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Red Sox Option Jarren Duran

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The Red Sox have optioned outfielder Jarren Duran to Triple-A Worcester, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports. Righty Tanner Houck will take his spot on the active roster. The Red Sox have yet to formally announce this and any other roster moves that will be made this afternoon.

Duran, 24, is regarded as one of the top all-around prospects in baseball but did not hit the ground running upon his initial call-up from Worcester last month. The 2018 seventh-rounder was plugged in as the everyday center fielder in Boston upon his debut but has struggled to adjust to big league pitching. Through 89 plate appearances, Duran has posted a .221/.236/.372 slash. He’s drawn just two walks in that time and struck out at a whopping 37.1 percent clip to begin his big league career.

The Red Sox surely still view Duran as a key piece to their future. However, with deadline acquisition Kyle Schwarber now in the fold as an option in left field — Alex Verdugo is capable of manning center — the Sox can send Duran back to Worcester for further refinement in a lower-pressure setting. The fact that Boston has slid down the AL East standings in rapid fashion due both to the Sox’ own poor play and the Yankees’ 10-game winning streak surely also adds some pressure to get better immediate results on the field.

Duran appeared in 46 games with Worcester earlier this season and fared quite well, batting .270/.365/.561 with vastly better walk and strikeout percentages — 11.0 and 23.7, respectively — than he showed in the Majors. He’ll need to spend 10 days in the minors unless he’s recalled as the corresponding move in an injury. Rosters can expand from 26 to 28 players beginning Sept. 1, so he could very well get another opportunity in the Majors before too long.

The decision to option Duran today won’t impact his path to free agency or his arbitration schedule. Based on the July 17 date of Duran’s initial promotion to the big leagues, the maximum amount of service time he could’ve accrued in 2021 was 79 days — well shy of a full year of service (172 days). He’s controllable through at least the 2027 season as it stands and would reach arbitration in the 2024-25 offseason. Even if Duran stays in Triple-A for the remainder of the current season, that free agency timeline would remain intact so long as he accrues at least 134 days of service time next season. The Sox would need to keep him in Worcester through late May next year to change that timeline, which seems unlikely.

Even With No CBA, MLB Transactions Can Happen

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When baseball’s seventh collective bargaining agreement expired on December 31, 1993, there was no fanfare.  Murray Chass of the New York Times dropped it in this way, writing, “If negotiations for a new labor agreement ever begin — the old one expired uneventfully at midnight Friday — the owners will try to put salary arbitration in a time capsule and bury it deep underground, leaving it to be discovered by someone seeking the reason for the decline and fall of the business of baseball.”  The expiration of the old agreement was basically an aside in Chass’ article about the owners’ desire to eliminate salary arbitration.

With the current collective bargaining agreement set to expire on December 1 this year, there’s an assumption a freeze will be placed on free agency and perhaps trades as well.  Maybe that’s because we experienced a transaction freeze quite recently, spanning March 26-June 26 of 2020.  But that was part of an agreement between MLB and the MLBPA, and it was triggered by a global pandemic that halted not just baseball, but life as we knew it.

So, the expiration of the CBA at the end of 1993 seems more instructive when trying to assess the possibility of a freeze this winter.  In January 1994, the MLB offseason continued unabated, with seeming scant consideration for the lack of a collective bargaining agreement.  The Padres agreed to a two-year, $8.5MM extension with star outfielder Tony Gwynn.  The Mets and Royals exchanged problems in a swap of Vince Coleman and Kevin McReynolds.  The Rockies inked free agent shortstop Walt Weiss to a two-year, $2.2MM deal.  All the sorts of typical headlines you’d find on MLB Trade Rumors back in January ’94, had this site existed back then.  None of these linked New York Times articles made mention of the just-expired CBA.

Of course, as Mark Armour and Dan Levitt of The Hardball Times put it, “in the summer of 1994, baseball’s owners and players were headed for the showdown to beat all showdowns.”  MLBPA leader Donald Fehr correctly surmised in July, “We believe absent an agreement the owners will impose a salary cap sometime after the season. That leaves players with two choices — take what’s on the table or try to secure a new agreement by setting a strike date.”  The owners followed by withholding the players’ $7.8MM pension payment, and the players soon followed through on their August 12 strike date.

