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Odell Jones Passes Away

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Former big league right-hander Odell Jones has passed away, per John Perrotto of Pittsburgh Baseball Now. No cause of death was given for Jones, who was 71.

Born in California in 1953, Jones was signed by the Pirates as an undrafted free agent in 1971. He made his debut with that club in 1975 but tossed just three innings. He got a more proper run of play in the show in 1977, tossing 108 innings for the Bucs in a swing role. He posted an earned run average of 5.08 over 15 starts and 19 relief appearances.

Jones would go on to bounce around the league, serving in various roles. He was traded to the Mariners in 1978 and then back to the Pirates in 1980. He went to the Rangers in the 1982 Rule 5 draft and recorded 10 saves for them in 1983. He later signed with the Orioles and Blue Jays, though he didn’t make it to the majors with the latter club.

For many baseball fans, Jones is best known for one magical night where almost everything lined up for him. He was with the Brewers in 1988 as a 35-year-old journeyman. Teddy Higuera was supposed to start against Cleveland on May 28 but was dealing with some back spasms, per JD Radcliffe of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which led to Jones taking the ball instead.

Though he wasn’t even the scheduled starter, Jones had the best performance of his life that night. He was perfect through seven, until he issued a one-out walk to Mel Hall. He kept his no-hitter going into the ninth, until it was broken up by a one-out single off the bat of Ron Washington, now the manager of the Angels. Dan Plesac came into to get the final two outs as the Brewers beat Cleveland 2-0 (boxscore here at Baseball Reference).

That was the final big league season for Jones, who finished his career with a 4.42 ERA in 549 1/3 innings over nine different major league seasons. MLBTR joins the baseball world in sending our condolences to the Jones family as well as his fans and friends throughout the game.

Rockies Place Kyle Freeland On Injured List With Elbow Strain

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4:25pm: Freeland told the Colorado beat that the injury is unrelated to the home plate collision (X link via Patrick Lyons). There’s no timetable for his return. The southpaw went for imaging but said he doesn’t expect it’ll reveal any ligament damage.

3:20pm: The Rockies announced that left-hander Kyle Freeland has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a left elbow strain, retroactive to April 16. Right-hander Noah Davis has been recalled in a corresponding move.

Freeland, 31 next month, is having a rough start to his season, having allowed 23 earned runs in 15 2/3 innings over his first four starts. Most recently, he was the subject of attention for a non-pitching appearance he made. After Freeland had started Sunday’s game, he entered Monday’s contest as a pinch runner.

Catcher Elias Díaz doubled with two outs in the top of the ninth, with the Rockies tied with the Phillies at the time. Freeland ran for Díaz and went to third on a wild pitch, then later tried to score on yet another wild pitch. But as he slid into home, he collided with pitcher Jeff Hoffman, who was receiving the ball from catcher J.T. Realmuto and attempting to make a tag. Freeland was ruled out and was visibly hurt on the play, grabbing at his non-throwing shoulder (Video via MLB.com).

After the game, manager Bud Black said that Freeland was fine, per Luke Zahlmann of the Denver Gazette. Black later explained to MLB Network Radio that a stomach virus was going around the club and a couple of guys on the team were not even present at the ballpark, meaning there was essentially no position player bench to draw from, which is why Freeland was tapped for the unusual assignment.

That injury was to Freeland’s right shoulder and today’s is a strain of his left elbow. The team has not commented on today’s injury announcement, though Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post says they’re unrelated.

Whether there’s any connection to the pinch-running situation or not, it’s bad news for the Rockies either way. They have started the season 4-15 and Freeland’s injury will further thin out a pitching staff that is arguably the worst in baseball. Collectively, Colorado pitchers have a 6.01 ERA, highest in the league. The Astros are 29th at 5.24 and will likely see some stabilization now that Justin Verlander is coming off the injured list, thus bumping everyone else down a peg.

