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Archives for June 2023

Ohtani’s Bat Erases Shaky Control On The Mound

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For the second time this season and the seventh time in his career, Shohei Ohtani homered in the same game that he pitched in en route to a 5-4 Angels win Friday night.

It was a forgettable start for the 2021 AL MVP, who struggled mightily with his control. He issued three hits, five walks, and hit a batter, while striking out six in his five innings of work. Ohtani now has a 3.23 ERA in 13 starts this year. For reference, in his MVP campaign, Ohtani finished with a 3.18 ERA in 23 starts.

Friday night’s struggles came as somewhat of a surprise, as the two-way star pitched on an extra day of rest for the first time this season. He opened the game with a walk, marking the sixth time out of 13 starts he’s done so.

Although he retired the following two hitters, he was consistently working behind in the count. In the second pitch of the at-bat against Jarred Kelenic, Ohtani hung a sweeper and surrendered a two-run homer. It was the seventh homer off of a sweeper, which is one more than all of last season.

Despite the homer to Kelenic, Ohtani was able to erase his early mistake in the way that only he can, with his bat. Ohtani hit a two-run 440 foot blast to deep right field in the third inning, quickly wiping out the 2-0 deficit.

Ohtani got through the second through the fourth inning unscathed, before running into some trouble in the fifth inning. After walking the leadoff hitter and hitting another batter, he gave up an RBI-single to Ty France. He escaped the jam with minimal damage after getting Kelenic to ground out in a double play.

“I didn’t feel really good overall today,” said Ohtani. “Even more than my command, it’s the way I’m moving my body. I feel like I’m being less efficient moving my body.”

Ohtani at the plate was a different story. He finished the day with three hits and was one hit shy of the cycle when pitching for the third time this season. It was also his fourth three-hit game while serving as the starting pitcher.

“I’m feeling really good at the plate right now and more than that, I’m just happy the team won,” said a relieved Ohtani.

Ohtani’s next projected start is on June 15 against the AL West-leading Rangers at Globe Life Field. It should be a fun pitching matchup for Ohtani, who will be facing May’s AL Pitcher of the Month Nathan Eovaldi.

The Opener: Postponement, Giants, Pirates, Cubs

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As the 2023 regular season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Tigers vs Braves doubleheader:

Yesterday’s game between the Tigers and Braves at Comerica Park was postponed yesterday due to rain, leaving the clubs to partake in a doubleheader today, the first game of which will begin at 12:10pm CT this afternoon. Fans who had tickets to yesterday’s game can read about their options for exchanging the tickets here. Last night’s expected starters, right-handers Reese Olson and Spencer Strider, will start the first game of today’s doubleheader, while Michael Lorenzen will take the mound for the Tigers in game two. Atlanta’s game two starter has not yet been announced, though Evan Woodbery of MLive notes that AJ Smith-Shawver has previously been listed as the Braves’ starter for the game.

2. Giants to promote Matos amid injuries:

After outfielder Mitch Haniger and third baseman J.D. Davis both suffered injuries that took them out of yesterday’s game for the Giants, San Francisco appears poised to promote one of their top prospects in Luis Matos. As noted by Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic, both Matos and infielder David Villar could be active tomorrow, though Kapler noted that Davis’s injury may not require a stint on the IL, leaving the club to call up just one of the duo. It would be Matos’s first call up to the big leagues, though the outfielder is already on the 40-man roster.

A consensus top 100 prospect heading into the 2022 season, Matos saw his stock drop last year when he hit .211/.275/.344 in 92 games at High-A. The 21-year-old has rebounded in a big way in 2023. After posting an excellent .304/.399/.444 slash line in 133 Double-A plate appearances this season, Matos was promoted to Triple-A where he’s proceeded to mash to the tune of a .398/.435/.685 slash line in 116 plate appearances.

3. Bido to debut for Pirates as Cubs monitor Happ:

Joining Matos in his potential major league debut is Pirates right-hander Osvaldo Bido, who is poised to start today’s game against the Cubs. The 27-year-old Bido has posted a rather pedestrian 4.55 ERA in 55 1/3 innings of work at Triple-A this season across twelve appearances (10 starts). In three seasons at the level in his career, Bido sports a 23.7% strikeout rate, though it’s paired with an elevated walk rate of 12%. Bido is not yet on the 40-man roster, but the Pirates have multiple vacancieis, meaning only an active roster move will be necessary to promote Bido.

