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Luis Robert Jr. Is Delivering In His First True Full Season

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Luis Robert Jr. has seemed like a staple of the White Sox for a long time now, having debuted back in 2020. However, he wasn’t able to have a full, healthy season in any of his first three campaigns. He avoided the injured list in 2020, but played only 56 games that year due to the schedule being shortened by the pandemic to just 60 contests. He would then miss significant time due to a right hip flexor strain in 2021, getting into just 68 games that year. That was followed by a 98-game season last year, with IL trips due to COVID-19, blurred vision and a wrist sprain.

By the end of 2022, he had certainly been able to showcase his talent. He came into this year with 36 home runs in 222 games and a batting line of .289/.334/.474, which translated to a wRC+ of 122, indicating he was 22% better than league average in that time. He had also stolen 26 bases and been given strong grades for his center field defense. FanGraphs calculated him as being worth 6.7 wins above replacement in that time, a strong tally on a per-game basis but a limited output in terms of volume.

The 2023 campaign has finally allowed us to see what Robert can do over a full, healthy season. He dealt with some quad cramping over the weekend and is still out of the lineup today, but hasn’t been placed on the injured list at any point this year. He’s appeared in 128 games with almost a month still remaining on the schedule. His 5.3% walk rate and 28.4% strikeout rate are both worse than league average, but he’s doing significant damage when he connects, with 35 home runs and 33 doubles. His .272/.324/.560 batting line amounts to a 135 wRC+.

Defensively, Robert has continued to shine as well. He as 7 Defensive Runs Saved this year, a figure bested by just five center fielders around the league. Outs Above Average is even more enthused, with Robert’s tally of 12 in that category tops at his position, tied with Brenton Doyle of the Rockies. Robert also has 17 steals in 21 tries, helping him put up 5.2 fWAR on the year already. If it weren’t for the amazing two-way exploits of Shohei Ohtani, Robert would be in the American League Most Valuable Player conversation alongside players like Corey Seager, Julio Rodríguez and Bobby Witt.

It’s been a dismal season for the White Sox overall, with the club sporting a record of 53-84. Those poor results promoted a deadline selloff, with players like Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn and others getting sent out of town for prospects. That was followed by a front office shakeup that saw both president Ken Williams and general manager Rick Hahn relieved of their duties last month.

But the shining star of Robert has been a bright spot in the otherwise-gloomy season and perhaps a key reason why the club is hopeful of a quick return to contention. Assistant general manager Chris Getz was recently promoted to general manager, with owner Jerry Reinsdorf saying that part of the reason for staying in-house was that Getz is already familiar with the organization and will perhaps be able to deliver a quick turnaround, as opposed to an outsider who might take time before making bold moves.

Though the Sox sold some players at the deadline, they were mostly limited to those nearing free agency, holding onto more controllable pieces like Robert, Dylan Cease, Eloy Jiménez and Andrew Vaughn. There are still plenty of holes to fill on the roster and it will be a challenge to patch them all in one winter, but the club has a couple of things in its favor. One of them is the incredibly weak division, where the 66-71 Guardians are still in the playoff hunt in September this year, meaning the path back to contention isn’t quite as steep as it would be elsewhere. The second thing is that core of solid players, headlined by Robert.

Robert has two more guaranteed years on his contract, followed by a pair of $20MM club options that each come with $2MM buyouts. Those look bargains right now and will certainly be triggered, even if Robert were to drop back slightly from his MVP-caliber performance.

That puts something of a long-term target in front of the Sox, who should be able to bank on Robert being on the team through 2027 at least. Jiménez and Vaughn can be controlled through 2026 and Cease through 2025. That gives them at least two more years with that core four, three years with the Robert-Jiménez-Vaughn triumvirate and another year of Robert after that. Time will tell whether or not they can build on that in the years to come, but Robert has shown that they have a strong foundation to work with.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Astros To Seek Fourth Option Season For Forrest Whitley

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It has been another injury-wrecked season for former top pitching prospect Forrest Whitley. The right-hander was diagnosed with a lat strain at the start of June, an injury that initially came with a three-plus month recovery timetable.

