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Archives for August 2020

Dodgers Activate Clayton Kershaw

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The Dodgers have officially activated LHP Clayton Kershaw ahead of today’s game, the team announced. Right-hander Mitch White has been optioned to create a spot on the active roster. Kershaw is set to take the mound for the Dodgers this afternoon against the Diamondbacks.

Kershaw will make his season debut after missing his scheduled Opening Day start due to back tightness. He’ll be a timely addition to the Dodgers’ rotation not long after Alex Wood was forced to the 10-day injured list with a shoulder issue.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner is entering his age-32 season and is coming off a 2019 campaign that saw his end-of-year ERA climb above 3.00 for the first time since his rookie year in 2008. It’s a testament to Kershaw’s sheer dominance throughout his prime, and we mustn’t forget that even a slightly lesser version of Kershaw is still one of the best pitchers in baseball.

Last year, he garnered an eighth-place Cy Young finish after notching 189 strikeouts in 178 1/3 innings of work. As alluded to, he finished with a 3.03 ERA (a career year for plenty of pitchers), and his 2.1 BB/9 was the highest it’s been since 2012.

Astros Place Roberto Osuna On 10-Day IL

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2:14pm: The Astros have placed Osuna on the 10-day injured list with right elbow soreness, according to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by right-handed pitcher Humberto Castellanos, who had previously been on the Astros’ taxi squad.

8:46am: Astros closer Roberto Osuna left Saturday’s game due to an arm injury, and manager Dusty Baker told reporters that Osuna will head from Anaheim to Houston to undergo an MRI.  Facing his third batter of the ninth inning last evening, Osuna threw a pitch to the Angels’ Jason Castro and immediately signaled for the trainer to visit the mound.  The right-hander was removed and replaced with Cy Sneed.

In the short term, Osuna’s injury quite possibly cost Houston the game, as Castro hit an RBI double to tie the score, and the Angels then scored the winning run in the 10th.  But Saturday’s defeat could be a relatively small matter compared to a potentially serious arm problem for Osuna, especially considering how the Astros’ pitching staff has already been ravaged by injuries.

Chris Devenski, Brad Peacock, Joe Biagini, Jose Urquidy, Austin Pruitt, and reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander are all on the injured list, while Ryan Pressly only just returned from a sore elbow.  The Astros have made some recent acquisitions (signing Fernando Rodney and acquiring Hector Velazquez from the Orioles) to help fill out their pitching depth, though there’s only so much that can be done to replace so many sidelined hurlers.

Should Osuna’s MRI reveal any bad news, his loss would be a particularly tough one for the Astros.  Osuna has a 2.45 ERA, 6.33 K/BB rate, and 9.3 K/9 over 92 innings since coming to the Astros from the Blue Jays in July 2018.  Pressly might be the top choice for save situations with Osuna sidelined, though the club might want to ease Pressly back in action considering that Saturday marked his first game of the season.

White Sox Release Kelvin Herrera

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The White Sox have requested waivers on right-hander Kelvin Herrera for his unconditional release, as first reported by James Fegan of The Athletic. Herrera was playing out the final year of a two-year, $18MM contract signed with the Sox prior to last season. Herrera was designated for assignment on Friday.

Herrera’s White Sox tenure will come to an unceremonious end after one-plus year in Chicago, a period during which he hardly resembled the late-inning menace that helped the Royals to a World Series title. His velocity has been in a steady decline since 2015, with his four-seamer measuring in at 94.5 mph this year, a far cry from the 98.8 mph he averaged five years ago (to be fair, he’s thrown just seven four-seamers this season; perhaps last year’s 96.3 mph velocity is closer to the “truth”).

In 57 games with the White Sox last year, he notched a disappointing 6.14 ERA while striking out 53 batters in 51 1/3 innings. Walks have been an issue since signing with Chicago, as he’s averaged an even 4.0 BB/9, up considerably from the 2.8 BB/9 he surrendered during his Royals tenure.

Speculatively, Herrera may have a future in Miami with the Marlins, whose need for depth pitching is undeniable given the state of the roster. They figure to be a potential landing spot for just about any hurler that becomes available. And for what it’s worth, Herrera would seem to fit in with the theme of the Marlins’ offseason: low-cost veterans such as Jesus Aguilar, Jonathan Villar, and Corey Dickerson were prioritized last winter and have helped the Marlins to a 2-1 start to the year (firmly in playoff position!).

