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A.J. Pollock

NL Notes: Harper, D-Backs, Buchholz, Senzel, DeGrom

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As ever, there’s plenty of water-cooler chatter about the eventual destination of Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper, who — had you not heard? — is set to become a free agent at the end of the season. Particularly for fans of a Nats organization that is just weeks away from wrapping up a brutally disappointing campaign, it’s a subject of much attention. So eyebrows were raised recently at comments from Harper and, especially, club president of baseball ops/GM Mike Rizzo that could be interpreted as hinting at a reunion. In an appearance on MLB Network (Twitter link), Harper at least acknowledged a reunion is possible, saying that “it’s going to be an exciting future for the Nationals, and we’ll see if I’m in those plans.” Innocuous enough, to be sure, but perhaps the line could be interpreted as a wink toward contract talks. As for Rizzo, Chris Lingebach of 106.7 The Fan rounded things up. Those interested in parsing the words fully should click the link, but the key phrase at issue from Rizzo is his statement that he “won’t discuss [negotiations with Harper’s camp] until there’s something to announce.” Did the tight-lipped, hard-nosed GM tip his hand? It’s at most an arguable point.

From this vantage point, there’s enough here to make you think, but hardly a clear indication as to how Harper’s fascinating free agency will turn out. Here’s the latest from the National League:

  • The Diamondbacks had held a strong position in the postseason race for much of the season, but as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes, they’re now left hoping for a memorable late-season comeback to get in. “[B]reakdowns occurring in every facet of their game,” Piecoro writes, have spurred a ghastly 4-16 run that has reversed the team’s fortunes. Unfortunately, odds are that the Arizona club will head back to the drawing board at season’s end — while watching two significant players (A.J. Pollock and lefty Patrick Corbin) hit the open market. Still, it’s notable that the club has largely followed up on its successful 2017 campaign, as the thought in some quarters entering the year was that there wasn’t really enough talent to keep pace.
  • As is also covered in the above-linked piece, the D-Backs suffered an unwelcome blow in advance of tonight’s loss when they were forced to scratch righty Clay Buchholz. The veteran hurler has been an immense asset for Arizona, throwing 98 1/3 innings of 2.01 ERA ball since joining the club in mid-season as a minor-league signee. He’s now headed to Phoenix for testing, though the hope still seems to be that he’ll return this year. Regardless, it’s unfortunate news for the team but even more disappointing for the 34-year-old, who has dealt with plenty of health problems of late and will be reentering the open market at season’s end.
  • It has long been wondered what the Reds Baseball America points outwill do when they are ready to call up top prospect Nick Senzel, who’s blocked at his natural position of third base. We may be seeing the hints of an answer; as , Senzel is listed as an outfielder in the organization’s instructional league roster. That hardly guarantees anything, of course, but it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see Senzel — who’s opportunity for a late-2018 callup was taken by a finger injury — come into camp in 2019 looking to crack the roster in the corner outfield. Just how it’ll all play out, though, remains to be seen.
  • Speaking of top prospects … among his many notes today, Jon Heyman of Fancred writes that the Mets took a targeted approach to discussions with other teams regarding ace righty Jacob deGrom. As Heyman puts it, the New York organization “focused” on the handful of clubs it deemed to have assets worth haggling over. When those teams weren’t willing to give up their best young assets, talks sputtered. Heyman cites “the Blue Jays, Braves, Padres, Yankees, and perhaps to a lesser extent the Brewers” as clubs that were engaged. But the ultra-premium prospects and young MLB players in those organizations simply weren’t on offer. It’s hard to argue with the Mets’ rationale; deGrom reached a new level this season, after all, and certainly shouldn’t be parted with by a major-market club for less than a compelling return.

D-Backs Activate A.J. Pollock, Select Joey Krehbiel, Release Troy Scribner

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The Diamondbacks have announced a series of roster moves. Most notably, the club activated center fielder A.J. Pollock. Additionally, the organization selected the contract of righty Joey Krehbiel and released fellow right-hander Troy Scribner.

