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Braves Place Michael Harris II On IL With Back Strain

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4:31pm: Snitker indicated the Braves aren’t concerned about the issue. Speaking with reporters this evening, the skipper implied Harris could be back after a minimal stint (via Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal Constitution). According to Snitker, the injury was expected to sideline the center fielder for four or five days and the club didn’t want to play a man short.

2:45pm: The Braves announced that outfielder Michael Harris II has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a lower back strain. Fellow outfielder Eli White was recalled in a corresponding move.

Harris, 22, departed last night’s game with back tightness. After the game, manager Brian Snitker told reporters, including Jeff Schultz of The Athletic, that Harris banged his back on the wall while making a catch. Snitker said that Harris was day-to-day but it seems that the injury may have been a bit more serious than initially thought, given that the club has now decided to give him a breather for at least 10 days.

At this point, it’s unclear how much time the club expect Harris to miss. Given that he was initially described as day-to-day, it would be reasonable to expect a minimum absence, though that’s just a guess. Whatever the timeframe, they will be proceeding without a player who proved last year to be exceptionally talented. He got called up from Double-A straight to the majors, skipping over Triple-A entirely. The jump didn’t seem to phase him, as he hit 19 home runs and stole 20 bases in 114 games. His .297/.339/.514 batting line amounted to a wRC+ of 136. He was also graded as an excellent defender in center, leading to a tally of 4.8 wins above replacement from FanGraphs and a Rookie of the Year award.

With Harris out of action today, the club has put Sam Hilliard in center. He has 88 previous career games at that position, with advanced defensive metrics grading him as slightly below average there. Now that White has been recalled to the roster, he could see some time there as well. He’s considered an excellent defender but hasn’t hit much in the big leagues yet, currently sporting a .185/.260/.296 career batting line. Kevin Pillar has plenty of experience in center but has been spending more time in the corners as he’s aged into his mid-30s.

Verlander: Return In April Is “Very Reasonable” Expectation

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Mets right-hander Justin Verlander is on the injured list due to a low-grade strain of the teres major muscle in his shoulder and provided an update on his condition today, with Laura Albanese of Newsday among those to relay his comments (Twitter links). Verlander says that he turned a corner in recent days and that returning to the club in April is a “very reasonable” expectation.

That’s a welcome development for the Mets for multiple reasons. Verlander is one of the best pitchers in the game and any rotation would be better with him in it. He posted a 1.75 ERA with the Astros last year with a 27.8% strikeout rate, 4.4% walk rate and 37.9% ground ball rate. That was despite being 39 years old, in addition to missing all of 2021 and most of 2020 due to Tommy John surgery. He was awarded the American League Cy Young for that stellar performance.

The Mets also began the season without José Quintana, who will be out until at least July due to rib surgery. Those two injuries bumped David Peterson and Tylor Megill into a rotation that has wobbled a bit lately. Peterson was solid in his first start against the Marlins but then allowed five earned runs in four innings against the Brewers. The Brew Crew also scored five earned runs on each of Max Scherzer and Carlos Carrasco this week, eventually sweeping the three-game series and leaving the Mets’ record at 3-4 coming into today.

The Mets have also been dealing with injuries elsewhere on the roster, with multiple relievers on the IL and catcher Omar Narváez joining them earlier today. It’s been a frustrating beginning to the season after an aggressive winter where they spent wildly in free agency. That included a two-year, $86.6MM deal for Verlander, which was part of the tally that launched the club past the highest tier of the Competitive Balance Tax.

The injuries have hobbled the club a bit here in the early going but it sounds like Verlander could be back within a few weeks. He says that he’s been throwing during his IL stint, meaning that he’ll have a bit of a headstart in ramping back up and will lobby against requiring a rehab assignment, per Tim Healey of Newsday. Once he’s able to return, he would likely push either Megill or Peterson back to a depth role in the minors.

Yankees Outright Estevan Florial

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The Yankees announced that outfielder Estevan Florial has been outrighted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He had been designated for assignment last week when the club added Colten Brewer to its roster.

