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Archives for August 2023

Guardians Claim Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Matt Moore

By Steve Adams | August 31, 2023 at 11:59pm CDT

In a swift retooling of the pitching staff, the Guardians have claimed right-handers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez and lefty Matt Moore off waivers from the Angels, Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN report. It’s a sudden, jarring final push to salvage a postseason appearance by Cleveland — one that would have seemed impossible just 72 hours ago.

The Angels’ decision to place roughly a quarter of their roster on waivers — Hunter Renfroe, Randal Grichuk and Dominic Leone all hit waivers on Tuesday as well — stunned the industry, though the rationale behind it is at least sound. The Angels aggressively pushed for a postseason berth at the deadline, acquiring Giolito, Lopez, Grichuk and C.J. Cron, but have since lost two-thirds of their games and fallen from postseason contention in a stacked AL West. (Somewhat amusingly, their 64-70 record is the same as the Guardians, though the AL Central is the sport’s weakest division.)

That slate of trades pushed the Halos over the luxury tax threshold, which would reduce their draft compensation in the event that Shohei Ohtani signs elsewhere after rejecting a qualifying offer. They’d also face steeper penalties in 2024 in the event that they exceeded the tax barrier next year. But, by waiving this slate of players and seeing each of Giolito, Lopez, Moore, Renfroe (Reds) and Leone (Mariners) all come off the books, the Angels will duck back under the tax threshold. Their theoretical comp pick for Ohtani’s departure would come prior to the third round of the draft rather than between the fourth and fifth rounds. They also won’t face any escalating penalties in the event that they wind up as a luxury tax payor next season.

It’s a bad look for MLB to see such a brazenly non-competitive move by a team that just four weeks ago energized its fanbase and clubhouse with a bold win-now push. At the same time, the Angels can’t really be faulted for the decision at this juncture, given the manner in which things have played out. They’re merely taking advantage of the rules that have been collectively bargained between the league and the Players Association. None of the players they waived would’ve been eligible or considered for a qualifying offer anyhow, so there’s quite literally no incentive for the Angels to hold onto them and strong incentive for them to engage in this tactic now that their playoff hopes are all but mathematically dashed.

While Major League Baseball perhaps ought to look into ways to prevent mass roster purges of this nature in future Augusts, there’s little to be done about it now — and the Guardians stand to benefit. Cleveland has spent the entirety of the year looking up at the Twins in the American League Central standings, and after taking two of three from Minnesota in their just-completed series now faces only a five-game deficit. It’s worth wondering what might’ve happened if the Twins had swept or at least won the series — Minnesota was within one strike of winning yesterday’s game, but the bullpen couldn’t hold the lead — though perhaps Cleveland would’ve made the claims even if facing a six- or seven-game deficit.

A firm answer to that hypothetical probably can’t ever be known, but it’s a moot point anyhow; the Guardians’ comeback win yesterday brought them within striking distance of the Twins in the division, and they’ll now add three high-caliber arms to their pitching staff. Giolito, of course, is the most notable of the bunch and perhaps the most vital, given the extent of the pitching injuries that have ravaged the Cleveland rotation this year. Each of Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie and Cal Quantrill has been out more seven weeks. The Guardians, acknowledging that their playoff hopes had slipped, traded Aaron Civale to the Rays prior to the deadline.

Giolito joins a rookie-laden rotation, adding a veteran arm to stand alongside the impressive trio of Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams and Logan Allen. The expectation is that Quantrill will soon be ready to join that group, and the club has also expressed optimism that Bieber could return late in the month.

While the 2023 season has been Giolito’s worst in recent memory, that’s largely due to poor results with the team that just waived him. After pitching to a 3.79 ERA with a 25.8% strikeout rate and 8.3% walk rate in 121 innings with the White Sox, Giolito was torched for a 6.89 ERA with worse strikeout (22.8%) and walk (10.3%) rates as a member of the Halos. Most dramatically, an already too-high home run rate of 1.49 per nine innings pitched spiked to 2.76 as an Angel.

Looking at Giolito’s track record as a whole, however, it’s easy enough to see why he was claimed by several teams (the others all having lower waiver priority than Cleveland). Dating back to 2019, Giolito sports a 3.99 ERA in 743 innings. His strikeout rate has dipped over the past two seasons, but he’s still averaging 93-94 mph on his heater, punching out about a quarter of his opponents, and has generally shown good command throughout his MLB career. The Cy Young-caliber breakout many expected perhaps never came, but Giolito is a durable mid-rotation arm who misses bats, limits walks and is a playoff-caliber arm.

