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Padres Designate Pedro Avila For Assignment

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The Padres announced that they have recalled left-hander Adrián Morejón from Triple-A El Paso, with right-hander Pedro Avila designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Avila, now 27, has bounced on and off the Padres’ roster over the years. Initially acquired from the Nationals in the 2016 trade that sent Derek Norris to Washington, Avila was added to the 40-man roster in November of 2018. At the end of 2019, he was non-tendered and re-signed to a minor league deal. He got his roster spot back in October of 2021 but was outrighted in June of 2022, before getting selected to the roster yet again a few months later in November.

Amid all of those transactions, Avila spent much of his time on optional assignment. He has pitched in parts of five major league seasons but only has 71 2/3 innings to his name at the big league level. 50 1/3 of those came last year, as he put up a 3.22 earned run average for the Friars. His 11.4% walk rate last year was on the high side but he managed to punch out 24.5% of batters faced while getting grounders on 58.8% of balls in play.

Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to carry those results over into 2024, at least in the early going. He’s thrown eight innings this year with eight earned runs having come around to score. He struck out nine batters but also walked eight.

Over his years as a Padre, Avila has burned through all of his options and can’t be removed from the active roster without also being removed from the 40-man. The Friars will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers. If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would have the right to elect free agency by virtue of having a previous career outright.

Brewers Notes: Mitchell, Williams, Clarke, Wilken

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Brewers outfielder Garrett Mitchell has been on the injured list all season thus far after suffering a hand fracture during the spring. Reporting in early April suggested he was facing a timeline of about four to six weeks but it may end up being more than that. General manager Matt Arnold informed reporters this week, including Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, that the club is expecting a return around June 1.

It’s the second straight year where Mitchell has been prevented from getting into regular action. He debuted late in 2022 and hit .311/.373/.459 in his first 28 major league games, setting himself up for a prominent role on the 2023 club. But he suffered a left shoulder subluxation in April last year and required surgery, ultimately only playing in 19 games during that campaign.

Mitchell has provided above-average outfield defense and has stolen nine bases in ten tries while hitting .278/.343/.452 in his limited action. That has come with a concerning 38.3% strikeout rate that he and the Brewers would surely love to drop, which likely makes it even more frustrating that he keeps missing out on key development time.

So far this year, the Brewers have been using a regular outfield rotation of Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio, Blake Perkins and Sal Frelick. During the spring, the club was experimenting with the idea of moving Frelick to the infield but Mitchell’s injury allowed him to go back to his regular outfield job.

Arnold also relayed that reliever Devin Williams is looking at a return around the All-Star break. That roughly aligns with the three-month estimate given when it was reported in March that the closer had been diagnosed with two stress fractures in his back. Taylor Clarke, meanwhile, is looking at a late May return from the meniscus surgery he underwent on his right knee a few weeks ago.

Today, Arnold provided an unfortunate update about prospect Brock Wilken, per Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Wilken was playing for Double-A Biloxi last night when he was hit in the face by a pitch, suffering multiple fractures but no concussion. Once the swelling subsides, Wilken will likely undergo surgery.

Wilken, who turns 22 in June, was the club’s first-round pick last year. Selected 18th overall, the Brewers sent the third baseman through the Complex League, High-A and Double-A last year after drafting him. Baseball America ranked him as the club’s #10 prospect coming into this year while FanGraphs had him at #5.

This news is obviously a bit scary but Arnold says the long-term prognosis is good. Given his potential importance to the club’s future, the Brewers will likely be cautious in getting Wilken back onto the field.

Rimas Sports Agency Facing MLBPA Sanctions

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5:15pm: Reporter Francys Romero relays that Ronald Acuna Jr. hired Rimas Sports as his agency in recent days.

2:20pm: Rimas Sports, the fledgling baseball agency launched last year by rapper and singer Bad Bunny, is facing sanctions from the MLB Players Association for violating the MLBPA’s agency regulations, as first reported by Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic. ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Alden Gonzalez and Jorge Castillo have also reported on the unfolding controversy. Per the ESPN report, Rimas’ lead agent, William Arroyo, has had his agent certification revoked.