Florial, 25, has been on the Yankees’ roster since November of 2019. He’s hit just .185/.302/.278 in the big leagues so far for a wRC+ of 69, indicating he’s been 31% worse than the league average hitter. He also struck out in a third of his plate appearances at the big league level.

Despite that uninspiring performance, it comes as a surprise to see Florial pass through waivers unclaimed. Those tepid major league numbers have come in just 63 plate appearances scattered over four separate seasons, hardly worth reading too much into. He was a highly-touted prospect in his time in the minor leagues, with Baseball America ranking him #38 in the league in 2018. His prospect stock has fallen in subsequent years, but he’s still posted some intriguing numbers in the minors. In Triple-A last year, he hit 15 home runs and stole 39 bases in 101 games. His .283/.368/.481 batting line amounted to a wRC+ of 124. He’s also considered a strong defender in center field, making him a well-rounded performer in the minor leagues.

That’s not to say his profile is without blemish. The main concern with Florial is the strikeouts. He’s continued to get punched out at high rates at pretty much every level of the minors. Although his overall numbers in Triple-A last year were strong, they came with a 30.4% strikeout rate. He’s also exhausted his options over the past few years as the Yankees have continually transferred him to the big leagues and back to the farm. That meant that any claiming team would have had to plug Florial onto their active roster. Despite his obvious tools, it seems no club was willing to give him that shot.

Florial will now stick with the Yankees but without occupying a spot on their 40-man roster. Since this is his first career outright and he has less than three years of MLB service time, he doesn’t have the right to reject the assignment and elect free agency. He’ll report to the RailRiders and try to cut down on the strikeouts in order to earn his way back onto the roster.

White Sox Designate José Ruiz, Select Jesse Scholtens

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The White Sox announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Jesse Scholtens, while fellow righty José Ruiz has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Ruiz, 28, was claimed off waivers from Padres in December of 2017 and has been with the White Sox since that time. Over his first five years with the club, he posted generally solid numbers, including a 4.17 ERA over 174 appearances. His 11.1% walk rate was a bit high, but his 23% strikeout rate and 40.6% ground ball rate were both close to league average. Unfortunately, he’s been rocked in the early going here in 2023, allowing nine earned runs already through 3 2/3 innings.

The Sox will now have a week to trade Ruiz or pass him through waivers. He passed the three-year service time mark last year, meaning that he qualified for arbitration for the first time. He and the club agreed to a salary of $925K. Since he’s over that three-year mark, if he clears waivers and is outrighted, he will have the right to reject the assignment and elect free agency. However, since he has less than five years of service time, he would have to leave that money on the table in order to hit the open market.

Scholtens, 29, cracks a major league roster for the first time after many years in the minors. He was selected by the Padres in the ninth round of the 2016 draft. He moved his way up the minors with that organization, working primarily as a starter, but never got added to their roster. Last year, he made 17 starts and 22 relief appearances in Triple-A, posting a 4.10 ERA in 83 1/3 innings. He struck out 25.4% of batters faced while walking 8.6% and getting grounders on 37.9% of balls in play. He reached free agency at the end of the season and signed a minor league deal with the White Sox.

The White Sox were roughed up a bit this week, allowing 31 runs in a three-game series against the Giants. Scholtens will give them a fresh arm in the bullpen and could perhaps serve as a multi-inning option, as James Fegan of The Athletic points out that Scholtens was stretched out during Spring Training. The righty already made one Triple-A start, tossing 74 pitchers over four innings on Saturday.

Phillies’ Darick Hall To Undergo Thumb Surgery

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10:35am: Hall actually tore a ligament in his thumb, reports Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer, and will require surgery.

9:20am: The Phillies announced that they have recalled infielder Kody Clemens from Triple-A. He’ll take the roster spot of infielder Darick Hall, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right thumb sprain, retroactive to April 6. The recall of Clemens had been previously reported by Jon Heyman of The New York Post.