Those moves bring two addition players to the active roster. To make space, the Snakes have optioned infielder/outfielder Christian Walker and righty Silvino Bracho.

Pollock, who’s returning from a broken thumb, only played in two rehab games before his activation. Accordingly, manager Torey Lovullo says that the team will limit Pollock’s action somewhat as he gets back into the swing of things, as Jack Magruder of the Sports Xchange tweets. He’ll look to pick up where he left off to open the season. In his first forty games, Pollock posted an excellent .293/.349/.620 batting line.

The 25-year-old Krehbiel, a former 12th-round pick, receives his first shot at the majors. He earned his way up with a strong showing in his first full go at Triple-A. Over 36 2/3 innings this year, he carries a 2.45 ERA with 10.8 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9.

As for Scribner, today’s news makes for an unwelcome birthday surprise. The 27-year-old, an early-season waiver claimee, struggled in his lone MLB start this year. He has spent most of the season at Triple-A, pitching to a 5.11 ERA in 44 frames over eight starts. Though he has averaged exactly one strikeout per frame, along with a manageable 3.5 BB/9, Scribner has coughed up ten long balls in that span.

Diamondbacks To Activate Robbie Ray; Latest On Pollock, Souza

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The Diamondbacks have seen some positive developments in a variety of health situations. After activating Shelby Miller earlier today, the club decided it’ll also activate fellow starter Robbie Ray on Wednesday, as Zach Buchanan of The Athletic reports (Twitter links).

Ray, who is coming off of an outstanding 2017 season, hit the shelf with an oblique strain after six outings this year. He was due to make at least one more rehab start before returning, but evidently feels good enough to jump into the MLB rotation. As Buchanan notes, Ray’s pitch count will likely be limited a bit for at least his first start back.

There’s good news in the outfield, too. Steven Souza Jr. is set to begin a rehab assignment, though he’ll initially work only as a designated hitter as he is still building up his throwing ability. Souza’s pectoral injury has limited him to just 14 games this season, his first with Arizona.

Even more importantly, perhaps, center fielder A.J. Pollock has finally resumed baseball activities. Pollock has been sidelined since mid-May with a broken thumb, which has healed a bit more slowly than the team surely preferred. If he can avoid any setbacks, though, perhaps it won’t be too long before Pollock is able to provide a major boost to the Snakes’ lineup.

Despite these significant injuries, the Snakes have managed to keep winning games. After a lull, the club has bounced back and kept its edge in the NL West. The D-Backs will surely need all hands on deck to hold off the Dodgers and other division contenders over the second half of the season.

NL West Notes: Pollock, Miller, Hand, Kershaw, Cingrani

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Diamondbacks center fielder A.J. Pollock is not healing quite as quickly as might have been hoped, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports, though there has been some progress made. Given that he still hasn’t been cleared to swing, and will need some time on rehab assignment thereafter, it seems reasonable now to expect that Pollock won’t return until some time in early-to-mid-July. He’s set for a CT scan Monday. The slow progress, clearly, is not great news for the Snakes, though the club has halted an earlier slide in the standings. and played better baseball of late. They’re currently leading a resurgent Dodgers club by 1.5 games for the division lead.

Here’s more from Arizona and the rest of the NL West:

