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Archives for July 2024

Rockies Activate German Marquez From 60-Day IL

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TODAY: The Rockies announced that Marquez has been activated from the IL. Right-hander Angel Chivilli has been optioned to Double-A to make room for Marquez on the active roster.

July 13: The Rockies are set to activate right-hander German Marquez from the 60-day injured list tomorrow, manager Bud Black told reporters (including Mike Fitzpatrick of The Denver Post) last night. Colorado’s 40-man roster currently stands at 39, meaning the club will only need to make a corresponding active roster move to activate Marquez unless they add another player to the 40-man prior to activating him.

Marquez, 29, made it just four starts into the 2023 season before requiring Tommy John surgery in early May of last year. At the time, the former All Star was a pending free agent, but the sides hammered out a two-year, $20MM extension last September that has allowed Marquez to complete his rehab in a familiar organization and re-establish his value ahead of free agency, which now looms after the 2025 season.

For the Rockies, the move allowed them to retain a player who has shown the rare ability to pitch well while calling Coors Field home. From 2018 to 2021, Marquez posted a 4.22 ERA that was 17% better than average by ERA+ and an even stronger 3.70 FIP across 106 starts for the Rockies. That’s the version of Marquez the club surely hopes they’ll be adding back to their rotation tomorrow, although it’s worth noting that the righty’s 2022 season demonstrated some cause for concern as he posted an eye-popping 6.70 ERA in 16 starts at Coors despite an excellent 3.34 ERA in 15 starts on the road.

Marquez is slated to take the ball tomorrow in a start against the Mets in New York, and is expected to throw between 75 and 90 pitches in his return to the mound. The Rockies, with a dismal 33-62 record this season, will not be factoring into the postseason picture in 2024 regardless of how well the right-hander performs in his return to action. With that being said, it’s at least feasible that a strong start from the righty over the next few weeks could impact the club’s thinking ahead of the trade deadline on July 30. If Marquez can return to the club’s rotation looking healthy and effective, it would add a quality starter to a rotation that could make the club more comfortable dealing away pieces from its rotation.

Earlier this summer, the Rockies were reportedly listening on offers for right-hander Cal Quantrill and lefty Austin Gomber while also receiving interest in righty Ryan Feltner. Quantrill has pitched to solid results in his first season with Colorado, posting 4.13 ERA (110 ERA+) in 19 starts despite a lackluster 4.77 FIP thanks in part to a career-best 46.4% groundball rate. Gomber, meanwhile, has posted a 4.61 ERA that’s essentially league average (99 ERA+) after adjusting for park factors. Feltner has been the least impressive of the three in terms of on-field results with a lackluster 5.02 ERA, although more advanced metrics such as SIERA (4.13) and xERA (4.04) look much more favorably upon him thanks to his microscopic 6.5% walk rate and an ability to limit hard contact.

Dealing any of those controllable players would be tough for a rotation that already has the league’s worst ERA, but if Marquez can prove himself capable of returning to the top of the club’s rotation that would go a long way to helping round out a rotation that already parted ways with right-hander Dakota Hudson earlier this month.

Cubs Reportedly Interested In Danny Jansen

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The Cubs have expressed interest in Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. It’s unclear how serious discussions between the sides have become at this point.

It would hardly be a surprise to see Toronto part ways with Jansen prior to the deadline on July 30. The club has experienced a freefall in the standings that has seen the club drop to just 43-52, 14 games out of the AL East and 9.5 games out of a playoff spot. That massive deficit in the standings has left the club’s playoff odds (according to Fangraphs) at just 1.6%. Given those dismal odds, it’s only natural that the club is reportedly “expressing openness” to moving on from rental players this summer.

Jansen, 29, is one of the club’s more intriguing rental players. Initially drafted in the 16th round back in 2013 by the Blue Jays, the Wisconsin native made his big league debut with Toronto back in 2018 and generally struggled at the plate early in his career. He carried a lackluster .208/.297/.370 slash line (79 wRC+) into the 2021 season. Fortunately, in 2021 Toronto began to lean less heavily on Jansen behind the plate due to the arrival of youngster Alejandro Kirk. From 2021-23, Jansen enjoyed a resurgence on offense while being counted on for an average of just 76 games a year. In 754 trips to the plate across those three seasons, he saw his wRC+ jump to 121 as he slashed a solid .237/.317/.487 while clubbing 43 home runs.

