Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for 2021

Rangers’ Eli White Undergoes Elbow Surgery

By | at

Rangers outfielder Eli White underwent an internal brace procedure to repair a torn UCL in his right elbow, the team announced. He’s expected to miss six months.

That initial estimate suggests White could be ready at some point during Spring Training next season. Even a slight delay in his recovery could affect the 27-year-old’s readiness for Opening Day, though. White was recently placed on the 10-day injured list with what the team initially called an elbow strain. With his 2021 season officially over, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Texas transfers him to the 60-day IL whenever the need for a 40-man roster spot arises.

The Rangers acquired White from the A’s during the 2018-19 offseason as part of the deal that sent Jurickson Profar to Oakland. He reached the majors for the first time last year and has tallied 272 MLB plate appearances over the past two seasons, hitting .179/.254/.293 with six home runs. He’s been more productive in Triple-A, compiling a .265/.353/.434 mark in 579 trips to the plate at the highest minor league level.

Diamondbacks Release Seth Frankoff

By | at

The Diamondbacks announced this afternoon that they’ve released right-hander Seth Frankoff. Frankoff had been on optional assignment to Triple-A Reno. The move clears a spot on Arizona’s 40-man roster.

Frankoff inked a minor league deal with the D-Backs over the offseason and was selected to the big league club in mid-May. The 32-year-old made four appearances (three starts) and tossed 14 2/3 innings of 9.20 ERA ball before landing on the injured list with forearm soreness. He’s worked 21 frames with Reno, posting an 8.14 ERA at the minors’ top level before being let go.

While Frankoff has seen MLB action in parts of three seasons, he’s only pitched a total of 19 1/3 innings at the big league level. Frankoff spent the 2018-19 seasons with the Doosan Bears of the Korea Baseball Organization, posting a 3.68 ERA with a fine 22% strikeout rate and a strong 7.6% walk percentage. That solid work overseas should get Frankoff a look from another club on a minor league deal despite his struggles this season.

Rays Promote Erik Neander To President Of Baseball Operations, Sign Him To Multi-Year Extension

By | at

The Rays announced the signing of Erik Neander to a multi-year contract extension. Formerly the team’s senior vice president of baseball operations and general manager, Neander has been promoted to president of baseball operations. At the press conference announcing the news, Neander told reporters the club is not planning to make any additional major changes to the baseball operations structure in the wake of his promotion.

Neander, 38, has been in the Tampa Bay organization since 2007, when he came on as an intern. He worked his way to baseball operations VP in October 2014 when former GM Andrew Friedman departed to take over the Dodgers’ front office. He picked up the GM title and responsibilities two years thereafter. Both of those promotions came in junction with boosts for Chaim Bloom, with whom Neander shared high billing atop baseball ops. However, Bloom departed in October 2019 to become chief baseball officer of the Red Sox, leaving no question that Neander was the front office head in Tampa Bay over the past two seasons.

The Rays have generally been successful over the past decade-plus despite regularly featuring one of the league’s lowest player payrolls. The front office’s ability to consistently outperform expectations despite strict budgets has made Rays’ executives highly appealing to other ownership groups around the league. In addition to Friedman and Bloom, former Tampa Bay vice president James Click was hired to lead the Astros in February 2020.

Neander himself was reportedly of interest in the Angels’ GM search last offseason, but Tampa Bay ownership refused to make him available for discussions. That was ultimately a moot point, as reports at the time indicated that Neander had no interest in leaving Tampa. Today’s extension reaffirms that and will take his name off the list for potential suitors looking for a new baseball operations head this offseason.

Given Neander’s track record, it seems likely bigger-market clubs would’ve continued to gauge his availability had the Rays not inked him to a long-term deal. The Rays have posted four consecutive winning seasons, reaching the playoffs in 2019-20. They’re a near lock to win the AL East again this season, and only the Dodgers have a better record than Tampa Bay’s 128-71 mark (64.3% winning percentage) going back to the start of 2020.

