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Orioles’ Jahmai Jones Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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The Orioles announced this afternoon that second baseman Jahmai Jones underwent Tommy John surgery (via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com). While the team didn’t provide a timetable for his recovery, it seems likely he’ll miss the remainder of this season and hope to be ready for next Spring Training.

It’ll go down as a lost season for Jones, who didn’t play in the majors. He tallied 112 plate appearances with Triple-A Norfolk, hitting .212/.339/.343 with two home runs and stolen bases apiece. Jones walked at a strong 11.9% clip while only striking out in 19.5% of his plate appearances, but he didn’t make much impact on contact. The right-handed hitter posted just a .131 ISO (slugging minus batting average) with a .257 average on balls in play.

Jones was more effective during a longer run with Norfolk last season. He came to the plate just under 300 times and hit .243/.337/.431 with 11 homers, earning a late-season big league call. The 24-year-old didn’t play well in his brief MLB action, but he seemed to have a good chance to get back to the majors with a solid showing this year. Unfortunately, the elbow procedure will prevent that from happening.

A former second-round pick, Jones broke into the professional ranks as one of the better prospects in the Angels’ farm system. Regarded as a possible bat-first second baseman and top-of-the-lineup presence, he appeared among Baseball America’s top 100 overall prospects entering the 2018 season. Jones started to struggle between High-A and Double-A that year, though, and his stock dipped. Los Angeles traded him to the Orioles over the 2020-21 offseason for starter Alex Cobb.

Jones will continue to occupy a spot on Baltimore’s 40-man roster so long as he’s on the minor league injured list. The O’s could clear a roster spot by recalling him and placing him on the 60-day IL, although doing so would require paying him at the prorated portion of the $700K MLB minimum salary. Baltimore could also release him entirely or merely keep him on the 40-man all season. This is Jones’ final minor league option year, so he’ll have to break camp with the team next season or be designated for assignment if he holds his place on the roster until then.

Reds Select Graham Ashcraft

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The Reds announced they’ve selected pitching prospect Graham Ashcraft onto the roster to make tonight’s start against the Giants. They also reinstated veteran lefty Ross Detwiler from bereavement leave, optioning corner infielder Colin Moran and reliever Jared Solomon to Triple-A Louisville in corresponding moves. To create space for Ashcraft on the 40-man roster, southpaw Justin Wilson has been transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

It’s the second time Ashcraft has been called to the majors, but he’ll be in line for a much longer stint this time around. The 24-year-old first came up as a designated COVID-19 substitute for a series in Toronto, as the Reds placed a handful of players on the restricted list due to their vaccination status. That designation allowed Cincinnati to send him back to the minor leagues and off the 40-man roster without passing through waivers after one start. Ashcraft worked 4 1/3 innings during his MLB debut, allowing two runs with a trio of strikeouts.

A sixth round selection in the 2019 draft, Ashcraft has been impressive enough in the minors to jump into Baseball America’s list of top Reds prospects, coming in at #30 last year and jumping all the way to #9 this year. Last year, he split his time between High-A and Double-A, throwing 111 combined innings with an even 3.00 ERA, 28.4% strikeout rate and 8.1% walk rate. He got bumped up to Triple-A this year and has thrown 32 2/3 frames so far with a 1.65 ERA. His 20% strikeout rate and 11.3% walk rate are actually not that impressive, though he’s succeeding thanks to an incredible 71.4% ground ball rate.

Connor Overton recently landed on the injured list, joining Mike Minor, Nick Lodolo and Justin Dunn as the Reds’ starters out of action. Minor is on rehab and is expected back soon, joining Luis Castillo, Tyler Mahle, Hunter Greene and Vladimir Gutierrez in the rotation. Despite that, it doesn’t seem like this is a mere spot start for Ashcraft, with manager David Bell telling reports (including Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer) that he’ll stick in the rotation going forward. That means that the club either plans on carrying a six-man rotation for a while, or someone else will be getting the bump.

