Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Nick Madrigal “Pretty Close” To White Sox Promotion

By | at

Even though the White Sox have begun the season without one of their top prospects, second baseman Nick Madrigal, it doesn’t seem as if he’ll wait much longer to make his MLB debut. Director of player development Chris Getz said Thursday (via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times) that Madrigal is “pretty close” to joining the club, though he didn’t provide a timeline for when it could happen.

Now 23 years old and a top 100 prospect, Madrigal became a member of the White Sox when they chose him fourth overall in the 2018 draft. Madrigal, who’s a diminutive 5-foot-7 and 165 pounds, has only hit four home runs in professional ball since the Sox drafted him, but he has nonetheless been productive. He reached the Triple-A level for the first time last season and slashed .331/.398/.424 (117 wRC+) across 134 plate appearances. The hope is he’ll maintain those type of numbers (or even exceed them) when he reaches the White Sox, who also boast the steady trio of first baseman Jose Abreu, shortstop Tim Anderson and third baseman Yoan Moncada in their infield.

With Madrigal off their 30-man roster in the early going, the White Sox have primarily gone with Leury Garcia at second base. Garcia has never been a threat at the plate, though, and with Chicago off to a 2-4 start in a 60-game season, it may behoove the club to bring up Madrigal in the very near future. Service time shouldn’t be a concern for the White Sox in regards to Madrigal in the coming days, as keeping him down for a week of games will clinch an extra year of control for the team.

Reds To Place Wade Miley On Injured List

By | at

Just one start into his tenure with the Reds, southpaw Wade Miley is headed to the 10-day injured list with a left groin strain, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Miley joins righty Anthony DeSclafani (strained teres major) as the second member of the Reds’ rotation to go on the IL since last week.

The 33-year-old Miley, who put forth a solid 2019 effort as a member of the Astros, was one of the Reds’ many notable offseason pickups. The Reds signed him to a two-year, $15MM contract in free agency, but his Cincinnati stint has gotten off to an inauspicious start in the early going. The Cubs tuned up Miley for six runs (five earned) on four hits over 1 2/3 innings in his 2020 debut Monday. In fairness to Miley, though, manager David Bell revealed he “didn’t feel 100 percent and didn’t feel great” in that game. Now, the Reds are hopeful that Miley will return in short order.

Without Miley and DeSclafani, who Fay notes is doing better, the Reds will keep Tyler Mahle in their rotation behind Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray and Trevor Bauer. Castillo, Gray and Bauer have been excellent thus far, but the playoff-hopeful Reds have only mustered a 2-4 start.

MLB, MLBPA Reach Doubleheader Agreement For 2020

By | at

7:01pm: An agreement has been reached, per Jeff Passan of ESPN. Seven-inning doubleheaders will take effect Aug. 1.

6:12pm: Major League Baseball and the union are moving toward an agreement on 2020 doubleheaders, Ken Rosenthal and Jayson Stark of The Athletic reports. If the two sides reach a deal, doubleheaders would consist of a pair of seven-inning games, but it would only be for this year, according to Rosenthal and Stark.

The idea behind this would be for teams to preserve their pitchers, per Rosenthal and Stark, and it could give every team a better chance of finishing its 60-game schedule during a pandemic-shortened season.

Teams such as the Marlins, Phillies, Yankees and Blue Jays have already seen their scheduled heavily altered just a week into the season because of coronavirus concerns. Neither Miami nor Philadelphia has played at all this week, and neither will take the field again until Tuesday at the earliest. As a result, they’ll have plenty of ground to make up over the next several weeks. Seven-inning doubleheaders could make it easier for them to catch up.

East Notes: Mets, Rays, Red Sox

By | at

Mets right-hander Marcus Stroman is making progress in his recovery from the left calf tear he suffered last week. Stroman has returned to throwing “full tilt” bullpen sessions, manager Luis Rojas said (via Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News). Pitching coach Jeremy Hefner added that Stroman is still unable to sprint, so it remains unclear when he’ll be in line for his season debut. The sooner the better for the Mets, for whom Stroman is a must-have complement to ace Jacob deGrom. From his own standpoint, Stroman’s in for a rather important season with his first trip to free agency scheduled for the winter.

