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Giants Activate Tommy La Stella, Place Anthony DeSclafani On Injured List

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The Giants announced they’ve reinstated infielder Tommy La Stella from the 60-day injured list (via Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle). Starter Anthony DeSclafani is going on the 10-day IL, retroactive to August 3, with right shoulder fatigue. To open 40-man roster space for La Stella, reliever Conner Menez was designated for assignment.

La Stella returns after a three month absence. He initially landed on the IL with a left hamstring strain and then suffered a right hand fracture while rehabbing. It’s been a tough first season in San Francisco for La Stella, who has thus far been limited to 75 plate appearances of .235/.297/.353 hitting. That’s far off the quietly excellent .289/.356/.471 line the lefty-swinging La Stella put up with the Angels and A’s between 2019-20.

Despite the slow start, the Giants are surely happy to have La Stella back in the lineup. San Francisco signed the 32-year-old to a three-year, $18.75MM contract over the winter. There’s little question the front office believes in his ability to return to his prior form. La Stella figures to rotate between second and third base, at least until Evan Longoria returns from his own lengthy IL stint. That’ll free up Kris Bryant to see more time in the outfield and offer manager Gabe Kapler a quality left-handed bat to mix in with the right-handed hitting Donovan Solano and Wilmer Flores at those positions.

In addition to La Stella, San Francisco figures to bring back Longoria and Brandon Belt in the not too distant future. They’ll be welcome reinforcements for the 67-40 Giants, who hold MLB’s best record and lead the Dodgers by 3.5 games in the National League West.

It doesn’t seem there’s much cause for alarm with DeSclafani despite the ominous-sounding diagnosis. Kapler told reporters (including Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic) the expectation is that he’ll miss just one start.  The righty struggled in 2020 — his final season with the Reds — but has had a bounceback campaign in the Bay Area. DeSclafani has tossed 126 1/3 innings of 3.28 ERA/4.03 SIERA ball with average or better strikeout (23.3%), walk (6.5%) and groundball (45.0%) rates. He’s already thrown nearly 100 more innings than he did in Cincinnati last season, so the Giants are surely keeping a close eye on his workload to keep him healthy for the stretch run.

Menez is something of a surprising cut, as the southpaw has pitched quite well in his big league time this season. He’s tossed 14 innings with a 3.86 ERA, punching out a decent 24.2% of opposing hitters with a massive 59.1% grounder rate. However, he’s struggled mightily in 22 frames with Triple-A Sacramento, managing just a 6.95 ERA and walking an alarming 15.9% of opposing hitters in the minors.

Triple-A struggles aside, it wouldn’t be surprising to see another team add Menez off waivers. The 26-year-old has a fine 4.04 ERA/4.34 SIERA over parts of three major league seasons and can still be optioned for the remainder of this year.

Dodgers Designate Yefry Ramirez For Assignment

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The Dodgers announced they’ve designated right-hander Yefry Ramírez for assignment. The move clears space on the 40-man roster for Cole Hamels, who has officially signed a major league contract.

Ramírez was just selected to the roster earlier this week, and he loses his spot after a single big league appearance. He’s otherwise spent the entire season with Triple-A Oklahoma City, where’s made 15 appearances (12 starts). Ramírez pitched to a 5.49 ERA in that hitter-friendly league, striking out a solid 25% of batters faced but issuing walks at an alarming 11.1% clip.

The 27-year-old has pitched in parts of three big league seasons, seeing action with the Orioles and Pirates in addition to his briefest of stints in L.A. Ramírez will now be made available to other clubs via waivers, although any claiming team would have to keep the out-of-options hurler on the big league roster or designate him for assignment themselves. Having previously been passed through outright waivers in his career, Ramírez would have the right to reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency if he clears.

Pirates Sign Keury Mella

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The Pirates have signed right-hander Keury Mella to a minor league contract, reports Jake Crouse of MLB.com (Twitter link). He has been assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis. Mella was released by the Diamondbacks last week.

Mella has seen big league action in each of the past five seasons, albeit without ever carving out a consistent role on a staff. He’s never logged more than ten MLB innings in a given campaign, and his overall body of work consists of 28 2/3 frames of 7.22 ERA/5.11 SIERA ball. The 28-year-old made two appearances with the D-Backs this season, allowing six runs in 1 2/3 innings before being passed through outright waivers.

