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Michael Kopech Undergoes Minor Knee Procedure

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White Sox right-hander Michael Kopech underwent surgery to remove a cyst from his right knee this morning, per a club announcement. The rehab process is expected to take six to eight weeks.

Assuming his recovery progresses as anticipated, Kopech should have a normal offseason. It’s nevertheless a sour conclusion to a disappointing year for the 27-year-old. The Sox surely hoped the one-time top prospect would take a step forward in his second full season as a big league starter. Kopech had pitched to a 3.54 ERA a year ago, and while his peripherals were never that impressive, his performance regressed well beyond expectations.

Kopech’s 2023 campaign concludes with a 5.43 ERA across 129 1/3 frames. His 22.7% strikeout rate was a bit above last year’s mark. Yet his walks spiked from an already worrisome 11.5% rate to a completely untenable 15.4% clip. Kopech also surrendered over two home runs per nine innings. Between the walks and the longballs, he has the highest FIP (6.47) of any pitcher with 100+ frames.

Chicago kicked Kopech to the bullpen this month. He finished his season with three relief outings and a “start” as an opener in which he worked one inning. He allowed at least one run in each of those appearances.

New general manager Chris Getz and his front office will have to decide Kopech’s role this offseason. He was effective as a multi-inning reliever two seasons ago, tallying 69 1/3 frames of 3.50 ERA ball with an elite 36.1% strikeout rate and a decent 8.4% walk percentage. Since stretching back out into the rotation to open the ’22 campaign, he’s allowing 4.52 earned runs per nine with a 22% strikeout percentage and 13.6% walk rate.

The Sox have almost no certainty in their starting five. Dylan Cease is locked in as the staff ace, though he’s coming off a relatively disappointing season himself on the heels of last year’s Cy Young runner-up performance. Mike Clevinger is likely to opt for a $4MM buyout over his end of a $12MM mutual option. Jesse Scholtens and Touki Toussaint are better served for depth roles. Garrett Crochet has angled for a starting spot but only logged 10 MLB innings this year because of injury.

That all seems to point to Kopech getting another crack at a rotation spot. He’ll certainly need to perform better than he did this year if he’s to hold that job for a full season. The ’24 campaign will be his second season of arbitration eligibility. Kopech will receive a slight raise on this year’s $2.05MM salary (barring a surprise non-tender) and is on track for free agency after 2025.

Brandon Lowe To Miss 4-6 Weeks With Kneecap Fracture

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Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe has been diagnosed with a right kneecap fracture, manager Kevin Cash told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). He suffered the injury in yesterday’s win over the Angels when he fouled a ball off his knee.

It’s another tough development for Lowe, who is unfortunately no stranger to late-season injuries. He missed most of the second half in 2019 with a bone bruise in his right leg, although he was able to return for the playoffs. Lowe missed last year’s postseason with a recurring back issue. There’s now a good chance he’ll miss the playoffs again, with the estimated return timetable only leaving the possibility of a comeback late in a deep run.

Lowe is one of the game’s better offensive second basemen. The left-handed hitter has connected on 21 homers in 436 plate appearances, ranking eighth at the position. He’s walking at a strong 11.5% clip and owns a .231/.328/.443 line overall. Despite a fairly high strikeout rate and middling batting average, he’s an above-average hitter. That’s particularly true against right-handed pitching, whom Lowe has hit at a .241/.335/.478 clip.

Tampa Bay has been living with next to nothing offensively out of the shortstop position lately. The group led by Taylor Walls is hitting .188/.282/.304 this month. They’ll now also have to patch things together at the keystone. Isaac Paredes moved over there tonight against the Blue Jays with Curtis Mead stepping in at third base. The Rays have rookie Osleivis Basabe in a utility role, while they just promoted top prospect Junior Caminero (who didn’t get into the game tonight).

Lowe’s injury occurred yesterday, but the Rays had a pair of departures from tonight’s contest. Randy Arozarena is day-to-day after leaving with right quad tightness. They could be in line for another extended absence from reliever Jason Adam, who came out in the ninth inning after feeling side tightness.