With the 1994 World Series canceled and acrimony between the owners and players through the roof, it’d only be natural for ownership to implement a free agency freeze.  Instead, they proposed a 45-day delay, which the union did not accept, and the 1994-95 offseason proceeded.  It was far from a normal offseason, with Mets GM Joe McIlvaine saying things like, “We can’t do anything because we don’t know what the rules are.”  Players like Jim Abbott and Jack McDowell were unsure if they had reached the six years of Major League service required for free agency, due to disagreement about whether service time was accrued during the strike.  McDowell would eventually be traded to the Yankees despite that uncertainty.  Other players were thought to be potential restricted free agents as four and five-year players, as part of the owners’ plan to eliminate salary arbitration.

Paradoxically, as Chass put it on October 28, “The business of baseball went on yesterday as if the strike did not exist.”  Managers and GMs were hired and fired, sure, but clubs also continued doing big-money deals with players.  On the eve of free agency, the Yankees and George Steinbrenner signed Paul O’Neill to a four-year, $19MM deal.  A $1.2MM signing bonus included in the deal ran afoul of MLB recommendations, as they’d warned, “Clubs should keep in mind the payment of the bonus amounts to a decision by the club to help fund the continuing players strike.”

Teams continued signing free agents during the strike in the final months of 1994.  “I’m not sure our words match our actions,” remarked Dodgers GM Fred Claire in this Bob Nightengale article.  Angels GM Bill Bavasi commented, “I’m not saying teams are wrong for what they’re doing, it just has people confused. I know I can’t figure it out.”  One of the winter’s top free agents, Gregg Jefferies, inked a four-year, $20MM deal with the Phillies.  Not long after, the Mariners re-upped Jay Buhner for $15.5MM.  December 23, 1994 marked a turning point, as the owners implemented their salary cap plan.  It was only then that the union advised players not to sign free agent contracts, Chass wrote.

History shows us that if the current collective bargaining agreement expires on December 1 without a new deal in place, a freeze on free agency and/or trades is not fait accompli.  It’s fair to say that the environment now is less contentious than it was 27 years ago, as ownership isn’t attempting to impose a salary cap and the players aren’t planning to strike this season.  There is technically nothing stopping Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Kris Bryant, and all the rest from signing free agent contracts despite the lack of a CBA.  While uncertainty around things like the new luxury tax thresholds and the universal designated hitter seems likely to suppress hot stove action, an actual free agency freeze won’t happen unless MLB or the players impose it.

Young: Rangers Expect To Be “Very Active” In Free Agency

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The Rangers had a quiet 2020-21 offseason, at least in terms of free agency, as the club focused on creating opportunities for younger players to prove themselves at the Major League level. Lance Lynn, Elvis Andrus, Rafael Montero and Rougned Odor were traded away. Nate Lowe, Dane Dunning and Jonah Heim were acquired and dropped right into the big league mix. Even the team’s limited free-agent activity was focused on younger names with multiple seasons of control: David Dahl, Mike Foltynewicz, Kohei Arihara.

The 2021-22 offseason could be a bit more active for the Rangers, however, as general manager Chris Young told reporters this week that he expects his club to be active in free agency this coming winter (link via Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News).

“With the financial flexibility we have moving into the offseason, I expect us to be very active in the free agent market, targeting players who fit kind of our next few years and what we’re trying to accomplish,” Young said.

[Related: 2021-22 MLB Free Agent List]

The mention of “financial flexibility” is something of an understatement. The only two guaranteed salaries on the Rangers’ books for the 2022 season are those of Jose Leclerc ($4.75MM) and the aforementioned Arihara ($2.6MM). Looking solely at guaranteed contracts can be misleading when gauging a team’s payroll at times, as many clubs have large arbitration crops that will inflate that number further, but that’s not the case in Texas. Only Mike Foltynewicz, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Matt Bush, Ronald Guzman and Willie Calhoun are up for arbitration this winter. Foltynewicz and Bush are non-tender candidates. Kiner-Falefa will be getting a raise on a $2MM salary. Guzman and Calhoun are first-time players whose platform seasons have been disrupted by serious injuries; neither will be costly.

