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Indians Ink First-Rounder Tanner Burns

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The Indians have a deal in place with supplemental first-round selection Tanner Burns, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis (Twitter link). It’s a $1.6MM bonus that falls shy of the $2,045,400 slot allocation that came with the 36th pick.

Burns drew first-round grades from several pundits, with Baseball America, The Athletic, and MLB.com all ranking him among the thirty best players available. ESPN.com and Fangraphs were somewhat less bullish but still saw him as at least a second-round player.

Though he isn’t viewed as possessing overwhelming upside, Burns is seen as having a starter’s arsenal with excellent fastball command. It seems that long-term durability represents the biggest question, though it’s based more on his lack of height (he’s 6’0) than on a particularly concerning history of injuries (though there have been some shoulder woes).

Yankees Release Adam Warren

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The Yankees have released righty Adam Warren, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link). He had been with the team on a minor-league pact.

Warren, who has been working back from Tommy John surgery, was not a participant in Summer Camp. His contract is a two-year arrangement, befitting his rehab status.

It seems that coronavirus-related roster management matters forced the decision. GM Brian Cashman explained that Warren is progressing well, as Jack Curry of YES reports on Twitter. Indeed, the expectation is that the Yanks will work out a new deal with him in the coming offseason.

The 32-year-old Warren had a rough ’19 campaign with the Padres and hasn’t had a lot of success outside of New York. But he has always had some magic in pinstripes. Over 407 total frames with the Yanks, he carries a 3.18 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9.

Red Sox Sign Zack Godley; Rodriguez & Hernandez Back In Camp

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As anticipated, the Red Sox have reached agreement with righty Zack Godley, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports on Twitter. The deal is now formally wrapped up, with Godley taking a 60-man player pool spot and heading to Summer Camp.

Godley will still need to earn his way onto the Boston 40-man and active roster. But he’s expected to have ample opportunity to do so.

The Red Sox did finally get some other good news on the pitching front. Southpaws Eduardo Rodriguez and Darwinzon Hernandez, each sidelined due to coronavirus considerations, are back in camp, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe tweets. They’ll still need to build up to regular season readiness.

Godley, 30, was cut free recently by the Tigers. Since he had participated in the Detroit organization’s Summer Camp, Godley is in a relatively advanced position in terms of readiness. With the Boston rotation short on experienced options, he’s seen as a plug-and-go option.

Whether Godley can seize the opportunity remains to be seen. He has had his chances in recent years but has thus far failed to regain the form he showed earlier in his career. In his best season, 2017, Godley turned in 155 innings of 3.37 ERA pitching with 9.6 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, and a 55.3% groundball rate.

Julio Teheran Back In Angels Camp

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After a long delay related to COVID-19 protocols, righty Julio Teheran is back in camp with the Angels, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register was among those to report on Twitter. It’s not clear when he’ll be formally cleared to get in uniform, but it seems Teheran is nearing a resumption of activities.

Given the timing, there’s virtually no chance Teheran will be ready to step into the Halos rotation when the 2020 season finally gets underway next week. He had taken the ball twice in Spring Training before the season went on ice, but he has not yet participated in Summer Camp and surely still needs to build up his arm.

Teheran agreed over the winter to a one-year, $9MM pact with the Angels. The durable 29-year-old had quite a few productive seasons over his tenure with the Braves and posted a strong 3.81 ERA in 2019. Fielding-independent metrics were less than enthused about his work, however, and Teheran’s fastball velocity has continued to trail off.

The underlying situation that led the Angels to sign Teheran underwent some change during the pandemic-forced pause. Shohei Ohtani and Griffin Canning each had unexpected opportunities to rest, putting the L.A. rotation in better shape to open the season than had been anticipated. That’s not to say that the depth won’t be appreciated, but the club likely won’t feel it needs to rush Teheran’s readiness.

Rockies To Select Contracts Of Daniel Bard, Matt Kemp, Chris Owings

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The Rockies will carry long-lost MLB reliever Daniel Bard on their Opening Day roster, GM Jeff Bridich tells reporters including Nick Groke of The Athletic (Twitter links). He’ll have to be selected to the 40-man roster in order to be activated.

Also making the Rox were outfielder Matt Kemp and utilityman Chris Owings. They’ve had much more recent MLB activity than Bard, but are also looking for redemption after crashing out with other organizations.

Once an exciting young reliever, Bard ended up with irredeemable control problems after an attempted rotation conversion. His path back to the majors has been anything but straightforward. Remarkably, Bard’s last MLB pitch came more than seven years ago, in late April of 2013.

Rockies To Release Bryan Shaw, Jake McGee

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The Rockies have requested release waivers on relievers Bryan Shaw and Jake McGee, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.com (via Twitter) and Thomas Harding of MLB.com (Twitter link). Barring the extremely unlikely event of a claim, both players will return to the open market.

When last these veteran hurlers tested the waters, they found irresistible bait dangling from the Rockies’ line. Both were lured to Denver with three-year, $27MM deals in December of 2017. Closer Wade Davis followed soon after with a three-year, $52MM pact.

At the time, the hope was that installing a trio of established late-inning arms would put the Rox over the top. It’s not as if any of the hurlers took down much more than was anticipated entering the offseason. But it was a significant risk to add all three. The Rockies were obviously prepared to accept the downside scenario, but surely didn’t think it could work out as poorly as it did.

