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Drew Smith Undergoes UCL Reconstruction Surgery

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July 13: The Mets announced today that Smith underwent right elbow UCL reconstruction with internal brace augmentation yesterday. That leaves him set to miss not only the remainder of the 2024 season, but could also cost him the entire 2025 campaign as well.

July 8: Mets reliever Drew Smith will undergo season-ending elbow surgery on Friday, he tells Tim Healey of Newsday. The righty is still unsure whether he’ll need a complete Tommy John surgery or the slightly less significant internal brace procedure. It’s not uncommon for the surgeon to make that decision during the operation based on the extent of the ligament damage.

Smith landed on the injured list with an elbow sprain a few weeks ago. He admitted in late June that an initial evaluation determined that surgery was likely necessary. Smith went for a second opinion thereafter but evidently will not be able to avoid going under the knife. Even in the best case scenario where he “only” needs the internal brace procedure, he’s likely to miss around a calendar year. A full UCL reconstruction could cost him the entire 2025 season.

Smith has spent his whole major league career with the Mets. Initially drafted by the Rays in 2015, he was dealt to New York as a prospect for first baseman Lucas Duda. Smith made his MLB debut the following year. He pitched in 27 games as a rookie before undergoing Tommy John surgery that wiped out his 2019 campaign and limited him during the shortened year.

Over the past three and a half seasons, Smith has been a solid contributor in the middle to later innings. He turned in a 2.40 ERA through 41 1/3 innings in 2021. His ERA ticked up over the next couple seasons, but he missed more bats and logged a few more innings along the way. The 30-year-old righty had been out to a strong start this season, posting a 3.06 ERA with a 29.1% strikeout rate (narrowly the highest of his career) across 17 2/3 frames.

Smith is an impending free agent, so this could represent a tough end to his stint in Queens. It’s a particularly unfortunate time for what’ll be the second significant elbow procedure of his career. Smith’s early-season performance looked as if it’d position him for a strong two-year deal. The surgery could limit him to a slightly backloaded two-year offer at a much lower base salary, especially if he’ll need to miss all of next season.

White Sox Release Joe Barlow

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The White Sox released reliever Joe Barlow from his minor league contract, tweets James Fegan of Sox Machine. The right-hander had been pitching at Triple-A Charlotte.

Barlow has spent most of the year on the injured list. He wasn’t able to make his Triple-A debut until June 5. Barlow took the ball 12 times for Charlotte over the past five weeks. He was hit hard, serving up 14 runs across 11 2/3 innings. While he struck out 14 opponents, he also walked eight and was tagged for five home runs. That wasn’t going to get him a look even in a Chicago bullpen that has been one of the league’s worst.

While he hasn’t pitched in the majors this season, the 28-year-old Barlow logged big league time with the Rangers in each of the previous three years. He operated as Texas’ closer for a stretch between 2021-22 and combined for a 2.81 earned run average over 66 appearances during those two seasons. Barlow’s strikeout and walk rates were never as impressive as his ERA, yet it’s still a bit surprising how quickly his numbers trended down. He only made 13 appearances for Bruce Bochy last year and was designated for assignment after the Rangers brought in pitching help at the deadline. The Royals claimed Barlow but kept him in Triple-A and eventually waived him themselves.

Barlow hit minor league free agency last winter coming off a 5.52 ERA over 44 Triple-A frames. He’ll look for another minor league opportunity now that he’s back on the market.

Guardians Release Wes Parsons

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The Guardians released righty Wes Parsons, according to the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. Cleveland had a week to trade him or run him through waivers after they designated for assignment last Friday. That came as the corresponding 40-man roster move when Cleveland landed Spencer Howard in a minor trade with the Giants.

Parsons landed in Cleveland via DFA trade himself. The Blue Jays had taken him off their roster a couple weeks into the season before flipping him to the Guardians for international signing bonus space. Cleveland made a few such moves to try to stockpile rotation and/or long relief depth. Parsons didn’t wind up playing much of a role, as he pitched just twice in April. The 31-year-old tallied four scoreless innings with five strikeouts.

Cleveland otherwise kept Parsons on optional assignment to Triple-A Columbus. He tossed 25 2/3 innings across 12 appearances, five of which he started. Parsons turned in a 4.21 ERA while striking out an excellent 29.3% of opponents. Yet he also walked an untenable 17.1% of batters faced, the second straight season in which he’s struggled to throw strikes at the Triple-A level. Parsons has been on the temporarily inactive list for around a month and last pitched with Columbus on June 12.

