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Phillies Place Luis Ortiz On 15-Day Injured List

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The Phillies announced that right-hander Luis Ortiz has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a left ankle sprain.  Righty Nick Nelson was called up to take Ortiz’s spot on the active roster.

The injury compounded a tough day on the mound for Ortiz Saturday, as he was charged with two earned runs over two-third of an inning in Philadelphia’s 12-4 loss to the Braves.  Ortiz appeared to hurt his ankle while attempting a fielding play in the fifth inning, and though he returned to the mound in the top of the sixth, he was pulled after allowing singles to the first two batters faced.

While the severity of the sprain isn’t yet known, it isn’t a great sign that Ortiz is immediately heading to the IL, rather than the common practice of taking a day or two to monitor swelling.  It could be that the Phillies recognized that Ortiz would be delaying the inevitable in waiting to go on the injured list, and sidelining him now also allows the team to get a fresh arm into the bullpen.  The Phils’ relief corps has already seen a lot of work over a pair of lopsided losses to Atlanta in Philadelphia’s first two games.

Ortiz is in his second season with the Phillies, and posted a 3.32 ERA over 19 relief innings for the club in 2023 despite a lot of roster shuffling in the form of numerous trips back and forth from Triple-A.  Prior to last season, Ortiz had thrown only 14 1/3 total big league frames sprinkled across three seasons with the Orioles and Giants from 2018-22, and he didn’t pitch in the majors at all in 2020 or 2021.  The Rangers selected Ortiz 30th overall in the 2014 draft, and he drew some top-100 prospect attention during his time in the minors.

Pirates Outright Canaan Smith-Njigba; Ali Sanchez Elects Free Agency

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8:54AM: Sanchez chose to reject the outright assignment and become a free agent, as per his personal MLB.com profile page.

8:28AM: The Pirates have outrighted outfielder Canaan Smith-Njigba and catcher Ali Sánchez to Triple-A Indianapolis, according to the team’s official transactions feed.  The two players were designated for assignment on Opening Day but have now cleared waivers.

Smith-Njigba has become quite familiar with the DFA wire, as he briefly left the Pirates organization via waiver claim when Pittsburgh initially designated him back in January.  The Mariners claimed Smith-Njigba but then designated him shortly thereafter, allowing the Pirates to claim him back less than three weeks after initially parting ways with the outfielder.  This latest transaction allows the Bucs to move Smith-Njigba off their 40-man roster, but he’ll remain as a depth option at Triple-A.

CSN turns 25 next month, and his big league resume consists of 18 games and 44 plate appearances (with a .493 OPS) with Pittsburgh over the last two seasons.  Apart from his brief sojourn as as Mariner, Smith-Njigba has also been a member of the Yankees organization, beginning his pro career as a fourth-round pick for New York in the 2017 draft.  He came to the Pirates as part of the four-player trade package for Jameson Taillon in January 2021.

Over 686 career plate appearances at the Triple-A level, Smith-Njigba has hit a solid .273/.366/.439 while hitting 16 homers and stealing 29 bases in 37 attempts.  He isn’t particularly fast despite those good base-stealing numbers, and Smith-Njigba has primarily played the two corner outfield positions apart from a handful of appearances in center field.  Smith-Njigba is also a left-handed hitter and the Pirates are currently loaded with right-handed bats, even though the outfield (left-handed hitting Jack Suwinski and switch-hitter Bryan Reynolds) has more balance.

This isn’t the first time Sanchez has been outrighted off a 40-man roster, so the catcher has the right to reject the Pirates’ assignment and re-enter free agency.  There hasn’t yet been any word on whether or not Sanchez will remain in the organization, though he is currently the only catcher in Indianapolis with any big league experience and would be the first call-up if either of Henry Davis or Jason Delay was injured.

Sanchez’s tenure in MLB isn’t exactly vast, as he debuted with five games with the Mets in 2020, two games with the Cardinals in 2021, and he hasn’t since returned to the Show.  The 27-year-old has spent much of his career in the Mets’ farm system, but has since bounced around to multiple teams in search of catching depth.  This is technically Sanchez’s second stint with the Pirates, as he was claimed off waivers from the Tigers in October 2022 only to be claimed away again a couple of months later by the Diamondbacks without ever actually suiting up for Pittsburgh in a pro game.