Shaw, long a high-quality setup man, has limped to a 5.61 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 over 126 2/3 innings in Colorado. The 32-year-old struggled in Cactus League action this spring. McGee, soon to turn 34, carries a 5.54 ERA in his 92 2/3 frames since re-signing. While he owns a sturdy-enough combination of 8.0 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9, he has allowed two dingers per nine over the past two years.

So, is Coors Field to blame? Shaw was actually quite a lot better at home than on the road last year, so it doesn’t seem to explain much in his case. The opposite is true of McGee. Then again, the more revealing split may be in the platoon department. He was tuned up by right-handed hitters (.326/.390/.663) in 2019.

This move won’t really save the Rockies any money, but it’ll clear the deck for other players and wipe out some final earning possibilities for each of the two veterans.

Shaw’s deal promised him $9MM this year, so he’s still due the pro-rated portion of that. He’ll also get a $2MM buyout on a $9MM option, which would’ve been guaranteed with just forty appearances (had it been a full 2020 season). McGee needed 65 appearances (full season) for his $9MM option to vest. Instead, he’ll earn a pro-rated portion of his $9.5MM salary for 2020 and will also still be due a $2MM buyout.

Cubs Select Jason Kipnis, Return & Re-Acquire Trevor Megill

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The Cubs have announced a pair of 40-man roster moves, with Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic among those to cover things on Twitter. The club selected the contract of veteran infielder Jason Kipnis, ensuring he’ll be on the Opening Day roster when the season gets underway.

To create 40-man roster space, the club made a two-part move with respect to recent Rule 5 pick Trevor Megill. After he cleared waivers — any other team could’ve stepped into the R5 rights by committing a 40-man spot — the Cubs sent cash to the Padres to secure Megill’s permanent rights. He’ll remain in the team’s 60-man player pool.

Kipnis has long seemed likely to crack the Cubbies’ roster and that’s now in the books. The 33-year-old struggled in spring action but offers ample versatility and veteran guile while also carrying a hint of upside. Kipnis has hit at a below-average rate for each of the past three seasons, but was a star-level performer before that. He has long carried heavy platoon splits, so the Cubs may see value in limiting him to deployment against right-handed pitching.

As for Megill, 26, the Cubs obviously saw merit in not only drafting him but pursuing his long-term rights. He did carry 12.7 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 last year in 50 1/3 Triple-A frames, though he managed only a 4.47 ERA. The club was clearly also concerned with being required to carry Megill on the active roster this year. This way, it can allow him to continue developing and call upon him only if it seems prudent. If he doesn’t earn his way to the majors in 2020, Megill will be eligible again for the Rule 5 draft this winter.

Latest On Blue Jays, Toronto

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6:55pm: Ontario Premier Doug Ford is fully confident the Blue Jays will receive the go-ahead to play in Toronto, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet writes. In the event that doesn’t happen, though, the team has identified Buffalo (home of its Triple-A club) as its Plan B, according to Davidi. Dunedin, Fla., also remains a possibility.

3:27pm: The Canadian federal government has not yet given the Blue Jays clearance to play in Toronto, Mitchell tweets. The city of Toronto and the province of Ontario have, on the other hand, but the Blue Jays will also need approval at the federal level, per Mitchell, who adds that a decision should come within a few days.

3:15pm: Despite MacLeod’s statement, this isn’t a done deal yet, per reports from Scott Mitchell of TSN, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet and David Cochrane of CBC.

3:02pm: The Blue Jays have received authorization from the relevant authorities to host regular season 2020 contests at the Rogers Centre, Ontario’s Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Minister Lisa MacLeod revealed on TSN 1200 (Twitter link).

The organization had previously received clearance only to host Summer Camp activities in Toronto. That’s a much more limited undertaking, as it involved bringing players and personnel into the ballpark complex (which includes a hotel) only once, after completion of coronavirus testing occurred in the United States.

Holding home games in Toronto, while traveling elsewhere for away contests, will present quite a different logistical challenge when it comes to limiting potential COVID-19 transmission. There is presently a mutual ban on non-essential travel between the neighboring nations. Canadian authorities are no doubt concerned with the skyrocketing case numbers coming out of many U.S. cities (including some that host MLB teams).

It’s obviously good news for the Jays that they’ll get to have a relatively normal experience during the season. That’s not to say that there’s much hope of paying fans. But setting up a whole separate operation in some other place might’ve been a costly and challenging venture.

Orioles Add 3 To 60-Man Pool

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The Orioles have added three players to their 60-man player pool, per a club announcement. Outfielder Yusniel Diaz, lefty DL Hall, and infielder Ramon Urias will all be joining the team’s second training location at Bowie.

Each of these players is still working towards a big league debut. In the case of Diaz and Hall, they’ve long been considered among the organization’s top prospects. The former came over in the Manny Machado trade, while the latter was chosen in the first round of the 2017 draft.

Urias, 26, is in a different position. He earned a 40-man spot with the Cardinals but ended up on the waiver wire over the offseason. The O’s plucked the second bagger with intentions of giving him a crack at earning a utility job. He had scuffled in limited Spring Training action, following a rough stretch in the Mexican League, but did turn in a solid .263/.369/.424 output in 375 Triple-A plate appearances last year.

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