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Dodgers Release Bradley Zimmer

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The Dodgers have released outfielder Bradley Zimmer, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. He’d been playing with their Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City after signing a minor league contract back in December.

The 30-year-old Zimmer is a veteran of six big league seasons, the majority of which were spent in Cleveland. A former first-round pick and well-regarded top prospect, Zimmer has long displayed plus speed and defense but never solidified himself as a regular outfielder at the MLB level, due largely to ongoing strikeout issues.

Zimmer’s penchant for punching out was magnified in 2022, when he spent the bulk of the season with the Blue Jays. Toronto clearly valued his baserunning acumen and defensive prowess, but Zimmer appeared in 100 games and received just 101 plate appearances — a testament to his long-running offensive struggles. In that time, he batted just .101/.200/.213 with a 40.6% strikeout rate. Certainly, the infrequency of his at-bats put Zimmer in an unenviable position in terms of trying to find some semblance of a rhythm at the plate, but on the whole he’s a career .213/.298/.333 hitter with a 33.9% strikeout rate.

Defensively, Zimmer has graded out fantastically wherever he’s been placed in the outfield. The bulk of his work in the big leagues has come in center field, but he’s also tallied 406 innings in right field and another 63 in left field. Defensive Runs Saved (13), Ultimate Zone Rating (5.2) and Outs Above Average (11) are all complementary of his work in 1783 innings in center field, and that trio grades his entire body of work in the outfield with similarly strong respective marks of 15, 7.8 and 14. Zimmer is also 42-for-50 in career stolen base attempts (84%) and landed in the 93rd percentile of big leaguers in terms of sprint speed in 2022, per Statcast.

Zimmer’s work with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate this year featured the same general characteristics that have come to be expected of him over the years. His .219/.322/.343 batting line was well below the league average, with a 38% strikeout rate standing as the primary culprit. However, he drew a fair number of walks, flashed a bit of pop (three homers), swiped eight bases (in nine tries), and spent some time in all three outfield slots (145 innings in right, 71 in center, nine in left). He’ll head back to free agency and look to latch on with another club in search of some center field depth.

The Opener: Altuve, Severino, Mets

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With seven weeks of the 2023 regular season now in the books, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Altuve to return?

Astros star Jose Altuve has yet to play this season thanks to thumb surgery he underwent after suffering an injury during the World Baseball Classic. That could change soon. On the heels of Altuve beginning a rehab assignment last week, manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including The Athletic’s Chandler Rome) that the second baseman was returning to Minute Maid Park for a workout during yesterday’s off-day, and could be activated from the injured list as soon as today if said workout goes well.

Adding Altuve back into the club’s lineup on a daily basis should be a boost for an Astros offense that ranks bottom five in the majors in terms of OPS this season. Despite those offensive woes, Houston has played to a 24-19 record, though that figure is only good enough for second place in the AL West, behind the 26-17 Rangers. Mauricio Dubon has filled in admirably for Altuve, hitting .309/.333/.389 in 156 plate appearances while playing above-average defense per both Defensive Runs Saved (5) and Outs Above Average (1).

2. Severino expected to be activated:

Also expected to make his 2023 regular season debut this weekend is Yankees right-hander Luis Severino, who as noted by Bryach Hoch of MLB.com was announced by manager Aaron Boone as the club’s likely starter for Sunday’s game against the Reds. The 29-year-old Severino pitched just 18 innings between the 2019, 2020, and 2021 campaigns but returned to the mound for 102 strong innings last season, posting a 3.18 ERA and 3.70 FIP with a 27.7% strikeout rate.

If Severino can make a similar impact for the Yankees this season, that would be a huge development for the Yankees, who have seen minimal production from their rotation outside of Gerrit Cole. Nestor Cortes, Jhony Brito, and Clarke Schmidt all have ERAs north of 5.00, Domingo German was recently suspended for violating the foreign substance ban. Neither Carlos Rodon nor Frankie Montas has thrown a pitch this season.