Meanwhile, an already excellent Cleveland bullpen will now add two formidable arms in Lopez and Moore. Guardians relievers already rank fifth in the Majors with a 3.48 ERA, and the addition of two veterans just in time for rosters to expand will put them in the conversation for best relief corps in baseball.

Lopez, 29, is one of MLB’s hardest throwers, averaging a blistering 98.4 mph on his heater this year. He’s seen his previously strong command erode in 2023, walking a career-worst 12.6% of his opponents, but he’s also fanning a career-best 29.8% of hitters and boasting a career-high 14.1% swinging-strike rate. In 55 innings of relief, the former top prospect has a 3.93 ERA. Lopez is limiting hard contact at the best levels of his career as well and throwing his blazing fastball more often than ever before — generally at the expense of his third and fourth pitches (curveball, changeup). He’s primarily been a fastball/slider pitcher this year, and while the results have been a bit mixed, he’ll add a power arm capable of missing bats in droves to Terry Francona’s bullpen.

Moore, meanwhile, gives Francona a second lefty alongside Sam Hentges. The 34-year-old has found new life in his career since moving to a full-time relief role last year. He’s pitched 44 innings for the Angels in 2023, working to a 2.66 ERA with a career-high 28% strikeout rate and a very strong 6.9% walk rate.

Once the game’s consensus top pitching prospect, Moore impressed early on with the Rays before Tommy John surgery derailed his career. The left-hander never seemed to fully recover. After pitching to a 3.53 ERA from 2011-14, he missed most of the 2014-15 seasons recovering from that surgery, and posted a 5.26 ERA over his next 620 2/3 innings post-surgery.

Moore had a one-year stop in Japan along the way and pitched fairly well there, but it wasn’t until signing a minor league deal with Texas last year that he became a pitcher of note at the big league level again. Moore’s 1.95 ERA set the stage for a $7.55MM deal with the Angels this year, and he’s now logged a combined 2.21 ERA in his career’s second act as a late-inning reliever.

All in all, it’s a borderline unheard-of boon to a Major League pitching staff at this stage of a season — and all it will cost the Guardians is the collective $3.727MM that remain on the trio’s 2023 contracts. Each of Giolito, Moore and Lopez will be a free agent after the season, and the Guardians won’t receive any compensation if and when they enter free agency. They’re still a long shot to erase that five-game gap in the standings, particularly with the Twins still having series against the A’s, Rockies, White Sox, Mets and a now-depleted Angels team. But the Guardians were presented an opportunity to do everything they could to boost their slim playoff odds, and just like the Angels did one month ago, they took their shot.

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Cleveland Guardians Los Angeles Angels Newsstand Transactions Lucas Giolito Matt Moore Reynaldo Lopez

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Reds Claim Harrison Bader, Hunter Renfroe

By Darragh McDonald | August 31, 2023 at 11:58pm CDT

The Reds have claimed outfielder Harrison Bader off waivers from the Yankees, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The Reds also claimed outfielder Hunter Renfroe from the Angels, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN. By joining the Reds prior to September 1, each will be eligible to participate in the postseason if the club eventually makes it.

Bader, 29, and Renfroe, 31, were two of several veteran players placed on waivers this week. There were many clubs who were still hovering around contention at the trade deadline but slipped back in the standings in the month of August. But the opportunity to trade impending free agents for any kind of return had passed by, leaving them little recourse but to place those players on waivers. By doing so, they could perhaps at least save themselves some money since the claiming team takes on the remainder of the contract, while allowing the player to move somewhere with a chance to contend and perhaps make the playoffs.

Both Bader and Renfroe will do just that, jumping from their respective clubs to the Reds, who have emerged from their rebuild in amazing fashion this year. Several rookies have been called up and have been able to hit the ground running, allowing the club to currently find themselves just one game out of a National League Wild Card spot with a record of 69-66. They will now add a couple of veteran players into the mix for their stretch run, for nothing but a financial cost.

Bader has long been an excellent fielder in center, starting with the Cardinals and continuing with the Yankees after a trade last year. In 621 career games, he’s tallied 53 Defensive Runs Saved, 67 Outs Above Average and a grade of 46.7 from Ultimate Zone Rating. Injuries have been an ongoing issue, however, with Bader only twice playing in more than 103 games in a season. Those instances were back in 2018 and 2019, with multiple IL trips in the seasons since.