Over the weekend, general manager Dana Brown indicated that Whitley was unlikely to return this season (link via Chandler Rome of the Athletic). Brown pushed back against the notion that the 25-year-old hurler had suffered a setback but conceded he hasn’t been able to “get over the hump” in his rehab.

Initially added to the 40-man roster before the 2021 season, Whitley has yet to get to the big leagues. He has spent the past three years on optional assignment to the minors, where he’d spent an unfortunate amount of time on the injured list. Most players can be optioned to the minors in a maximum of three separate seasons. After that, the team is required to keep the player on the major league roster or take him off the 40-man entirely (thereby making him available to other teams via trade or waivers). This is Whitley’s third option year.

However, Brown said the Astros will petition MLB for a fourth option season on Whitley (via Rome). That’s available in the case of players who have exhausted their options before logging five full professional seasons — defined as 90+ days on a minor league or MLB active roster. That’s a rare occurrence but sometimes applies to players who have missed extended time with injuries and/or suspension.

Whitley has missed chunks of minor league action for both reasons. He was suspended for a violation of the minor league drug program in 2018, keeping him to eight starts that year. He battled shoulder issues the next season, then was kept out of game action by the pandemic cancelation of the minors in 2020. Whitley underwent Tommy John surgery in Spring Training 2021 and only returned towards the tail end of last season. It appears as though he won’t log any more game action this year, with his final appearance coming on May 25.

That’d seem to give the Astros a good shot of being granted an additional option, though the team won’t know for certain until the offseason. It’s not guaranteed he’ll be on the Houston roster next March regardless, as the Astros would have to keep him on the 40-man roster all offseason. Whitley’s prospect stock has plummeted thanks to the various injury concerns and performance questions during his intermittent game action. He was hit hard in 30 Triple-A innings this season, allowing a 5.70 ERA. He posted a solid 23.7% strikeout rate but walked almost 13% of opposing batters.

Big Hype Prospects: Holliday, Merrill, Jobe, Chourio, Crow-Armstrong

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Big Jackson Prospects is back with another edition starring members of the new Jackson Four.

Five Big Hype Prospects

Jackson Holliday, 19, SS, BAL (AAA)
(A/A+/AA) 490 PA, 10 HR, 23 SB, .333/.451/.517

Holliday is the top-performing minor leaguer among players with more than 400 plate appearances. His 168 wRC+ is all the more impressive when considering his age relative to his competition. The question now on everyone’s lips – will he make his Major League debut this year? To me, that will depend on how he does in the next few weeks. One factor is outside of his control: will the Orioles have an injury to open a playoff roster spot for him? He’s likelier to get a taste of the Majors if he’s expected to contribute to the playoff push.

To date, Holliday has relied on hard, low-angle contact and high BABIPs to fuel his offensive success. Such an approach tends to be less effective in the Majors. At Triple-A, we’ll get our first public look at his exit velocities. I’ve heard some rumors but haven’t gotten my hands on the actual data yet.

Jackson Merrill, 20, SS, SDP (AA)
(A+/AA) 488 PA, 15 HR, 15 SB, .283/.331/.454

Merrill is having a nice time of it in Double-A. He was reportedly considered for a promotion to the Majors about 10 days back. The Padres seemingly decided against the aggressive move. As it stands, he’s positioned himself to skip a return engagement in Double-A next season. As to where he fits in the Padres long-term plans, he might need to wait for Ha-Seong Kim and Jake Cronenworth to open the door at second base. The FanGraphs prospect crew described Merrill as “Michael Brantley, except at shortstop,” and that’s exactly how he’s trending.

Jackson Jobe, 20, SP, DET (A+)
(A+) 30 IP, 12.30 K/9, 0.90 BB/9, 3.90 ERA

Jobe is a spin-rate boss with four average or better offerings. His weapons have allowed him to live in the strike zone in the low minors. A test in Double-A to open 2024 should help with the development of his command. Encouragingly, the Tigers are using Jobe like a traditional starter down the stretch. Since reaching High-A, he’s faced 20 or more batters in four of six outings. Compare that to other top pitching prospects around the league. Jobe hasn’t pitched much since he was drafted in 2021. It’s possible we see him finish out his season in the Arizona Fall League.

