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A’s Select Jed Lowrie, Place Trevor Rosenthal On IL, Designate Skye Bolt

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7:20pm: Rosenthal is dealing with “fatigue” in his shoulder, according to manager Bob Melvin, who said he’s “not really sure” how much time the reliever will miss (per Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle).

11:10am: The Athletics announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contracts of infielder Jed Lowrie and lefty Reymin Guduan from Triple-A Las Vegas. Oakland also optioned righty Daulton Jeffries and lefty A.J. Puk to the alternate training site, placed righties Mike Fiers (hip inflammation) and Trevor Rosenthal (right shoulder inflammation) on the injured list and designated outfielder Skye Bolt for assignment.

Lowrie, 37 in April, returned for a third go-around with the A’s over the winter when he inked a minor league deal. His two-year stint with the Mets proved to be an abject disaster, as he tallied just eight plate appearances over the life of a two-year, $20MM contract. That Lowrie was injured for the bulk of his tenure in Queens was frustrating enough for Mets fans, but the team’s bizarre and cryptic series of non-updates on the veteran infielder’s knee troubles proved extra perplexing. Eventually, the Mets termed Lowrie’s injury as “PCL laxity” in his left knee, but little additional detail was ever provided.

It appears as though Lowrie is healthy now, however, as he not only made the roster but did so on the heels of a respectable Cactus League showing. The switch-hitter tallied 37 plate appearances over the course of 13 games, hitting .265/.297/.559 with a pair of homers and four doubles. The A’s surely would like to see that OBP tick up a bit, which seems quite likely given Lowrie’s career 9.8 percent walk rate. He should factor prominently into the mix for playing time at second base, where the A’s will be missing Tommy La Stella, who signed across the Bay with the Giants on a three-year deal as a free agent.

The shoulder troubles for Rosenthal, meanwhile, are a concerning development. The righty was slowed by a groin strain late in Spring Training, but a shoulder issue is of greater concern. There’s no indication that the injury is especially serious at the moment, but arm troubles of any kind for a pitcher who has a somewhat recent Tommy John surgery in his history (2018) raise a red flag.

The A’s surprised the baseball world by swooping in and signing Rosenthal to a one-year, $11MM contract late in the offseason after he wasn’t able to find a multi-year deal to his liking. The former Cardinals closer returned to prominence with the Royals and Padres last year in overpowering fashion. Rosenthal was a true juggernaut at the back of both teams’ bullpens during the regular season, posting a combined 1.90 ERA with a 41.8 percent strikeout rate. A similar powerhouse showing in 2021 would surely position him nicely for that lucrative multi-year pact he covets, but he’s off to an inauspicious start.

Bolt, meanwhile, will now be traded or placed on outright waivers within the next week. He has just 11 big league plate appearances under his belt but is capable of playing all three outfield spots and carries a .269/.350/.459 batting line in 347 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. He does have a minor league option remaining.

Cardinals Claim Bernardo Flores Jr.

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The Cardinals announced Thursday that they’ve claimed lefty Bernardo Flores Jr. off waivers from the White Sox. He’s been optioned to the Cards’ alternate training site. The waiver claim fills the Cardinals’ 40-man roster.

Flores, 24, was Chicago’s seventh-round pick back in 2016 and made his big league debut this past season, tossing two innings and yielding a pair of runs. He’d have spent the 2020 season at the Triple-A level had there been a minor league season, but his top level aside from that brief two-inning cup of coffee in the big leagues has been Double-A. The southpaw has posted strong numbers in parts of two Double-A campaigns, working to a combined 3.04 ERA with an outstanding 4.6 percent walk rate and a 52 percent grounder rate — albeit with a below-average 18.8 percent strikeout rate.

Flores will give the Cardinals some depth both in the rotation and the bullpen. He has a pair of minor league options remaining, so he can be shuttled between Triple-A (or the Cards’ alternate site) and the big leagues over the next two seasons if he sticks on the 40-man roster.

Pirates Select Clay Holmes

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The Pirates announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Clay Holmes. Pittsburgh also placed lefty Steven Brault on the 60-day injured list due to a strained left lat and placed righty Cody Ponce on the 10-day IL with forearm tightness. Righty Kyle Crick has been placed on the Covid-19 list as he goes through intake testing after being away from the team for the birth of his child.

