Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for May 2023

Dodgers Designate Wander Suero, Select Tayler Scott

By | at

The Dodgers are making a series of roster moves prior to tonight’s game, with Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times among those to relay the info from manager Dave Roberts. Right-hander Gavin Stone has been recalled while fellow righty Tayler Scott has had his contract selected. In corresponding moves, lefty Clayton Kershaw has been placed on the bereavement list while righty Wander Suero has been designated for assignment.

Suero, 31, was signed to a minor league deal this winter and selected to the club’s roster earlier this month. He’s thrown 6 2/3 innings over four appearances so far but with an ERA of 8.10 in that small sample. He struck out a healthy 25% of batters faced in that time but issued walks at an untenable 14.3% clip. Kershaw only lasted 3 2/3 innings in yesterday’s game, which led to the club using four relievers to finish out the game, including two innings from Suero. He’ll now be a roster casualty as the club looks to bring in a fresh arm.

That fresh arm belongs to Scott, 31 next week, who signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers in January. He’s made 16 relief appearances in Triple-A so far this year with a miniscule 1.08 ERA in that time. He’s surely getting some help from a .278 batting average on balls in play and 90.9% strand rate, but he’s striking out 29.4% of batters faced. He’ll need to temper his 14.7% walk rate if he’s to have any long-term success, but he’s clearly been getting some results in the minors so far this year. He has a career ERA of 11.12 in the majors so far but in a small sample of just 21 outings dating back to 2019.

The Dodgers will now have one week to trade Suero or pass him through waivers. In the event he clears waivers, he would be eligible to elect free agency by virtue of having more than three years of major league service time. It’s possible he garners interest since he still has a minor league option and some encouraging work in the past, such as posting a 3.80 ERA with the Nationals in 2020.

The Dodgers will need to open up another roster spot tomorrow since Bobby Miller will be promoted to make his major league debut. Miller isn’t yet on the 40-man and will need a corresponding move.

Brewers Return Gus Varland To Dodgers, Place Eric Lauer On Injured List

By and | at

The Brewers announced Monday that they’ve returned Rule 5 righty Gus Varland to the Dodgers after he went unclaimed on waivers, placed lefty Eric Lauer on the 15-day injured list due to an impingement in his right (non-throwing) shoulder, and recalled right-hander Tyson Miller from Triple-A Nashville.

Varland, 26, earned a spot on the Brewers’ Opening Day roster after he whiffed 17 of his 35 opponents in spring training. He started the season with a 2.25 ERA through his first eight innings, albeit with a less-impressive 5-to-5 K/BB ratio, and landed on the injured list in mid-April after a comebacker struck him on the pitching hand. He thankfully escaped major injury and was back on the mound about three weeks later, but the Cardinals torched him for nine runs in an outing that saw him record just two outs. That ballooned his ERA to 11.42, and the Brewers designated him for assignment the next day.

Twenty-eight other teams had the opportunity to claim Varland, though doing so would’ve meant committing to carrying him on the active roster, as his Rule 5 restrictions would’ve followed him to a new club. Once he went unclaimed, the Brewers had to offer him back to the Dodgers, who’ll now plug Varland back into the upper levels of their system and hope he can recapture some of that eye-catching spring form he showed with the Brew Crew. With Varland back in the Dodgers’ system, six of the 15 players selected in the 2022 Rule 5 Draft have been returned to their original organizations. There’s still another six on active big league rosters, plus three more on their teams’ Major League injured list.

Turning to Lauer, it’s unclear how serious his injury is or how long he is expected to be out of action, but it will be a frustrating and challenging development for the Brewers regardless. The club has already seen each of Brandon Woodruff, Wade Miley, Aaron Ashby and Jason Alexander head to the injured list this season and now Lauer will join them, putting yet another dent into the club’s rotation depth.

Lauer wasn’t off to a great start here in 2023, having posted a 5.48 ERA through his first 42 2/3 innings. His 21.9% strikeout rate, 10.7% walk rate and 25.4% ground ball rate are all worse than league average. He had been much better in the previous two seasons, posting a combined 3.47 ERA over 2021 and 2022 while striking out 23.8% of opponents and walking just 8.7%. Perhaps the shoulder issue has been bothering him prior to this IL placement as his velocity is down on all five of his pitches, relative to last year.