As for Wilson, he was placed on the injured list April 27 due to soreness in his left elbow. With this transfer, he’ll be ineligible to return to the big league club until 60 days from that original placement, which would be late June. The lefty exercised a $2.3MM player option for this year, which was a part of the deal he originally signed with the Yankees. He’s only been able to throw 3 2/3 innings so far this year and will now be out for at least another month.

Mariners Select Roenis Elias

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The Mariners announced they’ve selected left-hander Roenis Elías onto the big league roster. Seattle had optioned reliever Drew Steckenrider to Triple-A Tacoma last night to clear a spot on the active roster. In order to open space on the 40-man, righty Riley O’Brien has been designated for assignment.

It’s the second time Elías has gotten a major league call, although this stint figures to be more lasting. The 33-year-old was brought up for a series in Toronto when a handful of Seattle players went on the restricted list because of their vaccination status. Elías was a designated COVID-19 substitute for that weekend, however, and he was removed from the 40-man roster and returned to Triple-A after a few days. He made one appearance, allowing a run on a hit and two walks in one inning.

Elías has otherwise spent the season in Tacoma, making 14 appearances. He’s worked 17 1/3 innings of 3.63 ERA ball, posting lower than average strikeout (17.6%) and walk (6.8%) marks. Elías has yet to allow a home run this year in spite of a fairly ordinary 44.6% ground-ball rate. He’ll offer manager Scott Servais a multi-inning arm out of the bullpen.

Steckenrider had been a key reliever for the M’s last season. An offseason minor league signee, the righty made the Opening Day roster and eventually pitched his way into high-leverage work. He wound up posting an even 2.00 ERA through 67 2/3 innings, an impact contributor to a bullpen that was among the reasons the M’s overperformed and won 90 games. Steckenrider’s below-average strikeout and grounder numbers suggested he wasn’t likely to be quite so dominant again, but he showed solid control and was generally reliable.

That hasn’t been the case in 2022, as his early performance has dipped more than anyone would’ve seen coming. Through 14 1/3 frames, he owns a 5.65 ERA. His already fringy 21.7% strikeout percentage has dropped to just 14.7%, and he’s surrendered a pair of homers. The M’s can only hope that a stint with the Rainiers can get Steckenrider more reasonably back on track, as Seattle has had one of the league’s least effective relief corps this year.

Seattle acquired O’Brien from the Reds in exchange for cash last month. The 27-year-old made just one big league appearance with his hometown club, spending the rest of his time on optional assignment to Tacoma. He’s allowed five runs in ten innings at the minors top level, striking out 14 but issuing 11 walks. O’Brien has worked exclusively in relief this year after starting 22 of his 23 outings with the Reds’ highest affiliate last season, where he pitched to a 4.55 ERA across 112 2/3 frames.

The Mariners will have a week to trade O’Brien or try to run him through outright waivers. The 27-year-old only has a pair of MLB appearances to his name. He’s had success missing bats at the Triple-A level but also dealt with some control concerns. O’Brien still has a couple minor league option years remaining and has already been traded twice in his career, so it’s certainly possible he changes hands again in the coming days.

Joe Ross Suffers Setback In Rehab From Elbow Injury

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Nationals starter Joe Ross left his first rehab start on Tuesday after just three innings, citing renewed elbow tightness. The righty went for an MRI on Wednesday he says revealed “more of a sprain” in an elbow ligament than had previously been believed (via Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com and Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post).

Ross will head for further testing before deciding on his next steps, but it seems likely he’ll at least be recalled from his rehab stint. It’s not clear whether surgery is on the table on this time, but it’s obviously an unfortunate development in light of his injury history. Ross underwent a Tommy John procedure in July 2017, and the recovery cost him almost all of the following season. He worked primarily out of the bullpen in 2019, then opted out of the 2020 season over COVID-19 concerns.