The Phillies have been hit hard by the injury bug in the early parts of this season as they’ve limped out to a 1-5 start in the first week. Up until about two weeks ago, Hall was lined up to be in a supporting role on the Phillies’ bench behind regular first baseman Rhys Hoskins. Unfortunately, Hoskins suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during a spring contest, an injury that could keep him out of action for the entire season.

That bumped Hall to the top of the depth chart at first base, which was a decent fallback for the Phils to have on hand. He hit 28 home runs in Triple-A last year and then added nine more in his 42-game major league debut. He struck out in 31% of his major league plate appearances but still hit .250/.282/.522 for a wRC+ of 120. He’s appeared in all six contests so far this year, getting the starting gig at first base in five of them, but will now head to the injured list for a spell.

It’s unclear how much time Hall is expected to miss, but the Phils will have to improvise at first now that they are doubly shorthanded there, at least until Hall can return. It’s possible that Alec Bohm moves from over from third base, opening up the hot corner for players like Clemens, Edmundo Sosa or Josh Harrison. Clemens spent time at first, second, third and left field with the Tigers last year but hit just .145/.197/.308 in 127 plate appearances. His Triple-A batting line was a much nicer .274/.327/.535. If the Phils look outside the organization, there are some notable free agents still available, including first base-capable players like Miguel Sanó and Darin Ruf.

Omar Narváez Out 8-9 Weeks With Calf Strain

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April 7: As expected, the Mets have announced that Narváez has been placed on the IL with Álvarez recalled to take his place.

April 6: The Mets announced that catcher Omar Narváez has been diagnosed with a “medium to high-grade” strain of his left calf and will be placed on the injured list. They listed the typical return to play timeline for the injury as 8-9 weeks. It had been reported earlier that catching prospect Francisco Álvarez was joining the team in case Narváez needed to go on the IL, so that now seems likely to follow. No official announcement on Álvarez has been made yet and might not come until tomorrow, since today’s home opener was postponed to tomorrow by inclement weather.

Narváez, 31, had a reputation as a bat-first catcher earlier in his career but that changed in Milwaukee. After a few seasons with the White Sox and Mariners, he had a mark of -41 Defensive Runs Saved at the end of the 2019 campaign. He joined the Brewers going into 2020 and has been much better since, actually posting a +7 DRS from 2020 to 2022. That focus on glovework coincided with a decline at the plate, as he hit .233/.318/.350 for an 85 wRC+ with the Brewers after slashing .276/.361/.411 for a 113 wRC+ previously.

The Mets decided they needed to make a change behind the plate for 2023. Their four-year deal with James McCann had gone quite poorly in the first two seasons and they decided to shake things up. They signed Narváez to a two-year, $15MM and flipped McCann to the Orioles, eating most of the money to facilitate the deal. The plan was for Narváez and Tomás Nido to handle the catching duties at the big league level with Álvarez continuing his development in the minors.

This injury deals a significant blow to that plan, as Narváez will now be out of action for a couple of months. Given the estimated timeline, he should be able to return in June. But in the meantime, the Mets will be paying a lot of money to two catchers not on the roster. Narváez is making $8MM this year while the club is still on the hook for $19MM of the $24MM owed to McCann for this year and next. That doesn’t even include the taxes the club will pay by shooting past the top tier of the Competitive Balance Tax.

Leaving the financials aside, it’s entirely possible that the on-field impact to the club is minimal in the short-term. Álvarez is generally considered one of the top prospects in the league and already made his major league debut last year. Prospect evaluators generally consider his bat to be ready for the majors already, which isn’t surprising given his results in the minors last year. Splitting his time between Double-A and Triple-A, he hit 27 home runs in 112 games and drew walks at a healthy 14.1% rate. His .260/.374/.511 combined batting line led to a 136 wRC+ and a five-game cameo in the big leagues.

The Mets optioned him to the minors to start the season, relying on Nido and Narváez to handle the catching duties in the bigs. Despite his clear abilities at the plate, Álvarez is considered a work in progress defensively and is just 21 years old. Though the Mets might have wanted him to get more time in the minors, it seems the next stage of his development will be taking place at the major league level.

