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Archives for May 2023

AL Notes: Whitlock, Red Sox, McCullers, Naylor, Donaldson

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Garrett Whitlock threw 79 pitches in a Triple-A rehab start today, and Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters (including The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey) that Whitlock will be activated from the 15-day IL in time to start Saturday’s game against the Diamondbacks.  Whitlock’s return won’t push anyone out of the rotation for now, as Cora said that Boston will use six starters over their six games this week, sandwiched around Thursday’s off-day.  The team will re-assess the pitching situation after this full turn through a six-man rotation, Cora said, taking advantage of another off-day on May 29 to reset the staff as necessary.

Between injuries and inconsistency, Boston has had one of the weaker rotations in baseball, though Chris Sale, James Paxton, and Brayan Bello have all been sharp lately.  Cora has said in the past that the Sox plan to keep Whitlock as a starter, leaving Tanner Houck and Corey Kluber as the potential odd men out if the club does adopt a traditional five-man pitching staff.  Houck’s secondary numbers are at least better than his 5.48 ERA would indicate, but it has been a rough season all-around for Kluber, whose ERA has ballooned to 6.26 over 41 2/3 innings after he was hit hard in tonight’s start against the Padres.  Kluber signed a one-year (plus a 2024 club option) contract worth a guaranteed $10MM in the offseason, but that deal is already looking like a misfire given the veteran’s struggles.

More from the American League…

  • The Astros believe Lance McCullers Jr. can return “probably somewhere closer to the All-Star break, or after,” GM Dana Brown said in a radio interview on SportsTalk 790 AM (hat tip to MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart).  There’s still some fluidity “depending on whether we can get him built up to start,” Brown noted.  While not the clearest of timelines, it does represent some kind of target for McCullers, who hasn’t pitched this season after suffering a forearm strain early in Spring Training.  Jose Urquidy is also tentatively expected to return from the injured list around the All-Star break, which could give the Astros a badly needed one-two boost to their depleted rotation.
  • The Guardians called up Bo Naylor as the 27th man for their double-header with the Mets today, with Naylor going hitless in two plate appearances in the first game.  This was Naylor’s first call-up of the 2023 season, after the catching prospect made his MLB debut with five games in 2022.  Despite some mediocre numbers at throwing out baserunners at Triple-A this season, Naylor told Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and other reporters that “I feel I’m progressing well.  I had a lot of work at [Triple-A] Columbus on some transfer stuff.  It continues to progress every day.  As of late it’s shown pretty well.”  It remains to be seen when Naylor might get a longer look at the big league level, yet given how badly Cleveland’s offense has struggled, an argument can definitely be made that Naylor is already the best catching option in the organization.  Naylor is hitting .257/.391/.507 over 184 PA at Triple-A, while the Guards’ catching quartet of Mike Zunino, Cam Gallagher, Meibrys Viloria, and David Fry are all badly struggling at the plate.
  • Now that the Yankees have designated Aaron Hicks for assignment, speculation has begun that Josh Donaldson could potentially join Hicks on the waiver wire when Donaldson is activated from the 10-day IL.  The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner looks at some of the reasons why it may be time for the Yankees to part ways with the former AL MVP, most simply the fact that DJ LeMahieu looks like a more productive third base option than Donaldson right now, and LeMahieu won’t have a regular place to play once Donaldson and Giancarlo Stanton are healthy.  Even though the Yankees would have to eat the roughly $23.16MM in remaining salary owed to Donaldson, Kirschner writes that “for a team that makes as much money as the Yankees, it’s a rather minuscule amount that will make the roster fit more seamlessly if they decide it’s time to cut him loose.”

Reds Notes: Friedl, Cruz, Ramos, Votto

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TJ Friedl was (retroactively) placed on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain on May 12, and the thought at the time was that Friedl might only miss the minimum 10 days, given that the Reds were somewhat on the fence about whether or not to even place him on the IL.  As it turns out, Friedl might indeed be back quickly, as manager David Bell told reporters (including the Cincinnati Enquirer’s duo of Charlie Goldsmith and Bobby Nightengale) that Friedl will take live batting practice on Monday, and could be activated from the IL for Tuesday’s game if all goes well following the BP session.