At the plate, he’s been less impressive than in the field, usually hovering around league average. His career batting line is .244/.312/.399, which translates to a wRC+ of 93, but he’s hitting just .240/.278/.365 this year for a 76 wRC+. But his speed has allowed him to steal 74 bases in his career, including 17 already this season.

Renfroe is effectively the inverse to Bader, as his bat his generally his best trait, with his speed and defense considered subpar. Though his offense is his standout trait, he’s inconsistent in that regard, with his production oscillating between either side of league average. Over 2021 and 2022, he hit 60 home runs and produced a batting line of .257/.315/.496, amounting to a wRC+ of 118. But this year, he’s down a bit to .242/.304/.434 and a 98 wRC+.

Despite each player’s value, the Yankees and Angels fell back in the standings in August and gave up on their hopes of contending. Both of these players are impending free agents and neither would warrant a qualifying offer at season’s end, so their respective clubs placed them on waivers in the hopes that another team would put in a claim and take the remainder of the contract off their hands.

The waiver priority order is the reverse of the standings, with the worst clubs having first dibs. But non-contending clubs would have no incentive for claiming these players, so they have naturally skipped to a contender. In this case, some other fringe contenders like the Guardians and Marlins passed on Bader and Renfroe, though the Reds benefited by being in the playoff race but with a worse record than some of the clubs they are battling.

By adding Renfroe and Bader into the mix, the Reds have further crowded their outfield picture. In recent days, they have had TJ Friedl in center, with Will Benson and Nick Senzel getting regular work in the corners, backed up by Stuart Fairchild and TJ Hopkins. There’s also Jake Fraley, who is on the injured list but currently on a rehab assignment. Spencer Steer has been covering second base with Matt McLain on the IL but could end up back in the outfield if McLain returns.

There’s a lot of moving parts there but the Reds will likely figure out a way to make it work. Senzel is hitting just .219/.289/.371 this year and could be bumped from the regular lineup by Renfroe. Friedl was hitting .313/.379/.486 through June but has slumped to a line of .221/.278/.352 since the calendar flipped to July, perhaps leading to Bader taking some of his playing time. There’s also the designated hitter slot, which has been used by Nick Martini of late. He’s been red hot but in a small sample of just nine games.

However it plays out, the Reds are taking on some money to try to push themselves into the postseason. Bader is making $4.7MM this year with around $783K left to be paid out, while Renfroe has about $1.98MM left on his $11.9MM salary. That leaves the Reds taking on close to $2.76MM in these moves, though the savings for the other clubs will be greater.

The Yankees are set to pay the luxury tax for a second straight year and have been hovering around the fourth CBT tier. That means they will be paying a 75% tax on any spending over the $273MM line and a 90% tax on any spending over the $293MM line. By having Bader claimed on waivers, they will save the remainder of his contract and also reduce their tax bill.

For the Angels, they were narrowly over the lowest CBT threshold and may be able to duck below. In addition to the Reds claiming Renfroe, the Guardians claimed Lucas Giolito, Matt Moore and Reynaldo López while the Mariners claimed Dominic Leone. In addition to the straightforward cost savings, those claims could potentially push them out of payor status, though that won’t be officially known until the offseason. If they did successfully avoid the tax, that would impact the draft pick they receive in the event Shohei Ohtani signs elsewhere after rejecting a qualifying offer. A team that pays the luxury tax sees their compensatory draft pick moved back from just before the third round to just after the fourth, moving from around pick 75-80 to around 140. There are also compounding penalties for repeat payors, meaning that getting below the line here in 2023 could have impacts for the Halos into the future as well.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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Cincinnati Reds Los Angeles Angels New York Yankees Newsstand Transactions Harrison Bader Hunter Renfroe

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Brewers Sign Josh Donaldson To Minor League Deal

By Darragh McDonald | August 31, 2023 at 11:57pm CDT

The Brewers have signed Josh Donaldson to a minor league deal, per Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The third baseman will report to Triple-A Nashville. By joining the organization prior to September 1, he will be eligible to play for the Brewers in the postseason.

