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Archives for May 2023

The Opener: McLain, Chisholm, Diaz

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With just over a quarter of the 2023 regular season now in the books, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. McLain to make MLB debut:

Reds infield prospect Matt McLain is set to be promoted to the majors today, leaving him in line to make his MLB debut. A first round pick by the Reds in the 2021 draft, McClain is widely considered to be a top 10 prospect in the Reds’ farm system, and a borderline top 100 prospect in all of baseball. Transactions will be required before this evening’s game against the Rockies to clear both 40-man roster space and active roster space for McLain.

After a solid season in Double-A last year where McLain posted a .232/.363/.453 slash line that was good for a 116 wRC+, McLain has torn the cover off the ball in Triple-A so far this season. In 173 plate appearances, McLain is slashing a fantastic .348/.474/.710 with a whopping 193 wRC+. With 12 home runs and nearly as many walks (29) as strikeouts (34), McLain has showed total mastery of the Triple-A level, and now appears poised to become the regular shortstop in Cincinnati for the time being, displacing Jose Barrero and Kevin Newman.

2. Chisholm to visit specialist:

Marlins center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. is currently dealing with turf toe and is set to visit a specialist today to determine the extent of the injury. Missed time for Chisholm would be a considerable blow to a Marlins outfield that is already without Jesus Sanchez and Avisail Garcia. While Chisholm hasn’t quite lived up to expectations with his bat, with a wRC+ of just 92 in 159 plate appearances this season, he’s exceeded expectations with his glove in center field, posting +3 Outs Above Average so far this year, a figure that sits in the 92nd percentile of all regulars. If Chisholm misses time, the club figures to go with a combination of Garrett Hampson and Jon Berti in center field.

3. Diaz to undergo MRI:

Rays infielder Yandy Diaz left yesterday’s game against the Yankees in the first inning due to groin tightness. With Tampa’s off day today, Diaz is expected to undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the injury. Rays fans are surely hoping that Diaz’s MRI comes back clean, as the 31-year-old is slashing an incredible .321/.429/.593 that’s good for a 188 wRC+ while mostly playing first base for the Rays. Should Diaz miss time, the club could hand the keys to first base to Luke Raley or shuffle the infield to create more starts for Taylor Walls while the team’s current best hitter is on the shelf.

Red Sox Designate Ryan Brasier For Assignment

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11:58PM: Rodriguez will be activated from the 15-day IL to take Brasier’s roster spot on Monday, The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey reports.

10:12PM: The Red Sox have designated Ryan Brasier for assignment, as the right-hander himself told reporters (including Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe) tonight in the aftermath of a tough outing against the Cardinals.  Brasier allowed three runs over 2 1/3 innings of relief in a 9-1 Red Sox loss.

No corresponding move is yet known, though manager Alex Cora told reporters over the weekend that Joely Rodriguez was going to be activated from the 15-day injured list on Monday, so the Sox could be clearing room for Rodriguez’s return.  Rodriguez suffered a Grade 2 oblique strain in mid-March during Spring Training, and has yet to pitch this season.

Tonight’s performance inflated Brasier’s season ERA to 7.29 over 21 innings of work out of the Boston bullpen.  There is some level of misfortune in that ERA since Brasier’s strand rate (52.8%) and BABIP (.344) are both skewed, and his FIP is a more moderate 4.38.  That said, he has also posted below-average strikeout and walk rates, and Brasier is near the bottom of the league in hard contact.

The advanced metrics were much more favorable to Brasier last year, but the bottom-line results still weren’t there, as the righty had a 5.78 ERA over 62 1/3 innings in 2022.  With the lack of results stretching into a second season, the Sox have opted to part ways with a reliever who has had his share of ups and downs over six years in Boston, but for the most part was a solid hurler prior to the start of the 2022 season.

After pitching with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in 2017, Brasier returned from Japan to sign a minor league deal with the Red Sox, and ended up unexpectedly emerging as an ace reliever for the eventual World Series champions.  Brasier posted a 1.60 ERA over 33 2/3 regular-season innings and then a 1.04 ERA in 8 1/3 postseason innings to help the Sox win the title.