It’s a relief on a few levels for Friedl and the Reds, since even minor oblique injuries can linger for weeks on end, and because Friedl has been a big part of Cincinnati’s lineup.  More or less alternating between center and left field, Friedl leads the Reds with 1.2 fWAR, owing to his overall contribution as a defender, baserunner, and hitter.  Friedl has hit .306/.351/.468 with three homers over 138 plate appearances, albeit with some good fortune — the outfielder has a .376 BABIP, and his .354 wOBA is far greater than his .283 xwOBA.

Fernando Cruz might also be nearing a return, as the right-hander started a Triple-A rehab assignment today.  Cruz has missed the last three weeks due to a shoulder strain, and the team’s plan is to give him three rehab outings before potentially reinstating him from the 15-day injured list next week.  Cruz had a 6.59 ERA over 13 2/3 relief innings before hitting the IL, though the last 2 2/3 of those innings (and three of Cruz’s 10 earned runs allowed) came after Cruz said he started to feel discomfort in his throwing shoulder.

The Reds placed Henry Ramos on the 10-day IL yesterday due to a right hip strain, and Bell said that Ramos will receive an MRI on Monday.  Friedl’s impending return means that Cincinnati probably won’t be shorthanded in the outfield for too long, but the MRI should reveal how long Ramos might be out of action.

Joey Votto has yet to play this season, but the longtime Reds star might be a bit closer to a return, as he participated in live batting practice with the Reds’ Triple-A club in Louisville today.  Votto will be re-evaluated tomorrow as the Reds try to determine whether or not the first baseman might be able to restart his rehab assignment.

After undergoing season-ending rotator cuff and bicep surgery last August, Votto has been taking a cautious path, as his recovery process delayed his Spring Training work.  Votto began the season on the 10-day injured list but played 10 games during a Triple-A rehab assignment in April before the assignment was paused, as Votto wasn’t nearly ready to return before the end of his 20-day rehab window.  After another month of treatment and ramping up his baseball activities, Votto now looks like he might be able to take the field again in Louisville.  The Reds moved Votto to the 60-day IL, so he isn’t eligible to return until the end of May anyway, though he will surely take longer than that to get fully ready.

AL Central Notes: Buxton, Alcala, Alberto, Gaddis

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Byron Buxton was removed from yesterday’s game due to right knee tightness, and he wasn’t in the Twins’ lineup today.  While Buxton’s health history makes any injury seem like a red flag, manager Rocco Baldelli didn’t think the issue was particularly serious, and thought Buxton’s knee might have just been sore from a number of recent plays on the basepaths.  “It’s just by chance that there’s been this many plays that he’s had to go hard on in a very short period of time.  It kind of popped up, I think, because of all the running,” Baldelli told MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park and other reporters.

Buxton underwent arthroscopic surgery on that same right knee back in September, and as part of the Twins’ desire to keep their star healthy, Buxton has played exclusively as a designated hitter this season.  While keeping a Gold Glove-caliber center fielder in a DH role may seem like a waste of resources, it’s hard to argue with results, as Buxton has been hitting well (.235/.344/.484 with nine home runs in 180 plate appearances) and has avoided the injured list to date.  Ironically, Buxton has been a source of stability on a Twins team that has been beset with several other injuries, and his bat has been a bright spot in an inconsistent lineup.