Adam just returned after missing three weeks with a left oblique strain. He told Topkin (Twitter link) that while this discomfort is in a different area of the oblique, it’s more painful than the prior strain. He’s likely headed back to the 15-day injured list. The 32-year-old righty has had another strong season out of Cash’s bullpen, pitching to a 2.67 ERA with a 31.5% strikeout rate in 54 frames.

Tampa Bay is two games back of the Orioles in the AL East, pending the result of Baltimore’s game in Cleveland. The Rays have seven games left on the regular season schedule. They’ll host Toronto for two more, play a two-game set in Boston on Tuesday and Wednesday, then wrap up the year with three against the Jays at the Rogers Centre.

Previewing The 2023-24 Free Agent Class: Designated Hitter

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Over the past week, we’ve gone around the diamond with looks at the upcoming free agent class. We round out the offensive players with a look at the designated hitters.

It is obviously headlined by the two-way star who is likely to break the all-time contract record. There are a handful of accomplished veteran hitters below the market’s top free agent. Any position player can serve as the DH, of course. A number of players from the corner outfield or first base groups will see time there to give them respites from the field.

Since we’ve covered the bulk of those players in previous position previews, we’ll limit the scope of the DH class. This looks solely at players who have either tallied 200+ plate appearances as a designated hitter or taken 100+ trips to the dish while starting more games at DH than at any other position.

Note: only players who have been on an MLB roster in 2023 are included. Ages listed are for the 2024 season.

Top of the Class

Ohtani is the most fascinating free agent case in recent memory, perhaps ever. He’s a top five hitter, perhaps on his way to a second MVP award in three seasons thanks to a .304/.412/.654 batting line with an AL-leading 44 home runs. He’s a .277/.378/.585 hitter since the start of 2021. Of the 93 batters with 1500+ plate appearances in that time, Ohtani ranks eighth in on-base percentage and trails only Aaron Judge in slugging.

Judge’s $360MM contract with the Yankees stands as the largest free agent guarantee in league history. Ohtani seems likely to top it — potentially by a wide margin. He’s a slightly lesser offensive player but is more than a year younger than Judge was last offseason and, of course, has the potential to make an impact on the other side of the ball. Ohtani probably won’t pitch until 2025 after this week’s elbow surgery, but there’s no question he’ll try to get back on the mound once his elbow heals. While there’ll be some trepidation about his arm health after a second major procedure within the last five years, there’s a chance of him returning as a top-of-the-rotation pitcher in the second season of the contract.

Ohtani’s elbow injury isn’t expected to affect his availability for 2024 as a hitter. He’ll be a strict DH for the first season of the deal, an impact power presence in the middle of a lineup. By the ’25 campaign, he’ll again be the highest-upside player in the sport.

Everyday Options

Garver has mashed his way from backup catcher in Texas to primary DH. The right-handed hitter has connected on 18 home runs and owns a .268/.370/.513 slash across 309 plate appearances. Bruce Bochy has penciled him in as the DH on 47 occasions compared to 27 starts behind the dish.

This isn’t out of nowhere. Garver popped 31 homers in 93 games for the Twins back in 2019 and hit .256/.358/.517 over 68 contests two seasons ago. When healthy, he’s an excellent offensive player. Garver has had trouble staying on the field, spending some time on the injured list in five consecutive seasons. He lost most of last year to a flexor injury that required surgery and has impacted his ability to throw. At age 33, it’s fair to wonder whether he can hold up as a team’s No. 1 catcher. Yet in the role he’s playing for Texas — a primary DH who can take occasional starts behind the plate — he’s a strong contributor.

Acquired from the Jays in the Gabriel Moreno/Daulton Varsho swap, Gurriel is batting .263/.313/.475 with 24 homers across 560 plate appearances. It’s a little below the .285/.329/.468 career mark he carried into the season, but it’s broadly in line with his overall track record. Gurriel makes a lot of contact and has 20-plus homer power while rarely taking walks to keep his on-base percentage around the league-average mark.

