Mark Polishuk | MLB Trade Rumors

Mets Release Eddie Rosario

By Mark Polishuk | August 25, 2024 at 10:15am CDT

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

By Mark Polishuk | August 25, 2024 at 9:54am CDT

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

By Mark Polishuk | August 25, 2024 at 9:46am CDT

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

By Mark Polishuk | August 24, 2024 at 2:55pm CDT

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).

Nationals Place Alex Call On 10-Day Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | August 24, 2024 at 12:43pm CDT

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

By Mark Polishuk | August 24, 2024 at 11:47am CDT

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.

Phillies Reinstate Ranger Suarez From 15-Day IL

By Mark Polishuk | August 24, 2024 at 11:35am CDT

The Phillies announced that Ranger Suarez has been reinstated from the 15-day injured list, and the left-hander will be on the mound to start today’s game against the Royals. Left-hander Tyler Gilbert was optioned to Triple-A yesterday in advance of Suarez’s planned return.

Suarez last pitched just over a month ago, when he allowed three runs over 5 1/3 innings in a 7-2 Phillies loss to the Twins on July 22. That was the fourth consecutive rough outing for Suarez, as his attempts to pitch through back pain were clearly having an adverse effect on his performance. Suarez skipped the All-Star Game to get some extra rest for his back problems, but after returning from the break to post that shaky start against Minnesota, the decision was made to place him on the IL for a fuller recovery period.

After emerging as a solid member of Philadelphia’s rotation in 2022-23, Suarez took a step forward as a potential ace by posting a 1.83 ERA over his first 16 starters and 98 1/3 innings of the 2024 campaign. Even with his last four starts boosting that ERA up to 2.87 over 119 1/3 frames for the season, Suarez’s overall numbers are still excellent, such as a 52.3% grounder rate, a 5.6% walk rate, and very strong soft-contact metrics. The lefty is more of a contact specialist than a strikeout pitcher, but his 24.1% strikeout rate is above the league average, sitting in the 62nd percentile of all pitchers.

Suarez’s production has been reflective of the Phillies’ season, as the Phils have also had some recent struggles after an outstanding first three months. Philadelphia is only 19-25 since July 1, and while the Braves have had their own share of struggles, Atlanta now sits only five games behind the Phillies for first place in the NL East. A five-game lead is still a pretty comfortable position to hold on August 24, and the Phillies can only hope that a healthy and effective Suarez can help get the club back into form during the pennant race and into October.

Twins Designate Steven Okert, Select Scott Blewett

By Mark Polishuk | August 24, 2024 at 10:42am CDT

The Twins announced that left-hander Steven Okert was designated for assignment. The move was made to create space on the 26-man and 40-man rosters for right-hander Scott Blewett, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A St. Paul.

Acquired from the Marlins for Nick Gordon back in February, Okert’s first (and potentially only) season in Minnesota has been inconsistent. He had a 3.20 ERA in his first 25 1/3 innings and 29 appearances, but has since stumbled to a 9.90 ERA over his last 10 frames and 15 games. The lowlight was a four-run implosion over one-third of an inning pitched in the Twins’ 7-5 loss to the Padres last Tuesday, though Okert did bounce back with two scoreless innings two subsequent appearances.

Okert’s 20.6% strikeout rate is the second-worst of his seven-year MLB career, and his longtime issues with control have continued in the form of a 10% walk rate. While his hard-hit ball rate is one of the league’s best, his barrel rate is below average, resulting in six home runs allowed. Okert has long been a fly-ball pitcher, and thus problems have arisen whenever he has been unable to keep the ball in the park.

As The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman recently observed, Okert has been hit hard in high-leverage and even medium-leverage situations this season, leaving the Twins in a tough spot whenever they’ve had to call on Okert in any beyond mop-up duty. Okert had pretty even career splits heading into 2024, but right-handed batters have torched him for a .984 OPS over 95 plate appearances this season (while lefty swingers have only a .564 OPS in 65 PA).

While the three-batter minimum has ended the days of the true lefty specialist, Okert’s splits could be enough for a reliever-needy team to consider a waiver claim, if this team thinks it can either fix his issues against right-handed batters or simply do a better job of shielding him facing righty swingers. Okert is in his first season of arbitration eligibility is playing on a $1,062,500 salary, so picking up the last five weeks’ worth of that salary represents a pretty minimal hit to a new clubs’s payroll.

