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Archives for September 2023

Angels Outright Gerardo Reyes

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The Angels have sent right-handed pitcher Gerardo Reyes outright to the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees. This is the second career outright for Reyes, giving him the option to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, although it is unclear if he plans to do so. With only six games remaining on the Triple-A schedule, he might prefer to play out the rest of the year, hoping to get in one or two more games before electing minor league free agency in the offseason.

Reyes has been in the Angels organization since August 2020. He appeared in two games for the big league club in 2022 and eight this season, posting a 6.94 ERA across a total of 11 2/3 innings pitched. Unfortunately for the 30-year-old, he didn’t look much better in the minors this year, pitching 36 innings and giving up 25 earned runs. His high strikeout rate is impressive, but he walks far too many batters and has had trouble keeping the ball in the yard. The righty was recalled and then optioned five times this year – the maximum number – before he was designated for assignment on September 14.

Still just 30 years old with a fastball in the 96-97 mph range, Reyes should have interested suitors once he elects free agency, whenever that may be. Prior to his time with the Angels, he spent time in the Rays and Padres organizations.

Angels Reinstate Jo Adell, Place Kyren Paris On 60-Day IL

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The Angels have reinstated outfielder Jo Adell from the 60-day injured list, the team announced. Utility player Kyren Paris has been placed on the 60-day IL himself, freeing up space on both the active and 40-man rosters. In other news, the Angels have optioned Jordyn Adams and recalled Michael Stefanic from Triple-A.

Adell had been on the IL with an oblique strain since the All-Star break. After a particularly disappointing 2022 season, the former top prospect spent the first half of the 2023 campaign at Triple-A, where he posted a .956 OPS and a 121 wRC+. He earned the call back to the big leagues in early July following Mike Trout’s hamate fracture, but he only managed to play four games before landing on the IL himself. With 12 games left on the schedule, he will have a brief opportunity to impress the Angels brass before the offseason.

Paris felt soreness in his left thumb ahead of Sunday’s matchup against the Tigers, and it has since been diagnosed as a torn ligament. With so little time remaining in the season, his placement on the 60-day IL is hardly more than a formality; the Angels will have to add him back to the 40-man roster during the offseason.

However, the season-ending injury comes as particularly disappointing news for Paris, who was enjoying his first taste of big league action at just 21 years old. Selected out of high school in the second round of the 2019 draft, he has quickly risen through the ranks in the Angels system. After a strong 2023 campaign at Double-A with the Rocket City Trash Pandas, he bypassed Triple-A and earned a major league call-up when rosters expanded on September 1. While the youngster struggled to adjust to big league pitching (he slashed .100/.200/.100 in 15 games), he showed off his versatility across the diamond, taking reps at shortstop, second base, and center field. Paris currently ranks as the no. 5 prospect in the organization, per MLB Pipeline. He will retain his prospect status next season. 

Adams, the Angels no. 15 prospect according MLB Pipeline, has appeared in 17 games at the MLB level, slashing .128/.125/.128 in 40 trips to the plate. He will be replaced on the active roster by Stefanic, who has been on fire this season at Triple-A, posting a .930 OPS and a 139 wRC+. With Adell returning and Paris headed to the IL, it’s no surprise the Angels have swapped out Adams, an outfielder, for Stefanic, an infielder.

Triston Casas Shut Down, Likely Done For The Year

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Two days after placing Triston Casas on the IL, the Red Sox have shut down the rookie from baseball activities, the team confirmed to reporters (including Pete Abraham and Alex Speier of The Boston Globe). With only 12 games remaining on the schedule for Boston, this likely marks the end of the young first baseman’s season.

The team is still waiting for MRI results, but they do not yet have any reason to believe the injury is more serious than the initial diagnosis of “right shoulder inflammation.” Still, they are choosing to play things safe with the 23-year-old slugger. While the Red Sox have not been mathematically eliminated, their postseason chances are beyond slim. Sitting 8.5 games back of a Wild Card berth with 12 to play, FanGraphs has their playoff odds below 0.1%. Thus, the club has little need to rush one of their brightest young players back from injury.

If indeed he doesn’t play another game, Casas will finish with 502 plate appearances, giving him just enough to qualify for the batting title. He currently ranks first among qualified AL rookies in OPS and wRC+, although the red-hot Gunnar Henderson could surpass him in either category before the year is up.