  • As Piecoro further covers (both in that article and on Twitter), it seems that D-backs righty Shelby Miller is nearly ready to be activated from the 60-day DL. He has managed only a 4.66 ERA in four rehab outings, but is carrying an excellent 28:6 K/B ratio over his 19 1/3 minor-league frames thus far. Miller isn’t listed as one of the four starting pitchers for the upcoming weekend series against the Pirates, however, and manager Torey Lovullo didn’t provide an update on what is next for the right-hander just yet. Fellow righty Matt Koch allowed at least five runs for the fourth time in seven starts last night, though, so logically speaking, the D-backs could bump him from the starting five to accommodate Miller’s return.
  • Much as we’ve heard in prior periods of trade interest, the Padres seem disinclined to offer up closer Brad Hand for less than a compelling return. Per MLB.com’s Jon Morosi, via Twitter, the “likely asking price” on Hand will be a “young everyday player.” Morosi gives the example of Rafael Devers, should the Red Sox come calling, but there’s no evident reason to read that as more than a hypothetical. If anything, it seems the report stands for the proposition that the Friars are not going to be particularly amenable to considering packages consisting of multiple, far-off prospects. We recently rated Hand as one of the top ten players to watch at the trade deadline, but noted that the San Diego organization has little reason to simply take what it can get for a player who is under affordable control for a few more seasons after signing an appealingly priced extension over the winter.
  • Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is slated to return after one single rehab start, manager Dave Roberts told reporters, including Ken Gurnick of MLB.com (via Twitter). There’s more uncertainty surrounding Kershaw than ever before, just as he prepares for an offseason decision as to whether to opt out of the $65MM guarantee left on his contract, as Tim Dierkes discussed in his latest version of MLBTR’s 2018-19 free agent power rankings. Whatever Kershaw ultimately decides — to head onto the open market, work something else out with the Dodgers, or simply not opt out — will be dictated in no small part by his health the rest of the way. His showing over the next few weeks will also have a major influence over the club’s deadline efforts.
  • Meanwhile, there’s less promising news on Dodgers lefty Tony Cingrani, also via Gurnick (on Twitter). Cingrani felt something in his shoulder last week and has had his rehab efforts slowed down for the time being. There’s no timetable on his return to the L.A. bullpen, creating even further uncertainty on the Dodgers’ pitching staff. Cingrani was lights-out for the Dodgers following a trade from the Reds last season, and while he’s been less effective thus far in 2018, his overall body of work since donning Dodger Blue has resulted in a 3.89 ERA and an impressive 64-to-12 K/BB ratio in 41 2/3 innings.

Injury Notes: Samardzija, Tigers, Pollock, Maeda, Mets

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Giants right-hander Jeff Samardzija exited Tuesday’s start after just one inning due to tightness in his right shoulder, writes Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. Any shoulder trouble for a pitcher, of course, is concerning to an extent, but Samardzija’s early exit comes with extra cause for worry given that his fastball was sitting at 91 mph on Tuesday, per Pavlovic. Samardzija’s velocity has been down, in general, early this season, but he’d previously averaged 92.4 mph. The injury to Samardzija is the latest blow to a Giants rotation that has yet to receive a single inning from Madison Bumgarner this season and also lost Johnny Cueto for an extended period earlier this month. In 35 2/3 innings this season, Samardzija has lumped to a 6.56 ERA with 6.6 K/9, 5.8 BB/9, 1.51 HR/9 and a 33.9 percent ground-ball rate.

Some more injury updates from around baseball…

  • Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire told reporters tonight that the team has placed left-handers Francisco Liriano and Daniel Stumpf on the disabled list due to a right hamstring strain and ulnar nerve irritation, respectively (Twitter links via Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press). It’s not clear exactly how long either is expected to miss, though the move will send one of the team’s top trade chips shelf (Liriano) while leaving Gardenhire without a left-handed option in the bullpen. Ryan Carpenter is coming up to join the team’s rotation for the time being, per MLB.com’s Jason Beck (on Twitter), while right-hander Johnny Barbato will be added to the bullpen.
  • A.J. Pollock’s fractured thumb has not yet fully healed, D-backs skipper Torey Lovullo told reporters (Twitter link via Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic). That didn’t come as a surprise to the organization, per Lovullo, who said that Pollock’s progress is “exactly where we thought it would be.” As Piecoro indicates, the latest update suggests that Pollock’s return won’t come on the short end of his originally projected timetable of four to eight weeks. The short end of that timeline would’ve lined up Pollock for a return in mid-June, but the eight-week timeline would extend his absence closer to the All-Star break.
  • The Dodgers pulled Kenta Maeda from tonight’s start in the second inning due to a right hip strain, tweets Alanna Rizzo of SportsNetLA. The Dodgers trainers checked on Maeda on two separate occasions in the second frame, and he was pulled on the trainer’s second trip to the mound. Los Angeles is already without Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill and Hyun-Jin Ryu, each of whom is on the disabled list, though Kershaw is likely to return this week. Maeda, who owns a 3.61 ERA and a 68-to-18 K/BB ratio in 52 1/3 frames this season, would represent another costly loss at a time when L.A. was hoping to see its rotation begin inching toward better health with the return of Kershaw.
  • Steven Matz exited tonight’s start with discomfort in his left middle finger, though the Mets said that x-rays have already ruled out a broken bone, per Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News. The injury occurred when swinging in his latest at-bat, and Matz is headed for an MRI for further evaluation, tweets Tim Britton of The Athletic. The Mets already lost Noah Syndergaard to the DL earlier today, so even a brief absence for Matz would be all the more problematic. On the plus side for the Mets, right-hander Anthony Swarzak made a rehab appearance in Triple-A Las Vegas tonight and threw a scoreless inning with two strikeouts and one hit allowed.