He’s a good but not elite offensive performer who is limited to left field or DH after moonlighting as an infielder early in his career. Unlike a number of players on this list, Gurriel can handle an everyday workload in the corner outfield. Public metrics are divided on his effectiveness — DRS rates him as an excellent left fielder, while Statcast pegs him a little below average — but he has topped 700 innings in each of the past three seasons. The D-Backs’ collection of plus defensive outfielders has allowed them to deploy Gurriel as a DH 49 times, easily a career high.

Martinez signed with the Dodgers on a $10MM free agent contract. It was a surprisingly light sum coming off a .274/.341/.448 platform season with the Red Sox. Martinez indicated he took less money than he could’ve gotten elsewhere to join an excellent L.A. roster and reunite with hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc.

It’s hard to argue with the results. Martinez has popped 30 homers and owns a .271/.325/.570 line through 442 plate appearances. A career-worst 30.8% strikeout rate is somewhat alarming, though it’s tolerable so long as Martinez is making this kind of power impact. By measure of wRC+, this has been Martinez’s best offensive season since 2019. He should field multi-year offers this winter.

McCutchen returned to Pittsburgh last winter as a fan favorite and veteran presence for a young core. He’s still a quality on-field contributor as well, hitting .256/.378/.397 across 473 plate appearances. The Bucs kept him mostly at DH, starting him in right field on just seven occasions. While McCutchen doesn’t have the same power he did at his peak, he still has impeccable plate discipline and serves as a consistent on-base presence in the middle of the order.

It’s highly likely Cutch will be back in the Steel City in 2024. He expressed a desire to finish his career with the Pirates when he signed there last winter. The team never seemed to consider trading him despite being out of contention at the deadline. McCutchen’s return season was cut short by a partial tear in his left Achilles. General manager Ben Cherington told reporters last week that the sides will reengage on talks about a new contract once the offseason begins.

Platoon Possibilities

Belt inked a $9.3MM free agent deal with the Blue Jays last offseason. He was coming off a middling season in his final year as a Giant that had been plagued by knee issues that required surgical repair. The Jays rolled the dice on a rebound and have been rewarded with a strong performance from the 13-year veteran.

The lefty slugger is hitting .251/.369/.470 with 16 longballs through 382 trips to the plate. While he’s striking out at a career-worst 35.1% clip, he’s walking over 15% of the time and hitting the ball with authority. The Jays have barely given him looks against left-handed pitching. He’s a “three true outcomes” platoon bat who is still a middle-of-the-order presence against right-handed starters.

The Rockies and Blackmon have expressed mutual interest in a reunion. That seems the likeliest course of action, though the career-long Rockie indicated he wouldn’t be opposed to going elsewhere if Colorado didn’t bring him back. Blackmon is limited to DH or right field at this point.

He’s still an effective hitter, posting a .284/.372/.444 slash with seven home runs in 376 plate appearances. Blackmon still holds his own against left-handed pitching, so he’s not a prototypical platoon bat. Teams could shield him from southpaws as a means of keeping his workload in check, though. Blackmon won’t come close to the $15MM salary he made this season, but he should get a one-year deal for a 14th big league campaign.

Pederson returned to the Giants upon accepting a qualifying offer last winter. He has again been an above-average hitter, but his offense is well down from last year’s career showing. Pederson owns a .245/.353/.434 line with 15 homers through 400 trips to the plate. That includes 52 poor plate appearances versus lefties; he’s hitting .253/.356/.456 with a strong 12.4% walk rate when holding the platoon advantage.

He has never been a threat against left-handed pitching and he’s a well below-average defender when asked to man the corner outfield. It’s a limited profile, but Pederson is very good at the thing he’s asked to do most often: hitting right-handed pitching.

Depth Types

Calhoun got into 44 games for the Yankees, hitting .239/.309/.403 across 149 trips to the plate. He elected free agency after clearing outright waivers last month.