Brasier’s 2019 season was a lot shakier, but he posted better results in 2020-21, with a 3.16 ERA albeit over only 37 innings.  Brasier’s workload was limited by the shortened 2020 regular season, and then a 2021 campaign that saw him miss most of the year due to a calf strain and then a concussion after he was struck in the head by a line drive during a simulated game.

The 35-year-old is in his final year of arbitration eligibility, and is still owed roughly $1.5MM of his $2MM salary for the 2023 season.  It doesn’t seem all that likely that another team will claim Brasier off DFA waivers, so the Red Sox will likely end up eating the salary if they end up releasing the righty, or they could simply outright him down to Triple-A.  If Brasier is signed by a new team after being released, the new club will only owe the prorated portion of the Major League minimum salary, with Boston covering the remainder of the $1.5MM.

Rockies Place Ryan Feltner On 15-Day Injured List

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9:34PM: The Rockies announced that Feltner was discharged from the hospital.

TODAY, 12:28PM: The Rockies announced that Feltner has been placed on the 15-day IL with a skull fracture. As relayed by MLB Network’s Jenny Cavnar, manage Bud Black described Feltner’s fracture as small, and notes that Feltner also suffered a concussion. Feltner will hopefully be released from the hospital later this afternoon, per Black.

May 14: In a terrifying moment, Rockies starter Ryan Feltner was hit in the head with a Nick Castellanos line drive in the second inning of tonight’s game.  Feltner immediately dropped to the ground but seemed alert and coherent, and he left the field under his own power, with some assistance from team trainers.

Following the game, Rockies manager Bud Black told reporters (including Patrick Lyons of the DNVR Rockies podcast) that Feltner was undergoing tests at a local hospital, and that details of those tests would be known tomorrow.  It would seem probable that Feltner will be placed on the seven-day concussion injured list for at least precautionary purposes, and if he is able to recover quickly from any symptoms, he might not even miss a start since the Rockies have an off-day on Thursday.

Feltner allowed four runs on four walks and two hits in the first inning of Saturday’s start, and his ERA now sits at 5.86 through 35 1/3 innings and eight starts for Colorado this season.  It seemed like Feltner was getting on track after a trio of nice starts from April 20-May 3, but his last outing was also rough, as he allowed four runs in 3 1/3 frames against the Mets on May 7.

This is the 26-year-old Feltner’s third MLB season, after being selected by the Rockies in the fourth round of the 2018 draft.  He had only a 6.16 ERA through 103 2/3 innings (starting 21 of 22 games) in 2021-22, but a lack of pitching depth ensured Feltner would get another shot in Colorado’s rotation this year.  That depth has been even further stretched by German Marquez’s season-ending Tommy John surgery, Antonio Senzatela being limited to two starts due to recovery from knee surgery and his current elbow sprain, rookie Noah Davis on the 15-day IL with elbow inflammation, and now the possibility that Feltner could miss time.

Reds To Promote Matt McLain

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The Reds are set to call up infield prospect Matt McLain, according to Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer.  McLain is expected to make his MLB debut when the Reds open a series against the Rockies on Monday.  Since McLain isn’t on the 40-man roster, Cincinnati may have to make more than one transaction to accommodate his promotion onto the active roster.

The 17th overall pick of the 2021 draft, McLain was a highly touted player in his college days at UCLA, and he has made a quick rise through Cincinnati’s farm system.  His breakout year at Triple-A seemed to clinch his promotion, as McLain has hit an outstanding .346/.464/.713 with 12 homers over 168 plate appearances at Triple-A Louisville this season.

Even with just 37 games under his belt at the Triple-A level, these numbers are awfully hard to ignore, and so the 23-year-old will now embark on his next test in the Show.  While McLain has played a good deal of second base in the minors, he has exclusively played shortstop this year, and now looks to supplant the Kevin Newman/Jose Barrero combination at shortstop.

