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Archives for April 2023

The Opener: Prospect Debuts, IL Activations, MLBTR Chat

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As MLB’s regular season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Prospects to watch:

A’s right-hander Luis Medina, who came over from the Yankees as part of the Frankie Montas trade at the deadline last year, is expected to make his major league debut today after the club added him to the active roster yesterday. Medina, 24 next week, is known for his power arsenal (including a triple digit fastball) but has struggled badly with command to this point in his career, as evidenced by a career walk rate north of 15% in the minor leagues.

Medina may not be the only prospect who will debut today, however, as The Athletic’s Zack Meisel notes the Guardians are considering promoting right-hander Tanner Bibee for today’s start against the Rockies. Bibee, who was selected by Cleveland in the fifth round of the 2021 draft, made his professional debut just last year but has rapidly ascended through the minor leagues, starting the 2023 season at Triple-A after posting a sterling 1.83 ERA in 73 2/3 innings at the Double-A level last year. Bibee’s hot start to his career has continued in the early going so far this season, with a 1.76 ERA in three starts (15 1/3 innings) for the Guardians’ affiliate in Columbus.

2. Gonsolin, Marquez to be activated:

A pair of starters are set to return to action in the NL West today, as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya) that right-hander Tony Gonsolin will be activated from the injured list to make today’s start against the Pirates. Gonsolin, who posted an excellent 2.14 ERA (192 ERA+) in 130 1/3 innings of work last season, will likely go no longer than four innings in his season debut according to Roberts.

Meanwhile, the Rockies are expected to reinstate right-hander German Marquez from the injured list today to start against the Guardians. Marquez, who went on the IL with forearm tightness earlier in the season, has posted a 4.41 ERA in 16 1/3 innings across the three starts he’s made in 2023. The Dodgers will need to make space on the active roster for Gonsolin ahead of today’s game, but there’s no such need for Marquez, as the Rockies designated right-hander Jose Urena for assignment last night.

3. MLBTR chat today:

Yesterday, MLBTR’s Steve Adams fielded questions during yesterday’s live chat, the transcript of which can be found here. If you still have unanswered questions about the beginnings of the 2023 season, you’re in luck, as MLBTR’s Anthony Franco will be hosting a live chat of his own today at 5pm CT. You can submit a question in advance here, and you can use the same link to check back in this evening and participate live once the chat begins.

Dodgers Outright Jake Reed

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Relief pitcher Jake Reed has gone unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment by the Dodgers over the weekend, according to the transactions log at MLB.com. He’s been assigned outright to Triple-A Oklahoma City, though he’d have the ability to elect free agency.

Reed made just one MLB outing with L.A. after being selected onto the 40-man roster last Friday. He was tagged for six runs while recording only two outs at the hands of the Cubs. The Dodgers DFA him the next day and quickly passed him through waivers.

While it surely wasn’t the kind of outing Reed had envisioned, it did mark a third consecutive year in which he made it to the majors. The Oregon product has had multiple stints with the Dodgers between time as a Met and Oriole. All told, he’s thrown 27 1/3 innings over 29 big league outings. Reed owns a 7.57 ERA with middling peripherals at the highest level.

The former fifth round draftee has been more effective in the upper minors. Reed has allowed exactly four earned runs per nine through 218 career Triple-A frames across seven seasons. He’s punched out more than a quarter of opposing hitters against a 9.6% walk percentage at the top minor league level.

L.A. previously sent Reed through outright waivers last offseason. Players with multiple career outrights have the ability to decline a minor league assignment in order to return to the open market. It isn’t clear whether Reed plans to test free agency or accept an assignment back to OKC.

Injury Notes: Skubal, Hendricks, Suarez, Lynch

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The Tigers have been without left-hander Tarik Skubal since he underwent surgery to repair a flexor tear in his forearm last August. Detroit hasn’t provided a specific recovery timeline for the 26-year-old hurler, though he’s out until at least late May after starting the year on the 60-day injured list. Skubal is soon to hit a notable marker in his rehab process, as he’s in line to throw his first post-surgery bullpen session this week (link via Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press).