Over parts of four Triple-A campaigns, Mella has worked to a 4.55 ERA across 201 2/3 innings, starting a little more than half his appearances. He’s worked exclusively in relief this season, though, tossing 29 innings of 4.34 ERA ball in a hitter-friendly environment in Reno. Mella’s 22.7% Triple-A strikeout rate is a bit below-average, but he’s done well in avoiding walks and induced grounders on nearly half the balls in play against him.

In other Pirates roster news, the club activated left-hander Steven Brault from the 60-day injured list, as previously reported. He worked four innings of one-run ball against the Brewers this afternoon in his season debut. To create 40-man roster space, Pittsburgh transferred righty Chase De Jong from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list. De Jong is out for the season after undergoing surgery on his left knee last week.

Marlins Designate Deven Marrero For Assignment

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AUGUST 4: Chisholm has been reinstated from the IL, suggesting he’s tested negative for the virus. Marrero was designated for assignment in a corresponding move (via McPherson).

AUGUST 3: The Marlins announced they’ve placed middle infielder Jazz Chisholm on the COVID-19 injured list. Infielder Deven Marrero has been selected to the roster to replace him.

Chisholm has been experiencing virus-like symptoms, reports Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). There’s no indication that he’s actually tested positive for the virus at this point. The 23-year-old is hitting .254/.317/.430 with eleven home runs across 307 plate appearances so far this season.

Marrero has been on and off the roster a few times, picking up seven plate appearances. He has spent most of the season with Triple-A Jacksonville, hitting .252/.327/.397 with the Jumbo Shrimp.

Nick Tropeano Elects Free Agency

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Nick Tropeano has elected free agency after being passed through outright waivers by the Mets, according to the MLB.com transactions tracker. New York designated the 30-year-old for assignment last Friday to clear roster space to accommodate their deadline day acquisitions.

As a player who had previously been outrighted in his career, Tropeano had the right to elect free agency while retaining the remainder of his $1.1MM salary for this season. He’s now free to explore opportunities around the league.

Tropeano saw a bit of big league time with the Giants and Mets this season, tossing eight innings of three-run ball. He only struck out two batters in that tiny sample of work, but the right-hander showed far better bat-missing ability in some time with the Pirates last year. Over 15 2/3 frames with Pittsburgh, Tropeano pitched to a 1.15 ERA with a strong 28.8% strikeout rate and 14.9% swinging strike rate.

Given his decent performance over the past couple seasons, Tropeano should have little trouble finding another opportunity on the open market. While he broke in as a starting pitcher with the Astros and Angels, Tropeano has worked exclusively in relief over the past two years, managing a cumulative 1.52 ERA/3.52 FIP over 23 2/3 innings.

Anthony Rendon To Undergo Season-Ending Hip Surgery

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The Angeles announced this afternoon that Anthony Rendon will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a right hip impingement. He is being placed on the 60-day injured list. Left-hander Packy Naughton has been selected to the big league roster in a corresponding move, with Chris Rodriguez optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake to clear space on the active roster. The club expects Rendon to be ready for Opening Day 2022, reports Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times.

Surgery is the culmination of what turned out to be a very trying season for the All-Star third baseman. Rendon landed on the injured list on three separate occasions, missing time due to groin, knee and hamstring problems. All of those injuries were related to Rendon’s left leg, though, with the right hip impingement a new issue that arose during his rehab from the hamstring injury, relays Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register.

The series of health woes limited Rendon to a total of 249 plate appearances. His typically stellar production was merely average over that time, as the 31-year-old hit .240/.329/.382 with six home runs. This was arguably the least productive season of Rendon’s career, a far cry from the elite .310/.397/.557 line he posted between 2018-20.

Long-term absences to Rendon and Mike Trout have contributed to another mediocre season for the Angels in spite of an MVP-caliber year from Shohei Ohtani. The 53-54 Halos sit 6.5 games back of the Athletics for the final playoff spot in the American League, with the Yankees, Mariners, Blue Jays and Indians all also ahead in the standings. Their playoff chances are down to a meager 1.1%, in FanGraphs’ estimation, and losing Rendon will only make a miracle second half run all the more improbable. In all likelihood, Anaheim is destined for a seventh consecutive year without postseason play.