Choi was an above-average hitter for the Rays from 2019-22. He has had a difficult platform year, limited to 100 plate appearances by an Achilles injury, a ribcage strain and a Lisfranc injury in his right foot. Choi has hit .170/.250/.420 with a 32% strikeout rate in 33 contests divided between Pittsburgh and San Diego.

The Padres took a $1MM flier on Cruz last winter, hoping that his down 2022 campaign could be attributable to an eye issue that required corrective vision surgery. The seven-time All-Star was released just before the All-Star Break after hitting .245/.283/.399 in 45 games. Cruz was an elite hitter into his 40s but has slumped to a .234/.300/.376 line in just under 900 plate appearances since being dealt from the Twins to the Rays at the ’21 trade deadline. He’d need to take a minor league deal if he wants to continue playing.

Miller’s two-year free agent deal with Texas didn’t work out. He hit .212/.282/.324 overall, including a .214/.328/.339 slash in 27 contests this season. A left hamstring strain ended his regular season. He could technically return for a playoff run but probably wouldn’t crack the postseason roster regardless. Miller has been a productive bat-first utility option in the past, but he’s in minor league deal territory at this point.

Pollock’s offensive productivity has collapsed over the past two seasons. He still hit left-handed pitching well a season ago but didn’t produce against pitchers of either handedness in 2023. Pollock compiled a .165/.215/.318 line in 54 contests between the Mariners and Giants and was released by San Francisco three weeks ago.

Winker once looked like an elite platoon option, mashing right-handed pitching for the Reds over his first four-plus seasons. He has never been a good defender, though, and his power has evaporated over the last two years. Winker hit .219/.344/.344 for the Mariners in 2022 and has mustered only a .199/.320/.247 slash in 61 games for the Brewers this summer. He has been out since late July because of back spasms. Winker might still find a major league deal from a club hoping for a rebound, but he’ll hit free agency coming off the worst season of his career.

Player Options

Bell has a $16.5MM player option for next year. The switch-hitting first baseman/DH probably hasn’t found enough offensive consistency to pass on that sum. He’s hitting .242/.318/.413 with 21 homers in 583 trips to the plate between the Guardians and Marlins. Bell has been better for the Fish than he was with Cleveland — thanks largely to an August power barrage — but his production has dropped again this month.

He’s hitting .233/.282/.370 since the start of September. His ground-ball rate has skyrocketed to a lofty 55.6% clip. Bell has intermittently tapped into his massive raw power upside during his career. He just hasn’t consistently shown the ability to keep the ball off the ground for extended stretches.

Carpenter is going to accept a $5.5MM player option for next season. He’s hitting .176/.322/.319 with five homers through 237 plate appearances and has had extended stretches without any game action for San Diego. The Padres hoped he’d replicate last year’s resurgent small-sample offensive showing with the Yankees. That hasn’t come to pass.

Soler has had a strong second season with the Marlins. After stumbling to a .207/.295/.400 line in the first season of a three-year free agent deal, he carries a .244/.336/.518 slash with 36 longballs through 550 plate appearances this year. He’s going to decline a $13MM player option in search of a multi-year pact as a result.

A well below-average defensive outfielder, Soler has only gotten 233 2/3 innings of right field work this season. He’s miscast as an everyday outfielder and ideally suited for primary DH work. Soler has the ability to carry a lineup when he’s going well, combining strong walk rates with top-of-the-scale power potential. He’s a streaky hitter but has 40-plus homer pop, as he has shown this season.

Nearing his 39th birthday, Turner has logged a career-high 93 starts at designated hitter. That’s partially attributable to the Red Sox having Triston Casas and Rafael Devers as their corner infield tandem, though it’s also fair to presume Turner might now spend the bulk of his time as a DH.

Turner hasn’t shown much sign of slowing down offensively, however. He has connected on 23 home runs in 596 trips to the plate, running a well above-average .280/.351/.467 batting line. His modest 16.8% strikeout rate is right where it sat over his final four seasons as a Dodger, while he’s walking at an average 8.6% clip. The bulk of his power impact has come against left-handed pitching this season, but Turner still owns a quality .278/.346/.449 mark versus right-handers since the beginning of 2022. His $13.4MM player option comes with a hefty $6.7MM buyout. He should easily surpass the $6.7MM difference on the open market, making this a straightforward call to decline the option.

