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AL East Notes: Cole, Springs, Vavra

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The Yankees have been without reigning AL Cy Young award winner Gerrit Cole for the entire season to this point as he works his way back from a bout of elbow inflammation, though that hasn’t stopped the club from storming out of the gate to an excellent 37-17 record. The club’s starting five of Nestor Cortes, Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, Clarke Schmidt, and Luis Gil have all excelled in Cole’s absence, with Cortes’s 3.29 ERA (122 ERA+) standing as the weakest of the group.

Strong as the rotation has been without Cole, the Yankees are surely anxious to get their ace back into the fold. As one of the most dominant starting pitchers in the game today, Cole has posted a 3.08 ERA (136 ERA+) and 3.27 FIP in four seasons with the Yankees including an AL-best 2.63 ERA with a 3.16 FIP across 209 innings of work last year. Fortunately for the club, it seems Cole is making significant progress in his recovery. Erik Boland of Newsday reported yesterday that Cole threw all of his pitches during a 30-pitch bullpen session and touched the club-imposed velocity limit of 95 mph a few times throughout the session. Chris Kirschner of The Athletic added that Cole could begin a rehab assignment as soon as this coming week, depending on how he bounces back from yesterday’s outing.

That’s exciting news for the Yankees, although Cole would likely need a fairly lengthy rehab assignment in order to build up to a starter’s pitch count before he can return to the club. Cole’s return will give the Yankees something of a logjam in the starting rotation, as none of the club’s current options deserve to be removed from the mix based on their performance. It’s possible that Clarke Schmidt’s previous experience in the bullpen could make him a candidate to be moved out of the rotation in favor of Cole, though the club could also simply opt to utilize a six-man rotation for the time being.

More from around the AL East…

  • Rays left-hander Jeffrey Springs was pulled from a rehab start in the minor leagues yesterday due to left shoulder tightness, as noted by Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times. Springs underwent Tommy John surgery in April of 2023 and is just two appearances into his rehab in the Florida Complex League. It’s not yet clear if Springs’s shoulder issue is a particularly serious one, but a setback in his rehab would be an unfortunate turn of events for both player and club. The 31-year-old sports an incredible 2.34 ERA ERA in 28 starts for the Rays since the start of the 2022 season and figures to help anchor the club’s rotation once healthy. In the absence of Springs, Shane McClanahan, and Drew Rasmussen this season, Tampa has relied heavily on young, unproven arms such as Taj Bradley, Ryan Pepiot, and Zack Littell.
  • Orioles infielder Terrin Vavra missed most of the 2023 season due to what was at the time referred to as a shoulder strain, but Roch Kubatko of MASN relays that, per Vavra, his injury woes last season were much more serious than previously reported. Vavra was diagnosed with a torn labrum in his right shoulder back in September and underwent surgery on the issue later that month. Vavra’s shoulder woes last season could help to explain the 27-year-old’s struggles at the plate last year, when he slashed just .245/.315/.245 in 56 trips to the plate without recording an extra base hit despite a solid rookie performance in 2022. Vavra was outrighted off the Orioles’s 40-man roster during the offseason but remains in the organization as a potential depth option now that he’s healthy, though the club’s deep infield mix seemingly leaves him blocked at the big league level.

AL West Notes: Abreu, Urquidy, Trout, Adams

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The Astros are set to welcome first baseman Jose Abreu back into the fold in the coming days, as Abreu himself told reporters (including The Athletic’s Chandler Rome) earlier today that he’s set to fly to Seattle tomorrow ahead of the club to meet them for the club’s three-game set against the Mariners, which is set to begin on Monday. Abreu had previously been expected to join Houston in Oakland for a three game set against the A’s, but the club instead decided to get the veteran a few extra games in the minors.