Padres Activate Xander Bogaerts

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The Padres reinstated Xander Bogaerts from the 10-day injured list for tonight’s series opener against the Braves. San Diego also recalled Sean Reynolds for his MLB debut, a move that was first reported this afternoon. In corresponding moves, the Padres placed reliever Wandy Peralta on the 15-day IL (retroactive to July 10) with an adductor strain and optioned catcher Brett Sullivan.

Getting Bogaerts back is the most notable of tonight’s slate of moves. He has been out since late May after breaking his left shoulder. There was initially some thought that the four-time All-Star could be out of action into August. He made a fairly quick recovery, getting back to the big leagues in around seven weeks. Bogaerts made two rehab appearances in Low-A and appeared in four contests with Triple-A El Paso.

Skipper Mike Shildt penciled Bogaerts back in at second base and in the fifth spot in the batting order. The Padres will hope for much better production than he managed over the first six weeks of the season. Bogaerts was out to a .219/.265/.316 start in an even 200 plate appearances. That’d easily be the worst year of his career if he kept on that pace, but he’s only a year removed from a robust .285/.350/.440 showing.

After the Bogaerts injury, Jake Cronenworth slid over to second base. He’s back at first base tonight and figures to spend most of his time there moving forward. That’ll bump Luis Arraez back to designated hitter on most nights and chip into the playing time available to Donovan Solano. That’s not any reflection on his performance. Since the Friars selected Solano’s minor league deal on May 5, he’s hitting .286/.345/.398 through 177 plate appearances. The Colombia native has been an average or better hitter on a rate basis over the past six seasons with the Giants, Reds, Twins and Padres.

As for Peralta, he’ll miss at least the next couple weeks. The recipient of a surprising four-year guarantee last offseason, he owns a 4.50 ERA over 41 appearances. Peralta has a customarily strong 53.2% grounder percentage but has run into trouble when opponents managed to elevate the ball. He’s giving up home runs at a lofty 1.59 clip per nine innings.

Kevin Kiermaier Clears Waivers

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Kevin Kiermaier went unclaimed on waivers, the center fielder tells Hazel Mae and Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith (X link). GM Ross Atkins informed Kiermaier of the news today.

The Jays placed the defensive stalwart on waivers earlier in the week. The development was reported yesterday, but it’s likely Toronto made the move on Wednesday. (The waiver resolution process takes 48 hours.) The Jays were hoping that another team would place a claim and assume the approximate $4.5MM remaining on his $10.5MM salary. All 29 other teams passed on that opportunity.

As a result, the waiver saga will likely amount to nothing. The Jays could technically try to assign Kiermaier to the minor leagues now that he went unclaimed, but there’s no real reason to do so. Kiermaier has way more than the five years of service time necessary to decline a minor league assignment while retaining his entire salary. If the Jays tried to send him to Triple-A, the four-time Gold Glove winner would surely elect free agency instead. Toronto would still owe him his salary, so all that’d achieve is opening a roster spot.

Instead, the Blue Jays are likely to simply keep Kiermaier in the majors. A team does not need to send a player down after passing that player through waivers. (As an example, the Angels retained Tyler Anderson and Randal Grichuk last season after unsuccessfully trying to offload their salaries.) Kiermaier is likely to continue serving as Toronto’s primary center fielder.

The 34-year-old will try to right the ship amidst the worst offensive season of his career. Kiermaier is hitting .191/.238/.295 with a huge 32.2% strikeout rate through 189 plate appearances. Among hitters with 150+ trips, he has the sixth-lowest OBP and is 19th from the bottom in slugging. Even with his customarily excellent glovework, Kiermaier’s overall production is hovering around replacement level.

Between the lack of offense and the fairly significant salary, no team was willing to plug Kiermaier into center field. The Jays could still try to trade him between now and the July 30 deadline, though they’d clearly need to pay down a portion of his salary to facilitate a deal. For the time being, he’ll try to help Toronto salvage their season. The Jays head into tonight’s series opener in Arizona with a 43-50 record that has them 8.5 games back of the Red Sox for the American League’s last Wild Card spot.

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Nationals Place Nick Senzel On Release Waivers

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The Nationals announced this morning that they’ve placed Nick Senzel on unconditional release waivers. Any team that claims him would assume the remainder of his $2MM salary. It’s likelier he’ll go unclaimed and become a free agent.

Washington had five days to find a trade partner after designating the third baseman for assignment last Saturday. That didn’t come to fruition, making a release the likely outcome. Senzel entered the season with four years and 150 days of service time. He surpassed the five-year mark in April, thereby earning the right to decline any assignments to the minor leagues without forfeiting salary. Since Senzel would likely have elected free agency in lieu of an outright assignment to Triple-A, the Nats simply released him.