More from the AL Central…

  • Sticking with the Twins, Jorge Alcala was placed on the 15-day injured list earlier this week, and head trainer Nick Paparesta gave Park and company some more information on the right-hander’s status.  Alcala has a stress fracture to the radius bone in his right forearm, which Paparesta described as “more of a chronic, ongoing condition and again, nothing to do with his previous elbow surgery.”  Due to the rather unique nature of the injury, it isn’t known exactly how long Alcala might be out, and the Twins will re-evalate him after a shutdown of 10-14 days.  Elbow problems and an arthroscopic debridement surgery limited Alcala to just 2 1/3 innings in 2022, and he had posted only a 6.46 ERA over 15 1/3 innings out of Minnesota’s bullpen this season.
  • Hanser Alberto left today’s game with what the White Sox described as left shoulder soreness.  After dropping a sacrifice bunt, Alberto appeared to hurt his shoulder while making a “safe” sign after a very close play at first base.  Alberto is day to day with the injury, and manager Pedro Grifol told The Athletic’s James Fegan and other reporters that the infielder could be able to avoid the 10-day injured list.  There isn’t much time for Alberto to rest or for the Sox to play with an undermanned roster, since the White Sox are six games into a stretch of 19 games in 19 days.
  • The Guardians will call up Hunter Gaddis for a start on Monday, according to The Athletic’s Zack Meisel (via Twitter).  A fresh starter was needed when Peyton Battenfield was placed on the 15-day IL on Friday, so the Guards will turn to Gaddis for at least one outing, though an off-day on Thursday could allow them to reset the rotation.  Gaddis made his MLB debut last season and made four starts this season while Triston McKenzie has been sidelined with injury, but the results haven’t yet been there at the big league level.  The 25-year-old righty has a 6.86 ERA over 19 2/3 innings this season, with a minuscule 14.6% strikeout rate.

Rockies Sign Luis Cessa To Minor League Contract

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The Rockies have signed right-hander Luis Cessa to a minor league deal, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reports (Twitter link).  It was only a brief stay in free agency for Cessa, who was released by the Reds earlier this week.

Working as a swingman for the Reds in 2022, Cessa was essentially a full-time starter this year (starting six of seven games) but the results just weren’t there.  The righty posted a 9.00 ERA over 26 innings with more walks (12) than strikeouts (11), and while a .410 BABIP represents some bad luck, Cessa’s Statcast metrics are pretty grim across the board.

Never a big strikeout pitcher, Cessa has generally had better success as a reliever than as a starter, with a 3.81 career ERA coming out of the bullpen compared to a 5.44 ERA starting games.  However, it would seem like the Rockies will give Cessa at least an initial look as a starter given the team’s huge needs in the rotation.  Colorado’s starting five was already a question mark heading into the season, but its depth has been further reduced by multiple injuries, most notably German Marquez’s Tommy John surgery.

The Rockies’ makeshift rotation now consists of Kyle Freeland, Austin Gomber, Connor Seabold, Chase Anderson (just recently acquired on a waiver claim from the Rays), and rookie Karl Kauffmann, who has one MLB start under his belt.  While Cessa’s 2023 numbers don’t look like an upgrade on paper, the Rox might at least prefer having a more experienced arm eat some innings until they start to get some pitchers back from the injured list.

The minor league deal carries basically no risk for the Rockies, since Cincinnati is still covering the bulk of Cessa’s remaining salary (roughly $1.87MM of his initial $2.65MM).  If Cessa is called up, the Rox will owe him only the prorated portion of the MLB minimum salary.

Twins Sign Austin Brice To Minor League Deal

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The Twins picked up some pitching depth in the upper minors yesterday, as the club signed right-hander Austin Brice to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com’s transaction tracker, which also notes that Brice has been assigned to Triple-A St. Paul.

Brice, 31 in June, made his major league debut in 2016 as a member of the Marlins. He ultimately would pitch just 14 innings with the club before being sent to Cincinnati as part of the deal that sent Luis Castillo to Cincinnati. He would pitch out of the Reds’ bullpen for the next two season, posting a 5.40 ERA in 70 innings of work before a series of waiver claims throughout the 2018-19 offseason took him back to Miami, where he posted his best season to date with a 3.43 ERA in 44 2/3 innings of work.

Since then, Brice was traded to the Red Sox, with whom he struggled to a 6.21 ERA across parts of two seasons, and signed a minor league deal with the Pirates ahead of the 2022 season, though he made just four appearances with the club. Overall, Brice has a 5.12 ERA in 168 2/3 innings of work throughout his career with a 21.8% strikeout rate and a 9% walk rate. Home runs have primarily been Brice’s issue during his time in the majors, as the journeyman reliever has allowed a concerning 17.6% of all career fly balls to leave the yard.

Those issues with the long ball led him to settle for a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks this offseason, though his brief tenure as a member of the organization saw him allow twelve runs (eight earned) over just three innings of work. Now, Brice has caught on with the Twins, with whom he’ll act as pitching depth in the upper levels of the minor leagues alongside the likes of Patrick Murphy and Oliver Ortega.

