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Minor MLB Transactions: 5/28/21

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The latest minor moves from around the league:

  • The Phillies announced this afternoon right-hander Ramón Rosso cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Philadelphia designated the 24-year-old for assignment last week. Rosso has pitched in eight games for the Phils over the past two seasons, tossing eleven innings of seven-run ball, striking out eleven while issuing eight walks. He’s worked mostly as a starting pitcher in the minors, performing well up through Double-A but struggling to a 5.59 ERA with mediocre strikeout and walk rates (19.4% and 10.8%, respectively) in 77 1/3 frames at the minors’ highest level. He’ll remain in the organization as a depth option.
  • The Mariners have signed reliever Brian Schlitter to a minor league deal, per the MLB.com transactions tracker. He has been assigned to Triple-A Tacoma, where he’s on the Rainiers active roster. Schlitter broke into the majors with the Cubs in 2010 and saw action in parts of three seasons with Chicago. The righty returned to the big leagues in 2019 with the Athletics, tossing 9 2/3 innings of four-run ball. Schlitter pitched in five games for the A’s Triple-A affiliate this season but was released from his minor league deal with Oakland earlier this week.

Astros Place Michael Brantley On 10-Day IL

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The Astros have placed outfielder Michael Brantley on the 10-day injured list with right hamstring tightness and recalled infielder Robel Garcia, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com tweets.

Houston will temporarily lose one of its best hitters in Brantley, who’s in his third year with the team. Brantley was a free agent in the offseason, but the Astros brought him back on a two-year, $32MM contract after he posted outstanding production in his first two seasons with the team. This season has been more of the same for Brantley, who has batted .305/.346/.455 (128 wRC+) with three home runs in 179 plate appearances.

Brantley – a former Indian who has dealt with various injuries throughout his career – has already missed eight of Houston’s 49 games this year, and he’ll add to that total now that he’s on the IL. The 34-year-old has spent the vast majority of his season in left field, though he hasn’t started there since May 22, and he hasn’t been in the Astros’ lineup since the 23rd. When Brantley hasn’t been available to man left, the Astros have used Aledmys Diaz and Chas McCormick.

Padres Select Webster Rivas

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The Padres have selected the contract of catcher Webster Rivas, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune was among those to report. In other moves, the team recalled reliever Nick Ramirez and optioned infielder/outfielder Brian O’Grady.

Rivas is joining the Padres in the wake of Thursday’s injury list placement of Austin Nola, who has joined Victor Caratini to comprise the team’s top two backstops this season. It’s a dream opportunity for Rivas, a 30-year-old who has never played in the majors. He’ll start the Padres’ game against the Astros on Friday, per Acee.

Rivas has spent his entire minor league career with Southern California organizations, having previously played with the Dodgers and Angels since debuting in 2010. The Dominican Republic native has appeared in Triple-A ball in four different seasons, including the current campaign, and batted .293/.394/.470 with six home runs in 194 trips to the plate at that level.

Cardinals To Re-Evaluate Miles Mikolas In 4-6 Weeks

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Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas left his start on May 22 with forearm tightness, leading to concerns that he would need Tommy John surgery. That won’t be the case, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat was among those to report, but the Cardinals will have to go without Mikolas for the foreseeable future. Mikolas received a stem cell injection to address calcification in his flexor tendon, and he’ll be re-evaluated in four to six weeks.

The Cards expect Mikolas to pitch again this season, per Jones, but the recovery timeline suggests he’s a long way from taking the mound again. Even if he’s ready to go four to six weeks from now, Mikolas will still need time to build his arm strength back up, meaning St. Louis might not see him until sometime in July or August. The team has already gone almost the whole season without Mikolas, who made just the one start and lasted four innings. He missed all of 2020 after undergoing flexor tendon surgery and began this season behind schedule because of shoulder problems.

The Cardinals signed Mikolas, now 32, to a four-year, $68MM extension in 2019 after what looked like a breakout campaign in the previous season. Mikolas was effective again that year, but the deal didn’t kick in until last season. So, because of the injuries that have hampered Mikolas, the gamble hasn’t gone in the Cardinals’ favor at all thus far. He’s under their control through 2023 at annual salaries of $15.75MM.

