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Shane Bieber To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Guardians ace Shane Bieber will soon be undergoing a Tommy John surgery after experiencing elbow pain in each of his last two starts, the team announced.  Bieber will miss the rest of the 2024 season and roughly half of the 2025 season, as per the usual recovery timeline for TJ procedures.  As initially reported by MLB.com’s Mandy Bell, right-hander Peter Strzelecki has been called to take Bieber’s roster spot, now that the Guards have officially placed Bieber on the 15-day injured list.  (He’ll inevitably be moved to the 60-day IL when Cleveland next needs to open a 40-man roster spot.)

The devastating news comes on the heels of an injury-shortened 2023 campaign for the right-hander, as Bieber was limited to 128 innings while missing about two and a half months due to elbow inflammation.  He returned from the 60-day injured list to make two starts in late September, which seemingly indicated that the problem was behind him, and that Bieber could now look forward to a more normal offseason and ramp-up routine.  However, as the Guardians’ statement indicates, Bieber had some discomfort in his elbow following his first start this year, and the problem continued through his next outing.

Certainly nothing appeared to be amiss in terms of results, given that Bieber looked completely dominant in tossing 12 shutout innings and recording 20 strikeouts (against just one walk and 10 hits allowed) over his two starts.  This will now unfortunately mark the last we’ll see of Bieber on a big league mound for the next 13-15 months, and we might have already seen his final outing in a Cleveland uniform since he is a free agent this winter.

It counted as something of a surprise to see Bieber even still with the Guardians on Opening Day, given how it was widely assumed that the right-hander would be traded in advance of his walk year.  The Guards have routinely traded star players within 12-18 months of free agency since the organization is rarely (Jose Ramirez notwithstanding) willing to pay the money necessary to sign such prominent names to contract extensions.  As frustrating as this process has been for Cleveland fans, the front office’s track record in these trades has been pretty successful, and some of the players gained in those deals have helped the Guardians to remain competitive despite low payrolls.

If it wasn’t for his elbow issue last season, it is quite possible the Guards might’ve dealt Bieber at the last trade deadline.  His health status surely impacted his trade value this past winter, as despite reports linking the Angels, Dodgers, Reds, Yankees, and Cubs to Bieber’s market, Cleveland wasn’t able to work out a deal with any of these (and undoubtedly many other) interested suitors.  It’s easy to say now in the wake of Bieber’s Tommy John surgery that the Guardians should’ve moved him for whatever half-decent offer they received, though we don’t know what offers were on the table, and naturally the Guards weren’t keen on selling low on such a valuable trade asset.

There’s also the value of what Bieber brought to Cleveland’s own rotation, as the Guardians were hit with a lot of injuries to notable starters in 2023.  The team’s outstanding pitching development pipeline helped cover this problem in impressive fashion with the emergence of Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, and Logan Allen, and going into this season, the idea of that young trio teaming with Bieber and the returning Triston McKenzie seemed like a promising step in the Guards’ plans to return to contention.  However, Williams started the season on the 15-day IL due to elbow discomfort, and both Ben Lively and Xzavion Curry are also on the IL since a virus set the two pitchers back during Spring Training.

Veteran Carlos Carrasco has already stepped into the rotation in Williams’ place, and the Guardians will now have to hope for a quick recovery from either Lively or Curry with Bieber gone for the season.  Jaime Barria is also a candidate to pick up starts in the short term, or Hunter Gaddis or Tyler Beede could be stretched out from their current relief roles, or used in a piggyback/bulk starter capacity.

A fourth-round pick in the 2016 draft, Bieber became the latest star product of the Cleveland pitching factory when he made his MLB debut in 2018, and then finished fourth in AL Cy Young Award voting in 2019.  That breakout year led to Bieber winning the Cy during the shortened 2020 season, when he posted a 1.63 ERA over 77 1/3 innings.  While the season’s abbreviated nature carries an obvious asterisk, it was just the 13th time in MLB history that a pitcher led the entire league in ERA, wins (eight), and strikeouts (122) in the same year.