Abreu, 37, struggled through a down season at the plate last year in his first season with the Astros but began to heat up somewhat late in the season, providing optimism for his second year with the club. Unfortunately, the hot stretch didn’t carry over and the veteran posted a disastrous .099/.156/.113 slash line in 22 games before agreeing to be optioned to the minors in an attempt to overcome the deep struggles that had been plaguing him. Since then, Abreu has appeared in six games in the minor leagues and slashed a respectable .280/.357/.480 in 28 trips to the plate.

If Abreu can show anything close the offensive performance he offered during his time with the White Sox, for whom he never posted a wRC+ less than 14% better than league average, it would provide a huge boost to an Astros club that has scuffled in the early going and currently sits 3.5 games out of first place in the AL West with a 23-29 record that puts them behind both the Mariners and Rangers. Jon Singleton has performed admirably at first base in Abreu’s absence with a 110 wRC+ in 38 games this year, but that includes a paltry .206/.290/.324 slash line against left-handed pitching this year. Abreu, by contrast, produced well against southpaws even last season, when he hit a decent .235/.296/.444 against them in 179 trips to the plate.

More from around the AL West…

  • Sticking with the Astros, right-hander Jose Urquidy suffered a tough setback today after exiting a rehab start due to what manager Joe Espada termed “right forearm discomfort,” as relayed by Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle. Urquidy is undergoing evaluation to determine the severity of the issue, but even a brief setback would be an unfortunate turn of events for Houston. Urquidy had been expected to return to the club at some point within the next week, and in doing so would have offered the Astros some much-needed pitching depth amid deep struggles in the rotation. The club is currently utilizing a six-man rotation of Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, Hunter Brown, Spencer Arrighetti, and Ronel Blanco, but only Blanco and Verlander have been above average by measure of ERA+ and no one in that group has posted a FIP below 4.00 this season.
  • Angels superstar Mike Trout spoke to reporters (including MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger) prior to today’s game against the Guardians earlier today and offered an optimistic update regarding his rehab from meniscus surgery earlier this month. While Trout didn’t provide a timetable for his return, he noted that he’s “feeling good” as he regains strength in his leg while resuming weight room activity, and added that he’s “pretty close” to beginning to run again. The star center fielder was off to another great start this year prior to the injury, slashing .220/.325/.541 despite a shockingly low .194 BABIP thanks in part to a whopping 10 homers in 29 games. Reporting at the time of his surgery suggested a four-to-six week recovery period was the best case scenario for Trout’s return, although the Angels have since indicated that they’re going to take Trout’s rehab slowly in order to minimize the odds of re-injury.
  • The Athletics had a bit of a scare regarding right-hander Austin Adams earlier today in their game against Houston when he was removed from the game due to a bout of left neck tightness. Fortunately, manager Mark Kotsay told reporters (including Martin Gallegos of MLB.com) after the game this evening that Adams is day-to-day and probably could have pitched through the issue if necessary, though the club preferred not to risk it. One of several journeymen making the most of their time in Oakland, Adams has been excellent for the A’s this season as he’s pitched to a 2.65 ERA with a 3.01 FIP across 23 appearances with a whopping 32.9% strikeout rate. Adams has acted as the primary set-up man to star closer Mason Miller this season, and the 33-year-old is controlled through the end of next season, a fact that could make him a particularly attractive target at the trade deadline this summer if he can stay healthy and effective.

Reds Sign Brandon Leibrandt To Minor League Deal

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The Reds have signed left-hander Brandon Leibrandt to a minor league deal, according to the transaction tracker on Leibrandt’s MLB.com player page.

Leibrandt, 31, was a sixth-round pick by the Phillies in the 2014 draft who made his way through the minor leagues with the club to reach Triple-A during the 2018 season, setting him up for a potential big league debut in 2019. Unfortunately, those plans were scuttled when the southpaw missed the entire campaign due to injury, prompting the Phillies to release him prior to the 2020 season. Leibrandt was picked up by the Marlins in July 2020 and made his big league debut the following month.