Skubal will certainly need multiple ’pen sessions and likely some live batting practice work before he’s ready to step into game action. Petzold notes the club is still without a firm timetable on when he might embark on a minor league rehab stint. That he’s throwing is obviously a plus and provides some hope he could return when or not long after he’s first eligible. Skubal developed into perhaps Detroit’s best pitcher before the injury, working to a 3.52 ERA with a 24.5% strikeout percentage through 21 starts last year.

Some updates on other injured pitchers around the league:

  • Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa on Thursday, tweets Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. The right-hander is still working back from a capsular tear in his throwing shoulder suffered last August. He’s been throwing for the better part of six weeks but the club has understandably taken a cautious approach to building him up. Hendricks will require multiple rehab starts, with Levine suggesting the hope is he can return to the Wrigley Field mound in the middle of May. The 33-year-old worked to a career-worst 4.80 ERA over 84 1/3 innings last season. He’s headed into the final guaranteed year of his contract, with the Cubs deciding on a net $14.5MM decision for 2024 ($16MM option, $1.5MM buyout) at year’s end.
  • The Phillies are also sending one of their starters on a rehab stint this week. Left-hander Ranger Suárez will pitch two innings with Double-A Reading on Thursday, relays Matt Gelb of the Athletic. According to Gelb, he’s expected to make three or four minor league appearances before making his MLB season debut in the middle of May. The southpaw was slowed by a bout of forearm inflammation in Spring Training, part of a tough exhibition season from a health perspective for Philadelphia. He threw a personal-high 155 1/3 innings with a 3.65 ERA and an excellent 55.4% ground-ball percentage in 29 starts last year.
  • Royals left-hander Daniel Lynch threw a bullpen session this afternoon, tweets Anne Rogers of MLB.com. He’s expected to log three innings in an extended Spring Training game on Thursday before beginning a rehab stint. That could position Lynch for his season debut in mid-May after a strain in his throwing shoulder shut him down at the end of Spring Training. One of the expected key starters for K.C. coming out of their rebuild, Lynch has had up-and-down results in his first two big league campaigns. He allowed a 5.13 ERA across 131 2/3 innings last season. With Kris Bubic lost for the season and Brady Singer struggling in the early going, a step forward from the 26-year-old Lynch takes on all the more importance for the Royals in the long term.

Rockies Designate Jose Urena For Assignment

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The Rockies have designated starter José Ureña for assignment, tweets Suzie Hunter of DNVR Sports. The move creates a spot on the active roster for the expected reinstatement of Germán Márquez from the 15-day injured list tomorrow. Colorado’s 40-man roster tally dips to 39.

Ureña has spent parts of two seasons in Colorado. He first signed a minor league contract with the Rox last May. The club added him to the major league roster in early July. The sinkerballer started 17 big league games last season, pitching to a 5.14 ERA across 89 1/3 innings. While Ureña only punched out 15.2% of opposing hitters, he kept the ball on the ground on over half the batted balls he surrendered.

It wasn’t a resoundingly successful effort, though the 31-year-old showed enough for the Colorado front office. The Rockies re-signed him on a one-year, $3.5MM free agent contract at the start of the offseason. That deal, which also included a team option for the ’24 campaign, ensured he’d get another crack in the season-opening rotation.

Things haven’t played out the way the organization would have hoped. Ureña has been tagged 22 runs over 18 1/3 frames through his first five starts. He has a ghastly 9:14 strikeout-to-walk ratio and is inducing swinging strikes on a career-worst 7.2% of his offerings. This year’s 44.3% grounder rate is also down a few points from his typical level. He hasn’t made it past five innings in any of his five outings, all of which Colorado has lost.

The struggles were pronounced enough for the Rockies to move on from Ureña just a few weeks into the season. He has more than enough service time to refuse an optional assignment to the minor leagues. The only way to take him off the MLB roster was a DFA, which’ll almost certainly involve eating the remainder of the contract.

