Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for 2020

Alex Wilson Retires

By | at

Former major league right-hander Alex Wilson has retired, Robert Murray reports. The 33-year-old will join the Ballengee Group as an advisor, per Murray.

Wilson, a second-round pick of the Red Sox in 2009, debuted in 2013 and generated solid results with Boston over a combined 56 innings through 2014. But Wilson wasn’t long for the Red Sox, who traded him to Detroit after the 2014 campaign in the teams’ Yoenis Cespedes–Rick Porcello swap. Wilson went on to enjoy a successful stint as a member of the Tigers, with whom he was a durable and effective reliever.

Wilson amassed 264 2/3 innings and pitched to a 3.20 ERA with 5.8 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 as Tiger from 2015-18, but they non-tendered him heading into last season. He saw his final major league action in Milwaukee, where he was tattooed for 12 earned runs on 15 hits in 11 1/3 frames. Although the Tigers brought Wilson back last offseason on a minor league contract, they ended up releasing him in June.

While his career didn’t end in ideal fashion, there’s no denying Wilson had a more productive MLB career than most. He’ll depart with 332 innings of 3.44 ERA ball and 6.1 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9. MLBTR wishes Wilson the best in his next venture.

Rangers Place Corey Kluber On 45-Day IL

By | at

JULY 28: The Rangers placed Kluber on the 45-day injured list Tuesday, per TR Sullivan of MLB.com. They also activated southpaw reliever Brett Martin, who had been shelved after a positive coronavirus test, recalled outfielder Adolis Garcia and optioned fellow outfielder Leody Taveras.

JULY 27: Rangers righty Corey Kluber has been diagnosed with a grade 2 tear of the teres major muscle in his right shoulder. He’ll spend at least a month resting the injury before attempting to resume throwing.

It’s a brutal outcome for both the 34-year-old Kluber and for a Rangers team that acquired him from the Indians over the offseason. Given the timing involved in the shortened season, it’s all but impossible to imagine him retaking the mound in 2020.

Kluber is earning at a $17.5MM annual rate this year and can be retained for a $18MM salary in 2020 (or bought out for $1MM). It’ll be awfully difficult for the Rangers to take that bet now.

The Rangers will call upon southpaw Kolby Allard for the time being. If all goes well, he’ll be a competent back-of-the-rotation piece, though it is hard to imagine the lefty coming close to Kluber’s potential contribution.

Angels Place Andrelton Simmons On IL

By | at

The Angels announced that they have placed shortstop Andrelton Simmons on the 10-day injured list with a left ankle sprain. The club reinstated infielder Luis Rengifo from the IL in a corresponding move.

Simmons, who incurred the injury against the Athletics on Monday, also dealt with left ankle troubles last year. Those issues helped limit Simmons to just 103 of a possible 162 games and a less-than-stellar .264/.309/.364 batting line across 424 plate appearances last season. While Simmons has never been anything close to an elite hitter, the 30-year-old has paired slightly above-average offense with spectacular defense when at peak form. The Angels are no doubt hoping he’ll return to that level this season, though this latest injury doesn’t help. It also doesn’t do Simmons any favors, as he could in for an interesting trip to free agency during the upcoming offseason.

For the most part, the Angels turned to utility player David Fletcher at short last year when Simmons was unavailable. They’ll do the same again Tuesday against the Mariners. Rengifo also saw some time at short in 2019, and he’s back in Angels uniform after an offseason trade with the Dodgers that involved him fell through. Hamstring soreness delayed Rengifo’s debut this season.

Indians Select Beau Taylor, Designate James Hoyt

By | at

The Indians have selected catcher Beau Taylor, designated right-hander James Hoyt for assignment and optioned outfielder Daniel Johnson, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com reports.

Taylor, formerly an Athletics prospect whom the Indians signed to a minor league contract last offseason, is up as insurance as the the Indians await word on Roberto Perez. The Indians’ starting backstop and one of their most valuable contributors a year ago, Perez is dealing with right shoulder soreness at the moment. They should know more on his condition Wednesday, but for now, they’re down to Taylor and former Red Sox starter Sandy Leon as their top two catchers.

