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Minor MLB Transactions: 8/23/17

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Here are some of the latest minor moves from around the game, as reported by Baseball America’s Matt Eddy, unless otherwise noted:

  • The Tigers announced tonight that they’ve optioned lefty Chad Bell to Triple-A Toledo and will select the contract of right-hander Zac Reininger prior to Thursday’s contest. The 24-year-old Reininger was Detroit’s eight-round pick back in 2013 and has had a strong season across three minor league levels in 2017, rising from Class-A Advanced to Triple-A. In 63 2/3 total innings, Reininger has posted a 2.54 ERA with 8.5 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9. His ground-ball rate was a strong 53.4 percent in 28 Class-A frames but has fallen to the 39 percent range in the upper minors.

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Red Sox Place Jackie Bradley Jr. On 10-Day DL

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5:08pm: Tests on Bradley’s thumb indicated that he does not have any tears or fractures in his thumb, but it still looks like he’ll miss more than the 10-day minimum due to this injury (Twitter links from Britton). Bradley will wear a splint on his hand for around a week, and he’ll need some time to get back up to speed once the splint is removed.

1:38pm: The Red Sox have placed outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. on the 10-day DL, per a club announcement (via Tim Britton of the Providence Journal; Twitter links). He has been diagnosed with a left thumb sprain, per the team.

Bradley was injured on a play at the plate last night, leading to fears that he may have suffered a significant injury. With MRI results still yet to be revealed, at least publicly, the severity of the damage is not yet known. Boston will obviously hope that Bradley can bounce back relatively quickly, with a division lead to protect and less than six weeks until the start of the postseason.

The Sox have recalled infielder Deven Marrero to take the open roster spot. He will likely function as a utility option, perhaps freeing Brock Holt to share time in left field with Chris Young. It seems reasonable to anticipate that Andrew Benintendi will shift over to center while Bradley is down. While right fielder Mookie Betts is also capable of playing up the middle, Benintendi has seen more time there in recent years.

Thus far in 2017, Bradley has taken a slight step back at the plate but continued to function as a quality regular. He’s running a .262/.343/.432 slash with 14 home runs through 440 plate appearances. Though Bradley is reaching base and making hard contact as frequently as ever, his .170 isolated slugging mark sits well shy of the rates he carried in the prior two seasons (.219 in 2016; .249 in a shorter sample in 2015). Of course, he remains a quality defender and baserunner as well as a key part of the Red Sox roster.

Indians Place Miller, Salazar, Kipnis On 10-Day DL

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3:32pm: The team doesn’t currently have a timetable for Kipnis’ return, manager Terry Francona tells reporters (Twitter links via Bastian). An MRI revealed a strain, but there could be some scar tissue forming in Kipnis’ hamstring as well. As for Miller, the Indians consulted with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ medical staff to get another opinion on dealing with this type of injury to a player of Miller’s height. They’ll have a more detailed update tomorrow, but it doesn’t appear that the injury is especially serious.

Aug. 23, 1:57pm: Kipnis is headed to the DL with what the team is calling a hamstring strain, though the severity isn’t yet known. Infielder Erik Gonzalez has been recalled to take his roster spot.

Aug. 22, 10:38pm: Indians fans can breathe a sigh of relief with respect to Salazar, as Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon-Journal tweets that his MRI came back clean. That said, Salazar will still “be down a few days before being built back up,” per Lewis.

Unfortunately for Cleveland fans, though, there’s now yet another injury situation over which to have some trepidation. Second baseman Jason Kipnis exited tonight’s game in the second inning with tightness in his right hamstring, and Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets that Kipnis is scheduled for an MRI of his own tomorrow.

Kipnis was on the disabled list from July 9 through Aug. 6 due to a strained right hamstring and missed three additional games with discomfort in that same hamstring earlier this month.

4:22pm: MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets that Salazar felt “tightness” in his right elbow during a side session Tuesday and will undergo an MRI later tonight.

2:23pm: The Indians have placed two key hurlers — lefty Andrew Miller and right-handed starter Danny Salazar — on the 10-day DL, per a club announcement. The team has recalled righty Shawn Armstrong and infielder Yandy Diaz to take the open roster spots.

It’s disappointing to see both Miller and Salazar landing back on the DL so soon after recent trips. The former left his appearance last night after a worrying dip in velocity, as his patellar tendinitis flared up. Meanwhile, the latter has been diagnosed with elbow inflammation. He missed a lengthy stretch with shoulder woes, but had pitched brilliantly in his first five starts upon his return before turning in a dud in his last outing.

The outlook on these two pitchers isn’t yet clear, but Cleveland will obviously be hoping for a relatively quick return. While the Indians do enjoy a fairly healthy 5.5-game cushion in the AL Central, that’s hardly an unassailable position. If a repeat postseason run is to be had, the club will need these high-powered arms at its disposal.