3. Mets roster moves incoming:

Last night, it was reported that the Mets are expected to select the contract of veteran catcher Gary Sanchez before this evening’s game against the Guardians. Seeing as Sanchez isn’t on the 40-man roster, the Mets will have to clear space both on the 40-man and active rosters to accommodate him. Speculatively speaking, Sanchez could take the place of current backup catcher Michael Perez, who has appeared in just two games for the club while filling in for the injured Tomas Nido.

Sanchez, who went 8-for-26 with nine walks and ten strikeouts in 37 Triple-A plate appearances with the Mets, would likely be an upgrade over the 30-year-old Perez, who sports a career 53 wRC+ over 598 plate appearances since the beginning of his big league career in 2018. Sanchez has a career wRC+ of 109 across his 666 games in the majors, with the majority of those coming as the primary catcher for the Yankees.

Latest On Dodgers’ Pitching Staff

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The Dodgers lost Dustin May to a flexor pronator strain yesterday. That injury is expected to sideline him for four to six weeks, leaving a vacancy in the starting five. L.A. manager Dave Roberts addressed the rotation before today’s loss to the Cardinals.

Roberts noted the club was likely to recall top pitching prospect Gavin Stone to take the open rotation spot (Twitter thread via Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times). Stone and Michael Grove are the only pitchers to take a start outside of the Dodgers’ expected top five of Clayton Kershaw, Julio Urías, Tony Gonsolin, Noah Syndergaard and May.

Grove has been on the 15-day injured list for nearly a month thanks to a groin strain. He’s with the club on the taxi squad and could be reinstated within the next few days, although Roberts suggested he was likelier to step into the relief corps immediately. Grove has been throwing in extended Spring Training but hasn’t gone out on a minor league rehab assignment.

Meanwhile, the club provided an unfortunate update on right-hander Ryan Pepiot. The Butler product was expected to take the fifth spot out of camp with Gonsolin opening the year on the IL. He suffered a brutally timed oblique strain at the end of Spring Training, however, sending him to the 60-day IL. Pepiot has still yet to throw from a mound as he continues to battle side soreness, and Roberts indicated he was unlikely to be back until around the All-Star Break (via Harris).

Stone is the logical choice to come back up. He struggled in his major league debut earlier in the season, allowing five runs in four innings. The 24-year-old has been strong for Triple-A Oklahoma City, pitching to a 4.04 ERA with a quality 27.5% strikeout rate over 35 2/3 frames in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

Alongside Stone, Bobby Miller is one of the sport’s most touted minor league pitchers and has reached Triple-A. He’s made just four starts after being delayed in Spring Training and been tagged for 13 runs in 14 1/3 innings. Unsurprisingly, Roberts suggested the Dodgers want Miller to keep getting reps in Oklahoma City rather than garnering consideration for a short-term call. Miller is not yet on the 40-man roster.

Cardinals Notes: O’Neill, Edman, DeJong, Liberatore

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Cardinals outfielder Tyler O’Neill has been on the 10-day injured list since May 5 with a lower back strain. He was slated to go on a minor league rehab stint today but the club announced yesterday he’d be held back because of continued soreness.

Manager Oli Marmol told reporters today that O’Neill will meet again with the club’s doctors to try to determine the source of the ongoing discomfort (relayed by John Denton of MLB.com). It’s not presently clear how much longer St. Louis will without its Opening Day center fielder. Prior to the injury, O’Neill had been off to a slow start offensively. He’s hitting .228/.283/.337 with only two home runs and a characteristically high 34.3% strikeout rate. The Cardinals also quickly pushed O’Neill back into his standard left field role after flirting with the idea of him manning center.

St. Louis is also without Dylan Carlson after he landed on the IL earlier in the week. The Cards brought up Oscar Mercado from Triple-A and they’ve begun getting Tommy Edman work in the outfield. The switch-hitter has started three straight games in right field after playing exclusively in the middle infield thus far. Edman, who left this evening’s game due to lower abdominal soreness (via Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch), is off to a strong .274/.331/.467 start to the year.

Edman is a quality defender up the middle but his flexibility has allowed the Cards to get the hot-hitting Paul DeJong back into action. DeJong has been much maligned because of his offensive struggles between 2020-22, but he’s stormed out to a .290/.355/.594 slash with six homers in 20 games since being activated from the IL on April 23. That’s been enough for the former All-Star to force his way back into the lineup at shortstop.

