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Dodgers Place Cody Bellinger On Injured List, Expected To Activate A.J. Pollock On Thursday

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The Dodgers announced they’ve placed outfielder Cody Bellinger on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to September 18, due to a left rib fracture. Luke Raley has been recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City to take his place on the active roster. In better news, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic) the club anticipates reinstating fellow outfielder AJ Pollock from the IL before Thursday’s game against the Rockies.

While Bellinger’s rib fracture diagnosis sounds alarming, it doesn’t seem the club expects him to miss too much time. He hasn’t played since last Friday, but he was in tonight’s initial starting lineup before being scratched because of continued soreness. That setback will keep him out of action for at least the next week, but it’s seemingly possible he’ll be back on the field before the regular season is through.

The injury is the latest development in a season that has been an unequivocal disaster for Bellinger. He’d already been on the IL twice this season with leg issues, and he hasn’t produced anywhere near his capabilities even when healthy enough to play. Over 337 plate appearances, Bellinger is hitting .159/.237/.291 with just nine home runs. He’s striking out at an alarming 26.1% rate and has managed just a .188 batting average on balls in play. Of the 242 hitters with 300+ plate appearances, only Jackie Bradley Jr. has a worse park-adjusted hitting line than Bellinger by measure of wRC+.

It’s been a shockingly poor season for the 26-year-old, who’s just two years removed from winning National League MVP honors. Bellinger couldn’t replicate that year’s massive .305/.406/.629 showing in last season’s truncated schedule, but his .239/.333/.455 mark in 2020 was still far better than this year’s performance.

Bellinger’s massive struggles set the stage for some interesting decisions for the Dodgers’ front office. Assuming he’s able to make it back from his injury in time for the postseason, they’ll need to decide whether to carry him on the playoff roster. That still seems likely, given his left-handed pop and continued plus defense in center field. But it could be difficult to find a ton of playing time for Bellinger on a loaded Los Angeles roster this postseason.

The front office’s confidence in a Bellinger bounceback will also be gauged this winter. Last offseason, he and the Dodgers agreed to a $16.1MM deal to avoid arbitration. He’s slated to go through that process twice more and will likely be due a small raise next winter. (Arbitration salaries are designed to escalate year-over-year, so Bellinger’s salary wouldn’t decline even in spite of his poor performance). At his best, Bellinger’s obviously worth far more than even that significant tally. But he’s a .192/.278/.359 hitter over 580 trips to the plate in the past two seasons, and the Dodgers certainly wouldn’t want to commit that level of outlay if they believe that to be more reflective of his current talent level than his 2017-19 peak is.

A Bellinger non-tender or trade still seems unlikely, given the Dodgers’ immense spending levels and his not too distant MVP season. But the Dodgers should still have plenty of outfield options in coming years, even if Chris Taylor departs in free agency. Mookie Betts is obviously set to play everyday, and Pollock now looks likely to be back next season because of the injury from which he’s now returning.

Pollock’s free agent deal with the Dodgers contained a vesting option that could’ve allowed him to opt out at the end of this season. To do so, he’d have needed to tally 1000 plate appearances between 2020 and 2021. For vesting option purposes, last season’s tallies were multiplied by 2.7 to prorate them over the course of a full season. Pollock picked up 210 plate appearances last year, translating to 567 after prorating. That left him in need of 433 trips to the plate this season to pick up the right to test free agency.

A few weeks ago, Pollock looked well on his way to reaching that threshold. The 33-year-old suffered a hamstring strain on September 4, though, keeping him out for almost three full weeks. He’s been stuck on 386 plate appearances since suffering that injury, meaning he needs 47 more over the course of the season to trigger the potential opt out. By Thursday, the Dodgers will have just ten games remaining in the regular season. Pollock would need to play in all ten and average 4.7 plate appearances per game to reach the option threshold (assuming he and the team haven’t modified the clause in the wake of his recent injury). While not completely impossible, it seems unlikely he’d get that much playing time over the season’s final week and a half.

