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Braves Place A.J. Minter On Injured List

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The Braves announced today that left-hander A.J. Minter has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to left hip inflammation. Fellow lefty Dylan Lee has been recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett in a corresponding move.

At this point, it’s unclear how serious Minter’s injury is or how long the club expects him to miss, but it’s perhaps noteworthy that this is his second IL stint for this issue this year. He landed on the IL due to left hip inflammation May 31, missing just over a month before being reinstated July 1. Per Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Minter is still undergoing evaluation for his current status and the club isn’t sure if he’ll be able to return this season.

Despite the hip issue, he’s managed to post good results when on the mound, as he has thrown 34 1/3 innings with 2.62 earned runs allowed per nine. His 26.1% strikeout rate is a few ticks below his rate from the previous two seasons, but he’s also getting more ground balls.

There might be a bit of good luck in that ERA as he has a .222 batting average on balls in play and 94.2% strand rate, which are both on the fortunate side. But his 16.7% home run per fly ball ratio is essentially double his rate from the two preceding campaigns. FIP gives a pitcher blame/credit for home runs, so that metric has Minter at 4.46 this year, far worse than his ERA. But a metric like SIERA, which normalizes home run rate, is more kind and has Minter at 3.39. That’s still a noticeable gap from his ERA but it’s not far off from the 3.06 SIERA he had last year.

Regardless of how one feels about Minter’s stats this year, it’s a rough development for the Atlanta bullpen. The relief corps should still be in decent shape without him, as the club’s relievers have a collective 3.38 ERA on the year that trails only the Guardians and Brewers. But they’re in a place now where incremental differences might loom large. Their recent skid has dropped them to 61-56, barely clinging to the final National League Wild Card spot with the Mets just half a game back and several other teams within striking distance.

Manager Brian Snitker has been using Minter in key situations. Minter is second on the team in holds behind Joe Jiménez and his average leverage index is third behind Jiménez and closer Raisel Iglesias. Subtracting Minter will make it more challenging for Snitker to navigate the ends of tight games. Lee has strong numbers on the year, with a 2.00 ERA in 45 innings, but mostly in lower-leverage spots.

It also could be a rough development for Minter himself, as he’s an impending free agent. He has a strong career track record with a 3.28 ERA over his 384 appearances with a 29.3% strikeout rate, 8.6% walk rate and 39.9% ground ball rate. But he’s already had one IL stint of over a month this year and another lengthy absence could tamp down his offseason contract offers. He’ll celebrate his 31st birthday on September 2.

Matt Bowman Opts Out Of Twins Deal

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The Twins released right-hander Matt Bowman, per an announcement from the St. Paul Saints, their Triple-A affiliate (hat tip: Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, on X). The 33-year-old Bowman had been pitching well with the Saints and exercised an opt-out clause over the weekend (as first reported by the New York Post’s Jon Heyman). Minnesota had until today to add him to the 40-man roster but have instead opted to let Bowman become a free agent.

Bowman was in his second stint with the Twins organization this season alone. He inked a minor league pact with Minnesota back in January, was selected to the big league roster in mid-April, and wound up pitching 7 2/3 solid innings out of the ’pen. Bowman yielded only two runs in that first stretch, though his command was quite shaky. In addition to a pair of hits, he issued four walks and plunked a pair hitters while fanning six others. The Twins designated him for assignment and traded him to the D-backs for cash — the first in a lengthy series of transactions for Bowman in 2024.

Bowman spent about three weeks with the D-backs before being designated for assignment once again, this time clearing waivers and electing free agency. He inked a minor league deal with the Mariners and was selected back to the majors in mid-June, only to clear waivers and again elect free agency after just one appearance. Bowman quickly re-signed with Seattle on a new minor league deal, opted out before he got back to the big leagues, and then re-signed a new minor league deal back in Minnesota. He’s now a free agent once again.

It’s a fairly dizzying sequence that’s emblematic of the paths many journeyman of this ilk walk over the course of a given season. Bowman has pitched for six different teams in parts of six MLB seasons. He’s tossed 15 innings this season (5.40 ERA) and has a career 4.22 earned run average in 200 1/3 frames. The Princeton product was originally drafted by the Mets with their 13th-round pick back in 2012, and he’s fanned a below-average 18.8% of his big league opponents against a more solid 8.3% walk rate and a terrific 55.6% ground-ball rate.