Early in the 2024 campaign, Jansen appeared to be on track for the best season of his career as he was slashing an incredible .287/.371/.535 through the end of May. He struck out just 15.5% of the time in those 116 trips to the plate while walking at a 12.1% clip and crushing five homers. Paired with generally strong defensive grades behind the plate throughout his career, that figured to make him an extremely attractive free agent this winter, as MLBTR’s Anthony Franco explored for Front Office subscribers at the time.

Things have come off the rails a bit for Jansen since then, however. In 91 trips to the plate since the start of June, Jansen has posted a lackluster .141/.253/.218 across 26 games. An eye-popping .164 BABIP that’s all but certain to enjoy some positive regression indicates that there’s some reason for optimism when looking at Jansen’s numbers during this recent slump, as does the fact that Jansen’s plate discipline numbers (18.9% strikeout rate, 11% walk rate) remain impressive. Even so, it’s hard to imagine the Jays getting anywhere close to the trade return they might have had Jansen maintained his early season production now that he’s hitting a roughly league average .223/.319/.397 (103 wRC+) for the season.

Even so, it’s not hard to see why the Cubs would be interested in Jansen’s services. The club has struggled somewhat on offense this year with a collective wRC+ of 102 that ranks 16th in the majors this year, even in spite of excellent seasons from corner bats Seiya Suzuki, Ian Happ, and Michael Busch. The most obvious culprit for those struggles at the dish in Chicago is the players they’re using behind it, as Cubs catchers have slashed a pathetic .180/.227/.264 this year. That translates to a wRC+ of 39 that ranks 29th in the majors ahead of only the lowly Marlins.

It’s possible the Cubs would be willing to stomach that brutal offense production if they were getting elite defense behind the plate, but youngster Miguel Amaya has been worth -2 runs according to Statcast’s Fielding Run Value, and veteran Yan Gomes was performing even worse before being replaced by Tomas Nido after he was released by the Mets last month. Nido has looked good behind the plate but has hit a ghastly .135/.154/.189 in 13 games with the Cubs. He doesn’t have much of a track record to lean on, either, as a seven-game stint in 2020 is the only time in his career he’s posted a wRC+ higher than 86.

Those woes behind the plate make the Cubs an obvious fit for Jansen’s services, although it’s fair to wonder if Chicago will be in position to buy by the time the deadline rolls around. After all, the team is currently five games below .500 (46-51) and in dead last in the NL Central. They’re only 4.5 games out of the final NL Wild Card spot, but Fangraphs gives them playoff odds of just 8.7%. While that’s substantially higher than the aforementioned odds Toronto has, it still suggests a postseason berth is a remote possibility for Chicago, and it would hardly be a surprise to see them pivot towards selling if they struggle coming out of the All Star break.

Should the Cubs wind up buying, Jansen isn’t the only Blue Jays hitter the club has reported interest in. Last month, it was reported that Chicago was having internal discussions about the possibility of pursuing star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. if the Blue Jays decided to sell. Of course, that reporting came on the heels of GM Ross Atkins very plainly saying that dealing Guerrero, who is controllable through the end of the 2025 campaign, “doesn’t make any sense” for the team to do. While it’s at least theoretically possible the club’s front office changes its stance before the deadline, that possibility seems remote at best as things stand.

Royals Acquire Hunter Harvey From Nationals

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The Royals have bolstered their bullpen with the acquisition of right-hander Hunter Harvey, as the Nationals announced that Harvey will head to K.C. in exchange for third baseman Cayden Wallace and the Royals’ Competitive Balance Round A pick (39th overall) in the 2024 draft.  The Royals also announced the move, as well as the news that right-hander Nick Anderson has been designated for assignment to create roster space for Harvey.

Today’s 5-0 loss to the Red Sox dropped the Royals to a 52-44 record, and a game back of Boston for the third and final AL wild card slot.  Playing .542 baseball is already an impressive step forward for a team that lost 106 games in 2023, yet Kansas City clearly has eyes on bouncing back from some recent struggles.  The Royals started the season at a blistering 39-26 pace, but have since stumbled to a 13-18 mark in their last 31 games, and relief pitching has been a major reason behind this slide.