Jackson Chourio, 19, OF, MIL (AA)
(AA) 509 PA, 21 HR, 37 SB, .282/.336/.471

One of the few upper-echelon prospects younger than Holliday, Chourio has spent the entire season in Double-A where he’s held his own against much older competition. He’s been particularly effective of late, delivering four home runs and a .998 OPS in his last 45 plate appearances. Anyone hoping to see him promoted into the NL Central playoff race shouldn’t hold their breath. His defensive skills remain a work in progress. While he has the raw tools to stick in center field, his reads are still inconsistent. Were his glove ahead of his bat, he’d have a better case for a cheeky late-season promotion.

Pete Crow-Armstrong, 21, OF, CHC (AAA)
(AA/AAA) 474 PA, 18 HR, 35 SB, .278/.364/.499

Unlike Chourio, Crow-Armstrong’s impressive defensive ability must be weighing heavy on the playoff-aspiring Cubs. Though they’ve gotten good results from Mike Tauchman, that feels more like found money than a sustainable source of production. A promotion for Crow-Armstrong would be a lock if not for one bugaboo – a 30.3% strikeout rate in Triple-A. There’s considerable swing-and-miss to PCA’s game. He has pop, emerging discipline, and plenty of speed to make up for his lack of contact. There are some roster considerations working against Crow-Armstrong since he’s not Rule 5 eligible until after 2024. If the Central battle remains close come mid-month, I expect to see him.

Three More

Ronny Mauricio, NYM (22): In just 11 plate appearances, Mauricio has already delivered the Mets hardest-hit ball of 2023. There’s no question the switch-hitter shoots lasers. The issue is whether or not he makes enough contact to sustain a regular role. Though athletic, he’s not known for his defensive ability.

Emmet Sheehan, LAD (23): In the wake of today’s news, Sheehan has elevated importance for a Dodgers club with only two veteran starters. In limited action, he hasn’t had confidence in his changeup. He needs that to be his moneymaker. Below-average command hints at a relief future.

Masyn Winn, STL (21): When we covered Winn at the time of his promotion, we noted the bat didn’t seem ready despite a broad base of skills. He’s struggled to a 6 wRC+ in 49 plate appearances. Winn appears to be making a classic first-timer mistake – selling out for any contact at the expense of quality contact. He still has a dozen ways to grow into an average or better player.

Did I miss a detail or nuance? DM me on Twitter @BaseballATeam to suggest corrections.

Pirates Designate Rob Zastryzny, Select Hunter Stratton

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The Pirates announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Hunter Stratton from Triple-A Indianapolis, with left-hander Rob Zastryzny designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Stratton, 26, was a 16th-round pick of the Pirates in the 2017 draft and has been working his way up to the majors since then. He generally posts high strikeout totals but with lots of walks as well, and that has continued to be the case this year. In 56 1/3 Triple-A innings this season, he has a 3.99 earned run average, striking out 30.6% of batters faced while giving out free passes at a 12.8% clip. He will now get a chance to get major league hitters out, making his big league debut as soon as he gets into a game.

Zastryzny, 31, is designated for assignment by the Bucs for the second time this year. He signed a minor league deal with the club in the offseason and cracked the Opening Day roster. He was designated for assignment in July and accepted an outright assignment after clearing waivers. He was added back to the roster a couple of weeks ago but has lost his spot again. Between those two stints, he tossed 20 2/3 innings with a 4.79 ERA, 15.5% strikeout rate and 13.4% walk rate.

The club will place him back on waivers in the coming days. He’s out of options, so any claiming club would have to add him to their active roster. He has just over a year of service time, meaning he could be retained for five more seasons if any club were willing to give him that roster spot. But the last time he was put on waivers, he passed through and stuck with the Pirates, which could perhaps happen again in the days to come.

Red Sox Claim Logan Gillaspie From Orioles

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The Red Sox have claimed right-hander Logan Gillaspie off waivers from the Orioles, per Ian Browne of MLB.com, and optioned him to Triple-A. The O’s had designated the righty for assignment over the weekend. To open a spot on their 40-man, the Sox transferred outfielder Jarren Duran to the 60-day injured list.

