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Pirates Claim Ka’ai Tom, Designate Anthony Alford For Assignment

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The Pirates have claimed outfielder Ka’ai Tom off waivers from the Athletics and designated fellow outfielder Anthony Alford for assignment in order to clear a spot on the roster, per a club announcement. Tom, the Athletics’ selection in this year’s Rule 5 Draft, was designated for assignment by Oakland earlier this week. He’ll maintain his Rule 5 designation with the Pirates, meaning he cannot be sent to the minors without first clearing waivers and being offered back to his original organization, the Indians.

Tom, 26, went just 1-for-16  in limited action with the A’s, but he forced his way onto their Opening Day roster with a huge spring showing: .310/.412/.552 with a homer, two doubles, a triple and four walks against eight strikeouts through 34 trips to the plate. His last minor league season was similarly encouraging, as he logged a combined .290/.380/.532 in 554 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A, adding 23 homers and five steals.

Tom has never rated as a top prospect, but he has a rock-solid track record spanning his entire minor league career and his days as a star at the University of Kentucky. Following the Rule 5 Draft in December, FanGraphs Eric Longenhagen wrote: “Tom is one of those prospects who makes me wonder, “Are we all idiots?” because he has a consistent track record of above-average offensive performance all the way from college through the upper minors, and yet because he’s a little guy without huge power he is consistently dismissed by scouts.”

The Bucs ought to be able to give Tom plenty of leash to show he has the chops to continue that strong performance in the big leagues. He started just four games with a win-now A’s club, but the Pirates aren’t expecting to win much of anything in 2021 and can afford to give him regular playing time if they choose. Alford and Dustin Fowler had been splitting time in center field for the Pirates, but neither has hit so far, leading to today’s roster shuffle.

Alford, also 26, is a wildly gifted athlete and former two-sport star who didn’t fully commit to baseball until more than two years after he was drafted. He was one of the most touted talents in the 2012 draft but worked out a deal with the Blue Jays that allowed him to play football in college. He continued doing so until Sept. 2014, and in the years since that time he’s battled injuries — most notably wrist surgery and a torn hamstring. He’s still tallied just 117 plate appearances in the Majors since his 2017 big league debut.

Alford ranked among the game’s top 100 prospects from 2016-18 on virtually any publication of note, but his opportunities to this point have been limited. He was 2-for-24 with the Pirates this season, and he carries a career .150/.222/.262 batting line in the Majors. Pittsburgh will have a week to trade him or attempt to pass him through outright waivers. If he clears, the Pirates can keep him in the organization without dedicating a 40-man roster spot to him. He’d then presumably be in line for everyday reps with their Triple-A club once the season gets underway.

Twins Place JT Riddle On Covid IL, Select Tomas Telis

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The Twins announced Wednesday that they’ve placed infielder JT Riddle on the Covid-19-related injured list and selected the contract of catcher Tomas Telis from their taxi squad. Riddle becomes the fifth member of the Twins’ roster to land on the Covid-19 IL, joining shortstop Andrelton Simmons, lefty Caleb Thielbar and outfielders Max Kepler and Kyle Garlick. Because of that string of positive tests, which have already required several additions to the roster, Telis was the last remaining member of the five-man taxi squad on the road trip (as noted yesterday by MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park).

There’s no indication from the Twins that Riddle actually tested positive, nor is there any indication that today’s game will be postponed. Minnesota’s games on Saturday, Sunday and Monday were all postponed due to Covid issues within the organization. President of baseball operations Derek Falvey announced a week ago that Simmons had tested positive, and in the days since, both Kepler and Garlick have tested positive as well. Thielbar is on the list as a close contact but has tested negative to this point.

Riddle and Telis, teammates with the 2017-18 Marlins, both signed minor league deals with the Twins this winter. Riddle was only brought up to the big league roster when Simmons was placed on the injured list, and he’s gone 2-for-6 while appearing in four games since that promotion. Telis, meanwhile, has spent the past few years in the Twins’ system but hasn’t been called up from Triple-A or their alternate training site until today. He hit .330/.364/.490 in 82 games with Minnesota’s Triple-A club in 2019 and is a career .230/.267/.298 hitter in 267 Major League plate appearances.