Multiple other agencies have filed complaints against Rimas, alleging that the firm has offered large sums of cash and gifts to players as incentive to leave their prior agencies and join Rimas — a violation of the MLBPA’s code of conduct for agents. Ghiroli writes that some players have allegedly been given new cars. She adds that Rimas has had employees who are not certified as agents but have nevertheless represented themselves as such and acted in that capacity. Those employees had been seeking certification but are now expected to have their requests denied, per both Ghiroli and ESPN.

Rimas issued the following statement on the controversy:

“At Rimas Sports, we uphold the highest standards of professionalism and integrity of our industry. Out of respect for an ongoing process within the context of the MLBPA Agent Regulations, we will refrain from making any comments at this time. We remain committed to continue serving our clients with excellence.”

While decertification of a firm’s lead agent is obviously rare and noteworthy, violations of this manner are hardly unprecedented. Former MLBTR writer Zach Links and I wrote spoke with various agents about client poaching as far back as 2014.

Rimas Sports most notably negotiated the seven-year, $63.5MM extension for Rockies shortstop Ezequiel Tovar earlier this year. Included among their other clientele are Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez, Mets infielder Ronny Mauricio, Nationals outfielder Eddie Rosario (who only hired Rimas this offseason), Giants infielder Wilmer Flores, Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio, Reds infielder Santiago Espinal and Dodgers catching prospect Diego Cartaya (among others). The MLBPA has informed all of Rimas’ clients about the purported transgressions, per ESPN and The Athletic.

Astros To Select Joel Kuhnel

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The Astros are going to add right-hander Joel Kuhnel to their roster, with Chandler Rome of The Athletic among those to relay the news. Left-hander Parker Mushinski will be optioned to open an active roster spot while Wander Suero has been designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot, per Rome.

The Astros haven’t had an off-day since last Thursday and their bullpen has been getting heavy use of late. On Monday, the injury of Framber Valdez led to the club sending out Blair Henley to make his major league debut, but he couldn’t make it out of the first inning. Cristian Javier had a fine start on Tuesday but then Spencer Arrighetti made his major league debut on Wednesday and was only able to log three innings. Then Hunter Brown was pummelled yesterday, allowing nine earned runs on 11 hits while only recording two outs.

Amid all of that, the relievers have had to grind through innings, which included Mushinski throwing 54 pitches over 2 2/3 on Wednesday. He was likely looking at being down for a few days after that so the club has optioned him out for a fresh arm.

Kuhnel, 29, has 83 2/3 innings of big league experience. Most of that was with the Reds, though he joined the Astros in a cash deal in June of last year. His 6.02 earned run average for his career is obviously not impressive, nor is his 19.3% strikeout rate, though there are some more encouraging numbers to look at. His fastball averages in the mid-90s, he’s limited walks to a 6.5% clip and he’s been able to keep 52.5% of balls in play on the ground.

The Astros designated him for assignment in January and the righty elected free agency but the Astros brought him back via a minor league deal. He’ll now get a chance to join the beleaguered bullpen and hopefully give them a boost. He has an option remaining and can perhaps be kept as a depth arm if the club needs yet another roster move in the days to come. He also has less than two years of service time and can be retained for future seasons if he continues to hang onto that 40-man roster spot.

Suero, 32, has been on a similar trajectory to Kuhnel in that he also signed a minor league pact with Houston in the winter and had his contract selected to help out the staff this week. He was added on Tuesday and put into that night’s game against the Royals. He came to the mound in the bottom of the 10th and allowed a single to Salvador Perez, scoring the free runner from second and ending the game without Suero recording an out.

He was optioned the next day to get Arrighetti onto the active roster and has now lost his spot on the 40-man as well. The Astros will have one week to trade him or pass him through waivers. If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he will have the right to elect free agency, both due to his three-plus years of service time and a previous career outright.

He has a 4.75 ERA in 193 1/3 major league innings in his career, striking out 25.4% of opponents with a walk rate of 8.6%. But he had a 4.10 ERA from 2018 to 2020 and a 6.57 ERA since then. Despite the shaky results of late, plenty of clubs need pitching right now and Suero’s option means that he won’t require an active roster spot.

Mets Acquire Joe Hudson From Cubs

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The Cubs traded journeyman catcher Joe Hudson to the Mets yesterday, per the teams’ transaction logs at MLB.com. It’s presumably a cash deal that’ll give the Mets some additional depth behind the plate. Hudson was assigned to Double-A Binghamton.