The former first-round pick returned to the rotation last year. He worked to a 4.17 ERA with solid strikeout and walk numbers through 108 innings before his season was cut short. Ross was diagnosed with a partial tear of the UCL in his elbow last August, and while he avoided another Tommy John procedure, he was shut down for the remainder of the season. He underwent surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow this spring and has been on the injured list all year.

Last season’s innings tally narrowly mark a career-high. The 29-year-old has been in the big leagues since 2015, but injuries have never allowed him to assume a typical starter’s workload over a six-month stretch. This season was never going to afford Ross that possibility after he started the year on the IL, but it now remains to be seen whether he’s in for another extended absence.

It’s an important year for Ross personally, as he’s on track for free agency this winter. He and the Nationals agreed to a $2.4MM salary to avoid arbitration, and he’ll hit the open market for the first time in his career a few months from now.

Cubs Notes: Hoerner, Payroll, Simmons, Madrigal

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After a 15-run loss at the hands of the Reds yesterday, the Cubs dropped into fourth place in the NL Central at 18-26. Chicago’s early performance hasn’t been too far off preseason expectations. After the Cubs watched much of their previous core depart, the 2022 season looked likely to be a transitional year.

Particularly as playoff contention becomes more far-fetched, it makes sense for the organization to use this year as an opportunity to evaluate potential members of the next competitive Cubs’ team. To that end, manager David Ross indicated this week that Nico Hoerner will be the primary shortstop throughout the season (link via Patrick Mooney of the Athletic). That’s in spite of the club’s offseason signing of Andrelton Simmons to a $4MM deal.

“Nico has proven that he can play big-league shortstop pretty consistently already in this season,” Ross said. “Let’s see what happens at the end of the year and assess there. It’s easy to say you can be a big-league shortstop long term, but you also have to do it. You have to prove it. … We’ll move them around a little bit, but Nico will be starting shortstop.”

It’s a sensible course for the organization, as the 25-year-old Hoerner is controllable for another three seasons via arbitration. A former first-round pick, the Stanford product has shown promise on both sides of the ball over the past couple years. Hoerner didn’t hit a single home run in 170 plate appearances last season, but he made contact at a plus rate and reached base at a strong .382 clip. He’s seen a dramatic dip in his walk and on-base numbers early in 2022, but he’s collected a trio of homers — his first since his 2019 rookie season. Hoerner owns a .292/.350/.392 slash line dating back to the start of the 2021 campaign.

Hoerner was a well-regarded prospect, but some evaluators questioned whether he’d eventually need to slide over to second base. He’s split his MLB time nearly evenly between the middle infield spots (with additional cameos at third base and in the outfield), and public defensive metrics have loved his work at both positions. Hoerner has never had a full season’s worth of reps of at shortstop, however, and the likely non-competitive 2022 campaign affords the Cubs an opportunity to give him that challenge.

The team’s evaluation is particularly meaningful when one considers the upcoming free agent class. Chicago elected not to make a major splash at shortstop last time, watching as Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, old friend Javier Báez and Trevor Story signed elsewhere. The Cubs, meanwhile, took lower-cost shots on Simmons and Jonathan Villar while turning things over to their internal options.

Next winter’s shortstop class may not be quite as strong, but there’ll be a handful of high-end players yet again. Correa can opt out of his deal with the Twins, while Xander Bogaerts is a near-lock to do the same on his contract with the Red Sox. Trea Turner will hit free agency for the first time, as will Dansby Swanson. The Cubs could be a viable suitor for any of that group, particularly if they’re willing to push payroll upwards to reopen a contention window.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post suggests the organization could do just that, writing that they’re “expected to spend again next winter.” That’s not to say the Cubs sat out this past offseason. They signed a staggering 12 players to big league free agent deals, but only Seiya Suzuki and Marcus Stroman commanded especially notable long-term investments. The bulk of the team’s moves were shorter, lower-risk additions on the margins of the roster.