Since he debuted in the majors with the Astros in 2016, the 33-year-old Hoyt has amassed 80 innings – including 8 1/3 during his first season in Cleveland in 2019 – and put up a 4.16 ERA/3.92 FIP with 11.7 K/9 and 2.92 BB/9. Notably, Hoyt carries a rather impressive track record in Triple-A, where he has logged a 3.09 ERA with 12.1 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 over 218 2/3 frames. And considering Hoyt has another minor league option remaining, it wouldn’t be particularly surprising to see another team take a chance on him.

Mariners Select Joe Odom

By | at

The Mariners announced that they have selected catcher Joseph Odom’s contract and sent left-hander Taylor Guilbeau to their alternate training site. Guilbeau will remain a part of their taxi squad.

The Odom addition gives the Mariners a full 40-man roster, and it could put the 28-year-old in position to make his major league debut. Odom entered the pro ranks as a 13th-round pick of the Braves in 2013, but they lost him to the Mariners a few years later in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft. He has little experience at the Triple-A level, though, and generally hasn’t produced much as a hitter in minor league ball. Through 1,668 plate appearances – including 100 in Triple-A – Odom has batted .239/.305/.366 with 34 home runs.

Now that he’s on his way to Seattle, Odom will give the team another backstop option alongside Austin Nola and Joe Hudson (though the M’s scratched Nola from their lineup Tuesday for an unknown reason). The Mariners have been without starting catcher Tom Murphy so far this year because of a broken bone in his foot.

Latest On Nomar Mazara

By | at

White Sox outfielder Nomar Mazara has reported to the team’s alternate training site, Scott Merkin of MLB.com tweets. He has been on the injured list since July 22 for an undisclosed reason.

It’s not known when Mazara will make his 2020 debut, but it’s nonetheless nice to see that he’s making progress. When he is able to take the field for the White Sox, it’ll be the 25-year-old’s first appearance in their uniform. Chicago acquired the former standout prospect from Texas during the offseason in one of many notable winter White Sox transactions.

Of course, it’s anyone’s guess whether Mazara will prove to be a valuable part of the White Sox team. Mazara looked like a can’t-miss farmhand during his younger days, but he failed to post inspiring production as a member of the Rangers, with whom he batted .261/.320/.435 (92 wRC+) with 79 home runs in 2,189 plate appearances from 2016-19. By measure of wRC+, Mazara was never even a league-average hitter in any of his seasons in Texas.

Defensively, Mazara has earned unspectacular reviews in right field, where he has logged minus-17 DRS and a 0.0 UZR across 3,000-plus innings. Once he’s ready to return, though, Mazara figures to take over the position for the White Sox, who have turned to Nicky Delmonico there in the early going this season.

Astros Place Joe Biagini On Injured List, Select Andre Scrubb

By | at

The Astros announced that they’ve placed right-handed reliever Joe Biagini on the 10-day injured list due to shoulder soreness and, in a corresponding move, selected the contract of right-hander Andre Scrubb from their alternate training site.

Biagini, 30, averaged 94.5 mph on his fastball as a reliever from 2018-19 but came out of the gates in 2020 averaging a diminished 92.6 mph on that heater. He allowed a run on two hits with a strikeout in two-thirds of an inning in his lone 2020 outing. Biagini struggled in his time with the ’Stros last year, but he turned in a 3.78 ERA with a strikeout per inning and solid control in 50 frames before being traded from Toronto to Houston.

Scrubb, 25, has yet to advance to Triple-A but will now jump directly to the big leagues. Houston acquired him in the 2019 trade that sent Tyler White to the Dodgers. He split last year between the Double-A affiliates for Houston and L.A., pitching to a combined 2.78 ERA with 10.6 K/9 against 4.6 BB/9. He’s not among the organization’s top-ranked prospects, but his solid showing in Double-A last year landed him in the team’s 60-man player pool (and now on the 40-man roster).

With Scrubb joining the bullpen and Bigaini landing on the injured list, the Houston bullpen now has an incredible seven pitchers who entered the season without so much as a day of MLB experience. In addition to Biagini, the Astros also have Brad Peacock, Austin Pruitt, Rogelio Armenteros, Justin Verlander and Jose Urquidy on the injured list at the moment. Given the mounting number of injuries, it’s not difficult to see why the club is pursuing a depth pickup of Fernando Rodney, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the ’Stros were to make some similar additions in the near future.

Juan Soto Receives Consecutive Negative Tests

By | at

5:15pm: Nats manager Dave Martinez tells reporters that Soto has now received the required back-to-back negative test results from Major League Baseball’s approved labs (Twitter link via Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post). The team is simply awaiting league/city clearance for Soto’s return at this point.

