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Padres Call Up Lake Bachar For MLB Debut

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12:38PM: The Padres officially promoted Bachar, and optioned right-hander Logan Gillaspie to Triple-A.  Matthew Batten was also outrighted to Triple-A after clearing waivers; Batten was designated for assignment earlier this week.

9:21AM: The Padres will add right-hander Lake Bachar to the active roster prior to today’s game with the Mets, according to Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune (X link).  Bachar was added to the 40-man roster earlier this month, so the Padres will just have to make one corresponding move to free up space on the 26-man.

The 40-man roster placement came about due to an opt-out clause Bachar triggered in his minor league deal, as the Padres selected that contract in order to keep him in the organization.  The 29-year-old righty was a fifth-round pick for the Padres in 2016, and is now seemingly in line to make his Major League debut in his ninth pro season.  Bachar’s resume consists of seven years on the field plus two lost years in 2020-21 — the pandemic wiped out the 2020 minor league season, and Bachar underwent a Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for all of 2021.

Understandably, Bachar showed some rust when he returned to action in 2022, but he rebounded with a 2.69 ERA over 60 1/3 relief innings for Double-A San Antonio in 2023.  This earned Bachar his first promotion to Triple-A this season, and he has produced a 4.12 ERA, 27.6% strikeout rate, and 10.6% walk rate across 67 2/3 innings for the El Paso affiliate.  Bachar has allowed 11 homers this year, but all things considered, his numbers have been pretty decent for a fly-ball pitcher in a very hitter-friendly league.

As Saunders noted in another piece back in April, Bachar’s turn-around in 2023 was aided by his development of a splitter.  Adding this third pitch along with his 94-97mph fastball and a slider with a lot of horizontal break put Bachar on the path that has now brought him to San Diego’s MLB roster.  Even if this might be a “cup of coffee” type of call-up to get a fresh arm into the Padres’ bullpen for a few days, Bachar can officially call himself a big leaguer once he gets into a game.

Royals Place Hunter Renfroe On 10-Day Injured List

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The Royals announced that outfielder Hunter Renfroe was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain.  Outfielder Tyler Gentry was called up from Triple-A Omaha to take Renfroe’s spot on the active roster.

Renfroe was subbed out in the ninth inning of yesterday’s 11-2 Royals loss to the Phillies, and the early exit didn’t seem unusual given the game’s lopsided nature.  However, manager Matt Quatraro told reporters (including MLB.com’s Anne Rogers) today that Renfroe had a minor tweak of the hamstring that led the team to put him on the IL as something of a precautionary measure.  Bringing Gentry up also keeps the Royals at full roster strength during a crowded section of the schedule — today is the third game in a stretch of 14 games in 13 days for Kansas City, counting tomorrow’s double-header with the Guardians.

This is the second time Renfroe has been on the IL this season, as he previously had a minimal 10-game absence after suffering a bone bruise on his left foot in June.  Since returning from that prior IL stint, Renfroe has hit a respectable .274/.351/.433 with six home runs over 185 plate appearances, helping get himself on track after an ice-cold start in the first two-plus months of the season.  That rough start is still dragging down Renfroe’s overall numbers, as he has a below-average 97 wRC+ from a .237/.312/.398 slash line over 372 PA.

Given how much better Renfroe has been swinging the bat over the last two months, the Royals can ill-afford to lose their starting right fielder for any lengthy amount of time as the club competes for a playoff spot.  The left-handed hitting Adam Frazier has gotten the next highest amount of right-field playing time as a complement to Renfroe’s righty bat, and K.C. could opt to give Dairon Blanco more time in right along with Frazier.

Gentry also figures to be part of the mix in his first taste of Major League action.  Gentry was a third-round pick for the Royals in the 2020 draft and he has spent the last two seasons at Triple-A, hitting .254/.360/.424 with 29 homers and 19 steals (out of 23 attempts) over 995 plate appearances with Omaha.  Kansas City added him to the 40-man roster last November in advance of the Rule 5 Draft.

