Mark Polishuk | MLB Trade Rumors

Yankees Place Domingo German On 60-Day Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | March 17, 2022 at 2:02pm CDT

The Yankees have placed righty Domingo German on the 60-day injured list, the team announced. The placement creates a 40-man roster spot for Anthony Rizzo, whose new deal with the club is now official.

New York manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Brendan Kuty of NJ.com) earlier this week that German was only just beginning his throwing program, after shoulder problems hampered him in January. If German is essentially starting from scratch, the 60-day IL placement will allow him time to get fully ramped up through extended Spring Training, and he’ll be available for the Yankees by May.

German’s absence removes another arm from a Yankees’ rotation mix that arguably could’ve used some more reinforcement even if German had been healthy. Gerrit Cole, Jordan Montgomery, Luis Severino, Jameson Taillon, and Nestor Cortes give the Yankees a starting five, even if plenty of health questions surround Severino and Taillon (though Boone also said that Taillon’s October ankle surgery won’t keep him out of the Opening Day roster). Michael King, Luis Gil, Deivi Garcia, or Clarke Schmidt form the first line of starter depth at Triple-A or in the bullpen, though none of that group has a proven MLB track record.

The same could also be said of German, as home run issues have been a big factor in his 4.54 ERA over 341 1/3 career innings in the majors. German also missed the 2020 season while suspended under the league’s domestic violence policy, and shoulder inflammation limited him to 98 1/3 frames in 2021. More shoulder problems can’t be seen as good news for German now, though there yet any indication that he could be facing a structural issue.

Twins Claim Jose Godoy From Giants

By Mark Polishuk | March 17, 2022 at 1:49pm CDT

The Twins have claimed catcher Jose Godoy off waivers from the Giants, as announced by both teams. The claim opens up a roster spot for Joc Pederson, whose new one-year contract with San Francisco is now official.

Godoy is changing teams for the second time in five days, as the Giants only just claimed the backstop off waivers from the Mariners earlier this week. Godoy will head from one team experiencing a sea change behind the plate (due to Buster Posey’s retirement) to another, as the Twins just acquired Gary Sanchez from the Yankees and dealt Mitch Garver to the Rangers in a pair of trades.

Beyond Sanchez and Ryan Jeffers, Minnesota doesn’t have any other catchers in the organization with big league experience, so Godoy will provide some Triple-A depth. Godoy’s 16 career MLB games (all with Seattle last year) don’t make for a lengthy Major League resume, but he does have eight years of minor league experience playing in the Cardinals farm system from 2012-19. While Godoy isn’t particularly known for his bat, he does have a .292/.338/.424 slash line over 412 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.

Cubs Sign Robert Gsellman, Adrian Sampson

By Mark Polishuk | March 17, 2022 at 1:19pm CDT

The Cubs continue to stockpile pitching depth, signing right-handers Robert Gsellman and Adrian Sampson. ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reported the Gsellman signing, while Bryan Smith of Cubs Prospects reported Sampson’s return to the organization. Both are minor league deals, as per Meghan Montemurro of The Chicago Tribune and MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. (All links to Twitter.)

Gsellman has spent his entire pro career in the Mets organization, but New York chose to non-tender the righty back in November. Due to a variety of injuries over the last two seasons, Gsellman has only tossed 42 2/3 MLB innings since Opening Day 2020.

Gsellman showed some flashes of brilliance over his four previous seasons working as a starter, swingman, and a full-time reliever with the Mets, pitching to a 4.44 ERA over 308 frames from 2016-19. This versatility made Gsellman a useful arm to have on a pitching staff, though after two injury-marred years, it seems as though the Mets were simply ready to move onto other options.

Sampson is another swingman type who started five of his 10 appearances with the Cubs last season, with a nice 2.80 ERA over 35 1/3 innings (even if advanced metrics weren’t impressed by Sampson’s low-strikeout arsenal). 2021 was the fourth MLB season for Sampson, who debuted with the Mariners in 2016 and also pitched with the Rangers in 2018-19. The right-hander spent much of 2017 recovering from flexor tendon surgery and then went abroad in 2020 to pitch for the KBO League’s Lotte Giants.

