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Phillies Option Johan Rojas

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The Phillies announced today that shortstop Trea Turner has been reinstated from the injured list, a move that was reported over the weekend. To open a roster spot for Turner, outfielder Johan Rojas was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Rojas, now 23, was promoted to the majors last summer from Double-A, skipping over the Triple-A level. He had long been a notable prospect thanks to his speed and defense, and he definitely showed those traits in the second half of the 2023 season. He stole 14 bases in 15 attempts while also being credited with 15 Defensive Runs Saved and six Outs Above Average in center field.

That was a key development for the Phillies, as they had some defensive challenges, particularly in the outfield. Bryce Harper was returning from Tommy John surgery last year and was able to come back as a designated hitter before being able to play the field. That left the Phils with Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos, who are both considered subpar defenders, in the outfield corners most days.

On top of those contributions, the offense from Rojas was better than expected. Rojas struck out in 25.6% of his plate appearances and only walked at a 3% clip, but he managed to slash .302/.342/.430 for a wRC+ of 109. That was largely held up by an unsustainable .410 batting average on balls in play, but any offense was likely considered a nice bonus by the Phillies, since they largely wanted Rojas out there for his glove.

That performance earned Rojas a chance to take the everyday center field job this year, but it has not gone well. He has reduced his strikeout rate to 15.8% but his batted ball luck has disappeared. He has a .273 BABIP on the year and still isn’t drawing walks, leading to a .235/.271/.295 line and 62 wRC+. Bizarrely, his defense has also regressed, with tallies of +1 DRS and +2 OAA so far this year.

The Phils are having a great season, currently sporting a record of 47-24 that has them atop the National League, but the outfield has been their primary weak spot. Rojas has been a part of that but Castellanos, Whit Merrifield and Cristian Pache are also having rough seasons while Brandon Marsh spent some time on the injured list with a hamstring strain. David Dahl was called up to help out and has looked good, but in a small sample of eight games after several years of injury-related struggles.

Rojas and Marsh are the only two players in that group who can be optioned to the minor leagues. Marsh is now off the IL and is having a good season overall, leaving Rojas as the odd man out. He’ll head to Triple-A for the first time and try to get back on track.

The Phils have plenty of justification for making this move based on the lack of performance from Rojas this year, but it’s possible that it will impact him from a service time perspective. He got 80 days of service last year, putting him 92 shy of the one-year mark. He has banked 81 so far this year, meaning he’s still just under that line. He should be able to get back over if he’s recalled at any point but his potential free agency could be pushed back if he stays down for the rest of the year.

For the Phillies, they will now proceed with some combination of Castellanos, Marsh, Pache, Merrifield and Dahl in the outfield. The return of Turner could also perhaps push Edmundo Sosa into that mix, as he has a small amount of outfield experience and was hitting well in covering for Turner. Marsh and Dahl hit from the left side while those other outfield options are righties, perhaps allowing the club to use platoons to get everyone into the lineup.

Mets Release Tomas Nido

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The Mets announced Monday that catcher Tomas Nido has been released following last week’s DFA. He’s now a free agent. The Mets will remain on the hook for the balance of this year’s $2.1MM salary (minus the prorated league minimum from any new team that plugs him onto the major league roster).

Nido, 30, is in the second season of a two-year, $3.7MM deal he signed to avoid arbitration in the 2022-23 offseason. The Mets outrighted him off the 40-man roster midway through the 2023 season, and he chose to accept the assignment, as electing free agency would’ve required forfeiting the remainder of the guaranteed money on that contract. Nido was selected back to the majors earlier this season when Francisco Alvarez tore a ligament in his thumb. He passed five years of big league service time during this most recent stint with the Mets, meaning that even if the team had again passed him through outright waivers, Nido now would’ve had the option to reject the assignment while being able to retain the remaining guaranteed money on his deal.

In 32 games with the Mets this season, Nido took 90 plate appearances and batted .229/.261/.361 with three home runs and his typically strong defensive grades. Nido has long been regarded as a high-end defensive backstop but has never coupled his fine glovework with much in the way of offensive firepower. His career .214/.251/.313 batting line is generally in line with the small-sample production he posted in this year’s 90 trips to the plate.

Now that he’s a free agent, Nido will have the ability to sign with any team and would only cost his new club the aforementioned prorated major league minimum for any time spent in the bigs. Teams like the Marlins, White Sox, Cubs and Rays are light on catchers and have received dismal production from the position this season, while the Phillies are reportedly on the lookout for some veteran depth in the wake of J.T. Realmuto’s knee injury.