Because Okert has previously been outrighted in his career, he has the right to reject an outright assignment from the Twins if he clears waivers, and then opt into free agency. Okert is out of minor league options so the Twins had to DFA Okert before attempting to move him to Triple-A, and it could be that the two sides have an agreement in place about Okert accepting an assignment (if he clears waivers) and biding his time in St. Paul until a fresh arm is again needed in the big league bullpen.

Blewett faced a somewhat similar scenario when Minnesota designated him for assignment last week, as Blewett rejected an outright after clearing waivers, but then quickly re-signed with the Twins after first testing free agency. The right-hander first signed a minor league contract with the Twins back in January, and his time on the big league roster consists of a single game — a scoreless inning on August 12 in the Twins’ 8-3 win over the Royals. At Triple-A this season, Blewett has a 3.79 ERA, 22.7% strikeout rate, and 7.1% walk rate, with a .340 BABIP inflating his bottom-line numbers to some extent.

Prior to his lone game with the Twins, Blewett’s MLB resume consisted of eight innings over five appearances with Kansas City during the 2020-21 seasons. During the 2022-23 seasons, Blewett pitched in the minors with the White Sox and Braves, plus he spent time abroad pitching in the Chinese Professional Baseball League. It could be that this latest call-up will result in just another “cup of coffee” type of cameo for Blewett, but he’ll get some opportunity to show what he can do for a contending Twins club.

Jimmy Lambert Undergoes Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

By Mark Polishuk | August 24, 2024 at 9:16am CDT

Jimmy Lambert’s lost 2024 season has officially come to a close, as the White Sox announced that the right-hander underwent shoulder surgery earlier this week. The exact nature of the surgery and a timeline aren’t yet known, so it is possible Lambert could face another extended recovery period that stretches beyond Opening Day 2025.

Lambert suffered a right rotator cuff strain in March and began the season on the 60-day injured list. He started a rehab assignment in July but he was shut down again after pitching in two Arizona Complex League games. Since an arthroscopic ankle surgery also cut short Lambert’s previous season, he hasn’t pitched in a big league game since September 3, 2023.

A fifth-round pick for the White Sox in the 2018 draft, Lambert made his MLB debut in 2020 and has compiled a 4.33 ERA over his 99 2/3 career innings in the Show. It seemed like Lambert had found a niche for himself with a solid season out of Chicago’s bullpen in 2022, but he ran into renewed problems with the home run ball last year, contributing to a 5.26 ERA in 37 2/3 frames in 2023. Walks have also been a consistent issue for Lambert in the majors, as per his career 11.3% walk rate.

Spending the entire season on the Major League injured list has banked a full year of MLB service time for Lambert, making him eligible for salary arbitration this coming offseason. That isn’t much consolation since it now makes it more likely that the White Sox will just non-tender Lambert, or they could work out a low-cost new contract to keep him in the organization while he recovers from surgery.

Mariners Place Yimi Garcia On 15-Day Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | August 24, 2024 at 8:11am CDT

Prior to yesterday’s game, the Mariners placed right-hander Yimi Garcia on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his throwing elbow. The placement is retroactive to August 20. Left-hander Gabe Speier was called up from Triple-A Tacoma in the corresponding move.

This is the second time Garcia has hit the IL this season due to an elbow-related issue, as ulnar neuritis cost him about a month of action prior to the All-Star break when Garcia was still a member of the Blue Jays. He made two appearances after that initial activation, and the Mariners were satisfied enough with his health to then acquire the veteran reliever in a trade with Toronto on July 26. After posting a 2.57 ERA in his first seven innings and appearances out of Seattle’s bullpen, Garcia has allowed four runs over his last three appearances (two IP), and it is safe to guess that his elbow problems contributed to those recent struggles.

The backdated placement has already shortened Garcia’s IL stint from the minimum 15 days, but he’ll still be out until September. Given that there isn’t much time left in the regular season, there is natural concern about when or if Garcia might pitch again, should his inflammation linger deeper into September. Even missing “only” a month a la his previous IL placement would still represent a big chunk of the final stretch, leaving the Mariners short one of their key deadline additions as the team tries to get its season back on track.

Beyond just the 2024 campaign, the 34-year-old Garcia is scheduled to hit free agency this winter, so two elbow-related injuries won’t help him in the open market even if his overall numbers have been solid. Garcia has a 3.46 ERA over 39 combined innings with Seattle and Toronto this season, along with a very impressive 32% strikeout rate. That K% is a new personal best for Garcia over his 10 MLB seasons, though he has also received some good fortune in the form of a .202 BABIP and his 7.8% walk rate is his highest in the last four years.

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