Bieber hasn’t since returned to those heights, though he still has a 3.13 ERA in 436 2/3 innings from 2021-24, and he was an All-Star in 2021 and a seventh-place finisher in Cy Young Award voting in 2022.  With this success came increasingly larger paydays throughout Bieber’s arbitration-eligible years, culminating in the arb-avoiding $13.125MM deal he signed for 2024.  A big bounce-back season would’ve therefore set him up quite nicely for a pricey free agent contract in the 2024-25 offseason, especially if he could’ve avoided a qualifying offer via a midseason trade from the Guardians.

As it stands now, Bieber might have to wait quite some time to score a hefty multi-year commitment.  Even if he pitches well after returning partway through the 2025 season, clubs might want to see a larger sample size of good health and good results before guaranteeing a nine-figure salary.  Assuming then that Bieber pitched well and stays healthy throughout 2026, he might then have a safer track record….but teams could then be wary of Bieber’s age, since 2027 would be his age-32 season.

Under the circumstances, there is a chance the Guardians could yet retain Bieber into 2025, as unlikely as this scenario would’ve seemed even a few days ago.  Cleveland might look to extend Bieber through the 2025 campaign or even both the 2025-26 seasons, on a low salary for 2025 and then the rest of the money backloaded into 2026.  We’ve seen such contractual models used for other pitchers recovering from lengthy injury rehabs, most recently Brandon Woodruff’s two-year, $17.5MM deal to re-sign with the Brewers less than two months ago.  If Bieber and the Guards had interest in such an arrangement, Bieber could complete his entire rehab in a familiar environment, and the Guardians could still get some benefit from having Bieber for part of 2025 and perhaps 2026.

White Sox Place Luis Robert Jr. On 10-Day Injured List

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4:58pm: As noted by James Fegan of SoxMachine, Robert told reporters that he has a Grade 2 hip flexor strain and doesn’t have a timeline for return, though he added that his current strain is not as severe as the flexor tendon tear that cost him much of the 2021 season. Meanwhile, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin relays that manager Pedro Grifol told reporters that Robert’s injury will require more than the ten-day minimum absence. Like Robert, Grifol added that he didn’t know how long the absence would be.

3:19pm: The White Sox announced this afternoon that they’ve placed Robert on the IL with a right hip flexor strain. Sosa has been called up to take Robert’s spot on the active roster.

8:55am: Friday was a tough night all around for the White Sox, beyond the club’s 2-1 loss to the Royals.  Center fielder Luis Robert Jr. was removed from the game in the ninth inning due to an injury to his right hip flexor, and right-hander John Brebbia was removed in the sixth inning due to a right calf strain.  Robert came up limping around first base after hitting a double, while Brebbia’s injury seemingly occurred while fielding a Salvador Perez grounder. Brebbia remained in the game to walk the next batter he faced before being pulled.

Both injuries come with some backstory.  Brebbia dealt with a calf strain during Spring Training, and made only two Cactus League appearances prior to the start of the regular season.  Robert’s situation is more ominous, as a right hip flexor strain cost him close to three months of the 2021 season.

More will be known about both players later today, though it would seem like a trip to the injured list is very likely.  James Fegan of the Sox Machine blog reports (via X) that infielder Lenyn Sosa is heading from Triple-A Charlotte to join the White Sox in Kansas City, and outfielder Oscar Colas was also pulled late from Charlotte’s game yesterday.  If Colas was also added to the active roster along with Sosa, that could mean the team is comfortable going at least one day with only 12 pitchers on the 26-man, at least until they can figure out a more direct pitching replacement for Brebbia.

Beyond the potential losses of Robert and Brebbia, Chicago already placed another prominent name on the 10-day IL just yesterday when Eloy Jimenez was sidelined with an adductor strain.  Between these injuries and a dismal 1-6 record, it is looking like another long year on the South Side in the aftermath of the team’s disastrous 101 losses in 2023.