Since the lockout ended, the Cubs have hit the ground running on pitching additions, bringing the likes of David Robertson, Daniel Norris, Chris Martin, Jesse Chavez (on a minor league deal) and Steven Brault onto the roster. Gsellman and Sampson bring even more depth to the mix, and given their similar skillsets, the two righties could essentially be competing for one swingman-type role. It could be that both pitchers end up seeing work with Chicago, given how the Cubs and other teams are adding depth as a guard against any arm injuries caused by this shortened Spring Training.

Nationals Designate Jhon Romero For Assignment

By Mark Polishuk | March 17, 2022 at 1:12pm CDT

The Nationals announced that right-hander Jhon Romero has been designated for assignment. The move opens up a roster spot for Nelson Cruz, whose signing is now official.

A veteran of six pro seasons, Romero had something of a breakout in 2021, posting a combined 2.62 ERA, 30.5% strikeout rate, and 4.87% walk rate with Double-A Harrisburg (47 2/3 IP) and Triple-A Rochester (7 1/3 IP). This performance earned Romero his first big league promotion, and he posted a 4.50 ERA over four innings with the Nationals late in the season.

With teams constantly on the lookout for live arms, it wouldn’t be a surprise if another team puts in a waiver claim on Romero, taking note of his big strikeout totals both in 2021 and in his three previous minor league campaigns. It’s possible Romero could be a bit of a late bloomer as he enters his age-27 season, and it’s safe to assume the Nats might prefer to see him slip through DFA waivers and remain in their organization.

Latest On Rockies’ Outfield Search

By Mark Polishuk | March 16, 2022 at 4:40pm CDT

The Rockies are known to be looking for outfield help, and Jorge Soler and Corey Dickerson are among the names under consideration, according to MLB.com’s Thomas Harding (Twitter links). Nearer the top of the free market, Harding notes that Colorado continues to be interested in Kris Bryant, though Joc Pederson is apparently behind “other targets” on the team’s list. Harding reported yesterday that the Rox were looking at Pederson.

Multiple teams were known to be looking into Soler, who is fresh off winning World Series MVP honors after a remarkable turn-around. Soler was hitting only .192/.288/.370 over 360 plate appearances with the Royals when he was traded to the Braves at the deadline, and Soler was then sparked to a .269/.358/.524 slash in his 242 PA for Atlanta during the regular season. Though a positive COVID-19 test kept him from most of the NLCS, Soler made up for it by posting a 1.191 OPS over 23 PA in the World Series, helping lead the Braves to the championship.

The idea of Soler’s power bat in Coors Field is surely tempting to a Rockies team that has been surprisingly lacking in consistent hitting over the last few years. As last season and even his 2020 campaign with the Royals would indicate, Soler is not exactly the picture of consistency himself, yet he isn’t far removed from a 2019 season that saw him lead the AL with 48 home runs.

Adding Soler to the outfield may also not be Colorado’s chief goal, as Soler has never been a defensive plus in right field. Theoretically, the Rockies could install Soler mostly at the new DH spot and only sparingly use him on the grass, while then acquiring another player as more of a regular outfield option.

Dickerson could potentially be a fit for such a role, even if the Rockies already have Charlie Blackmon and Raimel Tapia as left-handed hitting outfielders. While Dickerson is no longer the standout defender he was during his Gold Glove-winning 2018 season, he can at least play some center field and right field in a pinch, as well as his customary left field role.

The Rockies are very familiar with Dickerson, as he was an eighth-round pick for the team in 2010 and he spent his first three big league seasons in the purple pinstripes. Colorado dealt Dickerson to the Rays in January 2016 as part of what became a key trade in recent Rockies history, as German Marquez came to Denver as part of the return.

After posting a 118 wRC+/121 OPS+ and hitting .288/.329/.508 over 2701 PA from 2014-19, Dickerson’s production has been closer to league average over the last two seasons, though his bat did perk up after being dealt to the Blue Jays in June. Between a broken foot and some off-the-field personal tragedy, “the last two years really, really weighed on me,” Dickerson recently told Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi, though his brief stint with the Jays “lit my fire again.” Dickerson has also been employing a new training approach in the offseason to improve both his fielding and his hitting.

Nationals Place Joe Ross On 60-Day Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | March 16, 2022 at 4:34pm CDT

The Nationals placed right-hander Joe Ross on the 60-day injured list today, in order to create roster space for their now-official signing of Sean Doolittle. Ross underwent surgery last week to have a bone spur removed from his throwing elbow, and Nats GM Mike Rizzo told reporters (including NBC Sports Washington’s Matt Weyrich) that Ross was expected to miss 6-8 weeks of action.