Reds Designate Blake Wood, Select Contract Of Alejandro Chacin

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The Reds have announced a series of transactions designed to get some fresh arms to the majors. In moves with 40-man implications, righty Blake Wood was designated for assignment while the team selected the contract of fellow right-hander Alejandro Chacin. Additionally, righty Luke Farrell was recalled and outfielder Phil Ervin was optioned back to Triple-A.

It’s a bit surprising to see Cincinnati cut ties with Wood, who is eligible for arbitration one final time in 2018 after earning $1.275MM this year. The 32-year-old does carry an ugly 5.65 ERA, but that’s due in large part to the staggering nine earned runs he allowed in his last two outings. (More generally, too, he carries a low strand rate of 62.1% and has been tagged for a lofty .364 BABIP by opposing hitters.) Of course, that pair of disastrous appearances also likely paved the way for today’s move.

Despite the less-than-exciting earned run average, Wood has averaged 9.7 K/9 against 4.6 BB/9 on the year while sporting a 53.6% groundball rate. And he still delivers an upper-nineties heater that could hold appeal to other organizations.

That said, the Reds surely at least looked for takers and perhaps found insufficient interest. And the move makes way for Chacin, a 24-year-old who has steadily risen through the ranks over the past three years and figures to be a bullpen option for 2018 and beyond.

Chacin has spent the entirety of 2017 at Triple-A, posting a 2.60 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 over 69 1/3 innings in 44 appearances. That multi-inning versatility could give the Reds yet another flexible arm — part of an acknowledged strategy of the organization.

Cardinals Place Trevor Rosenthal On 60-Day DL

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The Cardinals have moved righty Trevor Rosenthal from the 10-day to the 60-day DL, per a club announcement. That move brings his season to an end, though a course of treatment for his elbow injury has yet to be disclosed.

With Rosenthal hitting the shelf for good, it seems Seung-hwan Oh is the odds-on favorite to function as the St. Louis closer the rest of the way. St. Louis has purchased the contract of southpaw Ryan Sherriff, necessitating the 40-man roster move. The club optioned righty Josh Lucas to clear active roster space.

While his fate this year has now been resolved, Rosenthal’s future remains up in the air. It is not yet entirely clear just what elbow injury he has suffered, though indications are that ligament damage is involved. Should Rosenthal require a significant procedure, such as Tommy John surgery, he might be sidelined long enough that the Cardinals would elect not to tender him a contract for his final year of arbitration eligibility. But the team could still keep him around — with a raise over his $6.4MM salary — if Rosenthal is instead able to rehab or escape with a less significant surgical approach.

Regardless, today’s news is quite disappointing for both the team and a player who had shown a return to form in 2017. The 27-year-old surrendered 6.5 walks and 4.46 earned runs per nine innings in a disappointing 2016 campaign that was further marred by questions about his arm health. He came into camp this year having lost his closer role, seeking instead to work as a starter.

As it turned out, Rosenthal ended up working back into the ninth for St. Louis, ultimately saving 11 games before hitting the DL. He carried a 3.40 ERA through 47 2/3 innings, tamping down on the free passes (3.8 BB/9) while sporting career-highs in strikeout rate (14.3 K/9), swinging-strike rate (15.9%), and average fastball velocity (98.9 mph).

No matter how things proceed from here, Rosenthal will surely be looked upon as one of the game’s most intriguing bounceback candidates given his age and demonstrated ceiling. Whether that effort will come with the Cards or another organization, though, remains to be seen.

Steven Matz Undergoes Elbow Surgery

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TODAY: Matz’s surgery took place today and went as expected, Carig tweets.

MONDAY, 8:36pm: Matz will indeed undergo a procedure to reposition his ulnar nerve, the Mets have announced. That will be scheduled in the coming days, per the announcement.

4:52pm:Mets lefty Steven Matz is dealing with a nerve issue in his pitching elbow that will likely lead to a DL stint and may require surgery, according to reports from Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News and Marc Carig of Newsday. It seems the problem is similar to the one experienced last year by teammate Jacob deGrom.

Matz, 26, has struggled through a disappointing campaign after showing immense promise in his first two seasons of MLB action. Through 13 starts, he has pitched only 66 2/3 innings with a 6.08 ERA, recording 6.5 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 while surrendering a dozen long balls. Arm health has been a longstanding concern for Matz, and he has already missed time this year for an elbow injury.

It seems that Matz has been skipping pen sessions between starts to help manage the issue, which has caused him pain all year long. There was at least some concern that the southpaw was experiencing arthritis; it’s not apparent whether that has been ruled out. Matz received treatment in the form of a shot earlier today, so perhaps his response will dictate the course of treatment.

It’s worth emphasizing that there’s no evidence of a structural problem in Matz’s elbow. And while it’s never good to hear of possible elbow surgery, deGrom has not shown any ill effects from the nerve repositioning procedure he underwent last September.