On the other side of the diamond the Cubs are set to monitor the health of left fielder Ian Happ, who was pulled from the game with a right calf issue, as noted by MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. The loss of Happ for significant time would be a significant blow to a Cubs team that is already without center fielder Cody Bellinger. Youngster Christopher Morel took over for Happ in left field during last night’s game and could continue to see playing time in the outfield if Happ misses additional time.

Marlins Keeping An Eye On Catching Market

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The Marlins have been monitoring the market for catching help with the trade deadline now under two months away, per Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald. With the team currently sitting seven games above .500 — currently in possession of an NL Wild Card spot and just 3.5 games back of the division-leading Braves — they’re positioned to head into the 2023 deadline as a potential buyer.

Certainly, that stance could change in the coming weeks, depending on whether the team can sustain its hot start to the season. However, even if the Marlins approached the deadline from a seller’s standpoint, finding some long-term help behind the dish could still be a focus. The catcher position has been an area of need in Miami ever since J.T. Realmuto was traded. The team originally hoped that Jorge Alfaro, acquired in that Realmuto swap, could take the reins are the catcher of the future. That didn’t prove true, and a subsequent trade for defensive standout Jacob Stallings has proven similarly unsuccessful.

Stallings, 33, saw his vaunted defensive ratings plummet in his first year with Miami last season. They’ve rebounded to an extent so far in 2023, but the former Pirates backstop has seen his offensive production bottom out at career-worst levels. Stallings is hitting just .161/.238/.226 this season, and since Miami acquired him in the 2021-22 offseason he’s managed only a .210/.281/.278 slash. Paired with his surprisingly below-average defensive grades, the 2021 Gold Glove winner has played at a sub-replacement level since donning a Marlins jersey.

In light of this season’s struggles, Stallings has begun to cede playing time to 26-year-old Nick Fortes. While Fortes isn’t an offensive force himself, his .231/.280/.328 batting line outpaces what Stallings has been able to muster so far in 2023, and Fortes has drawn superior grades for his pitch blocking and pitch framing. Fortes, in fact, leads all big league catchers in Statcast’s new pitch blocking metric. (Stallings has been above-average as well.) Neither catcher has been able to control the running game at all; Fortes has just an 8% caught-stealing rate on the season, while Stallings is only marginally better at 12%. Stolen base success rate is up in general throughout the league with this year’s new rules, but the Fortes/Stallings tandem has allowed the sixth-most steals in MLB (63) and is tied for the fewest runners caught (seven).

Unfortunately for the Marlins — as is often the case, given the scarcity at the position — there doesn’t appear to be a particularly robust catching market on the horizon this summer. Veteran rentals like Yasmani Grandal and Tucker Barnhart (whose two-year deal has a 2024 player option) could become available, but neither is necessarily a major difference maker. Grandal is enjoying a somewhat resurgent .263/.328/.406 performance at the plate, but he’s earning $18.25MM this year and has the worst pop-time of any catcher in baseball (with a 15.5% caught-stealing rate himself). Barnhart hasn’t hit any better than Stallings has.

It’s feasible that some other veterans could hit the market once their respective clubs take a look at top prospects. The Guardians have Bo Naylor largely ready for a big league look but continue dedicating playing time to Mike Zunino. The Pirates have top prospects Endy Rodriguez and Henry Davis both in Triple-A, and either could unseat Austin Hedges in the Majors before terribly long. However, neither Hedges nor Zunino would give the Fish a meaningful offensive upgrade.

As far as some potentially more controllable options go, the Marlins could look to some yet-unproven backstops around the league. Ivan Herrera, once the ostensible successor to Yadier Molina in St. Louis, is now blocked by Willson Contreras but remains a top-100 prospect with everyday catching upside. The Giants recently optioned Joey Bart and will continue taking a look at Patrick Bailey as their primary catcher, perhaps setting Bart up for a potential change-of-scenery swap. Of course, learning a new staff on the fly midseason is a challenge, and that’s even more true for a young catcher who’s also trying to establish himself as a viable big leaguer — perhaps even in the midst of a playoff race.