Shelby Miller Set For Rehab Assignment; Latest On Ray, Pollock

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Diamondbacks right Shelby Miller is set to embark upon a rehab assignment beginning tomorrow night, as MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert writes. That’s encouraging news for both player and team, as it suggests he’s now not all that far from returning to a MLB mound.

Miller, who’s about 13 months removed from Tommy John surgery, will be looking to reestablish himself in advance of his final season of arbitration eligibility. It’s not yet known exactly how many starts he will make in the minors. Presumably, that’ll be determined in no small part by how his elbow responds. The rules allow up to thirty days for a pitcher’s rehab assignment.

Last we saw him in the majors, Miller was giving reason to believe he could put his miserable 2016 season in the rearview mirror. He turned in three strong starts to open the ensuing campaign — including a fastball velocity boost (to 95.5 mph) and swinging-strike rebound (9.6%) — only to see the elbow problem arise and cut his season short.

The Arizona organization will hope that Miller can regain that momentum on the other side of his TJ rehab. There’s clearly some interesting upside; in 2015, Miller threw 205 1/3 innings of 3.02 ERA ball. Whether he has that kind of effort left in his 27-year-old right arm remains to be seen. Miller says he has “felt really good physically” but believes “there’s some room to work on some command stuff” as he prepares for his return to competitive action.

It’s notable, too, that lefty Robbie Ray has a notable date tomorrow. He’s due to have his injured oblique examined for progress. It’s even possible that he will throw a pen session if the imaging looks good. While we’ll obviously need to wait to see how the medical evaluation goes, it seems generally promising that these steps are even under contemplation at this point. Ray hit the DL about a month ago with what seemed to be a rather significant muscle injury.

The D-Backs undoubtedly miss Miller and Ray, particularly with the team presently enduring an extended slide. Every piece of talent helps, after all, even though run-prevention has been a notable strength to this point of the season. But the lagging offense is the real problem, and that’s an ongoing concern that won’t be addressed by the eventual return of those hurlers.

The player the Snakes miss most, surely, is center fielder A.J. Pollock. He’ll also be looked at tomorrow to see how his fractured thumb is healing. When that injury was announced, there was a fair bit of uncertainty in Pollock’s timeline, so the results will be of no little interest for a club that badly misses its most productive hitter through the first six weeks of the season. Pollock, too, is surely anxious to get back in action after missing so much time in recent seasons. Once he’s back, he’ll be looking to shore up his free-agent stock, which had been on the rise before he hit the DL.

Injury Notes: Anderson, Lamb, Giants, Shoemaker

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The A’s announced this morning that Brett Anderson has been placed on the 10-day DL with a left shoulder strain. Anderson was removed from yesterday’s game before the second inning even began. He’d had an ugly showing so far this season at the MLB level, pitching to a 7.63 ERA with just eight strikeouts across four starts. As Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle notes, it’s the 11th time in the 30-year-old lefty’s career that he’s gone on the disabled list. Anderson has only pitched more than 100 innings once in the past eight seasons; it was a 2015 campaign with the Dodgers in which he worked to a 3.69 ERA and 3.94 FIP. In a corresponding move, the A’s have recalled Ryan Dull, who was technically optioned to Triple-A Nashville yesterday but never left Toronto.