Other clubs are unlikely to trade for or claim Ureña and assume the roughly $3MM remaining on his deal. He’s a virtual lock to hit free agency — either by release or rejection of an outright assignment — within the next week. In all likelihood, he’ll be looking at minor league offers at that point.

The Rox will welcome Márquez back to front a rotation that also includes Kyle Freeland, Austin Gomber and Ryan Feltner. Righty Noah Davis has filled in for Márquez while he’s been on the shelf with a minor forearm strain. Antonio Senzatela, who has been out since last summer with an ACL tear, began a rehab stint with Triple-A Albuquerque this evening and should be back in the majors within the next couple weeks.

Brewers’ Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick Undergoing Surgeries

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Brewers center fielder Garrett Mitchell will need to undergo shoulder surgery after receiving a second opinion, tweets Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. The procedure, scheduled for next week, will address a subluxation in his left shoulder.

Manager Craig Counsell informed reporters on Friday that a surgical option looked likely. A specific timetable hasn’t been announced but Counsell noted at the time that surgery would threaten his entire season. It’s a brutal blow to halt an impressive start to the year for the 24-year-old. The UCLA product had connected on a trio of home runs with a .259/.306/.446 line through 62 trips to the plate.

Mitchell is sure to land on the 60-day injured list whenever Milwaukee needs to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. He’ll collect service time for his time spent rehabbing and surpass the one-year threshold this season. The former top prospect won’t reach arbitration until after the 2025 campaign.

With Mitchell out, the Brewers have kicked rookie Joey Wiemer from right to center field. The biggest uptick in playing time has gone to Blake Perkins, while Brian Anderson has rotated between third base and right field. Owen Miller and Mike Brosseau have picked up a few extra infield reps while Anderson has been on the grass.

Mitchell’s injury theoretically could’ve opened the door for another top outfield prospect, Sal Frelick, to make his major league debut. Unfortunately, Frelick coincidentally suffered a left thumb injury while playing for Triple-A Nashville at the same time Mitchell went down. McCalvy tweets that Frelick also required surgery to repair the UCL in his thumb. He’s already gone under the knife and is expected to miss six to eight weeks.

A Boston College product, Frelick has mashed at a .323/.399/.464 clip in parts of three minor league seasons. The 2021 first round draftee had played his way to Nashville last year and hit .365/.435/.508 in 46 games. He’d been off to a slow start through this season’s first few weeks, though his overall minor league track record could’ve put him on the radar for a promotion. He’ll instead be out into June. Because Frelick suffered the injury while in the minor leagues, he won’t accrue any MLB service for his time spent on the IL.

Padres, Jose Iglesias Agree To Minor League Contract

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The Padres are signing veteran shortstop José Iglesias to a minor league deal, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter link). Iglesias had just opted out of a contract with the Marlins last week.

Iglesias spent the 2022 campaign with the Rockies. He played in 118 games and tallied 467 trips to the plate as Colorado’s primary shortstop, hitting .292/.328/.380 with a meager 12% strikeout rate. Iglesias demonstrated continued excellent contact skills and a similar overall offensive profile as he’s shown throughout his career. He typically runs high batting averages without a ton of power or many walks. In a little more than 4000 MLB plate appearances, the Cuba native is a .279/.319/.382 hitter.

That offense was more than reasonable while Iglesias was playing a Gold Glove caliber shortstop early in his career. Public metrics have soured on his glove since he’s gotten into his 30s. Statcast has pegged him as a league average defender in each of the past two seasons. Defensive Runs Saved, meanwhile, has graded him a staggering 26 runs worse than average at the position since the start of the 2021 campaign.

As a result, he’s been limited to successive non-roster deals with Miami and now San Diego. Iglesias stuck in the Marlins organization for a couple weeks after failing to crack the roster out of Spring Training. He didn’t appear in a Triple-A game before triggering his opt-out though. He’ll presumably join the Padres’ top affiliate in El Paso in the coming days.