It represents another unfortunate setback for Ross, who has missed significant time over the last five seasons due to injuries. A Tommy John surgery in 2017 was the biggest issue, and Ross’ 2021 campaign was cut short in August when a partial UCL tear was discovered in his throwing elbow. The tear wasn’t quite serious enough to merit another TJ procedure, yet there was plenty of uncertainty about Ross’ status even before this latest bone spur issue emerged.

Ross had been only tentatively penciled into the Nationals rotation given his UCL concern, and now the club knows the righty will be unavailable until at least the back end of April. The Nats recently signed Anibal Sanchez, Aaron Sanchez, and swingman Erasmo Ramirez to minor league contracts, so any of those veterans could now have a clearer path to winning some starts in Washington’s rotation.

Cubs Sign David Robertson

By Mark Polishuk | March 16, 2022 at 2:47pm CDT

The Cubs announced the signing of veteran reliever David Robertson to a one-year, Major League contract. Codi Heuer (who recently underwent Tommy John surgery) was placed on Chicago’s 60-day injured list to open up roster space. Robertson will earn $3.5MM in guaranteed money, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweets, and the right-hander can earn up to $1.5MM more in incentives. 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine reported earlier today that Robertson and the Cubs were in talks about a possible deal.

Robertson comes to Chicago after tossing 12 innings with the Rays last season, plus four more frames of work in the playoffs. It marked the right-hander’s first big league action since he threw 6 2/3 innings with the Phillies in 2019 before being sidelined by Tommy John surgery.

Prior to that surgery, Robertson had been essentially the picture of durability over his 11 previous seasons as a workhorse in the Yankees and White Sox bullpens. Robertson combined that reliability with great results, as he posted a 2.93 ERA and 32.4% strikeout rate in 657 innings over those 11 seasons, acting as both a quality closer and a set-up man.

This track record led to a two-year, $23MM free agent deal with the Phillies, though Robertson barely pitched for the team due to his TJ surgery and recovery. Robertson held multiple showcases for teams last winter but didn’t land a new contract, and instead pitched for the silver medal-winning Team USA at this past summer’s Olympics Games in Tokyo. Robertson finally caught on with the Rays, and has now earned another guaranteed contract with the Cubs.

After essentially three lost seasons, it is hard to know what to expect from Robertson as he enters his age-37 campaign. A return to his pre-2019 form is perhaps optimistic, and yet there is also plenty of opportunity for Robertson to once again work as a closer for a Chicago-based team. Robertson certainly has the most closing experience of anyone in the Cubs bullpen, and is one of only a few veterans overall (besides the recently-signed Chris Martin and minor league addition Jesse Chavez) amidst a young relief corps.

Some more signings could certainly be in the offing for a Cubs team that has been aggressive this winter, though Seiya Suzuki’s five-year deal represents the club’s only true long-term commitment (Marcus Stroman can opt out of his three-year contract after the 2023 season). The seeming aversion to longer-term contracts may mean that the Cubs won’t splurge on any big deal for a relief pitcher, thus enhancing Robertson’s chances of winning the closer job during Spring Training.

Tigers Interested In Zack Greinke, Michael Pineda

By Mark Polishuk | March 16, 2022 at 2:34pm CDT

The Tigers are “still in the mix” for free agent starters Zack Greinke and Michael Pineda, The Detroit News’ Chris McCosky reports (Twitter link). While the Tigers also re-signed Wily Peralta on a minor league deal earlier today, the club is clearly still interested in adding further reinforcements to its rotation, and using Peralta in his old swingman role.

Eduardo Rodriguez was signed to a five-year, $77MM deal back in November, thus giving Detroit a veteran arm to augment the promising young rotation trio of Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal, and Matt Manning. Even with Peralta now in the fold as well, adding yet another full-time starter would give the Tigers more depth in the event of injury, or if any of the younger hurlers aren’t quite yet ready to deliver at the Major League level. Neither Greinke or Pineda are exactly sure things themselves, of course, but they do bring plenty of experience to a Tigers team that plans to return to contention.