That’d guarantee Pollock returns next season on a $10MM salary, an eminently affordable price for the Dodgers given his quality production. While the former Diamondback’s tenure in L.A. started slow, he’s been very effective over the past couple seasons. Going back to the beginning of 2020, Pollock is hitting .289/.339/.529 with 32 homers and 34 doubles in essentially the equivalent of one full season’s worth of playing time. He’d come out of this year’s All-Star Break scorching hot, with a .329/.379/.497 showing in the second half before his injury.

Pollock’s forthcoming return will be a welcome addition to a Dodger team hoping to avoid the Wild Card game. They’ve continued to hover just behind the league-best Giants in the NL West, entering play tonight one game back. Los Angeles closes out their season with series against the Rockies, Diamondbacks, Padres and Brewers, while the Giants will take on San Diego, Colorado and Arizona before facing the Padres again to close out the season.

D-Backs’ Seth Beer To Undergo Shoulder Surgery

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Diamondbacks first baseman Seth Beer will undergo left shoulder surgery this week, manager Torey Lovullo informed reporters (including Steve Gilbert of MLB.com). The 25-year-old dislocated his shoulder diving for a ball in a game against the Dodgers last week.

It’s unclear if the procedure will affect Beer’s readiness for Spring Training in 2022, but Lovullo said the recovery process will take “months, not weeks” (via Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic). While the D-Backs have long since been playing out the string on this year, it’s discouraging news that one of the club’s more promising young bats might be impacted by health issues heading into next season.

Beer just recently got his first call to the majors, appearing in only four games before his injury. He’s gone 4-9 to start his major league career, including a home run off the Mariners’ Diego Castillo in his first big league at-bat. That came on the heels of a strong season with Triple-A Reno, where the lefty-hitting Beer put up a .287/.398/.511 line in 435 plate appearances.

Prospect evaluators have long questioned Beer’s defensive aptitude at first base, but there’s little debate he’s a promising offensive player. The potential introduction of a designated hitter to the National League in the upcoming offseason’s collective bargaining negotiations would figure to be a boon to his chances of playing regularly in Arizona. Barring changes to the service time structure in the next CBA, Beer will be under team control for at least the next six seasons — future optional assignments could push back that trajectory even more — and won’t reach arbitration eligibility until the 2024-25 offseason.

Red Sox Place Garrett Whitlock On Injured List

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4:56 pm: Boston has officially placed Whitlock on the IL, retroactive to September 20. He’ll be first eligible to return next Thursday. Ryan Brasier has been recalled to take his place on the active roster. Additionally, Boston reinstated infielder Christian Arroyo from the COVID-19 injured list. Utilityman Jack López has been removed from the active and 40-man rosters and returned to Triple-A Worcester in a corresponding move. López had been selected as a COVID replacement, so he needn’t be exposed to waivers to be bumped from the 40-man.

3:44 pm: The Red Sox are placing reliever Garrett Whitlock on the 10-day injured list due to a right pectoral strain, manager Alex Cora told reporters (including Alex Speier of the Boston Globe). Cora stressed that the club doesn’t view the injury as overly serious but wants to be cautious not aggravate the issue. He didn’t rule out the possibility of Whitlock returning after a ten-day minimal absence.

Even if Whitlock is able to make it by the middle of next week, his loss will still be a tough blow for a Boston team in a tightly-contested Wild Card race. The Red Sox enter play tonight up a game and a half on the Blue Jays for the top Wild Card position in the American League. The Yankees are only half a game back of Toronto for the league’s final playoff spot, and the A’s and Mariners are still within range themselves.

Whitlock has arguably been Boston’s best reliever this year, an improbably fantastic outcome for a Rule 5 draftee. Plucked from the Yankees’ system last winter, the right-hander has tossed 72 1/3 innings of 1.99 ERA ball across 45 appearances. He’s benefitted from a bit of good fortune to post such a strong run prevention mark — particularly with regards to stranding baserunners — but there’s little question Whitlock has had a strong year. He’s got better than average strikeout (26.8%), walk (5.8%), ground-ball (49.5%) and swinging strike (12.8%) rates.