Donaldson, 37, spent almost a decade one of the best third basemen in the league but has fallen on hard times of late. From 2013 to 2021, he hit 241 home runs and slashed .272/.373/.514 for a wRC+ of 141, indicating he was 41% better than the league average hitter in that time. But after being traded from the Twins to the Yankees prior to 2022, his production started to fall off. Last year, he hit .222/.308/.374 for a wRC+ of 98. His strikeout rate jumped to 27.1%, after being at 19.8% in that aforementioned stretch of excellence.

This year, he has hardly been able to take the field. He has twice gone on the injured list, first due to a right hamstring strain and then a right calf strain, only getting into 34 games on the season. He hit 10 home runs in that time but slashed just .142/.225/.434. He suffered through a tiny .076 batting average on balls in play in that time but his strikeout rate remained high at 26.7%.

He most recent IL stint began in mid-July, meaning he’s been out of action for about six weeks at this point. He was ramping up lately and nearing a rehab assignment but the Yankees released him earlier this week, giving him a chance to catch on elsewhere as they use the remainder of their lost season to get a look at younger players. Donaldson has now found that new chance with the Brewers.

Milwaukee has been using Andruw Monasterio as its primary third baseman in recent months, but he has cooled off lately. He was hitting .288/.369/.410 through August 14 but just .149/.216/.149 in his past 13 games. Brian Anderson has also seen some time at the hot corner but has experienced a similar cooldown. He was hitting .229/.317/.373 when he landed on the injured list in July due to a lower back strain. Since returning earlier this month, he’s hit just .150/.190/.250. Donaldson could also possibly nudge Carlos Santana, who has hit .219/.281/.419 since being acquired by the Brewers, from some time as the designated hitter.

Perhaps the Brewers will add Donaldson to their roster and try to catch lightning in a bottle to improve their output at third. Donaldson’s overall results haven’t been great but he’s still been good on defense and he won’t be able to sustain that tiny BABIP going forward. Active rosters expand from 26 to 28 tomorrow but Donaldson will need a 40-man spot if the Brewers decide to add him. Since he was set to go on a rehab assignment anyway, perhaps he goes to Nashville for a few days to get back into game shape.

The Brewers are currently atop the National League Central but the Cubs and Reds are within three and six games, respectively. For now, they are taking a no-risk look at Donaldson to see what form he’s in and if he can help them with their playoff push or maybe in the playoffs themselves. If they add him to the roster at any point, they will only owe him the prorated league minimum, since the Yanks are on the hook for the majority of what remains of his contract by releasing him.

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Milwaukee Brewers Newsstand Transactions Josh Donaldson

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White Sox Name Chris Getz General Manager

By Steve Adams | August 31, 2023 at 11:56pm CDT

The White Sox announced Thursday that assistant general manager Chris Getz has been promoted to the position of senior vice president and general manager. Chicago fired longtime baseball operations executives Rick Hahn and Kenny Williams last week.

Getz, who turned 40 yesterday, will join the likes of Rangers GM Chris Young, Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto, Phillies GM Sam Fuld and Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes among high-ranking baseball operations executives who also played at the Major League level. (Fuld and Gomes are second on their respective organizations’ baseball operations hierarchies. Young, Dipoto and now Getz are their teams’ top baseball operations decision-makers.)

A fourth-round pick of the White Sox back in 2005, Getz played in parts of seven Major League seasons between the White Sox, Royals and Blue Jays. In 459 big league games and 1574 plate appearances, he posted a .250/.309/.307 batting line and swiped 89 bases in 117 tries. Getz was the White Sox’ primary second baseman in 2009 before being traded to the Royals as part of a package to acquire infielder/outfielder Mark Teahen, and he served as Kansas City’s primary second baseman from 2010-11.

Getz announced his retirement as a player in May 2014, and spent the next two years as a baseball operations and player development assistant with the Royals. The White Sox hired him in October 2016 to take over as the team’s new director of player development — a role he held from 2017-20 before being promoted to his most recent title of assistant general manager. Throughout his time with the Sox, Getz has overseen day-to-day operation of the minor league system and the team’s academy in the Dominican Republic. He’s also contributed to player evaluation and contract negotiations.

“Chris brings a wealth of knowledge and experience within our organization to this role,” owner Jerry Reinsdorf said Thursday in a statement within the press release announcing Getz’s promotion. “Most importantly, he knows our players, both at the major league level and in our system, knows our staff and is familiar with all aspects of our baseball operations department. Chris has impressed me greatly over the past seven years. In our conversations together this season, I have become energized by his vision, approach and sense of what this organization needs to become competitive again. With his existing knowledge of the organization, top to bottom, I believe his leadership will provide us with the quickest path forward to our goal, a consistently successful baseball team that competes and plays the game the right way. He will re-energize this organization.”