Bobby Dalbec started at first base on Sunday in place of Casas, and he is slated to start again this evening. The 28-year-old will have a chance to make a good impression over the next two weeks, as he tries to work his way back into a regular role with the big league club. After a disappointing 2022 season with Boston, he has spent much of 2023 at Triple-A. The righty batter has played well for the Worcester Red Sox (.938 OPS in 114 games) but has been blocked at the MLB level for most of the season.

Manny Machado Expects To Undergo Elbow Surgery, Possibly Before End Of Season

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TODAY: Manny Machado told reporters on Monday (including Annie Heilbrunn of the San Diego Union-Tribune) that elbow surgery is now the likely course of action. While he did not say exactly when he plans to have the procedure, he did suggest it could be before the end of the season. It’s highly possible the six-time All-Star is waiting until the Padres are mathematically eliminated from postseason contention to make a final decision. Regardless of when (or if) he eventually undergoes surgery, the third baseman hopes he’ll be back on the field for spring training next year.

SEPTEMBER 9: The Padres remain on the outer fringes of the NL wild card race, as San Diego is seven games behind the Diamondbacks for the final wild card berth, and the Marlins, Reds, and Giants are all sandwiched between Arizona and San Diego in the standings.  Barring a miraculous September surge, it looks like it’s just a matter of time before the Padres are eliminated from the playoff race, which could also bring an early end to Manny Machado’s season.

According to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, it is possible Machado might be shut down due to recurring elbow problems, specifically the type of inflammation best known as “tennis elbow.”  This is the second straight season that Machado has dealt with the injury, and he could opt for an offseason surgery that shouldn’t impact his readiness for the start of Spring Training.

While tennis elbow doesn’t usually require surgery, it might be necessary to finally solve an injury that has been bothering the third baseman for the better part of two years.  “The effects recently are more frequent and severe,” Acee writes, noting that Machado has been limited to DH-only duty over his last seven games.  Even in a hitting-only role, Acee hears that “there are certain swings that cause [Machado] a great deal of pain.”

The injury hasn’t resulted in any time on the injured list for Machado, though he did miss a couple of weeks earlier in the season due to a minor hand fracture.  However, the lingering elbow problem could explain Machado’s relatively disappointing season, as he has hit .253/.317/.453 with 26 homers over 545 plate appearances.  While still a 112 wRC+, it’s well below Machado’s standards, particularly in comparison to the 153 wRC+ he posted in 2022 while finishing second in NL MVP voting.

Machado’s performance has been one of many factors in a very disappointing season for the Padres, who are 67-75 despite one of the game’s highest payrolls and a +73 run differential.  With a playoff berth looking like a longshot at best, there wouldn’t be much of a cost for the Padres in shutting down Machado and getting his rehab (whether involving a surgery or not) underway as quickly as possible to get a jump start on 2024.

Twins Designate Jordan Luplow For Assignment

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The Twins have reinstated center fielder Michael A. Taylor from the 10-day injured list, the team announced. To open up a spot on the 28-man roster, outfielder Jordan Luplow has been designated for assignment.

Taylor had been on the IL with a hamstring strain since September 3. Willi Castro covered center in his stead, with Andrew Stevenson making the occasional start (in addition to some late-game appearances as a defensive replacement). Castro has hit well over the last two weeks, posting an .827 OPS in 56 trips to the plate, and Stevenson boasts a plus glove, but the Twins will be happy to have their regular center fielder back in the lineup. Not only is Taylor a Gold Glove winner, but he is enjoying his best offensive campaign in years. The 32-year-old has an OPS above .700 for the first time since 2017, and his 99 wRC+ is just shy of league average. The righty was hitting especially well before his hamstring injury took him down, slashing .257/.318/.574 with 10 home runs since the All-Star break.

Meanwhile, Luplow was also hitting well with the Twins, so his DFA comes as a bit of a surprise. In 26 games, he had a .751 OPS and a 111 wRC+, with a particularly impressive 13.2% walk rate. However, nearly all of his production came against left-handed pitching. Facing southpaws, he was rocking a .927 OPS, while against righties that number was a meager .473. It’s understandable why Minnesota did not want to guarantee a roster spot to a player with such drastic splits, especially with the switch-hitting Castro also on the roster. Still, the fact that the Twins chose to keep Stevenson instead of Luplow suggests they’re prioritizing defense over offense on their bench.

This is the third DFA of the season for Luplow, who began the campaign with Atlanta. He was DFA’d by the Braves and claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays in April. The 29-year-old played only seven games for the big league team in Toronto, spending most of his time in the organization at Triple-A. He was DFA’d again in August and claimed by the Twins, with whom he played 26 games at the MLB level.

