NL Notes: Cardinals, Guerrero, Pirates, Nolin
Cardinals shortstop Ruben Tejada left Thursday’s game with a muscle strain in his left quadriceps and will begin the season on the disabled list, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link). As a result, both infielder Greg Garcia and outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker have made the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com tweets. Tejada’s injury is the latest unfortunate news at shortstop for the Cardinals, who signed the ex-Met earlier this month to replace the injured Jhonny Peralta. With Tejada on the shelf, the Cardinals are expected to start Jedd Gyorko at short in their Sunday opener against Pittsburgh, Goold writes. Garcia, meanwhile, has dealt with his own injury – a sore knee – and put up a meager .289 slugging percentage in 52 plate appearances this spring. Hazelbaker has been far more successful at the plate, amassing a .300/.364/.500 line in 44 PAs. The 28-year-old, a longtime minor leaguer, will finally have a chance to see his first major league action since Boston took him in the fourth round of the 2009 draft.
Here’s more from the National League:
- Righty Matthew Bowman will join Garcia and Hazelbaker on the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster, per Adam Rubin of ESPN.com. The injury to Jordan Walden helped clear a path in the bullpen for Bowman, whom the Cardinals took from the Mets in the Rule 5 draft last December. Bowman has allowed seven earned runs in eight innings this spring while striking out five and walking three.
- Dodgers third baseman/outfielder Alex Guerrero will start the season on the DL after an MRI showed “minimal damage” in his knee, manager Dave Roberts announced (Twitter link via Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times). The fact that Guerrero is DL-bound gives the Dodgers time to delay a roster decision on a player whose contract precludes them from sending him to the minors without his permission. The Dodgers reportedly tried to trade Guerrero over the winter, but they didn’t find any takers. If dealt sometime this season, Guerrero will have a chance to void the final year of his contract and become a free agent next offseason. The 29-year-old is slated to earn $5MM this season after compiling a dismal -0.2 fWAR in 106 games in 2015. In 21 plate appearances this spring, Guerrero slashed .238/.238/.571.
- The Pirates’ decision to give Juan Nicasio their last rotation spot over Ryan Vogelsong was an agonizing one for team brass, general manager Neal Huntington said. “It was the most intense conversation we’ve had,” Huntington stated (via Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh-Tribune Review). “There were strong convictions on both sides.” In the end, Nicasio’s dominant Spring Training showing – 15 innings, no runs, 24 strikeouts, five walks – was simply too much for the Pirates to ignore.
- An MRI revealed Thursday that Brewers southpaw Sean Nolin has a left elbow strain, general manager David Stearns said. Nolin will get a second opinion before a prognosis is announced, tweets Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. If Nolin’s diagnosis proves correct, McCalvy expects the 26-year-old to avoid Tommy John surgery. Nolin was a candidate to serve in the Brewers’ bullpen before they had to shut him down earlier this month with the injury. He’ll begin the season on the DL.
Minor MLB Transactions: 3/31/16
Here are Thursday’s minor moves from around Major League Baseball:
- The Orioles have released lefty reliever Hideki Okajima, per Michael Mayer of Metsmerized Online (via Twitter). Okajima, who signed a minor league deal with the O’s last month, hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2013. He spent the past two seasons in Japan and is best known in the bigs for his work in Boston’s bullpen from 2007-11.
- The White Sox have released three minor leaguers – outfielder Scott Hairston, utility man Steve Lombardozzi and righty Maikel Cleto – Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune reports (on Twitter). Hairston, the most accomplished of the trio, signed with the White Sox in November after sitting out the 2015 season. The 11-year MLB veteran owns a lifetime slash of .242/.296/.442, though he has fared significantly better against left-handed pitchers (.268/.315/.489). Lombardozzi last played extensively in the majors in 2013, when he was worth -0.6 fWAR in 118 games with Washington. Control problems have beset the career of Cleto, who has put up a 6.60 ERA with an 11.6 K/9 and 6.0 BB/9 in 45 big league innings. He spent last season with the White Sox’s Triple-A affiliate, Charlotte, and recorded a stingy 3.00 ERA in 51 innings to go along with a 10.76 K/9 and 4.24 BB/9.
- The Angels signed outfielder Shane Robinson to a minor league deal, according to their Twitter account. Cleveland released Robinson earlier this week after he exercised his opt-out clause. Robinson has batted .237/.302/.313 in 649 career plate appearances over parts of six seasons. The 31-year-old has performed better defensively throughout his career, having received plus marks in defensive runs saved and ultimate zone rating.
- The Twins have released outfielder Joe Benson, according to Mayer (on Twitter). Benson, whom the Twins signed to a minor league contract during the winter, hit just .125/.263/.188 in 19 spring plate appearances. Most of Benson’s career has been spent in the Twins organization since they chose him in the second round of the 2006 draft. His only big league action came in 2011, when he slashed .239/.270/.352 in 21 games with Minnesota.
Reds Waive Jake Cave
The Reds have placed outfielder Jake Cave on waivers, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports (via Twitter). As a Rule 5 pick, Cave will be offered back to the Yankees for $25K if another team doesn’t claim him. Any club that does claim Cave would have to keep him on its 25-man roster for the entire season or lose him to the Yankees.
Cave, 23, failed to impress during 56 Spring Training plate appearances for the Reds, compiling a .224/.309/.306 line that was appreciably worse than his career minor league slash of .285/.346/.391. The 2011 sixth-round pick spent nearly all of last season with Double-A Trenton and hit .278/.339/.359 in 132 games (seven with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre) while swiping 17 bases on 20 attempts.
With Cave out of the picture in Cincinnati, the Reds’ bench come Opening Day is likely to consist of Jordan Pacheco, Scott Schebler and Jose Peraza, according to Rosecrans. Both Pacheco and Schebler have made strong cases for roster spots by thriving offensively this spring.