Mariners Re-Sign Matt Bowman To Minor League Deal

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The Mariners and right-hander Matt Bowman have reunited on another minor league pact. The righty elected free agency a few days back but has now joined the Tacoma Rainiers, tossing a scoreless inning for them yesterday.

Bowman, 33, has been bouncing around the league this year. He started with the Twins on a minor league deal and was added to that club’s roster in mid-April. After just over two weeks with the Twins, he was designated for assignment and sent to the Diamondbacks in a cash deal. After about three weeks as a Snake, he was designated for assignment again, that time clearing waivers and electing free agency. He then landed a minor league deal with the Mariners and was selected to their roster shortly thereafter. But just a few days after that, he was designated for assignment yet again and eventually elected free agency once more.

Around all those transactions, Bowman has thrown 15 major league innings for three different clubs with a 5.40 earned run average. His 15.2% strikeout rate and 10.6% walk rate are both subpar but he’s kept the ball on the ground at a solid 46.8% clip.

Injuries kept Bowman from pitching during the 2020-22 seasons, with recovery from Tommy John surgery making up a big chunk of that absence. He returned last year and has been able to put up decent results in Triple-A. He tossed 58 2/3 innings at that level while in the Yankees’ system last year and has tossed nine more Triple-A innings this year. Putting those stints together, he has a 3.46 ERA, lots of ground balls and a 23.5% strikeout rate, though with his 11.1% walk rate a tad on the high side.

That has gotten him limited looks in the majors, both last year and this year. However, he exhausted his final option season with the Yankees in 2023, which is why he’s been in DFA limbo so often this season.

The Mariners have four relievers on the injured list, with Gregory Santos, Matt Brash, Jackson Kowar and Gabe Speier all on the shelf. Brash and Kowar both had Tommy John surgery earlier this year and are done for the season. The M’s also have just 38 players on their 40-man roster right now and could easily call upon Bowman again whenever the relief corps is taxed and they need a fresh arm.

Diego Castillo Elects Free Agency

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Veteran reliever Diego Castillo has elected free agency after being designated for assignment by the Twins last week, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. Presumably, he first cleared outright waivers.

Minnesota signed Castillo to a minor league deal during spring training and added him to the big league roster in late May. The former Rays and Mariners righty totaled seven innings out of manager Rocco Baldelli’s bullpen and only yielded two runs, but he issued seven walks in that time as well. He’s pitched well in Triple-A St. Paul, logging 18 innings with a sharp 2.50 ERA, 29.7% strikeout rate, 8.1% walk rate and 54.4% grounder rate.

Castillo was hobbled by a trio of shoulder injuries in recent years, which dropped his fastball from the upper 90s to an average of 94.2 mph in an ugly 8 2/3-inning run with the 2023 Mariners. He struggled with Triple-A Tacoma last year as well, prompting the Mariners to remove him from the 40-man roster by passing him through waivers. That granted Castillo the right to elect free agency at season’s end, which he did. He’ll now return to the open market, this time on the heels of a nice Triple-A showing with the Twins and, more importantly, after displaying a rejuvenated fastball that sat at 95.7 mph in his brief big league stint.

Between that reinvigorated fastball, his Triple-A results and an excellent track record from 2018-22, Castillo should find interest on a new minor league deal. (The Twins, conceivably, could look to quickly bring him back on a minor league pact with new terms.) Over parts of five years from ’18-’22 between Tampa Bay and Seattle, the now-30-year-old Castillo recorded a 3.12 ERA (3.38 SIERA) with a 28.1% strikeout rate, 8.9% walk rate, 50.7% ground-ball rate and 1.07 HR/9. He worked both as a closer and setup man at times along the way, so he’s no stranger to leverage situations.

Castillo also has a pair of minor league options remaining, although he’s just days away from reaching five years of big league service time, at which point he’d need to consent to being optioned. If he does land back on a big league roster and stick, he’ll be controllable through the 2025 season via arbitration.

Blue Jays Notes: García, Rodríguez, Lukes

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Blue Jays right-hander Yimi García departed yesterday’s game after calling for the trainer in the middle of an at-bat. After the game, manager John Schneider told reporters that García has some soreness in his right elbow, with Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet among those to relay the news on X.

In the coming days, García and the club will surely be evaluating the situation to see how it develops. Elbow issues are always concerning for a pitcher but losing García for any amount of time would not be ideal for Toronto. The bullpen has been a surprising weak point for the club this year, with the relief corps having a collective 4.69 earned run average this year, which is ahead of just the White Sox, Angels and Rockies.

