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NL Central Notes: Hall, Happ, Reds

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Left-hander DL Hall was a key piece of the return that the Brewers landed in the Corbin Burnes trade, and the club made clear upon acquiring him that Hall would be used as a member of the starting rotation despite the 25-year-old having been used almost exclusively out of the bullpen during his time in Baltimore. That experiment hasn’t gone well through Hall’s first four starts, however. Not only does Hall currently sport a 7.71 ERA with a walk rate (11.9%) that nearly matches his deflated strikeout rate (15.4%), but he’s also failed to record an out in the fifth inning in three of his four starts with the club.

Given those considerable struggles, it’s not necessarily surprising that Brewers manager Pat Murphy indicated after Hall’s start Saturday that the club might look to shift gears if Hall can’t get things on track. In conversation with reporters (including MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy) that evening, Murphy admitted that “there’s got to be adjustments made” for Hall to remain a member of the rotation, adding that the club “can’t keep letting him throw 3 1/3 and say ’that’s fine.'”

Hall is currently joined in the rotation by Freddy Peralta, Wade Miley, Colin Rea, and Joe Ross. Should the young southpaw find himself moved to the bullpen at some point, left-hander Aaron Ashby is one candidate to step into a rotation role, though he’s dealt with struggles of his own to this point in the season. Ashby was blown up in his lone big league start this year, allowing eight runs (four earned) in 3 2/3 frames. His time in the minors hasn’t gone much better, with a 9.28 ERA in three starts. If Ashby continues to be unable to get results, the Brewers may be best served simply waiting for right-hander Jakob Junis to return from the injured list after being sidelined by a shoulder impingement for the last two weeks before considering a change in Hall’s usage.

More from the NL Central…

  • Cubs left fielder Ian Happ was removed from Friday’s game against the Marlins in the seventh inning due to what manager Craig Counsell described to reporters (including Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network) as left hamstring tightness. Counsell described the move as “precautionary” at the time, though Happ was noticeably absent from both games in the club’s doubleheader on Saturday. It’s not yet clear if Happ will ultimately require a trip to the injured list for the issue, though it makes sense for the Cubs to be cautious regarding their left fielder after he suffered a mild strain of the same hamstring during Spring Training last month. Alexander Canario filled in for Happ yesterday in left field, while Mike Tauchman and Patrick Wisdom have combined to handle right field in the aftermath of Seiya Suzuki’s oblique injury.
  • Reds right-hander Ian Gibaut has missed the entire 2024 season to this point due to discomfort in his right forearm, and the club announced yesterday that he had been returned from his rehab assignment following “renewed” discomfort in the area. Per MLB.com’s injury tracker, manager David Bell recently indicated that Gibaut could resume his rehab assignment at some point this week. Even so, it’s unwelcome news for a Reds club that leaned heavily on the right-hander last year as he pitched to a strong 3.33 ERA in 75 2/3 innings of work. With Gibaut out of commission, the Reds have relied on Fernando Cruz and Emilio Pagan to set up for closer Alexis Diaz.

Francisco Alvarez To Undergo Thumb Surgery

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6:49PM: Mendoza told reporters (including Mike Puma of the New York Post) this evening that the youngster actually suffered a torn ligament in his thumb that will require surgery. Mendoza added that Alvarez’s timetable for return is not year clear but that he’s “confident” that the 22-year-old will return to action at some point this year. Puma adds that Alvarez indicated to teammates that his timeline for return is between six and eight weeks.

1:02PM: “We know for sure it’s going to be more than 10 days” for Alvarez’s recovery, Mendoza told MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo and other reporters.  The catcher is still undergoing further testing to check for any ligament damage or further injuries beyond just a sprain.

11:39AM: The Mets placed catcher Francisco Alvarez on the 10-day injured list due to a left thumb sprain, and selected the contract of catcher Tomas Nido from Triple-A.  In another corresponding move, left-hander Kolton Ingram was designated for assignment to open up a 40-man roster spot for Nido.  Earlier today, Mike Puma of the New York Post (X link) wrote that Nido was on his way to Los Angeles, as Alvarez was expected to require an IL stint after leaving last night’s 9-4 Mets win over the Dodgers.

