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Braves Sign Ramón Laureano To Minor League Deal

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The Braves have signed outfielder Ramón Laureano to a minor league deal, reports Robert Murray of FanSided on X. The outfielder was recently released by the Guardians and will presumably now head to Triple-A Gwinnett.

Laureano, now 29, got his major league career off to a hot start but he was cooled off by an 80-game PED suspension and hasn’t really gotten back on track since. With the Athletics from 2018 to 2021, he took 1,257 plate appearances and hit 49 home runs in that time. He batted .263/.335/.465 overall for a 119 wRC+, indicating his offense was 19% better than league average in that time. He also stole 34 bases and was considered a solid defender in the outfield.

But in 2021, as mentioned, he was dinged for testing positive for Nandrolone, a banned performance-enhancing substance. He returned to the A’s in 2022 but slashed just .211/.287/.376 that year for a wRC+ of 95. He struggled again in 2023, slashing .213/.280/.364 for the A’s before they put him on waivers.

The Guardians put in a claim and saw a bit of a bounceback late last year. In 41 games for Cleveland, Laureano hit three home runs and stole four bases, slashing .243/.342/.382 for a 106 wRC+. The Guards were evidently encouraged by that, as they tendered Laureano a contract and agreed to a salary of $5.15MM.

Unfortunately, his 2024 season has been abysmal thus far. He struck out in 38.6% of his trips to the plate with Cleveland and was hitting .143/.265/.229 when he was designated for assignment last week and eventually released.

For Atlanta, there’s essentially no risk in bringing him aboard. Since the Guardians released him, they remain on the hook for the majority of his salary. If Atlanta selects him to their roster at any point, they would only have to pay him the prorated league minimum salary for however long he holds a spot, with that amount subtracted from what Cleveland pays.

Atlanta’s outfield depth was significantly thinned this week with the news that Ronald Acuña Jr. has a torn left ACL and will miss the rest of the season. The club still has Michael Harris II in center but Jarred Kelenic and Adam Duvall are now the everyday options in the corners. J.P. Martínez has been recalled to take Acuña’s place on the roster but he’s more of a speedy bench outfielder.

Kelenic and Duvall were previously in a platoon but could wind up overexposed as everyday players in Acuña’s absence. Kelenic swings from the left side and has hit just .188/.252/.307 in his career against southpaws, with Atlanta giving him just seven appearances against them so far this year. Duvall is right-handed and better against lefties, but isn’t a total liability against righties. He has a career .235/.307/.477 batting line and 105 wRC+ with the platoon advantage, with a line of .230/.285/.468 and 95 wRC+ without it.

Similar to Duvall, Laureano is a righty with modest platoon splits. He has hit .263/.334/.440 against southpaws for a 116 wRC+ and .232/.311/.414 otherwise for a 103 wRC+. Even last year, when he didn’t hit well overall, he was able to produce a .270/.333/.460 line and 121 wRC+ against lefties.

Atlanta will get a close-up look at Laureano and see if he can get back on track. He’s been in rough form this year but, as mentioned, they have almost nothing to lose by signing this deal and seeing how it goes. If Laureano can return to his old form, perhaps that will help them bolster their outfield or at least keep lefties away from Kelenic.

Rockies Reportedly Unlikely To Trade Ryan McMahon

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The Rockies have the second-worst record in the National League and will again head into deadline season without a chance to compete for a playoff spot. Colorado has been reluctant to move players in past summers even when they’ve looked to be clear deadline sellers.

It remains to be seen how general manager Bill Schmidt and his front office will approach the coming months, yet it doesn’t seem they’re keen on dealing their best position player. MLB Network’s Jon Morosi tweeted this morning that the Rockies are unlikely to make Ryan McMahon available. They’ll certainly get calls from other clubs inquiring about the possibility; Morosi reports that the Blue Jays are among the teams already showing interest in the veteran third baseman.

As part of a reader mailbag, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post also suggests he doesn’t anticipate the Rockies dealing McMahon. Saunders floats second baseman Brendan Rodgers and catchers Elias Díaz and Jacob Stallings as more realistic possibilities. The returns for any of those players would be minimal, though. Colorado could seek a much better prospect package for McMahon than they’d receive for any of Díaz, Stallings or Rodgers.