Greinke’s 17.2% strikeout rate last season was his lowest since 2006, while his 17.4% home run rate was the highest of his 18-year career. The veteran righty also missed time due to both neck soreness and the COVID-related injury list during the last two months of the season, and thus the Astros only used Greinke on a sparing and limited basis during their postseason run.

This said, Greinke was still an effective pitcher overall, posting an elite 5.2% walk rate and solid hard-contact numbers en route to a 4.16 ERA over 171 innings for Houston. Even as Greinke enters his age-38 season, there is plenty of indication that he can still be a strong contributor to a big league rotation, though his days of being an All-Star caliber starter are probably over.

Pineda is only 33, but carries more durability questions than Greinke. Three separate IL stints limited Pineda to 109 1/3 innings with the Twins last season, and he also missed all of 2018 recovering from a Tommy John surgery. When Pineda did pitch last year, he performed well via the bottom-line number of a 3.62 ERA, though his Statcast metrics were much less flattering, apart from an outstanding 4.6% walk rate. Pineda had some of the worst hard-contact numbers of any pitcher in baseball, and his 19.2% strikeout rate was both well below the league average and the worst K% of Pineda’s eight big league seasons.

It would certainly seem likely that either Greinke or Pineda would be available on a one-year contract, which would fit a Detroit club that could be looking for more supplementary pieces after already spending big on E-Rod and Javier Baez. MLBTR ranked Greinke 40th on our list of the winter’s top 50 free agents and projected him for a one-year, $15MM deal. Pineda signed two-year deals with the Twins in each of his last two visits to the open market, though both of those contracts (worth $10MM and $20MM, respectively) were impacted by his Tommy John recovery and the 60-game PED suspension that cost him parts of the 2019 and 2020 season.

Red Sox Sign Dan Altavilla To Two-Year Minors Deal

By Mark Polishuk | March 16, 2022 at 1:37pm CDT

The Red Sox have signed right-hander Dan Altavilla to a two-year minor league contract, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). The length of the deal reflects Altavilla’s health status, as he underwent Tommy John surgery last June and will miss at least half of the 2022 season.

Between a season-opening calf injury and then his elbow problems, Altavilla only pitched 1 1/3 innings over two games with the Padres in 2021. The righty has appeared in each of the last six MLB seasons, though in a somewhat limited capacity (116 total innings) that reflects his inconsistency. Altavilla has a solid 26.1% strikeout rate over his career, but a 12.1% walk rate and 12.4% home run rate have limited his effectiveness out of the Seattle and San Diego bullpens.

With a fastball that averages 96.7 mph, Altavilla brings plenty of heat, and the Red Sox are betting that they can harness that potential once the right-hander is healthy. Given the usual 12-15 month rehab period time for Tommy John patients, Altavilla could potentially return for a good portion of the coming season, if his recovery process goes smoothly. The additional year on the minors contract gives both Altavilla and the Sox some extra security in giving him all the time he needs to get back into form.

A’s Claim Sheldon Neuse Off Waivers

By Mark Polishuk | March 16, 2022 at 1:15pm CDT

The Athletics announced that infielder Sheldon Neuse has been claimed off waivers from the Dodgers. Neuse has been in DFA limbo since December 1, as the Dodgers designated him for assignment just before the lockout started.

It’s a reunion of sorts for Neuse and the A’s, as Neuse has spent much of his pro career in the Oakland organization. A second-round pick for the Nationals in the 2016 draft, Neuse was part of the three-player package (along with Jesus Luzardo and Blake Treinen) sent to Oakland in the July 2017 trade that brought Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson to D.C. The Athletics then dealt Neuse to Los Angeles as part of a four-player swap in February 2021.

A pretty well-regarded prospect during his time in the minors, Neuse has a .291/.349/.459 slash line over 1446 career plate appearances at the Triple-A level. Neuse has played mostly as a third baseman but has also seen a lot of time at both middle infield positions and a handful of games as a first baseman and corner outfielder. There is some irony that Neuse is returning to the A’s on the same day that Oakland traded Matt Chapman to the Blue Jays, as Chapman’s presence at third base was one of the reasons the Athletics experimented with Neuse at other positions.

With the A’s now shifting into at least some kind of rebuild mode, it could open the door for Neuse to get a longer look at the big league level. He hasn’t hit much in limited action, with a .207/.236/.314 slash line in 127 PA (61 with the Athletics in 2019 and 66 with the Dodgers last season).

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