Holmes, 28, was non-tendered by the Pirates back in December after missing much of the 2020 season due to a forearm strain. He quickly re-signed on a minor league pact, however, and he’s back on the club’s roster to begin the 2021 campaign.

The 2011 ninth-rounder has spent time with the Bucs in each of the past three seasons, pitching to a combined 5.91 ERA in 77 2/3 frames. Certainly, that’s not a great track record, but Holmes’ 59.2 percent ground-ball rate since 2018 ranks 12th among 484 big league pitchers with at least 70 innings thrown in that time. He also owns a lifetime 3.58 ERA in 223 2/3 innings of work in Triple-A, so the Pirates clearly believe there’s still some potential for him to unlock.

Reds Designate Edgar Garcia, Select Jonathan India

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The Reds announced this morning that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Jonathan India and cleared a spot on the 40-man roster by designating right-hander Edgar Garcia for assignment. Cincinnati also activated Joey Votto from the injured list and optioned Max Schrock and Mark Payton to the alternate training site. Right-hander Sonny Gray (back injury) and outfielder Shogo Akiyama (hamstring strain) were both placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to March 29, as expected.

Garcia, 24, had a nice spring with the Reds but now could be headed elsewhere before ever playing in a regular-season game for them. Signed to a non-guaranteed big league deal over the winter, Garcia held opponents to a pair of runs on five hits and three walks with eight strikeouts through 7 1/3 Cactus League innings. He struggled with the Phillies and Rays in the Majors from 2019-20 — 6.17 ERA, 16 percent walk rate — but Garcia has posted strong ERAs with very good strikeout and walk rates in both Double-A and Triple-A. He has a minor league option remaining, which could attract the interest of another team.

None of the other moves announced Thursday were unexpected. Cincinnati confirmed what had long been apparent yesterday when declaring that India, the No. 5 overall draft pick in 2018, had made their Opening Day roster. He’s expected to serve as their primary second baseman.

Royals Designate Meibrys Viloria, Scott Blewett For Assignment

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The Royals announced Thursday that they’ve designated catcher Meibrys Viloria and right-hander Scott Blewett for assignment. Their spots on the 40-man roster will go to outfielder Kyle Isbel and lefty Jake Brentz, whose contracts have been formally selected from Triple-A Omaha.

Viloria, 24, has spent parts of the past three seasons with the Royals but managed only a combined .215/.266/.287 batting line through 201 trips to the plate. He batted .264/.334/.332 in 248 Double-A plate appearances in 2019 but hasn’t played a game at the Triple-A level, in part due to last year’s canceled minor league season.

Viloria has never been expected to hit much, but he’s regarded as a sound defender with a rocket arm — a trait reflected in his career 34 percent caught-stealing rate. He still has a minor league option remaining, so he could intrigue another club in need of some depth behind the plate.

Blewett, also 24, pitched in just two games last year — his only MLB action to date. He served up a pair of runs in three innings and was tagged for another couple runs in 1 2/3 frames this spring, but he hasn’t gotten much of a look against MLB hitters to date. He’s worked primarily as a starter in the minors and had some modest success up through Class-A Advanced, but Blewett has been hit hard in both Double-A and Triple-A. Though he has solid command, he doesn’t miss bats or induce grounders at a particularly high rate. Like Viloria, he has a minor league option remaining.

The Royals will have a week to trade both players or attempt to pass them through outright waivers.

Tigers Designate Christin Stewart For Assignment

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The Tigers announced Thursday morning that they’ve designated outfielder Christin Stewart for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for lefty Derek Holland, whose contract has been formally selected. Detroit also placed right-hander Rony Garcia on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to March 29, with an abdominal strain.

Stewart, 27, was the No. 34 overall pick in the 2015 draft and was considered one of Detroit’s most promising farmhands for the first few years of his pro career. He mashed his way through the team’s minor league system and at one point carried the potential to be a bat-first option in left field, but his big league production simply hasn’t lined up with his minor league numbers. Stewart has appeared in 157 games for the Tigers over the past three seasons but posted a combined .225/.300/.376 batting line in 586 plate appearances.