Of course, that’s a testament to McMahon’s talent and excellent start to the 2024 campaign. In 234 plate appearances, he’s hitting .286/.366/.483 with a team-leading 10 home runs. McMahon is on pace for personal-best marks in all three slash stats. He ranks in the top 10 among qualified hitters in hard contact rate, topping a 95 MPH exit velocity on a massive 55.2% of batted balls. McMahon is drawing walks at a lofty 11.5% rate and has cut his strikeout percentage by six points relative to last season. While he’s still punching out at a higher than average clip (25.6%), this level of swing-and-miss is more than reasonable for a player with his power and plate discipline.

Even after accounting for Coors Field, McMahon has been produced as a middle-of-the-order bat. His defensive grades in this season’s 467 innings are around average, but he’s been one of the sport’s best defensive third basemen over the course of his career. McMahon has been a solid regular since 2021 and is playing at an All-Star level this season.

That arguably makes this the best opportunity for the Rockies to move him. He’s amidst a career year at age 29. Colorado has no playoff hope this season; it’s hard to see a path to even fringe Wild Card contention next year. The Rox probably won’t have a meaningful postseason chance until his age-31 season at the earliest. It’s unlikely McMahon would be as valuable a trade candidate at that point as he is now. Even if he maintains this increased performance level, he’ll be deeper into the slightly backloaded six-year extension that he signed in Spring Training 2022.

McMahon is under contract for three and a half more seasons. He’s playing this season and next on $12MM salaries and will make $16MM annually in 2026-27. He could technically play his way into an opt-out opportunity, but that requires a top five finish in MVP balloting that seems unlikely even with his current production.

The extra three seasons make it unsurprising that the Rox don’t seem eager to deal McMahon, even if this summer could be a sell-high window. Colorado held onto Trevor Story and Jon Gray when they were impending free agents a couple seasons ago; they did the same with Brent Suter last summer. They’ve extended other potential trade candidates like Díaz, Antonio Senzatela and Kyle Freeland in recent years. The Rockies have steadfastly resisted taking trades that they consider to be below a player’s value, even if it meant losing them in free agency not long after. That strategy generally hasn’t yielded good results, but the Rox could justifiably distinguish their past inactivity on rentals from holding onto a key player they have signed for another three years.

Díaz, Stallings and Rodgers would be much less significant subtractions. The veteran catching tandem has produced well, but they’re each impending free agents who are into their mid-30s. Rodgers is under arbitration control through 2025. The former #3 overall pick has never developed into the caliber of player that the Rockies anticipated. He’s hitting .266/.308/.342 with just one homer in 50 games this season; it’s not out of the question he’s simply non-tendered next winter.

As for the Jays, they’re a sensible suitor for offensive help even if the Rockies don’t want to move McMahon specifically. The Jays entered the season with questions at third and second base. Offseason pickup Isiah Kiner-Falefa has done a nice job at the hot corner, hitting .269/.315/.410 in 169 plate appearances. He’s capable of playing essentially anywhere, so the Jays could move him around the diamond if they added third base help. Using Kiner-Falefa more frequently at second base would push Davis Schneider more definitively to left field and allow the Jays to cut into the playing time of the struggling George Springer.

Toronto is in last place in the AL East at 25-29, but they’re not likely to pivot towards selling until it’s absolutely necessary. The Jays have a veteran-laden roster seeking a third consecutive playoff berth and their fourth trip in five years.

Royals Outright Tyler Duffey

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The Royals have sent right-hander Tyler Duffey outright to Triple-A Omaha, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. The righty has the right to reject this assignment and elect free agency, as a player with more than five years of major league service time, though it’s not yet clear if he’s chosen to do so.

Duffey, 33, signed a minor league deal with the Royals in the offseason. He was only able to log two innings of official Spring Training action, telling reporters in March that he underwent surgery to remove a cancerous mole from his left shoulder. He added that post-surgery testing came back negative but that he would have to undergo further check-ups in the months to come.