The Rangers do still owe the Yankees about $12MM for the remainder of the Odor contract next season, and they’ll pay nearly $7MM to the Athletics as part of last offseason’s Elvis Andrus/Khris Davis swap. Even with arbitration raises and dead money owed from previous trades, however, the Rangers shouldn’t expect to pay any more than $30-35MM for the current roster. Considering this is a team that just opened a brand new park and trotted out an Opening Day payroll of $165MM as recently as four years ago, that level of bare-bones payroll commitments should leave them open to just about anything this winter.

That doesn’t mean that the Rangers will necessarily go wild and sign multiple players to $100MM-plus contracts this winter, of course. The current club is more than just a handful of free agents from competing, but it sounds as though the Rangers are willing to begin spending to augment the roster as they await the arrival of more prospects on the MLB scene. The Rangers’ farm isn’t necessarily elite, but Baseball America listed their system 11th on last week’s midseason farm rankings.

The upcoming class of free agents will be one of the deepest in recent memory. Much has understandably been made of the star-studded crop of free-agent shortstops — Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Trevor Story, Marcus Semien, Javier Baez — but the market will also be deep in outfielders (Nick Castellanos, Starling Marte, Kyle Schwarber, Michael Conforto and more) and in starting pitching (Max Scherzer, Kevin Gausman, Marcus Stroman, Zack Greinke, Robbie Ray and Justin Verlander, among others). The looming collective bargaining talks between the league and players association could give some teams pause, but those that are motivated to spend will have ample high-quality targets to pursue.

Diamondbacks Release Ryan Buchter

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The D-backs released veteran left-handed reliever Ryan Buchter over the weekend, per an announcement from their Triple-A club in Reno. He can now sign with any club for the final few weeks of the season.

Buchter, 34, was tagged for a dozen earned runs in 16 1/3 innings with Arizona’s big league club in 2021, but he held opponents to six runs on 13 hits and seven walks with 20 strikeouts in 16 Triple-A frames (3.38 ERA). And while he didn’t fare particularly well in his short MLB run with the D-backs this season, he has a track record of quality results at the MLB level. Buchter tossed just six innings with the Angels in 2020 but posted a sub-3.00 ERA each season from 2016-19 while averaging 53 innings per year along the way.

Overall, Buchter carries a career 3.16 ERA (4.18 SIERA) through 236 1/3 innings as a big leaguer. He’s turned in a strong 26.3 percent strikeout rate but an elevated 11.7 percent walk rate during that time and is an extreme fly-ball pitcher (26.1 percent ground-ball rate). There could be some concern about his velocity, which dipped to 90.4 mph in 2021 after averaging exactly 92.6 mph in each of the prior three seasons. Still, Buchter pitched quite well in Triple-A this season and has a lengthy track record of run prevention in the Majors. Given the number of clubs seeking bullpen depth following the trade deadline, he’d figure to have a good chance at latching on with another team that could use some left-handed insurance in the upper minors.

Padres Fire Pitching Coach Larry Rothschild

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The Padres announced Monday that they’ve fired pitching coach Larry Rothschild. Bullpen coach Ben Fritz will step up as the pitching coach for the remainder of the 2021 season.

“Larry has been a tremendous asset for our organization over the last two seasons, and we appreciate the experience, hard work and dedication that he brought to the position,” Padres manager Jayce Tingler said in a statement within today’s press release. “We wish him nothing but the best in the future.”

Rothschild’s ouster comes after a weekend in which the Padres were overtaken by the Reds for the second Wild Card spot in the National League. San Diego has been in a freefall in the standings, losing nine of the past 11 games due in no small part to woeful performances from a pitching staff that has not lived up to expectations in 2021. The Padres have yielded an average of 5.91 runs per contest across that 11-game swoon.

