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Cubs Place 3 Relievers On COVID IL, Select Pedro Strop

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The Cubs have placed three members of their bullpen – right-handers Jason Adam, Brandon Workman and Dan Winkler – on the COVID-19 injured list, Robert Murray of FanSided was among those to report. The move came “out of abundance of caution” after bullpen coach Chris Young tested positive for COVID-19. To take the pitchers’ places, the Cubs recalled fellow hurlers Brad Wieck and Justin Steele, and they selected Pedro Strop’s contract, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com.

It’s unclear how much time Adam, Workman and Winkler will miss, but all three are quarantining away from the club, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. The Cubs have received a combined 11 1/3 innings from Adam, Workman and Winkler this season. Adam has been the most successful of the three, having given up one earned run and struck out seven hitters in 3 2/3 innings. Workman has surrendered three runs (two earned) over 3 2/3 frames, but he has totaled five strikeouts. Winkler has yielded one ER on two hits and struck out five across four innings, though he has succeeded despite walking a batter per nine.

The Cubs signed Strop to a minor league contract in the offseason, and the righty is now in line for his second MLB stint with the organization. Now 35 years old, Strop was highly effective for most of his prior Cubs tenure, which ran from 2013-19. He surpassed the 60-frame mark in three of those seasons and combined for 373 innings of 2.90 ERA ball. Strop temporarily left the Cubs to join the division-rival Reds in free agency entering the 2020 campaign, but he threw a mere 2 1/3 innings before Cincinnati designated him for assignment.

Angels Place Anthony Rendon On 10-Day IL

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The Angels have placed star third baseman Anthony Rendon on the 10-day injured list with a left groin strain, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. Rendon suffered the injury Saturday, and the Angels are hopeful he won’t miss more time than 10 days, according to manager Joe Maddon.

Rendon, a former National whom LA signed to a seven-year, $245MM contract before 2020, has been a smash success in an Angels uniform. He was one of the most valuable players in baseball last season, when he batted .286/.418/.497 (154 wRC+) with nine home runs in 232 plate appearances and tied for fifth in the majors in fWAR (2.7). Rendon hasn’t been that hot at the start of this season, but he has slashed a more-than-respectable .290/.378/.387 with a homer in 37 trips to the plate.

Along with placing Rendon on the IL, the Angels called up infielder Jack Mayfield, selected right-hander Ben Rowen and optioned righty Jaime Barria. Mayfield and Jose Rojas will help fill in for Rendon during his absence, while Rowen could see his first major league action since he debuted with the Brewers in 2016. The Angels signed the longtime farmhand to a minor league contract in the offseason.

Jonathan Hernandez Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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Rangers right-hander Jonathan Hernandez underwent Tommy John surgery on Monday, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. He won’t return to the mound until sometime in 2022. Meanwhile, fellow Rangers righty reliever Matt Bush will miss at least 12 weeks with a flexor strain.

It’s an unfortunate but not unexpected development for Hernandez, who has been on the shelf since March 9 with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow. The surgery will at least temporarily derail a promising career, as Hernandez established himself as a key part of the Texas bullpen last season. Thanks in part to a fastball that averaged about 98 mph, the 24-year-old Hernandez registered a 2.90 ERA/3.67 SIERA with a 24.8 percent strikeout rate and a 6.4 percent walk rate over 31 innings – by far the most of any Rangers reliever.

While Bush doesn’t need surgery at this point, it doesn’t mean he’ll avoid going under the knife, with Grant writing that the Rangers will re-evaluate him in six weeks. Bush has already undergone two Tommy John surgeries in the past, and another could be a fatal blow to the 35-year-old’s career. A No. 1 overall pick of the Padres in 2004 and an ex-infielder, Bush reinvented himself as a reliever and had a strong run with the Rangers from 2016-17. But Bush threw just 23 innings from 2018-20 – none during the latter two seasons – and only logged three innings this year before suffering another arm injury.

Rockies To Sign Chris Rusin

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Left-hander Chris Rusin has agreed to a minor league contract with the Rockies, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets.

This will be the second stint in the Colorado organization for the 34-year-old Rusin, who appeared in the majors with the Rockies in each season from 2015-19. During his best two-year stretch with the team, 2016-17, Rusin ate up 169 1/3 innings and recorded a stingy 3.19 ERA with a quality 6.1 percent walk rate and a similarly impressive 58.5 percent groundball mark.