In the top of the second inning, Alvarez hit an infield grounder, and Dodgers catcher Will Smith lobbed his throw over the head of first baseman Freddie Freeman.  Alvarez made it to second base on the error, but put his left hand on the ground to brace himself after stumbling on the turn around first base.  Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told SNY and other media that the thumb problem occurred on this play, and Alvarez was replaced behind the plate by Omar Narvaez for the bottom of the second inning.  Alvarez underwent an MRI after the game, and Mendoza said the team was “pretty concerned” about the situation.

After hitting .209/.284/.437 with 25 home runs over 423 plate appearances in 2023, Alvarez was looking to follow up his first full MLB season with another step forward this year.  The former star prospect has hit only .236/.288/.364 with one homer in 59 PA to date, and it now might be a while before he can improve on that small sample size.  We may learn more when Mendoza addresses reporters later today about the severity of the sprain or what kind of a recovery timeline awaits Alvarez.

Narvaez and Nido will handle catching duties in the meantime, and in Nido’s case, the selection of his minor league contract will allow the veteran backstop to take part in his eighth Major League season.  Nido’s whole career has been spent in the Mets organization, and he signed a two-year, $3.7MM extension prior to the 2023 campaign.

The catcher is still owed $2.1MM on that deal for this season, and Nido will also reach five full seasons of MLB service time after he amasses 11 more days on an active roster.  Once he hits the five-season threshold, Nido will be able to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, while still retaining whatever is is still owed on that guaranteed salary.  When New York designated Nido for assignment and outrighted him last June, he would’ve had to walk away from his salary if he had opted to turn down the outright assignment and become a free agent, which undoubtedly impacted his decision to remain in the organization.

Ingram was claimed off waivers from the Tigers back in February, and the left-hander has struggled badly over four relief appearances for Triple-A Syracuse this season.  Over just five innings of work, Ingram has already issued six walks and allowed five hits, en route to a 7.20 ERA.  While control has been a concern for Ingram for much of his minor league career, this spike (albeit in a small sample size) in walk rate obviously jarred the Mets enough to expose the southpaw to DFA waivers.

It isn’t out of the question that another organization might put in a claim, as Ingram already switched teams twice this offseason via the waiver wire — before going from the Tigers to the Mets, Detroit first claimed Ingram off waivers from the Angels.  It was with Los Angeles that Ingram made his MLB debut with 5 1/3 innings in 2023, and he also amassed some solid numbers over his three seasons in the Angels’ farm system.  Ingram had a 30.21% strikeout rate in the minors prior to this season, but that number also plummeted to 9.5% in his brief time with Syracuse.

AL West Notes: Abreu, Scherzer, Rendon

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The Astros have struggled badly to open the year as they currently sit dead last in the AL West with a 7-15 record, four games back of Seattle and Texas for the division lead. Club GM Dana Brown recently spoke to Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle regarding the club’s deep early season struggles, including commenting on the status of veteran first baseman Jose Abreu.

Abreu, 37, has hit an anemic .073/.148/.091 with a 27.9% strikeout rate and just one extra-base hit in his first 61 trips to the plate this season. While that’s a fairly small sample size, it comes on the heels of a 2023 campaign where he posted a disappointing 86 wRC+ in 141 games. Given the veteran slugger’s lack of success in an Astros uniform, Brown left the door open to the club making some changes regarding his playing time should he continue to struggle. While Brown emphasized that the club will continue to focus on getting Abreu playing time to “see if he can get hot” in the coming days, he also acknowledged that they’ll have to “circle back and make some decisions” if the veteran doesn’t show signs of improvement.

It’s an understandable stance for the club to take, though Abreu is only in the second year of his three-year, $58.5MM pact with the club. The most obvious option for the club at first base should they look to move away from Abreu is Jon Singleton, though the 32-year-old has hardly lit the world on fire himself with a .250/.333/.313 slash line in 13 games this year. Trey Cabbage and Grae Kessinger are among the other plausible options available to the club at first base currently on the 40-man roster.