The Cardinals also called up left-hander Matthew Liberatore for the first time this season yesterday. He tossed five scoreless innings in a win against Milwaukee, building off a strong first few weeks with Triple-A Memphis. The one-time top prospect had a 3.13 ERA with excellent strikeout (30.3%) and ground-ball (50%) rates over eight starts in the minors preceding his promotion. With St. Louis’ rotation turning in generally lackluster results, Liberatore looks like one of the organization’s most intriguing arms.

Marmol confirmed that Liberatore will get another start during next week’s road trip between Cincinnati and Cleveland (via Jeff Jones of the Belleville News Democrat). That came on the heels of president of baseball operations John Mozeliak suggesting earlier in the afternoon the Cards could use Liberatore out of the bullpen in the shorter term (via Brandon Kiley of 101 ESPN). The Cardinals won’t have an off day until May 31, marking a stretch of 19 consecutive game days. That figures to put a fair amount of stress on the pitching staff.

St. Louis has used a starting five of Jordan Montgomery, Miles Mikolas, Adam Wainwright, Jack Flaherty and Steven Matz. None of that quintet has an ERA under 4.00, with Montgomery’s 4.21 mark the only figure that isn’t pushing or exceeding five earned runs per nine. Depth starter Jake Woodford, who’d gotten six starts while Wainwright was on the IL in April, had a 5.72 ERA before hitting the IL with shoulder inflammation two weeks ago.

Nationals Sign Luis Torrens To Minor League Contract

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The Nationals have signed catcher Luis Torrens to a minor league deal, the club announced. Washington also confirmed its previously reported signing of designated hitter Franmil Reyes to a non-roster pact.

Torrens joins his third organization of 2023. He opened the year with the Cubs on a minor league deal and cracked the Opening Day roster. Working as a third catcher, he appeared in 13 games and hit 22 times before being designated for assignment. The Cubs traded Torrens to the Orioles for cash but he spent just a few days in Baltimore prior to being DFA for a second time. After going unclaimed on waivers, he chose minor league free agency and heads to Washington.

It’s a sensible depth add for the Nats. Washington saw veteran backstop Kevin Plawecki opt out of a minor league deal earlier in the week. Torrens will take his spot as a veteran catcher at Triple-A Rochester. He has appeared in parts of six MLB seasons. Torrens’ best year came with the Mariners in 2021, when he hit .243/.299/.431 with 15 home runs in a career-high 378 plate appearances. He stumbled to a .225/.283/.298 showing in 57 games the next year, though, leading Seattle to run him through waivers twice.

Public defensive metrics have pegged Torrens as a below-average pitch framer and blocker. His career 21.7% caught stealing rate is a few percentage points below par, though he cut down an excellent 32.1% of basestealers last season.

The Nationals have three catchers on the 40-man roster. Israel Pineda has spent the entire year on the minor league injured list with a broken finger, leaving Keibert Ruiz and Riley Adams as their only healthy backstops. Ruiz, whom the Nats signed to a $50MM extension over the winter, is entrenched as the starter. The 26-year-old Adams has played just seven times as the backup, hitting .192/.250/.346 in 29 plate appearances. Adams still has a minor league option year remaining, so Washington could eventually turn to another #2 backstop if they’d like to get him more consistent reps in Triple-A.

Orioles Acquire Robbie Glendinning From Royals

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The Orioles announced that they have acquired minor league infielder Robbie Glendinning from the Royals in exchange for cash considerations. Glendinning will report to Triple-A Norfolk. Robert Murray of FanSided reported the deal prior to the official announcement.

Glendinning, 27, is originally from Australia but attended the University of Missouri before being selected by the Pirates in the 21st round of the 2017 draft. He went on to hit .274/.361/.417 through the end of 2019, climbing from Low-A up to Double-A in that time. The minor leagues were canceled by the pandemic in 2020 and Glendinning missed 2021 as well, getting released by the Pirates prior to 2022.