The Nationals took a flier on the former #2 overall pick last offseason. Senzel never developed into the offensive force that the Reds envisioned when they drafted him so highly. That’s in part because of injury, as the University of Tennessee product missed time because of knee and toe issues. Even when healthy, Senzel turned in middling offensive numbers. He combined for a .239/.302/.368 line in nearly 1400 plate appearances with Cincinnati.

The Reds opted not to tender him an arbitration contract. The Nationals, still at the tail end of their rebuild, guaranteed him $2MM in hopes that a change of scenery could unlock some of the upside he showed in college and in the minors. The Nats also committed to moving Senzel back to his natural third base position after the Reds had bounced him around the diamond in recent years.

Senzel continued to struggle in his new home. He opened the season on the injured list after breaking his thumb in Spring Training. Senzel returned in mid-April and blasted five home runs over his first couple weeks of the season. His production tailed off almost immediately thereafter. Since the start of May, he’s hitting .207/.309/.299 in 188 plate appearances. That wasn’t going to translate to any kind of trade interest.

Washington is giving rookie Trey Lipscomb an audition at third base after moving on from Senzel. The 24-year-old has struggled to a .228/.293/.257 slash line over his first 43 MLB contests. The Nats have dropped 10 games under .500 and are quickly falling from the Wild Card race, though, so they’ve taken the past couple weeks to get looks at younger players. Washington also released Eddie Rosario in conjunction with the promotion of top outfield prospect James Wood.

Once he clears release waivers, Senzel might need to take a minor league contract. If he secures a spot on the MLB roster with another team, that club would only owe him the prorated portion of the $740K minimum for time spent in the majors. The Nationals remain on the hook for the rest of his salary.

Rockies Outright Dakota Hudson

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Rockies starter Dakota Hudson was outrighted to Triple-A Albuquerque after clearing waivers, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com (X link). Hudson has the right to elect free agency while retaining his $1.5MM base salary, but Harding suggests the right-hander is likely to report to Albuquerque.

Hudson signed a one-year free agent deal with Colorado after being non-tendered by the Cardinals. Colorado gave him 17 turns through the rotation, but Hudson didn’t manage particularly strong results. He posted a 5.84 earned run average with nearly as many walks as strikeouts. The sinkerballer induced ground-balls at a solid 52.4% clip, but the lack of missed bats didn’t play well at Coors Field.

A former supplemental first-round pick, Hudson had some productive years early in his career with St. Louis. His velocity has trended down over the past few seasons. His sinker is averaging a career-low 90.3 MPH this year. That squeezed Hudson off the roster and likely back to the minors. The Rox could field trade offers on Cal Quantrill and Austin Gomber, potentially opening a rotation spot or two after the deadline.

Yankees Have Discussed Jazz Chisholm

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The Yankees have had some discussions regarding Jazz Chisholm Jr., writes Jon Heyman of the New York Post. It’s not clear how serious New York’s interest is or whether they’ve been in contact with Miami’s front office.

Chisholm will be the subject of ample trade chatter over the next three weeks. Craig Mish of the Miami Herald wrote earlier in the week that there’s increased belief around the industry that he’ll be dealt. The Marlins probably won’t take many players off the table as they continue the rebuild they truly commenced with the Luis Arraez trade at the start of May. Thanks to a brutal series of injuries that has decimated their rotation, Chisholm is probably Miami’s most valuable deadline trade chip.

[Related: Top 50 Trade Candidates]

The lefty-hitting Chisholm connected on his 12th homer of the season in today’s loss to the Astros. He’s carrying a slightly above-average .255/.324/.419 slash line through 377 plate appearances. Chisholm has stolen 18 bases but been thrown out on eight occasions. He’s walking at an average 8.5% clip while striking out just over a quarter of the time.

It might not be dominant production, but Chisholm at least looks like a solid everyday player. Some teams could still view him as an upside play at age 26. Chisholm was a staple on top prospect lists thanks to his evident combination of athleticism and raw power potential. He’s shown glimpses of that ceiling at the big league level — most notably during an All-Star 2022 season in which he hit .254/.324/.535 over his first 60 games. Chisholm’s seeming breakout year was cut short by a stress fracture in his back. He has been a good but not elite player over the past season and a half, hitting .253/.314/.436 with 30 longballs and 40 steals over 755 plate appearances.