The Rays’ ever-low payroll has often been a source of frustration for fans, with the Tampa Bay front office as aggressive as any around the league in trading away recognizable players to constantly replenish young talent. Neander has had an active role in deals sending notable players like Evan Longoria, Chris Archer, Blake Snell and Willy Adames elsewhere over the past few seasons.

That constant roster churn can make it difficult for the fanbase to connect to franchise players, but there’s little arguing with the front office’s ability to consistently put together a strong roster in the long run. The Archer trade — which netted the Rays Austin Meadows, Tyler Glasnow and Shane Baz — turned out to be one of the more lopsided deals in recent memory. Tampa Bay acquired Mike Zunino from the Mariners for a package centering on Mallex Smith and boldly struck to acquire Randy Arozarena from the Cardinals. That deal cost them top pitching prospect Matthew Liberatore, but Arozarena has excellent in Tampa Bay and was the biggest driver of their run to an AL pennant last year.

The Rays have also been adept at acquiring and developing prospects. Wander Franco is one of the most talented young players in the game, and the Rays have a few more top prospects (Vidal Bruján, Josh Lowe and Taylor Walls among them) at or near the big league level. And while the team hasn’t generally been active in free agency, Neander’s group struck gold on their signing of Charlie Morton to a two-year, $30MM guarantee over the 2018-19 offseason.

Like any executive, Neander has a few misses on his record as well. Adames has taken his game to another level since being moved to Milwaukee in May. The December 2019 trade that sent Tommy Pham and Jake Cronenworth to San Diego for Hunter Renfroe and Xavier Edwards looks regrettable (although Edwards is still a well-regarded prospect). But the Rays’ front office has a very impressive body of work overall, one that has attracted the attention of plenty rivals around the league. While the Rays have lost a few key executives in recent years, they’ll keep Neander atop baseball operations for the foreseeable future.

Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times first reported that Neander had agreed to a multi-year extension. Rays’ pregame and postgame host Neil Solondz reported Neander was being promoted to president of baseball operations. Image credit: USA Today Sports.

Cubs Select Nick Martini

By | at

The Cubs announced they’ve selected corner outfielder Nick Martini to the big league roster. Fellow outfielder Michael Hermosillo is landing on the 10-day injured list with a left forearm strain. Chicago already had a vacancy on the 40-man roster after designating Andrew Romine for assignment earlier in the week.

Martini is back for his second stint with the Cubs this year. The Illinois native signed a minor league deal with Chicago over the offseason and was selected to the major league roster in early May. He only appeared in twelve games over the next few weeks before being designated for assignment and passed through outright waivers. Martini has spent most of the year with the Cubs’ top affiliate in Iowa, where he’s hit .267/.387/.444 with eleven home runs over 323 plate appearances.

That’s in line with Martini’s general production over the course of his career. He has long drawn walks at a very strong clip and posted gaudy minor league numbers, and he’s found some success against big league pitching as well. Over 303 MLB plate appearances, the left-handed hitting Martini owns a solid .261/.363/.366 line. He has yet to carve out a consistent regular role in the majors, though, with teams deterred by his lack of power and limited defensive value.

Hermosillo will not return this season, bench coach Andy Green told reporters (including Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune). The 26-year-old was called up a few weeks ago after a monster season at Iowa. He popped three home runs in just 38 MLB plate appearances, but Hermosillo also struck out twelve times and drew just one walk en route to a .194 batting average and a .237 on-base percentage.

Blue Jays Activate Julian Merryweather From Injured List

By | at

The Blue Jays announced they’ve reinstated reliever Julian Merryweather from the 60-day injured list. Right-hander Bryan Baker was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo to open active roster space, while lefty Anthony Kay was placed on the COVID-19 injured list to clear a 40-man roster spot.