He reported to Omaha for some work at Triple-A to start the season. He had a 3.24 earned run average in 8 1/3 innings there, striking out ten opponents but also issuing five walks and throwing a wild pitch. He was selected to the big league club on April 22 and spent roughly a month with the Royals, getting put into nine games and logging nine innings, allowing five earned runs. He struck out ten opponents but also gave out eight walks and hit a batter.

That’s a small sample but the lack of control nonetheless got Duffey nudged off the roster last week and the other 29 clubs passed on the chance to grab him off waivers. His next move is likely to get some work at Triple-A. That could come with Omaha if he accepts his assignment or perhaps another club if he heads to the open market and signs elsewhere.

It’s obviously been a challenging year for Duffey with the health scare and also the shaky control so far on the season, but he has been a solid major league reliever in the past. He had a strong three-year run with the Twins from 2019 to 2021, throwing 144 innings with a 2.69 ERA, 29.8% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate.

Keynan Middleton To Undergo MRI Following Setback In Rehab

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Cardinals right-hander Keynan Middleton is headed for an MRI on his right elbow and forearm this Friday, manager Oli Marmol tells the Cardinals beat (X link via John Denton of MLB.com). There’s now concern that he could require a repair or replacement of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, Denton adds.

Middleton, 30, signed a one-year, $6MM free agent deal over the winter but has yet to pitch in the majors this season. He began the year on the injured list with a forearm strain suffered in spring training. The right-hander had recently progressed to a minor league rehab assignment, tossing four innings between May 14 and May 23. However, Middleton walked three of the six batters he faced and tossed a wild pitch in his final rehab appearance on May 23. He’s now headed for imaging after reporting renewed discomfort.

Any UCL procedure, be it a repair (likely an internal brace) or a replacement (Tommy John surgery) would sideline Middleton for the remainder of the season and prevent him from throwing a single big league pitch in a Cardinals uniform (barring a reunion on a minor league deal in the offseason). The Cards hold a $6MM club option with a $1MM buyout, but that’s sure to be declined if he winds up requiring elbow surgery. Even if Middleton is able to avoid going under the knife, the latest updates make it fair to expect a lengthy absence.

The Cardinals signed Middleton hoping he could be a key member of the bullpen. The former Angels setup man and closer took several years to get his career back on track following 2018 Tommy John surgery and only reemerged as a viable late-inning arm last season. From 2020-22, Middleton pitched just 60 major league innings and logged a 5.10 ERA with a 19.1% strikeout rate against a 10.7% walk rate. That led to a minor league deal with the White Sox in the 2022-23 offseason — a move that paid off handsomely for both player and team.

Middleton wound up pitching well enough with the Sox to emerge as a trade candidate. He was flipped to the Yankees in exchange for minor league pitcher Juan Carela, a now-22-year-old righty who’s tossed 66 2/3 innings of 3.24 ERA ball in High-A since the swap. Middleton continued to pitch well in pinstripes down the stretch, although he missed about three weeks in September due to shoulder inflammation. Ultimately, he finished out the season with a combined 50 2/3 innings of 3.38 ERA ball between the two clubs, fanning 30.2% of his opponents against a less-encouraging 10.8% walk rate.

For the Cardinals, Middleton is one of several bullpen arms on the shelf. Right-handers Giovanny Gallegos (shoulder impingement), Nick Robertson (elbow inflammation) and Riley O’Brien (flexor strain) are each on the injured list as well — the 60-day IL in the latter’s case. They’ve again leaned on strikeout machine Ryan Helsley in the ninth inning, but the setup corps doesn’t look the way the club expected with both Middleton and Gallegos out.

Offseason trade acquisition Andrew Kittredge has joined lefties JoJo Romero and Matthew Liberatore in picking up meaningful leverage work recently. Liberatore has also started three games but owns an 8.10 ERA out of the rotation compared to a 3.63 mark in the ’pen. It’s possible Rule 5 pickup Ryan Fernandez could work his way into more prominent spots as well. The 25-year-old notched his first MLB hold and his first save within the past two weeks. He’s sitting on a 3.32 ERA, 28.3% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate and 44.6% grounder rate. That strong production, coupled with his recent late-inning usage, could be a portent for a bigger role as the season wears on.