Francisco Liriano Opts Out Of 2020 Season

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Free-agent LHP Francisco Liriano has opted out of the 2020 season, according to MLB insider Robert Murray. Per Murray, the 36-year-old left “multiple guaranteed offers” on the table.

Liriano is the 19th player (not including Nick Markakis, who chose to return to play after initially opting out) to spend this season on the sidelines. He is one of several players to have made such a decision in the immediate aftermath of COVID-19 outbreaks within the Marlins and Cardinals organizations.

Liriano, of course, wasn’t on an MLB roster and so won’t change his current status, but as stated by Murray, the veteran southpaw may have been poised to ink a deal with a team in the near future.

Instead, he’ll have to wait until the winter to do so, assuming there’s still interest when a new crop of free agents hit the market. Notably, teams won’t be able to deploy Liriano as a typical lefty specialist given new MLB rules. However, that shouldn’t hurt Liriano too much, owing to his background as a starter; he average more than an inning per appearance last year.

His 2019 season, spent with the Pirates, was the first time in Liriano’s 14-year career he was deployed exclusively as a reliever, and it was a relatively successful transition for the former All-Star. In 69 games for Pittsburgh, he worked 70 innings and finished with a 3.47 ERA, striking out 63 batters. As has long been the case for the southpaw, he was prone to walking batters, surrendering a base on balls every two innings, on average.

He still boasts two deadly offerings, with a stellar slider and a changeup that allows him to compete with right-handed batters. Contrary to what you might expect of a 36-year-old veteran, his velocity hasn’t declined significantly from his Twins days, though the changeup-slider combination is still the bread and butter of his repertoire. He threw the changeup more often than ever last year, and the pitch yielded a swing-and-miss on 43.4% of offerings, which, coupled with a slider with a comparable 42.1% whiff rate, should make Liriano a viable lefty for plenty of teams next year.

Pirates Acquire Tyler Bashlor From Mets

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The Pirates have acquired right-handed pitcher Tyler Bashlor from the Mets in exchange for cash considerations, reports Tim Healey of Newsday. The Pirates have designated LHP Robbie Erlin for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

Bashlor, 27, tossed 54 relief innings for the Mets between 2018-19. They were generally uninspiring, as he managed just a 5.33 ERA/6.18 FIP in that span. However, Bashlor averaged a strong 95.6 MPH on his four-seam fastball last season with top-of-the-scale spin. The Bucs will take a low-cost flier to see if they can translate those promising traits into a few more whiffs.

Erlin, meanwhile, managed only two relief appearances in Pittsburgh after breaking camp with the club. The Pirates will have a week to trade, release or outright the former Padre starter.

Padres Place Eric Hosmer On 10-Day Injured List; Select Jerad Eickhoff’s Contract

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The Padres placed first baseman Eric Hosmer on the 10-day injured list Saturday due to gastritis.  Right-hander Jerad Eickhoff will take Hosmer’s spot on the active roster, as the club announced today that Eickhoff’s contract had been selected.

Hosmer has only played in three games this season, though the good news is that team doctors have said that his stomach issues aren’t related to COVID-19.  Such stomach problems are hard to gauge in terms of a timeline, so the Padres clearly felt an IL placement was necessary to give Hosmer proper time to fully recover.

Eickhoff signed a minor league contract with San Diego in January, and he is now in line for his first MLB appearance in anything besides a Phillies uniform.  Eickhoff posted a 4.15 ERA over 440 innings with Philadelphia from 2015-19, though the bulk of that good production came during a 2016 season that saw him deliver a 3.65 ERA over 197 1/3 innings.

Multiple injuries curtailed his performance over the past three years, however, and the Phils outrighted Eickhoff from their 40-man roster last November.  He’ll now get a crack at reviving his career in a relief role for San Diego.

Rockies Place Wade Davis On 10-Day IL, Move Scott Oberg To 45-Day IL

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The Rockies made some significant bullpen moves today, moving closer Wade Davis to the 10-day injured list due to a right shoulder strain.  Right-hander Joe Harvey has been recalled to take Davis’ spot on the active roster.  In more troubling news, right-hander Scott Oberg has been moved from the 10-day IL to the 45-day IL due to blood clots in his throwing arm.