Angels Select Reyes Moronta, Jacob Webb

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The Angels announced a flurry of roster moves a the club selected the contracts of right-handers Reyes Moronta and Jacob Webb. The club also announced that left-hander Aaron Loup had been activated from the 15-day injured list, while righties Andrew Wantz, Jimmy Herget, and Zack Weiss were each optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake. Moronta and Webb will take the 40-man roster spots vacated by Brett Phillips and Ryan Tepera, both of whom were designated for assignment by the club earlier this week.

Moronta, 30, made his big league debut for the Giants in 2017. He would remain a part of the club’s bullpen mix until 2021, when the club outrighted the righty off the roster, leading him to declare free agency. During his time with the Giants, Moronta excelled on the mound, with a 2.65 ERA that was 52% better than league average by ERA+ and 3.44 FIP in 132 1/3 innings of work. Despite the excellent results leading him to be seen a quality late-inning option, the Giants elected to part ways with the right-hander after shoulder surgery, which cost Moronta his entire 2020 season, proved to have sapped his velocity. While he averaged 97.2 mph on his four-seamer in 2019, the pitch’s velocity had dropped more than three ticks to just 93.9 mph when Moronta returned to the mound in 2021.

Following his departure from San Francisco, Reyes spent 2022 as a member of the Dodgers and Diamondbacks organizations, with a 4.30 ERA and 4.41 FIP in 37 2/3 innings of work. Despite the downturn in performance, he secured a minor league deal with the Rangers during the offseason, though the club released him once it was clear he would not make the roster out of camp. That led him to sign a minor league deal with the Angels earlier this month. Now, Moronta join the Halos’ bullpen just ten days after signing with the organization.

Webb, meanwhile, posted a 2.47 ERA over 76 2/3 innings of work as a member of the Braves from 2019-2021, though a 3.99 FIP indicates there was some good luck baked into those excellent top line results. Webb did not appear in the majors last season, posting a 6.06 ERA in 35 2/3 innings during an injury-plagued 2022 campaign. Webb elected free agency during the offseason, eventually signing with the Angels on a minor league deal. While Webb has struggled to a 6.75 ERA in 17 1/3 innings of work so far for Salt Lake this season, the Angels will hope he can get things back on track in the major league bullpen going forward.

The pair of right-handers are joined in the Angels bullpen by Loup, who is returning from the injured list after suffering a hamstring injury earlier this season. Loup signed a two-year, $17MM deal with the Angels ahead of the 2022 season, and delivered a 3.84 ERA with a 3.76 FIP in 58 2/3 innings of work last season. Now in his age-35 season, Loup struggled in nine innings of work this year prior to his injury, posting a 7.00 ERA on nine hits and seven walks (two of which were intentional) against just eight strikeouts. Of course, the veteran lefty came into the 2023 campaign with a career ERA of just 3.15 over his eleven previous seasons in the majors, leaving the Angels with reason for optimism he can turn things around and join Carlos Estevez and Matt Moore as a late-inning option going forward.

The 27-year-old Wantz has performed the best this season of the three righties ticketed for Triple-A, with a 3.32 ERA in 21 2/3 innings so far this season. Herget, 29, has struggled to a 4.38 ERA in 12 1/3 innings so far this season after posting a sterling 2.48 ERA in 69 innings of work for the Angels last season. Weiss, meanwhile, made just two appearances for the Angels prior to his demotion, with three hits, a home run, and a walk against two strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings of work. All three figure to be depth options for the Angels’ bullpen going forward.

Red Sox Release Ryan Brasier

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The Red Sox have released right-hander Ryan Brasier, per a team announcement. Brasier was designated for assignment by Boston last week after a brutal start to the 2023 season that saw him post a 7.29 ERA in 21 inning of work.

Aside from a nine inning cup of coffee with the Angels as a 25-year-old in 2013, Brasier has spent his entire big league career in the Red Sox bullpen. Prior to joining the Red Sox, Brasier pitched in Japan during the 2017 season, posting a strong 2.34 ERA in 50 innings of work for the Hiroshima Carp.