Jordan Romano is currently on the injured list with right elbow inflammation, his second such IL stint already this year, and posted a 6.59 ERA in his 15 outings between those IL stints. Erik Swanson struggled badly enough to get optioned to the minors and hasn’t course corrected down in Buffalo. He had a 9.22 ERA with the Jays before getting sent down and has an 8.22 mark in his nine Triple-A appearances this year.

With those two being injured and struggling, and Chad Green also spending some time on the IL, García has stepped up as the club’s best reliever this year. He has five saves and ten holds with a 2.57 ERA, 34.6% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate.

If García were to need a stint on the IL, that would further deplete the club’s struggling bullpen. Green has a 1.76 ERA this year and might have to step into the closer’s role, though he’s currently skirting by with a .176 batting average on balls in play and 100% strand rate, neither of which are sustainable. His 21.8% strikeout rate is below league average and well below his career rate of 32.1%.

Aside from García and Green, the only other reliever on the active roster with an ERA under 4.00 is Trevor Richards at 3.09. However, his 24.8% strikeout rate and 10.9% walk rate are more passable than outstanding and he’s also benefited from a low BABIP of .143.

The group is already in a tenuous spot and that will be even more true if García needs to miss some time. If it turns out he has a significant elbow issue, that would also be poor timing for him on a personal level. The 33-year-old is having arguably the best full season of his career and is in the final year of his contract, heading to free agency this winter. If he can overcome this soreness and keep putting up good numbers, he’ll be set up nicely for a strong market but any kind of lingering health problem could negatively impact that.

On the rotation, the Jays seem to be on the verge of getting Yariel Rodríguez back. He is currently on the injured list and has been rehabbing, but Francys Romero reports on X that the righty is travelling to join the Jays today. Rodríguez probably won’t be reinstated immediately, as he just threw 79 pitches in a rehab outing yesterday and won’t be available for a few days, but he could rejoin the roster later in the week.

Alek Manoah went on the IL a couple of weeks ago and it was later reported that he would require season-ending UCL surgery. The Jays have four rotation spots taken by José Berríos, Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt and Yusei Kikuchi but have been sort of patching the last spot together without Manoah in the past few weeks. Bowden Francis has taken three turns as a bulk pitcher, with one official start and two outings behind an opener. The first outing wasn’t great, as he allowed four earned runs in 3 1/3 innings against the Orioles, but he then tossed four scoreless in each of the next two, against the Athletics and Guardians.

Francis may now be bumped to a long relief role in the bullpen with Rodríguez taking over the fifth spot. Rodríguez posted a 4.11 ERA in four starts earlier this year before landing on the IL with thoracic spine inflammation. He has since made six rehab appearances with a 1.93 ERA and 36.5% strikeout rate, though a 15.9% walk rate suggests there might be a bit of rust.

On the position player side, the Jays lost a bit of depth last week. Outfielder Nathan Lukes underwent surgery on the UCL in his left thumb, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet on X. His timeline is unclear, with Davidi simply relaying that the outfielder is expected back later in the year.

Lukes was hitting a tremendous .333/.406/.480 in Triple-A this year, production which translates to a 134 wRC+. The Jays have been dipping into their farm lately to try to find more offense, calling up Spencer Horwitz and Addison Barger while jettisoning Cavan Biggio and Daniel Vogelbach. With Lukes hitting well, perhaps he would have garnered some consideration for a promotion as well, but that won’t be on the table while he’s recovering from surgery.

The Jays will have a bit less outfield depth for the time being but have plenty of options on the active roster. George Springer and Daulton Varsho are playing every day with Davis Schneider and Kevin Kiermaier getting sprinkled in as well. Infielders Addison Barger, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Spencer Horwitz and Ernie Clement all have varying degrees of outfield experience as well and could move out there if needed.

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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Braves Place Hurston Waldrep On Injured List

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The Braves sustained yet another injury within their starting staff, as young right-hander Hurston Waldrep has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to elbow inflammation, per a team announcement. Righty Daysbel Hernandez is up from Triple-A Gwinnett in his place. Atlanta has also optioned outfielder J.P. Martinez to Gwinnett and recalled fellow outfielder Forrest Wall in his place.

Manager Brian Snitker indicated last night that Waldrep would be optioned to Gwinnnett. However, Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweets that the 22-year-old Waldrep subsequently informed the team’s training staff that his elbow was more sore than usual following his recent start. He’ll now join Spencer Strider, AJ Smith-Shawver and Huascar Ynoa on the injured list.