MLB Pipeline ranks the 25-year-old Gentry 15th on their list of Royals prospects, with a 60-grade throwing arm that has resulted in most of his minor league career spent in the right field position.  Gentry has had a tendency to hit better later in the season during his time in the minors, so he could be peaking at the right time for his debut in the Show, or he might naturally need another adjustment period as he sees Major League pitching for the first time.  Gentry is considered more of a contact hitter than a power bat, which doesn’t entirely fit the profile of a slugging corner outfield type.

Pirates Select Brady Feigl

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The Pirates announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Brady Feigl from Triple-A Indianapolis.  Feigl will take the 26-man and 40-man roster left vacant by Hunter Stratton, who was placed on the 60-day injured list after suffering a season-ending left knee patella tendon rupture in yesterday’s game.

The call-up marks the end of a long and unlikely journey for Feigl, who is now on the verge of making his MLB debut at age 33.  Feigl wasn’t drafted coming out of Mount St. Mary’s University, and he spent the 2014-19 seasons pitching in the Braves’ and Rangers’ farm systems with some level of success, though a Tommy John surgery cost him almost all of both the 2015 and 2016 campaigns.

Between the pandemic-canceled 2020 minor league season and then more injuries in 2021, Feigl spent two years away from pro ball before resurfacing in the independent Atlantic League.  He pitched well enough in two Atlantic League seasons to land a minor league contract with the Pirates for 2024, and he has delivered a 3.83 ERA, 29% strikeout rate, and 6.1% walk rate over 51 2/3 innings for Indianapolis.  A .333 BABIP and an inflated 19% homer rate have somewhat inflated Feigl’s ERA, but he has otherwise pitched well in his return to affiliated baseball.

Feigl isn’t exactly a prospect given his age, and he might be just a short-term add to the Pirates’ bullpen in the wake of Stratton’s sudden and unexpected injury.  Still, getting onto a big league roster represents a tremendous achievement for Feigl after all of the twists and setbacks of his pro career, and he’ll get at least some opportunity to show what he can do against MLB hitters.

Pirates Place Hunter Stratton 60-Day IL After Patella Tendon Rupture

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11:03AM: Stratton’s season is officially over, as the Pirates placed him on the 60-day injured list.

7:38AM: Pirates right-hander Hunter Stratton suffered a left knee patella tendon rupture during the fourth inning of the Bucs’ 10-2 loss to the Reds on Saturday.  Stratton had just entered the game in relief of Jake Woodford, and his fourth pitch of the appearance was a wild pitch that evaded catcher Joey Bart.  As Jonathan India raced home to score from third base, Bart’s toss to Stratton (covering home plate) bounced off Stratton’s glove and rolled to the backstop.  While in pursuit of the loose ball, Stratton stumbled and jammed his left leg into the stone wall behind the plate.

Stratton was down for several minutes in the aftermath of the play, and had to leave the field on a cart.  Post-game, manager Derek Shelton told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Justin Guerriero and other reporters that Stratton was receiving an MRI and that the situation “did not look good.  I would say this is going to be significant time [out].”

Official word on Stratton’s status should come today when he is inevitably placed on the injured list, but between the nature of the knee injury and the late date on the baseball calendar, it would certainly seem like Stratton’s 2024 season is over.  The question now is how much time the 27-year-old will need to recover, and how much of his 2025 campaign could be impacted.

A 16th-round selection for the Pirates in the 2017 draft, Stratton didn’t make his MLB debut until 2023, when he had a 2.25 ERA over 12 innings as a September call-up.  Pittsburgh non-tendered Stratton following the season but then re-signed him to a new minor league contract, and he was part of the club’s Opening Day roster this year.  The righty’s first full Major League season has included a six-week stint on the IL due to a triceps strain, and now this flukish patella tendon rupture that will bring his year to a close.

When healthy, Stratton has pitched respectably well, posting a 3.58 ERA over 37 2/3 relief innings.  While his strikeout rate is a modest 20.9%, Stratton has done an excellent job of inducing soft contact, and he has avoided free passes to the tune of a 4.4% walk rate.  The latter stat is the most significant part of Stratton’s development into a big leaguer, as he had a 12.98% walk rate across his 392 career innings in the Pirates’ farm system.

Mets Release Eddie Rosario

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The Mets have released outfielder Eddie Rosario, The Athletic’s Will Sammon reports (via X).  Rosario signed a minor league deal just 10 days ago, but he’ll now leave the organization after seven games with Triple-A Syracuse.

