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Red Sox Place Brayan Bello On Injured List, Activate Matt Barnes

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The Red Sox have placed right-hander Brayan Bello on the 15-day injured list due to a left groin strain. Boston also optioned righty Kaleb Ort to Triple-A Worcester, with recently-acquired first baseman Eric Hosmer and relievers Matt Barnes and Darwinzon Hernández taking the active roster spots. Barnes is back from the 60-day injured list. He takes the 40-man roster spot of Jackie Bradley Jr., who was released this morning.

Bello left yesterday’s outing against the Astros after suffering the groin issue. The strain is apparently significant enough to keep him out of action for at least a couple weeks, thinning Boston’s rotation depth. One of the club’s top pitching prospects, Bello has made his first five MLB appearances (three starts) this season. He’s been tagged for an 8.47 ERA through 17 innings, but he’s averaging north of 97 MPH on his heater and has induced ground-balls at a huge 65.5% clip.

The Sox have been forced to lean on Bello a bit in recent weeks, as they were concurrently without Chris Sale, Nathan Eovaldi, Rich Hill and Michael Wacha due to injury. Sale will be out for a while due to a finger fracture, but the Sox recently welcomed back Eovaldi and Hill. Wacha is set to toss a four-inning rehab start today, as Chris Cotillo of MassLive relayed yesterday (Twitter link). That suggests he’s likely to be back with the big league club relatively soon, perhaps next week.

Barnes has been out since the end of May with inflammation in his throwing shoulder. The two-month absence capped what had been an awful start to the season for the veteran righty, who has struggled since signing a two-year contract extension last July. He owns a 7.94 ERA across 17 innings on the season, striking out a personal-worst 17.3% of opponents against an untenable 14.8% walk rate. It’s possible the shoulder soreness played a role in that production, however. Manager Alex Cora figures to work Barnes back in lower-leverage situations, but he’s only a year removed from functioning as a key late-game option. Getting Barnes anywhere close to his previous level would be a key boost for a Boston team that ranks 24th in bullpen ERA (4.21).

Rangers Designate Steven Duggar, Steele Walker For Assignment

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The Rangers have designated outfielders Steven Duggar and Steele Walker for assignment, per a club announcement. The moves clears space on the 40-man roster for Cole Ragans and Bubba Thompson, whose promotions have each been previously reported. To open space on the active roster, Texas placed outfielder Kole Calhoun on the 10-day injured list and reliever Dennis Santana on the 15-day IL.

Duggar spent a bit more than a month on the Texas roster. Acquired from the Giants in late June in a one-for-one swap with Willie Calhoun, the lefty-hitting outfielder appeared in only eight MLB games with the Rangers. He collected three hits (all singles), with 12 strikeouts and two walks in 19 plate appearances. Duggar spent 11 contests with Triple-A Round Rock, hitting .184/.360/.316.

The 28-year-old hasn’t played much this season, as he lost a good chunk of the year to a severe oblique strain. He’s combined for just 20 big league games between San Francisco and Texas, an unfortunate follow-up to a 2021 season that saw him log a career-high body of work. Duggar appeared in 107 games and picked up 297 trips to the plate last year, hitting .257/.330/.437 with eight home runs and seven stolen bases. Paired with strong center field defense, that made him a valuable contributor to the 107-win Giants club, but he struck out at a near-30% clip along the way.

Swing-and-miss has been an issue for Duggar throughout his career, as he’s fanned in 30.2% of his 824 trips to the dish at the big league level. He’s a career .240/.296/.373 hitter. That’s obviously underwhelming production, but Duggar’s only making a hair above the league minimum salary and is a strong defender at all three spots on the grass. That could draw him some attention from rival clubs, who’ll have an opportunity to add him for minimal cost in the next few days. With the trade deadline passed, Texas has no choice but to place Duggar on waivers. If another team were to claim him, they could stash him in Triple-A for the remainder of this season — his final minor league option year.

Walker was acquired from the White Sox while he was a prospect over the 2019-20 offseason, heading over in the trade that sent Nomar Mazara to Chicago’s South Side. The former second-round pick has spent the bulk of his time in the organization in the upper minors, although he did earn a cup of coffee at the big league level in June. Walker was selected onto the MLB roster and appeared in five games, collecting one hit (a home run off Cal Quantrill) through 16 plate appearances.