Leibrandt would go on to pitch nine innings for the Marlins during the shortened 2020 campaign across five appearances. His results were solid enough as he allowed just two runs in that time, but his peripherals told a different story. Leibrandt walked a whopping 19.4% of batters faced during his brief stint in the big leagues while striking out just 8.3%, leaving him with a lackluster 4.86 FIP during his time in the big leagues. He has not appeared in the major since.

The southpaw was outrighted off the club’s roster following the 2020 campaign but remained in the organization during the 2021 season, pitching at the Double- and Triple-A levels to a combined 5.68 ERA in 21 appearances, including 18 starts. Leibrandt remained in affiliated ball for the 2022 season on a minor league pact with the Cubs before heading to the independent Atlantic League to pitch for the High Point Rockers, with whom he’s remained since. In 80 innings with the Rockers, Leibrandt has impressed with a 2.70 ERA and a 23.8% strikeout rate, while walking just 8% of batters faced.

That performance has clearly intrigued the Reds, who are now bringing Leibrandt into the organizational fold as upper-level pitching depth. The club is fairly deep in upper-level pitching options on the rotation side of things with the likes of Connor Phillips and Lyon Richardson available for spot starts as needed, although it’s possible Leibrandt could offer the Reds a multi-inning arm from the left side out of the bullpen if his strong results in the Atlantic League can translate to affiliated ball.

Cubs Sign Jackson Tetreault To Minor League Deal

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The Cubs have signed right-hander Jackson Tetreault to a minor league deal, as noted by Talk Nats on X earlier today. Talk Nats adds that Tetreault had interest from multiple teams, including “advanced talks” with the Blue Jays, before ultimately settling in Chicago.

Tetreault, 28 in June, was a seventh-round pick by the Nationals back in 2017 and worked his way through the club’s minor league system to make his big league debut back in 2022. In four starts with the club that year, Tetreault struggled to a 5.14 ERA and 6.16 FIP in 21 innings of work before suffering a stress fracture in his shoulder that sidelined him for the remainder of the 2022 season. Tetreault was outrighted off the Nationals’ roster that November but remained with the organization for the 2023 season as he rehabbed the injury, ultimately making two appearances at the High-A level, though he struggled badly in the appearances with ten runs (eight earned) allowed over 5 2/3 combined innings as he allowed two walks and fourteen hits including three home runs against four strikeouts.

Those appearances in May of last year were Tetreault’s most recent professional outings, as he was placed on the injured list in June and has not pitched since. He elected free agency back in November but didn’t land a deal anywhere until today, when he signed with the Cubs on a minor league pact. Prior to his injury, Tetreault had the look of an intriguing potential back-end starter with the Nationals, pitching to a 4.34 ERA in 28 starts at the Double-A level and a 4.04 ERA in 14 appearances at Triple-A.

Given his extended layoff in recent years, it’s not clear how healthy Tetreault is or what role he may take up now that he’s signed with Chicago, although the club could surely benefit from upper-level pitching depth with key pieces of the club’s bullpen such as Julian Merryweather, Adbert Alzolay, and Yency Almonte all on the injured list in addition to rookie starter Jordan Wicks. Tetreault figures to act as that sort of non-roster, upper level depth alongside fellow minor league signings such as Julio Teheran, Edwin Escobar, and Carl Edwards Jr.

NL Central Notes: Imanaga, Hayes, Delay, Candelario

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Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga was set to take the ball for a start against the Cardinals last night, but after rain caused the game to be postponed until July he’s seen his start pushed back until the club’s game against the Brewers on May 29. That scheduling change will give Imanaga a whopping ten days rest between his most recent start against the Pirates last week and his next, but Patrick Mooney of The Athletic writes that manager Craig Counsell made clear that Imanaga’s extended layoff wasn’t injury related, instead describing the decision as a “proactive” effort to manage his workload amid the 30-year-old lefty’s workload.