Other injury notes from around baseball…

  • Yesterday, the Diamondbacks officially announced the activation of slugging third baseman Jake Lamb from the disabled list. After hitting the 10-day DL with a sprained right AC joint and subsequently having his return delayed by elbow tendinitis, has finally completed a rehab assignment and is ready to return. It’s a welcome sight for the Diamondbacks, who recently lost team WAR leader A.J. Pollock to the DL. They’ll hope Lamb can repeat the 30-homer power he showed last year and help propel an offense that currently ranks 27th of 30 MLB teams with a wRC+ of just 83.
  • Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports provides a pair Giants injury updates via Twitter. Joe Panik is reportedly doing well in his recovery from left thumb surgery, and could begin a rehab assignment as soon as the end of this month. Meanwhile, Mac Williamson served as a DH in Triple-A last night. None of the rehabbing Giants, however, will be called upon at the major league level for at least another week, a group that includes rookie Alen Hanson and veteran outfielder Hunter Pence.
  • There’s still no real answer to the nerve issue in Matt Shoemaker’s forearm, according to Jeff Miller of the Los Angeles Times. The Angels right-hander reportedly visited a specialist in St. Louis earlier this week, and the next move in his recovery isn’t quite clear at this time. The oft-injured Shoemaker landed on the DL after just one start this season; he allowed three earned runs in 5 2/3 innings while striking out four.

A.J. Pollock Out Four To Eight Weeks With Fractured Thumb

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Diamondbacks center fielder A.J. Pollock has been diagnosed with an avulsion fracture of his left thumb, the Diamondbacks announced on Tuesday. He’s expected to miss between four and eight weeks, per manager Torey Lovullo. The injury will not require surgery, per FanRag’s Jack Magruder (Twitter link), and Pollock will wear a soft cast for the time being.

Pollock, a free agent at season’s end, was originally diagnosed with a sprain earlier today, though further testing revealed the fracture, it seems. He sustained the injury while diving for a ball in last night’s game. This specific type of fracture, per the Mayo Clinic, occurs when “a small chunk of bone attached to a tendon or ligament gets pulled away from the main part of the bone.”

Jarrod Dyson and Chris Owings can step in to handle some of the team’s work in center field, though obviously the loss of Pollock is a notable blow for a Diamondbacks club that leads the NL West by two games with a 24-17 record. It’s also a  substantial blow to Pollock, who’s been among the game’s best players early in the season and was doing a nice work in padding his free agent stock as the offseason approached. Through 160 plate appearances this season, he’s hitting .293/.349/.620 with 11 homers — just nine shy of his career-high despite the fact that we’re just a quarter of the way through the regular season. Pollock’s .620 slugging percentage leads all qualified hitters in the NL.

The D-backs haven’t yet announced a corresponding move for the clearly inevitable DL trip, though MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert tweeted earlier that first baseman/outfielder Christian Walker has a locker set up in the Diamondbacks’ clubhouse, so it seems that he’ll be added to the roster for tonight’s game with Pollock heading to the 10-day disabled list. The 27-year-old Walker went 2-for-15 in a brief stint with Arizona earlier this season and is hitting .286/.288/.521 through 52 PAs with Arizona’s Triple-A affiliate in Reno.

A.J. Pollock Diagnosed With Sprained Thumb

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Diamondbacks center fielder A.J. Pollock departed last night’s game following an ugly-looking arm injury suffered on a diving attempt at a catch. The preliminary diagnosis is a sprain of his left thumb, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.

While that sounds promising at first glance, it’s probably worth waiting to breathe a sigh of relief. Pollock still must undergo further examination, including a trip to a hand specialist today. And as Piecoro notes, the fact that this is initially being termed a sprain indicates the major concern may be with ligaments — potentially making this a fairly serious injury that could require a significant absence.