Even without Mikolas, the Cardinals made the playoffs in 2020, and the National League Central leaders are on pace to do so again this year. The Cardinals’ starters rank a respectable 11th in the majors in ERA (3.63), though the group – largely Jack Flaherty, Kwang-hyun Kim, Adam Wainwright, Carlos Martínez and John Gant – has been closer to middle of the pack with respect to peripheral numbers.

Brewers Outright Josh Lindblom

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MAY 28: As expected, Lindblom has cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Nashville. He has indeed accepted that assignment, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

MAY 26, 5:19pm: The Brewers expect Lindblom to accept a minor league assignment and remain with the organization, according to president of baseball operations David Stearns (via Sophia Minnaert of Baily Sports Wisconsin).

MAY 26, 3:32pm: The Brewers announced that they have designated right-hander Josh Lindblom for assignment, recalled lefty Eric Lauer and outrighted infielder/outfielder Jace Peterson to Triple-A Nashville.

Lindblom spent time with a few major league teams from 2011-17, during which he posted up-and-down production, and he then left for the Korea Baseball Organization. The decision couldn’t have gone better for Lindblom, who thrived as a member of the Lotte Giants and Doosan Bears from 2018-19. Lindblom started 56 games during that stretch and recorded sub-3.00 ERAs in both seasons, also totaling 363 1/3 innings. He also earned the Choi Dong-Won Award — the top pitching award in the KBO – in each campaign, and took home MVP honors in 2019.

Convinced Lindblom’s high spin rate and KBO success would transfer to the bigs, the Brewers signed him to a three-year, $9.125MM pact prior to 2020. But the move didn’t go as planned for Milwaukee, as Lindblom has struggled to a 6.39 ERA with a 25.0 percent strikeout rate and a 9.4 percent walk rate over 20 appearances (10 starts) and 62 frames since returning stateside. As a result, the Brewers are willing to eat a fairly significant chunk of money – around $4.6MM, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com notes – in order to cut ties with Lindblom. They’ll have a week to trade, release or outright him.

Peterson – who has been with the Brewers since 2019 – has been an on-base threat with the club, albeit over a small sample of work. The 31-year-old has collected 89 plate appearances (28 this year) with Milwaukee and batted .203/.371/.391 with four home runs.

Yankees Activate Giancarlo Stanton, Option Estevan Florial

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The Yankees announced this afternoon they’ve reinstated designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton from the injured list. Outfielder Estevan Florial was optioned back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last night in a corresponding move.

Stanton went on the IL on May 17 with a quad strain but he’s back after a short-term absence. His return is a welcome development for a Yankee lineup that has since lost Luke Voit, as Stanton’s putting up customary strong production to start the year. The 31-year-old is hitting .282/.347/.534 with nine homers over 144 plate appearances.

Florial started the second game of yesterday’s doubleheader with Toronto, going 1-3 with a double. The 23-year-old is one of the more promising prospects in the Yankees system, but he’s only taken 81 career high minors plate appearances and could stand to pick up more developmental time, as MLBTR’s Steve Adams explored yesterday. With presumptive starting center fielder Aaron Hicks likely done for the season due to wrist surgery, Florial should have an opportunity to earn more extended MLB run if he shows well in the minors. For now, struggling veteran Brett Gardner looks like the favorite to assume the bulk of the playing time in center field.

Marlins Reinstate Starling Marte From Injured List

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The Marlins announced a series of roster moves this afternoon (via Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald). Center fielder Starling Marté has been activated from the injured list, while infielder Luis Marté has been selected to the roster. To clear active roster space, first baseman Lewin Díaz was optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville, while shortstop Miguel Rojas was placed on the 10-day injured list with a dislocated left index finger. Miami already had an open spot on the 40-man roster, so no additional move was required to accommodate Luis Marté’s selection.

Starling Marté got off to a good start to the season, hitting .310/.414/.483 with a pair of homers over his first 70 plate appearances. That was halted when Marté suffered a non-displaced rib fracture on a swing in mid-April, sending him to the IL. He’ll now return to action a little less than six weeks later, where he’ll try to build on his solid work early in the year.