The K.C. bullpen ranks in the bottom third of baseball in most major categories, including 22nd in bullpen ERA (4.30).  James McArthur has converted 17 of 21 save chances but has been somewhat shaky, and the Royals’ relief corps is lacking in both velocity and strikeout ability.  Recent reports suggested that Kansas City was considering the bullpen as a top need heading into the trade deadline, even ahead of the Royals’ also-pressing need for outfield upgrades.

Harvey and his 97.8mph fastball provide some immediate high-leverage zip in the Royals’ pen, and Harvey also has above-average strikeout and walk rates over his 45 innings this season out of Washington’s bullpen.  While he has a 4.20 ERA, Harvey’s SIERA is 2.99, as a .325 BABIP has contributed to make Harvey’s bottom-line results an insufficient reflection of his quality pitching.

Selected 22nd overall by the Orioles in the 2013 draft, Harvey drew top-100 prospect attention before a variety of injuries threatened to halt his career before it ever got off the ground.  He had a 3.42 ERA over 23 2/3 innings and 26 appearances for Baltimore during the 2019-21 seasons, but the Giants claimed him off waivers in November 2021, and Harvey then moved to Washington on another waiver claim just prior to the start of the 2022 campaign.

This time with the Nationals allowed Harvey to establish himself as a solid MLB-caliber arm, even if he has flown under the radar during the team’s rebuild.  Harvey has a 3.17 ERA, 27.8% strikeout rate, and 6.4% walk rate in 145 innings for D.C., working mostly as a setup man but with 10 saves to his ledger in 2023.  Hard contact is a big red flag in Harvey’s arsenal, but he has done a passably good job of keeping this hard contact from translating into home runs.  Moving to spacious Kauffman Stadium could further help the 29-year-old Harvey in this regard.

Harvey is earning a $2.35MM salary this season in his second-last year of arbitration eligibility, so the Royals also control him through the end of the 2025 campaign.  This extra year of control made Harvey a particularly interesting player to watch heading into the July 30 deadline, and both Harvey and Nats closer Kyle Finnegan (also controlled through 2025) cracked the top 15 of MLBTR’s recent listing of the top 50 trade candidates.  Since teams generally have to pay a bit extra to complete deals further in advance of the deadline, that factor plus Harvey’s extra year of control and perhaps the Royals’ eagerness to quickly correct their bullpen struggles combined to give Washington a pretty nice return.

The rebuilding Nationals stayed within striking distance of the NL wild card race, but today’s trade leaves no doubt that the Nats will remain on their expected path as sellers heading into the deadline.  This doesn’t mean that Washington might not seek out some players that could help them be competitive as early as 2025, and Wallace could potentially fit that category, as he is currently in his second season of Double-A ball.

A second-round pick for the Royals in the 2022 draft, Wallace is hitting .282/.350/.427 over 140 plate appearances for Double-A Northwest Arkansas this season, but he has been slowed by both an oblique strain and an ongoing IL stint for a broken rib.  These injuries have slowed his development, but MLB Pipeline still ranks Wallace as the second-best prospect in the Kansas City farm system, and Baseball America ranked him fifth in their preseason ranking of Royals minor leaguers.  Both scouting reports consider him a good defensive player with the ability to remain at third base due to a strong throwing arm, and Wallace has a good approach at the plate and a solid swing.  He has power potential moreso than obvious power at the moment, so Pipeline and BA view Wallace as a gap hitter with some upside as he develops.

Trading a “third baseman of the future” candidate like Wallace serves as an endorsement of the Royals’ faith in Maikel Garcia in at least the short term, even if Kansas City might now look for some help at the hot corner down the road — perhaps as soon as tomorrow’s draft.  As noted by MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman, the Nationals have now given themselves lot of third base depth for the future, with Wallace joining Brady House (ranked by Pipeline as the 44th-best prospect in all of baseball) and Yohandy Morales in the minor league ranks.  This could be a potential surplus position for the Nationals in the coming years, if they return to contention and start moving their own internal prospects for more win-now veterans.