At this point, we just don’t know and the team likely does not either. As manager Torey Lovullo said late last night when asked about the possibility of losing the star center fielder, “I don’t even want to get there until we know what’s going on tomorrow.”

It has already been a rough go of late for the D-Backs, who have now dropped six straight games. Despite the skid, the Snakes are still pacing the NL West. But their ability to stay there will be affected greatly by Pollock’s ultimate absence.

To this point, Pollock has clearly been the Diamondbacks’ best player. He has played an excellent center field, run the bases well, and delivered an outstanding .293/.349/.620 output at the plate — with 11 homers and nine steals — to this point of the season. There’s no realistic hope of replacing that kind of productivity.

The injury is certainly also concerning from Pollock’s perspective. As I wrote recently, his big output had put him on track to secure a major payday in free agency. But health has long been the major concern with the 30-year-old. While this latest injury was the result of hard play rather than any evident susceptibility, it adds to a list of other past ailments and — if it turns out to be serious — will also reduce Pollock’s ability to show he’s in top form over a full season.

Diamondbacks Notes: Medlen, Pollock, Haren

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Kris Medlen will return to a Major League mound for the first time since 2016 when he starts for the D-backs tonight, but the former Braves star explains in an excellent interview with Zach Buchanan of The Athletic (subscription required) that he nearly quit pitching entirely and retired after a disappointing two-year run with the Royals.  Medlen hadn’t worked out at all in the 2016-17 offseason when his wife stumbled across a YouTube video from Brent Pourciau and Steven Guadagril of Top Velocity in which a follower had requested that they break down Medlen’s mechanics in the wake of his injuries. Pourciau went through a lengthy examination of how Medlen didn’t rely enough on his lower half, and the video led Medlen to head to Top Velocity for an in-person meeting, which sparked the beginning of his return to pro ball. Both Medlen and Pourciau chat with Buchanan about the struggles, both emotional and physical, that Medlen went through in battling back from his injuries. Medlen isn’t sure how long he’ll be asked to step in for the D-backs, though 32-year-old veteran expresses excitement and gratitude over merely being able to once again take the hill in a big league game.

More on the Diamondbacks…

  • A.J. Pollock is on the cusp of free agency and enjoying perhaps the finest start he’s ever had to a big league season, but Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic wonders if Arizona’s star center fielder is vaulting himself out of the team’s price range in the process. Piecoro points to recent $80MM and $108MM deals for Lorenzo Cain and Charlie Blackmon, respectively, in pointing out that a healthy Pollock will have plenty of earning capacity in free agency. He also quotes a pair of scouts on Pollock’s continual improvement at the plate and the fact that he projects to be a more than capable corner outfielder even if he has to move out of center later in a long-term free-agent deal. MLBTR’s Jeff Todd also recently profiled Pollock’s free agent stock, and he ranked ninth on the first edition of MLBTR’s monthly Free Agent Power Rankings.
  • In a separate piece, Piecoro also highlights Dan Haren’s role with the D-backs — that of team pitching strategist. Haren took the role prior to the 2017 season, and while the ever-modest former All-Star is loath to take too much credit for any of the team’s turn in fortunes, Piecoro notes that the club went from the National League’s worst rotation ERA in 2016 to second-best in 2017. They’re off to a strong start in 2018 as well, despite some early injuries. Zack Greinke, Zack Godley and catcher Jeff Mathis all speak highly to Piecoro of the data that Haren procures and presents to the staff. In addition to customized reports with advice on how to retire specific hitters, Haren discusses how he uses his experience from pitching with eight big league teams to blend the best practices for preparation and executing a game strategy in his new role. “I thought it would be cool to help – even if it’s one person who maybe struggled in their preparation in the past and it was holding them back,” Haren says of his role with the team. “I thought it would feel really good to be a part of helping someone along with their career. Even if it’s just a little bit. Little things can really turn someone’s career around. I wanted to be a part of something.”

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