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Dodgers Promote Will Smith, Place Austin Barnes On 10-Day IL

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The Dodgers have selected the contract of catching prospect Will Smith, per a club announcement. He’ll take the active roster spot of fellow backstop Austin Barnes, who’s headed to the 10-day injured list with a groin strain.

Smith, a former first-round draft pick, is known as a well-rounded overall performer behind the dish. He entered the season with a consensus grade as one of the ten best players in the Los Angeles farm system.

The 24-year-old Louisville product has generally performed well at the bat in the minors, but has been more impressive than ever thus far in 2019. Through 166 plate appearances at Triple-A, he carries a .290/.404/.551 slash with eight long balls and 25 walks against 35 strikeouts.

That’s quite a bit of offense for a player who is also considered a fine defensive performer. Smith could at some point take over as the regular behind the dish in L.A., though he’ll be looking over his shoulder at Keibert Ruiz — an even more-hyped young catcher who is playing at the Double-A level.

For now, Smith will be tasked with filling in. It doesn’t seem as if Barnes will be down for long with the injury, so a return to Triple-A could take place soon thereafter. That said, it is notable that the Dodgers have placed Smith on the 40-man roster and elected to give him a look at this stage of the season.

Rangers Designate Jeanmar Gomez

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The Rangers have designated righty Jeanmar Gomez, per a team announcement. His active roster spot will go to lefty Kyle Bird.

Gomez, 31, was brought in on a minors deal that included a $1MM salary in the majors. He made the roster out of camp when the team decided to keep him rather than control-challenged flamethrower Connor Sadzeck.

That decision hasn’t worked out for the Rangers to this point. While Sadzeck has found a home in Seattle, Gomez has mostly been ineffective.

Through 15 1/3 innings this year, Gomez carries an ugly 8.22 ERA. That’s due in no small part to a low 55.2% strand rate, as well as a .389 BABIP that would be expected to trend down over a full season.

Gomez does carry a 55.2% groundball rate. ERA estimators think he has been better than the results. Still, with just 5.9 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 and a minuscule 5.9% swinging-strike rate, he did not exactly have the peripherals of a successful reliever.

Phillies Place Pat Neshek On 10-Day Injured List

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TODAY: Neshek is dealing with rotator cuff inflammation, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Matt Breen tweets.  Neshek will “be out for a little while,” though the team doesn’t believe the injury will threaten his season.

SATURDAY: Phillies reliever Pat Neshek is expected to be placed on the 10-day injured list, manager Gabe Kapler told reporters including Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia (Twitter link). He is dealing with shoulder soreness.

The specifics of the malady aren’t clear, but caution is typically the wisest course when that particular joint is involved. Neshek, 38, had an excellent record of durability before running into some health issues last year.

It’s hard not to notice that the veteran hurler has had a few rough outings of late. In particular, he allowed three runs and two long balls in his latest appearance, bumping his season-long ERA from 3.24 to 4.67.

There have been some changes in the underlying numbers for Neshek, though it’s hard to know precisely what they mean in such a short sample. Neshek has only nine strikeouts on the year, but he has also allowed only a single walk in his 17 1/3 innings. His swinging-strike rate has dipped to 8.9%, markedly lower than his recent levels. And the typically flyball heavy sidearmer has drawn more grounders than usual, even while allowing homers at a greater rate (16.0% HR/FB) than ever before.

George Springer Placed On 10-Day IL With Hamstring Injury

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3:53 pm: It’s a grade 2 hamstring strain for Springer, who’ll indeed be out “a while,” per the Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome. Manager A.J. Hinch did note that injury “isn’t as dramatic as [the club] initially feared.”

2:17 pm: Springer will indeed hit the IL, per the team.

Friday, 10:50pm: Star Astros outfielder George Springer left tonight’s game with a left hamstring injury, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters including MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart (video links via Twitter). Springer said he’s not sure of the outlook, but was obviously frustrated with the situation in his comments.

A formal assessment of the injury has not yet been obtained, but it seems a trip to the injured list is all but inevitable. Hinch made clear that the organization is not anticipating good news when Springer goes in for a full evaluation. The skipper explained that he is “not looking forward to the diagnosis, to be honest,” adding that the situation “doesn’t look very good.”