That continued strong work has unsurprisingly gained Whitlock more important opportunities as the season has gone on. After deploying him in mostly mop-up situations early in the year, Cora has increasingly leaned on Whitlock in higher-leverage game states over the past couple months. The 25-year-old has continued to perform well in those key spots, holding opponents to a .151/.220/.283 line over 59 plate appearances deemed “high-leverage” by FanGraphs. With Whitlock down, Hansel Robles, Matt Barnes and the resurgent Garrett Richards look likeliest to shoulder the most important innings late in games.

Orioles Select Cesar Valdez

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The Orioles have selected the contract of reliever César Valdez, per a club announcement. To create space on the active and 40-man rosters, outfielder DJ Stewart has been placed on the 60-day injured list due to a right knee osteochondral defect.

Valdez is back with the big league club after being outrighted off the 40-man roster last month. The changeup specialist began the year in a high-leverage role, picking up eight saves while working to a 1.42 ERA over the first month of the season. He ran into some disastrous results from May onward, though, posting a 7.44 ERA in his last 32 2/3 frames before he was bumped from the roster.

Assigned to Triple-A Norfolk after he cleared waivers, the veteran has earned his way back with a strong showing. Valdez has tossed 12 2/3 innings of three-run ball with the Tides, racking up ground-balls at a massive 64.7% clip in that brief minor league showing. The 36-year-old still hasn’t accrued enough service time to be arbitration eligible, so the O’s could bring him back next season for scarcely more than the league minimum salary if they feel it worthwhile to devote him a 40-man roster spot all winter.

Stewart will undergo a cleanup procedure on his injured knee, manager Brandon Hyde told reporters (including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com). He’s expected to be full-go for Spring Training in 2022. The 27-year-old picked up 318 plate appearances this season but posted below-average numbers on both sides of the ball. Stewart hit .204/.324/.374 while rating poorly as a defensive corner outfielder. As with Valdez, he’s yet to reach arbitration, so the O’s could keep him in the fold for almost no financial cost if they’re willing to keep him on the roster over the winter.

Rangers Outright Kohei Arihara

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SEPTEMBER 21: Arihara has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Round Rock, the team announced. He’ll remain in the organization and look to pitch his way back onto the big league roster.

SEPTEMBER 19: The Rangers announced that right-hander Kohei Arihara has been designated for assignment.  The move opens up a roster spot for Mike Foltynewicz, who returns to action after being reinstated from the COVID-related injury list.

Arihara was the Rangers’ biggest free agent expenditure of the 2020-21 offseason, as Texas spent a total of $7.44MM to obtain the righty on a two-year contract.  $1.24MM of that money went towards a posting fee to the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (Arihara’s NPB club), while Arihara himself received $6.2MM in salary — $3.6MM this season, and $2.4MM in 2022.

Now, it all looks like something of a sunk cost for the Rangers, since it seems quite unlikely that another team would absorb that cost by claiming Arihara off waivers.  If Arihara signed elsewhere on a minor league contract, a new team would only owe him the prorated portion of a minimum salary, leaving Texas on the hook for the rest of the money.

The 29-year-old Arihara began his MLB career in impressive fashion, posting a 2.21 ERA over his first four starts and 20 1/3 innings.  He struggled badly over his next three starts, however, due to what was eventually revealed as the development of an aneurysm in his throwing shoulder.  Arihara underwent surgery to remove that aneurysm in May and didn’t return to the Rangers until September, with a 6.75 ERA coming in Arihara’s 12 post-surgery innings.

Given Arihara’s injury problems and the small sample size, it is hard to really evaluate his first MLB campaign.  He had only a 13.5% strikeout rate, though he wasn’t a big strikeout pitcher even in his prime years in Japan.  The righty’s 7.3% walk rate was also somewhat similar to his NPB numbers, but Arihara’s biggest issue was the home run ball.  Arihara has given up 11 home runs over his 40 2/3 frames in the Show; for comparison’s sake, he gave up 89 homers over 836 innings with the Fighters.