Note: Miguel Cabrera will technically become a free agent once the Tigers decline an option for 2024. He has been excluded from this list after announcing his impending retirement.

Previous installments: catcher, first base, second base, third base, shortstop, corner outfield, center field

Twins Place Royce Lewis On IL With Hamstring Strain

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The Twins announced that infielder Royce Lewis has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to September 21, due to a left hamstring strain. Outfielder/first baseman Jordan Luplow was recalled in a corresponding move.

Lewis, 24, has had a stop-and-start career to this point, flashing incredible talent in between injury absences. The former first overall pick underwent surgery for a torn ACL in his right knee last year, the second time he’s endured that awful injury, and missed the first couple of months of this season. He returned in late May and had about a month on the active roster before returning to the IL due to an oblique strain. He was activated in mid-August but is now back on the IL yet again, this time due to the hamstring issue.

Around those various injuries, the results have been excellent. He has hit .309/.372/.548 in 239 plate appearances this year for a wRC+ of 154, indicating he’s been 54% better than the league average hitter. He’s also stolen six bases and been given solid grades for his third base defense.

The Twins are 8.5 games up on the Guardians and nine games ahead of the Tigers in the Central, making them a virtual lock to win the division. Since they are cruising towards a postseason berth, it seems they are trying to rest up some of their key contributors for their eventual postseason appearance. In addition to Lewis, shortstop Carlos Correa was also placed on the injured list this week, with plantar fasciitis being the culprit in his case. Both players have enough time to be eligible to return for the playoffs, hopefully with their respective health conditions improved. Byron Buxton and Joey Gallo are also X-factors, with both players currently on rehab assignments.

As for Luplow, it was announced by the club earlier this week that he had been designated for assignment to open an active roster spot for Michael A. Taylor to be reinstated from the IL. However, MLBTR’s Steve Adams reports that Luplow wound up optioned instead. As a player with more than five years of service time, he had to consent to the option and did. It seems he hung onto his 40-man roster spot, allowing him to be recalled today.

Cardinals Select Irving Lopez

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The Cardinals announced a series of roster moves today, recalling outfielder Michael Siani and selecting the contract of infielder Irving Lopez. In corresponding moves, third baseman Nolan Arenado was placed on the 10-day injured list due to back spasms. Catcher Willson Contreras also landed on the 10-day injured list due to left wrist tendinitis, a move that was reported on yesterday. To open a 40-man roster spot for Lopez, outfielder Dylan Carlson was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

The Cards are 67-86, putting them in last place in the Central. There’s little incentive for veterans like Contreras or Arenado to play through nagging injuries at this point, so they will get an early start on the offseason by sitting out the last handful of games. It was reported last week that Carlson would require ankle surgery, making his transfer to the 60-day injured list unsurprising.

As those players rest, it will open an opportunity for Lopez to make his major league debut. The 28-year-old was a 19th-round pick of the Cards in the 2017 draft. He has split this year between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting a combined .260/.368/.420 in his 346 plate appearances with a 12.4% walk rate and 19.1% strikeout rate.

He’ll give manager Oli Marmol a multi-positional option for the final games of the schedule. He has played all four infield positions this year, as well as the outfield corners and even made an appearance on the mound.

Padres To Select Jose Espada

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September 22: The Padres have now made it official, announcing they have selected Espada’s contract. Righty Nick Hernandez was optioned to open an active roster spot while Hill was transferred to the 60-day to open a 40-man spot.

September 21: The Padres will promote right-hander Jose Espada to the majors, according to an announcement from the American Association’s Milwaukee Milkmen. The pitcher confirmed the news in a Spanish-language interview with Antolín Ríos of El Nuevo Día. The Padres have a full 40-man roster but a number of players (e.g. Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove and Tim Hill) who are out for the season and can be transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Espada, 26, gets to the majors more than eight years after entering the professional ranks. The Blue Jays selected him in the fifth round of the 2015 draft out of an academy in Puerto Rico. The 6’0″ hurler would spend four-plus seasons in the Toronto system without getting past Low-A. He went to the Red Sox in the minor league Rule 5 draft, topping out at High-A in two years there.