Springer kept the door open to a more promising result, saying he’s “hoping for some good news,” though it didn’t seem as if he’s terribly optimistic. He had been nursing a back injury but was deemed good to go this evening. As he put it, it “sucks” to have suffered a new malady on the heels of four missed contests.

It goes without saying that Springer is a key cog for the ’Stros, who are already missing star second baseman Jose Altuve. Of course, the Houston ballclub is in excellent position regardless — not just because of its hefty divisional lead, but due to its ridiculous reserve of talent.

If indeed Springer hits the IL, it’ll be interesting to see what the club does to fill in. The team has three outfielders blistering the baseball at Triple-A, with former top prospect Derek Fisher (who is still just 25 years of age) joined by phenoms Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez to form an exceptionally impressive unit at Round Rock. Alvarez’s numbers leap off the page even against those of his teammates, but he’s the only one of the group that doesn’t already have a 40-man spot.

It’s possible the club will bypass that trio entirely. It could instead turn to Myles Straw, a young right-handed-hitting outfielder who’s already on the MLB roster. He’s a speed-and-defense type who could be an interesting postseason roster piece and would help balance the current outfield mix as a right-handed hitter. Needless to say, the organization isn’t hurting for option.

Nationals Don’t Expect Near-Term Managerial Change

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Nationals president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo addressed his team’s brutal recent run of play, as Sam Fortier of the Washington Post was among those to report (links to Twitter). He made clear the organization is not looking to make any major changes — including in the managerial role.

Rizzo obviously saw the need to address the direction of the D.C. organization after a brutal series in New York. And he put to rest any questions about the safety of skipper Dave Martinez, though he didn’t do so in as formal a manner as the rival Mets did recently.

Chatting with reporters, Rizzo said that “there’s plenty of blame to go around.” He acknowledged that “it’s hard to watch sometimes,” an assessment of the club that is hard to argue with.

Rizzo made clear, though, that he doesn’t think it’d be sensible to make any momentous decisions at this point in time. “[W]e’re certainly not going to pull the plug before we’re a third … through the season,” he said.

While there’s obviously a desire to do something to spur a change, that assessment seems sensible. Martinez has faced his share of criticism, and no doubt shares in the blame, but there are numerous failings in the organization. Changing the manager isn’t going to magically turn the relief staff into a competent group. And roster changes are awfully tough to pull off this time of the year.

At some point, of course, that all may change. Regardless of what may occur with the dugout leadership, the club will certainly need to make some difficult calls if it remains buried in the division. Rizzo said he’d be willing to adjust as necessary if the direction doesn’t change, as the WaPo’s Jesse Dougherty tweets, though the club had a hard time letting go last year. Though the team ultimately moved several expiring contracts, ownership wasn’t able to pull the trigger on a Bryce Harper trade. Whether a similar decision will need to be made this summer on Anthony Rendon remains to be seen.

Orioles Move Dan Straily To Bullpen

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Righty Dan Straily is being shifted into the bullpen, the Orioles informed reporters including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). It isn’t yet known who’ll step into his spot in the rotation.

This move wasn’t hard to see coming. The O’s added Straily for a low price at the outset of the year, with the idea that he’d help solidify the rotation. Unfortunately, that has just not happened.

While the 30-year-old has been a sturdy rotation piece for several years now, he has been drubbed in Baltimore. Over 34 2/3 innings, he carries a 9.09 ERA with just 18 strikeouts against 17 walks. Opposing hitters have already launched 14 long balls.

Straily is living outside of the zone (career-low 38.8%) in an effort to avoid that hard contact. He’s struggling to get swinging strikes (career-low 7.3%). Opposing hitters are putting the ball in the air against him more than ever before, with 20.6% of those flies leaving the yard.

While the O’s don’t have any particularly compelling replacement options, they are said to be browsing the market for pitching depth. If they can’t find a new arm quickly, they’ll need to look internally for at least one start. Just-claimed hurler Chandler Shepherd is one possibility. 40-man members Josh Rogers, Jimmy Yacabonis, and Luis Ortiz are also presently working at Triple-A. Southpaw Keegan Akin is there as well. He’s perhaps the most intriguing possibility, but would need a 40-man spot to be promoted.

Angels To Activate Andrew Heaney; Latest On Justin Upton

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The Angels will activate lefty Andrew Heaney for his first action of the season, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register was among those to cover (Twitter links). He’ll take the ball Sunday after opening the season in the injured list due to elbow inflammation.