The Competitive Balance Round selections are the only types of draft picks that can be traded, and as such are quietly some of the most valued trade chips in all of baseball.  Any team can trade for CBR picks, but since smaller-market and lower-revenue teams are the only clubs eligible for these bonus selections in the first place, trades involving the picks are relatively rare, given how adding talent through the draft is of such particular value for the game’s lesser spenders.  Still, today’s trade marks the third CBR pick of the 2024 draft to change hands — the Brewers acquired the 34th overall pick from the Orioles as part of the Corbin Burnes trade, while the White Sox landed the 68th overall pick (in CBR Round B) as part of the deal that sent Gregory Santos to the Mariners.

The Royals select sixth overall in tomorrow’s draft, and now won’t pick again until their second-round choice (41st overall).  The Nationals now have three selections within the first 44 picks, with their newly-acquired CBR selection sandwiched between their first- and second-round slots.

Anderson came to the Royals in a trade with the Braves last November, as Kansas City had interest in seeing if the former Rays bullpen ace could regain his form after three injury-marred seasons.  Over 34 2/3 innings for the Royals this season, Anderson had a 4.15 ERA and not much in the way of secondary metrics, as he posted a 10.1% walk rate and 18.1% strikeout rate.

Anderson is earning $1.575MM this season, and he is arb-controlled through 2025, which could add some attraction for any club interested in adding bullpen depth via waiver claim.  Anderson has now passed the five-year threshold for MLB service time due to being on the Royals’ active roster all season, and would thus retain all of his 2024 salary if he clears waivers and becomes a free agent.

Twins To Place Jose Miranda On 10-Day Injured List

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The Twins will place Jose Miranda on the 10-day injured list prior to tomorrow’s game with the Giants, manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters (including Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press).  Utilityman Diego Castillo will have his contract selected from Triple-A to take Miranda’s spot on the active roster, and the Twins will have to make another move to clear space on the 40-man roster.

Lower back tightness has kept Miranda off the field since Wednesday, so the Twins will be able to backdate Miranda’s IL stint to July 11.  With the four-day All-Star break also factoring into the 10-day span, Miranda won’t miss much additional game time if he is able to return after only 10 days, though the Twins will certainly be careful with a player who has emerged as one of their chief offensive weapons.

Miranda seemed to lay claim to the Twins’ third base job with a very solid rookie season in 2022, but then struggled through a rough 2023 campaign that was limited to 40 games due to shoulder surgery.  Royce Lewis’ own injury problems allowed Miranda to get a fresh chance at regular playing time this season, and he has explored for nine home runs and a .325/.366/.522 slash line over 276 plate appearances, translating to a 149 wRC+.  This big year included a place in the history books, as Miranda’s string of 12 consecutive at-bats with a hit matched a Major League record.

Miranda has a .349 BABIP, and between middling hard-contact numbers and a below-average 5.1% walk rate, he is certainly overachieving to some extent — the infielder’s .380 wOBA is well above his .345 xwOBA.  Still, even that xwOBA is well above the league average, and Miranda’s contact is helped by the fact that he is rarely swinging and missing.  His 13.4% strikeout rate is in the 93rd percentile of all batters, even if his chase rate is unimpressive.

This production has been a big reason why the Twins are in possession of an AL wild card spot, so the club can only hope that Miranda’s back problem won’t linger.  Beyond just Miranda’s absence, the Twins’ wider-scale problem is a sudden swath of infield injuries, as Miranda joins Lewis, Kyle Farmer, Alex Kirilloff, and Austin Martin on the club’s 10-day IL.  Star shortstop Carlos Correa was also a late scratch from today’s lineup due to a heel contusion, though there isn’t yet any indication that Correa’s injury is anything but a day-to-day issue.  With so much infield depth missing, Minnesota had to get creative with today’s lineup, moving catcher Christian Vazquez to third base — Jair Camargo was called up from Triple-A earlier this week, so the Twins still had flexibility behind the plate with Vazquez, Camargo, and Ryan Jeffers all available.

Castillo brings some versatility to this mix, as the 26-year-old has already played five different positions and even thrown a couple of innings over his two MLB seasons.  Debuting with the Pirates in 2022, Castillo hit .206/.251/.382 over 283 during his first year in the Show, and was then traded to the Diamondbacks after the season and appeared in just one MLB game during the 2023 campaign.  A flurry of waiver claims this winter saw Castillo join four different organizations before finally landing with Minnesota, via an early April trade with the Orioles.