Despite having huge raw power, Stewart’s exit velocities (career 86.7 mph) and hard-hit rates (32.2 percent) have never been particularly impressive. He’s probably been a bit less strikeout-prone than some feared when he punched out in 26 percent of his Double-A plate appearances, striking out at a 24.9 percent clip in the big leagues against an 8.3 percent walk rate.

Stewart still has three minor league options remaining, so it seems as though he ultimately just fell out of favor with the club’s decision-makers after his lack of production since his 2018 debut. The Tigers inked Robbie Grossman (two years, $10MM) and Nomar Mazara (one year, $1.75MM) over the winter and took an intriguing outfielder, Akil Baddoo, from the division-rival Twins in the Rule 5 Draft. Baddoo had a monster Spring Training showing, and Detroit also has JaCoby Jones and Victor Reyes (another former Rule 5 pick) ticketed for the Opening Day roster. Meanwhile, Daz Cameron and Derek Hill, another pair of former top picks with better defensive skill sets, will open the year at the team’s alternate site.

The Tigers have a week to trade Stewart or attempt to pass him through outright waivers. His raw power and trio of minor league options could pique the interest of another club with a need for some outfield depth. Stewart’s glove has long been considered to be poor, but he carries a career .264/.366/.501 batting line and 98 home runs in just over 2000 minor league plate appearances.

As for the veteran Holland, it was announced earlier in the week that he’d made team’s Opening Day roster. Those who didn’t track the lefty’s Spring Training may be surprised due to Holland’s struggles in 2019-20, but there was no way the Tigers were leaving him off the roster after he tossed 9 1/3 shutout innings with just six hits and one walk against a whopping 16 strikeouts during camp.

Mets, Francisco Lindor At Impasse In Extension Talks

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March 31, 9:36 pm: There haven’t been any new discussions or proposals between the sides, hears Jeff Passan of ESPN (Twitter link). The Mets have not come off their $325MM offer, while Lindor is holding firm with an ask “more than $50MM” greater than that.

March 31, 10:15 am: The stalemate remains in place this morning, tweets Thosar, who adds that neither side expects additional discussions at the moment. Optimism of a deal being reached today is currently low. One source tells Newsday’s Tim Healey: “No talks and none expected.”

March 30: 10:14 pm: The Mets’ $325MM offer does not contain any deferred money, Heyman hears (Twitter link). Lindor is holding firm on his $385MM ask, Heyman adds.

12:07 pm: Cohen commented on the negotations via his Twitter account, saying “I have made a great offer [to Lindor].  It does take two to tango.”  Another tweet praised the shortstop, saying “Lindor is a heckuva player and a great guy . I hope he decides to sign.”

10:24 am: The Mets and Francisco Lindor appear to be at something of a standstill, with reports from SNY’s Andy Martino and MLB Network’s Jon Heyman last night indicating that the team put forth a 10-year, $325MM offer. Newsday’s Tim Healey, meanwhile reported that Lindor’s camp countered at $385MM over 12 years.

Martino reports this morning that while there’s some pessimism from the Mets, they’re also “brainstorming” some creative options to try to get a deal across the finish line. The Mets, according to Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News, were rather surprised by Lindor’s recent counteroffer. Thosar reports that the Lindor camp at one point suggested that the extension could check in below Mookie Betts’ 12-year, $365MM deal with the Dodgers.

Lindor’s $385MM asking price would be the largest commitment ever made to a player in terms of new money tacked onto a deal. That title currently is held by Betts and his $365MM deal with the Dodgers, which narrowly eclipsed the 10 years and $360MM the Angels added to Mike Trout’s contract on his last extension (bringing his total commitment from the Angels to $426.5MM over 12 years.) San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. has the largest contract ever signed by a shortstop, recently agreeing to a 14-year, $340MM extension.

Like Betts, Lindor is heading into his age-27 season with a hefty arbitration salary already agreed upon ($22.3MM, in this case). His new contract would begin in his age-28 season, as was the case with Betts in Los Angeles. It’s not exactly surprising that Lindor’s camp would seek to top the Betts mark — thus giving them claim to the largest extension in MLB history — but at this point it seems as though the two sides are at an impasse with regard to contract length.