The Rockies play in a very hitter-friendly setting but it’s still been bleak. As of a few years ago, the Colorado rotation was anchored by Freeland, Antonio Senzatela and Germán Márquez, with the Rockies signing extensions with all three of those pitchers. But the latter two both required Tommy John surgery last summer, leaving Freeland as the only member of that trio left standing.

As mentioned, Freeland wasn’t out to a great start, but in a tiny sample size. Over his entire career, he has a 4.53 earned run average despite pitching half his games at Coors Field. The Rockies gave him a five-year, $64.5MM extension going into the 2022 season. To this point, it’s unclear if Freeland is facing a significant absence, but the fact that he has an elbow strain will at least lead to some worry that yet another pitcher will be going under the knife. Even if that doesn’t come to pass, the Rockies will nonetheless be proceeding without any of their core starters for the next few weeks at least.

Davis was starting in the minors so perhaps he will step in Freeland’s rotation spot for the time being alongside Cal Quantrill, Dakota Hudson, Austin Gomber and Ryan Feltner. The club will presumably provide more details about Freeland’s prognosis, either before or after tonight’s game.

Red Sox Designate Joe Jacques For Assignment

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The Red Sox have designated left-hander Joe Jacques for assignment, with Chris Cotillo of MassLive among those to relay the news. His roster spot will go to Cam Booser, whose promotion was reported yesterday.

Jacques, 29, was first added to Boston’s roster last year. To this point, he has thrown 28 1/3 innings in the majors with a 5.08 earned run average. His 16.8% strikeout rate is subpar but his 7.6% walk rate is solid and his 64.8% ground ball rate is very strong.

His production in the minors has been fairly similar, though with a few more punchouts. He tossed 39 Triple-A innings last year with a 2.54 ERA, keeping the ball on the ground at a 60.4% rate. He struck out 21.6% of batters faced while walking 8%.

The Sox seemingly prefer to get a look at the fireballing, late-blooming Booser, as opposed to the soft-tossing Jacques. The latter throws his sinker, which averages just over 90 miles per hour, roughly two thirds of the time. Booser, meanwhile, can get his fastball up into the high 90s.

Boston will now have a week to trade Jacques or pass him through waivers. There’s often demand for lefty relief and Jacques still has options, meaning he wouldn’t need an active roster spot if any team were to acquire him.

Reds Claim Liván Soto From Orioles

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The Reds have claimed infielder Liván Soto off waivers from the Orioles, per announcements from both clubs. The O’s had recently designated him for assignment. The Reds transferred Tejay Antone to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move and optioned Soto to Triple-A Louisville. The O’s also announced that catcher David Bañuelos, also recently designated for assignment, has cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk.

Soto, 24 in June, has been riding the roster carousel all year. He began the year with the Angels but went to the Orioles via waivers in February. The Angels claimed him right back shortly thereafter but the O’s claimed him a second time last week. But when Tyler Wells suddenly developed some elbow inflammation earlier this week and the O’s didn’t have time to get a fresh arm from the minors, they added Bañuelos, who was already on hand as part of the taxi squad. But doing so required bumping Soto off his roster spot yet again.

He continues to garner interest based on his speed and defensive versatility. He has racked up a decent number of steals in the minors while playing the three infield positions to the left of first base, as well as a very brief stint in the outfield.

Offensively, he’s hit .375/.414/.531 in his major league career, though in a tiny sample of 71 plate appearances. His larger body of work in the minors hasn’t been as impressive, as he’s hit .246/.340/.355 for a wRC+ of 86 in 1,505 plate appearances since the start of 2021. Nonetheless, the defense and speed are attractive, especially since he has two options and doesn’t require an active roster spot.

The Reds came into this year with a surplus of infield talent, so much so that Spencer Steer and Jonathan India were seemingly ticketed for either outfield work or multi-positional roles. However, Noelvi Marté was given an 80-game PED suspension and then Matt McLain required shoulder surgery, subtracting two of their planned everyday options. The club acquired Santiago Espinal for a bit of extra infield depth and now Soto can give them a bit more.

