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Archives for July 2022

White Sox To Activate Eloy Jimenez In Coming Days

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The White Sox have been without Eloy Jiménez for two and a half months, as the slugging outfielder tore a tendon in his right hamstring on April 23. He’ll soon return to the lineup, however, as various reporters (including Jesse Rogers of ESPN) noted that he’s reported to the major league team after wrapping up a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte yesterday. Jiménez won’t be active for tonight’s game against the Twins, but manager Tony La Russa said he’ll be reinstated within the next few days — perhaps as soon as tomorrow (via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times).

Jiménez’s impending return should be a boon for a lineup that has underwhelmed this season. The defending AL Central winners entered the year with one of the league’s more imposing rosters, but they carry a 38-40 record into play Tuesday night. Offensive struggles have been a key reason, as Chicago hitters carry a .254/.309/.377 line as a unit. They’re 19th in MLB in on-base percentage and 23rd in slugging output, while their 98 wRC+ indicates they’ve been two percentage points worse than a league average offense. That places them 20th leaguewide.

Left field has been one of a handful of problem areas, as the Sox have received a meager .250/.292/.387 showing out of the position. Jiménez contributed to that somewhat with a rough 11 games to start the season, but the bigger factor has been a down year from Spring Training acquisition AJ Pollock. The veteran outfielder did have a decent June after a dismal first two months of his White Sox’s tenure, and Jiménez’s activation should afford Chicago the freedom to plug Pollock into right field regularly as they’d intended to open the season.

Gavin Sheets has seen the bulk of the right field playing time of late. The left-hander has hit .227/.296/.372, production that has been superior to Pollock’s but still below-average. He’s also rated poorly in the eyes of public defensive metrics, not surprising given that he’s spent the vast majority of his professional career playing first base.

Jiménez has missed notable chunks of each of the past two seasons. He was limited to 55 games last year after rupturing his pectoral tendon during Spring Training. That delayed his debut until late July, and he had a fairly disappointing .249/.303/.437 showing during the year’s final couple months. The 25-year-old showed the potential to be a middle-of-the-order presence over his first two big league seasons, though, combining for a .276/.321/.527 showing with 45 homers in 175 games from 2019-20.

Activating Jiménez will require a 40-man move, as Chicago’s roster is currently full. That’s largely a formality, since infielder Danny Mendick will be transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list after suffering a season-ending ACL tear last month.

Chicago also seems set to welcome back another injured regular in the relatively near future. Yasmani Grandal told reporters (including James Fegan of the Athletic) that he’s joining Double-A Birmingham tomorrow to start a rehab stint. Out since June 12 due to back spasms, Grandal will ease back into game action as a designated hitter before getting behind the plate. The veteran backstop suggested he’s hoping to return shortly after the All-Star Break, where he’ll look to rebound from a rough .185/.294/.237 showing through the season’s first couple months.

Giants’ Curt Casali Suffers Oblique Strain

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JULY 5: Casali told reporters (including Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle) he’s been diagnosed with a Grade 2 oblique strain. As Slusser notes, that’s an injury that often sidelines players for upwards of a month. Bart has reported to the major league team, as expected, but has not yet been officially recalled onto the active roster.

JULY 4: Giants catcher Curt Casali suffered an oblique strain during an at-bat in tonight’s game.  During the sixth inning, Casali was in discomfort after taking a swing, and had to leave the game before finishing his plate appearance.

Casali will undergo an MRI to determine the extent of the damage, though a trip to the injured list is a certainty.  NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic noted that Joey Bart was scratched from a Triple-A lineup tonight after word of Casali’s injury spread, and thus Bart is likely on his way back to the majors once Casali is placed on the IL.