Since the dismissal of Hahn and Williams, most reports out of Chicago have indicated that Reinsdorf was likely to go with an in-house hire — many tabbing Getz as the favorite. While Getz has clearly put in time with the organization and risen through the ranks since his playing days, it’s still a move that’s likely to be unpopular among Chicago fans, who were hoping for an outside hire to shake up what has been labeled by multiple former Sox players as a chaotic organizational culture. Reinsdorf, however, has a reputation as perhaps the most fiercely loyal owner in all of sports — which is what made the firing of Hahn and Williams so surprising. Even prior efforts to turn the organization around have included the return of old faces, such as the 2021 hiring of Tony La Russa as a second stint managing the team.

Getz now has nearly a decade of experience working in player development and baseball operations, and he’ll take the knowledge he’s accrued over that time and attempt to win over a fan base that has grown frustrated with the lack of results from the team’s lengthy rebuilding effort. The Sox tore things down back in 2016, trading names like Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, Adam Eaton, David Robertson and Todd Frazier and taking a hyper-aggressive approach to international free agency — which led to the signings of Jose Abreu and Luis Robert Jr.

The White Sox’ farm system was regarded as one of the best in the sport as prospects like Robert, Lucas Giolito, Michael Kopech, Eloy Jimenez, Yoan Moncada, Tim Anderson and others began to graduate to the Majors, and things looked to be on track when the Sox went 35-25 in the shortened 2020 season and then steamrolled the AL Central with a 93-69 showing in 2021 — winning the division by 13 games.

However, the Sox fell flat in 2022, and the 2023 season has been an unmitigated disaster. The Sox opened the season 7-19 with a -58 run differential through their first 26 games, and it looked as though their season was lost before the end of April. That’s proven to be the case, as the Sox never really recovered from that opening swoon and spent deadline season trading away the likes of Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Kendall Graveman, Lance Lynn, Jake Burger and Keynan Middleton in an attempt to restock the farm.

With Getz now at the helm, the broader questions will surround precisely what Reinsdorf meant when referencing the newly minted GM’s “vision, approach and sense of what this organization needs to become competitive again.” The Sox eschewed trades of controllable talents like Jimenez, Kopech, Robert, Dylan Cease and Andrew Vaughn. If the Sox opt for another aggressive rebuild, any combination of that group could be on the trade market this offseason. On the other hand, that’s a talented core to try to surround with talent, and Chicago has more than $100MM coming off the books this winter — in addition to some new players in the upper levels of the system following the deadline sell-off of shorter-term pieces.

Time will tell which direction the team chooses, but Getz faces an uphill battle both in restoring the White Sox to prominence and in winning over a fanbase that had been pining for broader-reaching changes.

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Chicago White Sox Newsstand Chris Getz

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A’s Freddy Tarnok Undergoes Season-Ending Hip Surgery

By Anthony Franco | August 31, 2023 at 11:13pm CDT

The A’s informed reporters that righty Freddy Tarnok underwent surgery to repair the labrum and cartilage in his right hip yesterday (relayed by Karl Buscheck). He’ll miss the rest of the season but is expected to be ready for Spring Training.

Tarnok was one of four young players acquired in last winter’s Sean Murphy trade. The hard-throwing hurler had made one big league appearance with the Braves a season ago. He was in the mix for a rotation spot on a rebuilding A’s club but battled injuries during his first year in Oakland.

The 24-year-old missed the first couple months with a strain in his throwing shoulder. He returned shortly before the All-Star Break. Tarnok started one of five appearances, logging 14 2/3 innings of eight-run ball. He struck out 14 and walked 11. Tarnok landed back on the IL a few weeks ago with what the team initially called a right calf strain. That discomfort was seemingly connected to the hip issue, requiring surgical repair.

Oakland will keep Tarnok on the IL through season’s end. They’ll have to carry him on the 40-man roster through the offseason. Assuming his recovery goes as planned, he could vie for a spot on a 2024 pitching staff that isn’t likely to be much more settled than this year’s iteration.