Despite the dip in his defensive marks, Iglesias brings more than 4000 MLB innings of shortstop experience to the organization. The Friars already have Xander Bogaerts, Ha-Seong Kim and perhaps Fernando Tatis Jr. as options to play shortstop in the majors. Iglesias adds a veteran as injury insurance and could perhaps branch out to other infield spots in El Paso.

Nationals Win Appellate Court Victory In MASN Dispute With Orioles

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There was a key development in the long-running battle between the Orioles and Nationals over local broadcasting fees this morning. The New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, ruled in favor of the Nationals after a hearing on unpaid rights fees (full judgment transcript).

The Nationals and Orioles jointly own the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN), which carries local broadcasting rights for both clubs. The Baltimore organization has a majority share (presently around 76%, dropping to 67% by 2032). That came as part of the agreement between the Orioles and Major League Baseball to facilitate the relocation of the Expos from Montreal to Washington — into the Orioles’ territorial range — nearly two decades ago.

As part of that deal, the sides agreed to share telecasting money owed by MASN to the clubs for broadcasting rights. An arbitration panel was created to resolve possible disputes between the franchises in calculating those fees. After the sides failed to come to an agreement for the period covering 2012-16, the issue went to arbitration. The panel — a committee made up of representatives from three other MLB teams — ruled closer to the Nationals’ desired number than the Orioles had found appropriate (albeit nearer to the O’s proposed figure than Washington’s). Baltimore and MASN appealed, questioning the league’s impartiality.

A court found in the Nationals’ and league’s favor on that issue back in 2019. The court ruled the network owed the Nationals roughly $105MM in unpaid rights fees. The Orioles appealed that decision, which was finally resolved today.

The appellate court’s judgment was unanimously in favor of the Nationals on the issue of impartiality. The higher court agreed there were no grounds for contesting the arbitration panel’s findings. (Hayes Gardner of the Baltimore Sun notes the Orioles have the right to petition the U.S. Supreme Court for review but suggests it’s unlikely the Court would have any interest in hearing the appeal.)

While it’s certainly a win for the Nationals, the New York court’s judgment wasn’t an unequivocal end to the dispute. The appellate court found the lower court had overstepped its authority in awarding the $105MM in past damages. While the arbitration panel’s ruling is no longer in dispute (barring a seeming unlikely successful appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court), the organizations have to return to the table to sort out the extent and payment of MASN’s overdue rights fees pursuant to a separate provision of their contract.

Uncertainty about the MASN rights payments has been an ongoing issue for both franchises for over a decade. It was particularly troublesome over the offseason, as the Lerner family’s attempts to sell the Nationals have reportedly stalled in recognition of the local broadcasting dispute. Even with a key legal victory now in hand, the dispute doesn’t appear to be coming to a close anytime soon as the sides regroup to sort out how much money the network owes to the Nats. MLB has sought to broker a permanent settlement between the Nationals and Orioles to facilitate a potential sale of the Washington franchise but has thus far been unsuccessful.

Marlins Designate Sean Nolin For Assignment

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The Marlins have designated left-hander Sean Nolin for assignment, reports Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. He will be the corresponding move for the selection of righty Bryan Hoeing, a move that was reported on yesterday.

It’s a quick turnaround for Nolin, 33, who was just added to the club’s roster yesterday. The Fish needed a fresh arm, ideally one that could eat multiple innings, due to a couple of factors. Recent injuries to Johnny Cueto and Trevor Rogers thinned out the rotation, and then a Friday rainout led to a Saturday double-header which taxed the bullpen. In yesterday’s game, Miami were down 5-0 to Atlanta after five innings and put Nolin on the mound to soak up the last three innings. The southpaw allowed six earned runs on seven hits and two walks in that time, leading to the 11-0 final.

Nolin has had many twists and turns in his career, which started with the Blue Jays but has since seen him go to the Athletics, Brewers, Rockies, White Sox, the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League, the Mariners, the Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball, the Nationals, the Kia Tigers of the KBO League, the Twins and now the Marlins. He’s only seen MLB action with the Jays, A’s, Nats and Marlins, with a 6.34 ERA in 61 career innings scattered from 2013 to the present.