Robert was one of the few bright spots of last year’s campaign, as the outfielder bounced back from two injury-plagued seasons to hit .264/.315/.542 with 38 homers and 20 steals (from 24 attempts) over 595 plate appearances.  Since he made his MLB debut in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, this marked Robert’s first regulation-length full season, and it showed the talent that made Robert such a highly-touted prospect both in Chicago’s farm system and coming out of Cuba in 2017.  The White Sox gave Robert a $26MM bonus as an international prospect, and then inked him to a six-year, $50MM deal before he had even played in his first big league game.

While the severity of Robert’s injury hasn’t yet been established, another lengthy stint on the IL could impact Chicago’s plans at the trade deadline and beyond.  Robert’s contract (which contains club options for 2026 and 2027) makes him one of the more cost-effective talents in the game, and since the White Sox seem to have at least one foot in the rebuilding waters, trading Robert would be the most logical way for GM Chris Getz to restock the farm system with talent.  Getz downplayed the idea of a Robert trade during the offseason, and given the amount of team control remaining in Robert’s deal, there isn’t any immediate need for the Sox to trade him soon.  An injury could well make this a moot point for 2024, at least, though if Robert misses a lot of time, it will lead to some inevitable second-guessing that Getz should have sold high on Robert this past winter.

Brebbia is a much more clear-cut trade candidate for this year’s deadline, as the righty signed only a one-year, $5.5MM deal (with a $6MM mutual option for 2025) with the White Sox back in January.  If Brebbia’s calf is able to heal relatively quickly, it shouldn’t have much impact on his deadline availability assuming he pitches well after his return, though injuries have been a significant part of his history.  The 33-year-old missed all of the 2020 season and most of the 2021 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, and a lat strain cost Brebbia close to half of the 2023 campaign when he was a member of the Giants’ bullpen.

Jonathan Loaisiga To Undergo Season-Ending UCL Surgery

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Yankees reliever Jonathan Loaisiga revealed to reporters (including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch) that he will need surgery to repair a torn UCL.  The procedure isn’t a Tommy John surgery so it comes with a shorter recovery timeline of 10-12 months, but Loaisiga will obviously still miss the rest of the 2024 season.

New York already placed Loaisiga on the 60-day injured list yesterday with what was described as a right flexor strain, and the fact that the right-hander was immediately sent to the 60-day IL was an ominous hint that he might be facing a particularly serious injury.  His 2024 campaign will now unfortunately come to an end after only three games and four scoreless innings.

This is the most serious injury yet in what has been a star-crossed career for the 29-year-old.  When Loaisiga has been able to pitch, he has been very effective — over 219 2/3 MLB innings, the righty has a 3.44 ERA, 22.5% strikeout rate, 7.8% walk rate, a very impressive 54.7% grounder rate, and some of the best soft-contact numbers of any hurler in the sport.  His bottom-line results have only better since a full-time move to relief pitching in 2021, and that season saw Loaisiga post a 2.17 ERA in 70 2/3 innings over 57 appearances.

2021 was also just about the healthiest season of Loaisiga’s career, and even that breakout campaign saw him miss about a month due to a rotator cuff strain and a stint on the COVID-related injury list.  He has since missed about seven weeks in 2022 with shoulder inflammation, and was then limited to 17 2/3 innings in 2023 due to elbow inflammation, surgery to remove a bone spur from that troublesome elbow, and then another inflammation-related IL placement last September.  This is all on top of a Tommy John surgery that Loaisiga did require back in 2016 soon after joining the Yankees organization.

Since Loaisiga is a free agent after the season, it is possible he has played his last game in the pinstripes.  The Yankees might simply want to move on from a pitcher with so many health-related question marks, yet Loaisiga won’t have a particularly high price tag coming off a lost season.  Since the Yankees know his injury history as well as anyone, if they still have faith Loaisiga can return, it seems entirely possible the two sides could agree on a low-cost one-year contract for 2025.  Given how the surgery hasn’t even taken place yet, there’s no rush for either side to make a decision yet, and New York will have several months to monitor Loaisiga’s recovery process.