He signed with the Royals last year and played for their Double-A squad, hitting 19 home runs while walking in 14.5% of his plate appearances, though also striking out at a 32.4% clip. He finished the year with a batting line of .252/.373/.439, translating to a wRC+ of 112.

He suited up for the Australian team in this year’s World Baseball Classic, hitting .300/.391/.600 in five games there. He then returned to the Northwest Arkansas Naturals and has hit .242/.373/.363 so far this year for a wRC+ of 105, walking at a 16.4% clip while striking out 25.5% of the time.

He’s played all four infield positions in his minor league career but has been limited to the corner spots so far this year. The Orioles announced him as a shortstop, though he hasn’t played that position since 2019. He’ll head to the Triple-A level for the first time in his career and give the O’s a bit more non-roster infield depth.

D-Backs’ Offseason Trade Pickup Off To Excellent Start

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In an offseason light on impact trade activity, the Diamondbacks and Blue Jays pulled off one of the biggest swaps. Arizona’s left-handed hitting outfield surplus and Toronto’s catching depth materialized in the deal that sent Gold Glove caliber outfielder Daulton Varsho to Toronto for rookie backstop Gabriel Moreno. That duo were the main players involved, but Arizona also added right-handed balance to the lineup with the inclusion of veteran left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

Gurriel has a longer MLB track record than either of Varsho or Moreno but was by far the tertiary player in terms of trade value. He’d been a good but not elite hitter throughout his time with the Jays. In 2022, the Cuban-born outfielder put up a .291/.343/.400 batting line with five home runs over 493 plate appearances. That offensive output checked in 14 percentage points above league average by measure of wRC+. Paired with average defensive marks in a corner outfield spot, Gurriel has been worth between one and two wins above replacement in every season of his career (although he would’ve been on a better pace in 2020 if that schedule hadn’t been truncated).

There was no question Gurriel was a viable major league player. He’d been a near average regular for the entirety of his career. Due roughly $5.4MM in his final season before free agency — a clause in the contract he signed with Toronto after defecting from Cuba allows him to reach the open market next winter even though he’ll be a little shy of six years of MLB service — he had trade value but not an overwhelming amount.

Arizona anticipated an immediate downgrade in their outfield from Varsho to Gurriel, a tradeoff they were willing to make to install Moreno behind the plate for the next six seasons. While that could still play out, Gurriel has somewhat surprisingly been the far more productive of the two outfielders through the first couple months of the year. Varsho has started his Toronto tenure with a .217/.294/.382 showing through 42 contests. Over his first 39 games in the desert, Gurriel is off to a career-best .310/.373/.552 pace. His seven homers in 161 plate appearances already tops last year’s mark and puts him on pace to beat his career-best 21 longballs from two years ago.

As MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk explored before this season, injuries could certainly have played a role in Gurriel’s up-and-down results from 2022. He’d bookended a very strong run between June and July with dismal numbers in May and August. A hamstring strain cut his season short in early September and, likely of greater import on his production, he underwent surgery on the hamate bone in his left hand following the season. Hand and wrist injuries can sap a hitter’s strength; if Gurriel were playing through that issue for a while, it’d be understandable why his power production was at a career-worst level.

Better health is a plausible explanation for some of Gurriel’s improved production but doesn’t account for all of it. He’s also working with a more dialed-in plate approach than he has in years past. Through play Wednesday, he’s sitting on a personal-low 14.9% strikeout rate and drawing walks at a career-best 8.1% clip.

While Gurriel has always had good bat-t0-ball skills, he has taken things to a new level in the early going by being more selective. He has offered at 45.8% of the pitches he’s seen, the lowest rate of his career by three percentage points. Gurriel is translating that approach into consistent contact. He has gotten the bat on the ball on an excellent 85.8% of his swings, almost six points better than last year’s personal-high mark. Pitchers have been unable to beat him in the zone, with Gurriel making contact nearly 92% of the time he goes after a would-be strike. He’s putting the ball in play more consistently without sacrificing any of his contact authority.