Astros Sign Martin Maldonado To One-Year Extension

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April 21: The Astros announced today that they’ve signed Maldonado to an extension. The team didn’t disclose terms, although Feinsand reports that Maldonado is guaranteed $5MM on the one-year deal, which contains a $5MM vesting option for the 2023 season.

April 13: The Astros are finalizing a one-year contract extension with catcher Martin Maldonado, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (via Twitter). The new pact would also contain a vesting option for the 2023 season. Maldonado is a client of MVP Sports Group.

The 34-year-old Maldonado is in his second different stint with the Astros since they acquired him from the Angels for left-hander Patrick Sandoval leading up to the July 2018 trade deadline. Maldonado divided some of the next year between the Royals and Cubs, only to return to the Astros in a 2019 deal that sent infielder/outfielder Tony Kemp to Chicago. The Astros were impressed enough with Maldonado’s work that they prevented him from exiting in free agency with a two-year, $7MM guarantee.

Maldonado typically hasn’t offered much as a hitter, evidenced by his lifetime .217/.291/.352 line in 2,541 plate appearances, though he did put up a career-best .215/.350/.378 last year. Maldonado’s off to a dreadful .094/.121/.094 start with 15 strikeouts against one walk in 33 PA this season, but the Astros are willing to roll the dice for another year, no doubt owing in large part to the veteran’s history of well-regarded work behind the plate. Maldonado has earned extremely high lifetime marks from Baseball Prospectus’ Fielding Runs Above Average metric, piled up 75 Defensive Runs Saved and thrown out an easily above-average 36 percent of would-be base thieves since debuting with the Brewers in 2011.

Barring any behind-the-plate changes in Houston, it’s slated to bring back its two current catchers – Jason Castro is the other – in 2022. Castro inked a two-year, $5MM contract in free agency, though he has only taken seven trips to the plate this season. Of course, considering Maldonado and Castro for a cheap duo, the Astros could still seek an upgrade(s) in the coming months if Maldonado and Castro don’t produce to the club’s liking.

Anthony Santander Out Two To Four Weeks

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11:21am: The team has now announced that Santander is on the 10-day injured list. McKenna has indeed been recalled to take his spot on the 26-man roster.

10:50am: Orioles slugger Anthony Santander will miss the next two to four weeks of action after sustaining a sprained ankle, manager Brandon Hyde announced to reporters this morning (Twitter link via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com). X-rays and an MRI both confirmed that there is no fracture in Santander’s ankle. A corresponding roster move is in the works, per Hyde. Santander injured the ankle last night when lunging back to first base on a pickoff attempt (video link).

Santander, 26, emerged as one of the Orioles’ best hitters from 2019-20 and was the subject of some trade inquiries over the winter. However, the O’s control him all the way through 2024 and clearly weren’t motivated to make a move based on any of those talks.

The switch-hitting Santander is out to a slow start in 2021, hitting just .196/.230/.321 in 62 plate appearances after missing some time late in Spring Training with an oblique issue. But from 2019-20, Santander delivered a .261/.302/.505 batting line with 31 dingers, 33 doubles and a pair of triples in 570 trips to the plate. A middling 5.1 percent walk rate in that time limits his on-base upside, but Santander also struck out in just 15.6 percent of his plate appearances last season.

Baltimore just welcomed outfielder Austin Hays back from the injured list yesterday, so he’ll effectively be replacing Santander in the everyday lineup moving forward. Hays and hot-hitting Cedric Mullins are both options at any of the three outfield spots, while Ryan Mountcastle and DJ Stewart can work in the corners and also mix in some at-bats as the designated hitter. Ryan McKenna, who was optioned yesterday after Hays was activated, could also quickly be brought back and added into the equation if the Orioles want to replenish some outfield depth.