Rosario didn’t have much success in his brief time in Syracuse, as he posted just a .444 OPS with eight strikeouts over 30 plate appearances.  It continues what has been an altogether rough 2024 season for the former NLCS MVP, as Rosario has hit .175/.215/.316 over 319 combined PA at the big league level with the Nationals and Braves.

Washington signed Rosario to a minor league deal last winter, and the Nationals are still on the hook for most of the remainder of Rosario’s $2MM salary.  (The Braves only covered the prorated portion of the Major League minimum salary for Rosario’s 24 games on their roster.)  Signing Rosario to a minors deal was therefore a no-risk move for the Mets as a way to seeing if a change of scenery could spark the veteran, but New York will now also move on from Rosario’s services.

While his results this season don’t exactly inspire confidence, it is worth remembering that Rosario was still a league-average hitter in the majors just last season, when he hit .255/.305/.450 with 21 home runs over 516 with Atlanta.  It speaks to the overall hot-and-cold nature of Rosario’s big league career that he has an exact 100 OPS+ over his 10 MLB seasons, plus a 97 wRC+ that checks in slightly below the average mark.

This track record means that it wouldn’t be surprising to see another club take a flier on Rosario for a minor league deal.  Signing with a new team prior to September 1 would make Rosario eligible for postseason play, as his past success in the playoffs makes this detail noteworthy even if Rosario hasn’t looked worthy of a 26-man roster spot, let alone a spot on a postseason roster.  Given his struggles, Rosario might just be looking to catch on with any team (contender or non-contender) that can offer him a path back to the majors, and a chance to salvage something from a rough season.

Marlins Select Jonathan Bermudez

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The Marlins announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Jonathan Bermudez from Triple-A Jacksonville.  To clear space on both the 26-man and 40-man rosters, Miami optioned righty Emmanuel Ramirez to Triple-A, and moved outfielder Dane Myers from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL.

The 28-year-old Bermudez will be making his Major League debut whenever he appears in a game.  A 23rd-round pick for the Astros in the 2018 draft, Bermudez pitched in Houston’s farm system until he was claimed off waivers by the Giants during the 2022 season.  San Francisco parted ways with Bermudez just prior to Opening Day 2023 and he then caught on with Miami, spending most of that time at the Marlins’ Double-A affiliate.

Bermudez had a 2.53 ERA over 74 2/3 Double-A innings this year, but his time in Jacksonville was much rockier, with a 6.46 ERA to show for 23 2/3 innings of work (starting three of six appearances).  This performance continued Bermudez’s lack of Triple-A success, as he has a 7.16 ERA over 137 total frames of Triple-A ball counting his time with the Giants’ and Astros’ top affiliates as well as his work in Jacksonville this season.  Bermudez’s career Triple-A numbers also include a 23.69% strikeout rate and 11.13% walk rate.

While Bermudez has mostly worked as a starter in his career, it seems likelier that he’ll work out of the bullpen in Miami.  Andrew Nardi was just placed on the 15-day IL yesterday, leaving the Marlins with just Kent Emanuel as the lone left-hander in the relief corps.  Bermudez could add more depth from the left side and eat some innings in long relief, and it certainly seems possible he might pick up a start or two as the Marlins play out the string.

Myers has been out of action since fracturing his ankle in mid-July, so the move to the 60-day IL will now push his activation date to mid-September at the earliest.  In MLB.com’s most recent update on Myers’ status, he is now out of a walking boot and is starting to ramp up workouts in the hopes of a return before the season is over.

Yankees Sign Phil Bickford, Designate Michael Tonkin

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The Yankees announced that Phil Bickford has rejoined the team on a new Major League contract, and the veteran righty has been selected to the club’s active roster.  In the corresponding move, right-hander Michael Tonkin was designated for assignment.

Bickford first joined the Yankees on a minor league deal back in April, and after that contract was selected to the big league roster in late June, Bickford posted an ungainly 14.40 ERA in five innings over five appearances before New York designated him for assignment.  Upon clearing waivers in July, Bickford opted for free agency rather than accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A, and he’ll now head back to the Bronx after a little less than eight weeks on the open market.