Waldrep, the team’s first-round pick just last year, made his MLB debut earlier this month. He’s taken the mound twice since being promoted to the big leagues but been hit quite hard, yielding 13 runs on nine hits and eight walks with only three strikeouts through seven innings. The former Florida Gator standout hasn’t completed four innings in either of his two starts and issued four free passes in each.

Tough as his debut has been, Waldrep excelled in the upper minors prior to his promotion. Through 49 1/3 Double-A frames, he pitched to an excellent 2.92 ERA with a 22.4% strikeout rate and 7.9% walk rate. The Braves promoted him to Triple-A after that start, where he pitched six innings and allowed three runs — but only on five hits and one walk with a terrific 11 strikeouts.

Since he was set to be optioned anyhow, Waldrep’s injury won’t necessarily subtract from the immediate MLB rotation. Atlanta will still lean on Reynaldo Lopez, Chris Sale, Max Fried, Charlie Morton and rookie Spencer Schwellenbach for the time being, and there are still quality options in Gwinnett — Bryce Elder most notably. But any elbow issue for a promising young arm is troubling, and Waldrep’s injury does further deplete the team’s depth for the time being.

As for the outfield shuffle, Martinez will head down to Gwinnett after going hitless in 10 plate appearances with the big league squad. Wall will get a look after batting .287/.393/.415 with four homers and 11 steals for the Stripers. He’ll replace Martinez as a left-handed bat in the outfield mix, giving Snitker some additional speed off the bench. Given Adam Duvall’s woeful .084/.126/.108 slash against fellow righties — he’s hitting .275/.393/.565 against southpaws — Wall could see some action against right-handed pitching as well.

Submit Your Question For This Week’s Episode Of The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast!

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On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we regularly answer questions from our readers and listeners. With the next episode set for Wednesday, we’re looking for MLBTR’s audience to submit their questions and we’ll pick a few to answer.

The 2024 season is now into June, which means we are less than two months away from the trade deadline. If you have a question about the ongoing 2024 season, a future transaction, a look ahead to the offseason, or anything else baseball related, we’d love to hear from you! You can email your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.

Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it. iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.

In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

The Opener: Rizzo, Carroll, Rodriguez

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As the 2024 regular season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Rizzo to undergo imaging:

Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo suffered a right arm injury following a collision with Red Sox lefty Brennan Bernardino at the plate in the seventh inning of last night’s loss to Boston. As noted by ESPN’s Jorge Castillo, Rizzo appeared to be favoring his wrist area in the aftermath of the collision, although MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch relayed that the Yankees termed the issue a “lower right forearm injury.” Rizzo is set to head back to New York today to visit team doctors and undergo imaging to determine the severity of the issue.

The injury is the latest tough blow in what has been a difficult season for Rizzo; the 34-year-old has slashed just .223/.289/.341 with a wRC+ of 84 in 291 trips to the plate this year. That production makes Rizzo one of just eight qualified first basemen to post below average offensive numbers this year, and of that group he’s outproduced only Joey Meneses, Spencer Torkelson, and Elehuris Montero. If Rizzo requires a trip to the injured list, Oswaldo Cabrera and DJ LeMahieu figure to handle the infield corners in his absence.

2. Carroll to remain in Arizona for MRI:

Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll was also removed in the late innings yesterday, with manager Torey Lovullo telling reporters (including Alex Weiner of AZSports) that the 23-year-old was suffering from “left side discomfort.” Carroll will remain in Arizona to undergo an MRI while the rest of the team heads to Washington today ahead of their series against the Nationals. While that might seem somewhat ominous, Carroll remained optimistic and told Weiner that “all indications” suggest the results of today’s MRI will be positive.

Carroll has had a brutal sophomore slump, slashing just .213/.302/.310 (78 wRC+) in 70 games this year. He’s started to catch fire of late, however, with a .333/.435/.487 slash line in his last ten games — making the timing of this injury all the worse. In the event that Carroll is sidelined, Jake McCarthy is the likeliest candidate to take over center field for Arizona, opening up the corners for veterans Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Randal Grichuk.

3. Blue Jays to activate Rodriguez:

Toronto is set to get some reinforcements on the pitching side today, as Francys Romero reports that right-hander Yariel Rodriguez is set to be activated from the 15-day injured list today. Rodriguez, 27, was among the most intriguing free agent signings of the offseason as a young hurler who had impressed in Japan but had not yet appeared in a big league game. The Blue Jays took a chance on Rodriguez with a five-year, $32MM deal, but Rodriguez’s debut campaign has been marred by injury. The righty pitched decently in four starts with the club earlier this year (4.11 ERA, 22.2% strikeout rate) but has missed the past six weeks due to thoracic spine inflammation.