The team’s long-term spending outlook leaves open the possibility for a more aggressive run at top-of-the-market talents a few months from now. According to Jason Martinez of Roster Resource, the Cubs have around $94MM in guaranteed commitments on the books for 2023. Ian Happ will be in line for a fairly significant arbitration salary — assuming he’s not traded this summer — but the team should otherwise have a fairly light class. That’d leave some room for additions even before reaching the approximate $145MM Opening Day player payrolls of the past two seasons, and the organization has spent north of $200MM on their rosters in the past.

Whether the Cubs dive into the top of the shortstop market could be determined by how Hoerner performs over the coming months. In the nearer term, Hoarder’s regular playing time means Simmons is set to take on an unfamiliar utility role. The 32-year-old has never played a big league inning outside of shortstop (aside from yesterday’s mop-up pitching performance), but Ross indicated he’s likely to see time at second base moving forward.

Simmons is generally regarded as the best defensive shortstop of his generation, and there’s little doubt he can handle second base with similar excellence. Yet he’s coming off a dismal offensive season with the Twins, and there probably won’t be room for him in the regular infield when the Cubs are at full strength. Patrick Wisdom is the primary third baseman, while Nick Madrigal is likely to play regularly at the keystone when he returns from the injured list.

Madrigal has been out for a couple weeks with a lower back issue, but the team announced that he’ll report to Triple-A Iowa for a rehab assignment this weekend (h/t to Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times). Acquired from the White Sox in last summer’s Craig Kimbrel swap, Madrigal has hit just .203/.250/.241 through his first 23 games with his new club. Nevertheless, the contact-oriented infielder is controllable through 2026 and a potential core piece, so he’ll surely be in the everyday lineup once healthy.

Matt Manning Shut Down From Rehab Assignment With Biceps Tendinitis

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The Tigers have pulled back Matt Manning from his minor league rehab stint after he was diagnosed with biceps tendinitis, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters last night (via Cody Stavenhagen of the Athletic and Jason Beck of MLB.com). Hinch didn’t provide a specific timetable for when the right-hander may again get back to the mound, but he noted it wouldn’t be for the “foreseeable future.”

Manning first landed on the injured list in mid-April due to shoulder inflammation. He went to Triple-A Toledo on May 8 to begin a rehab stint, seemingly positioning him to return by the end of the month. Manning was pulled early from a start with the Mud Hens last Thursday, but general manager Al Avila suggested afterwards that was unrelated to any arm soreness and instead because the 24-year-old felt light-headed.

The Tigers sent Manning back out with Toledo on Tuesday, suggesting they weren’t concerned about whatever caused his early departure last week. He made it through just 1 2/3 innings and issued a pair of walks — bringing his total to seven free passes in his last 7 2/3 Triple-A frames — before informing the team of his arm discomfort. After revealing the biceps issue, Manning now looks in line for a lengthy absence.

It’s the latest in a series of blows to the Detroit rotation, which has been decimated by injury. Of Detroit’s season-opening starting five, four — Manning, Casey Mize, Eduardo Rodríguez and Tyler Alexander — are on the IL. So is veteran Michael Pineda, who was expected to take Alexander’s spot at the back end after a few build-up outings in Toledo. Detroit entered the year knowing they’d be without Spencer Turnbull, who underwent Tommy John surgery last July and won’t be an option until the tail end of the season at the earliest.

That the Tigers still rank middle-of-the-pack with a 4.19 rotation ERA is fairly impressive — largely attributable to a breakout season from their lone healthy top starter, Tarik Skubal. Beyond Skubal, Detroit has been left turning things over to Alex Faedo, Beau Brieske and Elvin Rodríguez, while they’re in the process of stretching out Rony García from relief. That’s obviously not ideal, and when paired with an offense that has been largely ineffective, has led to a disappointing 16-28 start.

Manning, Mize and Skubal were each top prospects before they reached the big leagues, with the Tigers envisioning that trio anchoring their next contender. Mize had the best 2021 numbers of the group, while Skubal has emerged as one of the top arms in the American League this season. Manning has yet to have much success at the big league level. The 24-year-old posted a 5.80 ERA across 85 1/3 innings last year, and he’s been limited to two starts this season.