This season, Bowman has been outstanding when pitching at the Triple-A level. He’s tallied 30 2/3 innings between Tacoma and St. Paul, logging a sparkling 2.05 ERA with a 28.9% strikeout rate and a 6.6% walk rate. Between that performance and his respectable track record in the majors, Bowman should get a look from another club seeking some bullpen help in the season’s final six-plus weeks.

Pirates Outright Edward Olivares

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Pirates outfielder Edward Olivares went unclaimed on waivers after last week’s DFA and was assigned outright to Triple-A Indianapolis, per the Pirates’ transaction log at MLB.com. As a player with more than three years of big league service, he has the right to reject the assignment in favor of free agency but will likely accept so as not to forfeit the remainder of his guaranteed $1.35MM salary. (A player needs five-plus years of service to reject an outright assignment and retain his salary.)

Pittsburgh acquired Olivares in a small trade with the Royals back in December, hoping he could continue or build upon the slightly above-average production he turned in with Kansas City over the past couple seasons. From 2022-23, Olivares — whom the Royals picked up from the Padres in exchange for Trevor Rosenthal back in 2020 — batted .270/.322/.439 with 16 homers in 559 trips to the plate. He’s never walked much but also offered lower-than-average strikeout numbers and some value on the basepaths as well.

Olivares has seen his walk rate increase to a nearly average 8.2%, but he’s hitting for far less power and has only attempted one steal this season (which was successful). He batted .224/.291/.333 in 196 plate appearances with the Bucs — about 26% worse than league average, by measure of wRC+. Olivares has plus arm strength — 93rd percentile, per Statcast — but has regularly graded as a poor defender in the outfield corners due to poor reads and poor range (despite slightly above-average sprint speed).

The Pirates’ deadline acquisition of Bryan De La Cruz helped push Olivares out of the picture (despite De La Cruz having a generally similar skill set). De La Cruz, Bryan Reynolds and Michael A. Taylor figure to get the bulk of the outfield playing time down the stretch in Pittsburgh, though an injury or two could always push Olivares right back into the mix.

As a player with three-plus seasons of big league service who’s now been outrighted off his team’s 40-man roster, Olivares will have the opportunity to become a free agent at season’s end unless he’s added back to the 40-man roster between now and then.

Live Chat With Fantasy Baseball Expert Nicklaus Gaut

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Fantasy baseball expert Nicklaus Gaut will be holding a live chat today at 11am central time, exclusively with Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Use the link below to ask a question in advance, participate in the live event, and read the transcript afterward.

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Twins To Promote Zebby Matthews

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The Twins are calling up top pitching prospect Zebby Matthews, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan. He’ll join an injury-plagued rotation and make his MLB debut the first time he takes the mound. Matthews isn’t yet on the 40-man roster, so Minnesota will need to make a corresponding move to formally select his contract.

Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey acknowledged last week that Matthews was very much in the mix for a call to the big leagues in the wake of Joe Ryan’s Grade 2 teres major strain — an injury that puts the remainder of Ryan’s season in jeopardy. The Twins currently have Tuesday’s starter listed as TBD.

Matthews, the Twins’ eighth-round pick in 2022, posted sub-2.00 ERAs in both High-A and Double-A before his recent promotion to Triple-A. He’s had two solid starts and two rough starts at the top minor league level. Collectively, the 24-year-old has logged a 2.60 ERA with an impressive 30.5% strikeout rate and a staggering 1.8% walk rate across those three minor league levels. He’s fanned a hefty 114 opponents and issued just seven walks in 97 innings this season.

Though he boasts elite command, Matthews is hardly the type of soft-tossing finesse pitcher one would expect for someone with that type of location. His heater sits in the mid-90s and tops out around 97 mph. Matthews is listed at 6’5″ and 225 pounds, though Baseball America’s scouting report notes that the “massive” righty “seems to be larger” than his listed height and weight. Matthews works with a five-pitch arsenal, complementing his four-seamer with a cutter, slider, curveball and changeup. Both BA and The Athletic’s Keith Law write that none of the five pitches are true plus offerings, but they each play up because of his precision.