Unfortunately, Rusin’s career has fallen off track since his halcyon days with the Rockies. He struggled to a 6.09 ERA over 54 1/3 frames in 2018 and then dealt with back problems in 2019, when he threw only one inning. Rusin latched on with the Braves last year, though he totaled just 3 1/3 innings and yielded three runs before they released him in September.

Also a former Cub, the 34-year-old Rusin owns a 4.65 ERA/4.10 SIERA with a 16.8 percent strikeout rate, a walk percentage of 7.6 and a 53.2 percent grounder rate in 468 2/3 big league innings.

Nationals Reinstate Three From COVID List; Designate Jonathan Lucroy For Assignment

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The Nationals announced a series of roster moves as they continue to bring players back from the COVID-19 list.  Josh Bell, Kyle Schwarber, and Josh Harrison are all back from COVID protocols and are active for today’s game.  Infielder Luis Garcia and outfielder Yadiel Hernandez were optioned to the alternate training site but will remain on the Nats’ taxi squad, while left-hander T.J. McFarland and righty Ryne Harper were sent to the alternate site.  As well, catcher Jonathan Lucroy was designated for assignment.

Jon Lester is the only player still on the COVID-related injury list, as the Nationals have just about all of their roster back following the coronavirus outbreak that forced the team to postpone its first four games of the season.  Washington hasn’t yet announced its lineup for tonight’s game with the Cardinals, but it’s probably safe to assume that at least one of Bell, Schwarber, or Harrison will be able to play, since the team would otherwise be rather shorthanded.

Lucroy was signed to a minor league deal on April 3 and he ended up appearing in five games with Washington (hitting .357/.357/.429 in 14 plate appearances).  The Nationals added Lucroy since their catching corps was also depleted by the COVID-19 outbreak, and the veteran could now potentially head elsewhere with at least a decent five-game audition under his belt for a future suitor.  As noted by MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman and other writers, Lucroy is very close to achieving 10 full years of Major League service time, and will continue to accumulate service days while designated.

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Royals Place Jesse Hahn On 10-Day Injured List

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The Royals have placed right-hander Jesse Hahn on the 10-day injured list due to right shoulder impingement syndrome, the team announced.  Righty Jake Newberry has been called up from the alternate site to take Hahn’s spot in the Kansas City bullpen.

It isn’t yet clear how long Hahn might be out of action, though manager Mike Matheny told reporters (including MLB.com’s Anne Rogers) that Hahn will miss “some time” with the injury.  According to Matheny, Hahn felt a shoulder issue while warming up for an appearance yesterday against the White Sox, though he didn’t tell team trainers or coaches about the problem until after the game.  Hahn was clearly affected by the injury — he issued a walk, a two-run homer to Adam Eaton, and then another walk before being removed from the game without a single batter retired.

Hahn is unfortunately no stranger to arm injuries, having undergone a Tommy John surgery and another UCL repair procedure already on his record.  Thanks to that latter surgery, he has pitched only 25 1/3 Major League innings pitched since being acquired by K.C. in January 2018.

Hahn posted an 0.52 ERA/3.93 SIERA over 17 1/3 innings in 2020, though benefited from quite a bit of batted-ball luck (an absurdly low .108 BABIP).  The Royals were counting on the 31-year-old to serve in a setup or high-leverage role this season, though Hahn had posted an 8.10 ERA and looked shaky over 3 1/3 innings even prior to Sunday’s disastrous outing.

Padres’ Adrian Morejon Placed On IL Due To Left Forearm Strain

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TODAY: Morejón has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left forearm strain.  The Padres recalled righty Nabil Crismatt from the alternate training site to take Morejon’s spot on the active roster.

APRIL 11: Adrián Morejón left his start against the Rangers this afternoon in the first inning. The young left-hander has a forearm/elbow strain in his throwing arm, the Padres later told reporters (including Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune).

That’s an ominous sounding diagnosis, as forearm strains are often a precursor to Tommy John surgery. There’s no indication at this point Morejón will need to undergo that (or any other) procedure, but it seems he’ll require an injured list stint at the very least. Morejón, who broke into the majors as a swingman over the past two years, began this season as San Diego’s fifth starter.