Dodgers Claim Brent Honeywell Jr. Off Waivers From Pirates

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10:19PM: The Honeywell claim has now been officially announced, via the Dodgers’ team transactions page on MLB.com.  In the corresponding move, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was shifted from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL, so August 15 now represents the earliest Yamamoto can return from his rotator cuff strain.  Yamamoto has seemingly been making good progress in the initial steps of his recovery, as manager Dave Roberts has said Yamamoto has been playing catch.

1:45PM: The Dodgers have claimed right-hander Brent Honeywell Jr. off waivers from the Pirates, as noted by MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. L.A. will need to make a corresponding 40-man roster move, though one has not yet been announced.

Honeywell, 29, is best known for his time in the Rays system as a top prospect. A lengthy series of injuries that included Tommy John surgery and multiple elbow fractures left Honeywell to pitch just 103 1/3 innings in professional games from 2018 to 2022. Nonetheless, the righty managed to make it to the majors last year with the Padres. He posted a decent 4.05 ERA in 46 2/3 innings of work with San Diego but was pushed off the roster down the stretch last summer and ended up with the White Sox. He was lit up for seven runs in just 5 2/3 innings of work during his brief stint with the South Siders and departed for free agency over the winter.

Back in February, Honeywell signed with Pittsburgh on a minor league deal and started the season with the club’s affiliate in Triple-A. He pitched to a 4.85 ERA across 39 innings of work with a 19.6% strikeout rate and a 10.1% walk rate during his time in the minors. That somewhat lackluster performance still earned him a brief call up to the majors, however, and Honeywell excelled by the results in that limited showing with a 2.70 ERA in 3 1/3 frames, although he walked one more batter than he struck out in that cup of coffee. Honeywell was designated for assignment yesterday after just a few days in the majors, but he’ll evidently get another chance at the big league level with the Dodgers.

With Los Angeles, Honeywell will continue trying to unlock the talent that made him a top prospect during his time in Tampa. Back in 2017, the right-hander was one of the game’s top pitching prospects after posting a 3.64 ERA and 2.84 FIP in 24 starts at the Triple-A level where he struck out 29.1% of batters faced against a walk rate of just 5.9%. He’s several years removed from those sensational numbers at this point, but his time with the Padres last year showed that even with his current diminished strikeout (20.6% in San Diego) and walk (9.8%) rates he can still be an effective middle relief arm.

While the Dodgers’ bullpen has been among the best in baseball overall this year, they’ve struggled somewhat in recent weeks. Since the calendar flipped to June, the club’s 3.46 relief ERA remains solid, but their 4.18 FIP is bottom ten in the majors and suggests they could be in for some regression as the season wears on. The introduction of Honeywell, who can at least provide the club with another arm in the final weeks leading up to the trade deadline, should allow the Dodgers to help keep their relief options fresh as the club likely contemplates other additions in the coming weeks.

Red Sox Notes: Martin, Slaten, Lugo

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Chris Martin was retroactively placed on the 15-day injured list on July 4, and the Red Sox were hopeful that he could be activated this coming Friday on his first day of eligibility.  However, Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters (including Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe) that Martin is temporarily shut down since the reliever “didn’t feel great” after a game of catch on Friday.

Cora said that Martin isn’t scheduled to undergo an MRI, and overall he is “not concerned” over the situation, “but it’s going to take longer than we expected.”  Martin has been sidelined with right elbow inflammation, and rather than continue his throwing progression, he’ll instead take the All-Star break off before heading to Boston while the Red Sox start the second half with a western road trip.

Martin’s numbers aren’t quite as impressive as they were during his first season with the Red Sox, but he has still been quite solid with a 3.42 ERA over 26 1/3 innings, as well as an above-average 27.9% strikeout rate and a 1.9BB% that ranks among baseball’s best walk rates.  Martin had a minimal 15-day IL stint earlier this season due to anxiety, in addition to this current elbow issue.