It’s an important season for Marté, who’s in the final year of the contract extension he signed with the Pirates in March 2014. The 32-year-old is a few months away from his first trip to the open market. Marté’s strong track record and expiring contract would also make him a plausible midseason trade candidate if Miami falls out of the National League postseason picture. The young Marlins have held around in a jam-packed NL East, going 24-26 over their first 50 games. Despite that, FanGraphs pegs the team’s playoff odds at a meager 1.5%, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Marté’s name floated in trade talks in the coming months.

Rojas suffered a “concerning” finger dislocation during yesterday’s game against the Phillies. It’s unclear how much time he’s expected to miss. The injury opened a spot for Luis Marté, who’ll be making his MLB debut the first time he gets into a game. The 27-year-old spent the first seven-plus seasons of his professional career in the Rangers system, topping out at Triple-A.

Marté was in the high minors with the Braves between 2018-19 and inked a minors deal with Miami over the winter. He’s never offered much at the plate, hitting .245/.263/.355 in four seasons at Double-A and .261/.284/.352 in nearly as much Triple-A time. Marté has ample experience all around the infield in the minors, though, and he’s hit three homers in 61 plate appearances this year with Jacksonville, albeit with similar on-base issues as he’s had throughout his career.

Reds Recall Vladimir Gutierrez

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The Reds have recalled right-hander Vladimir Gutierrez to start this afternoon’s game against the Cubs. Reliever Ashton Goudeau was optioned to Triple-A Louisville to open active roster space. Gutierrez will be making his major league debut.

Gutierrez, 25, was a high-profile international amateur prospect who joined the Reds on a $4.75MM bonus in September 2016. He posted serviceable but unspectacular numbers between High-A and Double-A over his first two minor league seasons before a disastrous first crack at Triple-A. Gutierrez pitched to a 6.04 ERA in 137 innings with Louisville in 2019, then missed all of last season after being suspended for performance-enhancing drugs.

Nevertheless, the Reds added him to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft over the winter. He’ll now get a big league call after a much better beginning this year in Triple-A. Over three starts with Louisville, Gutierrez has tossed seventeen innings of five-run ball, striking out 21 with seven walks. With Jeff Hoffman now on the injured list with a shoulder impingement, Gutierrez could get a few starts to try to cement himself in the big league rotation.

While Hoffman is headed to the injured list, another Reds starter is expected back in the next couple days. Lefty Wade Miley, who went on the IL May 21 with a foot sprain, will start Monday’s game against the Phillies, manager David Bell told reporters (including Mark Sheldon of MLB.com).

Marcell Ozuna Expected To Miss At Least Six Weeks

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MAY 28: The Braves have placed Ozuna on the IL. Utilityman Johan Camargo is up from Triple-A Gwinnett to take his place on the active roster.

MAY 26: Braves left fielder Marcell Ozuna revealed in his Instagram story today that he’ll likely be sidelined for at least six weeks after dislocating two fingers on his left hand during yesterday’s win over the Red Sox (hat tip: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, on Twitter). The Braves have yet to formally provide their own timeline, though manager Brian Snitker will surely have more details when he meets with the media today.

It’s an unwelcome development for a Braves club that has lost several key players to injury in the season’s first two months. Mike Soroka required exploratory surgery after experiencing a setback in his recovery from last year’s Achilles tear, while Travis d’Arnaud underwent surgery to repair a thumb ligament and breakout righty Huascar Ynoa is sidelined with a broken pitching hand.

The 30-year-old Ozuna was one of baseball’s best hitters in the shortened 2020 season, pacing the NL in home runs, RBIs, total bases and plate appearances while hitting .338/.431/.636. His decision to sign with Atlanta on a one-year, $18MM deal rather than take a lesser multi-year offer elsewhere last winter paid off, as the “Big Bear” wound up securing a four-year, $65MM deal to return to the Braves this past winter.