That’s an ideal combination for a hitter. Gurriel is 29th among 171 qualified batters in on-base percentage and 10th in slugging. That plays even without elite defense in the outfield. It’s among the reasons Arizona sits at 25-19 with a +16 run differential and looks like a legitimate contender for a Wild Card spot in an uncertain National League playoff picture.

A career showing couldn’t be timed better for Gurriel personally. He’s headed to the open market for the first time since he was a 23-year-old amateur signee. He’ll do so in advance of his age-30 season and as part of a free agent class that looks very thin on position player talent. Among potential impending free agents with 100+ plate appearances, only Matt Chapman, Kevin Kiermaier and Max Muncy (who’s controllable for 2024 via $10MM club option) have a higher wRC+ than Gurriel’s 148.

Gurriel isn’t going to be the #3 free agent position player in the class but he has a chance to hit his way into a solid multi-year deal. Mitch Haniger and Michael Conforto topped $35MM on contracts with opt-out possibilities as bat-first corner outfielders. Both players had durability concerns that aren’t there with Gurriel. The five years and $75MM secured by Andrew Benintendi feels lofty given Benintendi’s defensive advantage and youth (he signed going into his age-28 season), but Gurriel looks like the superior hitter.

At the very least, Arizona’s new acquisition has a chance to position himself as an interesting mid-tier free agent. It remains to be seen if he can keep up his present pace over six months but he looks healthier than he had last season and is making excellent swing decisions. It’s a better start than the D-Backs could’ve expected and a key development in the club’s strong start to the year.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Reds Sign Alec Mills To Minor League Deal

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The Reds have signed right-hander Alec Mills to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He’s been assigned to the club’s Complex League team for now, where he will presumably build up before joining an affiliate in the upper levels of the club’s farm system.

Mills, 31, spent 2018 to 2022 with the Cubs, serving as a frequently-optioned depth starter in the first few of those seasons. By the end of 2019, he had tossed 57 1/3 innings with a 3.77 ERA. He was out of options going into 2020 and held his roster spot all year, posting a 4.48 ERA over 11 starts, which the obvious highlight being a the no-hitter he tossed in September.

Since then, however, he’s had some challenges. He dealt with ongoing back issues throughout 2021 and 2022, posting a combined 5.66 ERA in 136 2/3 innings over those two campaigns. After a couple of years of migrating on and off the injured list, he eventually underwent back surgery in September of last year. All told, he currently has a career 4.95 ERA in 256 1/3 career innings with a 19.5% strikeout rate, 7.2% walk rate and 48.5% ground ball rate.

Mills crossed three years of service time last year and would have been eligible for arbitration for the first time this past offseason, but the Cubs outrighted him off the roster instead. He lingered on the open market all winter but now has a new club.

The Reds have plenty of need for starting pitching, as they recently released Luis Cessa while Nick Lodolo, Justin Dunn, Vladimir Gutierrez and Connor Overton are all on the injured list. That leaves the current rotation as Hunter Greene, Graham Ashcraft, Brandon Williamson, Ben Lively and Luke Weaver. Williamson was just called up and looked good but in just one start so far. Lively has made a couple of relief appearances this year but will take the ball tomorrow, which will be his first start in the majors since 2018. Weaver, meanwhile, has a 6.26 ERA through his five starts this season.

The club has some intriguing pitchers in Triple-A, such as Levi Stoudt and Andrew Abbott, but is currently running with a group in the big leagues that has plenty of uncertainty in it. Mills will likely need some time to build up strength after last year’s surgery and missing Spring Training, but he could bolster the club’s rotation depth once he gets stretched out. If he can put the back issues behind him and return to the big leagues, he’ll be out of options but could be kept around beyond this season if the Reds so choose. He currently has three years and 97 days of service time and could be retained via arbitration until he crosses the six-year mark.

Dodgers Designate Dylan Covey For Assignment

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The Dodgers announced today that left-hander Justin Bruihl and right-hander Andre Jackson have been recalled to the club. In corresponding moves, right-hander Dustin May was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right forearm strain and righty Dylan Covey designated for assignment.