Gillaspie, 26, tossed 26 1/3 innings for the Orioles between last year and this year. He had a 4.10 earned run average in that time, striking out just 15% of batters faced but limiting walks to a 6.7% rate. In Triple-A this year, he’s thrown 36 1/3 innings with a 4.71 ERA, 21.4% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate. His numbers at that level were stronger last year, despite a 5.09 ERA. He struck out 24.8% of Triple-A hitters he faced while walking just 5.9%.

The Sox essentially had a roster spot to burn, since it was announced last week that Duran would require season-ending surgery to deal with a turf toe injury. That made his transfer to the 60-day injured list inevitable and the club has now used his roster spot to add another depth arm to the system. Gillaspie will still have one more option year beyond this season and he has less than a year of service time.

Diamondbacks Select Andrew Saalfrank

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The Diamondbacks announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Andrew Saalfrank, with righty Slade Cecconi optioned in the corresponding move. To open a spot on the 40-man roster, outfielder Dominic Fletcher was recalled and placed on the 60-day injured list due to a fractured left index finger. Prior to the official announcement, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reported that Saalfrank had a locker in the clubhouse and Cecconi did not.

Saalfrank, 26, was a sixth-round draft pick of the Diamondbacks in 2019. He made a brief professional debut in the lower levels of the system that year, but then the pandemic wiped out the minor leagues in 2020 and Saalfrank didn’t pitch in 2021. He split last year between High-A and Double-A, posting a combined 3.52 earned run average. He struck out 29.2% of opponents but walked 11.3%.

He went back to Double-A to start this year, tossing 33 1/3 innings with a 2.70 ERA. His 14.2% walk rate was quite high but he also struck out 31.9% of opponents while getting grounders on 64.9% of balls in play. He got promoted to Triple-A Reno and continued to thrive, despite that club playing in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He’s thrown 30 2/3 innings for the Aces with a 2.35 ERA, 37.5% strikeout rate, 11.7% walk rate and 60.3% ground ball rate.

That strong showing in the minors will get him a shot at getting major leaguers out, joining Kyle Nelson and Joe Mantiply as the club’s southpaw relief mix. Saalfrank will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.

As for Fletcher, he’s been on optional assignment since early July. He landed on the minor league injured list in late August, evidently due to this finger fracture. It seems the club doesn’t believe he’ll be back this year, as he is now ineligible to return within the remainder of the season.

Julio Urías Arrested On Domestic Violence Charges

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1:10pm: The Dodgers released the following statement: “We are aware of an incident involving Julio Urías. While we attempt to learn all the facts, he will not be traveling with the team. The organization has no further comment at this time.”

12:22pm: Dodgers left-hander Julio Urías was arrested and charged with felony domestic violence charges late last night, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The pitcher was booked late Sunday and released early this morning on $50K bond. Sam Blum of The Athletic reports that Urías was charged with “corporal injury on a spouse,” as relayed by his colleague Fabian Ardaya. Passan adds that Urías has a court date on September 27.

Urías, 27, has been pitching for the Dodgers since debuting in 2016. In 2019, he was arrested after reportedly shoving a female companion to the ground. He was placed on administrative leave at that time as the league began an investigation into the matter. The Los Angeles city attorney ultimately deferred prosecution in that matter, conditional on Urías completing a 52-week domestic violence counseling program, among other criteria. Under the joint domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy agreed to by Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association, the league can impose discipline even in the absence of charges and Urías ultimately received a 20-game suspension.

The details of this latest incident aren’t clear at the moment, though it seems fair to expect a similar process to take place soon. Urías will likely be placed on administrative leave again as the league opens an investigation into this arrest. Administrative leave is not considered punitive and players continue to be paid and accrue service time while on leave, though both can be rescinded in the event of an eventual suspension. There’s no set length for administrative leave, which can last as long as an investigation into a matter takes.

Urías is slated for free agency at season’s end.

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 for 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 Select Michael Mariot

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The Reds announced that they have recalled right-hander Casey Legumina and selected the contract of righty Michael Mariot. In corresponding moves, righty Brett Kennedy was optioned to Triple-A while righty Lyon Richardson was returned to Triple-A. The club already had a vacancy on its 40-man roster.