He was among the club’s best relievers in 2018, with a 1.60 ERA in 33 2/3 innings during the club’s World Series season, with a 1.35 ERA in an additional 6 2/3 frames during the postseason. Brasier struggled to a 4.85 ERA in a larger role during the 2019 campaign, but bounced back over the next two seasons with a solid 3.16 ERA in 37 innings of work.

Since the start of the 2022 season, however, Braier has seen his production take a noticeable downturn. He’s allowed a 6.16 ERA in 83 1/3 innings over that time, and while a 3.81 FIP indicates he may have pitched better than those top-line results, an 8.1% barrel rate and a 44.6% hard hit rate are both considerably above where they were when the 35-year-old Brasier was at his peak performance.

Despite his difficulties since the end of the 2021 campaign, Brasier seems likely to garner interests from clubs looking for bullpen depth. Brasier, who is still owed his $2MM salary for the 2023 season, can be signed in free agency by any club for only a pro-rated portion of the league minimum salary, and his previous dominance surely makes him of interest to clubs as a low-risk depth option.

Rockies Select Matt Carasiti, DFA Fernando Abad

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The Rockies announced a pair of roster moves Sunday morning, as the club selected the contract of right-hander Matt Carasiti. To clear room for Carasiti on the active and 40-man roters, the club also announced they have designated left-hander Fernando Abad for assignment.

A sixth-round pick by the Rockies in the 2012 draft, Carasiti made his debut for the club in 2016, though he struggled to a 9.19 ERA in 15 2/3 innings of work that was 46% worse than league average by measure of ERA+. Carasiti wouldn’t return to the majors until three years later, when he appeared in 11 games for the Mariners, posting a 4.66 ERA in 9 2/3 innings of work. In five seasons at the Triple-A level, Carasiti owns a 4.06 ERA in 139 2/3 innings with a 25.6% strikeout rate. Carasiti figures to factor into the bullpen for the struggling Rockies pitching staff, which currently has nine of its pitchers on the injured list.

Clearing room for Carasiti on the roster is Abad, a 37-year-old veteran currently in his eleventh season in the majors. From 2010-2017, Abad was a reliable left-handed option for middle relief in the majors, with a 3.65 ERA and 4.22 FIP in 317 2/3 innings of work over that eight year period. Since then, however, Carasiti has managed just 33 1/3 innings in the big leagues across parts of three seasons, with a 5.40 ERA and 5.09 FIP. That includes his difficult stay in Colorado this season, where he allowed three runs on two homers in just 2 2/3 innings of work. Assuming he goes unclaimed on waivers, Abad figures to return to free agency, where he will look to latch on with another club on what would almost certainly be a minor league deal.

Orioles Activate Mychal Givens

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The Orioles announced a pair of roster moves this morning, as the club activated right-hander Mychal Givens from the injured list and optioned left-hander Cole Irvin to Triple-A.

Givens is poised to make his 2023 regular season debut, as the righty opened the season on the injured list due to knee inflammation. It will be a homecoming for the 33-year-old veteran, who was drafted by Baltimore in the second round of the 2009 draft and spent the first five and a half seasons of his career with the Orioles, racking up 31 saves to go with a 3.32 ERA in 336 innings for the club before he was traded to the Rockies part way through the 2020 campaign.

Since departing the Orioles, Givens has pitched for the Cubs, Reds, and Mets in addition to the Rockies. With a 3.62 ERA and 4.62 FIP over 121 2/3 innings during his two and a half seasons in the National League, Givens inked a one-year, $5MM pact with his original team and returned to Baltimore. Now that he’s healthy, Givens figures to join the likes of Felix Bautista, Bryan Baker, and Danny Coulombe as a late-inning arm in the Orioles bullpen.

As for Irvin, the lefty threw just seven pitches since being recalled from Triple-A last week, allowing one hit and no walks without recording a strikeout in the one out appearance. Irvin had been a member of the rotation in Baltimore to open the 2023 campaign, but pitched to a worrisome 10.66 ERA in three starts that led the Orioles to pull the plug and send him to Norfolk after just two weeks. He figures to continue to act as pitching depth for the Orioles for the foreseeable future.

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