The Dodgers have been facing various challenges with their pitching staff in recent days, leading to much improvising. They played a 12-inning game against the Twins on Monday, using six relievers after Noah Syndergaard lasted just four innings. On Tuesday, Clayton Kershaw was also bounced after just four frames, requiring the bullpen to pick up the remaining five.

That led the club to select Covey’s contract yesterday to give the bullpen a fresh arm. It was a good thing that they did, since May had to depart after just one inning with elbow pain. It was later reported that he has a flexor pronator strain and will likely miss four to six weeks, making today’s injured list placement inevitable. Covey stepped in and threw four innings in relief of May, allowing a couple of earned runs on five hits and one walk with three strikeouts. Four other pitchers came in after him as the Dodgers managed to pull off a 7-3 victory.

Despite playing a key role in that victory, Covey has been nudged out of his roster spot as the club was once again facing an exhausted pitching staff and needed some fresh arms. Prior to joining the big league club, he had a 4.22 ERA in 32 Triple-A innings on the year. The Dodgers will now have one week to trade him or pass him through waivers. He hasn’t really been a major league regular for a few years, pitching in the CPBL in Taiwan in 2021 and 2022, but it wouldn’t be a shock to see some other club express interest given the mounting pile of pitcher injuries around the league. In the event he does clear waivers, he would have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency, by virtue of having a previous career outright.

Yankees Place Jose Trevino On IL With Hamstring Strain, Recall Ben Rortvedt

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The Yankees announced that they have placed catcher Jose Trevino on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. Fellow backstop Ben Rortvedt has been recalled to take his place on the active roster.

Trevino, 30, had spent the 2018-2021 seasons as a part-time catcher with the Rangers before the Yankees acquired him going into 2022. He already had a reputation as a glove-first backstop, tallying eight Defensive Runs Saved with Texas in 2021. He took that part of his game to new heights with the Yanks last year, accruing 21 DRS for the season, winning a Gold Glove and a Fielding Bible award. He also hit 11 home runs and slashed .248/.283/.388 for a wRC+ of 91.

He hasn’t quite been able to maintain that pace so far this year, as he’s hitting just .219/.265/.333 and his defense has been around league average. Nonetheless, it’s a frustrating development for the Yankees, for whom injuries have become an ongoing concern. Trevino joins Josh Donaldson, Oswald Peraza, Giancarlo Stanton, Carlos Rodon, Luis Severino, Frankie Montas, Luis Gil, Scott Effross, Ian Hamilton, Tommy Kahnle, Jonathan Loáisiga and Lou Trivino, who are all currently on the injured list, while they’ve also seen Aaron Judge and Harrison Bader miss some time. Despite all of those absences, the club is still hanging tough with a 25-20 record so far, but continually shuffling the deck chairs could become a growing concern over a long season unless the health situation improves.

As for Rortvedt, he was also acquired prior to the 2022 season, coming over from the Twins alongside Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, but has yet to appear in a game as a Yankee mostly due to injuries. He suffered an oblique injury in the spring of 2022 then underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in April. He was eventually activated in August but was optioned to the minors. He did get recalled to the big league club in September but was optioned three days later without getting into a game. This year, Rortvedt underwent surgery in February on an aneurysm near the posterior in his left shoulder that was affecting his circulation. He began the year on the injured list and was activated a week ago but optioned to the minors again.

Given all of those hurdles, a running joke has developed among some Yankee fans that Rortvedt doesn’t even exist, but it now seems inevitable he will make his team debut at some point in the near future. He’ll likely be in the backup role in support of Kyle Higashioka, who had been backing up Trevino until now. Rortvedt has 39 games of MLB experience, which came with the Twins back 2021. He hit just .169/.229/.281 but earned 5 DRS in that short time and has positive framing metrics.

The Yankees also announced that Kahnle will begin a rehab assignment today with Single-A Tampa. The 33-year-old was signed in the offseason to a two-year, $11.5MM deal but has been on the IL all year so far due to biceps tendinitis. He was eventually transferred to the 60-day IL, meaning he won’t be eligible to return until next week but will likely need some time to get into game shape anyway. He has a career 3.78 ERA and 29.3% strikeout rate but has only thrown 13 2/3 innings since the end of 2019 due to various injuries.

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