A return to health and prior form at the plate from Rendon will be critical to the Angels’ hopes of competing in 2022. With Trout, Ohtani, Rendon and Jared Walsh in the fold, the club is no doubt hoping to take another crack at competing next season. Rendon signed a seven-year, $245MM free agent contract over the 2019-20 offseason, so he’ll remain in the fold for quite some time. Under the terms of his backloaded deal, Rendon will earn $36MM next season, followed by successive $38MM salaries from 2023-26.

While Naughton surely wouldn’t have liked for his promotion to come under these circumstances, he is in line to make his big league debut. The 25-year-old began his career as an ninth-round draftee of the Reds out of Virginia Tech in 2017. He was flipped to the Angels last summer as part of the return for outfielder Brian Goodwin. Naughton has spent the 2021 campaign with Salt Lake, working to a 5.23 ERA across 51 2/3 innings in an extremely hitter-friendly league. While he has struck out a below-average 21.5% of opponents, the southpaw has only walked a tiny 5.7% of batters faced, a common theme throughout his minor league career.

Orioles Designate Shaun Anderson, Domingo Leyba For Assignment

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The Orioles announced they’ve designated right-hander Shaun Anderson and infielder Domingo Leyba for assignment. The moves were needed to clear 40-man roster space for the previously reported selections of right-handers Marcos Diplán and Dusten Knight.

Anderson has bounced around the league on waivers over the past few months and is now slated to again find himself on the wire. Traded from the Giants to the Twins in a lopsided deal that sent LaMonte Wade Jr. to San Francisco, he’s been waived by Minnesota, Texas and now Baltimore in rather rapid succession. He never pitched in the big leagues with the Rangers, but he’s combined for 18 2/3 relief innings of 9.16 ERA/5.23 SIERA ball between the Twins and Orioles this season.

The 26-year-old has yet to find much success at the major league level over parts of three campaigns. Anderson broke in as a starting pitcher with the Giants in 2019 but has worked exclusively out of the bullpen over the past two seasons. Overall, he’s logged a 5.75 ERA across 130 frames, posting worse than average strikeout and walk rates (17.3% and 10.1%, respectively).

That said, Anderson has clearly piqued the interest of a number of teams around the league. He was once a fairly well-regarded prospect, and he’s pitched to a solid 3.61 ERA over parts of three Triple-A campaigns. Anderson can be optioned for the remainder of this season and next, so he’d be a flexible depth option for a pitching staff if another club is willing to give him a 40-man roster spot. The former third-round pick has been claimed by teams near the top of the waiver priority list both times he’s previously been designated, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him land elsewhere over the next few days.

Baltimore added Leyba off waivers from the Diamondbacks in early June. The 25-year-old has seen action at both second and third base but stumbled to a .115/.198/.161 line over 96 plate appearances between the two teams. Leyba is out of options, so any claiming team would need to keep him on the active roster or waive him themselves. Arizona passed him through outright waivers last November, so Leyba has the right to reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency should he clear again.

The O’s will likely need to make another move in the coming days. Southpaw Ryan Hartman, claimed off waivers from the Astros over the weekend, was placed on the COVID-19 injured list while he goes through intake protocols. That temporarily opened space for Baltimore to reinstate infielder Richie Martin from the 60-day IL on Monday. Once Hartman is cleared to report to the team, the Orioles will have to create additional 40-man roster space.

Tyler Glasnow Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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AUGUST 4: Glasnow underwent a successful Tommy John procedure today, reports Robert Murray of FanSided (Twitter link). According to Murray, the expectation is that he indeed will miss the entirety of the 2022 season.

AUGUST 3: As expected, Glasnow will indeed have Tommy John surgery on Wednesday, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.

JULY 31: Rays right-hander Tyler Glasnow is expected to undergo Tommy John surgery next week, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan (via Twitter). That not only officially marks an end to his 2021 season, but perhaps his 2022 season as well. Passan adds that he may not return until 2023, though there remains a “small chance” that they’ll find an alternative way to rehab his partially torn UCL before a potential surgery date next week.

Glasnow last appeared in a game on June 14th, at which point the hope was that rehab might be enough for Glasnow to make a late-season return. His latest throwing session put that theory in doubt, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter), who adds that the decision for Tommy John isn’t yet official, though it is expected.