More from around the AL West…

  • Reporting earlier this week indicated that Rangers ace Max Scherzer is ahead of schedule as he rehabs from surgery to repair a herniated disc he underwent over the offseason, and that he was scheduled to throw 40 pitches to live hitters yesterday. According to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, that 40-pitch session went off without a hitch and Scherzer had no issues recovering today, meaning the 39-year-old veteran is now on schedule to begin a rehab assignment on Wednesday. The news is a huge shot in the arm for the club’s rotation, which has scuffled somewhat early in the season with a 4.46 FIP entering play today that placed the club ahead of only the White Sox, Rockies, and Cardinals among all major league clubs. Scherzer, who posted a 3.20 ERA and 3.40 FIP in eight starts with Texas last year, would give the club the flexibility to move an arm such as Michael Lorenzen or even Andrew Heaney to the bullpen upon his return.
  • Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon exited this evening’s game against the Reds with a right hamstring injury, as relayed by MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger. Rendon sustained the injury while running out an infield single in the top of the first inning. Following the game, Rendon spoke to reporters (including Bollinger) about the injury, noting that his hamstring is feeling “not too great” in the aftermath of the game and that he was feeling some frustration about the constant injuries. Rendon, 34 in June, was once a star infielder for the Nationals and earned a seven-year deal with the Angels in free agency prior to the 2020 campaign. Unfortunately, his career has been completely derailed by injuries in recent years, with just 166 appearances and a 95 wRC+ since the start of the 2021 season. Should the injury result in another trip to the shelf for Rendon, it would be a major blow to the Angels. While the veteran infielder started the season in a 0-for-19 slump, since then he’s started to heat up with a .346/.403/.400 slash line in his last 13 games. In the event Rendon requires a trip to the injured list, the club could rely on Brandon Drury to cover third base in Rendon’s absence, with the club’s bench options, such as Aaron Hicks, Miguel Sano, and Jo Adell, handling DH.

Twins Notes: Lewis, Duran, Kepler

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Twins fans received a positive update regarding injured third baseman Royce Lewis today with The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman noting that, per Minnesota head trainer Nick Paparesta, Lewis has resumed baseball activity and is “headed in the right direction,” with the start of a run progression on the horizon late next week.

It’s great news for the soon to be 25-year-old, who suffered what was termed a “severe” quad strain on Opening Day. Long regarded as one of the most exciting young talents in baseball, the first overall pick of the 2017 draft has done nothing but hit throughout his major league career with a .313/.369/.564 slash line since he made his debut back in 2022. That’s good for a sensational wRC+ of 159, but Lewis has been limited to just 71 games in the big leagues to this point in his career by a myriad of injuries, including torn ACLs in both 2021 and 2022.

While its easy to be pessimistic about Lewis’s health given his lengthy injury history, the fact that he’s already resumed baseball activities is heartening news given the fact that Lewis was initially expected to be shut down for an entire month before being re-evaluated. That would seemingly put him more than a week ahead of schedule, making a return as soon as sometime in the middle of next month a realistic target for the youngster.

Adding Lewis’s bat back to the lineup would surely provide a huge boost for Minnesota, as the club has scuffled to a 7-12 record in the early going this season while posting a collective wRC+ of just 78, good for bottom three in the majors. If Lewis were to return and take over some of the at-bats currently being offered to struggling veterans Kyle Farmer and Willi Castro, it could help transform the lineup and provide a spark to a team that’s already seven games back of the red hot Guardians for the AL Central crown early in the 2024 campaign.

Lewis isn’t the only key Twins player who could be gearing up for a return in the near future, however. Gleeman also notes that closer Jhoan Duran continued his rehab from an oblique strain with a 21-pitch session against live hitters yesterday. Manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters (including Gleeman) following the session that Duran looked like he was “just about ready” to face hitters in real games. Gleeman went on to add that Duran is expected to be cleared for a rehab assignment in the near future, and that the righty flamethrower could return to the big league club before the end of April despite initial concerns that he would be sidelined into next month.

Should Duran return to the big league club in short order, it would provide a major boost to a Twins bullpen that has largely handled itself well in his absence. While he’s yet to make an appearance this season, Duran has been among the most dominant relief arms in the sport since making his debut back in 2022 with a 2.15 ERA (191 ERA+) and a 2.85 FIP in 130 innings of work over the past two seasons. He stepped into the closer role for the club last year and performed admirably, picking up 27 saves in 32 chances. Griffin Jax has acted as the club’s top option in the ninth inning while Duran has been shelved.