Matthews has ridden his breakout season all the way to the No. 61 spot on Baseball America’s recent update to their top 100 prospects, where they note that he has perhaps the best command in minor league baseball. Law ranks Matthews 60th in the sport, and MLB.com has him as their No. 100 prospect.

With Ryan shelved perhaps for the duration of the season — manager Rocco Baldelli said his injury would take “weeks or months” to heal — Minnesota will lean on a rookie-heavy starting staff down the stretch. Pablo Lopez and Bailey Ober give Minnesota some healthy veterans atop the staff, but they’ll need righties Simeon Woods Richardson, David Festa and now Matthews to step onto the staff. Right-hander Louie Varland, who opened the season as the No. 5 starter, could also factor in down the stretch, although he’s had a rough showing both in the big leagues and the minors this year.

Woods Richardson has emerged as a solid mid-rotation arm this year, logging 3.78 ERA with a 21.4% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate in 102 1/3 innings (20 starts). Festa, a fellow top-100 prospect alongside Matthews, was hit hard in his first two big league starts (12 runs in 10 innings) but has a 2.04 ERA in 17 2/3 innings since. He’s yet to work more than five innings in a big league game, however. Matthews will be the next man up. The Twins remain hopeful that Ryan will return this season, and righty Chris Paddack is also expected to rejoin the rotation at some point, but he’s still on the 15-day IL with a forearm strain.

Matthews won’t be able to pick up enough big league service time to get a full year in 2024, meaning he’ll still be under club control for an additional six seasons — even if he’s never sent back down from this point on. He’d currently be on track to reach arbitration eligibility in the 2027-28 offseason, although future optional assignments to the minors could impact both his arbitration and free-agent timelines. He’ll join a growing pitching pipeline in the Twins organization, where Lopez, Ryan and Ober are signed/controlled through 2027 and each of Woods Richardson, Festa and Varland are (like Matthews) controllable through at least 2030.

The Opener: Paxton, Musgrove, Betts

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Here are three things we’ll be watching around Major League Baseball today:

1. James Paxton goes for MRI, Red Sox roster moves incoming:

Red Sox starter James Paxton exited his start yesterday in the first inning with a right calf strain. The left-hander will go for an MRI today, after which the team will have a better understanding of his injury. However, it seems all but certain the veteran will be placed on the 15-day IL before tonight’s game against the Rangers. He exited the field in significant pain on Sunday and used crutches to walk around the dugout after the contest.

According to manager Alex Cora (as reported by Chris Cotillo of MassLive), Boston plans to make several additional roster moves today. For one, right-hander Brayan Bello will return from the paternity list to start tonight. In addition, lefty Brennan Bernardino has already been optioned to Triple-A (per Cotillo), although the team has yet to formally announce the transaction. Bernardino gave up four earned runs in 1 1/3 innings of work yesterday.

2. Joe Musgrove returns to the Padres:

All-Star right-hander Joe Musgrove will be reinstated from the 60-day IL to start tonight against the Pirates. Before he is activated, the Padres will need to open a spot for him on the 40-man roster. They could do so by transferring Fernando Tatis Jr. from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL, considering the superstar is unlikely to return until September.

Musgrove has not played for San Diego since the end of May, nursing inflammation in his throwing elbow. He got off to a rough start this year, pitching to an uncharacteristic 5.66 ERA over his first 10 starts. However, his 4.23 SIERA is a little more promising, and his track record is that of a front-line starting pitcher. Over his first three seasons with San Diego from 2021-23, Musgrove put up a 3.05 ERA and 3.61 SIERA in 78 starts. The Padres will hope to have that version of Musgrove back in their rotation. While they have played exceptionally well as of late (8-2 in their last 10 games, 20-10 in their last 30), they have been relying on Randy Vásquez (4.63 ERA, 4.88 SIERA) as a fifth starter. Musgrove could provide a huge boost as the Padres battle for the NL West down the stretch.

3. Mookie Betts back in right field for the Dodgers:

Mookie Betts will be back in the Dodgers lineup today, batting second and playing right field – not leading off or playing shortstop. Manager Dave Roberts relayed the news to reporters (including Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic) last week. The team is going to stick with Shohei Ohtani in the leadoff spot, while second baseman Gavin Lux and shortstop Miguel Rojas will play the middle infield. Betts will split up Ohtani and Freddie Freeman at the top of the lineup and return to the position where he has won six Gold Gloves.

