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Archives for April 2021

East Notes: Marte, Soroka, Yankees, Galvis

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Marlins center fielder Starling Marte went on the injured list with a fractured left rib a week ago, and he’s continuing to deal with “discomfort,” Craig Mish of SportsGrid tweets. The Marlins still don’t have a timetable for when Marte will restart baseball activities, according to Mish. Miami has given center field starts to Lewis Brinson, Magneuris Sierra and Adam Duvall in the absence of Marte, who got off to a great start this year with a .310/.414/.483 line and two home runs in 70 plate appearances before he went to the IL. Brinson, Sierra and Duvall haven’t been nearly as successful, as all three have logged production ranging from below average to terrible.

Here’s more from the East Coast…

  • Braves right-hander Mike Soroka’s injured pitching shoulder is “structurally sound,” per David O’Brien of The Athletic. However, Soroka still has not returned to throwing almost three weeks since the Braves shut him down with inflammation on April 7, so it remains unclear when he could make his season debut. The last year-plus has been unfortunate on the health front for Soroka, who missed most of 2020 with a torn right Achilles before his current issue cropped up. As a result of his injuries, Soroka hasn’t really gotten a chance to follow up on an All-Star 2019 in which he recorded a 2.68 ERA in 174 2/3 innings.
  • The Yankees suffered their 13th loss in 22 games Monday, falling 4-2 in Baltimore, but manager Aaron Boone did issue some positive injury updates beforehand (Twitter links via Marly Rivera of ESPN). First baseman and 2020 major league home run king Luke Voit is ramping up his activities as he works back from knee surgery. Left-handed reliever Zack Britton, who’s recovering from the arthroscopic elbow surgery he underwent in March, is slated to begin throwing from the mound at the end of the week. Based on the three- to four-month timeline the Yankees provided when Britton went under the knife, he won’t rejoin their bullpen until June or July. Meanwhile, righty Clarke Schmidt – who’s also on the mend from elbow trouble – has begun a throwing program, which is “going well,” per Boone.
  • Orioles shortstop Freddy Galvis exited their win over New York with left adductor soreness, the O’s announced. Manager Brandon Hyde told reporters (including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com) that Galvis is day-to-day with groin tightness. Galvis, whom the Orioles signed to a one-year, $1.5MM guarantee in free agency, has been quite durable during his career – including this season. He has started all 22 of Baltimore’s games thus far and batted a solid .264/.321/.458 with a pair of home runs in 79 trips to the plate. When Galvis went down Monday, the Orioles moved Ramon Urias from second to short and brought in Rio Ruiz to handle the keystone.

West Notes: Giants, Mariners, Athletics

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Although outfielder Mike Yastrzemski suffered a mild oblique strain Sunday, the Giants are hopeful he’ll avoid the 10-day injured list, manager Gabe Kapler told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle and other reporters. The Giants expect Yastrzemski to miss five to six games, but if he’s not ready beyond then, an IL placement may become necessary. Yastrzemski entered 2021 off back-to-back highly productive campaigns, and though he struggled at the outset of this season, his numbers began turning around before his injury. He has slashed .215/.303/.468 with four home runs in 89 plate appearances.

Here’s more regarding San Francisco and a couple other West Coast franchises:

  • The Giants put right-hander Johnny Cueto on the IL on April 15 with a Grade 1 lat strain, and he’ll sit out for at least a couple more weeks. Kapler revealed Cueto won’t return until May 9 at the earliest, which means he’ll wind up missing at least four starts, Slusser notes. San Francisco’s expectation was that Cueto would only miss two turns when he landed on the shelf. When healthy, Cueto has contributed to what has been an excellent Giants rotation with 20 innings of 1.80 ERA ball and a 24.3 percent strikeout rate against a 5.4 percent walk rate.
  • The Mariners have placed lefty Nick Margevicius on the 10-day IL with left shoulder inflammation and recalled righty Robert Dugger, the team announced. Margevicius’ IL trip comes one day after a disastrous performance in Boston, where he gave up four earned runs on two hits and four walks in a third of an inning. In five appearances (three starts) and 12 innings this year, Margevicius has been tattooed for 16 runs (11 earned) on 13 hits and seven walks. The Mariners are likely to plug righty Ljay Newsome into their rotation to take Margevicius’ place, manager Scott Servais suggested (via Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times). Newsome has held his own across four relief appearances this season, having allowed two earned runs on nine hits with 11 strikeouts against one walk over 10 2/3 frames.
  • The Athletics activated Mike Fiers from the IL on Monday, but the longtime starter will work out of their bullpen for the time being, manager Bob Melvin informed reporters (including Martin Gallegos of MLB.com). That means the A’s will stick with a five-man rotation consisting of Sean Manaea, Chris Bassitt, Frankie Montas, Jesus Luzardo and Cole Irvin. Fiers – who missed the first few weeks of the season with a lumbar strain – will try to bounce back from a disappointing showing 2020 showing in which he notched a 4.58 ERA/5.41 SIERA in 59 innings.