A veteran of five Major League seasons, Bickford’s high point was the 2.81 ERA he posted over 51 1/3 relief innings for the Brewers and Dodger in 2021.  Since that season, Bickford has a 5.20 ERA in 133 1/3 innings with the Dodgers, Mets, and Yankees, along with a 25.3% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk rate.

There isn’t much to like about Bickford’s recent MLB track record, but he did pitch quite well at the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate this season, so the club had enough comfort in Bickford to sign him to a guaranteed deal.  Bickford is out of minor league options, and thus would have to be designated for assignment if New York wanted to move him down to Triple-A again.

On the surface, replacing Tonkin with Bickford seems like a curious move since Tonkin has a 3.38 ERA, 24.6% strikeout rate, and 9.1% walk rate in 56 relief innings for the New York bullpen this season.  While the overall numbers are solid, however, Tonkin has a 9.39 ERA in his last 7 2/3 innings, and has been charged with multiple runs in three of his last five appearances.  This includes two runs allowed over 1 2/3 innings in yesterday’s 9-2 Yankees loss to the Rockies, so today’s transaction could be a way to get Bickford’s fresher arm into the bullpen.

Tonkin is also out of minor league options, which relates to the transactional carousel that has largely defined his 2024 season.  He signed a $1MM split contract with the Mets in the offsesason, then went to the Twins (his original MLB team) after being DFA’ed in April, but was claimed back by the Mets shortly thereafter when Minnesota also designated Tonkin.  He hit the waiver wire yet again less than a week later and was claimed by the Yankees, and Tonkin then achieved some stability with an extended stretch of time in the Bronx bullpen before now again entering DFA limbo.  If he clears waivers, Tonkin can elect free agency in lieu of accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A, but he would have to give up the remainder of his guaranteed salary.

AL Central Notes: Baez, Gray, Correa, Twins, Moncada, Soroka

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The Tigers placed shortstop Javier Baez on the 10-day injured list yesterday, calling up Ryan Kriedler from Triple-A to fill the void in the infield.  It is the second time this season that Baez has been sent to the IL due to lumbar inflammation, though this latest placement also involves inflammation in his right hip.  Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press) that “we haven’t gotten the full diagnosis” on Baez’s injuries yet, but the team should shortly “know a little bit more about what the next month looks like and what, if any, baseball activity he’ll be able to do.”

That doesn’t sound like it bodes well for Baez’s chances of returning in 2024, as the Tigers have only the faintest hopes of a wild card berth and might just choose to shut Baez down to get him ready for next year.  While injuries have contributed to Baez’s struggles this season, his .184/.221/.294 slash line over 289 plate appearances marks the third straight disastrous year for Baez since coming to Detroit on a six-year, $140MM free agent deal in the 2021-22 offseason.  With $73MM still owed to Baez over the 2025-27 seasons, the contract is already an albatross, and it remains to be seen exactly how much longer the Tigers still stick with Baez as a regular part of their lineup (or whether they could release him altogether).

More from around the AL Central…

  • Sonny Gray told the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Bobby Nightengale that the Twins didn’t make much of a push to re-sign him when the veteran righty entered free agency last winter.  “They were very transparent from the get-go, saying, ’Listen, we do not have the resources to give you a contract, as much as we would like to.’  So, I kind of knew that,” Gray said.  “Even though we did come back a couple of times and try to work on some things, I kind of knew early on that it wasn’t [happening].”  The Twins’ lack of certainty over their broadcasting contract led to a payroll reduction last winter and continued budget limitations this year, so it didn’t seem too likely that Minnesota would be able to outbid the several other clubs who had interest in Gray’s services.  Gray ended up signing a three-year, $75MM deal with the Cardinals, and he has continued to pitch well in St. Louis, if not at the level of his AL Cy Young runner-up performance with the Twins in 2023.  Gray will face his old teammates today when he gets the start for the Cards in today’s game in Minneapolis.
  • In other Twins news, Alex Kirilloff started a Triple-A rehab assignment yesterday and Brooks Lee will start a similar assignment today, manager Rocco Baldelli told the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Bobby Nightengale and other reporters.  However, Baldelli still didn’t have any new news on Carlos Correa, saying the shortstop is just “continually making steady improvement” as he recovers from plantar fasciitis in his right heel.  Correa hasn’t played since July 12, and he received a PRP injection early in his recovery process.
  • White Sox GM Chris Getz told reporters (including Mike Clark of the Chicago Sun-Times) that Yoan Moncada and Michael Soroka will start Triple-A rehab assignments on Tuesday.  Moncada played in only 11 games before a left adductor strain sidelined him for the majority of the season, but it looks like he’s on track to get back to the majors at some point in September.  Soroka had a 5.23 ERA over 72 1/3 innings in his first season with the White Sox, and he has missed close to six weeks recovering from a strain in his right shoulder.