From Loaisiga’s own perspective, obviously the UCL injury is a huge blow on many levels, but a good and healthy season would’ve lined him up for a nice free agent deal.  Though he lacks the big strikeout numbers that usually lead to the highest tier of reliever contracts, Loaisiga’s knack for inducing soft contact and keeping the ball on the ground would’ve drawn attention from plenty of suitors.  At a much lower price tag, this might still end up being the case in free agency, as Loaisiga has appeal as a buy-low candidate if he can establish that he’s healthy.

Scott Effross (back surgery) and Lou Trivino (Tommy John surgery) aren’t expected to be available until closer to midseason, plus the Yankees are being cautious with Tommy Kahnle’s recovery from shoulder inflammation since he was still battling some residual soreness in Spring Training.  Between these injured pitchers and Loaisiga, there is plenty of opportunity emerging in New York’s bullpen for the several new relievers acquired over the offseason.

Apart from the injury concerns in the relief corps, the larger-scale question of Gerrit Cole’s health is still hanging over the team as a whole, since the ace will be out until at least late May recovering from nerve inflammation.  The Yankees have done well in developing relief pitchers and finding hidden-gem bullpen options, so expect the team to continue pursuing lower-level acquisitions until some of their in-house names get healthy or until some bigger-name possibilities become available closer to the trade deadline.

Dodgers Acquire Connor Brogdon

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The Dodgers have acquired right-hander Connor Brogdon from the Phillies in exchange for minor league southpaw Benony Robles.  Both teams have announced the trade.

Philadelphia designated Brogdon for assignment earlier this week, and he will now switch teams for the first time in his professional career.  Brogdon was a 10th-round selection for the Phillies in the 2017 draft, and he had a 3.55 ERA, 24.1% strikeout rate, and 7.9% walk rate over 142 innings with the team from 2020-23.

Despite those generally solid numbers, the Phils shuffled Brogdon back and forth from the minors several times in his first three MLB seasons.  His production also dipped last season when his strikeout rate tipped to 20.5% and his walk rate jumped up to 10.2%, and Brogdon was tagged for five homers in 29 innings of work.  Between these red flags and a two-mile velocity drop on Brogdon’s fastball, the Phillies optioned the righty to Triple-A last June.

He didn’t make another big league appearance until this season, and Brogdon was hit hard for six earned runs in just two innings spread over three games.  With an ugly 27.00 ERA on his resume, Brogdon found himself on the Phillies’ DFA wire due to being out of minor league options.  He’ll now get a chance with another National League contender, and possibly might benefit from this specific change of scenery to a Dodgers team known for rehabilitating pitchers.

Robles was an international signing who began his pro career at age 18 with the Dodgers’ Dominican Summer League squad.  The southpaw’s control is a work in progress but he has shown some ability to miss bats, as evidenced by his whopping 38.7% strikeout rate in 32 2/3 innings at high-A Great Lakes last season.  Robles also had a 13.9% walk rate en route to a 3.86 ERA, so there’s some potential there for the 23-year-old as a relief weapon if he can limit the free passes.

Bonus Pools For 2025 International Signing Period

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The 2024 international signing window is still open until December 15, but the 30 MLB teams have long been making their plans for the next int’l signing period that begins on January 15 of next year.  According to Baseball America’s Ben Badler, the league gave each team its allotted bonus pool figures for next year’s international signing class.

Smaller-revenue teams get more money in their international bonus pools, as the two largest pool groupings match the 13 teams who are also part of the Competitive Balance Rounds in the North American amateur draft.  As it relates to the 2025 international market, the teams with the largest bonus pools are the eight teams who were slotted into the second CBR in the 2024 draft order — the six teams with the second-largest int’l pool are the teams slotted into CBR-A in this July’s amateur draft.  Though CBR picks can be traded, that doesn’t impact the international bonus pools.  For example, even though the Brewers acquired the Orioles’ CBR-A pick as part of the Corbin Burnes trade, that doesn’t alter the amount of int’l bonus money allotted to Milwaukee or Baltimore.