While Morejón has only managed a 6.03 ERA over his first 31.1 MLB innings, a deeper look shows plenty more promise. The former high-profile international signee has been one of the game’s top prospects over the last four years, entering the season as Baseball America’s #75 overall farmhand. While Morejón has given up far too many home runs in his brief big league time, he’s also demonstrated an ability to miss bats and command the strike zone. His 26.1% strikeout rate, 12% swinging strike rate and 5.8% walk percentage are all better than league average, no small feat for a player who just turned 22 years old.

Should Morejón miss time, the Friars could turn to a handful of other young arms in his rotation spot until Dinelson Lamet is ready to return from injury. Top prospect MacKenzie Gore is widely expected to debut at some point in 2021, while former top ten pick Ryan Weathers already made his MLB debut and has been working out of the bullpen this year. Jordan Humphreys, whom the Padres claimed off waivers last month, is among the other starting pitcher options on the 40-man roster.

Diamondbacks Sign Josh Reddick To Minor League Deal

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The Diamondbacks have signed outfielder Josh Reddick to a minors contract, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link).  Reddick will receive $750K in guaranteed salary if he makes the team’s Major League roster.

It was a quiet offseason for Reddick news, as there weren’t any publicly-known reports of teams interested in the 34-year-old’s services on the free agent market.  Reddick’s contract with the D’Backs could have been aided by a couple of personal connections — as Piecoro notes, both GM Mike Hazen and assistant GM Ariel Sawdaye were both working in the Red Sox organization when Reddick began his career in Boston.

A veteran of 12 big league seasons with the Red Sox, Athletics, Dodgers, and Astros, Reddick comes to Arizona on the heels of a four-year, $52MM free agent contract with Houston signed prior to the 2017 season.  Reddick arguably delivered on that commitment in the first season alone, hitting .314/.363/.484 over 540 PA to help the Astros capture the 2017 World Series title.

Over the last three years, however, Reddick has produced at a below-average (92 OPS+, 96 wRC+) pace, hitting .258/.318/.400 over 1247 PA.  He also became essentially a reverse-splits player, with his left-handed bat doing better against southpaws than against right-handed pitching.

Reddick will provide some outfield depth to a D’Backs team that is missing its best player in Ketel Marte, who is on the injured list with a strained hamstring.  Reddick could theoretically see a bit of center field action in a pinch, but is better served as a corner outfielder, though his right field defense took a big dropoff last season in the view of the Outs Above Average (-5), Defensive Runs Saved (-3) and UZR/150 (-22.3) metrics.  The Diamondbacks don’t have much in the way of experience among their backup outfield options, though like Reddick, Josh Rojas, Josh VanMeter, and Pavin Smith are all left-handed hitters.  (Corner outfield starters David Peralta and Kole Calhoun also swing from the left side of the plate.)

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/12/21

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The latest minor league moves from around the sport…

  • Rays catcher Joseph Odom has been outrighted to the team’s alternate training site.  Odom was designated for assignment last week and cleared waivers.  Tampa Bay signed Odom to a minor league deal in the offseason and the 29-year-old catcher has thus far appeared in two games for the Rays in 2021.  Odom made his big league debut with the Mariners last season, posting a .338 OPS over 44 plate appearances in 18 games with Seattle.

Rockies To Sign Ivan Nova

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The Rockies have agreed to a deal with right-hander Ivan Nova, FanSided’s Robert Murray reports (Twitter link).  It is presumably a minor league contract, which would be the second minors deal of the last three months for the veteran hurler.  Nova previously inked a minors pact with the Phillies last January but was granted a release at the end of March when he didn’t make Philadelphia’s Opening Day roster.

Nova signed a one-year, $1.5MM Major League deal with the Tigers prior to the 2020 season but ended up pitching only 19 innings (with an 8.53 ERA) due to right triceps tendinitis.  With the very notable exception of the Tommy John surgery that cut short both his 2014 and 2015 seasons, Nova has otherwise been a pretty durable pitcher throughout his 11-year career, averaging 174 innings per year from 2016-19 and also banking 335 2/3 frames with the Yankees in 2012-13.

Colorado doesn’t have much rotation depth in the minors, so Nova is by far the most experienced option available at the alternate training site.  How Nova might fare at Coors Field is an open question, as he has a 15.2% homer rate since the start of the 2012 season, though he does generate his share of ground balls (career 48.9% grounder rate) to make up for a lack of strikeouts.

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