How the club divvies up the playing time remains to be seen, but it might help that Nido is considered more of a defensive specialist. He’s hit just .217/.254/.319 in his career for a wRC+ of 60 but has a +18 DRS. It’s possible that he gets more of the work behind the plate while Álvarez spends some time as the designated hitter. The DH slot has been a rotating platoon so far, with Daniel Vogelbach the left-handed hitting option while Tommy Pham and Mark Canha hit from the right side. Álvarez is a righty and could perhaps jump into that mix with Canha and Pham. Given his position as the perceived catcher of the future, his long-term development will still be important, but he might be able to help the club in the short term with his obvious offensive abilities.

On the personal side of things, today’s news could potentially have implications for both Narváez and Álvarez. The former has the ability to opt out of his contract at the end of this year, walking away from the $7MM he’d otherwise be owed in 2024. His decision could be swayed by his recuperation and how he fares once he’s healthy. For Álvarez, he came into the season with just six days of MLB service time, meaning that just a few weeks in the minors would have prevented him from getting to the one-year mark here in 2023. Now that he seems slated for a quick recall, that could now change. The season in 187 days long but a player only needs to spend 172 days in the big leagues or on the IL in order to bank a full year, which is now a possibility for Álvarez if he can retain his roster spot the rest of the way. That means that arbitration after 2025 and free agency after 2028 are still on the table for him, though future optional assignments could push those timelines by a year.

The Opener: Brewers Vs Cardinals, Florial, FAs

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As the second weekend of the 2023 season begins, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Brewers Vs Cardinals Today

A particularly noteworthy match-up is set to occur this evening, with the Cardinals headed to Milwaukee to take on the Brewers at 7:10pm CT tonight. The Cardinals have opened the season 2-4 despite being the preseason favorites for the NL Central, allowing the Brewers, the expected second-best team in the division, to pull ahead in the early going of the division race with a 5-1 record. Jack Flaherty is set to take the mound for the Cardinals against Brewers co-ace Brandon Woodruff. Flaherty, who’s attempting to make it through his first healthy season since 2019, struggled with his control in his first start of the season, walking seven Blue Jays and hitting a batter, but he nonetheless managed to walk away with the win after five no-hit innings of work.

While Flaherty’s performance will certainly be of interest, perhaps the biggest storyline of the game to keep an eye on is whether or not Cardinals outfielder Tyler O’Neill will play following the drama between him and manager Oli Marmol. Marmol benched O’Neill in Wednesday’s game against the Braves after he was thrown out at home plate by Ronald Acuna Jr. in Tuesday’s game, with Marmol indicating to the media that O’Neill’s perceived lack of hustle could preclude him from more playing time than just Wednesday’s game.

2. Florial DFA to come due this weekend:

Last week, the Yankees designated outfielder Estevan Florial for assignment in order to make room for righty Colten Brewer on the 40-man roster. While Florial has mostly struggled in brief cups of coffee in the big leagues since first coming up in 2020, posting a .579 OPS in that time, he’s only managed to get into 30 big league games in his career to this point. With a career .793 OPS in the minors and 125 stolen bases in 580 minor league games, Florial certainly seems likely to draw attention from the other 29 big league clubs, making a trade or waiver claim the most likely conclusion to his DFA. If he does manage to pass through waivers unclaimed, however, the Yankees can send Florial outright to Triple-A.

3. Will lingering free agents find a home?

Yesterday, MLBTR’s Anthony Franco took a look at the most notable free agents remaining on the board a week into the 2023 season. The list ranges from players who went unsigned all offseason, such as Miguel Sano and Mike Minor, to more recent additions to the pool, such as Leury Garcia and Darin Ruf. Two areas of free agency that could be worth keeping an eye on in particular are first base, where the Phillies may be without not only Rhys Hoskins but also his replacement, Darick Hall, for the time being, and starting pitching, where clubs are always looking for depth and teams such as the Yankees, Mets, and Braves have already seen multiple members of their rotations hit the injured list this season.