Some Marlins fans might’ve gotten their hopes up for a potential run at Salvador Perez when his name recently popped up in a few rumors, but Kansas City general manager J.J. Picollo publicly stated yesterday that he has no intention of trading Perez (who has full veto power over any possible deals anyhow, as a player with 10-and-5 rights). The Mets looked into trades of Tomas Nido before passing him through outright waivers, but he’s another veteran option who’s no guarantee to be an offensive upgrade over the current in-house tandem. The last-place Rockies could speculatively look to sell high on Elias Diaz’s solid start, but he’s a volatile performer on a year-to-year basis and the Rox tend to avoid selling off veterans even in losing seasons.

Miami figures to be just one of several teams poking around a limited catching market. Hopeful contenders in Cleveland, Houston and San Diego have also gotten negligible output from their catchers, and injury troubles elsewhere in the league could create other motivated buyers between now and Aug. 1. There aren’t likely to be too many plausible upgrade options on the market, leaving the Fish and other interested teams to get creative as they aim to address the need.

Trevor Bauer Reportedly Facing Additional Sexual Assault Allegation

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A woman has filed a civil action against Trevor Bauer accusing him of a 2020 sexual assault in Arizona, reports Brent Schrotenboer of USA Today. Readers are advised that details of the allegations — which can be found in the USA Today article — are disturbing.

According to Schrotenboer, the woman first filed suit against Bauer last December and recently amended the complaint to include additional alleged details. Bauer has denied the allegations and filed a countersuit. Four women have been publicly known to have leveled sexual assault allegations against Bauer within the past few years.

The first of those allegations came to light midway through the 2021 season. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office elected not to proceed with criminal charges following an investigation, stating they didn’t have enough evidence to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. Two other women subsequently came forward with similar allegations; no criminal charges were filed.

MLB conducted an investigation and handed down a 324-game suspension — the joint domestic violence policy permits the league to impose discipline even in the absence of criminal charges — early in the 2022 season. Bauer appealed and sat out the entire season while the appellate process played out. Last December, an arbitration panel reduced the appeal to 194 games, which Bauer had already served while the investigations were pending.

The Dodgers designated Bauer for assignment shortly thereafter. Los Angeles released him in January. Two months later, he signed a one-year contract with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Bauer has made six NPB appearances this season.

MLB Considering Limitations On Teams’ Off-Field Spending

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Major League Baseball officials have discussed the possibility of capping teams’ spending in off-field areas such as technology, player development and scouting, report Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. MLB’s owners and league officials are convened in New York this week for a quarterly meeting, though they haven’t announced any changes to this point.

A league official downplayed the possibility of staff restrictions, telling Drellich and Rosenthal that MLB’s focus is on technology. “There is nothing happening on (the staffing) front,” the spokesperson told The Athletic. “What we are focused on is gathering information on vendor costs to find potential cost savings through efficiencies and to ensure equal access to all technology.”

Nevertheless, Drellich and Rosenthal hear that some high-ranking league personnel have indeed kicked around the idea of limits on spending for non-playing staff. That’d be a divisive provision that could impact job security for front office members were it to gain traction.

MLB could frame such a limitation as a competitive balance measure. Smaller-market clubs could argue that revenue disparities among organizations affords larger-market franchises more leeway in bolstering areas such as scouting, analytics and player development — all of which should have trickle-down effects in the on-field results. Limiting spending on non-playing personnel, one could argue, would prevent higher-revenue franchises from leveraging their financial might to gain those advantages.

However, there’s a reasonable case that capping non-playing spending actually reduces the ability for lower-revenue clubs to compete with bigger-payroll rivals. Investment in front office and player development staff generally costs a fraction of teams’ spending on players. For some smaller-market owners, unrestricted spending on non-playing talent can be a means of limiting the advantage for higher-revenue franchises with more leeway on player payroll.

A potential provision that’d force teams to cut costs in non-playing capacities is surely appealing to some on the league side. Each collective bargaining negotiation brings some chatter about MLB potentially pursuing a salary cap. The Players Association has steadfastly refused to entertain that, though. That’s not likely to make it out of collective bargaining anytime soon, but the MLBPA doesn’t represent an obstacle for the league in limiting non-player spending.

Most front office personnel aren’t unionized. As Rosenthal and Drellich point out, the Congressional antitrust exemption for MLB would likely be the basis for a potential limit on front office staff. Whether the league would consider possible litigation, increased scrutiny regarding the exemption, and/or adding an incentive for non-playing personnel to consider unionization efforts of their own — R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports examined that possibility in depth last month in a piece that’s worth a read for those interested in the topic — remains to be seen.

Japanese-Born MLB Player Round Up

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Many star players from NPB have made their way to MLB to take on a new challenge.