Merryweather is back after missing nearly five months due to a severe oblique strain. Injuries have unfortunately been frequent occurrences for the right-hander, who missed most of the 2018-19 seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery and also dealt with elbow tendinitis towards the end of last season.

There’s little question about Merryweather’s ability, though. He’s long been regarded as a potential high-leverage reliever by scouts and he flashed that talent at the big league level over the season’s first few weeks. The 29-year-old struck out seven of the fourteen batters he faced, allowing just a pair of baserunners over 4 1/3 scoreless innings. His fastball averaged a stellar 98.2 MPH and he racked up swinging strikes at a 14.5% rate to earn the closer’s role early in the season. It seems unlikely manager Charlie Montoyo will immediately reinstall him into the ninth inning after such a long absence, but Merryweather has a chance to emerge as the lockdown relief ace the Jays have been seeking all year.

His return comes at a fortuitous time for the Jays, who have caught fire of late to vault themselves back into the American League Wild Card picture. Toronto is riding a six-game winning streak and has taken nine of their last ten, putting them two games back of the Red Sox and two and a half behind the Yankees. The Jays won’t face Boston again this season, but they have five more against New York — including tonight’s and tomorrow’s contests.

Tigers’ Jake Rogers Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

By and | at

Tigers catcher Jake Rogers underwent Tommy John surgery and will miss the remainder of this season, manager A.J. Hinch announced to reporters (Twitter link via Jason Beck of MLB.com). The recovery time for position players is generally shorter than that of pitchers, but Rogers is still expected to miss some time next season as he recovers.

One of the more highly-regarded defensive catching prospects throughout his time in the minors, Rogers was traded to Detroit from the Astros in the August 2017 Justin Verlander blockbuster. He reached the big leagues in 2019 and has also logged some MLB action this season. Between the two years, the right-handed hitting Rogers owns just a .182/.264/.378 line with a massive 38% strikeout rate over 255 plate appearances.

Rogers has also rated poorly as a pitch framer in that rather limited time, according to Statcast. To his credit, though, he has been elite at shutting down the running game. Rogers has cut down 46.9% of attempted basestealers, a mark that’s far better than the 24.6% league average.

Catching looks likely to be a priority for the Tigers this winter, although there aren’t many surefire starting-caliber options available in free agency. Eric Haase, Dustin Garneau and Grayson Greiner are the other options available on the 40-man roster. Haase has hit reasonably well but comes with some defensive question marks, while Garneau and Greiner traditionally haven’t offered much at the plate.

Zach Eflin To Undergo Knee Surgery

By and | at

Phillies starter Zach Eflin will require surgery to repair the patellar tendon in his right knee, the team announced this afternoon. The procedure is expected to keep Eflin out of game action for six-to-eight months, manager Joe Girardi told reporters (including Todd Zolecki of MLB.com). That leaves open the possibility he could be ready for Opening Day in 2022, but it’s far from certain that’ll be the case.

Eflin has been plagued by knee issues for a large chunk of his career. Late in 2016, the right-hander underwent surgery to repair the patellar tendons in both knees. Afterwards, Eflin told Zolecki the procedures corrected chronic issues that had plagued him for more than a decade. He avoided knee troubles for the next few years, but issues with the joint cropped back up this summer.

The Phils placed Eflin on the injured list on July 20 because of patellar tendinitis. He was activated from the IL five weeks later but was scratched from what would have been his first start because of continued discomfort, followed shortly thereafter by a positive COVID-19 test. While Eflin recovered from the virus rather quickly, his rehab was delayed by continued knee pain that’ll apparently require another surgery to correct.

Losing Eflin for the rest of the season (and potentially a portion of next year) is a substantial blow for a Phillies’ team that has struggled to find reliable back-of-the-rotation innings in recent years. Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola make for a fearsome top two, and Philadelphia picked up Kyle Gibson at the trade deadline to bolster the middle of the rotation. But Vince Velasquez has been up-and-down for essentially his entire career, and offseason pickups Matt Moore and Chase Anderson haven’t panned out. (Anderson has already been released).