Unfortunately, the first year of that season couldn’t have gotten out to a much worse start. Ozuna was hitting just .213/.288/.356 through 208 plate appearances. He’s still connected on seven homers and six doubles, but Ozuna’s .144 isolated power (slugging percentage minus batting average) is less than half last season’s career-high .298. His walk rate, exit velocity and hard-hit rate have all tumbled thus far in 2021 as well.

With Ozuna now sidelined, the Braves can lean on a combination of Ronald Acuna Jr., Cristian Pache, Ender Inciarte, Guillermo Heredia and Ehire Adrianza in the outfield, though the Braves also have toop outfield prospect Drew Waters looming in the upper minors. The 22-year-old Wates is out to a .250/.342/.453 start through 73 plate appearances in Gwinnett.

The Blue Jays Other Key Free Agent Signing Is Paying Off

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The Blue Jays drew plenty of headlines over the offseason for their reported interest in seemingly every free agent available. It took until late January, but the club rewarded the fanbase’s patience by landing premier center fielder George Springer on a six-year, $150MM guarantee. Various injuries have mostly kept Springer off the field to this point, but the Jays are getting a ton of production from their other key position player acquisition: Marcus Semien.

Semien was one of the more difficult free agents to value last winter. He’d been a solid regular from 2015-18, combining consistently league average offense with strong shortstop defense and durability. The 2019 season brought an offensive breakout, with Semien unexpectedly hitting .285/.369/.522 with a career-high 33 home runs. He didn’t follow up on that incredible year during the shortened 2020 season, though. Semien got off a terrible start, and while he finished the year on a hot streak, his overall .223/.305/.374 line was closer to his average hitting from 2015-18 than his fantastic numbers the year before.

With some uncertainty about his true offensive talent level and teams curtailing free agent spending on the heels of the shortened season, Semien elected to take a prove-it deal with the Jays. He signed a one-year, $18MM guarantee with Toronto just a few days after the club added Springer, agreeing to slide to second base in deference to Bo Bichette in the process. In the early going, it looks like a great decision for both player and team.

Semien is off to a career-best start at the plate in 2021. The 30-year-old is hitting .288/.355/.545 over his first 220 plate appearances. He’s completely regained his 2019 power stroke, posting a personal-high .258 ISO (slugging minus batting average), while his thirteen home runs is tied for sixth in MLB.

Unsurprisingly, a good chunk of that production seems to be the result of him simply hitting the ball harder more consistently. Semien is barreling up 8.5% of his batted balls this year, per Statcast- a better than average mark he’s only ever matched in the aforementioned 2019 season. His average exit velocity is up to a career-best 90.5 MPH, a more than 4 MPH improvement over his figure from last season. He’s also gotten more pull-oriented on his fly balls. The improved thump is no coincidence, since pulled flies lead to the most power-friendly outcomes for a hitter (the league is slugging 1.474 on such batted balls this year).

Whether Semien can sustain something like this level of production all year is still uncertain. The increase in power has come with an uptick in strikeouts to a carer-high 26.4%, and his contact rate is down more than five percentage points from that 2019 campaign. It’s also worth considering the Jays home environment. The team spent the first two months of the season at their Spring Training complex in Dunedin, which, as Mike Petriello of MLB.com recently pointed out (Twitter link), played very hitter-friendly. With the Jays moving to Buffalo (and perhaps eventually Toronto) over the next couple months, Semien’s ability to continue hitting for this kind of power is worth monitoring.

The Blue Jays have already gotten plenty of return on their investment in Semien, but there’s much at stake for both in the near future. At 25-24, Toronto will need to play better to stick in the AL postseason picture. Semien, as an impending free agent, would be a logical trade candidate if the Jays fall out of the race. (A midseason deal would remove the possibility of a team making a qualifying offer, which would only improve Semien’s market value). The upcoming free agent shortstop class has drawn plenty of attention, with Corey Seager, Trevor Story, Javier Báez and Carlos Correa all hitting the market. Semien’s older than those four, but he’s also outperforming them all to this point- with the added bonus of proving he can transition to second base if needed without issue. In the process, he’s setting himself up for another fascinating trip to the open market.

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