The eight-time All-Star has been out since mid-June with a fractured hand. While his long absence has dashed his chances of winning the NL MVP, Betts will return in plenty of time to help as the Dodgers attempt to secure what would be their 11th NL West title in the past 12 years. L.A. currently holds a 3.5-game lead over Arizona and San Diego.

River Ryan Suffers Season-Ending UCL Strain

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7:40PM: Roberts updated reporters (including Jack Harris) with the news that Ryan has a UCL strain.  It is still too early to tell if the injury can be treated without surgery, or if Ryan will ultimately need a Tommy John or brace procedure.

1:38PM: Dodgers starter River Ryan is done for the season after suffering an elbow injury in his last outing (per Juan Toribio of MLB.com). Manager Dave Roberts says the team is still figuring out the proper diagnosis and the next steps for the 25-year-old hurler, but he will not be able to return to the mound in 2024 (per Jack Harris of the LA Times). Even if Ryan is able to avoid a worst-case scenario of a major surgery, he simply won’t have time to rest, rehab, and return before the end of the year. The Dodgers have placed Ryan on the 15-day injured list, and recalled Landon Knack ahead of today’s series finale against the Pirates.

Ryan is widely considered one of the top pitching prospects in the Dodgers organization – if not one of the top pitching prospects in baseball. Although a shoulder injury held him back at the beginning of the year, he has looked phenomenal since his return. The righty posted a 2.66 ERA over six starts at Triple-A and a 1.33 ERA across his first four starts in the majors. His four-seam fastball sits just above 96 mph, and his slider and curveball both look like they could be dominant secondary offerings. Ryan’s underlying numbers aren’t quite as impressive as his ERA, but his 4.50 SIERA and 3.97 xERA are still solid for a young pitcher who was thrust into a big league role sooner than expected.

Indeed, Ryan made his big league debut after the All-Star break because the Dodgers were desperate for pitching. Today, he has become another one of the team’s many injured starters. The situation is a little better now that Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw are healthy and Jack Flaherty has entered the equation, but Ryan now joins such teammates as Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Walker Buehler, and Dustin May on the injured list.

It is only a matter of time before Ryan is transferred to the 60-day IL, likely when one of Max Muncy or Tommy Edman is ready to be reinstated. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told reporters (including Jim Bowden of The Athletic) that Muncy and Edman could get back on the field during the team’s next homestand, which begins with a series against the Mariners on August 19.

Knack, 27, has made nine appearances (eight starts) for the Dodgers this year, pitching to a 3.07 ERA and 4.00 SIERA. He has a 3.97 ERA in 59 innings at Triple-A. While he is primarily a starting pitcher, he will join L.A. as additional bullpen depth, likely just until Buehler makes his expected return on Wednesday.

West Notes: Eovaldi, Scherzer, Gurriel, Musgrove, Graveman

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The Rangers are heading to Boston for a series with the Red Sox beginning tomorrow, but Nathan Eovaldi and Max Scherzer are both going to Texas for injury-related checkups, GM Chris Young told the Associated Press and other reporters.  Eovaldi left his start Saturday after three innings due to tightness in his left side, though the meeting with team doctor Keith Meister is seen as precautionary since Eovaldi “thinks he can pitch through” the issue, Young said.  “He’s so important to us that we’re not sure we want to push him.  We may end up pushing him back or skipping a start.  We don’t think it’s an IL at this point, but we will clearly decide that once he sees Dr. Meister.”

Scherzer was placed on the 15-day injured list on July 31 due to right shoulder fatigue, and Young said the veteran “just hasn’t turned the corner with his shoulder.  Our hope is that maybe we get back and explore some other diagnostic measures and get him back on the mound.  But I don’t know what the timetable is going to be.”  Between this IL stint and an extended absence at the start of the season while recovering from back surgery and a nerve issue in his thumb, Scherzer has pitched only 39 1/3 innings over eight starts.