With Martin set to miss more time beyond Friday, the Sox are now down two relievers with yesterday’s placement (retroactive to July 9) of right-hander Justin Slaten on the 15-day IL, also with inflammation in his throwing elbow.  Speaking with MLB.com and other media about Slaten, Cora said the reliever has “been grinding through it probably the last 15 days….It’s his first time pitching this much, and obviously we’ve got to be careful with him.”  For now, the Red Sox believes this could also be just a 15-day break for Slaten, though as we just saw with Martin, it depends on how Slaten’s elbow responds during his down time.

Slaten has made an excellent accounting of himself in his first MLB season, with a 3.38 ERA and a set of outstanding Statcast metrics over his first 42 2/3 innings as a big leaguer.  A third-round pick for the Rangers in the 2019 draft, Slaten was selected away from Texas by the Mets during last December’s Rule 5 draft, but the Mets then dealt Slaten to the Red Sox, and thus Boston has to keep Slaten on its active roster or injured list for the entire season or else offer him back to the Rangers.

Based on the early results, it looks like the Red Sox may have found a hidden gem with the 26-year-old righty.  Slaten averages 96.3mph on his fastball, though his heater and his sweeper are secondary to an excellent cutter that Slaten has thrown 39.2% of the time this season.  Batters simply haven’t yet figured him out, giving the Sox another solid arm within what has been an unspectacular but generally effective bullpen.  Slaten is also another example of how Boston’s revamped pitching development department and new pitching coach Andrew Bailey have turned around a staff that struggled in 2023.

This group could’ve potentially been even stronger if Seth Lugo had been signed in the offseason, as the Sox were among the teams who pushed to sign the free agent righty.  Lugo signed a three-year, $45MM deal with the Royals, and MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo writes that the Sox weren’t willing to go to three years for the veteran hurler, or match a $15MM average annual value.

Lugo told Cotillo that beyond the contract, the Royals stood out due to their relative proximity to Lugo’s home in Louisiana.  Still, Lugo said the Red Sox “were one of the last ones talking to me before we made the decision,” and it helped that he had a past connection to Cora via Team Puerto Rico during the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

Ironically, the Red Sox dealt Lugo one of his worst outings of the season today, as Lugo allowed five runs on 10 hits and a walk over five innings in Kansas City’s 5-0 loss to Boston.  Even with that rough performance now on his ledger, Lugo still has a 2.48 ERA over 20 starts and 127 innings this season, earning the righty his first All-Star nod in his ninth MLB season.

Dustin May Undergoes Esophageal Surgery, Won’t Pitch Again In 2024

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Dodgers right-hander Dustin May underwent surgery earlier this week to fix a tear in his esophagus, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports.  The procedure will keep May from returning to the field this season, as Passan writes that May won’t be able to partake in any physical activity over the next two months as part of his recovery.

The esophageal tear didn’t occur due to any baseball-related activity, and Passan notes that “May sought medical attention for pain in his throat and stomach,” which eventually led to the surgery.  Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times (X link) writes that May felt a “sudden pain” while eating dinner earlier this week.

May had yet to pitch in 2024, as he was still rehabbing from a flexor tendon surgery that took place almost exactly a year ago.  Unfortunately, this latest injury occurred just as May was nearing a minor league rehab assignment, as he had already been taking part in bullpen sessions and other more advanced ramp-ups.  While he still would’ve required a lengthy minor league rehab stint to properly build up his arm, it was expected that May would be back at some point before the end of the season.  Returning as a reliever rather than as a starter, for instance, would’ve allowed May to get onto the mound a bit sooner, and he could’ve been a multi-inning relief weapon or an opener for Los Angeles during the playoffs — akin to his usage during the Dodgers’ championship run in 2020.

The 2024 campaign will now go down as a complete wash for May, and the unique nature of this esophageal surgery makes his latest recovery timeline uncertain.  Two months of shutdown from all physical activity will entirely reset May’s progress, so between the specific recovery process attached to this surgery and then a traditional ramp-up period, it isn’t clear if May will be ready for Opening Day 2025 or if he’ll yet another lengthy setback in his young career.

The former star prospect has a 3.10 ERA over 191 2/3 Major League innings from 2019-23, showing glimpses of the potential that made him a highly-touted prospect during his time in the L.A. farm system.  May started 10 of 12 regular-season games in 2020 before primarily working as a reliever to help the Dodgers win a ring that year, but a Tommy John surgery then limited him to 53 regular-season frames in 2021-22.  May threw 48 innings over nine starts in 2023 (with a 2.63 ERA) before the surgeries to fix both his flexor tendon and a Tommy John revision to address a Grade 2 UCL sprain.