Phillies Announce Several Roster Moves

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The Phillies announced Wednesday that they’ve placed infielder Jean Segura on the 10-day injured list due to a strained right quadriceps and optioned righty Ramon Rosso to their alternate site in Lehigh Valley. In their place, the Phillies have recalled infielder/outfielder Scott Kingery and right-hander Spencer Howard.

The loss of Segura even for a brief period — the team has yet to provide a timeline — stings for the Phillies. The 31-year-old is out to an excellent start this season, slashing .333/.359/.450 with a homer, four doubles and a stolen base in his first 64 trips to the plate. The Phillies have bounced him around the diamond the past couple of seasons, but he’s been their everyday second baseman early in the 2021 campaign.

Second base duties will now likely fall to Kingery and utilityman Brad Miller. Kingery is looking for a rebound after a disastrous 2020 season that began with a three-week stint on the Covid-19 injured list. Kingery didn’t have any real ramp-up period to the shortened season, and the .159/.228/.283 slash he posted in 124 plate appearances was miles away from the solid .258/.315/.474 slash he logged through 458 trips to the plate in 2019. He also spent time on the IL with back spasms last season.

The hope was that a full, healthy Spring Training would get Kingery back to his 2020 form, but Kingery struggled mightily in Grapefruit League play. Through 15 games and 49 plate appearances, he cobbled together just a .159/.229/.295 slash that looked eerily similar to last year’s woeful showing. The Phils optioned him to their alternate site near the end of camp, and this will be his first chance at a rebound.

Howard, like Kingery, has long been regarded not only as one of the organization’s best prospects, but one of the best in the league. The 24-year-old struggled through 24 1/3 innings last year during his MLB debut effort and has logged just one inning thus far in 2021. While Howard has been a starter throughout his minor league career, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski indicated at the end of Spring Training that the plan for the 2021 season was to use Howard primarily out of the bullpen.

Marlins Select Sandy Leon, Place Jorge Alfaro On Injured List

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The Marlins announced Wednesday morning that they’ve placed catcher Jorge Alfaro on the 10-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain and selected the contract of veteran Sandy Leon to take his spot on the roster. Miami had an open spot on its 40-man roster already.

Alfaro, 27, has gotten out to a slow start this year, slashing .229/.250/.257 with a dozen strikeouts against just one walk in 36 trips to the plate. He was removed from last night’s game against the Orioles after beating out an infield single. Chad Wallach replaced Alfaro last night, and he’ll now share time behind the dish in Miami with Leon while Alfaro mends.

Leon, 32, has seen Major League time in parts of nine seasons but has never provided much with the bat aside from what looks to be an anomalous 2016 campaign in Boston. The veteran switch-hitter posted an out-of-the-blue .310/.369/.476 slash with a career-best seven homers in 283 plate appearances that year, but Leon has mustered just a .194/.263/.306 line in 861 trips to the plate since that time. He spent the 2020 season with the Indians organization, hitting .136/.296/.242 in 81 plate appearances.

Leon may not be much of a hitter, but he’s a well-regarded pitch framer with a career 34 percent caught-stealing rate that is well above the league average. His throwing has deteriorated in recent years, including just a 2-for-11 effort in thwarting thieves last year, but Leon is regarded as a sound defensive backstop on the whole. The Marlins have yet to provide any kind of timeline for Alfaro’s injury, so it’s unclear just how long of a window Leon will have in Miami.

Tigers Designate Renato Nunez For Assignment

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The Tigers announced Wednesday that they’ve designated first baseman Renato Nunez for assignment in order to open a roster spot for infielder Zack Short, who has been recalled from the team’s alternate training site. Detroit also plans to activate right-hander Spencer Turnbull from the Covid-19 list later today, as Evan Woodberry of MLive.com points out, which necessitates this morning’s 40-man move.

Many were surprised to see the Orioles cut Nunez loose over the winter rather than pay him a raise via arbitration. He’d slugged 43 long balls for Baltimore from 2019-20, including a 31-homer campaign back in 2019. However, as a below-average defender at both infield corners with contact issues and a generally sub-par OBP, Nunez went unclaimed on waivers despite his obvious power. He ultimately landed a minor league deal in Detroit and had his contract selected 10 days ago.