Some of them became household names like Ichiro and Hideki Matsui. Some were consistent and solid players for a long period like Hiroki Kuroda and Koji Uehara. Some failed to meet the hype and lofty expectations like Kei Igawa and Kazuo Matsui. Some became fan favorites like Munenori Kawasaki.

The 2021 AL MVP and two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani headlines the current batch of Japanese big-league players, and rightfully so. These players are a fascinating group that features exciting rookies, experienced veterans, and players looking to make their mark in MLB. Their performances go a long way in promoting the globalization of the sport but also provide fans, scouts, and front offices a better baseline for evaluating future talent from NPB.

How are their respective seasons going? Let’s break it down.

(All stats as of 6/11/2023)

Shohei Ohtani

Big surprise, Ohtani is once again among the frontrunners in the AL MVP race with his one-of-a-kind value as a two-way player. At the plate, he is hitting .291/.362/.593 with 50 RBI and an AL-leading 20 homers.

He had a hot start on the mound to start the season, with a 0.64 ERA and a .093 opponent batting average in his first five starts. Since his last start in April against the A’s, Ohtani has really struggled with the long ball. All 11 homers allowed on the season have come since that start.

On the season, Ohtani has a 3.32 ERA in 13 starts, with a 33.3 K% in 76 innings pitched. He has been plagued by shaky control in some starts, and his walk rate is up to 11.1% compared to 6.7% last season.

You can find Ohtani updates, including reports of every start, endorsement deals, and hot stove news on his player page on MLBTR, or shoheiohtanirumors.com.

Kodai Senga

The Mets signed the 30-year-old right-hander to a five-year, $75MM deal last December. Senga was immediately thrown into the fire in the early weeks of the season as the anchor of a depleted Mets rotation that was impacted by injuries to Justin Verlander and Carlos Carrasco and Max Scherzer’s suspension.

So far, Senga has answered the call and shown the talent that made him one of the most coveted starting pitchers in the 2022 offseason. Senga has a 3.34 ERA in 12 starts and 64 ⅔ innings pitched this season. He had a 4.15 ERA in his first five starts, but he has maintained a 2.79 ERA in his last seven. He is striking out hitters at a strong 28.3% rate, but walking hitters at a 14.3% clip.

Senga’s notorious ‘Ghost Fork’ splitter, which made him a household name in Japan, is no fluke. Hitters are only hitting .108 against the forkball and whiffing at a whopping 59.8% rate, one of the highest in MLB.

The next step in Senga’s transition to MLB is building consistency in control that will allow him to be more efficient and pitch deeper into games. In his final season in NPB, Senga walked 8.6% of hitters, so it’s certainly possible.

Masataka Yoshida

The 29-year-old outfielder signed a five-year, $90MM deal with the Red Sox after seven highly productive seasons in Japan for the Orix Buffaloes. The hefty price tag surprised many, given the questions of his slight frame at 5’8″ and power numbers in NPB traditionally not translating well to the big leagues. The ‘Macho Man’ has rewarded the organization’s faith with his patient and disciplined approach, bat-to-ball skills, and sharp swing. Yoshida is now one of the frontrunners in the AL Rookie of the Year race with his borderline All-Star-level production at the plate.

Yoshida is hitting .300/.375/.467 with seven homers, 33 RBI, and a 132 wRC+. After overcoming a nightmarish start (.189/.317/.264 in first 53 at-bats) to his MLB career, he’s been one of the most consistent bats for the Red Sox. Yoshida joined Ichiro as one of only two players this century to have reached base 85+ times and struck out 25 or fewer times in their first 50 career games.

He turned a corner after working with both Red Sox and Orix Buffaloes coaches and making appropriate adjustments, including lowering his hands. He continues to be proactive with his adjustments. After a rare three-strikeout performance against the Diamondbacks, the Sox coaching staff tweaked his approach and Yoshida responded with a .480/.581/.760 line in the next seven games.

Defensively, there is room for improvement for the outfielder. The Statcast metrics are not favorable, as he ranks in the tenth percentile and 12th percentile in outs above average and outfielder jump, respectively. He should be able to make marginal improvements in that area as he continues to familiarize himself with the Green Monster and the unique outfield at Fenway Park. Could he be making his way to Seattle for the All-Star game in July? We shall see. 