The Pirates signed Sanchez to a guaranteed Major League deal this past December, perhaps as an acknowledgement of his strong .311/.375/.492 slash line over 267 PA in 2023 with Arizona’s Triple-A affiliate in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.  The catcher is out of minor league options, so the Bucs had to designate Sanchez for assignment in order to remove him from the 40-man.

Robert Stephenson Aiming For Late-April Activation From 15-Day IL

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Robert Stephenson’s tenure with the Angels got off to an unwelcome start when the reliever had to start the season on the 15-day injured list due to right shoulder inflammation.  The righty provided MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger with an update, saying that his hope is to be available before April is over, though he’ll first need to complete a rehab assignment.

The shoulder soreness first arose before the Angels’ spring camp even opened, and as a result, Stephenson wasn’t able to pitch at all in the Cactus League.  Stephenson will therefore need some extra ramp-up time to try and simulate the Spring Training experience, though he has already started to pick up his throwing progressions.  The right-hander had his first bullpen session on Thursday and another is planned for Monday.

Los Angeles signed Stephenson to a three-year, $33MM free agent deal in January, as the 31-year-old was handsomely rewarded for a major in-season turnaround.  With a penchant for inconsistency both as a starter and then after he became a full-time reliever in 2019, Stephenson had a 5.14 ERA in 14 innings for the Pirates before the Bucs dealt him to Tampa in a somewhat under-the-radar deal.  Stephenson then became the latest in the Rays’ long line of pitching reclamation projects, as he broke out with a 2.35 ERA, eight percent walk rate, and a fantastic 38.3% strikeout rate over 38 1/3 innings in a Tampa Bay uniform.

While the shoulder injury isn’t the best start to a $33MM deal, the Angels are betting that Stephenson can keep the magic going to become a lockdown member of their bullpen.  The Halos invested heavily in their relief corps (and not much else) this winter, adding Stephenson, Matt Moore, Luis Garcia, Adam Cimber, and Jose Cisnero as part of an extensive bullpen overhaul.

Cubs Promote Ben Brown, Place Justin Steele On 15-Day IL

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2:34PM: The Cubs officially announced Brown’s promotion and Steele’s IL placement.  Steele’s time on the injured list retroactively begins on March 29, and his injury was designated as a left hamstring strain.

12:59PM: The Cubs will call up right-hander Ben Brown from Triple-A today, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray (via X).  Brown will likely take the roster spot of Justin Steele, who is ticketed for the 15-day injured list after suffering a hamstring injury on Opening Day.

It would also appear that Brown will take over Steele’s place in the rotation for the time being, with Brown lined up to make his MLB debut on either Tuesday or Wednesday when the Cubs host the Rockies.  It will be quite the moment for 24-year-old Brown, whose pro career began as a 33rd-round draft pick for the Phillies in 2017 when injuries contributed to his fall down the board.  As noted by Baseball America’s scouting report, Brown has had to overcome a burst appendix, a Tommy John surgery, an elbow strain, and some time on the Covid-related injured list before finally getting healthy in 2022 and getting some extended time on the mound.

That season brought about another change for Brown, when Philadelphia dealt him to the Cubs at the trade deadline in the David Robertson deal.  Making his Triple-A debut in 2023, Brown posted a 5.33 ERA in 72 2/3 innings for Iowa before missing about a month with a lat problem.

A 15.8% walk rate was the biggest factor in Brown’s Triple-A struggles, and he has occasionally experienced some control problems in past years as well.  The strikeout potential is evident, however, as Brown has a 31.1% strikeout rate over his 297 career minor league innings, and both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline give 60-grades to his fastball and curve, with Pipeline adding a 60 to his slider as well.  Clearly Brown has plenty of stuff, though both scouting outlets wonder if his future might ultimately be as a reliever if he can’t stay healthy or deliver more consistent control.

Until that decision has to be made, the Cubs will see what Brown can do as a starter.  Between Steele’s hamstring issue and Jameson Taillon already on the IL with back problems, Chicago has had to made some early dips in its rotation depth, which allowed both Javier Assad and Jordan Wicks to make the Opening Day rotation.  Assad and Wicks have limited MLB experience, and Brown and NPB import Shota Imanaga have never pitched in the majors, leaving Kyle Hendricks as far and away the most experienced healthy starter in Wrigleyville.  Veteran Drew Smyly was slotted for bullpen work rather than the starting rotation, and it seems like the Cubs will keep Smyly in that role even with Steele now sidelined.