Mariot, 34, hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2016. The Reds signed him to a minor league deal in June and selected him to the big league roster in July, though he was designated for assignment a day later without getting into a game. He cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment at that time, which now leads to his contract being selected a second time this year.

The Reds were already dealing with a large number of injuries but a recent COVID outbreak has exacerbated the issue, sending multiple pitchers to the injured list. That has required an almost-daily roster churn as they keep cycling fresh arms into the mix, with Mariot the latest to get the call.

He made 44 appearances in the big leagues back in the 2014 to 2016 period but hasn’t been back since, bouncing around on various minor league deals while also spending time in the Mexican League and Chinese Professional Baseball in Taiwan. He began 2023 with the Cleburne Railroaders of the independent American Association of Professional Baseball, posting a 5.06 ERA there but with 29 strikeouts and just five walks in 26 2/3 innings.

That led to a minor league deal with the Reds and he has since thrown 37 2/3 innings over nine appearances for Louisville with a 6.93 ERA and 14.3% strikeout rate. The Reds are going the opener route today, with reliever Tejay Antone scheduled to start, but Mariot could perhaps log some bulk innings in the middle of the game.

As for Richardson, the fact that he has been “returned” to Triple-A and not optioned is worth noting. He was called up as a COVID replacement player recently and has now been sent back down. Optioned pitchers normally cannot be recalled for another 15 days but that won’t apply in this unique situation. He is listed as Wednesday’s starter and should be added back to the roster in short order.

White Sox Designate Seby Zavala For Assignment

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The White Sox announced today that catcher Seby Zavala has been reinstated from the injured list and designated for assignment. He was on a rehab assignment, working his way back from an oblique strain, but the club doesn’t seem to have room for him on the roster.

Zavala, 30, has been serving as the backup catcher to Yasmani Grandal for much of this year. Defensively, he’s been quite strong, with a tally of seven Defensive Runs Saved in just 464 2/3 innings. Only six backstops are ahead of him in that category this year, and Jose Trevino is the only one of those to do so with a lighter workload. He also has a positive grade from the FanGraphs framing metric, this year and each previous season as well.

Unfortunately, he’s paired that strong defense with a terrible season on offense. He has walked in just 5.7% of his trips to the plate and struck out in 38.6% of them. His .155/.207/.304 batting line amounts to a wRC+ of just 34, indicating he’s been 66% worse than the league average hitter. Only Austin Hedges and Brenton Doyle have a lower wRC+ this year, among hitters with at least 170 plate appearances.

Zavala landed on the injured list about a month ago due to a left oblique strain. In his absence, the club has been giving some playing time to 25-year-old Korey Lee, who is also hitting poorly but in just eight games this year so far. Zavala recently began a rehab assignment but it seems the club is going to continue with Grandal and Lee getting the playing time down the stretch, as they decide how to proceed next year. Since Zavala is out of options and the club apparently didn’t want to put him back on the active roster, that left them little choice but to bump him off the 40-man.

Despite his obvious struggles with the bat, it’s a bit surprising to see the Sox cut him loose. Grandal is an impending free agent, meaning they have a question mark at the catcher position next year. They will be hoping for Lee to take the job and run with it but he is hitting just .045/.160/.045 so far this year and will need a backup even if he does get some runway to prove himself next year. Zavala has also shown better offensive results in the past, including a line of .270/.347/.382 just last year. That was fuelled by a .404 batting average on balls in play but still made him a valuable part-time player when combined with his glovework.

The Sox will now put Zavala on waivers in the coming days, where it’s possible he could garner interest as a glove-first backup, though his out-of-options status means he would need an active roster spot. He would be ineligible to join that club for the postseason since it’s after the August 31 cutoff, but if some team does put in a claim, they can control Zavala for four more seasons beyond this one. If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would have the right to elect free agency due to a previous career outright.

Going forward, the Sox will perhaps be on the lookout for help behind the plate this winter. As mentioned, Grandal is set to depart for free agency, meaning Lee and Carlos Pérez will be the only backstops on the 40-man roster soon. Both of those guys will still have an option year remaining, perhaps allowing the Sox to bring a veteran into the mix. Prospect Edgar Quero has yet to reach Triple-A but is playing well at Double-A and should move into the long-term picture at some point.

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