Oberg was previously on the injured list due to a back strain, though a throwing session on Saturday was ended early after Oberg was had “a little discomfort in the hand” and “had a hard time gripping the ball,” as manager Bud Black told MLB.com’s Thomas Harding and other reporters.  Further tests revealed the blood clots, marking the second time in two seasons and the third overall time in Oberg’s career that he had dealt with such a problem.

The right-hander has had to undergo three separate surgeries in efforts to dissolve the clots, and a fourth procedure could quite possibly be in the cards given the seemingly perpetual nature of the issue.  Black hinted today that Oberg might not take the field in 2020, telling Harding and other media “it’s going to be awhile if at all for Scott this season.”

Despite all the health concerns, the Rockies signed Oberg to a three-year, $13MM extension this past winter, covering his final two arbitration-eligible years, his first free agent year, and potentially the 2023 season as well via an $8MM club option.  It was a commitment the Rox were comfortable making given how well Oberg performed in 2018-19, as he posted a 2.35 ERA, 3.29 K/BB rate, 9.0 K/9 over 114 2/3 innings.

Davis recorded saves in his first two outings this season but blew up in two-thirds of an inning against the Padres on Friday night, surrendering four earned runs in the form of home runs from Fernando Tatis Jr. and Tommy Pham.  A shoulder issue could be the reason for Davis’ poor showing, though it marked an unwelcome continuation of Davis’ disastrous form from the 2019 season.  He managed only an 8.65 ERA over 42 2/3 innings, though things didn’t really go south for Davis until after he returned from an oblique injury last June, so health could potentially have been a factor.

2020 is the last guaranteed year of the three-year, $52MM contract Davis signed with Colorado prior to the 2018 season.  The $15MM mutual option in the deal for 2021 can vest into a player option, though it still isn’t entirely clear what new number of games finished Davis would have to accumulate in order to gain control over his 2021 salary.  That said, it might be a moot point given that Davis’ injury and his overall struggles will leave the Rockies turning to another option for the ninth inning.  Jairo Diaz is the top closer candidate at this point, though Carlos Estevez or comeback kid Daniel Bard may also get consideration for save opportunities.

Pirates Place Mitch Keller, Michael Feliz On 10-Day Injured List

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The Pirates placed right-handers Mitch Keller and Michael Feliz on the 10-day injured list, the club announced.  Keller is dealing with left side discomfort while Feliz is suffering from right forearm discomfort.  Right-hander Cody Ponce and southpaw Sam Howard were called up to fill the two spots on the 30-man active roster.

Keller and Feliz both left the Pirates’ 4-3 loss to the Cubs on Saturday.  Keller tossed 2 2/3 innings before bouncing a pitch to Willson Contreras and promptly asked for a trainer visit to the mound before leaving the game.  Feliz also made an immediate departure in the eighth inning, following a pitch to Jason Heyward.

Keller’s injury hints at a possible oblique strain, and even minor oblique problems have been known to sideline players for at least a couple of weeks.  If the strain ends up being more severe, Keller’s entire season could possibly be in jeopardy.  Feliz’s issue is perhaps even more ominous considering how forearm injuries can sometimes lead to Tommy John surgery, though he doesn’t have a past history of forearm or elbow issues.

Losing the two pitchers is a big hit to a Pirates team that is already short on reliable pitching options.  In the bigger picture, Keller’s injury might also present a significant setback to one of the team’s top young assets, as Keller has been a consensus top-100 prospect for the last four years.  He didn’t impress in his first Major League action last season (a 7.13 ERA over 48 innings), though the 24-year-old was still slated to be a major part of Pittsburgh’s rotation plans both in the present and in the future.

Feliz may still be best known for being part of the four-player package sent to the Pirates from the Astros in the January 2018 Gerrit Cole trade, though the righty quietly delivered some solid bottom-line numbers in 2019.  Feliz posted a 3.99 ERA, 2.70 K/BB rate, and an 11.7 K/9 over 56 1/3 innings, having some problems with home runs (1.8 HR/9) but also limiting opposing batters to just a 29.2% hard-hit ball rate.