In terms of average annual value, the Mets’ current offer is actually slightly higher than the reported counteroffer. At the very least, it seems the two sides can align on an annual value in the $32MM range. The most straightforward compromise could be simply adding a year at that rate, but Thosar adds that the Mets have not shown a willingness to meet in the middle, which aligns with prior reports that the $325MM figure is the team’s “final” offer.

From a long-term payroll vantage point, the Mets can certainly afford to make such a commitment. New owner Steve Cohen is the game’s wealthiest owner, but even beyond that fact, the team’s payroll is fairly clean. They owe Robinson Cano a regrettable $20.25MM in 2022 and 2023 — the Mariners are covering $3.75MM of his $24MM salary each year — but their only long-term salaries of note beyond Cano are those of Jacob deGrom and James McCann. They’ll owe deGrom $33.5MM in 2022 and $30.5MM in 2023 before deciding on a $32MM club option for 2024. McCann, meanwhile, is owed $8MM both in 2021 and 2022 before earning $12MM in 2023 and 2024.

All told, the Mets have about $93MM in guaranteed salary on the 2022 books at the moment. That number falls to about $70MM in 2023, and McCann’s $12MM salary is the only money they have firmly committed to the 2024 roster. Signing Lindor to an extension of any length wouldn’t considerably impede the team’s efforts to build out the roster in the coming years, although that of course doesn’t mean they should simply hand him a blank check. Any negotiation has its cutoff point, and the Mets appear at or quite close to theirs. Given that they’re also hoping to lock up Michael Conforto and surely want to keep deGrom in a Mets uniform for his whole career, there are some other balls in the air that must be considered by Cohen and team president Sandy Alderson.

The outcome of talks between Lindor and the Mets will have a much broader reach than Citi Field or even the NL East, however. Lindor is currently slated to headline a historic crop of free-agent shortstops next winter — really, a historic crop of free agents in general. If he agrees to forgo that trip to the open market, it’d create less competition for the likes of Corey Seager, Carlos Correa, Trevor Story and Javier Baez, and it would free the Mets up to focus their free-agent efforts on other areas right out of the gate.

Jed Hoyer “Very Confident” Cubs Will Extend Anthony Rizzo

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MARCH 31: President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said the Cubs are still “very confident” they will extend Rizzo, Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago tweets. The Cubs are willing to continue discussions into the season, but it’s unclear whether Rizzo will adjust his Opening Day deadline.

MARCH 29, 7:10pm: The Cubs made Rizzo a five-year, $70MM extension offer, Mooney and Ken Rosenthal report. It was a front-loaded proposal with escalators that could have kicked in toward the back end of the deal.

11:35am: Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo told reporters today that extension talks with the team have stalled and a new deal now looks unlikely (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney). The slugger added that after speaking with his family and his representatives, he feels strongly about his previously set Opening Day deadline and has told his agents to stop talking to him about a contract (Twitter link via ESPN’s Jesse Rogers). Rizzo is “at peace” with the lack of a new contract and plans to shift his focus to the 2021 season.

Rizzo is one of three prominent members of the Cubs’ 2016 World Series roster that is currently slated to hit the open market after the season. The others, Javier Baez and Kris Bryant, have also been considered potential extension candidates. However, Rizzo was seen as perhaps the likeliest of the trio to sign, given his lengthier tenure with the club, his age and his expected price relative to those younger teammates.

Lining up on a new contract was likely difficult for myriad reasons, though. Rizzo has already signed what proved to be a very beneficial deal for the Cubs once in his career. That contract, a seven-year, $41MM extension inked in May 2013, ultimately wound up spanning nine years and paying Rizzo $75MM after a pair of club options were picked up and after he triggered some escalators based on a trio of fourth-place finishes in MVP voting. Having already taken what now looks to be a discount once, he may not have been as keen on doing so a second time.

It’s also tough to project Rizzo moving forward after he turned in one of his worst career showings at the plate in last year’s 60-game sprint. Rizzo appeared in 58 games for the Cubs and tallied 243 trips to the plate, but he batted just .222/.342/.414 along the way. His strikeout and walk rates remained strong, but that output obviously pales in comparison to the hearty .276/.379/.499 slash he logged from 2013-19. The Cubs likely have at least some trepidation as a result of last year’s downturn — particularly since Rizzo will turn 32 this August.