Blue Jays Option Erik Swanson

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Prior to yesterday’s game, the Blue Jays announced that they reinstated right-hander Chad Green from the injured list. In a corresponding move, fellow right-hander Erik Swanson was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo.

Swanson getting sent down is something that would have been hard to fathom just a few months ago. The righty made 57 appearances for the Mariners in 2022 and only allowed 1.68 earned runs per nine innings. He struck out 34% of batters faced that year and only gave out walks at a 4.9% clip.

After that tremendous season, the Blue Jays traded outfielder Teoscar Hernández to the Mariners for Swanson and pitching prospect Adam Macko. Swanson largely carried over his excellent results into 2023, appearing in 69 games with a 2.97 ERA, 28.6% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate. That included plenty of late-game action, as Swanson earned 29 holds and four saves for the Jays last year, largely serving as the primary setup guy to closer Jordan Romano.

The expectation was that Swanson would continue in that role here in 2024 but that hasn’t been the case. Swanson and the Jays got a scare back in February when the pitcher’s son Toby was hit by a car and taken to a local hospital. Thankfully, Toby was eventually released but Swanson was away from the club for a while and dealt with some forearm tightness when he returned.

He started the season on the injured list but missed just the first two weeks, getting reinstated in mid-April. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to get into a good groove so far this season. He’s made 17 appearances, tossing 13 2/3 innings, but has allowed 14 earned runs on the year. His 6.1% walk rate is good but he’s only punched out 15.2% of batters faced and has already allowed five home runs, whereas he only allowed eight all of last year and just three the year prior.

It doesn’t appear as though the injury is creating lingering effects, as Swanson’s velocity isn’t significantly different. His fastball averaged 93.7 miles per hour last year with his splitter at 85.1. Those numbers are down this year but just barely, to 93.6 and 85.0.

Speculatively speaking, perhaps he’s tipping his pitches or hitters have figured out some other way to get a read on him. His chase rate was around 34% in each of the past two years but is down to just 22.8% this year. When he has thrown the ball in the zone, hitters made contact around 72% of the time in the previous two campaigns but that number is up to 84.4% this year. That combination of less chase and more contact in the zone tracks with the significant drop in his strikeout rate. Even when players have chased, they are making contact 71.4% of the time, a big jump from last year’s 55.9% clip. It’s not as though he’s been leaving more pitches over the plate, as his “meatball” rate at Statcast has actually fallen from last year’s 7% to 5.7% this year. However, opposing hitters are swinging at those meatballs 92.9% of the time, a massive increase over last year’s 74.3%.

For whatever reason, opposing hitters appear to be seeing the ball well out of Swanson’s hand, striking out less and barreling the ball up more. He had a barrel rate around 6% in each of the past two years but has more than doubled that this year to 15.4%. That’s been one piece of a larger bullpen slide for the Jays, as the relief corps has gone from a strength to a weakness since last year. The club’s bullpen had a 3.68 ERA last year, putting them in the top ten among MLB clubs. This year, their ERA is up to 4.92, which is better than just the Rangers and Rockies.

That’s not all on Swanson, of course, as pitchers like Romano and Tim Mayza have also seen their numbers trend in the wrong direction, but not to the same degree as Swanson’s. With Green coming off the IL, the Jays could have optioned younger pitchers like Zach Pop or Nate Pearson but the fact that they opted to give Swanson a breather speaks to how rough his season has gone so far.

The Jays will undoubtedly be hoping that a brief reset can get Swanson back on track, whether they can hang around the playoff race or not. The club is having a bit of a disappointing season to this point, with the bullpen struggles playing a role in that. They are currently 25-29, last place in the American League East and five games out of a Wild Card spot.

There’s already been speculation that the club could consider pivoting to a selloff prior to this summer’s deadline. Climbing in the standings would take that off the table but it will be hanging over the club in the months to come if they stay on the fringes of contention.

Swanson came into this season with four years and 96 days of major league service time, putting him 76 days shy of the five-year mark. He added another 61 days this year prior to getting optioned, leaving him 15 shy of crossing that mark.