Hudson, 32, has seen brief action in three big leagues seasons but none since 2020. He has just 33 MLB plate appearances under his belt. Hudson has spent the past two seasons in Triple-A with the Rays and Braves, hitting for a low average but posting strong on-base marks and showing off good pop at the plate. He was hitless in eight plate appearances with the Cubs’ Iowa affiliate in 2024 but batted .230/.362/.432 with 20 homers in just 437 plate appearances with the top affiliates for the Rays and Braves from 2022-23.

Behind the plate, Hudson is 0-for-7 in halting steals at the MLB level but boasts an enormous 40% caught-stealing rate in 11 minor league seasons. He’s also typically posted strong framing marks in the upper minors, per Baseball Prospectus.

The Mets are set at catcher on the big league roster, with young Francisco Alvarez shouldering the bulk of the workload and veteran Omar Narvaez backing him up. In Triple-A, they’ve got veteran Tomas Nido and well-traveled Austin Allen — a pair of backstops with big league experience (quite a bit of experience, in Nido’s case). For now, Hudson will head to Double-A and pair with top catching prospect Kevin Parada.

Ohtani’s Former Interpreter Charged With Bank Fraud Due To Theft Of Over $16MM

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April 12: Mizuhara surrendered to federal authorities this morning, per Alden González of ESPN. González adds that Mizuhara is scheduled to appear in court at 1:00 p.m. Pacific, or 3:00 p.m. Central, with the expected outcome of being let out on bond at some point.

April 11: U.S. attorney Martin Estrada announced today that Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara has been charged with bank fraud to finance a “voracious appetite for illegal sports betting,” per Sam Blum of The Athletic. Mizuhara is alleged to have transferred more than $16MM from Ohtani’s account to an illegal sports book, per Alden González of ESPN. The full 37-page complaint against Mizuhara was relayed by Meghann Cuniff of The Washington Post.

Per Blum, Estrada says the account was set up by Mizuhara in 2018 and he began illegal gambling in 2021. “The bets do not appear to have been made on the sport of baseball,” Estrada says. “At this point Mr. Ohtani is considered a victim in this case,” Estrada added, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. “Mr. Mizuhara lied to the bank to access the account … lied to them about being Mr. Ohtani,” Estrada also said, per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. When Mizuhara won a bet, the winnings would go into his own account and not Ohtani’s, per Blum. Estrada says investigators have viewed text messages from Mizuhara where he admitted to stealing from Ohtani, as relayed by Ardaya.

Last month, ESPN reported that more than $4.5MM had been wired from an account in Ohtani’s name to a sports gambling ring in California, where betting on sports is illegal. Mizuhara initially told ESPN that he was the one who racked up the debt but that Ohtani wired the money to help him pay it off. He later retracted that story and said Ohtani knew nothing about the gambling or the wire transfers. Ohtani later spoke on the matter, accusing Mizuhara of stealing money from him and lying about it, saying that he didn’t find out any of the details until the reporting had come out.

Both Mizuhara and Ohtani have said that Ohtani did not place any bets. Mizuhara has said that he did not bet on baseball and there’s not yet been any reporting to contradict that. As relayed by Jayson Stark of The Athletic, Mizuhara is alleged to have made about 19,000 wagers from December of 2021 to January of 2024, winning $142.27MM but losing $182.94MM for a net loss of $40.7MM.

It was reported last night that Mizuhara was in negotiations with federal authorities about pleading guilty. As part of that reporting, it was relayed that prosecutors had evidence Mizuhara disabled notifications that Ohtani would have received from his bank about transactions. The details from today go even farther, alleging that Mizuhara called the bank and impersonated Ohtani to access funds, per Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic. He answered security questions related to Ohtani’s biographical information to wire funds to a bookmaker, saying it was for a car loan. Per Shaikin, Ohtani’s agent repeatedly asked about the account but Mizuhara told him it was “private” and that Ohtani didn’t want anyone else to monitor it.

Shaikin relays a text message exchange between Mizuhara and a bookmaker where he admits to the theft: “Technically I did steal from him. it’s all over for me.” The maximum penalty for these charges is 30 years, per Shaikin. Mizuhara will appear in federal court in the coming days, per Blum. Ohtani has cooperated fully in the investigation, per Shaikin, including providing access to digital devices.