Nunez, 27, showed off that power by homering twice in 29 plate appearances as a Tiger, but the same OBP, strikeout and defensive concerns were present. The Tigers slotted him at DH (four games) more than first base (three), as he split his time in the field with both Harold Castro and Jonathan Schoop. Nunez punched out eight times in his 29 trips to the plate against just one walk, resulting in an overall .148/.207/.444 batting line. Nunez paired that output with a .188/.212/.344 slash in 33 spring plate appearances, which likely also played into the decision.

The Tigers will have a week to trade Nunez or attempt to pass him through outright waivers, although even if he goes unclaimed this time around, he can still opt for free agency by virtue of the fact that he’s already cleared waivers once before.

The 25-year-old Short will be making his big league debut the first time he gets into a game with the Tigers. Acquired from the Cubs last summer in a trade that sent Cameron Maybin to Chicago, Short is a former 17th-round pick who emerged as one of the top 30 prospects in the Cubs’ system from 2019-20, per Baseball America. He ranks 24th among Tigers farmhands right now over at MLB.com, where he’s regarded as a plus defender at multiple positions and an above-average runner with gap power. He hasn’t hit for a great average in the minors but draws tons of walks (16.4 percent), which has resulted in a .241/.377/.405 line in his minor league career.

Giants Designate Trevor Gott For Assignment

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The Giants announced that they’ve designated right-hander Trevor Gott for assignment and optioned lefty Sam Selman to their alternate training site. The pair of moves makes room for lefty Jake McGee and righty Logan Webb to be reinstated from the injured list.

This is the second time since the offseason that the Giants have designated Gott, who lasted just one day on their roster this time. The Giants selected Gott heading into Monday’s game against the Phillies, though he didn’t make an appearance. Now, with McGee and Webb back from a brief stay on the COVID list, he’s once again in DFA limbo.

The 28-year-old Gott is in his third season in the San Francisco organization, with which he saw significant action in 2019, totaling 52 2/3 innings. The Giants’ reliance on Gott has dwindled since then, however. All told, Gott has pitched to a 5.46 ERA (with a much better 4.23 SIERA) and a 24 percent strikeout rate against a 9.2 percent walk rate in 64 1/3 frames as a Giant.

Braves, Jesse Chavez Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Braves have agreed to a minor league deal with free-agent righty Jesse Chavez, as first noted on the transactions log on at Braves.com. Presumably, he’ll head to their alternate site once he clears intake testing.

Chavez, 37, spent Spring Training with the Angels, who cut him loose late in Spring Training rather than pay him a $100K retention bonus (as would’ve been his right as a six-year veteran who qualified as an Article XXB free agent). Chavez struggled through 4 1/3 innings with the Halos during Cactus League play, yielding seven runs on nine hits and three walks with just a pair of strikeouts (25 batters faced).

Chavez had a solid run with the Rangers and Cubs from 2018-19, pitching to a combined 3.58 ERA with a 23 percent strikeout rate and an excellent 5.5 percent walk rate through 173 1/3 innings (101 relief appearances, nine starts). But the wheels came off for the veteran righty last summer in the second season of a two-year deal with Texas, as he was clobbered for a 6.88 ERA in 17 innings of work.

This will be the second stint with the Braves for Chavez, who tossed 36 2/3 innings for Atlanta more than a decade ago in 2010. The results weren’t pretty at the time, but Chavez broke out not long after and solidified himself as a solid swingman over a seven-year stretch during which he pitched for six different teams. All told, he carries a career 4.52 ERA, a 20.8 percent strikeout rate, a 7.4 percent walk rate and a 41.6 percent ground-ball rate through 933 innings spread across 13 seasons and nine different big league clubs.

The Braves currently have five pitchers — Mike Soroka, Max Fried, Drew Smyly, Touki Toussaint and Sean Newcomb — on the injured list. Bringing Chavez into the mix afford them some veteran depth both in the bullpen and the rotation, though it’s been more than three weeks since the Angels cut him loose, so he may need some time to ramp up before he’s even considered for a look with the big league club.

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