Even beyond their recent slide, the Padres’ pitching staff simply hasn’t been as dominant as many would’ve hoped on the heels of an active winter. Joe Musgrove has taken his game to new heights and Yu Darvish has performed well, but San Diego starters rank 17th overall with a 4.37 ERA this season.

Left-hander Blake Snell, a marquee offseason acquisition, has had the roughest season of his career, recording career-worst marks in ERA (4.82), expected ERA (5.62) and walk rate (13.7 percent). Rookie Ryan Weathers has been hit extremely hard of late and is sitting on a 5.83 ERA. Young Chris Paddack, meanwhile, had a brilliant debut in 2019 but has struggled since Rothschild’s hiring prior to the 2020 season. Paddack posted a 3.33 ERA in 140 2/3 innings  as a rookie but has a 4.97 mark in 152 innings since. That certainly can’t all be pinned on Rothschild alone, but the timing couldn’t have helped Rothschild’s cause.

Fritz will hold things down for the remainder of the season, but Rothschild’s dismissal means there will be a search for at least one spot on the coaching staff this winter. The fate of others on the field staff could well be tied to how the team performs in the coming weeks. It’s unlikely that there will be major turnover at the top of the baseball operations department, however — not after A.J. Preller was promoted to president of baseball operations and extended through the 2026 season back in February.

The Angels Need More Than Just New Pitchers To Improve Their Pitching Staff

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With a 62-64 record, the Angels are facing the possibility of a sixth consecutive losing season, which would match the 1971-77 Angels for the longest stretch of sub-.500 seasons in franchise history.  Naturally, not having Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon healthy for almost the entire year is the biggest reason for the Angels’ woes in 2021, though the club has once again failed to receive consistent results from its pitching staff.  Entering Monday’s play, Anaheim pitchers have combined for a 4.70 ERA, tied for the seventh-highest mark of any team in baseball.

Both the rotation and bullpen are pretty equally culpable for these struggles, yet in looking at the list of names on the roster, there are actually quite a few hurlers enjoying solid-to-great seasons.  Shohei Ohtani and Raisel Iglesias have been excellent, while the likes of Patrick Sandoval, Alex Cobb, Mike Mayers, Jose Suarez, and Steve Cishek have all delivered quality numbers.  Several pitchers have certainly delivered subpar performances to balance out the better arms, and yet it isn’t as if the Angels are bereft of pitching talent — shouldn’t they be better than this?

The real problem goes beyond just the bottom-line number of that 4.70 ERA.  While it’s hard to argue against Los Angeles adding a significant pitching upgrade or two this winter, the team’s issue isn’t just with pitching, but with run prevention.  The Angels’ pitching may not be very good, yet there’s no argument that the defense has been anything but bad in 2021.

The Halos rank 29th of 30 teams in UZR/150 (-7.3), and 27th in both Defensive Runs Saved (-29) and Outs Above Average (-6).  The result is that Angels pitchers have a collective .302 BABIP, the fifth-highest mark of any team in baseball.  Going beyond the team ERA category, Angels pitchers actually crack the top half of the league in SIERA, with a 4.14 mark that ranks 15th of 30 teams.  Anaheim has one of the bigger gaps of any team between their pitching staff’s wOBA (.320) and xwOBA (.309), and the pitching corps is also doing a solid job of limiting hard contact.

Since finding good defense is generally cheaper than finding good pitching on the open market, perhaps the easiest way for the Angels to keep runs off the board in 2022 is to tighten up the glovework.  There are some challenges on this front considering that the Halos seemingly have much of their 2022 position player mix already in place, and Ohtani has the designated hitter spot on lockdown.  Looking at the settled positions in the infield, it’s safe to assume that the Angels will line up with Max Stassi getting at least half of the playing time at catcher, Jared Walsh at first base, David Fletcher at second base, and Rendon back and hopefully healthy at third base.