Gleeman goes on to suggest that while Duran could return before the end of the month, outfielder Max Kepler figures to rejoin the club even sooner than that. Kepler was placed on the IL earlier this month due to a right knee contusion after fouling a ball off his knee on Opening Day but could be nearing a return, with Baldelli suggesting that Kepler is “close” to being ready to return and Gleeman indicating he could be back in the lineup for Minnesota as soon as Sunday.

Kepler scuffled badly prior to his stint on the shelf, going 1-for-20 with a walk to open the season, but was a key cog in the club’s lineup last year as he slashed a solid .260/.332/.484 while playing strong defense in right field. With Kepler out of the lineup, the Twins have been relying on a mix of Trevor Larnach, Manuel Margot, and Austin Martin to cover the outfield corners in his absence with Byron Buxton entrenched in center field.

Giants Acquire Mitch White

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The Giants have acquired Mitch White from the Blue Jays in exchange for cash considerations, as noted by Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. Right-hander Alex Cobb was placed on the 60-day injured list to clear a spot for White on the club’s 40-man roster. The move comes on the heels of Toronto designating White for assignment earlier this week to make room for the returns of closer Jordan Romano and right-hander Erik Swanson to the active roster.

White, 29, was a second-round pick by the Dodgers in the 2016 draft and began receiving top-100 prospect buzz prior to the 2018 season, though he ultimately would not make his debut until the shortened 2020 campaign. In three seasons with the Dodgers, White pitched 105 2/3 frames across 38 appearances (14 starts) with the Dodgers and achieved solid results with a 3.58 ERA and 3.87 FIP to go along with a respectable 22% strikeout rate. That early career success didn’t stop the Dodgers from trading White to the Blue Jays at the 2022 trade deadline, however, and he’s struggled badly ever since departing Los Angeles.

In Toronto, White has pitched to a shocking 7.26 ERA despite a fairly average 4.10 FIP in 65 2/3 innings of work in parts of three seasons. While with the Blue Jays, White has seen his strikeout rate plummet to just 16.3% while his walk rate ticked up to 8.9%. The results weren’t any better at the Triple-A level, where White spent most of last season. In 55 2/3 appearances for the club’s affiliate in Buffalo last year, White posted a 5.50 ERA while walking a whopping 12% of batters faced.

Now, White is set to return to the NL West where he can hopefully put his troubles with the Blue Jays behind him. The 29-year-old righty is out of options, meaning the Giants will have to make room for him on their active roster in the coming days. Once he’s officially added to the roster, White figures to provide the Giants with a bullpen arm capable of pitching multiple innings. It’s a role they relied on the likes of Jakob Junis and Keaton Winn for last season prior to the former departing in free agency and the latter joining the club’s starting rotation on a full-time basis.

Making room for White on the 40-man roster is Cobb, who has spent the entire season to this point on the IL after undergoing hip surgery this past offseason. Cobb was initially expected to return to action at some point next month, but as noted recently by John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle, the veteran righty is dealing with something of a setback after developing a “mild” bout of shoulder inflammation in his right arm. Shea adds that an MRI on Cobb’s shoulder came back clean, but evidently the setback was enough for the Giants to be willing to rule Cobb out for almost the entire month of May.

Pavlovic notes that the club plans to be cautious with Cobb’s rehab going forward and that the veteran will now first be eligible to return to the big league club on May 27. That Cobb’s absence will extend at least another month is unfortunate news for San Francisco, as the 36-year-old has been a more reliable arm for the club’s rotation than anyone other than Logan Webb since he joined the team prior to the 2022 season.

Over the past two seasons, Cobb has made 56 starts for the Giants and pitched to a solid 3.80 ERA (107 ERA+) with an even stronger 3.41 FIP in 301 innings of work. The Giants are currently relying on Webb, Blake Snell, Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks, and Winn in their starting rotation as things stand, with Winn standing as the most likely candidate to move to the bullpen upon Cobb’s return to action.

Blue Jays Place Chad Green On 15-Day Injured List

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The Blue Jays are placing right-hander Chad Green on the injured list due to a right teres major strain, manager John Schneider told reporters (including Shi Davidi of Sportsnet) this evening. Right-hander Nate Pearson is set to be recalled to the roster in the corresponding move. Kyle Glaser relays that, per Schneider, Green has already undergone an MRI and will be shut down for a few days before the club re-assess him to determine a timeline for his return.