Seiya Suzuki

The 28-year-old outfielder is in the second year of his five-year, $85MM deal with the Cubs.  He was limited to 110 games in his first season by injury, hitting .262/.336/.433 along with 14 homers and 46 RBI. 

After a slow start in April where he hit .254/.333/.373 and just one home run, Suzuki had an excellent month in May, hitting .319/.417/.560 and five homers. On the season, Suzuki is hitting .278/.367/.450 with six homers, 19 RBI, and 124 wRC+ in 50 games. 

So far in his big league career, Suzuki has shown fans glimpses of the five-tool skill set that made him an appealing player in the 2021 offseason but has yet to have his breakout moment.

He has shown excellent plate discipline, walking at a 12.1% rate, and ranks in the 92nd percentile on Statcast chase rate. Despite his plate discipline, Suzuki strikes out quite often, with a 26.1 K%. Suzuki seems to struggle against pitches with movement, hitting just .216 against sinkers and .176 against cutters. Four-seamers with “clean” spin are traditionally more valued over moving pitches in Japan, so it is common for Japanese hitters to struggle with movement since they lack reps. 

Suzuki has been as advertised on the defensive end, recording two outs above average, thanks to a 98th-percentile outfielder jump and 92nd-percentile arm strength. 

Yu Darvish

The right-hander signed a five-year, $90MM contract extension in February, keeping him on the team through 2028. Darvish had a self-proclaimed best season of his career in 2022, tossing 194 2/3 innings with a 3.10 ERA, 25.6 K%, and 4.8 BB%.

He hasn’t been at his absolute best in 2023, with a 4.30 ERA, 26.3 K%, 7.5 BB% in 69 innings, but is still putting up above-average peripheral numbers on Statcast and still featuring a unique eight-pitch mix. If you remove his May 28th start against the Yankees where he got knocked around for seven runs in 2 ⅔ innings, his ERA would be 3.53. 

He reached the 100 wins mark in his last start against the Rockies on June 9, joining Hideo Nomo as the only Japanese MLB pitchers to reach that mark.

Yusei Kikuchi

In his second season as a Blue Jay, Kikuchi is still navigating his way to be a consistently productive starter. The left-hander had his worst season in the majors since his rookie season, largely due to poor control and a questionable pitch mix. 

Coming into 2023, Kikuchi made subtle changes in his delivery and mechanics, while sporting a new beard and swagger. He was off to a solid start, with a 3.00 ERA in April, but had a tough May where he gave up nine home runs and had a 5.83 ERA. On the season, Kikuchi has a 4.34 ERA, 22.7 K%, and 7.4 BB% in 66 ⅓ innings, while giving up an MLB-worst 18 home runs. 

The left-hander is throwing harder than he ever has, with average fastball velocity up to 95.3 mph compared to 92.5 mph his first year in MLB. It hasn’t necessarily translated to a high-quality pitch, however. While Kikuchi is getting whiffs at a 29.7% rate with his fastball, hitters are still getting good contact and hitting .315 against it. 

Although Kikuchi has improved his walk rate by five percentage points from last season, his bad starts are still marked by control issues and giving up the long ball while working behind in the count. The Blue Jays will need every solid performance they can get from Kikuchi in a competitive AL East, especially with Alek Manoah being optioned to the Florida Complex League. 

Kenta Maeda

The 35-year-old Twins right-hander is attempting a full comeback from Tommy John surgery in 2021. The veteran has faced several setbacks in his recovery. He took a 111.6 mph liner off his left foot against the Red Sox on April 20. In his next start against the Yankees, Maeda gave up a career-worst 10 runs in three innings. He was then placed on the IL with a strained triceps. 

Maeda completed his third rehab start for Triple-A St. Paul on June 10. He tossed four shutout innings and struck out five, and will be returning to the big league team in the coming weeks. “The (velocity) was good, the splitter was good, the slider was good. Everything was good,” said St. Paul manager Toby Gardenhire (link via Dean Spiros of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press).

Shintaro Fujinami

The Athletics signed Fujinami to a one-year, $3MM deal in January, with the A’s front office rolling the dice on Fujinami’s 100 mph fastball and potential plus strikeout stuff, despite control issues.

He opened the season in the rotation but was quickly moved to the bullpen at the end of April after allowing 24 runs in just 15 innings and walking 12 batters. It has been more of the same for the 29-year-old right-hander since moving to the bullpen, with a 11.12 ERA on the season while walking 17% of hitters.