MLBTR Seeking A Shohei Ohtani-Focused Writer

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I feel that Shohei Ohtani’s upcoming free agency deserves special treatment here at MLBTR.  Ohtani does unprecedented things all the time, and he’s on track for free agency in about seven months.  We’ll certainly be covering the topic from many angles here at MLBTR, but I’m also planning to have extra Ohtani articles concerning topics not normally covered at MLBTR, and we’re seeking a new paid part-time writer for the job.  These additional articles will be housed at Ohtani’s player page, so that those looking for enhanced coverage of the man outside of hot stove news can get it.

For example, the Ohtani player page may include articles about his endorsements, regular updates from his game performances, and coverage of his MVP and/or Cy Young chances.

Just to repeat, for extra clarity: the additional Ohtani articles will be on a separate page and not on MLB Trade Rumors itself.  It should be a great place for those who want more and easily avoided for those who do not.

As a late addition to this post – I would love for this role to serve as a springboard into supplementing MLBTR’s NPB coverage across the board, beyond just Ohtani.

MLBTR’s writing team will continue to cover all aspects of Ohtani’s free agency on MLBTR, but we’re looking to add a paid writer to cover additional topics.  These are the qualifications:

  • You must be fluent in both English and Japanese.  The articles will be written in English, but in addition to monitoring U.S.-based Ohtani non-hot stove news, you will be tasked with monitoring coverage of Ohtani in the Japanese media and translating it into English-language posts.
  • Availability to live blog all of Ohtani’s remaining starts as a pitcher this season.
  • Though you may be a fan of Ohtani, you will need to write objectively about him.
  • A high school degree is required, and further education is preferred. Please include your highest completed level of education in your application.
  • Writing experience is necessary, and online writing experience is preferred.
  • Attention to detail and ability to follow the MLBTR style and tone.
  • Strong knowledge of Ohtani’s history, including prior to his coming to the United States.
  • Ability to craft intelligent, well-written posts analyzing and contextualizing Ohtani news quickly and concisely.
  • Ability to use Twitter, Tweetdeck, Facebook, and WordPress. Experience with these is strongly preferred.
  • Ability to incorporate feedback to improve performance.
  • If you’re interested, email shoheiohtanirumors@gmail.com and explain how you stand out and qualify in a couple of short paragraphs. Please attach your resume to the email.
  • Please also include a writing sample that you feel would fit on the site, keeping in mind that this role involves covering all aspects of Ohtani other than his free agency or a potential trade.  Feel free to write an article about this Forbes report from last October concerning Ohtani’s endorsements, and/or about his performance in the Angels’ April 5th game.  Bonus points if you want to try writing a sample post in English where the source material is in Japanese.

MLBTR Poll: Angels’ Sixth Starter

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The Angels have run six-man rotations in recent seasons. They’re expected to do the same this year, although manager Phil Nevin has already indicated the club will be a little less rigid than in prior years to try to get more innings for their top arms.

The Halos had an off day on the second day of the season, mitigating the need for a sixth starter the first time through. They had an extra day to get a second start from Shohei Ohtani yesterday before settling on a sixth starter.

After today’s scheduled off day, the Angels play on six consecutive days. Sam Blum of the Athletic tweets the Angels are likely to turn to their sixth starter for their April 12 matchup with the Nationals. It remains unclear whom Nevin will give the first crack to assume that role behind Ohtani, Patrick Sandoval, Reid Detmers, Tyler Anderson and José Suarez.

The most likely candidates appear to be left-hander Tucker Davidson and righty Griffin Canning. Davidson, acquired in last summer’s Raisel Iglesias trade with Atlanta, is out of minor league option years. He has to stick on the MLB roster in some capacity if the Halos don’t want to chance losing him. They could deploy him out of the bullpen, where he made his only appearance of the season on April 1. Davidson tossed four innings of mop-up work to finish off a blowout win in Oakland. That was only his second relief appearance at the MLB level, as he’s started 16 of 18 big league games.