After qualifying for minor league free agency, Espada signed with the Milkmen. He made eight starts in the independent ranks before getting back to affiliated ball on a minor league pact with the Padres. Espada tossed 40 innings of 4.05 ERA ball in High-A down the stretch last season and held his spot with San Diego into 2023.

Espada has divided this year between Double-A San Antonio and Triple-A El Paso. Working mostly as a long reliever, he has put together a sub-3.00 ERA showing at both spots in a breakout season. Between the two affiliates, he’s allowing 2.81 earned runs per nine across 83 1/3 frames. Espada has punched out an excellent 31.4% of opposing hitters against a lofty 12.6% walk percentage.

Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs wrote in July that Espada can miss bats with both his curveball and changeup but has below-average fastball velocity. After a winding road between three organizations and indie ball, he’ll get his first look on a big league staff. Espada can work multiple innings out of the bullpen for manager Bob Melvin.

Phillies To Promote Orion Kerkering

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The Phillies are going to promote right-hander Orion Kerkering, reports Matt Gelb of The Athletic. Kerkering isn’t on the 40-man roster, so the club will need to make a corresponding move of some kind to open a spot for him.

Kerkering, 22, was a fifth-round selection of the Phils just last year. He got to make a brief professional debut after that draft, making one appearance in the Complex League and five in Single-A. He came into this year ranked as the #25 prospect in the system by Baseball America and #19 by FanGraphs. Both outlets highlighted his fastball and slider, with BA noting that Kerkering’s move to the bullpen in college could see him rise quickly, narrow his focus to those two strong offerings.

Here in 2023, he has torpedoed through four levels already, going through Single-A, High-A, Double-A, Triple-A and will now add the majors to that list. He has combined for 53 2/3 innings over those stops with a 1.51 earned run average, 38% strikeout rate and 5.8% walk rate. He won’t be able to sustain the 92.3% strand rate he’s had so far this year but even his 2.36 FIP points to great results even with some regression.

The Phillies are currently sporting a record of 84-69. They’re nowhere close to Atlanta in the East but currently possess the top Wild Card spot in the National League, three games up on the second-place Diamondbacks and five up on the Cubs and Marlins. That makes them a virtual lock to return to the playoffs this year.

They will plug Kerkering into their bullpen mix and see how he fares against bit league hitters in the final games of the regular season schedule. If his results are anywhere near his performance in the minors, he could push for a spot on the postseason roster. Players that are in an organization but not on the 40-man can be eligible for the postseason as an injury substitute via a petition to the league, even if they are added after September 1.

Rays Place Luke Raley On Injured List, Designate Trevor Kelley For Assignment

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The Rays announced Friday that they’ve placed slugger Luke Raley on the 10-day injured list with a cervical strain and designated right-handed reliever Trevor Kelley for assignment. That pair of moves paves the way for top prospect Junior Caminero to be formally selected to the 40-man roster and called up for his Major League debut — a move first reported to be in the works last night. Caminero’s call to the big leagues is now official, and he should make his debut tonight.

Raley, 29, has just one plate appearance since Sept. 15 due to ongoing discomfort stemming from this injury. His placement on the IL is retroactive to Sept. 21, so he’ll be eligible to return on the final day of the regular season. The hope is surely that the additional downtime will allow him to heal up for the postseason.

A former Dodgers and Twins farmhand, Raley has had a late-blooming breakout during his age-29 campaign with the Rays. In 118 games and 406 plate appearances, the lefty-swinging outfielder/first baseman touts a .249/.333/.490 batting line with 19 home runs, 23 doubles, three triples and 14 steals. His 6.9% walk rate is below the league average, and his 31.4% strikeout rate is about eight percentage points above it. Raley has also been largely shielded from left-handed pitching, though he’s held his own in the 43 plate appearances he’s received.