Hinch did offer a moderately encouraging update on Mize, who has also been down since mid-April with an elbow sprain. He’s hoping to begin a throwing program by next week (Stavenhagen link). Given that he hasn’t pitched in six weeks, the righty will certainly need some time to build up arm strength before heading out on a rehab stint of his own.

The timeline is clearer for top outfield prospect Riley Greene, whom Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press reports is set to begin a rehab assignment tonight with Low-A Lakeland. Viewed as a candidate to break camp with the club as the Opening Day center fielder, Greene instead suffered a foot fracture late in Spring Training. That has kept the former #5 overall pick on the injured list all season, but it seems he’s nearing a return. Greene has yet to make his big league debut, but Detroit’s sputtering lineup should afford him an opportunity fairly quickly after he works back into game shape.

Yankees Sign Matt Carpenter To Major League Contract

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The Yankees announced they’ve signed Matt Carpenter to a big league contract. The veteran infielder had been granted his release from a minor league deal with the Rangers a week ago. Carpenter is a client of SSG Baseball.

New York also announced they’ve selected left-hander Manny Bañuelos onto the big league roster. The Yankees had optioned outfielder Estevan Florial and left-hander JP Sears to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to clear two active roster spots last night.

Carpenter was one of the game’s best hitters for a good portion of his tenure with the Cardinals. He posted above-average offensive numbers each season from 2012-18, earning a trio of All-Star selections along the way. He earned a Silver Slugger award in 2013 and twice finished in the top ten of NL MVP balloting. As recently as 2018, Carpenter had posted an excellent .257/.374/.523 slash line with 36 home runs.

Things have gone sharply downhill over the past few years, however. As he hit his mid-30’s, the left-handed hitter experienced a dramatic decline. Going back to the start of the 2019 season, Carpenter owns just a .203/.325/.346 mark in a bit more than 900 plate appearances. He’s continued to draw walks at a robust 13.3% clip, but that’s essentially been the only positive in his offensive game. He’s fanned in 27.9% of his plate appearances, posted a below-average .143 ISO (slugging minus batting average) and hit only .270 on balls in play.

St. Louis bought Carpenter out at the end of last season, and he was limited to minor league offers over the winter. The 36-year-old was forthright about the necessity of reinventing himself at the plate, and he chronicled some changes he’d made with Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic in February. The former TCU star signed a non-roster pact with the Rangers shortly after the lockout, and he’s shown some signs of a turnaround.

Through 21 games with Triple-A Round Rock, Carpenter put up a .275/.379/.613 showing. He hit six homers while continuing to draw plenty of free passes. Perhaps most encouragingly, he trimmed his strikeout rate to a lower than average 21.1%. Texas didn’t feel he had a path to playing time on the big league club, but the Yankees will give him the opportunity to try to carry over his strong work in the minors against MLB pitching.

Carpenter started exclusively at first base for Round Rock, but he has plenty of experience both at second and third base in the majors. He figures to see some time at all three spots in the Bronx, offering manager Aaron Boone a left-handed bat off the bench. The Yankees have Anthony Rizzo at first base, but right-handed hitters Gleyber Torres, DJ LeMahieu and Josh Donaldson seeing action at the other positions.

LeMahieu hasn’t played in a couple days due to some left wrist discomfort, and designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton hit the injured list last night with ankle inflammation. Carpenter doesn’t have the defensive versatility of utilityman Marwin González, but he could offer a bit more punch at the plate. New York deployed Rougned Odor in a similar role last season.

As for Bañuelos, he’s back in the big leagues for the first time since 2019. The 31-year-old is set to make his first appearance in pinstripes, a debut many fans anticipated a decade ago when the southpaw was ranked among the Yankees’ top prospects. Unfortunately, he experienced some injury trouble on his way up the minor league ladder, and the Yankees dealt him to the Braves in advance of the 2015 season. Bañuelos made seven appearances with Atlanta as a rookie, then didn’t pitch in MLB again until a 16-game stint with the 2019 White Sox.