Assuming he comes back at some point this year, he’ll have no problem crossing that threshold and staying on track for free agency after 2025. Though if his struggles continue down in the minors and he doesn’t earn his way back, he could end up shy of the line and have his free agency delayed by another year.

The Jays would surely love if that’s not a scenario they have to consider. If Swanson can quickly get back on track, he can return to being a key part of their bullpen for a playoff push. Or if he is succeeding while the club is faltering, he could be marketed to other clubs at the deadline with an extra year of control. But for now, he and the club will have to figure out a plan for putting this rough patch behind him.

Reds Designate Mike Ford For Assignment

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The Reds announced Wednesday that they’ve reinstated outfielder TJ Friedl from the injured list and opened a spot on the roster by designating first baseman/designated hitter Mike Ford for assignment.

Ford, 31, signed a pair of minor league deals with the Reds and opted out both times, only to eventually return on a big league deal earlier this month. The lefty slugger demolished spring training opposition at a .455/.486/.727 pace and hit .297/.381/.538 through 105 Triple-A plate appearances to begin the season. That eye-popping production didn’t carry over into the big leagues, however. In 62 plate appearances for Cincinnati, Ford hit .150/.177/.233 with a homer and a triple.

Ford’s 24.2% strikeout rate with the Reds is only a bit higher than average, but he’s hit too many grounders (44.4%) for a lumbering slugger and is making hard contact well below both his career norms and the league-average levels. He’s averaged 86.4 mph off the bat and put just one-third of his batted balls in play at 95 mph or greater.

While Ford has struggled considerably in his small sample of playing in Cincinnati, he’s just months removed from providing the 2023 Mariners with plenty of thump in the season’s second half. Ford tallied 251 plate appearances in Seattle last season, and although his 32.3% strikeout rate was an eyesore, it was an acceptable trade-off for his .228/.323/.475 batting line and 16 round-trippers in his 84 games with the club.

With a career .205/.298/.402 batting line, Ford is something of a prototypical three-true-outcomes player. He’s walked at a 10% clip, fanned in 26% of his career plate appearances and also homered in just shy of 5% of his MLB plate appearances. He has clear power and some plate discipline but at times gets too passive in the box. Ford’s contact rate on pitches in the strike zone is right in line with the big league average, and he’s only slightly below-average when swinging at balls off the plate. However, he’s swung at just 39.9% of the pitches he’s seen in his career, which checks in quite a bit shy of the league average (which typically clocks in around 47% in any given season).

The Reds will have a week to trade Ford, attempt to pass him through outright waivers or release him. If Ford passes through outright waivers unclaimed, he’ll be able to reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency.

MLBTR Podcast: Ángel Hernández Retires, Ronald Acuña Jr. Out For The Season And Roki Sasaki’s Potential Posting

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Could the next collective bargaining agreement have a feature to get relievers paid earlier? (43:15)
  • Would Taylor Ward of the Angels be a good fit for the Braves? (50:35)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Tigers Place Kerry Carpenter On Injured List, Call Up Keider Montero For MLB Debut

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The Tigers have placed outfielder Kerry Carpenter on the 10-day injured list due to a lower back injury and recalled right-hander Keider Montero as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader against the Pirates, per a team announcement. (Montero’s promotion was first reported on X by Tigers Torkmoil.) Outfielder Akil Baddoo was recalled from Triple-A Toledo to take Carpenter’s spot on the roster. Montero will start Game 2 of today’s twin bill.

Carpenter tells the Tigers beat that he began experiencing back discomfort over the weekend and hasn’t seen improvement yet (X link via Jason Beck of MLB.com). The team is terming his injury “lumbar spine inflammation.” He last played in a game on May 26, so the IL placement is backdated to May 27. If it proves to be a minor issue, he’ll be eligible for a return eight days from now, though the Tigers haven’t given any indication as to how long he might miss.

Subtracting the 26-year-old Carpenter from the Detroit lineup is a significant blow. He’s not as well known as more hyped prospects like outfield-mate Riley Greene, but Carpenter has burst onto the big league scene and cemented himself as a middle-of-the-order presence. Dating back to his 2022 debut, Carpenter has turned in a stout .275/.336/.495 batting line — including a huge .283/.345/.572 slash and eight homers in 163 plate appearances this season. He’s generally struggled against left-handed opponents but has tormented righties with a career .288/.345/.535 output.