The Reds effectively had a roster spot to burn since Antone required season-ending surgery last week. That made him destined to be transferred to the 60-day IL at some point, which has now come to pass and allowed the club to add Soto to the system.

As for Bañuelos, as mentioned, he was hastily added to the O’s roster when they had an open spot and he was already with the club. They put him into the game late, allowing him to make his major league debut when he hit for Colton Cowser and flied out. Bañuelos described it as “one of the coolest moments of my life,” though the O’s designated him for assignment the next day. Now that he’s cleared waivers, he will return to his previous role, providing the O’s with non-roster depth in the catching position.

White Sox Sign Cody Sedlock To Minor League Deal

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The White Sox have signed right-hander Cody Sedlock to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He’s been assigned to the Complex League for now but will presumably move up to a higher affiliate after ramping up.

Sedlock, 29 in June, has a tiny amount of major league experience, more like a sip of coffee than a cup of coffee. He appeared in one game for the Orioles in 2022, tossing three innings. He allowed five earned runs that day while issuing one walk and striking out three opponents. After that one outing, he was outrighted off the roster and traded to the Tigers. He become a free agent at season’s end and didn’t sign anywhere for the 2023 season.

Prior to that major league debut and gap year, the righty was a notable prospect for the Orioles. Selected 27th overall in 2016, he was considered the #2 prospect in that club’s system by Baseball America in 2017. However, injuries have largely gotten in the way since then, something that Keith Law of The Athletic attributes to a heavy workload during Sedlock’s college years.

The righty tossed 101 1/3 innings for Illinois in his draft year and then another 27 frames at Low-A after being selected, but he hasn’t been able to reach 100 innings pitched in any season since then. Along the way, he had forearm and shoulder injuries and also required surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. He has a combined 4.46 earned run average in the 422 minor league innings that he’s thrown over the years, striking out 21.6% of batters while walking 10.7%.

It’s hard to know what to expect from Sedlock at this point. There will likely be some rust after sitting out all of last year but it’s also possible the rest allowed his body to recover in some way. For the Sox, there’s little harm in taking a flier on a former first-rounder to see what happens.

If Sedlock looks good after getting into game shape, he’ll give the staff some non-roster depth. The Sox have recently traded away most of the best pitchers as part of their ongoing rebuild and are likely to make make even more trades this summer since they are currently the worst team in the league at 3-15. If Sedlock gets into good form in the next few months, there could be a path for him to get back to the big leagues.

Braves Select Luke Williams

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The Braves announced that they have selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Luke Williams, with outfielder Forrest Wall optioned in a corresponding move. The club had an open spot on the 40-man roster.

Williams, 27, is a versatile player who has bounced around the league in recent years. He was drafted by the Phillies and made his debut with that club in 2021. But in 2022, he went to the Giants, Marlins and Dodgers via small trades or waiver claims. The Dodgers non-tendered him after that season and re-signed him to a minor league deal. He made their roster during the 2023 campaign but then went to Atlanta via waivers. For a second straight year, he was non-tendered and then re-signed a minor league deal with the club that cut him.

While collecting all those jerseys, he also found time to play all four infield positions and all three outfield slots. He even threw one inning on the mound for the Dodgers last year. His 263 major league plate appearances have led to a batting line of .225/.281/.295, wRC+ of 60. That’s obviously subpar offense but he’s also stolen 17 bases in 23 tries and provides the aforementioned defensive versatility.

His offense has naturally been better in the minors. Going back to the start of 2022, he has hit .267/.356/.435 for a wRC+ of 97. That’s still a bit below average but it’s not bad for a guy who can swipe a bag from time to time while also wearing multiple different gloves. The combination is clearly appealing to teams, based on how many of them have acquired him in the past few years.