The 26-year-old has otherwise spent the year in Round Rock, hitting .277/.353/.435 in 215 trips to the plate. He’s connected on seven homers and is only striking out at a 16.3% rate there while splitting his time between the corner outfield spots. Like Duggar, Walker will hit the waiver wire in the next few days. He’s only in his first option year, so a claiming team could keep him in the upper minors for the foreseeable future if willing to give him a 40-man roster spot.

Kole Calhoun, signed to a $5.2MM over the offseason, has struggled during his time in Arlington. The veteran corner outfielder has hit 11 longballs but is hitting only .211 with a .269 on-base percentage. He’s now dealing with right heel irritation and will miss at least a week and a half. Calhoun’s contract contains a $5.5MM club option for next season, but the Rangers figure to give additional reps to younger players like the newly-promoted Thompson down the stretch before declining Calhoun’s option.

Santana has a left ankle sprain, so he’ll miss a couple weeks at minimum. The hard-throwing righty owns a 5.09 ERA through 40 2/3 innings on the season, but he’s inducing ground-balls at a strong 51.6% clip.

Royals Select Nate Eaton

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The Royals have selected Nate Eaton onto the big league roster, per a club announcement. Maikel García was optioned to Triple-A Omaha to open an active roster spot, while the team transferred outfielder Edward Olivares from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list to create a spot on the 40-man roster.

Eaton is up for the second time this season, although this promotion should be more lasting than his previous stint. The 25-year-old was called up as one of a swath of virus substitutes during the Royals road series in Toronto. He collected two hits (including his first MLB home run) in 12 at-bats. As a designated substitute, he was returned to the minors without occupying a 40-man roster spot at the end of the series.

This time, Eaton’s promotion involves the more typical contract selection. He’d now have to pass through waivers for Kansas City to remove him from the 40-man, although it’s likely the retooling club will give him a decent leash for the stretch run. The former 21st-rounder is having a breakout year in the upper minors. He started the season relatively slowly, hitting .271/.331/.400 through 37 games at Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He nevertheless received a bump to Triple-A Omaha at the end of May, and he’s taken to the minors highest level well. Through 209 plate appearances there, Eaton is hitting .303/.373/.524 with nine home runs and stolen bases apiece.

Eaton would’ve been eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter, and Kansas City will give him a 40-man spot a couple months early to get a look at him down the stretch. He’s played primarily third base and right field in the minors, with brief stints in left and center field. That bit of defensive flexibility should give manager Mike Matheny a few possibilities to get his bat into the lineup.

Olivares just landed on the IL a few weeks ago with a left quad strain. It’s evidently a severe injury, as the Royals rather quickly ruled him out for a couple months. He’ll be eligible to return 60 days from the time of his original placement on July 22, but even a best-case scenario would see him log around more weeks of action this year. The righty-hitting outfielder has had a nice showing in 36 games this season, hitting .303/.358/.434 with a trio of longballs.

Marlins To Select Peyton Burdick, Option Jesus Sanchez

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The Marlins plan to select outfielder Peyton Burdick onto the major league roster before tomorrow afternoon’s contest with the Cubs, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid (Twitter links). Outfielder Jesús Sánchez will be optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville in a corresponding transaction, Mish adds. Miami already has a vacancy on the 40-man roster, as Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald points out (on Twitter).

Burdick was the Marlins’ third-round pick in 2019 coming out of Wright State University. The right-handed hitter draws praise from evaluators for his strength and raw power that is at least plus (a 60 on the 20-80 scale), although that’s been paired with a fair amount of swing-and-miss. There’s no question he’s performed since entering the professional ranks, though, as Burdick has hit at a well above-average rate at every minor league stop.

He tore up Low-A to close out his draft year, then was bumped to Double-A in 2021 on the heels of the 2020 minor league cancellation. He hit 23 homers there to earn a late-season bump to Jacksonville, where he’s spent the entire 2022 campaign. Burdick, whom Baseball America recently named the #8 prospect in the Miami farm system, owns a .229/.344/.430 line with 14 homers in 385 plate appearances with the Jumbo Shrimp. He’s striking out at a slightly elevated 25.7% clip, but he’s also hitting for power and walking at a robust enough rate (13%) to compensate for the relatively low batting average.