More will be known about both pitchers’ situations after the tests are complete, but there is clear cause for concern given how both Eovaldi and Scherzer have checkered injury histories.  For Scherzer in particular, his situation is worrisome given how much time he has already missed, and whether or not his abnormal ramp-up this year simply kept him from being fully ready to pitch.  If either Scherzer or Eovaldi are revealed to have more serious issues, it could put the rest of their seasons in jeopardy, as the Rangers might consider shutdowns if the team continues to fall back in the playoff race.

Some other notes from both the AL and NL West divisions…

  • Lourdes Gurriel Jr. left the Diamondbacks’ 12-5 win over the Phillies today due to left hamstring tightness, but manager Torey Lovullo downplayed the injury in postgame comments to MLB.com and other media.  Lovullo said the removal was precautionary and that Gurriel is day-to-day, plus the outfielder isn’t even being sent for any tests at this time.  Gurriel is hitting .269/.302/.414 with 14 homers over 453 plate appearances as the team’s regular left fielder, translating to a 98 wRC+ in the first season of the three-year, $42MM contract he signed to rejoin the D’Backs last offseason.
  • The Padres will be activating Joe Musgrove from the 60-day injured list to start tomorrow’s game against the Pirates, after bone spurs in his right elbow cost him about two and a half months on the shelf.  Talking with Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Musgrove made changes to his mechanics and delivery in order to help manage the injury.  “The spur is going to be there, the structure of the elbow is not going to change unless I get an operation,” Musgrove said.  “So [I’m] trying to find a way to be able to throw and still execute and still have good stuff.  Hopefully it will alleviate some of the stress on the elbow is kind of the goal….I felt great in this build back.”  Between this injury and a previous elbow-related stint on the IL, Musgrove has thrown only 49 1/3 innings this season, with a shaky 5.66 ERA.
  • Kendall Graveman wasn’t expected to pitch in 2024 after a shoulder surgery last January, but his hopes at an in-season comeback gained some momentum Saturday when he threw a 10-pitch bullpen session.  Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters (including Matt Kawahara of the San Diego Union-Tribune) that Graveman hit 86-87mph in his first time throwing off a mound since the surgery.  As Kawahara notes, there might simply be not enough time left in the season for Graveman to get fully ramped up and then complete a minor league rehab assignment, but that won’t stop the veteran from trying.

Nationals To Select Andres Chaparro

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The Nationals will select the contract of infielder Andres Chaparro from Triple-A prior to their next game on Tuesday in Baltimore, according to Andrew Golden of the Washington Post (X link).  Multiple international websites, including from Chaparro’s native Venezuela were first with the news earlier today that Chaparro was set to be promoted for his MLB debut (hat tip to the Talk Nats feed).  The Nationals have space on their 40-man roster, so they’ll just need to make a move on their 26-man roster to find room for Chaparro.

Acquired from the Diamondbacks for Dylan Floro on trade deadline day, Chaparro started his pro career as an international signing for the Yankees in 2015.  He spent his first six minor league seasons in New York’s farm system before joining the D’Backs last winter, and the deadline trade has now lined up the 25-year-old for his first taste of the big leagues.

Like most prospects, 2020 was a lost year for Chaparro after the pandemic canceled the entirety of the minor league season.  However, he returned to action in 2021 with a big step up in production, and he basically hasn’t stopped hitting on his four-year rise from A-ball to the Show.  Chaparro hit .247/.331/.444 with 25 homers over 601 plate appearances for the Yankees’ Triple-A squad in 2023, and he stepped up with a big .330/.406/.577 slash line and 23 long balls over 451 combined PA with the Diamondbacks’ and Nationals’ Triple-A affiliates this year.

Since the large majority of his Triple-A work in 2024 came in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, it is fair to take Chaparro’s numbers with a grain of salt.  That said, he has kept up the production since the trade to Triple-A Rochester, perhaps forcing the Nationals’ hand into giving him a look.  Injuries on the active roster are likely also a factor, as Jose Tena (another deadline pickup in the Lane Thomas trade) left today’s game with a thumb problem, and All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams has missed the Nats’ last few games with back spasms.

Chaparro is considered a subpar defender at third base, and he has spent his entire pro career at both corner infield positions and a designated hitter.  Since he doesn’t have much of a defensive profile, Chaparro will need to continue hitting if he’s going to factor into any of Washington’s future plans, or get any significant MLB playing time over the rest of the season.

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