Anthony DeSclafani Undergoes Season-Ending Flexor Tendon Surgery

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Twins right-hander Anthony DeSclafani will miss the entire 2024 season and at least some of the 2025 season after undergoing a flexor tendon surgery, chief baseball officer Derek Falvey told The Athletic’s Dan Hayes (X link) and other reporters.  The surgery comes with an estimated recovery timeline of 13 months.

DeSclafani developed a forearm strain in Spring Training, and a long-term absence of some kind was expected after the Twins placed him on the 60-day injured list to begin the season.  While this flexor tendon procedure technically represents a better-case scenario than the 13-15 month timeline associated with recovery from a Tommy John surgery, that is probably very small consolation to DeSclafani as he enters into yet another extended injury absence.

Another right flexor strain already ended DeSclafani’s 2023 campaign last July, and he only pitched 19 innings in 2022 due to ankle surgery.  The righty also didn’t pitch at all in 2017 due to a UCL strain, though he was able to avoid surgery in that case.

All of these health woes have marred what has been a pretty solid career for DeSclafani when he has been able to actually pitch.  He has a 4.20 ERA over 942 2/3 career innings with the Marlins, Reds, and Giants over parts of nine Major League seasons, relying on strong control and a plus slider to achieve success.  A 3.17 ERA over 167 2/3 innings for the 2021 Giants represents DeSclafani’s best performance over a full season, and that nice year paid off in the form of a three-year, $36MM free agent deal to return to San Francisco.

Unfortunately, DeSclafani will end up tossing only 118 1/3 innings over the life of that contract.  The Giants moved DeSclafani and Mitch Haniger to the Mariners this offseason for Robbie Ray, and DeSclafani was then flipped again from Seattle to Minnesota as part of the Jorge Polanco trade.  The latter transaction also included $8MM in cash considerations from the Mariners in order to help cover the majority of the $12MM owed to DeSclafani in 2024.

Trading Polanco allowed the Twins to get the second baseman’s $10.5MM salary off the books, and bring two interesting prospects in Gabriel Gonzalez and Darren Bowen into the organization.  Unfortunately for Minnesota, both of the big league-ready elements of the trade package are now hurt — Justin Topa is on the 15-day IL dealing with left knee tendinitis, and DeSclafani’s time with the Twins could potentially end before he throws an official pitch for the team.  Given the circumstances, the Twins could explore signing DeSclafani to a low-cost guaranteed deal or even a minor league contract for 2025, though the club will first monitor his recovery before making any decisions.

In the more immediate term, losing DeSclafani will deprive Minnesota of some veteran rotation depth.  DeSclafani was expected to compete for the fifth starter’s job, or work as a swingman or long reliever if Louie Varland had won the final rotation job in camp.  The Twins might well seek out a seasoned starter to provide some depth amidst their more inexperienced first layer of Triple-A starters, and such a pitcher might also be used in the bullpen, as Topa is just one of several relievers beginning the year on the injured list.

Twins Place Royce Lewis On 10-Day IL, Promote Austin Martin

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11:58PM: Lewis’ quad strain is “severe,” as Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey told reporters (including Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press).  The infielder will be shut down for a month and then re-evaluated, so it doesn’t look like Lewis will be back in the majors until mid-May at the absolute earliest.

10:27AM: The Twins have officially placed Lewis on the 10-day IL and called up Martin.  Lewis’ injury is described as a right quad strain, with a retroactive IL placement of March 29.

9:09AM: Royce Lewis had to make an early exit from the Twins’ opener due to a quad injury, and the problem is severe enough that the third baseman will be placed on the injured list, according to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (X link).  Former top prospect Austin Martin is being called up to take Lewis’ spot on the active roster, and Martin will be making his MLB debut whenever he appears in his first game.

It remains to be seen how serious the quad problem might be, yet it represents yet another injury setback in Lewis’ young career.  Since selected as the first overall pick of the 2017 draft, Lewis has been limited to 350 career minor league games and 71 regular-season big league games, primarily due to two right ACL tears.  Between the pandemic-canceled 2020 minor league season and the first of those torn ACLs, Lewis didn’t play a single game over the 2020-21 seasons.

There is little question that Lewis is ready for prime time, given how he has torn up both Triple-A pitching and (in limited fashion) MLB opposition since returning to action in 2022.  Lewis has hit .313/.369/.564 with 18 homers over his 282 plate appearances in the Show, and he was also a force during Minnesota’s playoff run last October.  The Twins installed Lewis into the everyday third base job and were excited to see what he could do over the course of a full season, and this dream could still naturally be reached if this IL stint ends up being relatively minor.