Of this group, only Stassi has been a clear defensive standout in 2021, and he has quietly been one of the game’s better-fielding catchers for a few years now, both in terms of his work behind the plate and pitch-framing.  Since Kurt Suzuki’s defensive numbers have never been particularly impressive, the Halos could let Suzuki walk in free agency and add more of a defense-first backup behind Stassi, whose offensive breakout has likely earned him the majority of the catching duties next year.

Walsh is nothing special as a first baseman, but he is a better fit at first base than as an outfielder, and Walsh’s bat has definitely earned a spot in the lineup.  Depending on which defensive metric you prefer, Fletcher has either been quite good (+4 DRS), average (0 Outs Above Average) or subpar (-5.3 UZR/150) over his 910 2/3 innings at the keystone this season.  Considering Rendon has been a strong defender for much of his career, it is quite possible that his below-average numbers this year were due to his injuries, and he’ll return to normal in 2022.

This leaves shortstop as the glaring hole, which is ironic since the acquisition of Jose Iglesias last offseason was supposed to be the move that shored up the defense.  Instead, Iglesias’ usually strong glovework dropped off considerably, as he has -17 DRS and a -8.9 UZR/150 over 935 2/3 innings at shortstop.  OAA rates Iglesias as exactly average, yet even that represents a decline, and certainly less what the Angels expected when they obtained Iglesias from the Orioles.

Since the 2021-22 free agent class is loaded with star shortstops, the obvious move for the Angels would be to make another big-ticket position player signing and bring one of those headline names (i.e. Trevor Story, Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Chris Taylor, Javier Baez) to Anaheim.  However, with Trout and Rendon locked up to long-term deals, Justin Upton owed $28MM in 2022, and future funds required for a potential Ohtani extension, the Angels might not have the budget to add yet another big contract to the lineup.

Of the major names, Baez is perhaps the most intriguing as a potential fit.  Baez struggled at the plate in 2020 and has been roughly a league-average hitter this year, providing a less-than-stellar platform as he enters free agency.  It isn’t out the question that Baez accepts a one-year pillow contract in order to rebuild his value in 2022, so he can then re-enter a free agent market that isn’t so heavy in prominent shortstops.  Baez and Angels manager Joe Maddon know each other well from their days with the Cubs, so Baez could see Anaheim as a nice spot to rediscover his hitting stroke.  It is worth noting that both OAA and UZR/150 indicate a defensive decline for Baez from 2020 to 2021, though at the right price on a one-year contract, Baez could be a risk the Angels are willing to take.

If not a bigger name, L.A. could attempt to acquire another lower-cost, glove-first option as they did with Iglesias last winter.  (Even a reunion with Iglesias himself might not be out of the question, though likely as a part-time option at most.)  Signing a player like Jonathan Villar could add to the Angels’ overall bench versatility, as the team could then mix and match Fletcher and Villar at either middle infield position.

While Anaheim fans may balk at the idea of passing on all these major shortstops, the Angels could still benefit from the 2021-22 shortstop class in a more indirect manner.  For instance, if a team that already has a quality shortstop decides to make a big splash by adding a new signing, the Angels could step in as a trade partner to acquire the former incumbent.

Turning to the outfield, the Angels will have Trout, Upton, and highly-touted youngsters Jo Adell and Brandon Marsh all in line for regular time, with Taylor Ward providing some additional depth.  From a pure glovework perspective, the ideal everyday alignment would have Marsh up the middle in center field, with Trout moving to a corner outfield slot and only getting occasional action in center field (or maybe a bigger role in his normal center field job if Marsh isn’t quite ready for prime time).

According to both DRS and UZR/150, Trout has been a below-average fielder in four of the last five seasons.  A shift to a corner role could theoretically help preserve Trout’s legs in the wake of the calf injury that has cost him much of the 2021 season, and since Marsh already looks like he can handle center field, a position change might be the wisest move to both upgrade the Angels’ defense and help keep Trout on the field.  The easiest timeshare would be to sit the left-handed hitting Marsh against opposing southpaws, giving the Angels an Upton/Trout/Adell outfield alignment whenever the Angels face a lefty starter.