That at least gives some hope of him returning to his previous form once he has time to heal up, but the club will still have to improvise with their starting mix in the meantime. The rotation currently consists of Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta, Adrian Houser and Colin Rea, with one spot needing to be filled. Bryse Wilson has plenty of starting experience but has been in the bullpen with the big league club and can’t be sent down to get stretched out because he’s out of options. Janson Junk is on the 40-man and was called up for a spot start earlier this season, but he’s not throwing exceptionally well in Triple-A this year. He has a 3.86 ERA through 35 innings but a much higher 5.38 FIP thanks to a tepid 17.7% strikeout rate and .277 batting average on balls in play. Robert Gasser is one of the club’s more interesting pitching prospects but he has a 4.74 ERA in Triple-A so far this season and isn’t on the 40-man. Thomas Pannone isn’t on the 40-man either but has major league experience and currently sports a 2.66 ERA in Triple-A this season.

Reds’ Connor Overton To Undergo Elbow Surgery

By | at

Reds righty Connor Overton had, who’s been out since mid-April due to an elbow strain, had a setback in his recovery and will undergo exploratory elbow surgery to determine the root of his troubles, manager David Bell announced to reporters Monday (Twitter link via Olivia Ray of WLWT Cincinnati). Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer further adds that the surgery could very well end the righty’s season.

Overton, 29, appeared in six games for the 2022 Reds (four starts) and posted a sharp 2.73 ERA in 33 innings of work. With just an 11.3% strikeout rate and a minuscule .204 batting average on balls in play contributing to that mark, Overton never seemed likely to sustain that level of success, but he regressed far more precipitously than the Reds had anticipated through his first three starts of the current campaign.

While Overton’s velocity remained consistent with its 2022 levels, he was clobbered for 14 runs on 19 hits (three of them homers) and seven walks in just 11 innings of work. Overton actually improved his strikeout rate a bit (to 16.4%) and more than doubled his swinging-strike rate (from 6% to 12.5%), but his elbow barked after just three starts and he’ll now face a lengthy absence.

Originally a 15th-round selection by the Marlins in the 2014 draft, Overton bounced around the league on a series of minor league deals and also played with the independent Lancaster Barnstormers before landing with the Reds, his sixth affiliated organization, prior to the 2022 season. He’s posted sharp numbers in the upper minors — 2.45 ERA, 24.6% strikeout rate, 5.4% walk rate in 91 Triple-A innings — but has yet to find much in the way of big league success. In 59 1/3 Major League innings between the Blue Jays, Pirates and Reds, he has a 4.85 ERA with a 15.7% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rate. He’ll accrue big league service and pay while on the injured list, though his chances of lasting the entire 2023-24 offseason on Cincinnati’s 40-man roster take a big hit with news of this surgery.

Overton likely would’ve gotten a lengthier look in a rotation audition this season, but he’s now out of the picture for the foreseeable future. Cincinnati also subtracted veteran righty Luis Cessa from that mix when they released him last week. Overton joins lefty Nick Lodolo on the injured list, though Lodolo, who has a stress reaction in his tibia, isn’t looking at nearly as long an absence. The Reds are currently utilizing Hunter Greene, Graham Ashcraft, rookie Brandon Williamson, journeyman Ben Lively and veteran offseason pickup Luke Weaver in the rotation. Top prospect Andrew Abbott, who’s fanned 45.3% of his opponents between Double-A and Triple-A, could get a look at some point this summer as well.

Guardians Notes: Naylor, Valera, Rotation

By | at

The Guardians briefly added top catching prospect Bo Naylor to the big league roster as the 27th man in yesterday’s doubleheader, but he’s already been sent back to Triple-A Columbus and will continue to get regular playing time there, it seems. Cleveland’s offense is out to a dismal start to the 2023 season, and the catching corps, in particular, has been quite poor at the plate so far.

Naylor’s .257/.391/.507 slash in Triple-A Columbus is strong, but manager Terry Francona noted to Bill Ladson of MLB.com that Naylor’s throwing numbers in Columbus have been rough. He’s just 7-for-49 in cutting down base thieves this year (14.3%). Francona added that some of that could be due to minor league pitchers doing some experimenting of their own (perhaps at the cost of some quickness to the plate), it seems the organization would understandably still like to see some improvement in that aspect of his game. To his credit, Naylor had a much stronger 32% caught-stealing rate in the minors last year.