It’s been a struggle for Fujinami to throw strikes to say the least. His 29 total walks is the most in MLB for pitchers under 40 innings thrown. When he does find the strike zone, the 6’6 righty is getting shelled. He has a hard hit percentage of 49%, which ranks in the seventh percentile.

Fujinami has dug himself a deep hole in terms of establishing himself as a big league pitcher, but he’s continuing to get opportunities to prove himself on an A’s pitching staff with minimal depth.

Orioles Select Mark Kolozsvary, Place Ryan Mountcastle On Injured List

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The Orioles announced a last-minute move before tonight’s matchup with the Blue Jays. Catcher Mark Kolozsvary has been selected onto the big league roster while first baseman Ryan Mountcastle is headed to the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 10, due to vertigo. In order to clear a 40-man roster spot, Baltimore designated minor league righty Noah Denoyer for assignment.

Kolozsvary is in position to make his O’s debut. Baltimore claimed him off waivers from the Reds at the start of the offseason. A few weeks later, they successfully passed him through waivers to keep him in the organization. He’s made 20 appearances for their top affiliate in Norfolk, hitting .162/.250/.265 with 26 strikeouts and five walks.

The 27-year-old backstop has never been much of an offensive threat. He’s a career .171/.283/.290 hitter at the Triple-A level. His glove secured him a 10-game MLB audition with Cincinnati last season. It’ll similarly land him at least a brief look in Baltimore behind Adley Rutschman and James McCann.

Mountcastle hasn’t played since August 8 because of an illness. Teams can backdate an IL placement for a maximum of three days. The O’s have decided to give the righty-swinging infielder at least another week to sort through vertigo symptoms that have apparently been plaguing him. It has been a tough season for Mountcastle, who carries a career-worst .227/.264/.421 batting line through 261 trips to the plate. Ryan O’Hearn and Josh Lester have gotten first base looks in his absence recently.

Denoyer landed a 40-man roster spot early last offseason. The 6’5″ hurler would otherwise have been eligible for the Rule 5 draft. He’d been coming off a 2.89 ERA showing across three minor league levels and the O’s were evidently concerned another team would take a shot on him as an MLB middle reliever.

His results have backed up this season, his first full year in Norfolk. Denoyer has tallied 30 1/3 innings across 14 outings (four starts), typically working 2-3 frame stints. He’s managed a 5.04 ERA. That’s largely a reflection of a massive spike in free passes. After walking just 6.1% of opponents last season, he has walked over 15% of batters faced this year. Denoyer’s 23.3% strikeout percentage and 48.8% ground-ball rate are still solid, but the newfound control issues pushed him off the roster.

Baltimore will trade him or put him on waivers within the next week. He’s in his first of three option years, so any team that takes a shot on him could keep him in the upper minors for the foreseeable future if they’re willing to put him on the 40-man.

Marlins Select Archie Bradley

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The Marlins made some roster moves today, per Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. Right-hander Archie Bradley has been selected to the roster, with Huascar Brazobán optioned in a corresponding move. To make room for Bradley on the 40-man roster, lefty Trevor Rogers has been transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Bradley reaches the majors for the first time this year. It’s now nine consecutive seasons for the former top ten pick. He had a strong run of high-leverage relief from 2017-20 with the Diamondbacks and Reds. His results have gone in the wrong direction over the past two seasons. Bradley is coming off a career-worst year with the Angels, tossing 18 2/3 innings of 4.82 ERA ball while missing extended chunks of action with an elbow fracture and a forearm strain.

That down year kept the 30-year-old on the open market until after Opening Day. He signed a minor league contract with Miami in mid-April. He’s since pitched nine games (including one five-inning start) for Triple-A Jacksonville, tossing 18 1/3 frames. While Bradley has allowed 13 runs, only six have been earned. He’s fanned 16 while walking five.

Miami plugs him into a bullpen that has been solid. They’re 15th in ERA (4.17) but fourth in strikeout rate (24.9%) and third in ground-ball percentage (45.5%). That’s played a role in the club’s 17-5 record in one-run contests, which has them seven games above .500 despite a -27 run differential.

Rogers moves to the 60-day IL after sustaining an injury to his non-throwing shoulder. He’s been out since April 20, initially landing on the shelf with a biceps strain in his throwing arm. Rogers made a pair of rehab starts but had a scheduled outing over the weekend scrapped.