Prior to the injury, Glasnow was a clear Cy Young candidate, having posted 2.4 rWAR through 14 starts with a 2.66 ERA/2.76 FIP. He tossed 88 innings with an absurd 36.2 percent strikeout rate and strong 7.9 percent walk rate to go with a 45.3 percent groundball rate. Now, it’s unclear if Glasnow will pitch again before 2023, his last year before free agency.

This is a truly devastating though not wholly unexpected development for the electric 27-year-old. Glasnow’s injury will remain a touchstone of debate, not only because of how his absence will affect the pennant race this season (and next) but because the timing of the injury coincided with MLB’s stricter policy on the use of foreign substances. The causal link there is tenuous, of course, but the connection will continue to be made because of its powers as an analog for the disconnect between MLB decision-makers and the players.

Rangers Place David Dahl On Release Waivers

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Aug. 4: Dahl has been placed on unconditional release waivers, the Rangers announced. Other clubs will have 48 hours to place a claim on him, although doing so would require assuming the remaining $871K on his salary. If he goes unclaimed, a team would only need to commit the prorated league minimum to Dahl for any time spent on the MLB roster. That’d be about $184K from now through season’s end.

Aug. 2: The Rangers announced Monday that they’ve designated outfielder David Dahl for assignment. Texas has also selected the contract of right-hander Jimmy Herget, optioned righty Demarcus Evans to Triple-A Round Rock, and added outfielder DJ Peters to the active roster. The Rangers announced earlier in the afternoon that they’d claimed him from the Dodgers.

Dahl, 27, is a former first-round pick and top prospect who looked like a building block for the Rockies early in his career. He debuted at just 21 years of age back in 2016 and immediately impressed with a .315/.359/.500 slash in 237 plate appearances, turning in seven homers, 12 doubles, four triples and five steals in that time as well.

Injuries have played a massive role in derailing that promising outlook, however. Most notably, Dahl suffered a lacerated spleen in an outfield collision before he ever reached the Majors — a frightening injury that ultimately led to an emergency splenectomy. He’s since had a stress reaction in his ribcage, a fractured foot, a high ankle sprain, a lower back injury and a right shoulder strain.

Dahl spent the 2017 season on the injured list but returned to enjoy productive 2018-19 campaigns. The 2020 season was a disaster, however, as he posted a .183/.222/.247 batting line in 99 plate appearances with the Rox and, somewhat surprisingly, was non-tendered in December. The Rangers swooped in to add Dahl on a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $2.7MM, but he’s looked nowhere near the 2016-19 version of himself; in 220 plate appearances this season, Dahl has batted only .210/.247/.322.

As impressive as Dahl was from 2016-19, slashing a combined .297/.346/.521 in more than 900 plate appearances, he’s only mustered a .201/.239/.299 output over his past 319 plate appearances. Given that downturn and the fact that he’s still owed $900K of that $2.7MM salary between now and season’s end, there’s a good chance Dahl simply goes unclaimed on outright waivers. While Dahl has the three years of service needed to reject an outright assignment, he has fewer than the five years necessary to retain his remaining salary in the event that he rejects that outright.

Twins Claim Ralph Garza Jr.

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The Twins have claimed right-hander Ralph Garza Jr. off waivers from the Astros, per a club announcement. Garza has been assigned to Triple-A St. Paul for the time being. A corresponding 40-man roster move isn’t necessary, as Minnesota already had an open spot. Their 40-man roster is now full.

Garza was designated for assignment by the Astros over the weekend when they activated Josh James from the 60-day injured list. The 27-year-old Garza made his MLB debut earlier this season, totaling 11 innings out of the Houston bullpen and allowing five runs on 11 hits and seven walks with 14 punchouts. The righty sat at an average of 92.6 mph with his four-seamer and 90.6 mph with his sinker, also logging a 12.4 percent swinging-strike rate and a 30.9 percent opponents’ chase rate.

A 26th-round pick back in 2015, Garza has never ranked among Houston’s top tier of farmhands but has delivered decent results in the upper minors. He’s appeared in parts of four seasons in a very hitter-friendly Triple-A environment, working to a 3.72 ERA with a solid 25.8 percent strikeout rate and an 11.3 percent walk rate he’ll want to improve upon. Garza’s contract was only selected to the MLB roster this season, meaning he can be optioned freely for the remainder of the year and still carry another pair of option years down the road.

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