While it seems as though May’s career has still yet to fully launch, he turns 27 in September and has only one year of arbitration eligibility remaining before entering free agency following the 2025 season.  It is too soon to write off May as a productive and effective pitcher going forward once he recovers from his latest procedure, though three major surgeries in a four-year span is certainly as ominous sign for a pitcher who seemed like he was going to be a cornerstone of the Dodgers rotation this decade.

In the short term, the Dodgers now know they won’t getting any 2024 help from one more of the 12 pitchers on their injured list.  The incredibly long list includes more than a rotation’s worth of possible starters, including Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw, and Walker Buehler.  All of that quartet are expected to return at some point in the second half, while May joins Emmet Sheehan and Tony Gonsolin in the season-ending injury group.  (Shohei Ohtani could be considered a 13th “pitcher” out of action, as while Ohtani continues to excel as a designated hitter, the two-way superstar won’t pitch this season as he recovers from his own elbow surgery last fall.)

Unsurprisingly, Los Angeles has been heavily linked to the starting pitching market as the trade deadline approaches, and it would be a surprise if the Dodgers didn’t land at least one extra arm to help solidify this injury-plagued rotation.  Losing May might not impact the Dodgers’ leverage all that much in trade talks since it wasn’t clear how May would be deployed or how much he’d pitch when he did return, yet rival teams are bound to try and score a big return to take advantage of Los Angeles’ obvious need for extra pitching.

Red Sox Outright Naoyuki Uwasawa

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TODAY: The Red Sox outrighted Uwasawa to Triple-A after he cleared waivers, according to Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe (X link).

JULY 9: The Red Sox have selected the contract of right-hander Trey Wingenter, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive on X. Wingenter was acquired from the Tigers on the weekend and had an assignment clause in his contract, meaning he needed to be added to the roster. To make room for him, the club has optioned left-hander Cam Booser and designated right-hander Naoyuki Uwasawa for assignment. They also optioned infielder/outfielder Enmanuel Valdéz and recalled infielder/outfielder Jamie Westbrook.

Uwasawa, 30, had spent his entire career with the Nippon Ham Fighters of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball until signing a minor league deal with the Rays over the winter. He wasn’t going to make the Rays’ roster out of camp but had an upward mobility clause in his deal, meaning he would have to be traded if any other club was willing to give him a spot. The Red Sox were interested and sent cash to the Rays to get a deal done, though they have largely kept Uwasawa on optional assignment.

The righty has made two appearances at the big league level this year, with one earned run allowed in four innings. He’s mostly been serving in a swing role at the Triple-A level, with fairly uninspiring results there. He has a 6.54 ERA in 42 2/3 innings over 13 appearances, including six starts. He only struck out 18.5% of opponents while giving out walks at a 12.3% clip. The club tried moving him to a relief role, with his six most recent appearances coming out of the bullpen, but without a significant improvement. He had a 6.32 ERA in his first seven appearances this year and a 7.15 ERA in the last six.

The Sox will now have a week to trade Uwasawa or pass him through waivers. Since the waiver process takes 48 hours, any potential deal would have to come together in the next five days. His results this year have been poor but teams could perhaps be interested based on his NPB track record. He tossed over 1,000 innings in that league with a 3.19 ERA before making the move to North American ball, though that came despite a fairly tepid 19.7% strikeout rate. The lack of velocity/strikeout stuff was the biggest knock on him before crossing the Pacific and those concerns seem to have been borne out so far.

Marlins To Give Jazz Chisholm Jr. Playing Time At Second Base

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Jazz Chisholm Jr. has been prominently floated in trade speculation as the deadline approaches, and some more fuel was added to that fire with today’s news that the Marlins will again be deploying Chisholm as a second baseman on at least a part-time basis.  Chisholm took some grounders at second prior to today’s game with the Reds, and manager Skip Schumaker told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jeff Wallner) that Chisholm was happy “to do whatever’s best for the team.”