After some very shaky outings as a rookie in 2020, Adell has at least looked passable in the small sample size of his outfield work this year.  Upton has been roughly a replacement-level player for the last three seasons and it has been years since he has been even a decent left fielder.  Since his big salary will be hard to move in a deal (and Upton has no-trade protection), he still has a role to play if either Adell or Marsh can’t get on track at the plate against big league pitching.

A defense-first backup would make a lot of sense for the Angels, so the team could look to bring back a familiar face in Juan Lagares.  Los Angeles looked to Dexter Fowler as another veteran regular for the outfield before a torn ACL ended his season in early April, and if Fowler’s recovery is coming along, the Angels could also give him another look on an inexpensive contract.

(To address the inevitable Ohtani question, Maddon is on record as saying that Ohtani could easily handle regular outfield work if he devoted himself to the position.  As much as we’ve learned to not count Ohtani out for anything, it doesn’t seem likely that the Angels would increase Ohtani’s workload and injury risk by making him anything more than a late-game fill-in outfielder.)

How do you improve a defense with mostly the same players?  Installing a new shortstop, a new part-time/backup catcher, getting Rendon and Trout back, and then changing the alignment of the outfield might be all it takes to turn the Angels’ defense from lousy into at least average.  With even decent team defense, there is a very strong chance that the Halos would likely not only have a winning record, but possibly still a chance at a playoff spot.

Between a lack of consistent pitching and the injury concerns that seem to befall the Halos rotation almost every season, the club should be taking a much broader approach to the problem of how to keep opposing lineups in check.  In fairness to GM Perry Minasian, it seems like he tried to do just this by landing Iglesias, but more is needed in the wake of what is looking like another non-playoff year.  The Angels haven’t signed a free agent starter to a multi-year contract in almost nine years (since Joe Blanton in December 2012), so if the team plans to continue shopping for only second- or third-tier starters, Anaheim will need a much better defensive effort to compensate.

Injury Notes: Biggio, Brentz, Hoerner, Stiever

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Cavan Biggio suffered an injury to his left elbow while diving for a ball in a Triple-A game on Friday, the Blue Jays told TSN’s Scott Mitchell and other reporters.  The extent of the injury isn’t yet known.  Biggio was already seven games deep into a minor league rehab assignment, after being placed on the 10-day injured list on August 3 due to back tightness.

Between that injury and an earlier IL stint due to a cervical spine ligament sprain, it perhaps isn’t surprising that Biggio has struggled to a .215/.316/.350 slash line over 290 plate appearances this season.  It’s been a tough setback for a player who had seemingly emerged as part of the Jays’ young core, as Biggio produced a 118 wRC+ over 695 PA in 2019-20.  This elbow injury could hamper Biggio’s chances of returning to the big league roster and salvaging something from this season, and it remains to be seen how he’ll fit into Toronto’s plans for 2022.

More on other injury situations from around baseball…

  • The Royals placed left-hander Jake Brentz on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to August 21) due to left shoulder impingement syndrome.  Righty Kyle Zimmer was reinstated from the 10-day IL to take Brentz’s spot on the active roster.  Brentz’s first MLB season has been a successful one, as the southpaw has posted a 3.15 ERA and an above-average 27.4% strikeout rate over his first 54 1/3 innings in the big leagues.  The hard-throwing Brentz has drawn some buzz as a potential closer of the future for Kansas City, though he has yet to solve his career-long control issues, as Brentz has a 14.5% walk rate this season.
  • Nico Hoerner left his first rehab game yesterday, though the Cubs told The Chicago Tribune’s Meghan Montemurro and other reporters that Hoerner didn’t suffer a setback to his injured oblique.  While it isn’t known when Hoerner will officially get back to rehab games, he is expected to resume baseball activities this week.  2021 has been an injury-plagued season for Hoerner, who has played in only 39 games due to forearm and hamstring strains, plus this oblique strain that has kept him out of action since July 29.
  • White Sox right-hander Jonathan Stiever underwent season-ending surgery to correct a lat injury, assistant GM Chris Getz told reporters (including The Athletic’s James Fegan).  Stiever is expected to be ready in time for the start of Spring Training.  Stiever has tossed 6 1/3 innings over three big league games in the last two seasons, with an ugly 14.21 ERA to show for his brief tenure in the majors.  Due to the cancelled 2020 minor league season, Stiever made the jump to the Show from high-A ball, and he has struggled to a 5.84 ERA over 74 innings for Triple-A Charlotte this season.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/23/21