Now in his second season with the Giants, Casali has been the constant behind the plate, first in a timeshare with Bart behind the plate, and then splitting time with Austin Wynns after Bart was optioned back to Triple-A.  While any Giants catcher had a tough act to follow in Buster Posey, Casali has provided roughly league-average (104 wRC+, 99 OPS+) offense with his .236/.331/.377 slash line.  Almost all of the damage has come against southpaws — Casali has a mammoth 1.232 OPS over 33 PA against left-handed pitching, and only a .526 OPS in 91 PA against righties.

Between his solid offense and defense, Casali has helped stabilize the catching position in the wake of struggles from Bart and Wynns.  San Francisco was hoping that former top-prospect Bart was ready for regular work in the big leagues, yet Bart has hit only .156/.296/.300 in 108 PA this season.  With only seven games under his belt at Triple-A, the Giants surely would’ve preferred to see Bart get more reset time and start to dominate (he has a .748 OPS in 31 Triple-A plate appearances) in the minors before bringing him back to the Show.

If and when Bart is recalled, the Giants will retain what is technically a three-catcher depth chart on the active roster, as Yermin Mercedes is also active.  However, it seems like the Giants are more apt to give Bart another look than to rely on Wynns and Mercedes as their full-time catching tandem while Casali recovers from what might be a lengthy absence.  Should Casali have the type of oblique strain that lingers for weeks or even months, the Giants could even opt to add another catcher prior to the August 2 trade deadline.

Diamondbacks Claim Sergio Alcantara, Designate J.B. Wendelken

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The Diamondbacks announced they’ve brought back infielder Sergio Alcántara via waivers from the Padres. Reliever J.B. Wendelken has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

It’s familiar territory for Alcántara, who is clearly well-regarded by the Arizona front office and coaching staff. The Snakes initially signed him as an amateur free agent from the Dominican Republic a decade ago. After a few seasons in the farm system, he was dealt to the Tigers at the 2017 deadline as part of the J.D. Martinez trade. Alcántara landed with the Cubs via waivers last season, and the D-Backs reacquired him from Chicago in a trade this March. A month into the season, Arizona designated Alcántara for assignment. The Padres grabbed him on waivers but DFA him themselves last week, and the D-Backs jumped on the chance to acquire him for a third time.

Alcántara, who turns 26 next weekend, continues to earn opportunities based on the strength of his glove. Long regarded by many prospect evaluators as a potential plus shortstop, he’s rated very highly in the eyes of public defensive metrics over his 450 MLB innings at shortstop. He’s capable of suiting up all around the infield.

While his defensive prowess has drawn a fair bit of interest as a depth infielder, Alcántara’s struggles at the plate have prevented him from securing a long-term home. He’s tallied 373 plate appearances over the past three seasons, with the majority of that work coming for last year’s Cubs. The switch-hitter owns a meager .188/.268/.307 line, hitting just seven home runs while striking out at an elevated 27.6% clip.

Alcántara is out of minor league option years, meaning the D-Backs will have to keep him on the active roster or again designate him for assignment. He’ll add some immediate infield cover while the team navigates a left hamstring injury for Ketel Marte. Marte has been able to serve as a designated hitter for the past week, but the team hasn’t run him out on defense for fear of aggravating that issue. Arizona has relied on a rookie middle-infield tandem of Geraldo Perdomo and Buddy Kennedy of late, and neither player has offered much at the dish. Perdomo has long been viewed as a highly-regarded prospect and figures to get continued run at shortstop, but Alcántara could vie for playing time with Kennedy and/or fellow utility option Jake Hager.

Wendelken, meanwhile, loses his roster spot amidst a second straight down year. The right-hander was quietly one of the more reliable bullpen arms for the A’s early in his career. Between 2018-20, Wendelken fired 74 1/3 innings of 2.30 ERA ball. He punched out a solid 26.4% of opponents over that stretch while holding batters to a measly .172/.246/.276 slash line. Oakland looked as if they’d unearthed a long-term key piece of the bullpen, but Wendelken has run into unexpected struggles over the past couple seasons.