Atlanta recently lost Ozzie Albies to the injured list due to a broken toe, so their needs on the infield are a little higher than in the outfield. They have Luis Guillorme and David Fletcher on hand to cover second base but Williams can give them some extra cover there, while also potentially moving to the outfield.

Wall has been with the club all year but has barely played, as he’s been put into two games as a late substitution, only taking one plate appearance. The club has Ronald Acuña Jr., Michael Harris II, Jarred Kelenic and Adam Duvall taking regular playing time on the grass, with Marcell Ozuna as the designated hitter.

Rather than have Wall sit on the bench, it seems the club will send him to Triple-A for regular playing time down there. Williams can take over as the occasional pinch runner or defensive replacement while also giving the club a bit more infield depth. Williams still has an option so the club can decide to send him back down to the minors later without being exposed to waivers.

The Opener: Montgomery, Verlander, Yankees

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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 headed into the weekend:

1. Montgomery to debut:

Left-hander Jordan Montgomery is slated to make the first start of his Diamondbacks career tonight after two starts at the Triple-A level to help the southpaw build up after he missed Spring Training while lingering on the free agent market. Montgomery will take the ball opposite fellow late-signing lefty Blake Snell and the Giants in San Francisco, with first pitch scheduled for 7:15pm local time. The lefty is already on the 40-man roster, but Arizona will have to make a corresponding move to clear space for Montgomery on the active roster before tonight’s game.

The 31-year-old enjoyed an excellent season with the Cardinals and Rangers last year, pitching to a 3.20 ERA in 32 regular season starts before going on to post a 2.90 ERA with Texas in the postseason en route to the first World Series championship in franchise history. Now with the Diamondbacks on a short-term deal, Montgomery will look to avoid the slow starts to the season other late signers such as Snell (12.86 ERA), Cody Bellinger (75 wRC+), and Matt Chapman (82 wRC+) have suffered so far this season.

2. Verlander to be activated:

Future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander has been sidelined to this point in the 2024 season amid nagging shoulder fatigue that cost him virtually all of Spring Training. The veteran righty has since made two rehab starts in the minor leagues and built up to 78 pitches, which was enough for the Astros to decide he was ready to make his season debut tonight against the Nationals in D.C. opposite young lefty MacKenzie Gore. Verlander, 41, took a bit of a step back last year from the dominant form he had shown since first joining Houston in 2017 but was still a well above average starter, posting a 3.22 ERA (130 ERA+) and 3.86 FIP in 27 starts between the Mets and Astros. The 510th start of Verlander’s illustrious career is expected to begin at 6:45pm local time this evening.

3. Yankees broadcaster to be honored:

John Sterling has been the radio voice of the Yankees since first joining the club’s booth in 1989 more than three decades ago, but a press release from the club earlier this week announced that the longtime play-by-play man has retired after calling his final game earlier this month. The 85-year-old called more than 5,000 games for the Yankees in total and saw them make the postseason in 24 of his 36 years as the club’s radio voice, including their World Series championships in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2009. Sterling will be recognized for his lengthy tenure in the Bronx tomorrow, prior to the Yankees 1:05pm local time game against the Rays.

“I am a very blessed human being,” Sterling said in a statement earlier this week. “I have been able to do what I wanted, broadcasting for 64 years. As a little boy growing up in New York as a Yankees fan, I was able to broadcast the Yankees for 36 years. It’s all to my benefit, and I leave very, very happy. I look forward to seeing everyone again on Saturday.”

Max Scherzer Ahead Of Schedule, Could Return In Early May

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When Max Scherzer underwent surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back in December, the Rangers announced that he would likely be on the shelf into late June. A few weeks ago, GM Chris Young indicated the team wasn’t going to place Scherzer on the 60-day injured list, however, as his rehab had progressed to the point that there was optimism he could return at some point in late May. That timetable has been pushed up even further now, it seems.

Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News wrote this week that Scherzer will throw 40 pitches against live hitters Friday — his second session against live hitters this week. McFarland spoke with Scherzer following his first session, wherein he faced Ezequiel Duran, Andrew Knizner and Davis Wendzel. The three-time Cy Young winner said he threw all his pitches and “stepped on it” in that first session. In a video piece for FOX Sports, Ken Rosenthal reports the Rangers are hoping Scherzer will be ready as soon as early May.

It’s a fairly remarkable recovery and a welcome bit of good news for a Rangers club that opened the year with Scherzer, Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle on the injured list — only to lose lefty Cody Bradford to an IL stint of his own after an excellent three-start run to begin his season. Texas called former No. 2 overall pick Jack Leiter to the big leagues today, but his debut effort didn’t go as hoped; Leiter was tagged for seven runs in just 3 2/3 innings. The Rangers have also seen veteran lefty Andrew Heaney yield nine runs in a dozen innings with particularly worrying command issues: seven walks and three hit batters.

The ostensible hope among Rangers brass for much of the offseason was that in-house arms like Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Dane Dunning and the aforementioned Bradford could help patch things together until veterans deGrom, Scherzer and Mahle returned. Though lefty Jordan Montgomery was hopeful of a return to the Rangers in free agency, ownership never seemed inclined to dole out a contract matching the magnitude of his asking price — either in total length/dollars or on a per-year basis once it became clear he was amenable to shorter-term arrangement. Texas did make a late move to add Michael Lorenzen at a bargain $4.5MM price point, and he’s recently joined the rotation after building up in Triple-A.

For now, the quartet of Eovaldi, Gray, Dunning and Lorenzen seem set in stone. It’s not clear whether Leiter will get another start or was merely called up for a one-off appearance. Regardless of the short-term plans, if Scherzer is indeed able to return in the first week or two of May, that could push both Leiter and Heaney out of the rotation mix, barring injuries elsewhere on the staff.

Scherzer, 39, is in the final season of a three-year, $130MM contract originally signed with the Mets. He’s owed $43.333MM this season, though the Rangers are only on the hook for $12.5MM of that sum as part of last July’s trade sending him from Queens to Arlington. Though not the clear-cut No. 1 starter he once was, Scherzer wasn’t far off vintage form following that deadline swap. In eight starts with the Rangers, he pitched to a 3.20 ERA with a 29.9% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate. He also missed the final three weeks of the season with a teres major strain, however, and struggled in three postseason starts upon returning (seven runs, 11 hits, five walks, seven strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings).

Red Sox Acquire Vladimir Gutierrez

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The Red Sox announced Thursday evening that they’ve acquired right-hander Vladimir Gutierrez from the Brewers in exchange for cash and optioned him to Triple-A Worcester. Milwaukee designated Gutierrez for assignment earlier in the week. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, Boston transferred injured shortstop Trevor Story from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL. Story underwent season-ending shoulder surgery last week. The Sox also announced that lefty Joe Jacques was optioned to Worcester following today’s game.

The 28-year-old Gutierrez originally signed with the Reds on a hefty $4.75MM bonus (plus a 100% tax on that bonus) in 2016 after defecting from his native Cuba. He profiled as one of Cincinnati’s top pitching prospects for a few years before making his MLB debut in 2021. The 6’1″, 205-pound righty pitched 150 2/3 innings for the Reds from 2021-22, turning in a 5.44 ERA with a 17.3% strikeout rate and 10.4% walk rate that were both worse than league-average.

Despite those struggles, Gutierrez would likely have received a longer look with the Reds — had he remained healthy. His elbow had other ideas, as a torn ulnar collateral ligament in ’22 led to Tommy John surgery. Gutierrez returned to the mound to toss a handful of minor league innings last September but didn’t get back to the big leagues. He was removed from Cincinnati’s 40-man roster and became a free agent following the season. After a few showcases for big league scouts, he signed a minor league deal with the Marlins.

