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Phillies Place Jay Bruce On IL, Recall Adam Haseley

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The Phillies are sending outfielder Jay Bruce right back onto the 10-day injured list, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported (via Twitter) and the team has now announced. He had just returned from an oblique injury, but has now been diagnosed with a flexor strain in his left arm.

Outfielder Adam Haseley had been shipped back down to Triple-A to make way for Bruce. Instead, he’ll come right back onto the active roster. (The usual requirement of a 10-day stay in the minors is waived since he’s coming up to replace an injured player.)

Twins Place Nelson Cruz On 10-Day IL

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5:25pm: Cruz has been diagnosed with a ruptured ECU tendon, as MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park was among those to cover (links to Twitter). While that sounds like it’d be a bad thing, it may actually not be much of a problem. It’s an injury that others have played through before and Cruz says he isn’t experiencing pain at the moment.

“It’s a miracle that it feels like that,” says Cruz. “I don’t have any pain, so maybe that’s what I needed. Just tear that tendon and we’re good.”

2:05pm: The Twins announced today that they have placed slugger Nelson Cruz on the 10-day injured list. Righty Cody Stashak was called up to take the open roster spot.

Cruz was diagnosed with a wrist strain after leaving last night’s game in the middle of a plate appearance. There’s no indication to this point as to how long Cruz may be sidelined.

This isn’t the first time this year that Cruz has experienced an issue in that particular joint. He spent three weeks on the IL for a similar injury earlier this season.

It’s tough news for a Minnesota club that is trying to hold off the charging Indians in the AL Central. Cruz has been on a nearly unbelievable tear at the plate, slashing .333/.429/.900 with 16 home runs in his past 25 games (106 plate appearances).

Twins To Sign Ryan O’Rourke

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The Twins have struck a minors deal with lefty Ryan O’Rourke, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (via Twitter). He had been with the Minnesota organization from 2010 through 2016.

O’Rourke appeared briefly in the majors earlier this year with the Mets, marking his first showing since the ’16 campaign. He has spent much of the year with the top affiliate of the New York organization, where he carries a 3.27 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 over 44 innings.

It’s possible that O’Rourke could end up getting some MLB work in Minnesota, even if he has to wait until rosters expand in September. The club’s lone present southpaw reliever, Taylor Rogers, is its closer. There are four other lefties on the 40-man roster, but Martin Perez and Devin Smeltzer are working from the MLB rotation while Lewis Thorpe is starting at Triple-A. Stephen Gonsalves remains on the injured list in the minors.

Yandy Diaz Suffers Setback

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Rays infielder Yandy Diaz has suffered a setback in his attempt to rehab back from a foot injury, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (Twitter links). He’s expected to be shut down for six to eight weeks before resuming baseball activities.

The club says that Diaz is dealing with a hairline fracture of the navicular bone in his left foot. While he won’t need surgery, the injury will require time to heal.

Given the timing, it’s hard to imagine that Diaz will make it back to the playing field this season. That has not been ruled out officially, but even a late-September resumption of baseball activities wouldn’t seem to leave time for Diaz to ramp back up to game speed.

It’s quite unfortunate news for the Tampa Bay organization and the 28-year-old Diaz. He had been providing quality all-around work from both corner infield slots. Through 344 plate appearances, Diaz carries a strong .270/.343/.480 slash line with 14 home runs.

Fortunately, the Rays have quite a few options at the hot corner. Matt Duffy and Mike Brosseau are probably the top candidates, with Daniel Robertson another possibility on the 40-man. The second/third-base mix also includes two other currently IL’ed players in Brandon Lowe and Joey Wendle.

Angels Acquire Miguel Del Pozo

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The Angels and Rangers have announced an intra-division swap that will send lefty Miguel Del Pozo to the Los Angeles organization. Cash considerations are going back to Texas in the deal.

Del Pozo was not on a MLB deal, which meant he could be swapped despite the fact that we’ve moved past the July 31st trade deadline. The 26-year-old reliever will help bolster the Halos’ upper-level pitching depth.

