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Angels Activate Andrelton Simmons, Designate Wilfredo Tovar

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The Angels announced today that star shortstop Andrelton Simmons has been activated from the injured list. He is returning from a long absence due to a severe ankle sprain.

Infielder Wilfredo Tovar was designated for assignment to create roster space. In other news, the club officially placed Griffin Canning on the injured list — he was declared out for the season yesterday — while recalling southpaw Jose Suarez.

It’s all but certainly too little, too late for the sinking Halos. But it’s still good to see Simmons return to action. The peerless defensive aficionado hadn’t been hitting quite as well as he did in his prior two campaigns, but will now have a chance to get back on track before the season wraps up.

Tovar, 28, received his lengthiest stint in the majors this year for the Angels. Through 88 plate appearances in 31 games, he managed only a .193/.239/.253 slash line.

Nationals To Sign Jake Buchanan

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The Nationals have agreed to a deal with righty Jake Buchanan, according to Todd Dybas of NBC Sports Washington (via Twitter). It’s a minor-league arrangement for the 29-year-old, who was recently cut loose by the Athletics.

Buchanan has seen time in four MLB campaigns, but has not established himself in the bigs. Indeed, he hasn’t appeared there since 2017. Over the past two campaigns, Buchanan has worked as a starter at the Triple-A level without notable success.

It’s likely that this move is designed only for depth for the Nats, who have hunted for low-cost pitching all season long. Buchanan carries a 6.16 ERA in 99 1/3 Triple-A frames on the year, with 6.4 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9.

Rangers Designate Shane Carle

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The Rangers have designated righty Shane Carle for assignment, per a club announcement. His 40-man spot will go to fellow right-hander Luke Farrell, who was activated from the 60-day injured list.

Farrell is also heading onto the active roster for the Texas organization. He’ll take the place of southpaw Locke St. John, who was optioned down.

Carle was picked up from the Braves in late July after being designated by the Atlanta club. He has not appeared in the majors since. Though he turned in excellent results in 2018, the performance was driven by home run (0.29 per nine) and BABIP (.258) suppression that never seemed terribly likely to continue.

This year, Carle struggled mightily in six outings for the Braves before he was sent packing. He hasn’t been much better this year at Triple-A, where he carries a 5.62 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 over forty total innings.

Mariners Call Up Justus Sheffield

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As expected, the Mariners have called up lefty pitching prospect Justus Sheffield, per a club announcement. He’ll take the roster spot that the team opened by dropping Cory Gearrin.

Sheffield, 23, has seen brief MLB action in each of the past two seasons. But he hasn’t yet made his first start — a milestone he’ll reach this evening when he takes the ball against the Blue Jays.

While Sheffield’s early appearances in the bigs haven’t been laden with promise, he has long been considered a significant talent. Drafted in the first round back in 2014, he has since headlined a pair of major trades (from the Indians to the Yankees and then on to the Mariners).

At the same time, the lefty hasn’t quite sustained the top-100 prospect hype he carried for the past four seasons. He just doesn’t seem to be showing quite the upside that had once been posited, with some command issues and stagnant K/BB rates over multiple seasons in the upper minors.

The consensus still seems to be that Sheffield will turn into a solid MLB starter, which would work just fine for the M’s. He struggled quite a bit at Triple-A to open the year, allowing a dozen home runs with a middling 48:41 K/BB ratio in 55 innings there. But Sheffield has turned it up since in a dozen Double-A starts, over which he carries a 2.19 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9.

If all goes well, it’s possible Sheffield will position himself for a spot in the 2020 Seattle rotation. It remains to be seen how many innings he’ll be allowed to accumulate down the stretch. Sheffield is already at a career-high 133 in the present campaign, though he’s probably in position to build up further after averaging more than 120 frames per season in the prior three campaigns.

Yankees Claim Cory Gearrin, Release Domingo Acevedo

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The Yankees have claimed righty Cory Gearrin from the Mariners, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). In a corresponding move, the New York club announced that it has released fellow right-hander Domingo Acevedo.

Gearrin is a well-established hurler who has seen action in eight MLB campaigns. He has long been effective despite uninspiring peripherals, with a career 3.59 ERA. That’s much the story again in 2019, as he owns a 3.92 ERA in 41 1/3 innings while carrying 8.5 K/9 against 4.6 BB/9 and a 46.6% groundball rate.

[RELATED: So, What Can Teams Do In August?]

As we explained in our recent listing of possible August waiver candidates — which included Gearrin and others — teams have a variety of possible motivations for exposing players to waivers at this time of year. With respect to a player such as Gearrin, who wasn’t dealt at the deadline, it’s likely the club considered factors such as salary savings, roster space for younger players, and a desire to allow a veteran a chance to play in a postseason race.

Acevedo, 25, has at times been considered a significant prospect. But he has had some health issues and was moved into a relief role this year. Evidently, the Yanks didn’t really love what they saw. Acevedo has maintained 9.4 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 in his 51 2/3 total innings over 32 appearances, but has also allowed 11 long balls and 4.35 earned runs per nine in that span.

Nationals Secure Key Ruling In MASN Dispute

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The Nationals secured a key legal victory in their long-running TV rights fees battle with the jointly owned and Orioles-controlled Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN), as Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun was among those to report. The decision upholds an arbitration award in the Nationals’ favor, which was issued earlier this year.

This does not represent a final victory for the Nationals, as the Orioles (through MASN) will still be able to appeal on various issues. But there may now be an end in sight for the D.C. club, which lost at the trial-court stage when the O’s challenged the original arbitration decision in late 2015. That decision kicked off the complicated, multi-round process that is still unfolding.