Through 26 games in green and gold last year, he posted a 4.32 ERA. The A’s made the surprising decision to designate him for assignment, and the D-Backs (owner of the league’s top waiver priority at the time) promptly placed a claim. Wendelken stuck on the active roster for the remainder of the season but posted a 4.34 ERA while watching his strikeout percentage plummet to 16.9%.

Arizona tendered the 29-year-old a contract over the winter, hoping he’d rediscover something approaching his 2018-20 form. Instead, Wendelken has allowed a personal-worst 5.28 ERA through 29 innings. He’s continued to show diminished strikeout and swing-and-miss numbers, and manager Torey Lovullo has more frequently deployed him in lower-leverage situations. Like Alcántara, Wendelken is out of options, and the D-Backs have decided to move on entirely.

They’ll now have a week to trade him or try to run him through waivers. In spite of his down swing-and-miss rate, Wendelken hasn’t lost any velocity or spin on his fastball or slider relative to his peak. That could attract some interest from other clubs hoping to see if they can coax something more closely resembling his early-career success.

Wendelken is playing this season on an $835K salary, a touch above the league minimum but a modest figure nonetheless. He’s still due around half that amount, which would be the responsibility of any team that claims him off waivers. Should he clear waivers, Wendelken would have the right to refuse an outright assignment in favor of free agency. As a player with between three and five years of MLB service time, however, electing free agency would require forfeiting the remainder of this year’s guaranteed salary.

Rays Claim Yu Chang, Transfer Brandon Lowe To 60-Day IL

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The Rays are claiming Yu Chang from the Pirates, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Pittsburgh designated the infielder for assignment last week. To create a spot on the 40-man roster, Tampa Bay transferred second baseman Brandon Lowe from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Chang heads to his third organization of the season. A longtime member of the Cleveland farm system, the right-handed hitter saw action with the MLB club every year between 2019-22. Despite a decent prospect pedigree, Chang never secured regular playing time in a series of generally strong infields, and he struggled when he did find his name in the lineup. The Taiwan native hit only .208/.265/.372 with a lofty 28.5% strikeout rate over 358 plate appearances in Cleveland, bouncing on and off the active roster for his first three years.

That shuffle exhausted all of Chang’s minor league option years, and the Guardians were left to carry him on the big league roster or take him off the 40-man this season. They kept him in the big leagues for a couple months but eventually designated him for assignment in late May. Pittsburgh acquired him for cash considerations a few days later, but Chang continued to scuffle during his month in the Steel City.

Through 18 games as a Pirate, Chang hit .135/.237/.212 with a 42.4% strikeout percentage (18 in 49 plate appearances). The Bucs quickly moved on, and the Rays become the next team to take a low-risk shot to see if they can unlock some of his upside. Chang appeared among Baseball America’s ranking of Cleveland’s top 30 prospects each season from 2015-21, drawing praise for his plate discipline, serviceable power and ability to play all around the infield. As he’s reached the upper levels, however, Chang has shown an alarming propensity for swinging and missing.

It’s possible Chang’s stay in Tampa Bay also proves brief. Because he’s out of options, he has to stick on the active roster or again be designated for assignment. The Rays have a fair bit of infield depth, with Wander Franco ensconced at shortstop and the hot-hitting Isaac Paredes bouncing between second and third base. Yandy Díaz is on hand as a corner option, while former top prospects Taylor Walls and Vidal Bruján can cover virtually anywhere on the dirt. Each of Walls and Bruján has struggled at the plate this season and do have options remaining, however, so the Rays could decide to send either player back to Triple-A Durham once Chang reports to the team.

The infield mix will only become deeper once Lowe is able to make his return. Tampa Bay’s starting second baseman has been out since May 16 while battling a stress reaction in his lower back. Today’s transfer rules him out for 60 days from that initial placement, meaning he’ll be eligible to return right around the All-Star Break.

Lowe progressed to taking batting practice last week, but manager Kevin Cash noted at the time he was still a ways from returning to MLB action (Topkin link). He’ll surely need to head out on a minor league rehab assignment before stepping back into the big league lineup, so the decision to move him to the 60-day IL isn’t a surprise.