Those depth issues have forced the Phillies to bump Ranger Suárez into a starting role. Suárez had a fantastic season working in relief and has fared well so far in his attempt to carry that success over to the rotation. Through seven starts, the left-hander has a 1.71 ERA despite some struggles with walks, thanks largely to an elite 63.1% ground-ball rate. Suárez figures to continue getting turns for the remainder of the year, but Philadelphia will have to patch things together on the mound when they need a fifth starter.

Eflin, unlike many of the Phillies’ other starters, has been a measure of consistency in recent years. Excepting a spike in last year’s shortened campaign, the 27-year-old has generally posted league average strikeout numbers. But he’s one of the game’s best at limiting walks and he keeps the ball on the ground, allowing him to be reliably effective in spite of his hitter-friendly home ballpark. Eflin has posted an ERA between 3.97 and 4.36 in each of the past four seasons, including a 4.17 mark over 105 2/3 innings this year.

Last offseason, Eflin and the Phillies agreed on a $4.45MM salary for 2021 to avoid arbitration. He’ll likely be in line for a moderate raise on that figure this winter, as he enters his third and final year of arbitration eligibility. Assuming his recovery proceeds as anticipated, Eflin’s projected salary would still seem reasonable for his typically solid production. But he could be a non-tender candidate if he’s not progressing on schedule come November, as he’d reach free agency after next season anyhow.

Solidifying the back of the rotation was likely to be an offseason priority for the Phillies even before news of Eflin’s surgery. That’ll be all the more true now, although there’s little recourse but to rely on the internal options for the remainder of this season as they hope to mount a playoff push. The Phillies enter play tonight two and a half games back of the Braves in the NL East and two games behind the Reds and Padres for the National League’s final Wild Card spot.

Rockies Activate Jon Gray, Promote Colton Welker

By | at

The Rockies announced Wednesday that they’ve reinstated right-hander Jon Gray from the 10-day injured list and called up infielder Colton Welker for his Major League debut. Righty Antonio Santos was also recalled to the MLB roster. In a trio of corresponding moves, the Rox put right-hander Chi Chi Gonzalez on the 10-day injured list with a strained oblique, placed righty Robert Stephenson on the paternity list and optioned infielder Joshua Fuentes to Triple-A Albuquerque.

Gray returns to the club after a minimal stay on the injured list due to inflammation in his right forearm. It was a somewhat ominous diagnosis at the time, given the pronounced struggles Gray endured in the month of August, but a swift return is good news both for the club and for Gray as he nears his first foray into the free-agent market.

To this point in the season, Gray has posted a 4.13 ERA with a 23.1 percent strikeout rate, a 9.8 percent walk rate and a 49.9 percent ground-ball rate in 126 1/3 innings of work. Those solid numbers come in spite of a disastrous month of August, wherein Gray yielded a 6.55 ERA in 22 innings and lasted fewer than five innings in three of his five appearances.

Both Gray and the Rockies have made their mutual interest in some kind of extension known, though the recent injury hiccup could have some impact on the potential for a deal. At the very least, the Rockies likely want to see how Gray responds to 10 days of downtime before determining how to proceed. They reportedly intend to issue a qualifying offer to Gray, but it’s also possible the two sides work out a mutli-year deal at a lesser rate. Gray, of course, could also see what the market has to bear from other clubs upon receiving a QO from the Rockies. Players have 10 days to accept or reject their QOs, and they’re free to talk to other clubs during that time.

Turning to Welker, the 2016 fourth-rounder is getting his first look at the big league level. He’s long been ranked among the better prospects in a generally thin Rockies system, currently sitting eighth among their farmhands at FanGraphs, 20th at MLB.com and 23rd at Baseball America.