It’s not necessarily news that the Cubs are managing Imanaga’s workload, as he’s started just two games on regular rest so far this season. By inserting additional rest day’s into the lefty’s schedule, the club is hoping to soften Imanaga’s transition from the typical NPB schedule, where teams utilize six-man rotations with one day off a week allowing starters to pitch just once a week, to MLB’s five-man rotations with less frequent days off. It’s hard to argue with the results of Chicago’s plan, as Imanaga has been the best starting pitcher in the sport by the results this season and has authored a historic beginning to his big league career: his microscopic 0.84 ERA is both the lowest in baseball this year and the lowest of any rookie pitcher’s first nine starts in the modern era.

Imanaga’s peripheral numbers largely back up his stellar performance to this point, as well; his 27.8% is the 13th-best figure in all of baseball this year among qualified starters, while his 4.3% walk rate places him ninth. Only Chris Sale, Jack Flaherty, and Pablo Lopez have struck out more batters while walking fewer than Imanaga this year, leaving the 30-year-old’s complex $53MM guarantee with the Cubs appearing to be one of the biggest steals of the offseason a third of the way through the 2024 campaign.

More from around the NL Central…

  • The Pirates offered updates on a handful of injured players today, as noted by Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Most notable among those updates was that regarding third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes. Hayes has been on the shelf for two weeks due to low back inflammation but has resumed full baseball activities, and manager Derek Shelton told reporters (including Hiles) that they will meet to discuss the next steps of his rehab process. Given that encouraging update, it’s feasible to imagine Hayes heading out for a rehab assignment in the coming days, which could allow the third baseman to return to Pittsburgh at some point in early June. Jared Triolo has handled the hot corner while Hayes has been on the shelf.
  • Sticking with the Pirates, that same list of injury updates also relays positive news regarding catcher Jason Delay. The backstop underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee in mid-April and was expected to miss at least six weeks of action before undergoing baseball activities, but is already slated to start a rehab assignment just over a month after undergoing the procedure. Delay is currently on the 60-day injured list and would first be eligible to return to action in early June, although it’s feasible his rehab assignment could last longer than that given the lengthy layoff. Yasmani Grandal and Joey Bart have handled duties behind the plate in Delay’s absence, and it’s unclear if Delay would return to the big league club or be optioned to the minor leagues once healthy enough to be activated.
  • The Reds scratched infielder Jeimer Candelario from their lineup against the Dodgers earlier today due to neck stiffness, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Candelario, 30, struggled in the early going of his first season with the Reds but has begun to heat up in recent weeks with a .279/.343/.492 slash line in his last sixteen games. It’s not yet clear if Candelario will be out for longer than today’s game, but even a brief absence would be a brutal blow for a Cincinnati club that is already without Matt McLain, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, and TJ Friedl due to injuries as well as Noelvi Marte due to a PED suspension. Santiago Espinal and Spencer Steer are starting tonight at third and first base, respectively, and figure to handle the infield corners for as long as Candelario is out of action.

Pirates GM Ben Cherington Discusses Suwinski, Davis, Tellez

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Pirates GM Ben Cherington spoke to reporters (including Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) recently about the struggles a few key players have faced on offense this season in Pittsburgh, including recently-optioned outfielder Jack Suwinski. Despite the club’s decision to option the 25-year-old earlier this week, Cherington made clear that the club believes in his talent.

“Jack is really important to us,” Cherington said, as relayed by Hiles. “..Clearly believe that the best version of our team in 2024 has Jack on it, doing the things that we know he’s capable of doing. We tried to give that as much time as we could to get on track.”

That time to work things out came in the form of 157 plate appearances in the majors with Pittsburgh this season, where Suwinski slashed a brutal .174/.268/.297 despite being just one year removed from a breakout season where he posted a 112 wRC+ in 144 games as the club’s regular center fielder. That upside is certainly tantalizing, but Cherington indicated that the club’s decision to option him comes from a belief that Suwinski will need “consistent” at-bats on a daily basis that they can’t afford to him at the big league level.