Mets Activate Max Scherzer, Designate Chasen Shreve For Assignment

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The Mets announced Tuesday that they’ve designated left-hander Chasen Shreve for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster for ace Max Scherzer, who has been reinstated from the injured list and is slated to start tonight’s game.

Scherzer’s return comes just over six weeks after his original placement on the injured list due to a strained oblique muscle. The three-time Cy Young winner, who inked a record three-year, $130MM contract this offseason, pulled himself from his May 18 start against the Cardinals after feeling the strain pop up midway through the sixth inning. A subsequent MRI revealed the strain. He’s made a pair of rehab appearances with Double-A Binghamton over the past couple weeks, tossing a total of eight innings with a 14-to-2 K/BB ratio in that time.

Prior to landing on the shelf, Scherzer was every bit the ace the Mets hoped when signing him for the highest annual rate ever received by any player. He’s made eight starts so far in 2022, tallying 49 2/3 innings with a 2.54 ERA with a 30.6% strikeout rate against an excellent 5.7% walk rate. The Mets are in first place even without any contributions from Scherzer over the past week and without a single inning yet from co-ace and fellow multi-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom, who has been sidelined all year after a stress reaction was found in his right shoulder blade.

With deGrom on a rehab assignment and Scherzer back on the active roster, however, the Mets are nearing the debut of the dynamic rotation they anticipated as the focal point of what they hope to be a World Series contender. Scherzer and deGrom will be joined by Chris Bassitt, Taijuan Walker and Carlos Carrasco when the team is up to full strength. Depth options Tylor Megill, David Peterson and Trevor Williams have all given ample reason to be optimistic about the pitching talent even beyond that quintet, though Megill’s numbers dwindled as the season progressed and he’s now on the injured list himself.

As for Shreve, who’ll turn 32 next week, he’s been unable to build on a strong 2021 showing with the Pirates and a solid 2020 season with this same Mets club. The veteran southpaw notched a tidy 3.43 ERA in 81 1/3 innings from 2020-21  and owns a similarly solid 3.72 mark dating back to 2017. However, his 2022 season has been nightmarish, as he’s been tagged for a 6.49 ERA in 26 1/3 frames in his second stint with the Mets.

Shreve’s 25.4% strikeout rate is nearly identical to his career 25.6% mark, and this year’s 8.8% walk rate is actually his lowest since a 12-inning debut with the Braves back in 2014. Unfortunately for Shreve and for the Mets, he’s been extremely homer-prone in 2022, surrendering an average of 2.05 long balls per nine innings. That’s been a driving factor behind his inability to strand runners (career-worst 62.9% in 2022).

In Shreve’s defense, his numbers through mid-June were roughly in line with his career totals. As late into the season as June 7, Shreve was sporting a 3.86 ERA with FIP and xFIP marks that largely supported his ERA. Over his next five appearances, however, Shreve was tattooed for 10 runs on 11 hits — including three homers — in just 5 1/3 innings. As with any reliever, a few rough outings can inflate your numbers in a hurry, and it seems Shreve won’t be given the opportunity to right the ship with his current club.

The Mets will have a week to trade Shreve, attempt to pass him through outright waivers, or release him. He’s playing the year on a $1.5MM salary and has about $762K of that sum yet to be paid out. As a player with more than five years of MLB service time, Shreve has the right to reject the assignment in favor of free agency while still retaining his salary. A new team that claims or acquires Shreve would be on the hook for the whole sum (barring any cash included by the Mets in a trade), but if he clears waivers and opts for free agency, a new club would only owe him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the MLB roster. The Mets would remain on the hook for the rest of his salary.