One other near-MLB-ready prospect who could come up this year in hopes of providing some offensive help will be sidelined for the second time this year. Outfielder George Valera, who missed the first seven weeks of the season due to hamate surgery, is heading back to the injured list after just five games, per Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com. This time, the 22-year-old is dealing with a strained hamstring. It’s not yet clear how long he’s expected to miss.

Valera went 3-for-16 at the Triple-A level in his brief five-game activation between IL stints. Last year’s .221/.324/.448 output in Triple-A doesn’t immediately stand out, but that also came as a 21-year-old against much more advanced competition and was only across 179 plate appearances. Valera spent the majority of the season in Double-A Akron, where he posted a heartier .264/.367/.470 batting line. Between those two stops, he mashed 24 homers over the course of 132 games.

Valera ranked among the game’s top 100 prospects at MLB.com (No. 51) and Baseball America (No. 72) heading into the season, and the organization surely hoped he could hit his way into the big league mix before too long. Health hasn’t cooperated to this point, though the Guardians have at least avoided injuries to their position player corps at the big league level.

That’s not the case on the pitching side of things, where Cleveland has faced prolonged absences for both Triston McKenzie (teres major strain) and Aaron Civale (oblique strain). McKenzie embarked on a minor league rehab assignment over the weekend and will make at least one more outing before the team considers activating him, writes Hoynes, citing Francona. The Guards are aiming to build both righties up to around five innings and 80 to 90 pitches before reinstating either from the injured list.

McKenzie’s first rehab outing lasted three innings and 52 pitches; he can’t be activated until May 29 at the earliest, due to his status on the 60-day injured list. Civale also pitched three innings in a rehab game last week.

As it stands, the Guardians only have one clear opening in the rotation. Righty Hunter Gaddis is up from Columbus to make today’s start in place of the injured Peyton Battenfield. One of McKenzie or Civale could step into that spot, but Cleveland has Shane Bieber, Cal Quantrill and thriving rookies Tanner Bibee and Logan T. Allen also in the rotation currently. Situations such as this tend to work themselves out — injuries are inevitable on the pitching front — but at some point it’s possible the Guards will need to make the tough call to send one of Bibee or Allen back to Columbus. Speculatively speaking, Cleveland could also look into a six-man rotation or perhaps bump a more established starter like Quantrill or Civale to the bullpen, but however it shakes out there’ll be some decisions on the pitching front in the near future.

White Sox Place Mike Clevinger On 15-Day IL

By | at

May 22: The Sox announced that Scholtens has indeed been recalled from Charlotte to take Clevinger’s spot on the roster. They’ll go with a bullpen game against Cleveland tonight rather than giving Scholtens a conventional start, however. Right-hander Jimmy Lambert, who hasn’t pitched more than 1 2/3 innings in any outing this year, has been announced as Chicago’s starter.

May 21: The White Sox placed right-hander Mike Clevinger on the 15-day IL, retroactive to May 18, with wrist inflammation prior to today’s game against the Royals, the club announced. Clevinger was expected to start tomorrow’s game against the Guardians, but will instead be out for at least the rest of the month. He’ll be first eligible to return in early June, though there’s no clear timeline for Clevinger’s return at this time. No corresponding move has been announced, with the White Sox expecting to make a move ahead of tomorrow’s game against Cleveland.

Clevinger once appeared to be among the most promising young starters in the sport, as he posted a 2.96 ERA and 3.39 FIP over 489 1/3 innings from 2017-2020. That four year stretch of dominance saw him record a 28% strikeout rate while walking just 9% of batters he faced. Unfortunately for Clevinger, he would miss the entire 2021 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, ultimately returning to the mound early in the 2022 campaign.

Upon his return from the surgery, Clevinger’s fastball velocity had dipped from 95.1 mph down to 93.6 mph. In addition to the lost velocity, the right-hander has seen a major dip in his production since returning to the mound, with a 4.40 ERA and 5.02 FIP in ten starts since the beginning of the 2022 campaign. Clevinger, who is in Chicago on a one-year, $12MM deal this season, is far from the only White Sox starter struggling so far in 2023, as each of Dylan Cease, Michael Kopech, and Lance Lynn have ERAs above 4.50 this season.

While Clevinger looks to fight off his current ailment and get things back on track, the White Sox could potentially turn to Jesse Scholtens in the rotation, as the right-hander is the only other healthy starter on the 40-man roster. Scholtens, who made his MLB debut earlier this season, has a 3.00 ERA in three innings of work for the White Sox this season and a 3.99 ERA in 38 1/3 innings of work at the Triple-A level. Other possible option include Daniel Ponce de Leon and Luke Farrell, though both would require a 40-man roster spot.