The Nationals have cured the conflict-of-interest issue — relating to legal representation — that led to the initial ruling. This time, the O’s presented a theory that MLB could not serve as the arbitration forum because it had an interest in the outcome due to loans it made to the Nationals.

If the Baltimore legal team isn’t able to pull off another upset win at the appellate level, the team will ultimately owe a hefty bill to its southern neighbors. As discussed at the time of the arbitration panel’s decision, the expectation is that the Nationals will be due something in range of $60MM to $70MM once all the accounting is sorted out. The new ruling also requires the Orioles to pony up interest on the obligations — one of the matters that will surely be addressed on appeal.

There are still plenty of loose ends. As noted, there will be a direct appeal on several issues. The Orioles have also initiated a separate arbitration proceeding regarding the team’s decision not to distribute certain funds to the Nationals during the pendency of the initial dispute. And since the rights fees re-set occurs every five years, this particular litigation/arbitration covers the rights fees for only the 2012-16 seasons … meaning there’s an ongoing need to work out the numbers for the ensuing five-year periods.

Astros Release Brady Rodgers

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Aug. 23: Houston has released Rodgers, per the MLB.com transactions list. That was the only outcome for the right-hander following yesterday’s DFA; teams are no longer permitted to make trades involving players who’ve been on the 40-man roster this season, and Rodgers was on the minor league injured list, meaning he couldn’t be placed on outright waivers.

Rodgers will now have the opportunity to explore interest from new clubs, though Houston could very well have interest in re-signing him to a minor league deal as a depth piece — particularly with several members of the current big pitching staff ticketed for free agency this winter.

Aug. 22: The Astros announced today that they have designated righty Brady Rodgers for assignment, as Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle was among those to tweet. That creates roster space for the surprising promotion of prospect Abraham Toro.

Soon to turn 29, Rodgers has seen limited MLB action in two of the past three seasons. The game’s best hitters have not been gentle, rocking Rodgers for 23 earned runs in his 13 1/3 innings of action. He carries an ugly 7:10 K/BB ratio in the bigs.

Rodgers, a former third-round pick out of Arizona State, raced to the upper minors upon becoming a professional and has generally succeeded there. Through 365 1/3 innings of Triple-A pitching, over parts of seven seasons, he carries a 3.67 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9. Rodgers has at times been ranked on the back half of Houston’s top 30 prospect rankings at Baseball America, though not since undergoing Tommy John surgery in early 2017.

Angels Shut Down Griffin Canning For Remainder Of Season

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The Angels announced today that they have shut down rookie right-hander Griffin Canning. He’s said to be dealing with mild inflammation in his right elbow.

That general diagnosis was already known. Canning was placed on the injured list yesterday. What wasn’t clear then is the newly announced course of action, which is obviously intended to avoid any further problems down the stretch.

The team did not expressly specify in its announcement whether there is any concern regarding underlying structural issues. But some reporters, including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (Twitter link), have suggested that’s the appropriate interpretation of the comment. If so, that’s rather promising news for an important organizational asset.

Regardless, it’s a disappointing and all-too-familiar way for the season to end for a Halos hurler. The club has endured a seemingly endless array of injuries to starters in recent seasons.

Canning won’t wrap things up as hoped, but he still turned in an impressive initial showing. After three outstanding starts at Triple-A, he worked to a 4.58 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 90 1/3 MLB innings. Canning proved he can induce whiffs in the majors, sporting a 13.8% swinging-strike rate, and seems likely to be a quality and cost-controlled big league starter for years to come — so long as he can stay healthy.

Brandon Lowe Out For Remainder Of Season

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The Rays were hit with rough news today, as manager Kevin Cash informed reporters that infielder Brandon Lowe will not be able to return this season. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times covered the news on Twitter.

Out since early July with a shin injury, Lowe had been tracking towards a return on a rehab assignment. Unfortunately, he suffered a strained quadriceps. It seems the new malady is severe enough to preclude a late-season rebound.

Lowe will join fellow infielder Yandy Diaz on the shelf for the rest of the 2019 campaign. The two had been among the club’s best offensive performers before going down. While the Tampa Bay organization has quite a few alternatives on hand, it’s obviously disappointing to see two bright young players taken out of commission instead of contributing to what promises to be a thrilling final five weeks of action.

MLB Will Not Allow Players To Participate In Venezuelan Winter Ball

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Major League Baseball has decided to preclude affiliated players — both major and minor-leaguers — from participating in the Venezuelan Winter League, according to Jared Diamond and Kejal Vyas of the Wall Street Journal. The move was made in an effort to comply with the economic sanctions imposed by the United States earlier this year.

It isn’t immediately clear whether there’s still some hope of a change in the situation before the winter league launches in October. There have been some recent developments in the political situation that could have an impact, though there’s no indication that the relevant sanctions — those that largely bar U.S. individuals and businesses from economic interaction with Venezuela — are going to be lifted any time soon.

Per the report, the league is engaging with the U.S. government in a bid to understand just what it can and cannot do to comply with the sanctions. Notably, there will be no bar to Venezuelan players who wish to travel back to their home country. But it seems they and others (including, presumably, many players who are not United States citizens) will not be able to participate in game action.

MLB players participate in winter leagues in Venezuela and other locations through agreements involving the leagues, MLB, and the MLB Players Association. Just how the situation will proceed remains to be seen. The ongoing humanitarian crisis and political turmoil in Venezuela has obviously weighed heavily on players hailing from that nation. The situation has also presented difficulties for teams operating there, as Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic explored earlier this year (subscription link), impeding scouting and player development functions.

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