It should be noted that teams are allowed to trade money from their international bonus pools.  If a club is looking for extra money to make another signing (perhaps to bid on a player who unexpectedly joined the market), it can obtain up to $250K in international bonus funds from another team.  This rival team could perhaps simply be done with its int’l spending for the year, or is willing to give up money either as part of a trade package, or perhaps to land a minor leaguer who is closer to the Show than a teenage international prospect who might be years away.  Such deals to acquire more pool space are sometimes necessary because club aren’t allowed to exceed their pool limit.

All international signings greater than $10K count against the pool total.  Here is what each team will have to spend in the 2025 signing period…

$7,555,500: Athletics, Brewers, Mariners, Marlins, Rays, Reds, Tigers, Twins…..The original slate of teams with picks in Competitive Balance Round-B of the 2024 amateur draft.

$6,908,600: Diamondbacks, Guardians, Orioles, Pirates, Rockies, Royals…..The original slate of teams with picks in Competitive Balance Round-A of the 2024 amateur draft.

$6,261,600: Angels, Blue Jays, Braves, Cubs, Mets, Nationals, Padres, Phillies, Rangers, Red Sox, White Sox, Yankees

$5,646,200: Astros, Cardinals…..These teams each gave up $500K of their pool money by signing a free agent (Houston and Josh Hader, St. Louis and Sonny Gray) who rejected a qualifying offer.

$5,146,200: Dodgers, Giants…..For both exceeding the luxury tax in 2023 and for signing the qualifying offer-rejecting Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers had to give up $1MM in pool money.  The Giants had to give up $1MM in pool funds for signing Matt Chapman and Blake Snell, who both rejected qualifying offers.

Pablo Sandoval Signs With Atlantic League’s Staten Island FerryHawks

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The Staten Island FerryHawks of the independent Atlantic League have signed Pablo Sandoval to a contract, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post (X link).  It is the latest step in Sandoval’s comeback attempt after he didn’t play during the 2023 season.

Sandoval spent most of his 14 Major League seasons with the Giants, becoming a Bay Area legend for his contributions to the “Even Year” mini-dynasty that saw the team win the World Series in 2010, 2012, and 2014.  The third baseman hit .344/.389/.546 over 167 plate appearances during those postseasons, coming up particularly big in the latter two of those championship runs.  The highlight was World Series MVP honors in 2012, as Sandoval had a whopping 1.654 OPS in 17 plate appearances, including three homers in Game 1 of the Fall Classic.

After an ill-fated free deal with the Red Sox didn’t work out, Sandoval found himself back in San Francisco for parts of the 2017-20 seasons.  He then appeared in 69 games with the 2021 Braves, and hasn’t since re-appeared on the Major League radar.  The Kung Fu Panda played in the Mexican League in 2022, and played winter ball in his native Venezuela and in Puerto Rico.

San Francisco inked the 37-year-old Sandoval to a minor league deal in February, and he hit .250/.323/.250 over 31 plate appearances in Spring Training.  Sandoval made it clear that he didn’t view the signing as a ceremonial gesture, and he was willing to play in the minors in order to continue his career before the Giants released him as part of their Opening Day roster cuts.  Sandoval will now become the latest MLB veteran to ply his trade in the Atlantic League, joining former big leaguers like Justin Williams, Jairo Labourt, and Mike Shawaryn on the Staten Island roster.

Rangers Sign Codi Heuer To Minors Deal

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The Rangers have signed right-hander Codi Heuer to a minor league contract, FanSided’s Robert Murray reports (via X).  Heuer was a free agent after being non-tendered by the Cubs in November.

It has been over two years since Heuer last stepped on a big league mound, and he has only 12 2/3 minor league innings on his resume since the start of the 2022 season.  A Tommy John procedure kept Heuer on the shelf for much of that time, but while pitching in a minor league rehab outing last June, he suffered an elbow fracture that required another surgery.

Heuer was a sixth-round pick for the White Sox in the 2018 draft, and he made his Major League debut in the form of 23 2/3 innings in the 2020 season.  Heuer had an impressive 1.52 ERA in that first taste of the Show, even if a .193 BABIP helped his outperform such peripherals as a 3.69 SIERA.  The righty came closer to that mark with a 4.28 ERA in 67 1/3 combined innings with the White Sox and Cubs in 2021, as Heuer and Nick Madrigal went from the South Side to Wrigleyville in the all-Chicago deadline trade that sent Craig Kimbrel to the Sox.