With veteran franchise face Andrew McCutchen installed at DH and Bryan Reynolds taking one corner spot every day, that left just two spots in the outfield for a combination of Suwinski, Michael A. Taylor, Edward Olivares, and Connor Joe. Olivares and Joe have both hit fairly well to this point in the season, while Taylor is both not optionable and also an excellent defender in center field. Even with that outfield logjam complicating matters, Cherington still indicated that the club hopes that he’ll be able to show enough to return to the majors at some point this year, although he made clear that there is “no guarantee” as to when or if he’ll be back in the majors this year.

Suwinski isn’t the only potential core piece that the Pirates optioned to the minors this month, as the club also optioned catcher Henry Davis just after the calendar flipped to May. Davis, 24, was the first overall pick in the 2021 draft and made his debut last season but struggled at the plate while working almost exclusively as an outfielder. Injuries to the club’s catching corps this offseason spurred Pittsburgh to return Davis to his native position behind the plate, where he looked to be below average but serviceable with the glove. That would be well worthwhile if Davis was a stud on offense, but he hit just .162/.280/.206 in 23 games prior to his demotion.

Fortunately, Davis has caught fire in the weeks since then at Triple-A with an otherworldly .315/.456/.741 slash line in 15 games. That strong hot stretch earned Davis considerable praise from Cherington, who acknowledged that the youngster has been “working hard” since being optioned and that the club is seeing “progress” both in his on-field results and in the specific goals the club set out for him when he was demoted. If Davis can reach the ceiling that made him a consensus top-50 prospect in the sport a couple of years ago, that would be a huge boost to a Pirates club that has struggled to a 24-28 start this season despite winning 11 of their first 16 games this year.

Not every struggling player can be optioned to the minor leagues, of course, and that includes first baseman Rowdy Tellez. The 29-year-old slugger signed a one-year deal in Pittsburgh coming off a down season in Milwaukee last year and has looked even worse through 45 games with the Pirates this season, hitting a nightmarish .175/.242/.225 that’s a whopping 64% below the league average hitter in terms of wRC+.

In spite of his struggles, it doesn’t appear that the club doesn’t plan on giving up on Tellez any time soon, and Cherington confirmed as much in comments to reporters. While the GM acknowledged that the club isn’t “seeing the outcomes we hoped to see” out of Tellez to this point, he also made clear that Tellez is healthy and that the underlying skills that prompted the Pirates to target him, including his bat speed and strong power potential, don’t seem to have changed.

Even as the club intends to stick with Tellez for the time being, that doesn’t mean they haven’t begun to lean less heavily on him. Tellez is still a semi-regular fixture in the club’s lineup with appearances in 15 of the club’s 21 games this month, but Joe has begun to see increasing playing time at first base as a result of a strong .273/.344/.460 slash line in 45 games this season. Should the Pirates decide to move on from Tellez at some point, non-roster veteran Jake Lamb could serve as a potential left-handed complement to Joe at first base. The 33-year-old is currently playing for the Pirates on a minor league deal in their system with a .341/.428/.500 slash line in 37 games and had some success in the majors as recently as 2022.

Yankees Select Kevin Smith

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The Yankees announced this afternoon that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Kevin Smith. Smith will take the roster spot of Jon Berti, who the club placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left calf strain. Making room for Smith on the 40-man roster is DJ LeMahieu, who was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Smith, 27, was a 4th-round pick by the Blue Jays back in 2017 and made his big league debut with the club in 2021, though he hit just .094/.194/.188 in 36 plate appearances with Toronto that season. Smith is perhaps most notable for being part of the four-player package the Blue Jays sent to Oakland in exchange for then-A’s third baseman Matt Chapman prior to the 2022 season. Smith would go on to appear in 96 games for the A’s over the 2022 and ’23 campaigns but again struggled to hit at the big league level as he posted a paltry .183/.218/.314 slash line in 297 trips to the plate as a member of the Athletics.