Green, 33 next month, signed with Toronto back in January of 2023 on a complex deal that guaranteed him $8.5MM over two years. Since then, however, the Blue Jays have exercised a two-year, $21MM club option on Green’s services that will now leave him with a total guarantee of $23.25MM over three years, including the $2.25MM he earned last season.

While Green had pitched just 12 innings for Toronto at that point, that expenditure was clearly justified by Green’s run as one of the most dominant set-up men in the game with the Yankees over the prior six seasons, which saw him post a 2.96 ERA and 3.01 FIP while striking out 33.4% of batters faced. The early returns on Toronto’s decision to commit to the veteran righty have been solid, as Green has picked up two saves in seven appearances while pitching to a 2.35 ERA to this point in the young 2024 campaign. Unfortunately, he’ll now take a seat for what could be a significant absence.

While Toronto doesn’t intend to determine a timetable for the right-hander’s return for several days, other hurlers suffering from teres major strains in recent years have typically been away from the big league club for a month or longer. Rangers right-hander Max Scherzer suffered a teres major strain in mid September last year and managed to return to appear in the ALCS against the Astros just over a month later, but struggled in his return before being removed from the club’s World Series roster after three postseason appearances.

Other players to suffer a teres major strain in recent years include Guardians righty Triston McKenzie, who missed the first two months of the 2023 campaign due to the issue, and Cubs youngster Caleb Kilian, who suffered the injury in early March and isn’t expected to return until sometime around the All Star break. Should Green require a lengthy trip to the IL, the Jays figure to lean heavily on right-handers Jordan Romano and Erik Swanson in his absence.

Both Romano and Swanson were just activated following trips to the IL of their own earlier this week. While they’ve combined to allow four runs in three appearances since being activated, the pair were among the most reliable back-end duos in the sport last year. Swanson pitched to a 2.97 ERA with a 28.6% strikeout rate in 69 appearances last year while setting up for Romano, who racked up 36 saves while posting a 2.90 ERA in 59 appearances of his own. With Green on the shelf, the likes of Yimi Garcia and Genesis Cabrera could receive additional late-inning opportunities alongside the duo.

Replacing Green on the active roster is Pearson, who had been optioned earlier this week to clear space for Romano and Swanson’s returns to the roster. The 27-year-old righty was the club’s first-round pick in the 2017 draft and was once widely considered a top-15 prospect in the sport but struggled to a 5.00 ERA and 5.36 FIP in 52 appearances from 2020 to 2023. The early returns on Pearson’s work in 2024 have been positive, however, as he’s struck out 34.6% of batters faced across 6 1/3 scoreless frames in the majors so far this year.

White Sox Outright Josimar Cousin

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April 20: The White Sox announced today that they’ve assigned Cousin outright to Double-A Birmingham. Cousin cannot reject the assignment as he has neither been outrighted previously in his career nor the requisite service time to do so. As such, he’ll remain with the White Sox going forward as a non-roster depth option for the club as he continues working to establish himself in stateside baseball.

April 16: The White Sox announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Jonathan Cannon, a move that was reported yesterday. In corresponding moves, they optioned left-hander Jared Shuster to Triple-A Charlotte and designated right-hander Josimar Cousin for assignment.

Cousin, now 26, is from Cuba and played six seasons in that country’s Serie Nacional de Béisbol. He appeared in 88 games in that league, 68 starts, with a 4.80 earned run average. He struck out 15% of batters faced while walking 9.3%. The Sox signed him to a minor league deal in May, per reporter Francys Romero, with a $100K bonus.

He then tossed 55 innings in the minors last year, going from the Complex League to High-A and Double-A. He had a combined 5.56 ERA in that time as well as a 19.6% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate.

The Sox added him to their 40-man roster in mid-December, though the timing was unusual as it had nothing to do with minor league free agency or the Rule 5 cutoff. Speculatively speaking, it’s possible that Cousin had some kind of opt-out in his contract or maybe an overseas opportunity that the Sox wanted to prevent him from pursuing.