Burdick has played all three outfield spots in Jacksonville, with the majority of his time (328 innings) coming in center field. BA suggests his average speed makes him a cleaner fit in a corner at the MLB level, and Sánchez’s corresponding demotion likely opens up left field playing time for Burdick. Miami placed right fielder Avisaíl García on the injured list yesterday, leaving that corner primarily to Bryan De La Cruz of late with rookie JJ Bleday manning center field.

Manager Don Mattingly has continued to give Sánchez continued run in left field, but the recent results have been subpar. A former top prospect, the 24-year-old Sánchez looked as if he were beginning to make good on that status early in the season. Through the end of April, he carried a .282/.346/.493 line across 78 plate appearances. That came with alarming strikeout and walk numbers that hinted at some forthcoming regression, but one would’ve been hard-pressed to envision the lefty-hitting outfielder’s performance crashing as hard as it has.

Since the calendar flipped to May, Sánchez is hitting only .181/.247/.354. He’s been plagued by a woeful .206 batting average on balls in play over that stretch, but he’s also become increasingly pull-happy — particularly on ground-balls. Opposing teams have responded by shifting against Sánchez in nearly all of his trips, and he’s not managed to find his footing. Over the past month, he owns a .176/.291/.279 line through 79 plate appearances.

Marlins general manager Kim Ng and her staff have evidently decided it time for Sánchez to try to reset in Triple-A. It’ll be his first minor league action of the season. If he spends more than 20 days in the minors, he’ll exhaust his third and final option year. That’d mean the Fish have to permanently carry him on the active roster (or injured list) from the start of the 2023 season if they don’t want to designate him for assignment and make him available to other teams.

Rangers To Select Bubba Thompson

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The Rangers are selecting outfielder Bubba Thompson onto the big league roster before tonight’s contest against the White Sox, reports Jeff Wilson (Twitter link). Texas will need to create a pair of 40-man roster spots this evening, with Thompson joining the previously-reported Cole Ragans in reporting to the team for his big league debut.

It’s the long-awaited MLB arrival for Thompson, whom the Rangers drafted in the first round five years ago. A toolsy center fielder with an enviable power-speed combination, the Alabama native was regarded as one of the better prospects in the Texas system for a few seasons. Thompson struggled significantly with strikeouts, though, and his progression up the minor league ladder has been relatively slow. He didn’t advance past High-A in his first two-plus seasons as a professional, and the canceled minor league season in 2020 kept him from reaching the upper minors until last year.

To Thompson’s credit, his two years against upper level pitching have arguably been the best of his career. He hit .275/.325/.483 with 16 homers and 25 steals at Double-A Frisco last year. Texas nevertheless left him off the 40-man roster and would’ve exposed him to the Rule 5 draft, but that never transpired as a result of the lockout. Thompson remained in the system and has spent the season at Triple-A Round Rock, where he’s posted strong numbers.

Through 372 plate appearances, the 24-year-old is hitting .303/.355/.474 with 13 homers. That’s only a bit above league average in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, but Thompson’s also incredibly stolen 49 bases in 52 attempts (a 94% success rate) and spent the bulk of his defensive innings in center field. Given his baserunning and defensive profile, Thompson has a good shot at carving out at least a fourth outfield role if he makes contact at a reasonable rate.

Over the past couple seasons, he’s struck out in around a quarter of his plate appearances. That’s above the MLB average but markedly better than the strikeout tallies he racked up in A-ball. He’d have again been Rule 5 eligible this winter if not added to the 40-man, but the Rangers will give him a look after a second straight solid season. Leody Taveras  and Adolis García will continue getting everyday outfield reps, but Thompson’s arrival could cut into the playing time of veteran Kole Calhoun — who owns just a .211/.269/.363 line on the year.

Dan Straily Signs With KBO’s Lotte Giants

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The Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization announced the signing of veteran right-hander Dan Straily yesterday (h/t to Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News Agency). The Apex Baseball client will receive $400K for the remainder of the 2022 season.

Straily, 33, is a familiar face for the Busan-based club. He pitched with Lotte between 2020-21, starting his tenure there with a 2.50 ERA through 194 2/3 innings his first season. The second year wasn’t quite as dominant, as Straily allowed a bit more than four earned runs per nine across 165 2/3 frames. That’s still solid production, though, and the Giants tried to bring him back for a third season. Straily declined Lotte’s contract offer over the offseason as he set his sights on a return to the major leagues.