  • One of Stroman’s Mets teammates, fellow righty Jared Hughes, has been on the injured list since July 15. The team didn’t announce a reason for the move at the time, though it turns out he tested positive for the coronavirus, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. Hughes was symptomatic for roughly 10 days, per Rosenthal, but he’s now healthy and pitching at the team’s alternate training site. Prior to his bout with the virus, Hughes appeared as if he’d earn a season-opening roster spot after the Mets signed him to a major league contract.
  • The Rays have gotten good news on a couple of their outfielders who, because of their own positive COVID tests, have missed the season so far. Star Austin Meadows engaged in baseball activities on Wednesday, Juan Toribio of MLB.com relays (Twitter links). Manager Kevin Cash indicated Meadows could return sometime during the Rays’ Aug. 4-9 homestand. Meanwhile, Randy Arozarena was cleared to rejoin the team and resume baseball activities, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. He started a rehab assignment at the Rays’ alternate training site Wednesday.
  • The Red Sox, having gotten poor production from their patchwork rotation thus far, will give righty Zack Godley an opportunity as a starter, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald tweets. Godley, whom the Red Sox signed to a minor league contract this month, will make his first start with the club on Saturday against the Yankees. The former Diamondback and Blue Jay was an effective starter just a couple years ago before falling off dramatically last season. Godley had an extremely encouraging long-relief appearance Monday, though, as he tossed four scoreless, four-hit innings with seven strikeouts against no walks in a loss to the Mets.

60-Man Player Pool Additions: Orioles, Rays

By | at

A couple of American League East teams have made new additions to their 60-man player pools. Here are the latest updates:

  • One of the Orioles’ top prospects, right-hander Grayson Rodriguez has joined their player pool, the team announced. The 20-year-old isn’t far removed from going 11th overall to the Orioles in the 2018 draft. He made his Single-A debut last year and turned heads with a 2.68 ERA, 12.4 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 94 innings. Rodriguez currently ranks among the league’s best farmhands – FanGraphs (No. 29), MLB.com (36) and Baseball America (37) are among the prospect outlets that are quite bullish on him.
  • The Rays have added catcher/outfielder Brett Sullivan, who will head to their alternate training site, Juan Toribio of MLB.com tweets. Sullivan was a 17th-round pick of the Rays in 2015 who has since climbed to Double-A ball. He batted an impressive .280/.333/.459 (127 wRC+) and hit 10 home runs with 21 stolen bases in 403 plate appearances last season.

Latest On MLB’s Coronavirus Response

By | at

With the coronavirus ravaging the Marlins, who haven’t played this week and won’t do so again until at least Monday, Major League Baseball is changing its COVID-19 protocols in an effort to keep the season running, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

The league still won’t force players or staff to quarantine when they’re on the road, but it is encouraging them to stay in their hotel rooms and socially distance from one another when they’re not at the ballpark. Additionally, they’ll have to wear surgical masks – not cloth masks – and each team must bring a compliance officer on the road. That individual’s purpose will be to make sure that teams follow the league’s coronavirus protocols, including arranging seating charts on team buses, according to Passan.

Less than a week into the season, it’s up in the air whether the Marlins will even play a 60-game schedule (or, for that matter, whether any other team will). The Marlins have seen a combined 18 players and staff test positive, knocking their season off the rails in the early going, and their health issues have affected other clubs’ schedules. The Phillies, who hosted the Marlins last weekend, had been slated to play a four-game home-and-home set versus the Yankees, but that was postponed. Additionally, their game against the Blue Jays on Friday was pushed to Saturday.

Despite a less-than-ideal start to the season, commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday, “We think we can keep people safe and continue to play.” Clearly, the league’s hope is that the changes to its protocols will increase the chances of that happening.

Predict The AL West Division Winner

By | at

With final roster decisions in the books and the 2020 season underway, it’s time to make some predictions. We’re polling the MLBTR readership on each of the game’s six divisions — though plenty more teams will crack the postseason under the rather inclusive new playoff qualification system. We’ve already surveyed the AL East, AL Central, NL Central, and NL East landscapes, and now we’ll turn to the American League West.