McLain was cited on the top-100 prospect lists from MLB Prospectus (77th) and MLB Pipeline (87th) prior to the 2022 season, but didn’t receive any top-100 attention heading into this year, though his Triple-A surge moved him back to 95th on Pipeline’s most recent update to their ranking.  As per Pipeline’s scouting report, there was concern over McLain’s big spike in strikeouts at Double-A in 2022, as “much of that stemmed from McLain trying to do too much at the plate as he was trying to figure out who he is as a pro hitter and he sold out for power too often.”

To that end, McLain has drastically and impressively cut down on his swing-and-miss this year, with almost as many walks (27) as strikeouts (33) at Louisville.  His plus speed has resulted in 10 steals in 15 attempts at Triple-A, but McLain stole 27 bases in 30 tries at Double-A in 2022.

Baseball America’s little report is a little less optimistic about McLain’s future as a regular, saying “he projects as a super-utility player who can play a variety of positions including shortstop in a pinch.”  It remains to be seen if shortstop will remain McLain’s long-term position, though beyond just defensive questions, his usage might also be impacted by the Reds’ oncoming rush of talented young infielders.  Elly De La Cruz is one of baseball’s elite prospects and is also expected to make his MLB debut at some point in 2023, and third baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand shouldn’t be too far behind on the shuttle from Louisville.  Infielders Noelvi Marte, Edwin Arroyo, and Cam Collier are also ranked within Pipeline’s top 100, and of course Jonathan India is already established as the Reds’ second baseman and Spencer Steer has been playing respectably well in his rookie season.

It makes for a pretty nice “problem” for the Reds to have as they sort out who exactly will be part of their infield of the future, and with the team in rebuild mode at least through the rest of 2023, they’ll have plenty of time to keep evaluating these youngsters.  McLain will get the first chance at making a first impression, and it could be that he might get bounced around the diamond early if De La Cruz is called up and takes over the shortstop job.

Since McLain wasn’t included on at least two of the preseason top-100 lists from Pipeline, Baseball America or ESPN.com, he won’t qualify for a full year of big league service time even if he finishes in the top two of Rookie Of The Year voting.  However, assuming McLain remains in the majors for the rest of 2023, he should bank enough service time to potentially qualify for Super Two status and an extra year of arbitration eligibility.

Rockies Likely To Place C.J. Cron On 10-Day Injured List

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C.J. Cron left today’s game with back spasms, as the Rockies first baseman was in visible discomfort while slowly leaving the batter’s box after a pop-up in the third inning.  Cron took only a few steps before stopping completely, and Mike Moustakas took over for Cron at first base when the Rox took the field in the top of the fourth.  Following the game, manager Bud Black told The Denver Gazette’s Danielle Allentuck and other reporters that Cron will probably require a trip to the 10-day injured list.

Back spasms also cost Cron 10 days of Cactus League action during Spring Training, and it’s fair to wonder if this issue (whether a lingering injury or a by-product of missed spring time) has contributed to Cron’s slow start to the season.  It could be that another 10-day absence or so is all Cron needs to recover, though since this is his second such injury in two months, the Rockies might opt to give him a bit of extra time beyond the minimum 10 days in order to fully get himself right.

The veteran first baseman has hit a modest .228/.277/.426 with six homers over 148 plate appearances for Colorado, and his 73 wRC+ is easily his lowest in any of his 10 Major League seasons.  Cron is still making a lot of hard contact and his .342 xwOBA is well above his .306 wOBA, so there is some element of misfortune involved in his numbers.  However, Cron is pulling the ball a lot more than in past years, and opposing pitchers are throwing him fewer four-seamers (a pitch Cron has generally hit well over the years) less than usual.  Most of the right-handed hitting Cron’s struggles have come against right-handed pitching this year, even though Cron has had relatively even splits for most of his career.

Moustakas is the likeliest candidate to fill in for Cron at first base, at least in the short term.  Moustakas has also had a tough year, hitting .232/.313/.375 over 67 PA with just one home run.