Utilitymen Kyle Farmer and Willi Castro figure to handle most of the third base time while Lewis is sidelined, and Martin figures to add some multi-positional depth in his first time on a Major League roster.  Martin has played shortstop, second base, center field, and left field over his three minor league seasons, and is considered at least a competent defender at any of his positions.

Martin shares some similarities with Lewis as a former high draft pick whose career has been hampered by injury.  The Blue Jays selected Martin fifth overall in the 2020 draft, but then dealt Martin and Simeon Woods Richardson to Minnesota for Jose Berrios at the 2021 trade deadline.  Martin has played in 159 games in the Twins’ farm system over the last two years, as pair of elbow sprains limited his playing time and perhaps his ability to generate power.  A lack of slugging has undermined Martin’s otherwise impressive ability to make contact and draw walks, as he has hit .263/.387/.405 over 252 PA at the Triple-A level.

Between his injuries and limited production in the minors, Martin went from being a top-25 prospect in 2021 to further down top-100 rankings in 2022, to off the pundits’ radars entirely in the last two years of preseason evaluations.  While Martin’s ceiling seems to have been lowered, the 25-year-old seems to be on pace to at least be a utilityman in the majors.  If he can keep making contact and getting on base, this skillset combined with a versatile defensive profile makes Martin potentially a very useful player going forward.

Rays Agree To Minor League Deal With Dominic Smith

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The Rays have signed first baseman Dominic Smith to a minor league contract, FanSided’s Robert Murray reports (X link).  Smith’s latest trip in free agency didn’t last long, as he opted out of his previous minors deal with the Cubs just over a week ago.

With both Josh Lowe and Jonathan Aranda on the injured list, the Rays are thin in left-handed hitters, and also thin at first base since Aranda was expected to get some time at the position.  The lefty-swinging Austin Shenton was called up to be part of Tampa Bay’s Opening Day roster, though Smith provides a more experienced alternative who might represent Shenton’s ticket back to the minors after just a cup of coffee in the big leagues (Shenton has yet to officially make his MLB debut).

Smith has been non-tendered in each of the last two offseasons, with the first coming when the Mets cut him loose following the 2022 campaign.  New York selected Smith 11th overall in the 2013 draft, and seemed to living up to that potential when he hit .299/.366/.571 with 21 homers over 396 plate appearances in 2019-20.  Smith’s performance in the abbreviated 2020 season even earned him some down-ballot MVP support, but injuries contributed to a big dip in production over the next two seasons.  The Nationals signed Smith to a one-year, $2MM guarantee last winter, though he hit only .254/.326/.366 with 12 home runs in 586 PA for Washington.

After the deal with the Cubs didn’t pan out, signing with Tampa Bay represents yet another fresh start for Smith, who is still just 28 years old.  The Rays’ history of successful reclamation projects makes it possible that Smith might yet enjoy a post-hype breakout at this later stage of his career, but for now Smith will be focused just on getting back to the majors and earning regular at-bats.

White Sox Release Lucius Fox, Yoelqui Cespedes

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The White Sox parted ways with two notable names, as shortstop Lucius Fox and outfielder Yoelqui Cespedes have each been released within the last few days.  Fox’s release was reported on his official MLB.com profile page, while James Fegan of the Sox Machine blog was first to note Cespedes’ release.

Fox inked a minor league deal with Chicago in February but didn’t receive any action during Spring Training, and so the 26-year-old will again hit the open market.  Fox was a highly-regarded international prospect who signed for a whopping $6MM bonus from the Giants in 2015, though San Francisco dealt Fox (and Matt Duffy) to the Rays just over a year later in order to acquire Matt Moore at the trade deadline.  The shortstop has since bounced around to four other organizations, counting his brief stint with the White Sox.

The Nationals claimed Fox off waivers from the Orioles in the 2021-22 offseason, and Fox’s only career Major League games to date came in the form of 10 games (and two hits in 28 plate appearances) with Washington in 2022.  This cup of coffee in the Show at least made Fox the ninth big leaguer in history to hail from the Bahamas.  Fox played in the Nats’ farm system in 2023 but didn’t hit much, continuing the theme of his pro career.  Over 2476 career PA in the minors, Fox has a .243/.335/.333 slash line and 156 steals out of 202 chances.