With Carpenter sidelined, the Tigers will give more playing time to lefty-swinging Zach McKinstry and to Baddoo against right-handed opponents. Neither should be expected to replicate Carpenter’s production, but Baddoo was hitting a strong .260/.368/.486 in Toledo (119 wRC+) and is a career .237/.322/.406 hitter against righties in the big leagues.

As for the 23-year-old Montero, this will be his first major league call. He signed with Detroit out of Venezuela in 2016 and was added to the 40-man roster last offseason to prevent him from reaching minor league free agency. Montero spent a half decade in the low minors before breaking into the upper levels last season, climbing from High-A to Triple-A by year’s end.

Monerto took the ball 27 times and logged 127 1/3 innings. A pedestrian 4.66 ERA belied a more impressive 29.1% strikeout rate. The Tigers were concerned enough about losing him in the Rule 5 draft to put him on the 40-man roster. Baseball America ranked him as the organization’s #13 prospect over the winter, crediting him with good control and an arsenal headlined by a mid-90s fastball.

Montero has spent the season on optional assignment to Triple-A Toledo. Over nine starts, he has a 4.40 ERA. The 6’1″ righty has fanned almost 27% of batters faced while issuing walks at an uncharacteristically high 12.7% clip. Montero last pitched on May 21 and was slated to take the ball for Toledo on Tuesday. The Tigers scratched him from the scheduled appearance after their game was postponed, when they needed to add another arm for the doubleheader.

In all likelihood, they’ll return Montero to Triple-A after his debut. They’re set in the rotation at the moment with Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty, Reese Olson, Kenta Maeda and Casey Mize. Righty Matt Manning has been the team’s sixth starter and still figures to be above Montero on the depth chart. It’s nevertheless a momentous occasion for Montero, whose spot on the 40-man could get him a few looks over the course of the season if injuries or the schedule force Detroit to lean on their depth.

Braves Select Spencer Schwellenbach

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May 29: The Braves have now formally selected Schwellenbach’s contract, per a team announcement. Right-hander Jimmy Herget was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett to open a spot on the 26-man roster. Atlanta’s 40-man roster is now at capacity (though both Acuna and Strider are easy 60-day IL cases, giving the team plenty of 40-man flexibility).

May 28: The Braves are calling up pitching prospect Spencer Schwellenbach for his major league debut, Robert Murray of FanSided reports. He’ll make his big league debut in a start tomorrow. Atlanta will need to formally select the contract of Schwellenbach, who’s not yet on the 40-man roster. The Braves already have one open 40-man spot and could easily clear another if any other moves are in the works, as they’ve not yet placed Ronald Acuna Jr. or Spencer Strider on the 60-day injured list in the wake of their season-ending injuries.

It’s a nice early birthday present for Schwellenbach, who’ll turn 24 on Friday. Selected out of Nebraska with the 59th overall pick in the 2021 draft, the former Cornhusker entered the 2024 season ranked fifth among Braves prospects at Baseball America, third at MLB.com, and as high as second according to The Athletic’s Keith Law. The former two-way star was a shortstop and closer in his college days, though the Braves have moved him to pitching full-time and settled him into a starting role. Scouting reports praise Schwellenbach for a heater he can run up to 98 mph, a pair of average-or-better breaking balls and a solid changeup.

Schwellenbach hasn’t done anything to ding his stock thus far in 2024. If anything, he’s only enhanced his standing both within the organization and throughout the game as a whole. The 6’1″, 200-pound righty has started eight games between High-A and Double-A, pitching to a combined 1.80 ERA with a 29.1% strikeout rate, 5.7% walk rate and terrific 57.5% ground-ball rate. It should be noted that six of those starts came in High-A, where Schwellenbach was old for the level and often facing younger, less-experienced competition, but it’s an impressive showing all the same.

Part of the reason behind the Braves’ decision to open Schwellenbach at High-A is their approach to his rehab from 2021 Tommy John surgery. The right-hander went under the knife not long after being drafted and missed the entire 2022 season as a result. He pitched 65 innings between Low-A and High-A last season in his return to the mound, and the Braves at least began the season with a cautious assignment before injuries throughout the pitching staff prompted what’s now a quite-aggressive promotion to the big leagues.