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Oakland Athletics Freddy Tarnok

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Nationals To Select Travis Blankenhorn

By Anthony Franco | August 31, 2023 at 10:47pm CDT

The Nationals are selecting first baseman/corner outfielder Travis Blankenhorn, reports Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (Twitter link). He’ll take one of the extra spots on the September active roster. The club’s 40-man roster is at capacity, so they’ll need to make a corresponding move tomorrow.

Blankenhorn, 27, has spent the season with Triple-A Rochester after signing an offseason minor league deal. He’s had a productive year, hitting .264/.363/.521 with 23 longballs. The left-handed hitter has walked at a strong 11.3% clip and hit for enough power to offset a slightly elevated 24.3% strikeout rate.

A former third-round pick of the Twins, Blankenhorn has gotten cups of coffee with Minnesota and the Mets at the big league level. He has 26 games of MLB experience between 2020-22. The Pennsylvania native has shown well against upper minors pitching, carrying a .262/.354/.487 line in a little more than 1000 career Triple-A plate appearances.

Blankenhorn is limited defensively but offers a bat-first option for manager Dave Martinez down the stretch. He’ll look to impress the front office enough over the next five weeks to stake a claim to a 40-man spot over the winter.

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Transactions Washington Nationals Travis Blankenhorn

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Angels To Select Kyren Paris

By Anthony Franco | August 31, 2023 at 10:37pm CDT

The Angels plan to promote middle infield prospect Kyren Paris from Double-A Rocket City, reports Taylor Blake Ward of the Sporting Tribune (on Twitter). He’ll take one of a number of open roster spots for the Halos.

Paris, whom Baseball America recently ranked the #5 prospect in the Angels’ system, was a second round pick out of a Bay Area high school in 2019. He has been among the better prospects in the organization since then even though the canceled 2020 minor league campaign combined with hamate and leg fractures to keep him from playing regularly until 2022.

The righty-swinging infielder spent most of last season in High-A, where he hit .229/.345/.387 over 89 contests. The Angels bumped him to Double-A late in the year. He has spent all of 2023 in Rocket City, putting up a .255/.393/.417 batting line through 514 trips to the plate. It’s a solid showing for a 21-year-old overall, although Paris’ profile is fairly volatile.

Prospect evaluators praise his athleticism and plus speed. Paris has stolen 44 bases and been caught just five times this year. He has connected on 14 home runs, 23 doubles and a triple despite a fairly slight 6’0″ frame. Scouting reports raise questions about whether he has the arm strength to stick on the left side of the infield but suggest he could be a good defensive second baseman.

At the same time, there are questions about Paris’ inconsistency making contact. He’s striking out at a near-30% clip in the minors. His youth and lack of professional experience have surely played a role, but Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs wrote in June that Paris is always likely to have well below-average contact skills because of middling bat control.

Even for an organization that is very aggressive about promoting prospects, jumping Paris past Triple-A when he’s striking out so frequently in Double-A is a surprising decision. He’ll likely have some growing pains in his initial look at big league pitching. The Angels are content to live with potential early struggles to get Paris some experience as they close out another disappointing season.

Paris could step in as the primary shortstop with Zach Neto on the injured list. The Halos have been playing Luis Rengifo there. The utilityman is capable of moving around the diamond and could see increased outfield reps after Hunter Renfroe was moved on waivers.

Also taking a 40-man roster spot is right-hander Davis Daniel. The Angels reinstated him from the 60-day injured list and optioned him to Triple-A Salt Lake this afternoon. Daniel has missed the entire season with a shoulder strain. He was called to the majors for a point last summer but has yet to make his MLB debut. Los Angeles still has three open 40-man spots.

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Los Angeles Angels Transactions Davis Daniel Kyren Paris

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Tigers To Select Miguel Diaz, Recall Andre Lipcius For MLB Debut

By Anthony Franco | August 31, 2023 at 9:41pm CDT

The Tigers announced a pair of forthcoming promotions with active rosters expanding tomorrow. Detroit will select right-hander Miguel Díaz onto the 40-man roster and recall infielder Andre Lipcius from Triple-A Toledo. The 40-man roster remains at capacity after José Cisnero went unclaimed on waivers. As a result, they’ll need to make a corresponding move when selecting Díaz’s contract.