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The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Blue Jays announced that right-hander Elvis Luciano has been released.  Luciano was a Rule 5 Draft selection in 2018, and he posted a 5.35 ERA over 33 2/3 innings in his 2019 rookie season — not great numbers, though rather respectable considering Luciano was 19 years old and had never pitched above rookie ball.  Luciano spent the entire 2020 season on the injured list for unspecified reasons, and then battled more injuries this year at Double-A New Hampshire, though he posted a 3.41 ERA over 34 1/3 innings and 11 starts.

Rays Expected To Place Ji-Man Choi On 10-Day IL, Activate Nelson Cruz From COVID List

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The Rays are expected to place first baseman Ji-Man Choi on the 10-day injured list tomorrow, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports, as Choi is battling tightness in his left hamstring.  A ready-made replacement is likely to come in the form of slugger Nelson Cruz, who was placed on the COVID-related injury list yesterday as a precautionary measure since Cruz was feeling ill.  However, since Cruz has since tested negative for COVID-19, he should be activated prior to the Rays’ game on Tuesday against the Phillies.

Choi hit a double and then scored in the first inning of Tampa’s 9-0 victory over the White Sox yesterday, though he hurt his hamstring running the bases and had to be replaced prior to the top of the second.  This is already the third IL stint of the year for Choi, whose recovery from arthroscopic knee surgery kept him from making his 2021 debut until May 16, and he also had a minimum 10-day IL trip in June due to a left groin strain.

Through it all, the 30-year-old has remained productive, hitting .250/.364/.435 with nine home runs over 236 plate appearances.  This translates to a 128 wRC+ and a 129 OPS+, and Choi’s 46.6% hard-hit ball rate and 14.4% walk rate are also personal bests.  Most of Choi’s playing time has come against right-handed pitching, and Choi has hit righties to the tune of an .879 OPS over 172 PA.

Yandy Diaz and Brandon Lowe are likely to assume first base duties while Choi is out, though Topkin notes that Cruz might be an answer in the very short term.  The Rays won’t have the DH spot during their upcoming two-game set in Philadelphia, so the club could potentially use Cruz as a first baseman to keep his bat in the lineup.   Cruz has never played first base at either the MLB or minor league level during his 21 professional seasons, and he hasn’t seen any work at any position since the 2018 campaign.

Tigers Outright Renato Nunez

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Aug. 23: Nunez went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Toledo, the team announced. While Nunez had the option of declining the assignment in favor of free agency, MLB.com’s Jason Beck tweets that Nunez will instead remain with the organization and head to Toledo.

Aug. 21: The Tigers have reinstated Derek Hill from the 10-day injured list. To make room on the roster, Renato Nunez was designated for assignment, per the team.

Nunez joined the Tigers after being released by the Orioles in November. He’s spent most of the season in Triple-A, where he slashed .291/.383/.585 in 311 plate appearances. Despite that impressive showing, the success hasn’t translated to the bigs. Nunez has appeared in 14 games, amassing 55 plate appearances and slashing .189/.218/.472. Nunez is likely to accept an assignment back to Triple-A, as he’s done earlier this season.

Hill was out the minimum amount of time with a ribcage contusion. He missed some time earlier this season with a shoulder sprain. The 25-year-old rookie outfielder owns a .250/.345/.316 triple slash line through 87 plate appearances this year. He’ll return to the mix in centerfield, along with Daz Cameron and Victor Reyes.

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