While he carries only a 5.12 ERA through 45 2/3 Triple-A innings this year, Del Pozo has racked up 65 strikeouts against 21 walks. The former Marlins farmhand is still awaiting his first crack at the big leagues.

Brewers Select Contract Of Hernan Perez, Designate Burch Smith

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The Brewers announced that they have selected the contract of utilityman Hernan Perez. Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel first indicated (via Twitter) that a move was coming.

To create a 40-man spot, the club designated righty Burch Smith for assignment. Infielder Travis Shaw was optioned out for an active roster space.

The 28-year-old Perez lost his 40-man spot earlier in the year after serving as a fixture in recent campaigns. He was hitting just .235/.277/.383 at the time, the third-straight season in which he has fallen shy of a .300 OBP (after barely topping that mark in 2016). Perez has performed better against Triple-A pitching (.290/.372/.523).

Smith, 29, was knocked around in his brief MLB time with the Brewers. He has generated better results at Triple-A, turning in a 2.33 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 through 77 1/3 innings across 15 starts. Clearly, though, the Milwaukee organization wasn’t convinced that he’d be a significant contributor in the majors down the stretch.

The Brewers still aren’t giving up on Shaw. He has endured a miserable campaign both before and after his earlier demotion, with a cumulative .162/.276/.279 batting line over 228 plate appearances. It’s certainly possible he’ll end up back in the majors, once roster expand if not sooner, but it seems he’s on a trajectory for an offseason non-tender at this point.

Reds Designate David Hernandez

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The Reds have designated veteran hurler David Hernandez, per a club announcement (h/t MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon, on Twitter). He’ll be replaced on the active roster by fellow righty reliever Sal Romano.

For most of the season, Hernandez has underperformed in the results department while carrying sparkling strikeout-versus-walk numbers. Through the end of June, he owned a 46:11 K/BB ratio over 35 2/3 innings.

Things have gone south since late June, however. Over his past dozen appearances, Hernandez has allowed a whopping 22 earned runs on 23 base hits, including five home runs.

Hernandez does still carry a strong 14.7% swinging-strike rate for the season. But his struggles have coincided with a noticeable drop in his average four-seam fastball velocity.

While Hernandez is earning only $2.5MM this year, it’s a bit difficult to imagine the remainder of the contract being claimed given the depth of the issues of late. If he clears waivers, he would be eligible to keep his guarantee while still electing free agency and choosing another organization.

Dodgers Acquire Jose Lobaton From Mariners

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The Dodgers and Mariners have announced a deal in which veteran backstop Jose Lobaton will head to the Los Angeles organization. Cash considerations will head the other way in the swap.

Lobaton, 34, had been playing with the top Seattle affiliate on a minors deal. That’s why he was able to be traded after the July 31st trade deadline.

It’s doubtful that the Dodgers anticipate utilizing Lobaton at the MLB level. He hasn’t been a passable offensive performer in the majors since 2016. In parts of nine seasons in the majors, the switch-hitter carries a .215/.293/.319 slash.

But with prospect Keibert Ruiz going down with an injury, there was a need for a gap-filler at Triple-A. And the Dodgers undoubtedly wish to be sure they’re covered with sufficient organizational depth in the event of an unanticipated run of injuries.

Checking In On Last Winter’s 5 Biggest Free Agent Hitter Contracts

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Last winter’s free-agent market was debated for years in advance. Its slow pace led to a long period of tension that has extended into early CBA negotiations. There was and is much at stake that goes beyond the bounds of the individual contracts that were negotiated. But those specific deals are also interesting and important standing alone — particularly those that involved significant, multi-year commitments.

We’ll take a look in at the thirteen players who signed for $30MM or more in total guaranteed money to see how those contracts look now that we’re more than two-thirds of the way through their first seasons. Here are the five position players who inked such deals:

Bryce Harper, OF, Phillies (13 years, $330MM): Harper has turned his back on those ugly defensive metrics from a year ago. So, that’s nice. Much less encouraging: Harper is back-sliding in plate discipline (26.3% K rate vs. 15.6% BB rate) and power (.215 ISO). He’s swinging and missing more than ever (14.7%). Notably, his contact rate on pitches in the strike zone has stayed below 80% in each of the past two seasons, a rather notable downturn given that he had previously registered in the mid-eighties. Statcast hints at some poor fortune (.355 wOBA vs. .374 xwOBA), and we might reasonably anticipate some movement back towards Harper’s career mean, but the overall results haven’t been terribly promising for a player who is owed a lot of money over an exceptionally lengthy period of time.