Nationals Place Alex Call On 10-Day Injured List

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The Nationals have placed outfielder Alex Call on the 10-day injured list due to a partial left plantar fascia tear.  As initially noted by The Nats Report X feed, catcher Drew Millas will be promoted from Triple-A to take Call’s spot on the active roster.

While pursuing a pop-up in the second inning of yesterday’s 3-2 Nationals loss to the Braves, Call fell to the ground in obvious pain, and he had to be carted off the field.  As ominous as the injury looked, Call told reporters that he has been trying to play through a case of plantar fasciitis, and the Talk Nats feed reported earlier today that an MRI indeed revealed a fascia tear rather than initial concerns of a torn Achilles or a broken foot.

Call will visit a specialist to determine how to best proceed with treatment, and since the Nationals aren’t in contention, the chance exists that Call might just be shut down for the remainder of the season if his recovery period will stretch too close to the end of the season.  Some fascia tears can prove beneficial overall since a clean tear would lessen the ongoing discomfort in Call’s foot, but the Nats’ description of the injury as a partial tear leaves some doubt about Call’s situation.

It’s a tough setback for Call, who has quietly been one of baseball’s hottest hitters since Washington brought him up from Triple-A in July.  Between this hot stretch and a seven-game stint on the Nationals’ roster earlier this season, Call is hitting .343/.425/.525 with three homers over 113 plate appearances in 2024.  A hefty .403 BABIP is doing a lot of the heavy lifting on that production, but Call has been doing his part by making a lot of contact and also getting on base via a 10.6% walk rate.

After Lane Thomas was traded to the Guardians at the deadline, Call stepped into the everyday right field job and cemented himself in the lineup with his hot bat.  In terms of how D.C. will fill the spot now that Call is injured, the replacement is coming on Monday when star prospect Dylan Crews will make his Major League debut.  Call’s IL placement didn’t change the timeline on Crews’ promotion, so Joey Gallo or Ildemaro Vargas figure to handle right field duties this weekend until Crews arrives Monday.

Astros Designate Jacob Amaya For Assignment

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The Astros announced a set of roster moves this afternoon, including the news that infielder Jacob Amaya has been designated for assignment.  This opens up a 40-man roster spot for Hector Neris, who signed with Houston two days ago.  Right-handers Seth Martinez and Shawn Dubin were optioned to Triple-A to create 26-man roster space for Neris and righty Kaleb Ort, who was reinstated from the paternity list.

Amaya came to the Astros in a trade from the Marlins back in April, and the 25-year-old’s time on Houston’s active roster has thus far consisted of just a single game — an appearance as a defensive substitute in the Astros’ 10-3 loss to the Yankees on May 7.  At the Triple-A level this season, Amaya has a .221/.308/.330 slash line over 302 total plate appearances with the Astros’ and Marlins’ top affiliates.

This represents a step backwards from the more respectable numbers Amaya has posted in past stints in Triple-A (with the Marlins last season and with the Dodgers in 2022).  Amaya has always been considered more of a glove-first player dating back to his time in the Los Angeles farm system, and while his defense alone might be good enough to get him some consideration for a big league roster, he’ll need to deliver more at the plate to earn anything more than sporadic call-ups or playing time.

Finding a niche in Houston is particularly tricky for Amaya considering how Jose Altuve and Jeremy Pena have the middle infield positions on lockdown, and superutilityman Mauricio Dubon bounces around at several positions.  This is the first time Amaya has been designated for assignment, and so if he clears waivers and is outrighted to Triple-A, he doesn’t have a prior outright or the MLB service time necessary to reject that assignment in favor of free agency.

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