Both Ponce and Howard will be making their debuts on the Pirates’ roster.  Howard posted a 5.87 ERA over 23 innings with the Rockies in 2018-19 before being claimed off waivers during the offseason.  He moved exclusively to relief pitching in 2019 after mostly working as a starter in his five previous pro seasons in Colorado’s farm system, and Howard has also displayed some reverse-splits tendencies over his career.

In Ponce’s case, this will be his first time in the big leagues.  A second-round pick for the Brewers in the 2015 draft, Ponce came to Pittsburgh as the return for Jordan Lyles last July, and Ponce owns a 3.83 ERA, 3.36 K/BB rate, and 8.0 K/9 over 418 2/3 minor league innings.  He has worked as both a starter and reliever in the minors, so Ponce could potentially get some rotation work for the Bucs either as a proper starter or as part of a piggyback system.

Royals Reinstate Jakob Junis, Cam Gallagher From Injured List; Designate Oscar Hernandez

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The Royals have activated right-hander Jakob Junis and catcher Cam Gallagher from the injured list, as per the team’s official Twitter account.  To create roster space, catcher Oscar Hernandez was designated for assignment and righty Ronald Bolanos was optioned to the club’s alternate training site.

Junis is slated to start Kansas City’s game against the White Sox this afternoon, while Gallagher is behind the plate.  Both Junis and Gallagher are making their first appearances of the season after receiving positive COVID-19 diagnoses during Summer Camp, which set back their preseason preparations.

The 27-year-old Junis has been a reliable eater of innings since becoming a full-time member of the Royals’ rotation, though his overall performance has been inconsistent.  Junis has a 4.80 ERA, 3.25 K/BB rate, and 8.4 K/9 over 352 1/3 innings since the start of the 2018 season, with a 4.37 ERA in 2018 and a 5.24 number last year.  Despite that notable gap in ERA totals, there wasn’t much different in Junis’ peripheral stats between the two seasons.

Gallagher will assume his regular role as Salvador Perez’s backup.  Gallagher has hit .230/.297/.352 over 238 plate appearances in his three seasons in Kansas City, with 142 of those PA coming in 2019 when Gallagher received more playing time due to an unusually unsettled catching situation — Perez missed the season recovering from Tommy John surgery, and interim starter Martin Maldonado was traded in July.

Hernandez appeared in four games for the Royals this season, which marked his first MLB action since he played in another four games for the Diamondbacks in 2016.  All told, Hernandez has 26 big league games on his resume during an 11-year pro career that has seen him clock 549 games (and a .246/.323/.417 slash line in 2140 PA) in the minor leagues with the Rays, Diamondbacks, and Red Sox organizations.

Rays Reinstate Kevan Smith From Injured List, Option Daniel Robertson

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TODAY: After just one day, Smith has been reinstated from the IL and Robertson has been optioned back to the Rays’ minor league training site.  Manager Kevin Cash told the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin and other media members that Smith’s second COVID-19 test came back negative, and thus the catcher was cleared to take the field.

AUGUST 1: The Tampa Bay Rays have recalled infielder Daniel Robertson just a couple days after sending him to their alternate training site. Catcher Kevan Smith was placed on the injured list, per the team.

Smith, 32, has been suffering from cold symptoms, prompting some coronavirus concern, though he’s tested negative, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Given his symptoms, he will need a second negative test before being cleared to return to the team. Smith has served as a defensive replacement early this season, catching 5 innings over the course of three appearances with just a lone plate appearance.

Mike Zunino and Michael Perez are the other catchers currently on the Rays active roster. Ronaldo Hernandez, Rene Pinto, and Brett Sullivan are the other backstops in Tampa’s 60 player pool. Assuming the veteran receiver gets his second negative test and returns to normal health, Smith shouldn’t be away from the team for long.

Robertson has not yet made an appearance this season, though he’s been a steady utility presence for the Rays the past three seasons. The 26-year-old right-hander splits his time evenly between second, third, and short with occasional emergency spells in the outfield. His usefulness to the Rays is in his utility. Inconsistent results at the plate have kept him from a regular role. An 11.6 BB% suggests a sound approach at the plate, though his career strikeouts rate (25.2%) is a little higher than would be ideal. The bigger issue with Robertston would appear to be a shortage of pop (career .122 ISO).

In other Tampa news, highly-touted two-way player Brendan McKay has returned to the club’s alternate training site after previously testing positive for COVID-19, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. He will need multiple weeks to get ready.

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