In February, Straily signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks. He spent the season at Triple-A Reno, starting 12 of his 15 appearances. He managed just a 6.35 ERA in an extremely hitter-friendly environment, however, and the D-Backs passed on a few opportunities to bring him back to the majors. They signed Dallas Keuchel after he’d been released by the White Sox and turned to Tyler Gilbert to plug the back of the rotation once Zach Davies landed on the injured list in late June. According to his transactions log at MLB.com, Straily was released by the D-Backs on Monday to pursue the KBO opportunity.

While Straily didn’t reach the big leagues in Arizona, he got to the majors each season from 2012-19. Over that stretch, he suited up with the A’s, Cubs, Astros, Reds, Marlins and Orioles. An effective back-of-the-rotation arm for the majority of the time, he posted four seasons with 100+ innings and an ERA of 4.26 or lower. He owns a 4.56 mark in just more than 800 MLB innings.

Yoo relays that the Giants are releasing former big league hurler Glenn Sparkman in a corresponding roster move. The right-hander pitched for the Blue Jays and Royals between 2017-20, including a 136-inning campaign for Kansas City in 2019. He split last season between the Orix Buffaloes in Japan and the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate before signing with the Giants over the winter.

Sparkman made 19 starts and tallied 84 2/3 innings with Lotte, but he managed only a 5.31 ERA. The 30-year-old struck out a decent 23.1% of batters faced, but he walked batters at an elevated 11.1% clip and generally struggled to keep runs off the board. Now that he’s a free agent, Sparkman could explore minor league opportunities stateside.

Injury Notes: Skubal, Bednar, Garcia

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The Tigers placed starter Tarik Skubal on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to yesterday, due to arm fatigue. The southpaw left his start on Monday after feeling the fatigue, and he’ll now be out for at least the next two weeks. Skubal indicated on Monday he didn’t anticipate missing any additional starts. That obviously won’t be the case, but there’s no indication the club is acting out of anything more than an abundance of caution in skipping a couple of his turns through the rotation. Detroit’s already looking ahead towards 2023, and there’s little reason to press the issue with one of their top young arms unless he’s completely healthy.

Few players in the organization are as impactful as Skubal, who has taken a significant step in his second full MLB season. Through 117 2/3 innings, he carries a 3.52 ERA with an above-average 24.5% strikeout rate and 45.7% ground-ball percentage. Skubal has demonstrated strong control, and, perhaps most importantly, is allowing just 0.67 homers per nine innings pitched. He allowed more than two homers per nine last season, the main contributor to a 4.34 ERA that’s almost a run higher than this season’s mark.

Some other notes on injured list placements:

  • Pirates closer David Bednar landed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to July 31, due to lower back inflammation. There’s no specific timetable for his return, but Pittsburgh director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk told reporters that Bednar had been pushing to pitch through the issue (via Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). That’d seemingly indicate the 27-year-old Bednar doesn’t consider the issue too serious, but the club is taking a cautious approach. Bednar has cemented himself as one of the sport’s top relievers this season, his second with the Bucs after heading over from the Padres in the Joe Musgrove trade over the 2020-21 offseason. The big right-hander has a sub-3.00 ERA in both seasons as a Pirate, including a 2.70 mark with an excellent 33.5% strikeout rate through 46 2/3 frames this year.
  • The Marlins placed outfielder Avisaíl García on the 10-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain. Designated hitter/first baseman Garrett Cooper was activated from a minimal IL stint of his own to take the active roster spot. The club hasn’t provided a timetable on García’s absence. Signed to a four-year deal over the offseason, García has had a rough first season in South Florida. Across 342 plate appearances, he owns a meager .232/.269/.322 line with seven home runs — a marked drop in power production from last year’s 29-homer campaign with the Brewers. The 31-year-old is also striking out at a career-worst 27.8% clip and walking in only 3.8% of his trips to the dish. Miami had hoped that multi-year free agent signings of García and Jorge Soler would invigorate a lackluster offense, but both right-handed hitters have underwhelmed during their initial seasons of those deals.