While Arihara could clear waivers and accept an outright assignment to the Rangers’ farm system, today’s move could also very well spell the end of his time with the organization.  Despite Arihara’s struggles, he did attract attention from such teams as the Padres and Red Sox last winter.  Considering that Texas would be footing the bill, it wouldn’t be surprising to see either San Diego or Boston take a flier on Arihara on a minors deal.

Foltynewicz returns after just short of a month on the COVID-IL.  The right-hander was also an offseason addition, joining the Rangers on a one-year, $2MM free agent deal and then delivering a 5.54 ERA over 130 innings.  Foltynewicz’s 6.0% walk rate is a career best, though his 16.5% strikeout rate is a career worst and most of his Statcast numbers are decidedly below average.

Cubs Outright Dillon Maples

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SEPTEMBER 21: Maples cleared waivers and has been sent outright to Triple-A Iowa, Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times was among those to pass along. He doesn’t have the requisite service time to refuse an outright assignment, so he’ll remain in the organization for the rest of the season. However, Maples will qualify for minor league free agency this offseason unless he’s reselected to the 40-man roster before the end of the year.

SEPTEMBER 19: The Cubs have activated Nico Hoerner and Keegan Thompson from the 10-day injured list.  To create two roster spots for the returning players, outfielder Nick Martini was optioned to Triple-A while right-hander Dillon Maples was designated for assignment.

Maples is out of minor league options, which is why Chicago had to take the DFA route to remove the 29-year-old from the active roster.  A veteran of parts of five MLB seasons, Maples had an 8.49 ERA over 23 1/3 career innings for the 2017-20 Cubs before posting a 2.59 ERA in 31 1/3 frames in 2021.

However, Maples has benefited from a .203 BABIP, as his SIERA is 4.64 and his walk rate is an ungainly 18%.  Control has been a persistent issue for Maples at both the Major League and minor league levels, and the Cubs seem to have seen enough.

“There’s some people in the organization that feel like we’ve just run out of time,” manager David Ross told NBC Sports Chicago’s Gordon Wittenmyer and other reporters.  “We wish [Maples] the best in his career and hopefully for his sake he catches on with somebody, and he’s able to have a long, successful major-league career.  It just doesn’t look right now at this time like it’s going to be with us.”

Thompson will start today’s game against the Brewers after missing a little over two weeks due to right shoulder inflammation.  The right-hander has shuttled up and down from Triple-A Iowa a few times this season, with a 3.54 ERA to show for his first 48 1/3 career innings in the big leagues.  Working mostly as a reliever, Thompson has managed that respectable ERA despite some unimpressive peripherals, including a 12.8% walk rate.

Hoerner suffered a right oblique strain at the end of July, and thanks to previous IL trips due to a left hamstring strain and a left forearm strain, Hoerner has played in only 39 games.  The former top prospect has at least hit decently well (.312/.388/.388 in 152 PA) when he has been able to play, and the Cubs will certainly be interested in evaluating Hoerner over the season’s last two weeks to help determine his role with the 2022 team and beyond.

Giants Outright Reyes Moronta

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The Giants announced Tuesday that right-hander Reyes Moronta has cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Triple-A Sacramento. He’s no longer on the 40-man roster.

It’s a bit of a surprising move on a number of levels. San Francisco didn’t formally designate Moronta for assignment, so there was no public indication prior to this announcement that he’d been placed on waivers and made available to the other 29 teams. Beyond that, Moronta once looked like a future high-leverage option for the Giants, though he’s seen several miles drop off his fastball since returning from surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder late in the 2019 season.

From 2017-19, Moronta pitched 128 1/3 innings out of the Giants’ bullpen, working to a 2.66 ERA with a strong 29.8 percent strikeout rate. His 13.6 percent walk rate was well north of the league average and a clear area for potential improvement, but Moronta’s average fastball velocity of 97.1 mph and that lofty strikeout rate were obvious sources of intrigue for what he could become with better command of his pitches. President of baseball ops Farhan Zaidi even suggested last season during Moronta’s recovery that he had closer potential.