Now that he’s healthy, Rodriguez will likely have the opportunity to step into the club’s fifth starter role in the aftermath of righty Alek Manoah’s impending UCL surgery. Rodriguez dominated in eight appearances at the Triple-A level this year, pitching to a 1.33 ERA in 20 1/3 innings while striking out an excellent 37.9% of batters faced. In order to activate him, the Blue Jays will have to create room on the active roster prior to tonight’s game against the Red Sox, which is set to begin at 6:07pm local time.

Mookie Betts Suffers Fractured Bone In Left Hand After HBP

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Mookie Betts was hit on the left hand by a Dan Altavilla fastball today, causing Betts to drop to the ground in immediate pain and then leave the field.  Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times) after the game that Betts has a fractured bone in the hand and will be out of action “for some time,” though the former AL MVP won’t require surgery.

More will be known about Betts’ status and a potential recovery timeline in the coming days, but this is undoubtedly a huge blow for the Dodgers.  As with any wrist- or hand-related injury, there is plenty of potential for lingering after-effects even after a player is officially cleared for action, given how any changes to grip or hand positioning on a bat can alter a swing.  The first order of business for Betts and the Dodgers is just to manage this injury and the recovery as well as possible, though the concern won’t go away until Betts is both back on the field and displaying his usual superstar form at the plate.

Heading into today’s game, Betts was hitting .307/.407/.493 with 10 homers over a league-leading 327 plate appearances, adding 16 doubles and nine stolen bases (in 10 attempts) to those impressive numbers.  In addition to that typically excellent offensive production, Betts has also been playing a key defensive role for the Dodgers as their everyday shortstop, a role Betts adopted during Spring Training after Gavin Lux was moved off the position.  While defensive metrics have been mixed at best on Betts’ glovework, simply the fact that Betts was willing to change positions and at least passably handled the shortstop role just added to his importance to the L.A. roster.

The Dodgers were still expected to pursue middle infield help at the deadline, both because Lux hasn’t hit much, and to potentially hasten Betts’ move back to second base if a new everyday shortstop was obtained.  Today’s developments probably make it even likelier that Los Angeles will look to add a shortstop regardless of how much time Betts misses, though it remains to be seen whether or not the Dodgers now look to make an acquisition sooner rather than later.  The team will first want to access Betts’ health, of course, and teams with available infield depth might suddenly raise their asking prices if they perceive the Dodgers are in any way desperate.

In the short term, Roberts said that Miguel Vargas will be called back up from Triple-A to rejoin the infield mix.  Miguel Rojas will get the bulk of regular shortstop duty, with Enrique Hernandez also factoring in at both shortstop and third base.  Max Muncy is still sidelined with a lingering oblique injury and Roberts said today that Muncy’s recovery has been “even slower than expected,” so it is anyone’s guess as to when the third baseman might be able to help a suddenly-depleted Dodgers infield.  Cavan Biggio was recently acquired from the Blue Jays to add to the depth mix, so Betts’ absence will open up more playing time for Biggio at second or third base.

Rojas has long been an excellent defender, and he has been surprisingly productive at the dish with a .278/.328/.444 slash line over 116 PA this season.  His 122 wRC+ would be the second-best mark of his 11-year MLB career, though it is obviously a reach to expect Rojas to keep this up for a lengthy amount of time, given that he isn’t making much hard contact at the plate.

Even though the Dodgers lineup is full of big bats, losing Betts also underlines the club’s somewhat top-heavy nature.  Betts, Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, and Teoscar Hernandez have all been raking and Muncy was hitting well pre-injury, but Lux, Enrique Hernandez, and Chris Taylor have all been ice cold, while James Outman was struggling so much that Los Angeles optioned the outfielder to Triple-A.

With a 44-29 record, the Dodgers have arguably built up enough of a cushion to withstand losing Betts for a bit of time, as there doesn’t appear to be any danger that Los Angeles would suddenly fall out of the playoff race.  However, it can’t be ignored that the Dodgers are now without Betts, Muncy, and more than an entire rotation’s worth of starting pitchers, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Michael Grove joining the long list of injured hurlers earlier today.  The Dodgers have been able to both withstand and even thrive despite heavy injuries in past seasons, yet if this missing personnel is enough to drop the Dodgers out of a first-round postseason bye, it will give the team an even more difficult path to a World Series title.

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