The lack of a deal this spring doesn’t guarantee that Rizzo will be playing elsewhere after the 2021 season. It remains possible that the Cubs could come back to the table with a late offer that is more in line with the 31-year-old’s asking price to this point, just as it’s possible that he could play out the ’21 season, reach free agency and ultimately still opt to re-sign with the Cubs. Owner Tom Ricketts has been quite averse to long-term spending over the past three offseasons, but at least on the surface, Rizzo would seem like a possible exception due to his nine-year tenure as a Cub, his role as a team leader and the role he played in the franchise’s curse-breaking championship run.

Nationals’ Opening Day Roster Will Be Impacted Following Positive Covid-19 Test

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On the eve of Opening Day, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo announced to reporters that his club had a positive Covid-19 test that will impact the Opening Day roster (Twitter links via MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman). One player tested positive, per Rizzo, but another four players and one staffer were deemed to close contacts in need of quarantine. Rizzo made clear that the Nationals plan to play tomorrow night.

All five players — who have yet to be named — will be inactive for Opening Day. The positive test was performed on March 29, and the Nats learned of the result this morning. The positive player and the five close-contact individuals were all on a charter flight together this week, thus necessitating the quarantine.

Under this year’s updated health-and-safety guidelines, which were agreed upon by MLB and the Players Association back in early February, players who test positive “will be required to isolate for a minimum of 10 days, receive appropriate care and monitoring from the Club medical staff, and be cleared by the Joint Committee and the individual’s team physician, following a mandatory cardiac evaluation and a determination that the individual no longer presents a risk of infection to others.”

Under those same guidelines, individuals who have been identified as being in close contact with a confirmed positive “will be subject to a mandatory quarantine of seven days and must test negative on day 5 or later among other requirements to rejoin Club facilities.”

It’s not year clear at this time which players are impacted by the positive test, but Rizzo acknowledged that the Nationals will “certainly” have to make some roster moves prior to tomorrow’s game (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Britt Ghiroli).

Players can be placed on the Covid-19 related injured list with no minimum time required, and those on the Covid-19 list do not count against a team’s 40-man roster. Replacement players can also be temporarily added to the Major League Active List, “without the need for those players to be placed on waivers, outrighted or optioned in order to be removed from the 40-man roster when players return from the Covid-19 Related Injured List,” per MLB’s updated 2021 protocols.

Jonathan India Makes Reds’ Roster

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The Reds announced Wednesday that 2018 No. 5 overall draft pick Jonathan India has made their Opening Day roster. He’ll need to be added to the Reds’ 40-man roster to make the move official.

At this point, India winning a spot shouldn’t come as a surprise. It’s been apparent that the Reds expected him to play a prominent role in their infield since the club decided to move Eugenio Suarez back to shortstop and slide Mike Moustakas over to third base. India will likely open the season as Cincinnati’s everyday second baseman on the heels of a .313/.441/.604 showing through 59 spring plate appearances.

Headed into the 2019 season, the now-24-year-old India ranked among the game’s Top 100 prospects at Baseball America, MLB.com, Baseball Prospectus and FanGraphs. At the time, India was regarded as a potential above-average defender at the hot corner who also possessed an above-average hit tool and above-average to plus raw power. His stock has tumbled a bit since then, however, despite a solid showing between two pitcher-friendly levels in 2019 — .259/.365/.402 between Class-A Advanced and Double-A. He still ranks third among Reds farmhands at Baseball America, fifth at MLB.com and seventh at FanGraphs.

India hasn’t shown much of that raw power since being drafted, although he’s of course only had one full minor league season due to last year’s circumstances. He still has just 145 plate appearances of Double-A experience under his belt and none in Triple-A, so he’ll be making a fairly substantial leap to the big leagues with today’s announcement. That said, India did homer three times and collect five doubles in his 59 Cactus League plate appearances, and his power could be aided by playing his home games at Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park. At the very least, he gives the Reds an intriguing collection of bats in the infield, even if there are some questions surrounding the group’s defensive outlook.

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