Manny Machado, 3B, Padres (10 years, $300MM): Like Harper, Machado owns a good but hardly overwhelming 117 wRC+. The Friars third bagger just hasn’t stung the ball quite as often as he did in the two prior seasons. And his strikeout rate sits at a career-high 20.2%. While Machado could end up setting a career high-water mark in long balls with 26 already in the bag (his prior his is 37), he hasn’t been quite as good at the plate as one might have hoped in year one of a decade-long commitment.

A.J. Pollock, OF, Dodgers (4 years, $55MM): Another round of elbow issues has limited Pollock and he’s carrying a league-average .257/.319/.444 batting line. That’s not great at first glance, but the situation is more promising when you look more closely. The elbow surgery he underwent may finally have put an end to his long-running series of issues in that joint. And he has raked since returning from the injured list. It’d be foolish to say that this contract is working out perfectly, but it’s far too soon to label it a bust.

Andrew McCutchen, OF, Phillies (3 years, $50MM): This one was off to such a promising start. Cutch was walking like a maniac while delivering solid pop to open the season, but went down with a devastating knee injury in his 59th game of action. He’ll have plenty of time to get ready for 2020, but the Phillies lost a big chunk of the anticipated early production from the signing and will have to wait to see whether the ACL repair will cost the venerable veteran some of his athleticism.

Michael Brantley, OF, Astros (2 years, $32MM): The last position player on this list has outperformed all the others. Brantley is maintaining his typically exceptional contact rates while hitting for more power than ever before (.192 ISO, 16 home runs in 467 plate appearances). He’s also receiving strong marks for his glovework. This deal is working out swimmingly for the ’Stros.

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We ought to give an honorable mention to the players who signed big one-year deals when they could have topped $30MM in a multi-year scenario. Josh Donaldson ($23MM) and Yasmani Grandal ($18.25MM) have each been excellent. (Ditto Nelson Cruz, though the long-in-the-tooth DH’s $14.3MM single-season salary suggests he didn’t quite have that level of earning power.)

Blue Jays Claim Zack Godley

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TODAY: The Jays officially added Godley to the active roster, optioning right-hander Brock Stewart to Triple-A in a corresponding move.

YESTERDAY: The Blue Jays have claimed righty Zack Godley off waivers from the Diamondbacks, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter). Toronto will owe Godley the remainder of his $609K salary.

It’s easy to see why the Jays took a shot on the 29-year-old Godley. In need of some additional arms to finish out the season, there’s no harm in giving him an opportunity. And the club could tender Godley a contract for 2020 if he manages to bounce back.

Make no mistake, though: it has been a rough campaign to this point for Godley. His strikeout rate has plummeted to just 6.9 K/9 after sitting at better than a batter-per-inning in the prior two seasons. Godley is giving up more homers than he had in those immediately preceding campaigns as well. The result: a 6.39 ERA over 76 innings.

A mid-season move to a multi-inning relief role did help, as Godley’s velocity turned up a bit. He held opposing hitters to a .218/.297/.414 batting line and posted an improved 28:13 K/BB ratio. But he was also tagged for seven long balls and a 4.62 ERA in his 37 relief frames.

Godley is just two years removed from an excellent 2017 campaign and also posted reasonably promising peripherals last year. But he’ll have to figure some things out if he’s to get back on an upward trajectory. Rediscovering some of the lost velo would help. He’s generating swinging-strikes at a significantly lower rate than he did in his ’17 effort (10.1% vs. 13.3%), with the difference residing almost entirely in the fact that hitters have made way more contact on pitches out of the zone. His groundball rate has sagged from 55.3% at its peak to to just 43.0% this year.

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