Still, this represents the latest jolt to a Mets’ rotation that was expected to be one of the game’s very best. If Matz hits the DL, only deGrom will remain standing among the hurlers that were expected to comprise the staff entering the year.

Outrighted: Vidal Nuno, Javy Guerra

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Two relievers have cleared outright waivers, today, according to announcements from their respective organizations:

  • Orioles lefty Vidal Nuno has been assigned to Triple-A after clearing waivers. The 30-year-old struggled badly in a dozen appearances earlier this year with the O’s, but hadn’t been in the majors since a mid-June stint. Nuno, who was acquired as camp opened this spring, has had more success this year at the highest level of the minors. Over 22 1/3 innings at Norfolk, he owns a 2.82 ERA with 10.5 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9.
  • The Marlins have sent righty Javy Guerra back to Triple-A New Orleans. He was designated for assignment yesterday and cleared waivers since. Guerra, 31, has posted three MLB seasons with at least forty innings of sub-3.00 ERA ball. But the last of those came in 2014 and he has largely struggled in the upper minors ever since. Thus far in 2017, Guerra has scuffled through four MLB appearances and carries a 4.99 ERA with 7.6 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9 in his 48 2/3 innings at Triple-A.

AL Central Notes: Herrera, Delmonico, Mahtook

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The AL Central-leading Indians are dealing with several notable injury issues, as we covered last night. While we wait for further updates out of Cleveland, here are some updates on a few of the other clubs from the division:

  • Royals closer Kelvin Herrera had to leave his appearance last night with what the team is describing as elbow tightness. As Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star reports, though, preliminary indications today are that he has avoided a significant injury and may not even require any time off. Herrera has not been his dominant self thus far in 2017, though clearly the Royals are still counting on him as they attempt a postseason push over the next five weeks.
  • White Sox newcomer Nicky Delmonico has broken onto the major league scene with an intriguing twenty-game run. Before he could push for an opportunity in the bigs, though, he had to overcome an addiction to Adderall, as David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune writes in a piece that’s well worth a full read. Delmonico sports an excellent .329/.434/.614 batting line with six home runs over his first 83 plate appearances. More impressively, perhaps, he has drawn a dozen walks to go with just 13 strikeouts.
  • Hot-hitting Tigers center fielder Mikie Mahtook may be playing his way into the club’s future plans, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free-Press writes. At a minimum, he has likely locked up the regular job for the rest of this season now that he owns a .288/.338/.464 batting line through 290 plate appearances on the year. It remains to be seen whether Mahtook can sustain that kind of productivity over a full season — after all, he has never sustained this level of power (.176 isolated slugging) over a full minor-league season, and his .343 batting average on balls in play likely will retreat at least somewhat. So long as he can keep hitting at an average or better rate the rest of the way, though, Detroit’s offseason plans will surely be impacted. Mahtook will not be eligible for arbitration until after the 2017 season, at the earliest.

Brewers Designate Paolo Espino

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The Brewers have designated righty Paolo Espino for assignment, per a club announcement. His roster spot was needed to make way for fellow right-hander Aaron Brooks, who was claimed off waivers.

Espino debuted in the majors this year for Milwaukee at thirty years of age. He made two starts and four relief appearances, but was tagged for a dozen earned runs in his 17 2/3 frames. Espino surrendered five long balls and eight walks while picking up 13 strikeouts.

It took quite some time for Espino to receive a call-up despite carrying a 3.76 ERA in over five hundred Triple-A innings. While he has a broad arsenal of pitches and has long demonstrated excellent control in the upper minors, Espino works at under 90 mph with his fastball and doesn’t miss many bats.

Jeff Mathis Suffers Fractured Hand

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Diamondbacks catcher Jeff Mathis has been diagnosed with a fractured right hand, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports on Twitter. He suffered the injury in last night’s game; initially it was believed he had escaped any broken bones.

It’s not yet known how long Mathis is expected to miss, but this seems like a fairly significant injury. It’s an avulsion fracture, per Piecoro, meaning that the ligament pulled away some amount of bone. (That seemingly makes it all the more impressive that Mathis initially stayed in the game.)

Whether or not surgery is required, the veteran receiver figures to miss a decent stretch. With Arizona fighting to keep a hold on a Wild Card, while also looking ahead to a hoped-for postseason berth, the club will need to figure out how to fill in for Mathis.

It’s possible that the D-Backs will simply utilize the open roster spot to address some other area of need, as the club does carry three players capable of lining up behind the dish. Chris Herrmann has seen plenty of action at catcher while also playing first base and the corner outfield. Then again, he hasn’t hit nearly as much as he did last year, with a .158/.250/.321 batting line that falls shy of the work of even the light-hitting Mathis. Arizona also recently acquired John Ryan Murphy, though he has struggled to get his bat going at Triple-A this year.

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