11:15am: Nationals star Juan Soto is currently out due to a positive COVID-19 test, meaning he needs consecutive negatives before he’ll be allowed to return to action. It seems he’s currently registering mixed results in testing, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports on Twitter.

Per the report, Soto has registered six negative tests — three from official league tests and three from team-administered tests. He has yet to string together two negatives that qualify to clear him for activation. Putting aside the phenom’s own situation, it’s yet another reminder that testing for the virus is anything but a foolproof means of ascertaining an infection.

For the Nationals, the first concern is obviously with Soto’s own well-being. From a pure competitive perspective, he’s obviously also of critical importance to the team’s hopes of pulling off a repeat title run. The charismatic 21-year-old carries a .287/.403/.535 batting line through his first 266 MLB games and was every bit as good during the team’s 2019 postseason run.

Miles Mikolas To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery

By | at

Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas will undergo surgery to repair his right flexor tendon and miss the remainder of the 2020 season, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak announced to reporters Tuesday (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Mark Saxon). He’s been placed on the injured list, and right-hander Jake Woodford has been recalled from the club’s alternate training site in a corresponding move. St. Louis also announced that Giovanny Gallegos has been activated from the injured list. Right-hander Daniel Ponce de Leon will start against the Twins tomorrow in place of Mikolas.

The loss of Mikolas is a notable blow to the St. Louis rotation. Since returning from a highly successful stint in Japan in 2018, the now-31-year-old Mikolas has given the Cards 384 2/3 innings of 3.44 ERA ball with averages of 6.8 strikeouts, 1.4 walks and 1.01 home runs per nine innings pitched. The right-hander finished sixth in 2018 National League Cy Young voting and has made 32 starts in each of his two seasons with the Cards.

That on its own would’ve been enough to make the two-year, $15.5MM deal that Mikolas signed with the Cardinals in the 2017-18 offseason a huge success. But the Cardinals clearly viewed the righty as a key long-term asset, as they locked him up on a four-year, $68MM extension prior to the 2019 season. The current season is the first year of that new pact, and a major arm surgery for Mikolas surely isn’t how either player or team hoped to kick things off. The hope is that he’ll be good to go for the 2021 season, Mozeliak added, though a more precise timeline will becomes clearer after the surgery.

Even without Mikolas, the Cardinals still have a talented group of starters. Young Jack Flaherty is emerging as one of the National League’s best arms. He’s joined by veterans Carlos Martinez and Adam Wainwright as well as fellow youngster Dakota Hudson in making up the Cardinals’ top four starters. Option for the fifth spot include Woodford, left-hander Genesis Cabrera and righty Alex Reyes, among others, although Reyes’ longstanding injury issues might make him better suited for a relief role.

The Cards opened the year with southpaw Kwang Hyun Kim in the bullpen, but the longtime KBO starter could move to the rotation, with the aforementioned Gallegos taking over ninth-inning work. Left-hander Ricardo Sanchez and right-hander Alvaro Seijas are both on the 40-man roster and in the team’s 60-man player pool as well.

Giants Designate Rob Brantly For Assignment

By | at

The Giants announced this afternoon that they’ve designated catcher Rob Brantly for assignment. His spot on the roster goes to fellow backstop Chadwick Tromp, whose contract has been selected.

Brantly, 31, appeared in just one game with the Giants and went 0-for-3 before today’s DFA. He’d been thrust into an unexpectedly prominent role, teaming with Tyler Heineman to shoulder the bulk of the catching load for the Giants after Buster Posey opted out of the 2020 season. The well-traveled veteran has seen action in parts of six MLB seasons, hitting at a combined .228/.292/.330 clip in 432 plate appearances. He has a solid 28 percent caught-stealing rate from behind the dish but much less favorable number in terms of pitch framing.

In moving from Brantly to Tromp, the Giants will take a look at a younger option who has a career .275/.353/.439 slash in part of the three Triple-A seasons. The 25-year-old, Aruban-born Tromp spent his entire pro career with the Reds organization prior to 2020, but he became a minor league free agent last winter and latched on with the Giants. He’ll now get his first look at the MLB level. Joey Bart is considered to be the Giants’ future everyday catcher, but a strong showing from Tromp could put him in line to serve as a backup or part-time option down the road.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top