It’s been a whirlwind three weeks for Gutierrez, who was selected to the Marlins’ 40-man roster and pitched four innings of long relief to help spare their taxed bullpen. That four-inning appearance meant he’d be unavailable for several days, so the Fish designated him for assignment to clear space for another fresh arm in the ’pen. Miami surely hoped to be able to pass Gutierrez through waivers and keep him as a depth option, but the Brewers scooped him up off waivers on April 5. He was rocked for seven runs in 4 2/3 innings in his lone Triple-A start with Milwaukee, who designated Gutierrez themselves in order to bring fellow righty Tobias Myers up to the MLB roster.

Now with his third team in a span of three weeks, Gutierrez will hope to get into a groove in Worcester and pitch his way into a big league opportunity. The Red Sox lost Lucas Giolito for the season before Opening Day, and they’ve more recently placed Garrett Whitlock (oblique strain) and Nick Pivetta (flexor strain) on the injured list. That leaves the Sox with a rotation including Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, Tanner Houck and Cooper Criswell. Veteran Chase Anderson is on hand as a long man in the ’pen and could move into the rotation following Whitlock’s IL placement just yesterday. Gutierrez joins lefty Brandon Walter and righty Naoyuki Uwasawa as a rotation depth option on the 40-man roster.

Rangers Sign Shaun Anderson, Collin Wiles To Minor League Deals

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The Rangers have signed righties Shaun Anderson and Collin Wiles to minor league pacts, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. Both pitchers have been assigned to Triple-A Round Rock.

This will mark the 29-year-old Anderson’s second stint in the Rangers organization. Texas claimed him off waivers from the Twins in 2021, but he lasted less than a month in the organization before being designated for assignment and claimed by the Orioles.

A former third-round pick by the Red Sox, Anderson has pitched in parts of four big league seasons, totaling 135 2/3 frames with an unsightly 5.84 ERA. Fielding-independent marks like FIP and SIERA are only a bit more favorable, at 5.00 and 5.24, respectively. The 6’6″ Anderson doesn’t throw especially hard (career 93 mph average fastball) but has excellent extension and tantalizing spin rates that have at times resulted in plus swinging-strike rates. He hasn’t been consistent enough at inducing whiffs, however, as evidenced by a career 17.1% strikeout rate. He’s walked 9.9% of his opponents in the big leagues.

Anderson opened the 2023 season with the KBO’s Kia Tigers and pitched reasonably well, tossing 79 innings with a 3.76 ERA, 19% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and 61.7% ground-ball rate. That run preceded a Triple-A look with the Phillies, where he pitched to a 4.85 ERA in 52 innings with diminished strikeout and grounder rates. In a total of 249 Triple-A innings, Anderson has a 3.90 ERA, 20.5% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate.

Wiles, also 29, reached the majors with the A’s in 2022 but has just 9 2/3 innings of big league experience. He allowed five earned runs on 11 hits and two walks with nine punchouts in that brief cup of coffee. This minor league deal marks a return to the organization that originally selected him with the No. 53 overall pick of the 2012 draft. Wiles was in the Rangers’ system from 2012-21 before departing as a minor league free agent and signing with Oakland. He racked up 143 1/3 innings in their Triple-A rotation and made four relief appearances in the majors.

Wiles doesn’t have standout run-prevention numbers (career 4.57 ERA) or strikeout rates (17%) in parts of 10 minor league seasons. He sports plus command though, as evidenced by a career 5.3% walk rate that’s actually improved as he’s climbed the minor league ladder (4.8% walk rate in both Double-A and Triple-A). Wiles signed the Brewers on a minor league deal in the 2022-23 offseason but wound up requiring shoulder surgery and didn’t pitch in 2023.

Both right-handers will give the Rangers some bullpen depth at a time when Brock Burke, Josh Sborz and Jonathan Hernandez are all on the injured list.

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