Limited as the skill set may be, there’s no denying that Raley has been a huge contributor for Tampa Bay this season. A Rays club that entered the year looking quite right-handed was in need of just such a breakout, and he’s provided a sorely needed left-handed bat who’s emerged as a potent threat against opposing righties. In 363 plate appearances with the platoon advantage, Raley has turned in a .247/.337/.497 batting line with 17 of his 19 longballs. He’ll finish out the year with one-plus season of big league service under his belt, so the Rays can control him for another five years via arbitration if they choose — and he won’t even be arb-eligible until after the 2025 campaign.

Kelley, 31 next month, signed a minor league deal with Tampa Bay over the winter but was added to the 40-man roster as soon as the Rays were eligible to create roster space via a 60-day IL placement for an injured player. He’s appeared in 10 games and pitched 15 1/3 innings this season but struggled to a 5.87 earned run average in that small sample. Kelley has pitched in the Majors in each of the past four seasons now, also spending time with the Red Sox, Brewers and Phillies. In 50 2/3 big league innings, he’s recorded a 6.75 ERA with a 19.1% strikeout rate and 8.9% walk rate.

Although his 2023 struggles extend to Triple-A — 5.23 ERA in 32 2/3 frames — Kelley entered the year with an outstanding track record at the top minor league level. From 2019-22, he turned in a 1.81 ERA, 25.7% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate in 164 1/3 innings at the level. Even with this year’s shaky results in Durham, Kelley carries a lifetime 2.38 ERA in 197 innings of Triple-A work.

The Rays will have no recourse but to either place Kelley on outright waivers or unconditional release waivers. He’ll be out of minor league options in 2024, but a team in need of some controllable bullpen depth could place a claim if they’re willing to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Rays Promote Junior Caminero

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Sept. 22: Caminero’s promotion to the Majors has now been formally announced by the Rays. Outfielder Luke Raley was placed on the 10-day IL, opening an active roster spot, and righty Trevor Kelley was designated for assignment to make space on the 40-man roster. (You can read up on those corresponding moves here.)

Sept. 21: The Rays are calling up top infield prospect Junior Caminero, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. They’ll need to select him onto the 40-man roster, which is at capacity.

Caminero, who turned 20 years old in July, becomes the youngest player in the majors. He makes the jump directly from Double-A Montgomery, where he has spent the bulk of the 2023 campaign. Caminero began the year in High-A and was bumped to Montgomery at the end of May.

A native of the Dominican Republic, Caminero signed with Cleveland during the 2019-20 international signing period. He was playing in the Dominican Summer League when the Rays acquired him in a trade that has the potential to go down as one of the more lopsided in recent history. At the deadline for teams to set their 40-man rosters in advance of the 2021 Rule 5 draft, Cleveland sent Caminero to Tampa Bay for right-hander Tobias Myers.

Myers posted a 6.00 ERA in 14 Triple-A starts and was lost on waivers without getting to the majors. Caminero has broken through as one of the sport’s most talented young players. He reached full-season ball last season before this year’s true emergence as a top-tier prospect.

Caminero raked at a .356/.409/.685 clip in 36 High-A contests. He has barely slowed down since moving to Double-A, shredding older competition en route to a .309/.373/.548 line. The right-handed hitter has popped 31 home runs, 18 doubles and six triples over 510 cumulative trips to the dish. He has kept his strikeout rate to a lower than average 19.6%, including a meager 17.1% mark in Double-A.

Alongside the massive numbers, Caminero has impressed scouts with his physical tools. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel named him the sport’s #5 prospect last month; he also checks in fifth on the updated ranking at Baseball America. Those reports credit him with plus or better power potential, with McDaniel noting that he has a chance to be a 40-homer hitter at peak. ESPN suggests his plate approach can be a little aggressive — he’s walking at an average 8.2% clip in the minors — but there’s general agreement that Caminero could be an impact offensive player.