Between those two seasons, the Mexico native tossed 77 innings of 6.31 ERA ball. He spent a couple years out of affiliated ball, including a stint in Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League. Bañuelos returned stateside on a minor league deal with his original organization over the winter, and he’s earned his way back with a strong start in Scranton.

Over seven appearances (five starts) for the RailRiders, Bañuelos has a 2.35 ERA through 30 2/3 innings. He’s posted roughly average strikeout, walk and ground-ball marks and will presumably add a multi-inning arm to a bullpen mix that has lost Chad Green, Jonathan Loáisiga and Aroldis Chapman to injury recently.

The Yankees had two vacancies on their 40-man roster, so no additional move was necessary at the moment. Donaldson will require a 40-man spot whenever he’s ready to return from the COVID-19 injured list, however. Rob Brantly, recently designated for assignment, has cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Triple-A. The veteran has the right to refuse the assignment in favor of free agency, having been outrighted in the past.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Ildemaro Vargas Elects Free Agency

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May 26: The Cubs announced to reporters, including Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune, that Vargas has elected free agency.

May 25: Cubs infielder Ildemaro Vargas has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Iowa, the team informed reporters (including Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune). Chicago had designated the utilityman for assignment over the weekend.

Vargas signed a minor league deal with the Cubs over the winter. He opened the season in Iowa, hitting .279/.321/.413 through 25 games. Vargas didn’t walk much or hit for a ton of extra-base power, but he only punched out in 10.7% of his plate appearances. That earned him a big league call a couple weeks ago after Nick Madrigal was placed on the injured list. That marked Vargas’ sixth straight season logging some MLB time, although it proved another fairly short stint.

The switch-hitting infielder tallied 211 plate appearances with the Diamondbacks in 2019, but he’s otherwise tallied fewer than 100 trips to the dish in every season. He hit 26 times during his recent ten-game stint with the Cubs, drawing three walks against two strikeouts but collecting just one hit.

Vargas has been outrighted before in his career, so he has the right to refuse the assignment to Iowa in favor of minor league free agency. Should he choose to remain in the organization, he’d try to play his way back onto a big league roster that has welcomed back Andrelton Simmons and Nico Hoerner from the injured list within the past two weeks.

No Immediate Plans For Mitch Garver To Return To Catcher

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Two weeks ago, the Rangers placed catcher Mitch Garver on the 10-day injured list with a flexor sprain in his throwing forearm. That proved a minimal stay, as he was back on the roster in short order, but he’s not likely to return behind the dish any time soon.

Garver has worked exclusively as a designated hitter in the six games since returning from the IL, and he tells Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News he’s expecting to remain in the bat-only role for the time being. The organization doesn’t have plans for Garver to begin an imminent throwing program, and Grant suggests it’s possible the 31-year-old could be limited to DH or first base for the entire season. That’s not definitive, but in any event, it seems unlikely we’ll see Garver donning the tools of ignorance anytime soon.

Texas manager Chris Woodward has nevertheless penciled him into the lineup for all six games since his return from the IL. That’s a testament to his offensive productivity, particularly from a power perspective. Garver is only hitting .220 with a .298 on-base percentage, but he’s popped six home runs and a trio of doubles to post a .430 slugging percentage that’s well north of the .382 league mark. He’s shown no ill effects of the injury offensively, hitting three homers within the last week.

When the Rangers acquired Garver from the Twins for shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa over the offseason, they no doubt envisioned him as their primary catcher. That he’s only managed 14 starts behind the plate and won’t be able to get back imminently is a bit disappointing, but the blow has been softened by excellent starts from their other backstops.

Jonah Heim, acquired from the A’s last February in the Khris Davis — Elvis Andrus swap, has made a team-leading 23 starts at catcher. The 26-year-old is sporting an excellent .270/.356/.494 line, collecting five homers of his own. More importantly, Heim has more than doubled his walk rate relative to last season while slicing his strikeouts by more than five percentage points. After hitting .196/.239/.358 last season, the 26-year-old looks to have made strides from a plate discipline and power perspective. He probably won’t keep hitting at this pace, but he’s earned the opportunity to continue playing regularly.

