the would-be fourth and fifth spots in their rotation with an ongoing series of bullpen days. While some have questioned the wisdom of the decision, Diamond notes that the bullpen days thus far haven’t been the team’s downfall; rather, shaky performances from Chris Archer, Blake Snell and Jake Faria have hampered the Rays’ results. “If we occupy the wake of both the Yankees and Boston and our behavior is aligned with theirs, we’re never going to step out and pass them — ever,” one anonymous official tells Diamond. GM Erik Neander, meanwhile, acknowledges that his team’s plan may not pan out but assures that quite a bit of thinking went into the matter. As for the Rays’ players, Chris Archer and rookie left-hander Ryan Yarbrough were among those to voice their support of the system to Diamond.
  • Orioles center fielder Adam Jones sat down with Bill Ladson of MLB.com for a Q&A in which the two discussed his impending free agency and the possibility of a midseason trade if things don’t go well in Baltimore. Asked what it would take for him to stay in Baltimore, Jones suggests his focus in free agency will be winning in the long term. Baltimore’s offseason signings of Andrew Cashner and Alex Cobb to multi-year deals “showed that we are going to make a commitment to pitching,” Jones noted in praising the front office. The longtime O’s cornerstone did note that his family lives on the West Coast, though he emphasized that he wasn’t so much voicing a preference to head west as acknowledging that he has alternatives if things don’t work out in Baltimore. Regarding a potential trade, Jones pointed out that he has 10-and-5 rights which would allow him to the right to refuse any deal and said it’d have to be a decision he made with his wife. Jones adds that he hopes to play until age 40, and he also talks with Ladson about his love for the city of Baltimore, his post-playing plans and the times in which he’s had to deal with racism throughout his career. The conversation is well worth a full read.

White Sox Select Contract Of Chris Volstad

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The White Sox announced this morning that they’ve selected the contract of veteran righty Chris Volstad from Triple-A Charlotte. He’ll join the pitching staff tonight, with left-hander Carlos Rodon shifting from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL to create a spot on the 40-man roster. Chicago already announced after yesterday’s game that right-handed reliever Gregory Infante had been optioned to Charlotte, so Volstad will take his place in the bullpen for now.

This’ll be Volstad’s second run in the Majors with the South Siders, as he logged 19 1/3 innings for the Sox last season and recorded a 4.66 ERA with a 10-to-5 K/BB ratio. The 2018 season actually represents Volstad’s third consecutive year with the White Sox organization, as he also spent the entirety of the 2016 season pitching for Triple-A Charlotte.

Now 31 years of age, Volstad debuted as a 21-year-old with the 2008 Marlins and impressed with a 2.88 ERA across his first 84 1/3 innings, though his 5.5 K/9 rate and 3.8 BB/9 mark prompted metrics like FIP, xFIP and SIERA to forecast a more pessimistic outlook. Volstad would go on to tally 584 innings for the then-Florida Marlins from 2008-11, working to a collective 4.59 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 before being traded to the Cubs in the 2012 deal that sent Carlos Zambrano to Miami.

Volstad’s one season with the Cubs was a disaster, and he’s since bounced around the game, seeing MLB time with the Rockies and Pirates, Triple-A time with the Angels and spending a season with the Doosan Bears of the Korea Baseball Organization.

As for Rodon, the move to the 60-day DL looks to be largely a formality. He opened the season on the 10-day DL while recovering from shoulder surgery that he underwent late last September and has been working his way back toward a big league return. At last check, GM Rick Hahn suggested that a late-May return could be a best-case scenario for Rodon, so he wasn’t expected to be activated in the near future anyhow. Rodon’s initial placement on the DL was retroactive to March 26, meaning the earliest he can now be activated would be May 25.

Tigers Notes: Mahtook, Zimmermann, Draft

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The Tigers made the somewhat surprising move to option left fielder Mikie Mahtook to Triple-A Toledo following last night’s game, per a club announcement. Mahtook, a former first-rounder on whom the Tigers bought low late in the 2016-17 offseason, turned in a solid 2017 campaign in Detroit and opened the year as the Tigers’ primary left fielder. However, the 28-year-old got off to a brutal .129/.200/.161 start to the year through his first 35 plate appearances, prompting a move to be made. Manager Ron Gardenhire told reporters after the game that it was a “tough night” for the organization and called delivering this type of news the “worst part of being a manager” (link via MLive.com’s Evan Woodbery). “Tough decision. Not fun at all,” said Gardenhire. “I really like Mikie. He’s kind of scuffling a little bit. I told him he needs to go down and get his swing together and get his confidence back and he’ll be right back up here.” Mahtook, who hit .276/.330/.457 last season, took the demotion in stride, voicing confidence that he can turn things around in Toledo and return in the near future.

More out of the Motor City…

  • Wednesday was a frightening day for right-hander Jordan Zimmermann, who exited his start after being struck in the face by a line-drive off the bat of Jason Kipnis. Remarkably, however, it seems as though Zimmermann not only avoided major injury but will be able to make his next start, as MLB.com’s Jason Beck writes. Statcast measured the exit velocity of the comebacker that hit Zimmermann at a blistering 105.6 mph, but Zimmermann passed MLB’s concussion protocols, and X-rays came back negative. Zimmermann noted that it wasn’t the first time he’s endured that type of injury, as a comebacker in college broke his jaw. Beck’s column has quotes from Zimmermann, Gardenhire and Kipnis on the incident.
  • The Tigers will face a pivotal decision in their rebuilding effort this June when they have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft. Per Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs (all Twitter links), Auburn right-hander Casey Mize is favored to come off the board first overall at the moment, but the Tigers are also looking at Jarred Kelenic — a high school outfielder out of Waukesha, Wis., as a possibility with the top pick. The interest in Kelenic, McDaniel adds, isn’t a smokescreen designed to lower the price on other players and seems to be quite legitimate. Kelenic saw the Tigers’ Spring Training facility back in early March, and McDaniel notes that he’s been hearing talk about the two sides since that time, though those rumors have increased recently.