Atlanta is without Spencer Strider for the remainder of the season due to his own elbow surgery, and fellow prospect AJ Smith-Shawver just hit the injured list with a Grade 2 oblique strain. Righty Ian Anderson, recovering from 2023 Tommy John surgery, has yet to resume pitching. Huascar Ynoa is dealing with elbow soreness and on the minor league injured list the moment.

The Braves have other options on the 40-man roster, but none who were lined up with this spot in the rotation. Bryce Elder would’ve been going on three days’ rest, while Dylan Dodd would only be on two days’ rest. Darius Vines would perhaps have been a candidate had he not just been optioned to Triple-A four days ago (thus rendering him ineligible to be recalled for another 11 days, unless he’s directly replacing an injured player).

Schwellenbach pitched seven shutout innings against the Reds’ Double-A affiliate on May 22, so he’ll be on full rest for tomorrow’s MLB debut. And since the Braves would’ve needed to add him to the 40-man roster in the offseason anyhow — he’d otherwise have been eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft — they’ll take the opportunity to get a first look at the promising young righty against big league opposition. In all likelihood, it’ll be a spot start, but now that he’s on the 40-man roster at a time when the Braves are seeing their starting depth tested, he’ll have the opportunity to potentially work his way into a more prominent role over the course of the season.

The Opener: Braves, O’Neill, Volpe

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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. Braves prospect promotion:

The Braves are reportedly set to promote right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach to the majors prior to today’s game, when he’ll be taking the ball in Atlanta for his major league debut opposite Trevor Williams of the Nationals. Schwellenbach’s contract will need to be selected to the big league roster before he can make his debut, but since the Braves already have a vacancy on their 40-man roster, they’ll only require a corresponding 26-man roster move. (Even if Atlanta needed a 40-man move, transferring either Ronald Acuna Jr. or Spencer Strider to the 60-day IL would be a straightforward solution.) The club’s second-round pick from the 2021 draft, Schwellenbach has not yet reached the Triple-A level but has been dominant this year with a 1.80 ERA and a 29.1% strikeout rate in 45 innings of work across eight starts between High-A and Double-A.

2. O’Neill to undergo imaging:

Red Sox outfielder Tyler O’Neill has returned to Boston ahead of scheduled imaging on his right knee, manager Alex Cora told reporters (including MLB.com’s Ian Browne) yesterday afternoon. O’Neill, who last appeared in a game on May 25, was one of the best hitters in the sport during the first month of the season but has struggled to a .151/.244/.301 slash line in 20 games during the month of May. O’Neill told reporters over the weekend that he had been playing through discomfort in his knee that was “probably” affecting his swing.

According to Cora, today’s imaging is for the sake of “reassurance” rather than concern from the team that O’Neill is suffering from a serious injury. Even so, it would hardly be a surprise if O’Neill’s ailing knee landed him on the injured list. If O’Neill were to miss time, outfielder Rob Refsnyder and first baseman Garrett Cooper could step into larger roles as right-handed bats in the lineup to complement lefties Wilyer Abreu, Jarren Duran, and Dominic Smith in the outfield, first base, and DH mix for the Red Sox.

3. Volpe extends hitting streak to 20 games:

Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe has been impressive in 2024, hitting .285/.356/.434 across his 250 trips to the plate. Most recently, Volpe’s heroics have come in the form of a 20-game hitting streak, which is the first hitting streak to reach 20 games in the Bronx since Robinson Cano achieved the feat back in 2012. Volpe has slashed a whopping .337/.376/.535 over the course of the streak, during which the Yankees have posted a 14-6 record. As noted by Sarah Langs of MLB.com over the weekend, Volpe’s hitting streak is the longest of any Yankee 23 years old or younger since Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio, who enjoyed a pair of hitting streaks lasting 21 and 22 games respectively back in 1937. Volpe will have a chance to match the shorter of DiMaggio’s two streaks in Anaheim this evening against Angels lefty Patrick Sandoval.

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