Díaz is up for the first time this season and his sixth MLB campaign overall. The 28-year-old reliever pitched in three contests for Detroit last season. He was non-tendered at year’s end but returned on a minor league pact. Díaz has pitched 57 innings with Toledo on the year, working to a 5.05 ERA. That’s largely because of an abnormally low 59.6% strand rate, as his underlying marks are better than the run prevention would suggest.

In addition to picking up 14 saves for the Mud Hens, Díaz is striking hitters out at a quality 28.6% clip. He has kept the ball on the ground on nearly half the batted balls against him. He’s issuing a few more walks than ideal, but the combination of whiffs and grounders will get him a middle innings spot in A.J. Hinch’s bullpen.

Now that he’s back on the MLB roster, Díaz will be eligible for arbitration next offseason. The Tigers could keep him around beyond this year if they’d like, though it wouldn’t be surprising if he’s again non-tendered after logging a few innings down the stretch.

It’s the first career promotion for Lipcius, who was initially added to the 40-man roster last winter. The right-handed hitter was a third-round pick out of Tennessee back in 2019. He has never been an elite prospect but has a solid minor league track record. Lipcius placed among the organizational top 30 prospects at Baseball America in each of the past two offseasons, though he wasn’t on the outlet’s midseason update of the farm system.

Lipcius has bounced around the diamond this year. He’s suited up at each of first, second and third base and in left field. He’s not regarded as a particularly good defender at any spot but has the ability to move around the diamond to keep his bat in the lineup. The 25-year-old is hitting .272/.363/.412 with 10 homers through 416 Triple-A plate appearances. While that’s roughly average overall production given the very hitter-friendly nature of the top minor league level, Lipcius has shown strong strike zone awareness. He’s walking at a 12.5% clip while striking out just 17.5% of the time.

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Detroit Tigers Transactions Andre Lipcius Jose Cisnero Miguel Diaz

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Dodgers Likely To Select Kolten Wong

By Anthony Franco | August 31, 2023 at 8:56pm CDT

The Dodgers are planning to select veteran second baseman Kolten Wong onto the big league roster tomorrow, reports J.P. Hoornstra of the Orange County Register. He’ll take one of the expanded active roster spots. To fill the other role, Los Angeles will recall righty Emmet Sheehan from Triple-A (as first reported by Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 in Houston).

Wong joined the organization on a minor league pact a couple weeks ago. He didn’t spend much time in Triple-A. Wong played in just three games, collecting seven hits and a walk in 14 trips to the plate.

Before joining L.A., the veteran infielder had been struggling through the worst season of his career. Wong hit only .165/.241/.227 over 67 games with the Mariners. He struck out at a personal-high 21.3% clip and made hard contact on only around a quarter of batted balls — well below the 36% MLB average.

That offensive output would’ve been untenable even if Wong were continuing to defend at an elite level. Yet the two-time Gold Glove winner received slightly below-average grades from metrics like Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average over 513 1/3 innings. It was his second straight season with middling marks for his glovework, as Wong also played below his established level during his final year with Milwaukee.

While Wong’s glove has slipped as he’s gotten into his 30s, he was a productive hitter as recently as a year ago. The lefty-swinging infielder put up a .251/.339/.430 slash with 15 homers and 17 steals in 497 trips to the dish for the Brew Crew. The Dodgers will hope for something more closely approximating that form than his early-season work in Seattle.

Mookie Betts has played second base for the Dodgers lately. Wong can sometimes factor in when there’s a need for Betts to move back to the outfield. The Dodgers have Amed Rosario, Enrique Hernández and Chris Taylor as middle infield options off the bench, though that entire group hits from the right side.

There’s no financial risk for L.A. in bringing Wong up. The Mariners are on the hook for virtually all of his $10MM salary. The Dodgers will pay him just the prorated portion of the $720K league minimum for whatever time he spends on the MLB roster. He’ll be a free agent at year’s end.

While there’s no need for an active roster move, Los Angeles will need to make a corresponding 40-man transaction when Wong is officially promoted. The club filled the 40-man this afternoon by reinstating Shelby Miller from the 60-day injured list. The veteran righty has been out since late June because of a nerve issue in his neck. Miller has turned in 30 innings of 2.40 ERA ball out of Dave Roberts’ bullpen.

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Los Angeles Dodgers Transactions Kolten Wong Shelby Miller

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Reinsdorf: No Intention To Sell White Sox

By Anthony Franco | August 31, 2023 at 8:18pm CDT

The White Sox stayed in-house with their new front office, finalizing the hire of Chris Getz as their general manager this morning. Rumors that the Sox would turn to their AGM began almost immediately after ownership dismissed team president Ken Williams and GM Rick Hahn last week.