Read The Transcript: Fantasy Baseball Chat With Brad Johnson

By | at

Brad Johnson is a veteran of the fantasy baseball industry with a decade of experience in Roto, H2H, dynasty, DFS, and experimental formats. As an expert in the field, Brad participates in the Tout Wars Draft and Hold format and was crowned the league’s winner in 2020. Brad’s writing experience includes RotoGraphs, NBC SportsEDGE, and right here at MLB Trade Rumors. He’s also presented at the First Pitch Arizona fantasy baseball conference.

Click here to read the transcript of today’s fantasy baseball chat with Brad!

Brad will also be holding fantasy baseball chats exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers, where he’ll be able to answer a much larger percentage of questions asked. Click here to learn more about Front Office.

A’s Outright Zach Neal

By | at

The Athletics assigned right-hander Zach Neal outright to Triple-A Las Vegas after he cleared waivers, per the team’s transaction log. Neal, who was designated for assignment on Friday, does have the ability to reject the assignment and opt for free agency if he chooses.

The 34-year-old Neal appeared in a pair of games for the A’s and allowed three runs on four hits and no walks with three strikeouts through 3 1/3 innings. It’s his second stint with the A’s, with whom he also spent the 2016-17 seasons. Since departing the first time around, Neal pitched one big league inning with the Dodgers and spent three years in the rotation for the Seibu Lions of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.

Through 89 Major League innings, Neal carries a 5.06 ERA with one of the lowest strikeout rates in MLB (11%) but also one of the best walk rates (1.9%). He’s a ground-ball pitcher who’s struggled recently in Triple-A both with the A’s and with the Rockies (in 2022). The Athletics’ rotation and bullpen have been a mess in 2023, with both groups ranking dead-last in the Majors in terms of ERA (7.26 for the starters, 6.49 for the relievers).

Oakland also currently has eight pitchers on the injured list: Paul Blackburn, Mason Miller, Drew Rucinski, Freddy Tarnok, Zach Jackson, Dany Jimenez, Trevor May and Kirby Snead. Given that huge slate of injuries and, more generally, the complete lack of definition on the pitching staff, Neal could work his way back to the big league roster if he pitches even decently in the upper minors.

Rangers Release Jacob Barnes

By | at

The Rangers have released veteran right-handed reliever Jacob Barnes, per the league transaction log at MiLB.com. He’d been pitching with their Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock but will now be free to sign with any club.

Barnes, 33, posted good results with the Rangers organization, logging 20 1/3 innings of 2.21 ERA ball during his time with their Round Rock club. He turned in a strong 52.3% ground-ball rate and 0.44 HR/9 mark, although his 17.5% strikeout rate and 10.3% walk rate were both more concerning.

A former 14th-round pick (2011), Barnes debuted with the Brewers in 2016 and was a mainstay in their bullpen for three seasons, compiling 147 1/3 innings of 3.54 ERA ball with a quality 24.4% strikeout rate against an elevated 9.9% walk rate. His results fell off in 2019, however, and he’s bounced around six big league rosters since leaving Milwaukee (Royals, Angels, Mets, Blue Jays, Tigers, Yankees). Dating back to 2019, Barnes has a 6.37 ERA in 101 2/3 frames, thanks largely to a hefty 1.59 HR/9 mark.

While Barnes has struggled with the long ball, he was averaging 95.4 mph on his heater last year, generally keeps the ball on the ground at an above-average rate (career 49%) and has frequently shown the ability to generate strikeouts at average or better rates. Barnes’ career 23.3% strikeout rate is a bit higher than the 2023 league average (22.7%), and his career 13.1% swinging-strike rate is two percentage points above the 11.1% league-average mark. In three separate seasons, he’s run that swinging-strike rate just shy of or even in excess of 15%, suggesting the potential for a well above-average strikeout rate.

It’s been a few years since Barnes has had big league success, but this year’s 2.21 ERA in Triple-A would be his highest of the past three seasons at that level. Between that run of upper-minors success, the league-wide need for bullpen depth and Barnes’ combination of velocity, whiffs and grounders, he ought to find another opportunity in his return to the open market.