With the trade deadline long since passed, the Twins will have to put Luplow on waivers in the coming days. If he is claimed, he would not be eligible to join his new team’s postseason roster, but he could help a contending team in need of a right-handed bat over the final two weeks of the season. The team that claimed him would only have to pay the remaining portion of his $1.4MM salary – approximately $104K. If he clears waivers, Luplow will have the option to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, although he is just shy of the five years of service time required to reject the assignment without forfeiting the remainder of his guaranteed salary.

Submit Your Questions For This Week’s MLB Trade Rumors Podcast!

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On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we’ll frequently answer questions submitted by our readers and listeners. With the next episode set for Wednesday morning, we’re looking for MLBTR readers to submit their questions, and we’ll pick a few to answer.

Whether it’s a trade deadline retrospective, a question surrounding postseason races, or a forward-looking question to the offseason trade and free agent markets — we’d love to hear from you! You can send your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.

Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it! iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.

In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Reds Designate Hunter Renfroe For Assignment

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The Reds announced that they have reinstated outfielder Stuart Fairchild from the COVID-19 injured list with outfielder Hunter Renfroe designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Renfroe, 31, joined the Reds just over two weeks ago. He began the year with the Angels, who went for it at the deadline but then fell out of contention in August. Since they no longer had the ability to trade anyone, they put six players on waivers in an attempt to save some money and dip under the luxury tax. Renfroe was one of those players, allowing the Reds to grab him for nothing other than taking on the remainder of his salary. They also grabbed Harrison Bader from the Yankees in a similar scenario, allowing them to add two outfielders for the stretch run without giving up any talent in return.

Unfortunately, Renfroe has struggled immensely since coming to Cincinnati, hitting .128/.227/.205. It’s still a surprise to see the club move on so quickly. Those poor results have come in a small sample of just 44 plate appearances, a time in which he has a .154 batting average on balls in play that would be bound for regression. Nonetheless, it seems the club has decided to quickly cut bait.

Earlier today, the Reds placed Bader on the injured list, meaning they are now without either of their waiver pickups from a few weeks ago. The club was willing to add roughly $2.76MM to their payroll in order to get those two outfielders for the final month of the schedule but will now be proceeding without either of them, at least until Bader can get healthy again.

With the trade deadline having passed, the Reds will put Renfroe on waivers in the coming days. Whether or not he will garner any interest will be an interesting situation, as it’s an unusual time of year for such a player to be on the wire. With the season winding down and Renfroe an impending free agent, only a contending club would have any incentive to put in a claim. But even for a contender, Renfroe wouldn’t be postseason eligible since it’s after the September 1 cutoff. He still has about $893K left on his $11.9MM salary, with any claiming club having to take that on just to add Renfroe for the less than two weeks left in the regular season. If he were to clear, he has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency while retaining what’s left of his salary.

Recent struggles aside, Renfroe’s career offensive production is notable. Dating back to his 2016 debut with the Padres, he has hit 177 home runs and has slashed .239/.300/.478 for a wRC+ of 106. However, his defense is considered subpar, which subtracts some of the value of his bat. Despite that power potential, his glovework and poor plate discipline have capped his value and turned him into a journeyman in recent years. After sticking with the Padres through 2019, he’s since been traded to the Rays, Red Sox, Brewers and Angels, before landing with the Reds via waivers.

Guardians Place Tanner Bibee On Injured List

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The Guardians have placed right-hander Tanner Bibee on the 15-day injured list due to right hip inflammation, per Zack Meisel of The Athletic. Right-hander James Karinchak has been recalled in a corresponding move. With only two weeks remaining on the schedule, this move brings Bibee’s season to an end.

The Guards came into 2023 with their sights set on contention after winning the Central last year, but it seems they will ultimately fall short of that goal, currently seven games back of the Twins in the division and further out in the Wild Card picture. A significant issue for the club’s disappointing season has been the starting rotation. Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie and Cal Quantrill all missed significant time due to injuries, while other pitchers struggled to fill the void.

The club fell in the standings and seemed to wave a white flag when they traded Aaron Civale to the Rays at the deadline. But they hovered close enough to contention in August that they grabbed Lucas Giolito off waivers from the Angels to try to mount a late-season charge that hasn’t really come to fruition.

The club was forced to turn to rookies like Bibee, Gavin Williams and Logan Allen in order to fill the void earlier in the year. Bibee has been the relative workhorse of the staff, with his 25 starts and 142 innings pitched both leading the club amid all the turmoil. It was a very successful first season for him, as he posted a 2.98 earned run average in that time, striking out 24.1% of opponents while limiting walks to a 7.7% clip.