The IL transfer doesn’t have much of an impact on Rogers’ eligibility. It backdates to his initial placement, so he’s eligible to return as early as next Wednesday. However, Craig Mish of SportsGrid tweets that he’s not likely to be reinstated when first permissible because of the shoulder discomfort.

José Quintana Begins Rehab Assignment

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The Mets announced to reporters, including Tim Healey of Newsday, that left-hander José Quintana has been assigned to Low-A St. Lucie to begin a rehab assignment. He started tonight’s game and tossed 26 pitches over a scoreless inning and a third, allowing two hits and a walk.

Quintana, 34, joined the Mets this offseason by signing a two-year, $26MM deal. Unfortunately, he has yet to make his debut as a Met due to requiring bone graft surgery for a benign lesion on one of his ribs. When that procedure was announced in March, it was reported that Quintana wouldn’t be able to return until July at the earliest. He seems to be on track to hit that target as long as the rehab assignment goes well. Pitchers can spend a maximum of 30 days on rehab assignments before they need to either be activated or shut down due to some kind of setback.

The imminent return of Quintana puts the Mets within range of having their planned rotation all together for the first time this season. In addition to Quintana’s ailment, Carlos Carrasco and Justin Verlander each spent some time on the IL, while Max Scherzer missed time due to a 10-game ban for foreign substance usage. All of that has left Kodai Senga and Tylor Megill as the only constants  in the rotation.

Those various hurdles have coincided with a slow start to the season for the club. Despite winning 101 games last year and having a very aggressive offseason where they ran the payroll up to record heights, they currently sport a record of 31-35, nine games behind Atlanta in the National League East. Thankfully for the Mets, a Wild Card position is far closer to their grasp, as they are only three games back in that race. Now that their rotation is nearing full strength, perhaps that gives them the boost they need to make a surge.

Quintana spent many years as a solid rotation member in Chicago, pitching for both the White Sox and the Cubs. He tossed over 200 innings in each season from 2013 to 2016, then tallied at least 170 frames in each of the next three campaigns. His ERA held steady between 3.20 and 4.68 in those years. He then missed most of the 2020 season due to a thumb injury and struggled badly in 2021, but bounced back nicely last year. Between the Pirates and Cardinals, he tossed 165 2/3 innings with a 2.93 ERA, 20.2% strikeout rate, 6.9% walk rate and 46.4% ground ball rate.

If everyone stays healthy over the next few weeks, Quintana would likely displace Megill from the rotation, as he still has options and has struggled of late. He had a 3.88 ERA after his start on May 18 but has allowed 16 earned runs in his past 16 2/3 innings, bumping his ERA for the season to 5.14.

Reds Designate Joel Kuhnel, Select Daniel Duarte

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The Reds announced a series of roster moves today, selecting the contract of right-hander Daniel Duarte. To open a spot on the active roster, fellow righty Ricky Karcher was optioned to Triple-A. Righty Joel Kuhnel was designated for assignment in a corresponding 40-man move.

Duarte, 26, first got added to the Cincinnati roster going into 2022 but he spent most of the season on the injured list due to elbow problems. He was non-tendered, re-signed to a minor league deal and has been pitching in Triple-A so far this year. He has a 3.49 ERA in 28 1/3 innings, striking out 25.4% of opponents while walking 11.1% and getting grounders at a 51.4% clip.

The Reds played a 10-inning game yesterday, using six pitchers in the process. Though they ultimately emerged victorious, the bullpen was a bit taxed so Duarte will come in and give the club a fresh arm. He still has a couple of options and just one year of major league service time, so he could potentially be retained as a cheap and optionable depth piece for the foreseeable future if he continues to hang onto his 40-man roster spot.

The casualty of bringing Duarte up to the majors is Kuhnel. The 28-year-old has bounced on and off the Reds’ roster in recent seasons, logging 74 innings of sporadic action dating back to 2019. He has a 6.20 career ERA, 20.8% strikeout rate, 6.4% walk rate and 51.9% ground ball rate. There’s likely been a bit of bad luck in there as his 62.8% strand rate is well below average, leading to a 4.28 FIP and 3.55 SIERA. But in 24 Triple-A innings this year, he has a 7.13 ERA while striking out just 13.3% of opponents.

The Reds will now have a week to trade Kuhnel or pass him through waivers. In the event he clears waivers, he would have the right to elect free agency by virtue of having a previous career outright. If any club were to acquire Kuhnel, he has a couple of options and just over a year of service time.

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