Reds Claim Ian Gibaut, Designate Chris Okey For Assignment

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2:32pm: The Reds announced Gibaut has indeed been claimed off waivers and Lodolo has been reinstated from the 60-day IL. In a series of corresponding moves, Cincinnati optioned infielder/outfielder Max Schrock to Triple-A Louisville, transferred righty Tony Santillan from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL and designated catcher Chris Okey for assignment.

Santillan has been out since mid-June with a back strain, and his move to the 60-day injured list means he won’t be able to return until at least mid-August. It’s been a tough season overall for the righty, who has pitched to a 5.49 ERA with below-average strikeout (21.9%) and walk (12.5%) tendencies so far.

Okey, 27, made his big league debut last month and went 2-for-12 with five strikeouts in a total of 13 plate appearances. A 2016 second-round pick by the Reds, he’s never produced much at the plate in parts of six professional seasons, as evidenced by a career .209/.283/.331 slash in the minors. The Reds will have a week to trade him, pass him through outright waivers, or release him.

Notably, it seems as though Cincinnati may not yet be done making its slate of pregame roster moves. Both Mark Sheldon of MLB.com and Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer have noted, via Twitter, that Tyler Naquin is in the Reds’ clubhouse after completing a minor league rehab assignment. It seems likely that he’ll be activated for today’s game, but the team has not announced that move (or a corresponding transaction) just yet.

1:58pm: The Reds have claimed right-hander Ian Gibaut off waivers from the Dodgers, reports Juan Toribio of MLB.com (via Twitter). Los Angeles had designated Gibaut for assignment over the weekend. Between the Gibaut claim and left-hander Nick Lodolo’s forthcoming reinstatement from the 60-day injured list, Cincinnati will need to make multiple 40-man roster moves today.

An 11th-round pick of the Rays back in 2015, the now-28-year-old Gibaut is set to join his third organization in just over a week’s time. He opened the year with the Guardians’ Triple-A affiliate and made one long relief appearance upon being selected to the big league roster before Cleveland designated him for assignment. The Dodgers scooped Gibaut up off waivers, but he didn’t pitch for L.A. before a second DFA. Gibaut is out of minor league options, so the Reds will need to carry him on the big league roster.

Gibaut has pitched in parts of four Major League seasons, compiling 34 2/3 innings with a 5.19 ERA between four teams (Rangers, Rays, Twins, Guardians). He posted better numbers with the Guardians’ Triple-A affiliate in Columbus to begin the 2022 season — 3.20 ERA in 19 2/3 innings — and has a career 4.15 ERA, 29% strikeout rate and 10.9% walk rate in 136 2/3 innings.

It’s a small sample of 2022 data so far, but Gibaut’s 95.3 mph average fastball (2019-21) has jumped up to 97.1 mph so far. He’s also shown well above-average ability to spin his curveball. Both traits, paired with a solid Triple-A track record, likely appealed to the Reds.

Phillies Claim Sam Clay

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The Phillies have claimed left-handed reliever Sam Clay off waivers from the Nationals, per a team announcement. Clay, who was designated for assignment by the Nats last week, has been optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley for the time being.

The 29-year-old Clay is a former fourth-round pick of the Twins who has spent the past two seasons with the Nationals organization. The southpaw inked a Major League deal with the Nats before ever pitching in a big league game, with the Washington front office likely drawn to his solid minor league season in 2019, which featured an eye-popping 71.2% ground-ball rate.

Clay, however, hasn’t panned out as hoped in D.C. He debuted last season with 45 innings of 5.60 ERA ball and, while his 60.1% grounder rate was brilliant (as advertised), his 15.9% strikeout rate and 10.3% walk rate were both sub-par. Clay has had a decent run in Triple-A Rochester, where he as a 3.10 ERA with a 21.7% strikeout rate, 7.6% walk rate and 64.5% ground-ball rate through 20 1/3 innings, but he’s been hit hard in 4 1/3 Major League frames so far. Overall, he has a 6.02 ERA in 49 1/3 MLB innings, all coming out of the Nationals’ bullpen.