The Astros entered this season off three straight division titles, though they’ve undergone some major changes since winning the AL pennant in 2019. A sign-stealing scandal cost them general manager Jeff Luhnow and skipper A.J. Hinch, whom they replaced with James Click and Dusty Baker, respectively. On the field, they said goodbye to co-ace Gerrit Cole and Wade Miley in free agency. Their rotation suffered yet another massive blow this week when they placed reigning AL Cy Young winner Justin Verlander on the injured list with a forearm strain. He’s one of many injured Astros pitchers, and to make matters worse, the club has been without slugger and 2019 AL Rookie of the Year Yordan Alvarez because of the coronavirus.

Despite all the issues they’re facing, the Astros at least still boast an above-average roster. They don’t look like a juggernaut in their current state, though, and that could give a division rival a chance to pounce.

The Athletics, winners of 97 games in each of the prior two seasons, boast an eminently talented roster that seems as if it’ll present the greatest challenge for Houston. The Rangers and Angels look more like wild-card possibilities than teams capable of upending the Astros, though a 60-game season could make it more likely for either to pull off an upset. Probably not the case for the Mariners, who are retooling and have gotten to a 1-4 start. While five games isn’t enough of a sample size to bury or crown anyone, the M’s have gotten crushed in three of their defeats and entered Wednesday with the majors’ worst run differential at minus-21.

Which team do you think is going to take the division title? (Poll link for app users.)

Predict the 2020 AL West Winner
Athletics 46.16% (3,399 votes)
Astros 26.56% (1,956 votes)
Angels 14.26% (1,050 votes)
Mariners 7.90% (582 votes)
Rangers 5.12% (377 votes)
Total Votes: 7,364

Braves Activate Travis d’Arnaud, Tyler Flowers

By | at

JULY 29: Both d’Arnaud and Flowers are active and will be in uniform tonight. They’ll be joined by recently claimed outfielder Scott Schebler. To make active roster space, the Braves optioned backstops Alex Jackson and William Contreras along with righty Chad Sobotka.

JULY 28: The Braves have opened the season without first- and second-string catchers Travis d’Arnaud and Tyler Flowers, but it doesn’t seem as if either will be on the shelf for much longer. Manager Brian Snitker indicated Tuesday that the team could activate at least one of them before its game against the Rays on Wednesday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com writes.

Both d’Arnaud and Flowers have been shelved in the early stages of this season after exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, though neither player has tested positive for the illness. Their absences have left the Braves with Alex Jackson and William Contreras behind the plate.

D’Arnaud was a key offseason pickup for the Braves, who signed him to a two-year, $16MM contract after he enjoyed one of his best seasons as a member of the Rays in 2019. The 31-year-old, once a premium prospect, saw injuries weigh him down all too often as a Met during his first several seasons in the league.

Flowers, 34, has been a reliable producer for the Braves dating back to 2016, having hit .254/.350/.412 (104 wRC+) across 1,301 plate appearances in their uniform. He is also known as one of the game’s premier pitch-framing backstops.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/28/20

By | at

Some of the latest minor transactions from around baseball…

  • The Pirates selected left-hander Miguel Del Pozo on Tuesday, per a team announcement. The move accompanied injured list placements for two righties – Kyle Crick (lat muscle strain) and Clay Holmes (forearm strain) – as well as a recall for RHP Geoff Hartlieb. Del Pozo, who joined the Pirates on a minor league contract last offseason, was crushed in his major league debut with the Angels in 2019, when he allowed 11 earned runs on 10 hits in 9 1/3 innings. His woes continued Tuesday when he failed to retire any of the four Brewers he faced. Del Pozo walked three, gave up a double and was charged with two earned runs. The Pirates still came out on top, however, with Hartlieb as the winning pitcher.
  • The Phillies announced that infielder Arquimedes Gamboa has cleared waivers and been outrighted off their 40-man roster. The 22-year-old has been part of the organization since 2015, and he’ll remain a Phillie after no one else claimed him. Gamboa, who has topped out in Double-A ball, owns a .213/.298/.296 line in 1,621 plate appearances in the minors.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top