Between the extended layoff and the variables that went into the 2020 season, it is hard to project if Heuer will ever be able to match his impressive numbers (including a 27.2% strikeout rate and 9.8% walk rate) from that shortened season, as his K% sharply dropped to 19.9% in 2021.  Heuer’s fastball also dropped from 97.6mph in 2020 to 95.9mph in 2021, and it is fair to wonder how two surgeries have since impacted his velocity.  Still, Heuer doesn’t turn 28 until July, and he would hardly be the first somewhat unheralded pitcher to enjoy a second wind in his career after getting healthy.  There’s no risk and plenty of upside for Texas in this minor league deal, particularly since improving the bullpen has been a known focus for the Rangers for the better part of two seasons.

Pat Zachry Passes Away

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Ten-year Major League veteran and NL co-Rookie of the Year Pat Zachry passed away on Thursday at age 71, as reported by multiple outlets.  Such former teammates as Johnny Bench and Doug Flynn were among the many to pay tribute to the right-hander, with Bench describing Zachry as “one of the great characters and an unbelievable teammate,” while Flynn said “you couldn’t find a better teammate than Zach.  We will all miss him dearly.”

A native of Richmond, Texas, Zachry was a 19th-round pick for the Reds in the 1970 draft.  He debuted in the majors six years later, and immediately became part of one of baseball’s great teams — the “Big Red Machine” followed up their World Series title in 1975 with another championship in 1976, and Zachry played an important role.  The righty posted a 2.74 ERA over 204 innings in his rookie season, and then a 3.09 ERA over two postseason starts (both wins) as Cincinnati swept its way through the playoffs.  Zachry and the Padres’ Butch Metzger finished in a tie vote for NL Rookie of the Year honors, which is still the only time the NL ROY has ever been split between multiple players.

Injuries slowed Zachry’s start to the 1977 season, and he found himself leaving the Reds altogether in June of that year when Cincinnati dealt Zachry, infielder Flynn, and outfielders Steve Henderson and Dan Norman to the Mets in exchange for the legendary Tom Seaver.  Needless to say, the trade didn’t go over well in New York, and the Mets’ twin deals of Seaver and Dave Kingman on the same day became known as the “Midnight Massacre” for the struggling team.  The trade had the side effect of bonding the four ex-Reds — as Flynn put it, “we just stuck together” in the aftermath of the deal, since “none of us knew we could ever replace Tom.”

Zachry ended up pitching with the Mets through to the end of the 1983 season, posting a 3.63 ERA over his 135 appearances (113 of them starts) and 741 2/3 innings for the team.  His tenure was highlighted by an All-Star selection in 1978, though that season was cut short for Zachry when he broke his foot while accidentally kicking at his helmet in frustration in the dugout, and instead hitting the dugout steps.

Zachry posted a 3.52 ERA over 1177 1/3 career innings with the Reds, Mets, Dodgers, and Phillies.  Turning to relief pitching at the back end of his career, he had an impressive 2.49 ERA over 61 1/3 innings for Los Angeles in 1983, coming out of the pen for 39 of his 40 games that season.

We at MLB Trade Rumors extend our condolences to Zachry’s family, friends, and teammates.

Cubs Sign Carl Edwards Jr., Ali Sanchez To Minor League Deals

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The Cubs have signed right-hander Carl Edwards Jr. and catcher Ali Sanchez to minor league deals, as announced yesterday by the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Iowa.  Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register (X link) was the first to report that Edwards was working out with the Iowa pitching staff on Thursday.

Edwards is back for what is technically a third stint with the Cubs, after he opted out of his previous minor league deal with the club two weeks ago.  After testing the market, Edwards now returns to a familiar environment to see if another MLB opportunity might yet emerge in the Wrigleyville bullpen, and it be assumed that his new minors pact probably has at least one opt-out clause.