Meanwhile, 24-year-old Sam Huff is up as Heim’s backup after hitting .260/.349/.575 in 19 games with Triple-A Round Rock. Huff only has 18 games of MLB experience under his belt, but he’s been regarded as one of the better prospects in the system for a while. Evaluators have long raved about his right-handed power potential, although he’s faced some questions about his receiving ability and lofty strikeout totals in the minor leagues.

While a Heim — Huff pairing isn’t the most proven group, there’s obvious upside with both players. Despite an active offseason, Texas is still using 2022 as primarily an evaluative season with an eye towards more earnest contention next year and beyond. They’ll welcome the opportunity to get younger players like Heim and Huff into the lineup so long as both are performing well, but Garver’s (at least immediate) move down the defensive spectrum will necessarily come at the expense of a few others.

As Grant covers in a second piece, that could mean fewer starts for Nathaniel Lowe and Andy Ibáñez, in particular. Lowe has been the team’s primary first baseman after a solid .264/.357/.415 showing last season. He’s not off to a good start, though, with just two homers and a .245/.300/.317 line through 150 trips to the plate. The left-handed hitting Lowe has made virtually zero impact from a power perspective, and he’s seen his walk rate fall as he’s gotten more aggressive. Huff got the start at first base against Angels left-hander Reid Detmers last night, and Grant suggests he could see more time there — particularly against southpaws.

“I still believe Nate Lowe is an everyday talent,” Woodward told reporters yesterday. “He just hasn’t performed the way we’ve [expected]. I’ve been really honest with all of our guys about that. I think it’s really important to set a standard there. When you aren’t performing and somebody else is, I have a responsibility to the team.”

With Garver commanding everyday reps at DH, Lowe’s only real path to playing time is at first base. Ibáñez’s ability to play third base and the corner outfield could afford him a bit more run, but he’s off to an even worse start at the plate. Through 107 plate appearances, Ibáñez is hitting just .180/.234/.230. Among 244 hitters with at least 100 plate appearances, only four have been less productive offensively by measure of wRC+. Woodward also expressed faith in Ibáñez’s ability to turn things around, but he’ll no doubt need to start performing better if he’s to hang onto his near-regular role.

Royals Sign Jose Briceno To Minor League Deal

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The Royals agreed to a minor league contract with catcher José Briceño, according to an announcement from the Atlantic League. The 29-year-old was assigned to Triple-A Omaha, where he made his team debut yesterday.

Briceño has spent more than a decade in pro ball since signing with the Rockies as an amateur out of Venezuela back in 2009. He was involved in a pair of trades as a prospect — first going from Colorado to the Braves for David Hale, then joining Andrelton Simmons in heading to the Angels for Sean Newcomb and Chris Ellis — before reaching the big leagues in 2018. Briceño picked up his most MLB experience that season, posting a .239/.299/.385 line in 128 plate appearances with the Halos.

Los Angeles released Briceño in 2019 but brought him back on a minor league deal. He appeared in two games for the big league club in 2020 but was outrighted back off the roster at the end of the season. He returned to his original organization last winter, signing a non-roster deal with Colorado. The Rox cut him loose after he scuffled to a .218/.261/.436 line in 33 games despite playing in one of pro ball’s most hitter-friendly environments in Albuquerque.

After being let go by Colorado, Briceño signed with the Atlantic League’s Lexington Legends. He mashed at a .333/.396/.680 clip there last summer, and while he’s been off to a slow start offensively this season, the Royals will add him to the organizational catching corps. Salvador Pérez and Cam Gallagher are both on the injured list, leaving MJ Melendez and Sebastian Rivero as the only two healthy backstops on the 40-man roster. That duo is in the majors, so Kansas City was in position to add some experienced upper minors depth behind the plate.

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