That more recent stretch has coincided with a position change. Chisholm was a middle infield prospect who broke into the majors as a primary second baseman. The Marlins moved him to center field when they acquired Arraez going into ’23. Defensive metrics are mixed on his outfield work. Defensive Runs Saved has rated Chisholm 14 runs below average in more than 1500 center field innings. Statcast has him as a neutral defender.

While the Yankees don’t necessarily need outfield help, they should be looking for ways to deepen the lineup. New York has Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo in the corner positions. Aaron Judge has played mostly designated hitter since Giancarlo Stanton landed on the injured list, drawing Trent Grisham into the lineup in center field. Playing Grisham regularly isn’t ideal, but Stanton could be back around the deadline (thereby pushing Judge back to center).

Miami hasn’t played Chisholm for a single inning on the infield dirt since 2022. Manager Skip Schumaker flatly shot down the idea of getting him infield reps after the Fish designated Tim Anderson for assignment at the start of July (X link via Isaac Azout of Fish on First). Other teams may be more willing to rotate Chisholm into the middle infield, at least on occasion. Heyman suggests that if the Yankees were to make a serious run at Chisholm, it’d likely be with an eye to the infield. Neither Gleyber Torres nor DJ LeMahieu have gotten things going offensively, leaving the Yankees without much production from second or third base.

Chisholm is under team control for two and a half seasons, so Miami should net a significant return if they do move him. He’s making just $2.625MM this year, a little less than half of which has yet to be paid.

Rockies Listening To Trade Offers On Elias Diaz

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The Rockies will consider trade offers on catcher Elias Díaz over the next few weeks, writes Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The veteran should slot in behind Danny Jansen as a rental target for contenders seeking catching help.

Impending free agents on last-place teams are frequently trade candidates. Díaz fits the bill, but the Rockies haven’t always been eager to trade rentals even after falling out of contention. Colorado held Trevor Story and Jon Gray at the deadline three years ago. They extended Daniel Bard rather than trading him at the 2022 deadline. The Rox were more aggressive in moving rentals last year, although they still held onto lefty reliever Brent Suter only to watch him walk in free agency.

It’s less likely they’ll do so with Díaz. Heyman reports that the team declined to engage in extension discussions with the 33-year-old catcher. If Colorado isn’t interested in keeping him beyond this season, they’re better off taking the best offer on the table by July 30. Díaz isn’t a qualifying offer candidate, so they wouldn’t get any compensation if they let him depart via free agency.

While the return wouldn’t be huge, Díaz has probably played well enough to net Colorado a mid-level prospect or two. He has career marks in batting average (.296) and on-base percentage (.340). Díaz’s overall .296/.340/.417 batting line is around league average after accounting for Coors Field, as measured by wRC+. That’s more than adequate for a catcher.

An acquiring team probably wouldn’t expect Díaz to match that level of production down the stretch. He’s hitting .347 on balls in play, a mark he’ll have a tough time maintaining. Díaz doesn’t hit the ball especially hard and isn’t going to beat out many infield hits. There’s room for regression while remaining a passable hitter at the position. Catchers around the league are hitting .236/.300/.381 this season.

Perhaps more importantly, Díaz has dramatically improved his defensive grades. For most of his career, the Venezuela native has rated as a subpar pitch framer. That’s not the case in 2024, as Statcast has lauded his receiving skills in more than 400 innings. Díaz has always had a strong arm and been very effective at controlling the running game. He’s doing so again, cutting down 14 of 45 stolen base attempts (31.1%). That’s well better than the 22.1% league average.

Díaz is in the final season of a three-year extension that he signed during the 2021-22 offseason. He’s playing on a $6MM salary. There’s a little less than $2.6MM remaining on that tab. That’ll be down to around $2MM by the deadline. Díaz’s contract shouldn’t be too much of an impediment to a trade. Some teams are reluctant to trade for catchers midseason because of the challenges of quickly adjusting to a new pitching staff, but Díaz could work as part of a timeshare with an in-house catcher.

The Cubs and Rays are fringe contenders but could look for catching help if they stick in the playoff mix. Díaz’s former team in Pittsburgh hasn’t gotten much from the position, while the Mariners may look for a better backup behind Cal Raleigh to keep Mitch Garver working primarily at designated hitter.

Díaz and Jacob Stallings are the only true catchers on Colorado’s 40-man roster (though Hunter Goodman can play there in a pinch). They’re each impending free agents, and Stallings has also played well enough to be viable trade candidate.

A trade of one or both veterans could open some late-season reps for Drew Romo. The 35th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Romo is hitting .300/.331/.494 in 66 games with Albuquerque. Colorado will need to select his contract by November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. They could take the final few weeks of the regular season to give the 22-year-old his first look against MLB arms.

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