Clay has a minor league option remaining beyond the current season, high-end ground-ball tendencies and a decent track record in the upper minors, so he’s a sensible enough flier for the Phillies to take. Then again, with so much of Clay’s game predicated on forcing opponents to beat the ball into the ground, a Phillies team that ranks 27th in the Majors in Defensive Runs Saved both third base and shortstop (and 29th overall in DRS) isn’t necessarily the best fit. That’s not to say a ground-ball pitcher can’t succeed on their staff, of course, but Clay’s best trait isn’t necessarily going to be supported by the fundamental makeup of his new club’s roster.

Tigers Designate Sam Howard For Assignment

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The Tigers announced Tuesday that they’ve designated left-hander Sam Howard for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to righty Drew Hutchison, who’s back up for a third stint with the big league club. Hutchison is starting tonight’s game.

Howard, 29, was a waiver claim out of the Pirates organization in mid-May but has yet to pitch at the big league level with Detroit. He’s logged a dozen innings with the Tigers’ top minor league affiliate in Toledo, pitching to a 3.75 WERA with a huge 36.5% strikeout rate but also a very concerning 17.3% walk rate.

There’s little doubting that Howard has the ability to miss bats in droves. He punched out 30.1% of the batters he faced in 66 innings with the Pirates from 2020-21 and, for a time early in the 2021 campaign, at least brandished impressive surface-level numbers. Howard opened the 2021 season with 25 2/3 innings of 2.45 ERA ball and had whiffed 33% of his opponents to that point in the season. However, he’d also walked 15.5% of opponents and skated by with an unsustainable 88.2% left-on-base rate and .163 average on balls in play.

Howard was torched for six runs on June 18 last year, hit the injured list with knee tendinitis, and returned to give up another six runs over his next 3 1/3 innings. An oblique strain then sent him to the shelf for another six weeks. He returned to yield another nine runs in his final 15 1/3 innings, maintaining the ability to miss bats but also maintaining his lack of comment and displaying increased susceptibility to home runs.

Taking a broader look, Howard’s strikeout numbers exploded when the Rockies, who selected him with their third-round pick in 2014, moved him to the bullpen for the 2019 season. However, the command issues that have plagued him over the past two seasons have been an ongoing problem, never more so than in the past two seasons. The Tigers will have a week to trade Howard, attempt to pass him through  outright waivers, or release him.

Tigers To Select Drew Hutchison

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Righty Drew Hutchison is headed back to the Tigers for his third stint this season. Chris McCosky of the Detroit News reports that Hutchison’s contract will be selected this week so that he can start one of the final two games of the team’s current series against the Guardians. The Tigers will need to make a corresponding 40-man roster move to accommodate Hutchison’s selection back to the big leagues.

Hutchison inked a minor league deal with the Tigers back in March, made the Opening Day roster and has twice been designated for assignment by the team. He elected free agency and quickly re-signed on a new minor league deal in both instances. That’s not entirely uncommon for veteran players of this nature who are playing on minor league contracts.

Hutchison discussed the cyclical nature of his Tigers tenure with McCosky, praising the team for being “very upfront” and honest with their communication. “That’s all you can ask for as a player,” said Hutchison. Given the circumstances of Hutchison’s latest call to the big leagues — the Tigers again find themselves in need of a starter for an injury-depleted rotation — the whole process could eventually play out again. However, none of the Tigers’ absent starters appear close to a return at present, so Hutchison could be entrusted with multiple starts this time around.

The 31-year-old Hutchison has made just one appearance in Triple-A Toledo since rejoining the Tigers late last month, tossing four innings and yielding three runs on five hits and no walks with six punchouts on June 30. He threw 67 pitches in that outing — his most in any Major League or Triple-A game this season — which suggests he could build on that a bit further in his forthcoming start for the Tigers. Hutchison has a 3.95 ERA in 13 2/3 innings with Toledo this season and a 4.81 mark in 24 1/3 Major League innings.

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