The Opener: Kimbrel, Buxton, White Sox, Guardians

By | at

With the 2023 regular season now nearly 30% complete, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Kimbrel aims for 400:

Not even two weeks after Kenley Jansen made history as the seventh player to reach 400 career saves, veteran righty Craig Kimbrel is poised to do the same. Kimbrel was long among the most dominant relievers in baseball, with a 1.91 ERA and 1.96 FIP through the first nine seasons of his career between the Braves, Padres, and Red Sox. Since then, he’s struggled to reach those same heights, with a 3.96 ERA and 3.74 FIP since the start of the 2019 season. This year, Kimbrel has a 6.35 ERA and 4.70 FIP to go along with five saves in 17 innings of work at the back of the Phillies bullpen. Over his past five appearances, he’s pitched five innings, picked up two saves and allowed just one run with a 12-to-1 K/BB ratio.

2. Buxton to be evaluated:

Twins slugger Byron Buxton was out of the lineup yesterday after being removed from Saturday’s game with knee soreness, and it seems we’ll know more about his condition today. Manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters (including Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com) that, while Buxton “probably could have stayed in and battled through” the soreness, the club will know more regarding Buxton’s potential return to the lineup today. The 29-year-old Buxton, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on that right knee last September, is slashing .235/.344/.484 with a 129 wRC+ as the club’s primary DH so far this season. Top propect Edouard Julien, who started at DH in Buxton’s place yesterday, would be among those to gain some extra at-bats if Buxton misses any time.

3. Roster moves ahead of White Sox/Guardians series:

Both teams are expected to make roster moves ahead of this evening’s game between the White Sox and the Guardians. Cleveland is expected to recall right-hander Hunter Gaddis to start tonight’s game, and a corresponding move will be necessary to clear space for Gaddis on the active roster. Gaddis has struggled through 19 2/3 innings across 5 appearances in the majors this season with a 6.86 ERA and a strikeout rate of just 14.6%.

Meanwhile, the White Sox have already placed today’s expected starter, right-hander Mike Clevinger, on the injured list with wrist inflammation. No corresponding move was announced, leaving the Sox with a roster spot to fill ahead of tonight’s game. Notably, most depth starter options who could fill in for Clevinger are not yet on the 40-man roster, with the exception of Jesse Scholtens, who has a 3.99 ERA in seven starts at the Triple-A level this season.

Dodgers To Select Bobby Miller

By | at

The Dodgers are poised to promote one of their top prospects for his major league debut, as Russell Dorsey of Stadium and Bally Sports reports that the club is selecting the contract of right-hander Bobby Miller. The club will need to clear room for Miller on both the 40-man and active rosters ahead of Tuesday night’s game against the Braves, when Miller is poised to make his major league debut.

The 24-year-old Miller was the 29th overall pick in the 2020 draft, selected by the Dodgers in the first round out of the University of Louisville. In his first season of minor league action in 2021, Miller immediately impressed with a 2.40 ERA in 56 1/3 innings split between High-A and Double-A that included a dazzling 47 inning performance at the High-A level. During his time in High-A, Miller posted a microscopic 1.91 ERA with a 29.8% strikeout rate and a walk rate of just 5.9%.

That performance saw Miller become a consensus top 100 prospect headed into the 2022 season, where Miller saw mixed results in 112 1/3 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A. In 91 innings at the Double-A level last season, Miller posted a fantastic 30.5% strikeout rate and a solid 8.1% walk rate, though he struggled in terms of top-line results with a 4.45 ERA during that time. Upon his promotion to Triple-A, Miller largely improved as his strikeout rate ticked up to 32.9% and his walk rate fell to 7.1%, resulting in a 3.38 ERA in 21 1/3 innings. That being said, Miller allowed a whopping four home runs in that short time frame as a whopping 26.7% of his fly balls left the yard.

Miller’s uneven 2022 season did little to impact his prospect rankings, however, as he entered the 2023 as a consensus top 30 prospect in the sport. While his 2023 season has been off to a rocky start so far, with a 5.65 ERA and a strikeout rate of just 19.7% in 14 1/3 innings so far this season, the young right-hander is an incredibly talented prospect who has flashed a triple-digit fastball, making it easy to see why the Dodgers would be interested in getting their young hurler a look in the big leagues. It isn’t clear whether Miller’s first trip to the majors is expected to last beyond Tuesday night’s start, though with Walker Buehler, Julio Urias, Dustin May, Michael Grove, and Ryan Pepiot all on the injured list, it stands to reason that this won’t be Miller’s only opportunity to impact the big league club this season.

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