That meager offensive performance was enough to convince the A’s to non-tender Smith back in November, though he eventually joined the Yankees on a minor league deal back in January. This is actually Smith’s second stint with the big league club this year, as he was already called up once earlier this year the first time the club placed Berti on the shelf back in mid-April. Unfortunately for Smith, he ultimately made just one appearance in a Yankees uniform during that stint with the club and failed to record even one plate appearance before being designated for assignment and outrighted to Triple-A.

It’s possible this stint in the majors could be a similarly brief one as well. After all, the Yankees also announced earlier this afternoon that LeMahieu’s rehab assignment has been transferred to Triple-A and MLB.com’s Injury Tracker notes that manager Aaron Boone expects LeMahieu to rejoin the club at some point during their three-game set against the Angels that begins on May 28. LeMahieu’s initial IL placement was retroactive to March 25, meaning that today’s transfer to the 60-day IL is a purely procedural move that has no bearing on when the Yankees can activate him.

LeMahieu’s return from the shelf will be a huge relief for the Yankees, as they’ve struggled to get much production from much of their infield mix this year. Anthony Volpe has been excellent at shortstop this season while veteran first baseman Anthony Rizzo has held his own with a roughly league average slash line, but Gleyber Torres has struggled badly at the plate while acting as the club’s regular second baseman with a .221/.298/.318 slash line in 219 trip to the plate so far this year. It can be argued that Torres’s overall track record an above-average bat should earn him the opportunity to bust out of his slump, but the same can’t be said for Oswaldo Cabrera, who got off to a blazing start at the hot corner this year but has struggled badly over the past month with a .208/.253/.260 slash line in his last 25 games.

The club’s struggles to get offensive production from their infield mix are compounded by the loss of Berti, who was ice cold in six games with the club prior to being placed on the injured list in April but has heated up considerably in the month of May with a .306/.359/.389 slash line in 11 games. That production in conjunction with Berti’s experience all over the diamond except for first base and behind the plate made Berti a strong bench contributor to the Yankees’ scuffling infield, but now they’ll be without him for the foreseeable future. The Yankees have not yet announced a timeline for Berti’s return, although the utility man was seemingly unable to put weight on his leg while exiting last night’s game in the ninth inning, as noted by MLB.com.

The Opener: Rangers, Twins, Ramos, Braves

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As the 2024 regular season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world heading into the weekend:

1. Series Preview: Rangers @ Twins

A pair of AL contenders who have struggled a bit more than expected so far in the 2024 campaign are set to face off in a weekend series starting this evening as the Twins host the Rangers at Target Field for a three-game set. The Twins currently sit 6.5 games back of the Guardians for the AL Central crown with a 26-23 record despite having come into the season as the defending division champions, while the reigning World Series champions in Texas have fallen below .500 with a record of just 24-27 but are just three games back of the Mariners in what has turned out to be a surprisingly weak AL West division. Both teams have also faced particularly deep struggles recently as the Twins have lost seven of their last ten while the Rangers have lost eight.

The series is set to begin at 6:10pm local time this evening, when Twins righty Bailey Ober (4.40 ERA) takes on Rangers journeyman Jose Urena (3.29 ERA). Veteran Michael Lorenzen (3.61 ERA) is set to take on Twins right-hander Chris Paddack (4.47 ERA) tomorrow, while it’s unclear who will start for Texas on Sunday opposite Minnesota’s struggling staff ace Pablo Lopez (4.72 ERA).  With Jon Gray, Nathan Eovaldi, and Cody Bradford all currently on the injured list, it’s possible the club will be forced to turn to a young arm such as Jack Leiter, Owen White, or Cole Winn to make a spot start.