Though he’s a bit further off, outfielder Justin Upton can now begin working in earnest toward his own activation. His turf toe injury has healed to the point that he can “run on 100 percent of his weight” and participate in batting practice and outfield work on the field.

It’s nice to see some positive health news for the Halos, who have become accustomed to crushing blows in recent years. Unfortunately, the team just sent shortstop Andrelton Simmons to the injured list with a significant ankle injury.

Heaney, who’ll soon turn 28, had Tommy John surgery in July of 2016. It was quite promising, then, to see him turn in thirty starts and 180 innings of 4.15 ERA pitching last year. And the elbow issues that cropped up this spring were all the more concerning.

Though he has only made one formal rehab start, it was quite a good one. Heaney allowed just two hits and a walk while racking up ten strikeouts in 4 1/3 scoreless innings for the club’s top affiliate. Hopefully, he can build off of that showing and give a boost to a beleaguered rotation.

Heaney is earning $3.4MM this season. He’s eligible for arbitration twice more, with free agency beckoning after the 2021 campaign.

Cardinals Move Michael Wacha To Bullpen

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The Cardinals have decided to move struggling righty Michael Wacha to the bullpen, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch was among those to report on Twitter.

Wacha, 27, just hasn’t turned the corner this year after turning in good results during an injury-shortened 2018 campaign. Through nine starts in the present season, he carries a 5.59 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 5.6 BB/9 over 46 2/3 frames.

It’s certainly hard to ignore the downturn in Wacha’s overall showing. He’s working with less velocity than ever before (93.0 mph average fastball). His swinging-strike (8.1%) and soft contact (11.9%) rates are sitting at career-low levels. Wacha has been out of the zone on nearly three of every five pitches, much lower than his career average, and has already allowed as many homers (9) this year as he did in nearly twice as many innings in 2018.

The timing isn’t great for Wacha. He’s earning $6.35MM this season in his final run through arbitration. Unless he can engineer a stunning turnaround over the final two-thirds of the season, Wacha’s prospective free agent opportunities will be more of the bounceback than the multi-year variety.

It isn’t yet known how the Cards will fill the open rotation slot, but there are options at Triple-A. Austin Gomber has been throwing quite well and could make for a sensible choice, though he needs to clear a few health hurdles first. Alex Reyes has been tough to square up but is also giving out too many walks; he’ll surely be called back to the majors at some point, but may spend a bit more time working out the kinks at the highest level of the minors.

Carlos Gomez Hires MVP Sports Group

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Veteran outfielder Carlos Gomez has hired MVP Sports Group to represent him, per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter). Gomez had been with the Boras Corporation, which negotiated his extension with the Brewers and various ensuing free agent contracts.

Gomez, 33, has been a fixture in the majors since 2008, his first full season in the bigs. He debuted the year prior with the Mets, but ended up being shipped to the Twins in a major swap that altered the fates of both franchises. Gomez did not fully hit his stride until years later, when he broke out with the Brewers and enjoyed a brief spell as one of the game’s most productive outfielders.

Now, Gomez is back in New York. He inked a minors deal with the Mets over the winter and recently joined the MLB roster when an opportunity opened due to injuries. He’s playing well out of the gates, with three base knocks (including one well-timed home run) and three walks in twenty plate appearances.

There’s no reason to think that Gomez will ever revisit his days as a star center fielder. But he was a quality all-around MLB roster piece as recently as 2017, when he slashed .255/.340/.462 with the Rangers. If he can bounce back from a rough ’18 campaign and carve out a place on the Mets roster, Gomez could again be seen as a solid outfield target when he returns to the open market this coming winter.

As always, you can keep up to date on representation matches with MLBTR’s Agency Database.

Diamondbacks Place David Peralta On 10-Day IL

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The Diamondbacks have placed outfielder David Peralta on the 10-day injured list, per a club announcement. He’s said to be dealing with inflammation in his right AC joint.

Coming onto the MLB roster to fill in is outfielder Tim Locastro. He’ll join Kevin Cron, whose previously reported promotion is now official. To create an additional roster spot, the club optioned righty Jimmie Sherfy.

The 31-year-old Peralta has followed up on his strong 2018 showing with an excellent .309/.357/.524 slash in 2017 plate appearances this year. He has also been dealing with some shoulder problems of late. Evidently, the issue progressed to the point that it was decided he needed to take at least a brief respite.

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