Cousin was optioned to Double-A Birmingham but hasn’t pitched yet this year. According to his transactions tracker at MiLB.com, he was on the minor league injured list from April 5 to April 12. The Sox will now have one week to trade him or pass him through waivers.

Yankees Outright Kevin Smith

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The Yankees announced this afternoon that infielder Kevin Smith has been assigned outright to Triple-A. The news comes on the heels of Smith being designated for assignment earlier this week to make room for recently-claimed outfielder Taylor Trammell on the 40-man roster.

Smith, 27, was a fourth-round pick by the Blue Jays in the 2017 draft and is perhaps best known as part of the four-player package Toronto sent to the A’s in exchange for third baseman Matt Chapman. Smith made his big league debut with Toronto in 2021 prior to being moved and ultimately appeared in 96 games with Oakland across two seasons before he was non-tendered by the club back in November.

Smith eventually joined the Yankees on a minor league deal back in January and managed to crack the club’s major league roster last weekend following the placement of utility veteran Jon Berti on the injured list, leading the Yankees to replace Smith’s minor league deal with a fresh big league contract. Unfortunately for Smith, he made just one appearance in a Yankees uniform and did not record a plate appearance before being designated for assignment last week.

When Smith has found playing time at the big league level, he’s generally struggled offensively. In 114 games with the Blue Jays and A’s dating back to his debut in 2021, Smith has hit a lackluster .173/.215/.301 with a 31.2% strikeout rate and a wRC+ of 44 throughout his big league career. While those numbers leave much to be desired, Smith’s respectable .282/.352/.523 career slash line at the Triple-A level and his experience at all four infield spots as well as both outfield corners leave reason for hope that he could be a useful depth piece for a big league club in need at some point.

For now, however, Smith will return to the minor leagues with the Yankees as the infielder has neither the requisite service time nor a previous outright assignment on his resume that would allow him to reject the move in favor of free agency. Going forward, Smith will serve as non-roster depth for the Yankees and hope for another opportunity to join the club’s bench mix at some point this season, competing with youngster Jorbit Vivas as well as fellow non-roster veterans Rougned Odor, Josh VanMeter, and Jordan Groshans.

Drew Pomeranz Re-Signs With Dodgers On Minor League Deal

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April 20: Just one day after opting out of his deal with the Dodgers, Pomeranz has re-signed with the club on a fresh minor league deal according to Triple-A Oklahoma City’s broadcaster and communications director Andrew Freedman. Freedman adds that Pomeranz will remain at the Triple-A level for the time being.

April 19: Left-hander Drew Pomeranz has opted out of his minor league deal with the Dodgers, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, and is now a free agent again.

Pomeranz, 35, is attempting to get back to the majors after two lost years. He signed a minor league deal with the Angels in February and was in Spring Training with that club. He tossed eight innings with five earned runs allowed, striking out six while walking three.

He was able to opt-out of that deal if he didn’t break camp with the club and the Halos released him a few days before Opening Day. He got another minor league deal, this time with the Dodgers, and has been pitching for Triple-A Oklahoma City. He has tossed five innings for that club, allowing six earned runs but striking out seven opponents while giving out just one walk.

As of a few years ago, Pomeranz was one of the better relievers in the league. The Brewers acquired him in 2019 and moved him from the rotation to the bullpen, with great results. The lefty tossed 26 1/3 innings for Milwaukee with a 2.39 earned run average, striking out 45% of batters faced.

The Padres made a bet that Pomeranz could continue performing in that manner, signing him to a four-year, $34MM deal going into 2020. That deal was working out great for the first two years, as Pomeranz made 47 appearances with a 1.62 ERA for the Friars. He walked 11.4% of batters faced but struck out 33.7%.

Unfortunately, he required flexor tendon surgery in August of 2021 and hasn’t pitched in a big league game since. Over the past two years, repeated attempts to get healthy have seen him continually hit setbacks, including a “cleanup surgery” in May of last year.

The lefty will surely get a new opportunity elsewhere in the coming days. He hasn’t been preventing runs of late but the fact that he’s healthy and striking out opponents is a good sign. Given the excellent results he posted in the past, he should be fielding plenty of calls from clubs who will dream of benefitting from a bounceback.