2. Ramos nearing return:

The White Sox lost infielder Bryan Ramos to the injured list just over a week after calling him up to the majors due to a left quad strain, but it appears the 22-year-old youngster is nearing a return to action. As relayed by Scott Merkin of MLB.com, general manager Chris Getz told reporters yesterday that Ramos would be activated from the IL at some point this weekend. That’s great news for the club, as Ramos has experience at both second and third base and figures to offer a noticeable upgrade offensively over either Nicky Lopez (52 wRC+) or Danny Mendick (69 wRC+) upon his return. Ranked by Fangraphs as the #54 prospect in the sport, Ramos held his own with a decent .281/.294/.344 slash line in his first ten games, good for a wRC+ of 78. In 77 games at the Double-A level last year, Ramos slashed an impressive .271/.369/.457 with a wRC+ of 122.

3. Who’s starting for the Braves today?

The Braves have not yet decided their starter for today’s game against the Pirates, manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including Mark Bowman of MLB.com) last night. The club’s recent doubleheader against the Padres has left the rotation in need of a spot start, but the club’s recent decision to option right-hander Bryce Elder to the minor leagues means that their on-paper sixth starter won’t be available to take the ball unless he replaces an injured player on the roster. Assuming the club will look for another alternative in its minor league system, each of Huascar Ynoa, Allan Winans, and Dylan Dodd have been working out of the rotation at the Triple-A level for the club this year and have enough rest to be a potential option for today’s spot start.

Ynoa is the most accomplished of the three at the big league level after pitching in parts of four MLB seasons including a 107 ERA+ showing in 91 innings of work back in 2021. That being said, Ynoa has struggled to stay healthy in recent years and has been lit up for a 6.52 ERA in 9 2/3 innings of work at Triple-A so far this year. He’s also on the minor league IL and hasn’t pitched in an official game since the middle of April. That could lead the Braves to offer the start today to either Winans or Dodd, both of whom made their MLB debuts last year and have pitched to decent results at the Triple-A level this year. Dodd has not yet appeared in a big league game this season, while Winans surrendered seven runs (six earned) in five innings of work during a spot start earlier this year. All three arms are already on the 40-man roster, but the Braves would still need to clear space on the active roster in order to accommodate today’s starter.

Rob Manfred Discusses Mizuhara, Fletcher Investigations; A’s Stadium Plans

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MLB commissioner Rob Manfred spoke to reporters (including Evan Drellich of The Athletic) regarding the league’s ongoing investigations into allegations of illegal sports betting against Ippei Mizuhara and David Fletcher. Mizuhara had worked as Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter during his time with the Angels and joined him in heading to the Dodgers this offseason but was fired on Opening Day amid reports connecting Mizuhara to an illegal gambling operation in California, while Fletcher was connected to that same operation by reporting last week.

As noted by Drellich, MLB’s department of investigations has largely been deferential to federal authorities over the course of the investigations. Manfred suggested that this deferential approach was a necessary one, noting that federal authorities have “a lot more tools” at their disposal than the league does with which to conduct investigations in this situation. Drellich explains that while league investigations regarding legal gambling can be assisted by regulators and alerts received by the league’s central office, no such avenues are available in cases of illegal gambling.

“We have no way to know what an illegal bookmaker is doing,” Manfred said, as relayed by Drellich. “…by definition, in most cases we’re going to be chasing, usually a press report or a criminal investigation.”

Manfred went on to suggest that a more proactive approach to the investigations could risk “interfer[ing] in an unproductive way,” prompting the league’s decision to move slowly in its investigations of these cases while following reporting based on investigations from the news media and federal authorities. Reporting earlier this month suggests that Mizuhara is pleading guilty to charges of bank fraud and subscribing to a false tax return in relation with his alleged theft of more than $16MM from Ohtani to fund his gambling habit.

Aside from his comments on the ongoing investigations, Manfred also discussed the impending relocation of the Athletics from Oakland to Las Vegas and their temporary move to Sacramento following the 2024 campaign while they await the construction of their new stadium in Nevada. Manfred notes that Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, which is the current home of the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, is set to undergo significant renovations in preparation for the A’s arrival next season. Per Manfred, an entirely new home clubhouse will be constructed for the A’s while the visiting clubhouse will be renovating, the field will have new artificial turf installed, and the stadiums cameras will be upgraded to accommodate big league broadcasts.