Yandy Diaz To Undergo MRI For Possible Groin Injury

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Yandy Diaz left today’s game in the first inning due to left groin tightness.  The Rays doubled in his first at-bat and then advanced to third base in somewhat awkward fashion on a Wander Franco grounder.  Though Diaz remained on the bases and then scored on a Brandon Lowe RBI grounder, Isaac Paredes replaced Diaz at first base in the bottom half of the inning.

Speaking with reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) after the game, Diaz said he will undergo an MRI to determine the nature of the injury.  The issue didn’t begin with today’s game, as Diaz noted that he’d been dealing with some groin problems for the last few days.  The Rays don’t play on Monday, so Diaz will get some time to recuperate and possibly avoid the 10-day injured list if his MRI results come back clean.

Losing Diaz for any amount of time would be a big concern, as the 31-year-old has been one of baseball’s best hitters this season.  Diaz has been crushing the ball to the tune of a .321/.429/.593 slash line over 168 plate appearances, and his 188 wRC+ ranks second among all qualified batters.  Long known for his ability to make hard contact, Diaz’s 95.7% average exit velocity, 13% barrel rate, and 58.3% hard-hit ball rate are all career bests.

While the 31-11 Rays have the league’s best record, they have also been dealing with more than a few notable pitching injuries, such as Jeffrey Springs’ Tommy John surgery and Drew Rasmussen’s recent placement on the 60-day IL with a flexor strain.  Jose Siri missed a couple of weeks with a hamstring strain, but Tampa Bay has been otherwise pretty healthy on the position player side, though Diaz’s groin problem threatens to end that streak.

Paredes and Luke Raley are the only other players who have played at first base this season, so they could form a platoon to take over for Diaz at the position if he indeed needs to miss time.  Vidal Brujan and Jonathan Aranda figure to be the top options for a Triple-A call-up in the event of an injury to a position player.

Marlins Place A.J. Puk On 15-Day Injured List

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The Marlins are placing A.J. Puk on the 15-day injured list, as the left-hander is dealing with some nerve irritation in his left elbow.  A corresponding move hasn’t yet been announced and it might not come until Tuesday, since Miami has an off-day on Monday.  Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link) guesses that JT Chargois might replace Puk, as Chargois is completing a rehab assignment after missing just over a month with an oblique strain.

Puk’s last appearance was on May 10, and manager Skip Schumaker told the Herald’s Andre Fernandez and other reporters prior to today’s game that Puk had been dealing with a “dead arm.”  The designation of nerve irritation sheds some new and concerning light on the issue, as while it could be that Puk might be back to normal after 15 days, there is no real timeline for nerve-related injuries.

It’s another troubling injury setback for Puk, as Tommy John surgery cost him all of the 2018 season as a prospect in the Athletics’ farm system, and he didn’t pitch in 2020 due to shoulder problems that eventually required a surgery.  Puk carried a lot of promise as a starter during his way up the minor league ladder, yet his health problems led the A’s to use him only as a reliever.  In his first full MLB season, Puk looked mostly excellent in posting a 3.12 ERA over 66 1/3 relief innings for the A’s in 2022.

That good form has continued into Puk’s first year in Miami, as the Marlins dealt JJ Bleday (another former top prospect) to Oakland for Puk back in February.  Though the Marlins considered using Puk as a starter, they instead opted to use him as their primary closer, with strong results.  Puk has a 3.07 ERA and a wealth of impressive secondary metrics over 14 2/3 innings with the Marlins, including a 29.2% strikeout rate and 4.6% walk rate that are both well above the league average.  Batters haven’t been able to make much hard contact against Puk’s offerings, as his 2.4% barrel rate is among the best in MLB.

Dylan Floro got the save in today’s 3-1 win over the Reds, and he is likely the favorite for ninth-inning work in Puk’s absence given how Floro finished the 2020 season as Miami’s closer.  The Marlins could also take a situational approach to save situations, with any of Floro, Andrew Nardi, Huascar Brazoban, Tanner Scott, or Matt Barnes getting a crack at closer duties based on in-game scenarios.