A veteran of nine Major League seasons, Edwards posted a 3.69 ERA in 31 2/3 innings for the Nationals in an abbreviated 2023 campaign.  Edwards didn’t pitch after June 19 due to a diagnosis of shoulder inflammation and later a stress fracture that developed in late August.  The injury brought a sour end to what had been a pretty successful run in D.C., as Edwards revived his career with a 2.76 ERA over 62 innings for the Nats in 2022.  The righty had mostly struggled in the previous three seasons, which hastened the end of his original run with the Cubs when Chicago traded him to the Padres at the 2019 trade deadline.

With Edwards bringing some bullpen depth to the Triple-A, Sanchez will do the same to the Cubs’ catching ranks.  Yan Gomes and Miguel Amaya seem to be entrenched as the active roster’s catching duo, so Sanchez joins veteran Curt Casali in Iowa, and Joe Hudson (who signed a minors deal with Chicago in the offseason) has been moved to the Triple-A affiliate’s developmental list.  This placement might be a way to keep Hudson sharp while the Cubs sort out their catching situation, or it could possibly hint that Hudson could eventually be the odd man out.

Sanchez signed a guaranteed big league contract with the Pirates in December, though Pittsburgh designated the catcher for assignment on Opening Day.  Since Sanchez had previously been outrighted in his career, he had the right to opt into free agency rather than accept Pittsburgh’s outright assignment to Triple-A, and the backstop indeed took the chance to re-enter the open market.

The Cubs are Sanchez’s sixth different organization in less than 38 months.  His only MLB experience consists five games with the Mets in 2020 and two games with the 2021 Cardinals, as the catcher has otherwise bounced around as a depth option.  While not really known for his bat, Sanchez has a respectable .275/.345/.402 slash line over 893 career plate appearances at the Triple-A level, though those numbers were boosted by a nice 2023 season with the Diamondbacks’ top affiliate in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

Diamondbacks Activate Randal Grichuk

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April 5: The Diamondbacks have made it official, announcing that they have reinstated Grichuk and optioned Barrosa.

April 4: Randal Grichuk appears to be on the verge of his Diamondbacks debut, as John Gambadoro of 98.7FM Phoenix (X link) reports that the outfielder is expected to be activated from the 10-day injured list prior to Friday’s game with the Braves.  Outfielder Jorge Barrosa was already optioned to Triple-A today to create room on the active roster.

Due to a January surgery that removed bone spurs from Grichuk’s ankle, he missed some of his usual offseason prep work, and thus was additional ramp-up time was likely to be required at the start of the season.  A firmer timeline was put in place as Grichuk landed with the D’Backs on a one-year contract worth $2MM in guaranteed money (with a mutual option for 2025), and Arizona indeed put him on the 10-day IL so Grichuk could get some more outfield work in via a rehab assignment at Triple-A Reno.  His IL placement was retroactive to March 25, so Grichuk’s stint lasted beyond the minimum 10 days only due to the fact that the D’Backs didn’t have a game today.

The 32-year-old veteran is expected to primarily face left-handed pitching this year, serving as a right-handed hitting counterpoint to the lefty-swinging group of DH Joc Pederson, utilityman Jace Peterson, and outfielders Jake McCarthy and Alek Thomas.  Corbin Carroll will naturally play every day in the outfield, and Thomas was himself sent to the 10-day IL earlier this week due to a hamstring strain.  Since it appears as though Thomas’ injury is moderately serious, it could open up more playing time for Grichuk right away.

Grichuk delivered a league-average 100 wRC+ over 471 plate appearances with the Rockies and Angels in 2023, hitting .267/.321/.459 with 16 home runs.  Grichuk’s splits have become increasingly slanted in recent years, and last season saw him hit .244/.294/.401 over 337 PA against righties and a far superior .328/.388/.607 slash line in 134 PA against southpaws.  A platoon role seems like the best use of Grichuk at this point in his career, and he’ll now get a chance to contribute for a Diamondbacks team that is clearly in win-now mode.

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