MLB Daily Roster Roundup: Eaton, Margot, Wheeler, Wieters

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ROSTER MOVES BY TEAM
(April 11th)

NATIONAL LEAGUE

  • ST. LOUIS CARDINALS | Depth Chart
    • Suspended: C Yadier Molina (1-game suspension)
      • Molina served the suspension on Wednesday.

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AMERICAN LEAGUE

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FUTURE EXPECTED MOVES

Injury Notes: Price, Shoemaker, Ervin, Trumbo, Yankees

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Red Sox left-hander David Price exited tonight’s game after one inning for what the team called “precautionary” reasons due to a “sensation” in his left hand (Twitter link via Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald). It was a night to forget for the lefty, who was hammered for four runs on three hits (one homer) and a pair of walks in his lone inning before being replaced by rookie southpaw Bobby Poyner. Elbow problems cost Price a substantial portion of the 2017 season, but he’d kicked off the 2018 campaign with a pair of scoreless, seven-inning gems against the Rays. Presumably, the Sox will have further updates on his condition after tonight’s game and/or tomorrow morning.

Some more injury news from around baseball…

  • The Angels announced tonight that right-hander Matt Shoemaker has been shut down for “a few weeks.” Shoemaker, on the DL for a forearm strain, underwent an EMG and a “nerve conduction study,” though the tests revealed no nerve irritation, per the announcement. Shoemaker is “treatment only” at this time as he awaits further testing. The Halos’ pitching staff has been hammered by injuries over the past couple of seasons, and they’ve already lost right-hander J.C. Ramirez for the season, as he’s likely to undergo Tommy John surgery to repair ligament damage in his right elbow. The Angels are on the verge of getting Andrew Heaney back, but they’ve already had to turn to 21-year-old prospect Jaime Barria, who is making his big league debut tonight. At present, it seems as if the Angels will deploy Shohei Ohtani, Garrett Richards, Tyler Skaggs and Heaney in their rotation moving forward, with righties Barria, Parker Bridwell and Nick Tropeano on hand as additional options. However, the loss of Ramirez and now an absence of undetermined length for Shoemaker, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Angels keep an eye out for some pitching depth.
  • Right-hander Ervin Santana has been cleared to begin a throwing program, per Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The Twins’ top starter, Santana has yet to pitch in 2018 after undergoing surgery to repair his right middle finger back in February. At last check, skipper Paul Molitor conceded that Santana was “a bit” behind schedule, though the start of a throwing program is a positive step for the 35-year-old. Berardino notes that Santana could require as much as six weeks to get back up to speed, however, so it seems as through the Twins will be without his contributions until at least mid-May.
  • The Orioles have halted Mark Trumbo’s rehab assignment, manager Buck Showalter told reporters, including Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com. While Showalter wouldn’t state that Trumbo had a setback, he did reveal that Trumbo “wasn’t quite comfortable” going full speed in the first game of a rehab stint with Double-A Bowie. The team didn’t provide a new timeline for Trumbo. Pedro Alvarez and Danny Valencia figure to continue platooning at the DH spot in his absence.
  • It appears as though Aaron Hicks has completed his rehab assignment. The outfielder tells reporters that he’s excited to rejoin the Yankees tomorrow (Twitter link Conor Foley of the Scranton Times-Tribune). Hicks walked and doubled in his second Triple-A rehab game tonight. He’s been out for two weeks with an intercostal strain that he suffered in the season opener. Meanwhile, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com tweeted yesterday that Jacoby Ellsbury will be shut down for 72 hours after receiving a cortisone shot in his ailing hip, so it seems the Yankees will likely have an update on him later this week once he attempts to resume baseball activities.

Rays To Select Contract Of Johnny Field

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The Rays announced tonight that they’ve optioned right-hander Ryan Weber to Triple-A Durham and will formally select the contract of minor league outfielder Johnny Field prior to Thursday’s game. Tampa Bay will have to make a corresponding 40-man roster move to accommodate Field, although that announcement won’t be made until tomorrow, per the team.

Field, 26, was the Rays’ fifth-round pick back in the 2013 draft and will be making his Major League debut when he first finds his way into the lineup for Tampa Bay. While he’s not considered to be among the organization’s top prospect at present, Baseball America did rank him 27th among Rays farmhands a couple offseasons ago, praising his feel for hitting and superb work ethic. Field had a lackluster season in 2017, but he’s posted an overall line of .268/.318/.437 in parts of three Triple-A campaigns (including a fast start in 2018).

The 27-year-old Weber pitched just a third of an inning for the Rays yesterday after being brought up to the big league club a day prior. Given that he has options remaining and experience in both the rotation and bullpen, he could be shuttled back and forth between St. Petersburg and Durham for much of the season as the Rays work with an unconventional alignment of their pitching staff that’ll assuredly require the club to frequently tap into its minor league system.

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