The Marlins will now have a week to trade Nolin or pass him through waivers. Since he has previous career outrights, he would have the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency.

Athletics Promote Luis Medina, Option James Kaprielian

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The Athletics announced that they have recalled pitching prospect Luis Medina, and optioned right-hander James Kaprielian in a corresponding move. Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reported on Medina’s promotion before the official announcement, noting that Medina is expected to make his major league debut tomorrow.

Medina, 24 next month, was signed by the Yankees as an international amateur in 2015 and quickly got himself onto the radar of prospect evaluators. By the start of 2018, he was considered the #7 prospect in that club’s system by Baseball America. As he worked his way up towards the majors, he stayed roughly in that range, bouncing between the #7 and #11 spots.

After the minor leagues were canceled by the pandemic in 2020, Medina split 2021 between High-A and Double-A, posting a 3.39 ERA in 106 1/3 innings. His 13.3% walk rate was certainly on the high side, but he paired that with a 29.5% strikeout rate. He returned to Double-A in 2022, registering a 3.38 ERA in 17 starts with similar peripherals.

He then came to the Athletics, one of four young players who came over in the deadline deal that sent Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino to the Yankees. His first stint with his new club didn’t go so well, as he had an 11.76 ERA in seven starts after the trade last year. But he seems back on track here in 2023 as he’s made three Triple-A starts with a 3.86 ERA, though the control continues to be an issue as he walked 20% of batters faced.

Despite the lack of command, Medina continues to be touted on account of his high octane stuff. BA ranked him #13 in the A’s system coming into this year. They note that he routinely touches triple digits with his fastball, in addition to having a curveball and a changeup. The Yankees added him to their 40-man roster way back in November of 2019, to protect him from that year’s Rule 5 draft, but the A’s were given a fourth option year that allowed them to send him to Triple-A this year.

He’ll now get a crack to test his stuff against big league hitters. The A’s have very little cemented in their rotation, having traded away their established players in recent years. On top of that, players like Paul Blackburn, Drew Rucinski and Freddy Tarnok have yet to appear this season due to injuries. Shintaro Fujinami struggled enough that he’s being moved to the bullpen now. Medina will jump up to join a rotation that currently consists of JP Sears, Mason Miller, Ken Waldichuk and Kyle Muller, though Rucinski is on a rehab assignment and could be in the mix soon.

Kaprielian seemed like a potential mainstay of the rotation not too long ago, making 21 starts for the A’s in 2021 and 26 more last year, posting ERAs just north of 4.00 in each of those campaigns. However, he underwent shoulder surgery in the offseason and has been lit up for a 12.94 ERA through three starts and three relief outings in the early going this year. He’ll head to Triple-A and try to get back on track.

Yankees Select Nick Ramirez

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The Yankees announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Nick Ramirez while righty Greg Weissert has been optioned in a corresponding move. The club already had a vacancy on their 40-man roster when right-hander Colten Brewer was designated for assignment a couple of weeks ago. Bryan Hoch of MLB.com announced the promotion of Ramirez prior to the official announcement.

Ramirez, 33, pitched in the majors from 2019 to 2021, getting into 64 games between the Tigers and Padres in those years. He logged 110 2/3 innings with a 4.55 ERA, 20.4% strikeout rate, 9.5% walk rate and 46.1% ground ball rate. He was outrighted by the Padres towards the end of the 2021 season and became a free agent at season’s end. After signing a minor league deal with the Mariners going into 2022, he posted a 2.93 ERA in 53 Triple-A appearances but didn’t get back into the big leagues.

The Yanks signed Ramirez to a minor league deal this winter and have seen him start out well, with a 1.74 ERA through 10 1/3 Triple-A innings. He surely won’t sustain a .179 batting average on balls in play, but that number could be on the low side due to a strong 60.7% ground ball rate. He’ll give the club a second left-handed option in the bullpen alongside Wandy Peralta. Ramirez still has a couple of options and can be send back down to the minors when a fresh arm is needed as the season goes along.

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