The decision is about “trying to keep his bat in the lineup every day,” Schumaker said.  “Also trying to keep him playing every day for 160-plus games, which he’s never done.  So trying to get him DH days.  Maybe second base is a way to get him off his feet a little bit.  Because I think he could play that in his sleep.”

These are all valid baseball-related reasons for the position change, as Chisholm is coming off a pair of injury-shortened seasons.  Not only has Chisholm not reached the 160-game plateau, his 124 games in 2021 represent the highest total of his four Major League seasons.  He played in only 157 of a possible 324 games in 2022-23, but has thus far taken the field in 91 of Miami’s 94 contests in 2024.  Chisholm is no stranger to the keystone after playing mostly second base during his first three MLB seasons, but he has exclusively played center field (with a few DH days) since the Marlins decided to move him to outfield duty prior to the 2023 season.

As logical as Schumaker’s explanation is, moving Chisholm to second base could also be very easily viewed as Miami’s way of showcasing his versatility to potential trade partners in advance of July 30.  Chisholm’s center field work has been average at best, depending on the defensive metric of choice — Defensive Runs Saved (-14) and UZR/150 (-7) have both panned his glovework, while Chisholm has +4 Outs Above Average over his 1541 innings as a center fielder.  Over 1308 1/3 big league innings at second base, Chisholm has a +7 DRS and +8 OAA, though UZR/150 again has him below average with a -2.6 number.

While this resume as a second baseman doesn’t exactly reflect a level of “he could play that in his sleep” defensive performance, it seems logical to assume that Chisholm is a better defensive option as an infielder than as an outfielder going forward.  The ability to play center field on at least a passable basis obviously adds to Chisholm’s trade value, but it could be that some potential suitors eyeing Chisholm as primarily a second baseman wanted some evidence that he could still handle the position before meeting what is likely a big asking price in trade talks.

Chisholm is only in the first of three arbitration-eligible seasons, earning $2.625MM in 2024 and under team control through 2026.  Miami therefore isn’t under any crunch to move Chisholm by the deadline, and an argument could be made that waiting until at least this offseason to make a move might only help the Marlins’ chances at a premium return.  If Chisholm stays healthy, fully re-establishes himself as a second base candidate, and improves on his okay (103 wRC+, .251/.320/.410 in 388 PA) but not outstanding offensive production, he’ll still be a prime trade chip for the Marlins as they continue their latest roster overhaul.

Rockies Place Nolan Jones On 10-Day Injured List

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The Rockies announced that outfielder Nolan Jones has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a low back strain.  The placement is retroactive to July 12.  With right-hander Tanner Gordon also optioned to Triple-A yesterday, Colorado called up outfielder Sean Bouchard from Triple-A and right-hander Angel Chivilli from Double-A Hartford.

Since Jones was scratched from yesterday’s lineup, it isn’t a surprise to see him head to the IL with what appears to be a recurrence of the same back problem that has already taken a big chunk out of the outfielder’s season.  Jones missed over six weeks in his first IL stint and returned to action almost exactly a month ago.  While Jones’ numbers post-IL stint are better than his rough numbers in April before he was sidelined, he has still produced only a 64 wRC+ from a .202/.311/.313 slash line in 191 total plate appearances.

It has been a big dropoff from the .297/.389/.542 slash line Jones posted over 424 PA last season, as he also marked his first season in Colorado by hitting 20 homers and stealing 20 bases (from 24 attempts).  This production led to a fourth-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting for Jones, making him a bright spot in an otherwise rough season for the Rockies, and a potential building block for the future.

This year’s results don’t necessarily change that path since Jones’ back issues have clearly had some impact on his play, but obviously the Rox wanted to see Jones continue to build on his 2023 breakout.  There’s still time for Jones to return from the IL and have a big enough finish to at least end 2024 on a high note, and re-establish himself as less of a question mark heading into next season.

In other Rockies injury news, Kris Bryant is “highly likely” to start a minor league rehab assignment on Friday, manager Bud Black told Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post and other reporters.  Bryant hasn’t played since June 2, as a rib contusion and then an internal oblique strain are the latest health issues to arise during what has been a nightmarish run of injuries during Bryant’s two-plus seasons in Colorado.  After playing in only 42 games in 2022 and then 80 games last season, Bryant has been limited to 24 games this season due to his current IL placement and a previous IL trip due to a lower back strain.

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