Latest On Rockies’ GM Position

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For the first time since 2014, the Rockies are in the market for a new general manager. Jeff Bridich spent the past six-plus years as the Rockies’ GM, but he and the team went their separate ways Monday. Colorado will appoint an interim GM for the rest of the 2021 campaign – likely scouting director Bill Schmidt or assistant GM Zack Rosenthal, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports – and then hire a permanent replacement for Bridich after the season.

Although Bridich has only been out of a job for a few hours, a potential successor from outside the organization has already emerged. Twins GM Thad Levine is “[t]he leading candidate” for the opening in Colorado, Nightengale writes. There’s familiarity between the Rockies and the 49-year-old Levine, who worked in their front office in various roles – including senior director of baseball operations – from 1999-2005. He then left to become the Rangers’ assistant GM, but not before earning the respect of Rockies owner Dick Monfort, according to Nightengale.

Along with president of baseball operations Derek Falvey, Levine has helped lead a turnaround in Minnesota since his hiring after the 2016 season. The Twins, then coming off a 59-win season, have gone to the playoffs three times and won two American League Central titles during the Falvey-Levine reign. As a result of the positive on-field results, Levine has garnered interest from other organizations during his time with the Twins. The Mets wanted to interview Levine for their GM job back in 2018, and he was a legitimate candidate to take over the Phillies’ front office this past offseason. Levine backed out of the running for that post, which ultimately went to Dave Dombrowski.

It’s not known whether Levine would have interest in leaving Minnesota for Colorado. Levine is currently under contract with the Twins through 2024 on the extension he signed in 2019.

Dodgers Make Several Roster Moves

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The Dodgers have activated second baseman Gavin Lux and right-hander Dennis Santana from the injured list, placed left-hander David Price on the 10-day IL with a Grade 2 right hamstring strain, and recalled righty Mitch White, per Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. The club also optioned lefty Garrett Cleavinger and outfielder DJ Peters.

The highly touted Lux, 22, began the season as the Dodgers’ starter at the keystone, but right wrist soreness has kept him out since April 14. Before that, Lux came out of the gates slowly with a .220/.244/.317 line and no home runs in 45 plate appearances. The Dodgers utilized Max Muncy, the now-injured Zach McKinstry, Sheldon Neuse and Chris Taylor at second while Lux was out.

Price returned this season after opting out of the 2020 campaign over COVID-19 concerns, though the former American League Cy Young winner has struggled in a full-time role as a reliever. The 35-year-old, who entered the season with 311 starts in 321 appearances, has pitched seven times out of the Dodgers’ bullpen and yielded seven runs (six earned) on a whopping 14 hits with 11 strikeouts against four walks in 9 2/3 innings. Price is going to miss at least “a few weeks,” according to manager Dave Roberts.

Astros To Activate Jose Altuve, Place Jake Odorizzi On 10-Day IL

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5:43pm: Houston has also optioned infielder Abraham Toro and moved righty reliever Pedro Baez from the 10-day IL to the 60-day version, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic tweets. Baez inked a two-year, $12.5MM contract in free agency, but he hasn’t made his Astros debut yet. He began the season on the COVID-19 list, and then the Astros moved him to the 10-day IL on April 10 because of shoulder soreness.

3:13pm: The Astros will activate second baseman Jose Altuve from the COVID-19 list and place right-hander Jake Odorizzi on the 10-day injured list, Mark Berman of Fox 26 was among those to report. The team has also recalled righty Peter Solomon.

Altuve hasn’t played since April 13 on account of a positive COVID test. Before that, the former AL MVP got off to a strong .318/.380/.455 start over 50 plate appearances. The Altuve-less Astros primarily turned to Aledmys Diaz at the keystone during Altuve’s absence, and he performed well as a fill-in, evidenced by his .245/.327/.388 line through 55 trips to the plate.

Odorizzi is dealing with a right pronator muscle strain that forced him to exit his start against the Angels on Saturday after he threw just five pitches. Signed to a two-year, $23MM contract before the season, Odorizzi has been the weakest link in the Astros’ rotation thus far, having yielded nine earned runs on nine hits (including three homers) with 11 strikeouts against three walks in eight innings. The Astros expect Odorizzi to miss two starts.

Angels Activate Anthony Rendon; Mike Trout To Return Monday

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The Angels have activated third baseman Anthony Rendon from the 10-day injured and optioned infielder Luis Rengifo, the team announced. Rendon had been on the IL since April 12 with a left groin strain.