That surgery indeed wiped out all of Moronta’s 2020 season, and he missed  a good portion of the current campaign rehab with a flexor strain. He didn’t require surgery this time around, but Moronta was only activated from the 60-day injured list late last month. He hasn’t pitched particularly well since coming off the IL, either, working to a 7.98 ERA with more walks (18) than strikeouts (13) through 14 2/3 frames of Triple-A ball.

The decision to remove Moronta from the 40-man roster could very well spell the end of his time with the organization. Players with more than three years of MLB service who are outrighted off the 40-man roster during the season can become free agents at the end of the year. It’s technically possible that the Giants could add Moronta back to the 40-man between now and that point, but if that were in the plans, they probably wouldn’t have placed him on waivers in the first place.

In 132 1/3 innings at the big league level, Moronta has a 2.65 ERA and 3.44 FIP with a 29.5 percent strikeout rate and a 13.3 percent walk rate.

Braves Claim Chadwick Tromp

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The Braves have claimed catcher Chadwick Tromp off waivers from the Giants and assigned him to Triple-A Gwinnett, per a team announcement. San Francisco had designated Tromp for assignment over the weekend.

Tromp, 26, has appeared in 33 games for the Giants over the past two seasons and posted a .215/.220/.418 batting line with five homers and a double in 82 plate appearances. That represents the entirety of his Major League experience to date. Tromp has also spent parts of four season in Triple-A, where he’s a .253/.316/.414 hitter.

Tromp has drawn solid framing marks both in Triple-A and his limited MLB time, and he’s thrown out one third of attempted base thieves in his professional career. He has two more minor league option years remaining beyond the current campaign, so he could potentially be a flexible depth option in Atlanta for the foreseeable future.

Of course, the Braves already have a good bit of catching depth within their system. Atlanta recently extended veteran Travis d’Arnaud on a two-year, $16MM contract that guarantees him $8MM in 2022 and 2023. The Braves also have a pair of well-regarded catching prospects  in Shea Langeliers and William Contreras — the latter of whom has already made his MLB debut.

Speculatively, Tromp could give them an option early in the 2022 season if the Braves want both Contreras and Langeliers to be getting everyday at-bats in the minor leagues. That’s a long ways off, however, and he’d first need to survive the offseason on Atlanta’s 40-man roster, which is no sure thing.

Orioles Claim Joey Krehbiel, Designate Manny Barreda

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The Orioles have claimed right-hander Joey Krehbiel off waivers from the Rays and designated right-hander Manny Barreda, per a club announcement. The O’s also announced that righty Dusten Knight, who was designated for assignment over the weekend, has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Norfolk.

Krehbiel, 28, pitched a scoreless inning during his lone appearance with the Rays this season, whiffing a pair and issuing a walk. He’s spent the rest of the 2021 season with Tampa Bay’s Triple-A affiliate, logging a 4.19 ERA with a sizable 29.5 percent strikeout rate and a tiny 5.1 percent walk rate through 43 innings. It’s the fourth season that Krehbiel has logged some time in Triple-A, and he’s fanned 26.1 percent of the opponents he’s faced at that level in his career. Krehbiel has just four big league innings under his belt, but he’s yet to allow a run in that time.

Barreda, 33 next month, recently had his contract selected and made his big league debut. He allowed four runs in 2 2/3 innings over the life of three appearances prior to today’s DFA — a brief debut for a player who has grinded through parts of 11 minor league seasons as well as five full seasons pitching in Mexico. He’s posted a 3.89 ERA in 39 1/3 innings between the Double-A and Triple-A affiliates for the O’s, and he carries a career 3.45 ERA in just over 500 minor league innings.

Like Barreda, Knight was another 30-something rookie who made his big league debut in 2021. He’s notched an even 3.00 ERA in 36 Triple-A frames this season but was tagged for 10 runs (nine earned) in 8 2/3 frames during his own brief look at the MLB level. He’ll remain with the Orioles organization for the remainder of the year, at least, but he’ll be a minor league free agent at season’s end.

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