Davidson threw 52 innings between Atlanta and Anaheim last season. He was tagged for a 6.75 ERA, walking 14.4% of opponents while striking out 13.7% of batters faced. That kind of production obviously isn’t sufficient but the Halos have kept him on the 40-man roster, clearly believing he’s capable of taking a step forward. Davidson had been solid over 15 Triple-A starts last year, with an above-average 27.8% strikeout rate and solid 7% walk percentage more encouraging than his 4.59 ERA there lets on.

Canning is currently on the 15-day injured list. He opened the season on the shelf with a groin strain, but the issue seems exceedingly minor. The UCLA product made a rehab start for Low-A Inland Empire this evening, working five innings and 92 pitches. Assuming he responds well in the next few days, it seems he’s on track for a quick reinstatement. Canning is first eligible to return on April 12, so his timetable could align with the Angels’ first need for a sixth starter.

If he got the nod, it’d be his first big league outing since July 2021. Canning has lost the past year and a half to back injuries. One of the organization’s more promising pitching prospects a few seasons ago, he looked like a possible mid-rotation arm when he worked to a 3.99 ERA over 11 starts during the shortened season. Canning surrendered a 5.60 ERA through his first 14 outings in 2021 before the back issues that cost him more than 18 months. He has 209 1/3 MLB innings under his belt, almost all of them as a starter. Unlike Davidson, Canning can still be optioned for another season.

While Davidson and Canning seem the top candidates for sixth starter work, they’re not the only options. Righty Jaime Barria indicated in Spring Training he had his sights set on the job. Barria had worked almost exclusively in long relief in 2022, throwing 79 1/3 innings across 35 appearances. He posted a 2.61 ERA out of the bullpen but without huge strikeout or ground-ball numbers.

Barria had primarily been a starter before last season, working to a 4.49 ERA built on solid control. Like Davidson, Barria has made one appearance out of the bullpen this season. He tallied 3 2/3 frames of low-leverage work in a blowout loss to Seattle on Tuesday. He’s also out of options and has to stick in the majors in some capacity.

Chase Silseth is also on the 40-man roster and started seven games as a rookie last year. The right-hander showed intriguing velocity but was hit hard in his initial MLB look. He started the year on optional assignment to Triple-A Salt Lake. Kenny Rosenberg and Jhonathan Diaz also got brief rotation showings last season, though neither occupies a spot on the 40-man at this point. It’s unlikely any of that group is in consideration for MLB starts this early in the year.

Who should get the first crack for the Angels when they turn to a sixth starter?

(poll link for app users)

Who Should Get The Angels' Sixth Starter Job To Open The Season?
Griffin Canning 55.44% (1,382 votes)
Tucker Davidson 27.56% (687 votes)
Jaime Barria 12.15% (303 votes)
Other (specify in comments) 4.85% (121 votes)
Total Votes: 2,493

 

Marlins Outright Jeff Lindgren

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The Marlins have sent right-hander Jeff Lindgren outright to Triple-A Jacksonville, according to his transactions log at MLB.com. The rookie hurler went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment on Tuesday.

Lindgren, a 24th-round draftee in 2019, was just called up for his MLB debut on Monday. The Illinois State product was called upon almost immediately, as he was pressed into long relief after Johnny Cueto left his start due to injury. Lindgren tossed five innings of four-run ball, allowing four hits and walking three without recording a strikeout. He tallied 80 pitches.

Miami subsequently DFA Lindgren to get a fresh arm, Daniel Castano, in the bullpen. It was an unfortunate but not entirely unexpected turn of events for the 26-year-old, as it’s fairly common for pitchers towards the back of the depth chart to lose their roster spot as teams cycle through fresh arms. Now that he’s gone unclaimed on waivers, he’ll head back to Jacksonville and remain in the organization without occupying a 40-man spot. Lindgren has never previously been outrighted and doesn’t have the requisite service time to elect free agency.

Lindgren worked as rotation depth in the minors last season. He started 27 games between Double-A Pensacola and Jacksonville, working to a 4.21 ERA in 136 2/3 cumulative innings. He’d yet to make a minor league appearance this season before being promoted.

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