In addition to discussing the upgrades being made to the club’s temporary ballpark in Sacramento, Manfred noted that the timeline for construction on the club’s permanent ballpark in Las Vegas is a relatively tight one if the club is to begin playing there in 2028, as previously expected. According to Drellich, Manfred indicated that the A’s would need to break ground in Las Vegas in April 2025 if they’re to be ready for Opening Day 2028. That gives the club less than a year to gather private funding for the stadium project, of which they are reportedly seeking $500MM, and reach an agreement with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority regarding a plan for the club to meet its $1.1 billion in commitments toward the construction of the stadium.

Rays Notes: Lowe, Walls, Ramirez

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Rays outfielder Josh Lowe has spent most of the season on the injured list after a series of injuries, including oblique, hamstring, and hip issues, prevented him from playing since Spring Training. Things began looking up for the 26-year-old when he was activated off the injured list earlier this month, but he appeared in just 14 games before being pulled from yesterday’s game against the Red Sox due to right side strain.

The strain immediately raised alarms for Lowe and the Rays given his oblique issues earlier this season, but Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported earlier this evening that while Lowe underwent an MRI exam to determine the severity of the issue, the results were ultimately inconclusive. Topkin suggests that an injured list placement for Lowe remains likely to ensure that he doesn’t aggravate the oblique issue that left him sidelined to open the season, although the club opted to wait until Friday to make a determination about a potential IL stint for the outfielder after Lowe told club officials this morning that he was feeling better today.

The club’s first-round pick in the 2016 draft, Lowe enjoyed a breakout season last year as he posted a strong .292/.335/.500 slash line in 501 plate appearances, good for a wRC+ of 131. That figure has dipped to just 108 this season, although a sample size of just 54 plate appearances is hardly meaningful enough to draw conclusions from. Whether Lowe ultimately proves to once again be the impact bat he was for the Rays in 2023 or not, another trip to the injured list would be an unfortunate turn of events for a lineup that’s already without Taylor Walls and has seen key pieces like Randy Arozarena and Yandy Diaz struggle in the early going this year. Richie Palacios was the club’s primary answer in right field while Lowe was out earlier this year and once again figures to handle the position in his absence should he require a trip to the injured list.

Speaking of Walls, Topkin reports that the infielder could be nearing a notable step forward in his rehab from offseason hip surgery as he’s “tentatively scheduled” to move from the Florida Complex League up to Triple-A Durham on May 30. That’s a fairly quick turnaround, as Walls first began his rehab assignment in Florida on Tuesday according to MLB.com’s Injury Tracker. The Rays have relied on Jose Caballero and Amed Rosario to handle shortstop in Walls’s absence but neither of them have the strong defensive reputation of Walls, whose +38 Defensive Runs Saves from 2021 to 2023 are sixth-best among all big league infielders despite Walls appearing in just 295 games during that time.

In other Rays news, Topkin also relays that club manager Kevin Cash told reporters yesterday that the club remains interested in right-hander Erasmo Ramirez even after designating the righty for assignment yesterday. Cash indicated that the club could look to pursue a reunion with Ramirez in the event that he isn’t claimed by another club while on waivers, noting that the club would “definitely” like him back in the fold.

The 34-year-old hurler first played for the Rays from 2015-2017 as a swing man before returning to the club midseason last year. Ramirez’s second stint with the Rays could’ve gone better, as he allowed a 5.84 ERA while striking out just 18.2% of batters faced in 49 1/3 innings of work across the past two seasons. Even so, he’s just a couple of years removed from a strong 2022 campaign with the Nationals where he pitched to 2.92 ERA in 86 1/3 frames across 60 appearances as a multi-inning relief arm for the club.

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