Nationals Release Alcides Escobar

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The Nationals announced they’ve placed infielder Alcides Escobar on unconditional release waivers. The move clears an active roster spot for Luke Voit, who is expected to join the club tomorrow. Washington’s 40-man roster count drops to 39.

Escobar has spent the past season and a half in the nation’s capital. The veteran had been playing on a minor league deal when the Nats acquired him last July while Trea Turner was battling an injury. Washington brought Escobar almost immediately to the big leagues, and he became the primary shortstop after Turner was dealt to the Dodgers at the trade deadline. It was his first MLB action in three years, and the longtime Kansas City shortstop acquitted himself well.

Through 349 plate appearances, Escobar hit .288/.340/.404 with four home runs and a trio of steals. He didn’t walk often or hit for much power, but he only struck out at a 16% clip and hit for a high enough batting average to remain productive. Unsurprisingly, he no longer rated as highly with the glove as he had at his peak, but he was a valuable enough experienced presence that Washington signed him to a $1MM extension last October.

Escobar’s 2022 production hasn’t been good, however. He’s seen his offensive output plummet to .218/.260/.282 through 131 trips to the plate. He’s striking out more often than average (24.4%) for the first time in his career, and he’s collected just six extra-base hits (four doubles and two triples). Escobar has also been charged with five errors in 307 2/3 innings at shortstop, and he’s lost playing time as the rebuilding Nats have looked to younger players. Luis García has taken over as the primary shortstop, and while the 22-year-old is miscast there, Washington just brought in rookie shortstop C.J. Abrams in the Juan Soto trade.

Given Escobar’s struggles, it’s hard to envision another team claiming him on waivers. The 35-year-old would be a free agent if he passes through unclaimed and seems likely to explore minor league opportunities elsewhere.

Tanner Rainey Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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Nationals reliever Tanner Rainey underwent Tommy John surgery this afternoon, the club informed reporters (including Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com). It’s a predictable development after the hard-throwing reliever landed on the 60-day injured list with a UCL sprain in his elbow last month.

Acquired from the Reds heading into the 2019 season, Rainey has been one of Washington’s better relievers over the past couple years. He’s racked up huge strikeout and swinging strike numbers commensurate with a fastball that sits in the upper-90s and can get into the triple digits. Rainey’s control has wavered, but his high-octane arsenal has led manager Dave Martinez to progressively give him higher-leverage work the past three seasons.

This season’s 28.1% strikeout percentage was one of the lower rates of Rainey’s career, but it’s still a few points north of the league average. He’d trimmed his walk rate to a more manageable 10.2% after issuing free passes at a massive 16.6% clip last year, and he carried a 3.30 ERA through 30 innings before the injury. The rebuilding Nationals seemed likely to shop Rainey in advance of the trade deadline, but the elbow injury scuttled those plans.

Rainey will miss most or all of the 2023 campaign rehabbing, with Tommy John recoveries often taking 14-plus months. It’s a disappointing blow for the 29-year-old. Rainey has surpassed three years of service this year, and he’ll remain arbitration eligible through the 2025 campaign. He’s making $860K this year and will be in line for a small raise next winter if tendered a contract.

Minor MLB Transactions: Deadline Day

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As is the case at every trade deadline, there’s a flurry of activity on deadline day. The most high-profile of the moves are the trades themselves, but the aftermath of that activity often results in a shuffle of minor moves of their own. Plenty of clubs have had to fill or create roster spots depending on the deals they’ve made in the last 24 hours. We’ll round up 40-man roster transactions not previously covered on the MLBTR pages here:

AL East

AL Central

  • Tigers: Reinstated right-hander Matt Manning from 60-day injured list
  • White Sox: Claimed right-hander Tobias Myers off waivers from Giants

AL West

NL East

  • Nationals: Designated left-hander Josh Rogers for assignment; transferred left-hander Evan Lee to 60-day injured list. Selected the contract of first baseman Joey Meneses
  • Marlins: Reinstated right-hander Anthony Bender from 60-day injured list
  • Phillies: Claimed left-hander Andrew Vasquez off waivers from Blue Jays

NL Central

  • Cubs: Claimed right-hander Kervin Castro off waivers from Giants
  • Brewers: Designated right-hander Luke Barker for assignment

NL West

Giants: Lost right-hander Tobias Myers on waivers to White Sox; lost right-hander Kervin Castro on waivers to Cubs

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