Welker has been limited to just 23 games and 93 plate appearances at the Triple-A level in 2021. He’s spent much of the year on the restricted list due to an 80-game suspension issued in May upon testing positive for a banned substance (dehydrochlormethyltestosterone). He’s one of several players to have pushed back against suspensions for trace amounts of the DHCMT long-term metabolite — picograms, in most cases — though to this point all suspensions under such circumstances have seemingly been upheld. (The Wall Street Journal’s Jared Diamond took an in-depth look at the situation last August.)

In his limited sample of work this season, Welker has been productive. He’s slashed .286/.378/.476 with three homers, five doubles, a triple and a 12.4 percent walk rate against a 20.7 percent strikeout rate. He’s spent all of his time at third base, though some scouting reports on Welker feel his range (or lack thereof) will eventually push him to first base. The Rockies don’t currently have a clear long-term answer at either corner infield position, so Welker seems likely to get a chance to prove he’s capable of seizing one of those two spots.

Rays Designate David Hess For Assignment

By | at

The Rays have designated right-hander David Hess for assignment, placed outfielder Randy Arozarena on the paternity list and optioned righty Louis Head to Triple-A Durham, per a club announcement. That trio of moves clears a path for the previously reported promotion of top outfield prospect Josh Lowe and the reinstatement of first baseman Ji-Man Choi and righty Matt Wisler from the injured list.

It’s the third DFA of the season for Hess and his second with the Rays. The 28-year-old right-hander originally inked a minor league pact with Tampa Bay but was traded to the Marlins in early July and quickly immediately added to their MLB roster. The former Orioles righty had gotten out to a terrific start in Triple-A but was clobbered for seven runs in one inning at Coors Field in his second-to-last appearance with Miami, who designated him for assignment about a month after originally acquiring him.

Hess made his way back to the Rays on a new minor league deal, and he’s now been selected to the MLB roster and designated for assignment twice more. He didn’t get into a game the first time but did pitch two innings in his most recent call-up. Things didn’t go well, however, as he surrendered six runs in a pair of innings against the Red Sox. Because of the nature of that DFA carousel, Hess was pitching for just the fourth time in a span of nearly four weeks during his lone appearance in this most recent Rays stint.

On the whole, Hess has surrendered 22 runs in 20 big league innings this season. Most of the damage has come in that pair of ugly outings, but it’s still not a surprise to see a pitcher with that level of cumulative results bumped from the 40-man roster. He’ll now be placed on outright waivers or release waivers in the next couple of days. If he goes unclaimed, the Rays can assign him back to Triple-A Durham, where he’s pitched to a 3.28 ERA with a 27.2 percent strikeout rate and a 5.4 percent walk rate in 35 2/3 frames of relief work this year.

Looking to the rest of the Rays’ moves, Lowe looks to be a short-term replacement for Arozarena, who can miss up to three games. Brief or not, the promotion will give Rays fans a glimpse at the future, as Lowe is widely viewed as a long-term building block in the outfield.

Head, like Hess, has been riding the shuttle between the big leagues and Triple-A with dizzying frequency. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times observes that this marks the staggering tenth time that Head has been optioned to Triple-A this season. Despite being bandied about between Durham and St. Petersburg, he’s held his own against MLB lineups, pitching to a 2.93 ERA with a 26-to-9 K/BB ratio in 27 2/3 innings of relief. Head has similarly strong numbers in Triple-A, and while it’s surely frustrating to be unable to secure a long-term spot in the bullpen, he’s a 31-year-old who made his MLB debut this season, so even the brief and inconsistent days of Major League service time and pay are a welcome turn of events.

Choi, who’s hitting .250/.364/.435 in 236 plate appearances, missed a bit more than two weeks with a strained hamstring. He also missed time in June with a groin strain. Wisler missed a similar chunk of time with a finger injury on his pitching hand. He’s been excellent since the Rays acquired him from the Giants, pitching to a 1.98 ERA with a 32.7 percent strikeout rate and a 3.8 percent walk rate in 27 1/3 innings.

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

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top