Since he’s going to miss the remainder of the year, those stats will now go down as the totality of his work for the season. The Guardians should now be able to go into the winter with their 2024 rotation picture looking strong, at least on paper. Bieber and McKenzie are both currently on rehab assignments and will hopefully have better injury luck next year. McKenzie will qualify for arbitration this winter while Bieber is set for his final arb year. Bieber has been speculated as a trade candidate since the Guards frequently trade away pitchers as they get more expensive and closer to free agency, but his value is at a low ebb due to his health concerns and diminished results this year. He’ll also be making a significant salary, due a raise on this year’s $10.01MM figure.

But alongside those two and Quantrill, who is also arb eligible, the Guards should be encouraged by the development of their rookies. In addition to Bibee’s aforementioned results, Allen posted a 3.60 ERA over 23 starts while Williams has a 3.29 ERA in his 16 outings. That gives them six viable starters in next year’s mix.

Without Bibee, the Guards may need another starter to slot into the rotation for the final two weeks alongside Williams, Allen, Giolito and Quantrill. As mentioned, Bieber and McKenzie are on rehab assignments and could be reinstated. Joey Cantillo, Hunter Gaddis and Cody Morris are also on the 40-man and in Triple-A, though Morris has been pitching shorter stints out of the bullpen lately.

Fantasy Baseball Chat with Brad Johnson

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

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

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

Reds Place Harrison Bader On IL, Select Connor Phillips

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The Reds announced a series of roster moves today, with left-hander Alex Young reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list and right-hander Connor Phillips selected to the roster. In corresponding moves, outfielder Harrison Bader was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right groin strain while righty Carson Spiers was optioned to Triple-A. To open a 40-man spot for Phillips, righty Graham Ashcraft was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

It’s unclear when or how Bader sustained his injury. He started yesterday’s game and made three trips to the plate and was replaced in the seventh inning. TJ Friedl batted for left fielder Nick Senzel that inning and then took over in center, with Will Benson taking Bader’s spot in the order and taking over in left. In addition to the unknowns of when the issue cropped up, the severity isn’t clear either. But with just two weeks left in the season, it’s possible Bader’s season is in jeopardy.

Regardless, it’s an unfortunate blow for the Reds and Bader personally. The club claimed him off waivers from the Yankees at the end of August, adding about $783K in salary to their books just have one month of his services. He hasn’t been having a good year at the plate, now hitting just .232/.274/.348 between the two clubs, but still provides value thanks to his speed and defense. He has 20 stolen bases on the year, despite playing just 98 games, while continuing to get great reviews for his glovework in the outfield.

The Reds will now proceed without Bader for at least the next 10 days, with Friedl likely taking on most of the center field playing time as Benson, Senzel, Nick Martini and Hunter Renfroe share the corners. The club is sitting on a record of 78-73, bunched into an extremely tight National League Wild Card race that seems destined to come down to the wire.

Bader is an impending free agent and will head into the open market at an inopportune time, given his slumping offensive production and mounting injury concerns. He hit .258/.327/.457 over 2020 and 2021 for a wRC+ of 110 but slipped to .250/.294/.356 and a wRC+ of 85 last year, while his aforementioned performance this year amounts to a wRC+ of just 70.

Meanwhile, he’s made trips to the IL over the past three years due to a right rib hairline fracture, right foot plantar fasciitis, a left oblique strain, a right hamstring strain and now this groin strain. He was only able to play 103 games in 2021, 86 last year and 98 so far this year. If he heals up and the Reds make the postseason, perhaps he has time to change the narrative. But for now, it seems he will be trying to market himself at a time when prospective clubs will have various concerns about his long-term projections.

Phillips, 22, came up to the big leagues earlier this month as a COVID replacement. He made two starts with an earned run average of 8.31 before being returned to the minors and has now had his contract selected in the more traditional fashion. In 105 innings in the minors this year, he has a 3.86 ERA, striking out 33.3% of opponents but also walking 12.3%. He’ll jump into a Cincinnati rotation that has been beset by various injuries this year, with each of Ashcraft, Justin Dunn, Vladimir Gutierrez, Nick Lodolo and Connor Overton currently on the 60-day IL. That leaves them with Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott, Brandon Williamson, Ben Lively and Phillips in the rotation as they make their final postseason push.

As for Ashcraft, it was reported over the weekend that he will require season-ending toe surgery, making this transfer an inevitable formality.

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