Promoting from within is nothing new. Jerry Reinsdorf has developed a reputation as one of the most loyal owners to his top employees. That willingness to stay the course has led to increasing levels of frustration from a good chunk of the fanbase, as the team has made the playoffs on just three occasions since its 2005 World Series win.

That has led to some clamoring for Reinsdorf to sell the team, but he made clear in a chat with reporters this afternoon he has no intention of doing so. “I’m going to couch this so nobody writes that I thought of selling,” Reinsdorf said (links via Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune and Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times). “Friends of mine have said: ‘Why don’t you sell? Why don’t you get out?’ My answer always has been: ‘I like what I’m doing, as bad as it is, and what else would I do?’ I’m a boring guy. I don’t play golf. I don’t play bridge. And I want to make it better before I go.”

Reinsdorf went on to downplay speculation about the franchise’s long-term home. Earlier this month, Greg Hinz of Crain’s Chicago Business wrote that Sox ownership had considered the possibility of leaving Guaranteed Rate Field when the club’s lease expired after the 2029 season. Hinz wrote that a relocation to Nashville was among the possibilities and suggested there was “some chatter among team insiders” that the 87-year-old Reinsdorf could look to sell the club.

This afternoon, Reinsdorf addressed Hinz’s report. “Ever since the article came out, I’ve been reading that I’ve been threatening to move to Nashville. That article didn’t come from me. But it’s obvious, if we have six years left … we’ve got to decide what’s the future going to be? We’ll get to it, but I never threatened to move out. We haven’t even begun to have discussions with the (Illinois) Sports Authority, which we’ll have to do soon.”

Over the weekend, Bob Nightengale of USA Today wrote that the Sox were considering three possibilities if they did decide to leave Guaranteed Rate Field: near the United Center, Soldier Field or Arlington Heights. There’ll presumably be more information on the stadium outlook in the coming months, but it’s not the most pressing issue for Reinsdorf or his new GM.

Turning to the on-field product, Reinsdorf called this “absolutely the worst season” of his 43-year ownership tenure. He expressed hope for a rather quick turnaround, pointing to Getz’s familiarity with the organization as a reason for hiring him so quickly after firing Williams and Hahn. That continuity will carry over to the dugout, as Getz confirmed that manager Pedro Grifol will get a second season at the helm (via Jesse Rogers of ESPN).

As for the roster, Reinsdorf expressed broad optimism in the existing core (second Sullivan link). He pushed back against the need for a huge overhaul and indicated the much-maligned organizational culture had already improved. Reinsdorf implied that some external acquisitions — presumably players who have since been traded — “contributed” to their clubhouse discord. While Getz suggested no one on the roster was truly untouchable, Reinsdorf didn’t sound like an owner eager to sign off on another rebuild.

In some respects, that’s an understandable course of action. The AL Central likely projects as one of the league’s weakest divisions yet again. The Sox decided against trading Dylan Cease, Luis Robert Jr., Eloy Jiménez or Andrew Vaughn at the deadline. They generally targeted upper minors help in the deals they did make. There should also be plenty of payroll space going into the offseason.

If the Sox buy out their options on Liam Hendriks and Tim Anderson, they’d enter the winter with roughly $84.5MM in guaranteed commitments. An arbitration class headlined by Cease, Vaughn and Michael Kopech could add around $20MM. Bringing Anderson back would tack on $13MM (the difference between the $14MM option value and a $1MM buyout). The Sox opened this season with a player payroll north of $180MM, so there should be a decent amount of room to add from the middle tiers of free agency.

At the same time, Getz and his front office will face an uphill battle in fixing what is currently a 53-81 roster. They dealt away a good chunk of their bullpen at the deadline. The rotation behind Cease is full of questions. Korey Lee is unestablished as an MLB catcher. The Sox would need at least one starting middle infielder and would have to address both spots if they move on from Anderson. They’d have a hard time finding a taker for Yoán Moncada but need better production out of third base.

It’s a lot to address even before considering the clubhouse dynamics which Reinsdorf minimized. Getz should have a fair bit of flexibility during his first offseason at the helm, but it’ll be difficult to fix all the weaknesses in one winter.

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Chicago White Sox Chris Getz Pedro Grifol

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