It’s nevertheless a bold move for the Rays to call upon him in the midst of a pennant race. He’ll obviously face a massive escalation in the quality of pitcher he’ll face down the stretch. Tampa Bay has already secured a playoff spot but has little margin for error if they’re to track down the Orioles for the AL East title and top seed in the American League. They’re a game and a half back of Baltimore after they beat the Angels and the O’s dropped their matchup with Cleveland.

Caminero has mostly split his time between third base and shortstop in the minors. Scouting reports suggest he’s likely to settle in at third base as he fills out physically. Isaac Paredes and Curtis Mead are splitting the hot corner, while defensive specialist Taylor Walls is at shortstop. Walls has a dismal .170/.267/.226 batting line in the second half, so the Rays could give some reps there to Caminero if they’re in search of an offensive boost. Luke Raley is also day-to-day with a left arm issue that recently required an MRI, freeing up some designated hitter at-bats (either for Caminero directly or for Paredes if the Rays wanted to plug Caminero in at third base).

The Rays will be able to carry Caminero on the playoff roster if they decide he’s ready for October action. While he wasn’t on the 40-man roster at the start of September, he was in the organization. Teams can (and often do) petition the league for a player who wasn’t on the 40-man at the beginning of the month to get onto a postseason roster as an injury substitute.

Caminero will be paid at the MLB minimum rate and collect a couple weeks of service time. He won’t be eligible for free agency until after the 2029 season and won’t qualify for arbitration until the 2026-27 offseason at the earliest. Future assignments back to the minor leagues could push that timeline further. Caminero will remain a rookie headed into 2024, leaving open the possibility of netting the club an extra draft choice via the Prospect Promotion Incentive if they carry him for a full service year.

Yankees Recall Yoendrys Gómez For MLB Debut

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The Yankees announced that they have placed left-hander Wandy Peralta on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to September 19, with a left triceps strain. In a corresponding move, they recalled right-hander Yoendrys Gómez, who will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.

Peralta, 32, has been a quietly effective reliever over the past few years. Dating back to the start of the 2020 campaign, he has an earned run average of 3.01 over 200 appearances. That includes a 2.83 ERA in 63 appearances for the Yankees this year, along with a 22.5% strikeout rate, 13.2% walk rate and 57.4% ground ball rate.

He hasn’t appeared in a game in over a week due to the triceps issue. Manager Aaron Boone told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com this week that the issue is considered “pretty minor,” but he’ll now land on the injured list regardless. Perhaps with the Yankees playing out the string on a lost season, they decided it best not to risk making the issue worse. Regardless of the severity, Peralta’s season is now done just based on the time left on the schedule.

Peralta is a free agent this winter and should be able to market himself well based on his aforementioned strong results in recent years. Ending the season on the injured list isn’t ideal, but there’s nothing at this point to suggest it will significantly impact his market or his 2024 season.

As for Gómez, the 23-year-old gets to the big leagues for the first time. Signed as an amateur out of Venezuela in 2016, he has been driving through the minors since then, but with his share of speed bumps. His work in the lower levels had impressed the club enough to get him a 40-man spot in November of 2020, to keep him out of that year’s Rule 5 draft. But he would only throw 23 2/3 innings of Single-A ball in 2021 due to a combination of a shoulder injury, contracting COVID-19 and then Tommy John surgery.

In the second half of 2022, he was able to throw 47 innings across three levels, finishing at Double-A with a combined 2.49 ERA in that time. This year, he’s made 19 Double-A starts with a 3.58 ERA and a strong 28.5% strikeout rate, but a concerning 13.5% walk rate. He’s been on Baseball America’s list of top 30 Yankee prospects since 2019, peaking at #8 going into 2021 but dropping to the back end due to recent hiccups.

Despite all the challenges he has faced, Gómez has persisted and will now get a brief look in the majors as this season winds down. He should be able to provide Boone with a multi-inning relief option as the club gets through the final week-plus of their schedule.

Gómez is in his final option season and will be out of options next year. Clubs are sometimes granted a fourth option if a player misses significant time due to injury, which could apply to Gómez based on his surgery, but that’s purely speculative.

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