Rangers Designate Jared Walsh For Assignment

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The Rangers announced a series of roster moves this afternoon, led by the club designating first baseman Jared Walsh for assignment. Taking Walsh’s spot on the active roster will be first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, who the club has activate from the 10-day injured list. In addition, Texas announced that catcher Jonah Heim has been placed on the bereavement list, with catcher Sam Huff recalled from Triple-A to take his spot on the big league roster.

Walsh, 30, joined the Rangers on a minor league deal and his .250/.368/.458 slash line in 57 spring plate appearances impressed enough to earn the slugger a spot on Texas’s Opening Day roster when Lowe found himself sidelined by an oblique strain to open the season. It was a reasonable call for the Rangers to make at the time between Walsh’s solid showing this spring and his track record of past success for the Angels, as Walsh had posted an excellent 130 wRC+ in Anaheim across the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Unfortunately, things haven’t gone well for Walsh since then. He hit a paltry .197/.258/.355 over his final two years with the Halos while battling thoracic outlet syndrome as well as a neurological illness that has caused him to suffer from persistent headaches and insomnia. Through 17 games with the Rangers, Walsh has looked better than he did when he posted a 33 wRC+ with the Angels last year but has nonetheless struggled to a lackluster .226/.317/.321 batting line across 60 trips to the plate in a Rangers uniform.

Of course, it’s difficult to draw significant conclusions from such a small sample size. On one hand, Walsh has posted a strong 11.7% walk rate so far this season and has an xwOBA of .324 that outstrips his .294 wOBA by 30 points, suggesting better days could be ahead for the veteran. On the other, however, Walsh’s 35% strikeout rate is nearing an untenable level and a far cry from the 24.1% rate he flashed during his peaks years with the Angels, and his meager 84 wRC+ is being floated by a .355 BABIP that clocks in more than 50 points above his career mark.

Perhaps most concerning about Walsh’s performance so far is his lack of power. Between the 2020 and ’21 seasons, Walsh hit 38 home runs in just 176 games with an excellent .251 ISO. So far this season, however, he’s managed to connect on just three extra-base hits with one home run. While that could certainly change if he can find more at-bats at the big league level, Walsh’s average exit velocity this year is just 84.2 mph per Statcast. That places him in the fifth percentile among all major league hitters, putting him line with relatively light-hitting players such as Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Gio Urshela.

Even so, Walsh’s max exit velocity of 112.5 mph indicates that his power potential is still there. An above-average 9.4% barrel rate also provides optimism that more power could be in the first baseman’s future, though first he’ll need to find playing time in the majors for that to come to fruition. Going forward, the Rangers will have seven days to either trade, release, or waive the veteran. Any club that claims Walsh off waivers would take on the remainder of his $1.25MM salary for the 2024 campaign, and if he goes unclaimed the Rangers will be able to assign Walsh outright to the minors. Walsh would have the right to reject that assignment in favor of free agency, though in doing so he would forfeit the remainder of his $1.25MM salary of this season.

Walsh’s departure from the active roster makes room for the return of Lowe, who has been the club’s regular first baseman in each of the past three seasons. That arrangement has gone quite well for the Rangers, with Lowe slashing a respectable .276/.359/.441 in 475 games with the club while picking up a Gold Glove award last year in addition to a Silver Slugger award the year prior. In addition to bumping Walsh from the club’s roster, Lowe’s return seems likely to cut into the playing time afforded to utility youngster Ezequiel Duran, who made seven starts at first in Lowe’s absence despite struggling to a 59 wRC+ so far in the young 2024 campaign.

Along with Lowe’s return, Texas announced that catcher Heim is headed to the bereavement list. The 2023 All Star and Gold Glove award winner has been a steady source of production for the club once again this year, impressing defensively behind the plate while posting a respectable 102 wRC+ on offense. The Rangers will be without their top option behind the plate for the next few days, however, and figure to rely on a tandem of Huff and Andrew Knizner while their primary backstop is away. Huff has posted solid numbers in limited playing time at the big league level to this point in his career, with a career .262/.314/.462 slash line in 75 games dating back to the 2020 season. Knizner, meanwhile, has gone 1-for-14 with four strikeouts in limited playing time with Texas to this point in the young 2024 campaign.

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