Cespedes has something of a similar story, as he signed a $2.05MM deal with the White Sox out of Cuba in January 2021 (the opening of the 2020-21 international signing window was delayed by the pandemic).  There was some extra hype attached given how older brother Yoenis was already a former All-Star, but the younger Cespedes hit .230/.319/.350 over 503 combined PA at the Double-A and Triple-A levels in 2023.  Though the 26-year-old Cespedes hit pretty well in his previous two pro seasons, it appears that newly-hired Sox farm director Paul Janish is ready to move on following Cespedes’ down year.

NL West Notes: D’Backs, Montgomery, Buehler, Monfort

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The Diamondbacks officially introduced Jordan Montgomery at a press conference yesterday, with Montgomery, agent Scott Boras, and several team officials answering questions from the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports, and other media.  D’Backs managing general partner Ken Kendrick said that the club initially checked in on Montgomery early in the offseason but weren’t eager to meet the asking price at the time.  As Montgomery’s stay in free agency ended up stretching almost to the very end of Spring Training, GM Mike Hazen and assistant GM Amiel Sawdaye started to explore the idea of re-engaging with the southpaw, and negotiations both started and ended within just a few days’ time.

The two sides agreed to a one-year, $25MM contract with a $20MM vesting player option and opt-out clause covering the 2025 season.  Boras said Montgomery had some longer-term offers but “Jordan’s edict to me was, ’I want to play for a competitive team.  I want to make sure that I’m there and if I have to take something short-term to play for a competitive team, I will.’….It resulted in I think a deal that served our purposes in the short term and certainly served Jordan’s competitiveness needs and put an evaluation on I think his performance for this year and potentially next year that was appropriate for what he’s done.”

From Arizona’s perspective, adding Montgomery boosts payroll to a team-record $168MM for 2024, yet Kendrick and team president/CEO Derrick Hall are comfortable with the extra spending in order to keep the team in championship contention.  While Hall hinted that the D’Backs might need another lengthy postseason trip to sustain a higher payroll into 2025, Arizona’s run to the World Series last year already provided enough of an extra revenue boost (both in ticket sales during the playoffs and more tickets already sold for this season) to justify more of all-in push in 2024.

Some other items from the NL West…

  • Walker Buehler will throw four or five innings in a Triple-A rehab start on Sunday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register and Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times).  Sunday’s outing will be the first of four rehab starts for Buehler, as per the team’s current plans, though things remain fluid as the Dodgers want to be as careful as possible in managing Buehler’s return after undergoing Tommy John surgery in August 2022.  Buehler is already well beyond the normal 13-15 rehab window, though obviously not every recovery process is the same for every pitcher, plus this was also the second TJ procedure of Buehler’s career.  If all goes well at Triple-A, Buehler should be on track to be part of the L.A. rotation before April is over.
  • “I do feel like we are on the right track,” Rockies owner Dick Monfort told the Denver Post’s Troy Renck, with Monfort citing his team’s up-and-coming core of young talent and his ongoing trust in GM Bill Schmidt and manager Bud Black.  Colorado has had only five winning seasons since the Monfort family bought the team in late 2005, and things seemed to bottom out last year when the Rox lost a club-record 103 games.  Still, Monfort believes in the “organic” strategy of relying on homegrown prospects and only mid-range payrolls, as Monfort is critical of the revenue disparities among Major League franchises.  Denver fans have themselves long been critical of Monfort’s approach due to the lack of on-field success, and Monfort has frequently come under fire for his perpetually over-optimistic view of his team’s fortunes and the Rockies’ reliance on long-time employees.  While Monfort admitted that he worries about being too loyal at times, he noted that when looking to replace former GM Jeff Bridich, he wasn’t impressed by external candidates’ plans to fix the team.  “They would tell me how to win at altitude and everything they mentioned, it would not have worked, or it’s all things we have tried.  I think in any business you have to have people you can trust, and I trust [Schmidt and Black],” Monfort said.

2023-24 Offseason In Review Series

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MLBTR’s annual Offseason In Review series breaks down what each of the 30 teams did (or didn’t) do this winter to build their 2024 rosters.  This landing page will contain the links to all 30 of our posts, for easy reference and to track when your favorite team’s post is online.

NL East

NL Central

NL West

AL East

AL Central

AL West

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