It’s been a tough couple of days health-wise for the Marlins, as while Garrett Cooper returned from the 10-day IL today, Miami has lost both Jesus Sanchez and now Puk to the injured list.  Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s status is also to be determined, as Schumaker said the center fielder will visit a specialist about a case of turf toe.  Chisholm suffered the injury in yesterday’s game after a collision with the outfield wall in pursuit of a fly ball.

Mets Activate Brooks Raley, Designate Dennis Santana For Assignment

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The Mets have announced that they’d designated right-hander Dennis Santana for assignment and activated lefty reliever Brooks Raley from the 15-day injured list.

Santana, 27, had been added to the Mets’ roster earlier today for the first game of the day. The right-hander, who sported a career 5.22 ERA and 4.25 FIP coming into today’s game, pitched one scoreless inning against the Nationals this afternoon, allowing one hit and no walks while striking out one. The Mets will now have seven days to trade or waive Santana. If he clears waivers, the club can assign him outright to Triple-A, but Santana would have the right to reject such an assigment, as he has been assigned outright previously during his career.

Santana’s departure from the roster makes room for Raley, who the Mets acquired from the Rays this past offseason. Raley joined the Rays ahead of the 2022 season with a career ERA of 5.62 in 107 1/3 big league innings, but proved to be a revelation in Tampa last season, as the 34-year-old lefty dominated to the tune of a 2.68 ERA (136 ERA+) and 2.74 FIP in 53 2/3 innings of work. That performance caught the attention of the Mets, who swapped lefty Keyshawn Askew to the Rays in exchange for Raley’s services.

One could argue Raley got off to a shaky start in Queens, pitching to a 4.76 ERA with a 5.85 FIP in 11 1/3 innings of work. Those top-line numbers are somewhat deceiving, however, as four of Raley’s six earned runs were allowed in a single appearance against the Brewers, with twelve scoreless outings in fourteen appearances total this season. Raley was placed on the injured list with elbow inflammation at the end of April, and has been out of action ever since, leaving high leverage duties in the Mets bullpen primarily to David Robertson and Adam Ottavino. Raley seems likely to re-enter the late inning mix for the Mets going forward, if he can return to putting up scoreless outings going forward.

Luis Torrens Elects Free Agency

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The Orioles announced this afternoon that catcher Luis Torrens had cleared waivers and elected free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A.

Torrens, 27, was a prospect in the Yankees organization when the Reds selected him in the 2016-17 offseason’s Rule 5 draft before trading him to the Padres. Torrens made his big league debut with San Diego during the 2017 season and stayed on the roster all year, batting .163/.243/.203 in 139 plate appearances as the club’s back up catcher. Torrens would spend the entire 2018 season and most of 2019 in the minors before returning to a regular role with the Padres in 2020. Torrens slashed .273/.333/.364 in 7 games during the shortened 2020 season with San Diego before he was traded to Seattle as part of the deal that brought Austin Nola to the Padres.

Torrens would stay with the Mariners through the end of the 2022 season, ultimately batting .239/.297/.388, good for a wRC+ of 93, over 609 plate appearances for the club before Seattle non-tendered him this past November. Torrens went on to sign a minor league deal with the Cubs, making the club’s Opening Day roster as a third catcher. Torrens stepped to the plate just 22 times in Chicago, however, prior to being designated for assignment and traded to the Orioles. He ultimately did not make it into a game for Baltimore before the club decided to DFA him as well.

Overall, Torrens has been a 92 wRC+ hitter since the end of the 2017 season, a perfectly solid mark for a catcher. As Torrens re-enters free agency, he figures to be an attractive option for multiple teams as catching depth, leaving him likely to latch on with another club in short order. In particular, the Angels are known to have explored catching additions recently as the club relies on Matt Thaiss and Chris Okey behind the plate with each of Max Stassi, Logan O’Hoppe, and Chad Wallach currently on the injured list.

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