MLB issued a statement on the matter, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN and others: “We are aware of the charges filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office against Mr. Mizuhara for bank fraud after a thorough federal investigation. According to that investigation, Shohei Ohtani is considered a victim of fraud and there is no evidence that he authorized betting with an illegal bookmaker. Further, the investigation did not find any betting on baseball by Mr. Mizuhara. Given the information disclosed today, and other information we have already collected, we will wait until resolution of the criminal proceeding to determine whether further investigation is warranted.” MLB’s Department of Investigations (DOI) opened an investigation into the matter last month after the initial reports came out.

Rays Place Brandon Lowe On Injured List

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April 12: The Rays have now made it official. They announced that Lowe has been placed on the 10-day IL, retroactive to April 9, with a right oblique strain. Infielder/outfielder Niko Goodrum has been recalled as the corresponding move.

April 10: The Rays will place second baseman Brandon Lowe on the 10-day injured list, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The veteran infielder was diagnosed with a Grade 1 strain of his right oblique after undergoing an MRI this morning.

Lowe missed a couple games last week after experiencing some discomfort in his left side. The current issue is seemingly unrelated, as he suffered the oblique strain on his right side while taking warm-up swings yesterday. Lowe last played on April 7, so the Rays will be able to backdate the IL stint to Monday.

That’s probably immaterial, as oblique strains typically lead to multi-week absences. A Grade 1 strain is the lowest severity, but any oblique issue is going to affect a hitter’s ability to rotate through his swing. While this is the first time that Lowe has been sidelined by an oblique injury, he has spent a fair bit of time on the IL in recent years.

Back inflammation and a season-ending knee fracture shelved him in 2023. A stress reaction in his back had led to an extended absence in the previous season. He has also had IL stints for a triceps contusion and a bone bruise in his lower leg within the past five years. Lowe has only reached 450 MLB plate appearances in a season once, connecting on 39 homers over 149 games back in 2021.

Around the injuries, the Maryland product has been one of the game’s top offensive second basemen. Lowe has turned in above-average rate production in every year of his career by measure of wRC+. He hit 21 homers with a .231/.328/.443 slash line over 436 trips to the dish last season. Lowe was out to a slow start this year, collecting just five hits in his first 27 at-bats.

Lowe will join Taylor Walls, Jonathan Aranda, Josh Lowe and Jonny DeLuca as position players on the injured list. Curtis Mead has gotten the nod at the keystone in each of the last three games. He’ll probably assume the bulk of the playing time in Lowe’s absence. Amed Rosario has plenty of middle infield experience and is on hand as an option off the bench, although the Rays have deployed him mostly in right field in the early going.

White Sox, Cory Abbott Agree To Minor League Deal

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The White Sox have agreed to a minor league contract with right-hander Cory Abbott, MLBTR has learned. He’s headed to Triple-A Charlotte for the time being and would earn at an $800K rate for any time spent in the majors. The Dynamic Sports Group client was released by the Mariners earlier this month.

The 28-year-old Abbott opened the season with the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma but appeared in just one game, yielding three runs in as many innings. Seattle cut him loose back on April 4. He’s appeared in the majors in each of the past three seasons, logging a collective 104 1/3 innings between the Cubs — who selected him in the second round of the 2017 draft — and the Nationals. In that time, Abbott has scuffled with a 6.02 ERA, 20.2% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate.

Big league struggles notwithstanding, Abbott was excellent in the low minors and up through the Double-A level. He’s yet to have consistent success in Triple-A or in the majors, but Abbott has fanned a strong 28.5% of his Triple-A opponents — albeit against a walk rate of 12.8%. He’s regularly posted huge swinging-strike rates in the upper minors, but his ability to miss bats has frequently been undercut by his penchant for free passes. That wasn’t a problem for him up through the Double-A level, but he’s had issues with walks since returning to the mound following the canceled 2020 minor league season.

Abbott isn’t that far removed from ranking as a prospect of note in the Cubs’ system. Baseball America ranked him 22nd or better in the Cubs’ system each year from 2018-22, with the right-hander climbing as high as No. 8 in his original organization’s farm rankings. He’ll give the Sox some experienced depth who’s worked as both a starter and reliever. Given the threadbare nature of the White Sox’ pitching staff, he could put himself in position for a big league opportunity before long if he gets out to a nice start with the Knights.