Now in the second season of a seven-year, $245MM contract, Rendon has continued to thrive since leaving the Nationals for the Angels in free agency. He was one of the majors’ premier performers last season and got off to a good start this year before going on the IL. So far, Rendon owns a .290/.378/.387 with one home run in eight games and 37 plate appearances. The Angels turned to Rengifo, Jose Rojas and Jack Mayfield at the hot corner over the past couple weeks, but no one from that trio has come close to replicating Rendon’s production.

In another piece of welcome news for the Halos, center fielder Mike Trout will return to their starting lineup Monday in Texas. Trout last played on April 22, when he suffered a bruised left elbow on a hit by pitch from the Astros’ Cristian Javier. Fortunately, the game’s preeminent player avoided a serious injury.

Cubs Place Austin Romine On 10-Day IL, Select Tony Wolters

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The Cubs have placed catcher Austin Romine on the 10-day injured list with a left wrist sprain and selected the contract of fellow backstop Tony Wolters, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com was among those to report. The team also moved right-hander Jonathan Holder to the 60-day IL because of a shoulder issue.

This is the second IL stint of 2021 for Romine, an ex-Yankee and Tiger who joined the Cubs on a $1.5MM guarantee in free agency to replace departed backup catcher Victor Caratini. Romine has collected just nine plate appearances and one hit in a reserve role behind Willson Contreras.

Wolters also inked a major league pact with the Cubs heading into the season, after he opted out of a minors contract with the Pirates. The former Rockie appeared in three games with the Cubs earlier this season, but they outrighted him when Romine returned from his prior IL trip. Wolters is a well-regarded defender, though he has only mustered a .237/.323/.318 line with seven home runs in 1,237 plate appearances in MLB.

Brad Brach Elects Free Agency

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Veteran reliever Brad Brach has cleared outright waivers and elected free agency, Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star reports. The Royals designated Brach for assignment on Saturday.

Brach had a short stay on the Royals’ roster, as the team designated him just one day after selecting his contract. The 35-year-old right-hander joined the Royals on a minor league contract over the winter, which came after the Mets designated him.

Brach has seen major league action with five teams since he debuted with the Padres in 2011, and he has enjoyed a solid career. Through 522 2/3 innings, Brach has registered a 3.39 ERA/3.78 SIERA with a 25.1 percent strikeout rate and an 11.1 percent walk rate. Unfortunately, though, Brach’s production has gone downhill dating back to 2019. Between the Cubs and Mets over the previous two seasons, he tossed 66 2/3 frames of 5.66 ERA ball (with a more palatable 4.91 SIERA) and logged a 24.7 percent strikeout rate against a 15.0 percent walk rate. While Brach has normally averaged around 94 mph on his fastball, that number dipped to a personal-worst 90.4 last year.

Brewers Select Pablo Reyes

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The Brewers have selected the contract of utility player Pablo Reyes and optioned outfielder Corey Ray, the team announced.

A member of the Pittsburgh organization from 2012-20, Reyes joined the Brewers on a minor league deal this past winter. An 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs wiped out Reyes’ 2020 season, but he did see major league action in each of the previous two campaigns. The 27-year-old made an impressive debut over 63 plate appearances in 2018, but his production plummeted across a much larger sample size (157 PA) the next season. Overall, Reyes has batted .229/.295/.368 with five home runs in 220 trips to the plate at the game’s highest level.

Defensively, Reyes has played both middle infield positions, third base and all three outfield spots in the majors. Even if Reyes doesn’t hit well, he’ll at least give the Brewers a defensively versatile option off their bench.

Cubs Select Trevor Megill

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The Cubs have selected the contract of right-hander Trevor Megill, placed righty Rowan Wick on the 60-day injured list and optioned RHP Jason Adam, Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets.

Megill, 27, entered the professional ranks as a seventh-round pick of the Padres in 2015, but they lost him to the Cubs during the 2019 Rule 5 Draft. Thanks in part to the lack of a minor league season, the 6-foor-8 Megill didn’t pitch a year ago, though he did log solid production among High-A, Double-A and Triple-A in 2019. That year, Megill tossed 60 2/3 innings of 3.86 ERA ball and averaged 10 strikeouts against 1.9 walks per nine. Megill added a 4.32 ERA with 12 strikeouts and two walks in 8 1/3 innings this past spring.

Wick was one of the Cubs’ most effective relievers from 2019-20, during which he combined for a 2.66 ERA with a 25.7 percent strikeout rate, a 10.3 percent walk rate and a 48.1 percent groundball rate over 50 1/3 frames. An intercostal strain has prevented Wick from taking the mound this year.

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