The Opener: Pitchers’ Duel, LeMahieu, Nootbaar

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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. Pitchers’ duel in Detroit:

Two of the AL Central’s very best starting pitchers are set to clash this evening when Twins right-hander Pablo Lopez takes the mound in Comerica Park against Tigers lefty Tarik Skubal. Lopez, 28, is coming off a strong 2023 campaign that saw him make the first All-Star appearance of his career and finish seventh in AL Cy Young award voting after posting a 3.66 ERA and 3.33 FIP in 194 innings of work. He’s performed admirably in his first two starts this year since stepping into the role of staff ace vacated by Sonny Gray, with a 2.84 ERA and 3.05 FIP in 12 2/3 innings of work to this point.

Meanwhile, Skubal is coming off a dominant second-half in 2023 after his midseason return from elbow surgery. In 15 starts last year, Skubal pitched to a sterling 2.80 ERA with an even better FIP of 2.00 while striking out a whopping 32.9% of batters he faced. The southpaw has continued rolling so far this year, with a 32.6% strikeout rate to go with a 2.92 ERA and 3.37 FIP in 12 1/3 innings. Detroit has outperformed Minnesota in the early going this year, posting a 7-4 record (1.5 games behind the Guardians in the AL Central) that gives them an early lead on the 4-6 Twins. This afternoon’s game is set to begin at 6:40pm local time.

2. LeMahieu to be re-examined:

Veteran infielder DJ LeMahieu has spent the entire 2024 campaign to this point on the injured list, prompting the Yankees to lean on Oswaldo Cabrera and Jon Berti at the hot corner. It’s possible LeMahieu could be getting closer to a return, however. Per MLB.com, manager Aaron Boone recently told reporters that LeMahieu will undergo a fresh round of imaging today in order to determine whether or not he’s ready to head out for a rehab assignment. The 35-year-old veteran was roughly league average at the plate in a down season last year but has a strong .285/.358/.430 slash line since joining the Yankees prior to the 2019 season.

3. Cardinals to activate Nootbaar:

The Cardinals’ outfield was hit particularly badly by the injury bug in spring training, as each of Lars Nootbaar, Tommy Edman, and Dylan Carlson opened the season on the shelf. Fortunately for Cardinals fans, that’s about to change. Per The Athletic’s Katie Woo, Nootbaar is set to be activated from the injured list prior to tonight’s game against the Diamondbacks, which is scheduled to begin at 6:40pm local time. A corresponding move will be necessary to make room for Nootbaar on the active roster, and Woo reports that the Cardinals will accomplish that by optioning third-string catcher Pedro Pages to the minor leagues.

Nootbaar carries a .247/.356/.430 slash (120 wRC+) and an excellent 14.5% walk rate in 225 games for the Cardinals over the past two seasons. If the 26-year-old can replicate that past production, he’s sure to provide a major boost to a beleaguered offense in St. Louis that has seen its current outfield mix of Jordan Walker, Victor Scott II, and Alec Burleson all get out to slow starts. They aren’t the only ones who have struggled so far. Veterans Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado have hit a combined .194 with just four extra base hits in 108 trips to the plate.

Miguel Diaz Elects Free Agency

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Reliever Miguel Díaz elected free agency after clearing outright waivers, the Astros informed reporters (including Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle). Houston had designated him for assignment on Monday.

Díaz made all of one appearance in an Astro uniform. Houston had only claimed him from the Tigers last week. He tossed a scoreless inning in his lone outing but was pushed off the roster when the Astros called up Blair Henley for a spot start. Díaz is out of minor league options, so a DFA was the only way to remove him from the big league team.

A former Rule 5 pick of the Padres, Díaz logged the majority of his MLB time with San Diego between 2017-21. He struggled early on, which isn’t surprising for a player who had never pitched above the High-A level before the Friars selected him. Díaz found more success in a minuscule sample of work with Detroit between 2022-23, tossing 17 2/3 frames of two-run ball. That he nevertheless went unclaimed on waivers suggests teams view those numbers with a fair amount of skepticism.

Díaz tallied 57 frames with a 5.05 earned run average for Detroit’s top affiliate last season. While that’s not an eye-catching number, his 28.6% strikeout percentage was a few points better than the league mark. Those swing-and-miss numbers should allow Díaz to secure a minor league deal now that he’s on the open market.

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