Cardinals Place Harrison Bader On IL With Fractured Rib
The Cardinals announced Tuesday that center fielder Harrison Bader is headed to the 10-day injured list after being diagnosed with a hairline fracture on one of his ribs. Bader exited last night’s game in the third inning after very nearly making an outstanding diving catch on a sinking liner off the bat of Nick Madrigal (video link). However, he ultimately landed with his ribcage on the baseball after it kicked off the heel of his glove. The Cardinals have recalled first baseman/outfielder John Nogowski to take his spot on the active roster.
Bader’s placement on the IL comes at a time when the Cardinals’ outfield depth is already compromised. Tyler O’Neill is on the shelf with a fractured finger at the moment, while Triple-A outfielders Austin Dean and Scott Hurst were both recently placed on the injured list. That slate of injuries likely shifts Dylan Carlson over to center field, with a combination of Justin Williams, Lane Thomas and Nogowski seeing action in the corners.
This is the second IL stint already on the young season for Bader, who opened the season on the shelf due to a forearm injury. He’s gotten out to a .219/.301/.411 start to his season through 83 plate appearances. It’s the same blend of low batting average and decent power we’ve seen from Hader in recent years, but with a greatly reduced strikeout rate standing out as a key difference. Bader entered the 2021 season with a career 29.1 percent punchout rate, but he’s fanned just 13 times in his 83 trips (15.7 percent).
Bader’s contact rate has also improved in 2021, while both his swinging-strike rate and called-strike rate have declined. At least through his first 22 games, he’s looked to have a better recognition of the strike zone and given some inklings that the drop in strikeouts is legitimate. Should that prove to be the case, it’s quite likely his overall batting line will tick up. He’s currently being plagued by a .211 average on balls in play that is nearly 100 points lower than his career mark. He’s also making less hard contact than in recent seasons, so it’s not all good news, but the generally improved approach is certainly still of note.
Red Sox Outright Austin Brice
The Red Sox announced Tuesday that right-hander Austin Brice has been outrighted to Triple-A Worcester after he went unclaimed on waivers. He was designated for assignment last week when Boston selected Danny Santana‘s contract. While Brice has the requisite service time to reject the assignment and elect free agency, doing so would mean walking away from the remainder of this season’s $870K salary, so he’ll likely head to Worcester and hope to pitch his way back into the team’s big league plans.
Brice, 29 next month, has shown plenty of promise throughout his big league career but never put it together outside of a solid 2019 effort in Miami. He has, at various times, flashed not only the ability to miss bats at a high level but also shown strong ground-ball tendencies and posted solid walk rates. He’s never been able to get all three of those traits to align in a single season, however.
With the 2019 Marlins, Brice tossed 44 2/3 innings of 3.43 ERA ball with roughly average strikeout and ground-ball tendencies, but his time in Boston hasn’t gone well. He’s been clobbered for a 6.32 ERA with the Sox, and his overall career mark now sits at 5.18. Brice has had consistent success in Triple-A whenever he’s pitched there (career 2.70 ERA), so if he can get back in track in his fourth stint at that level, it’s possible he’ll return to the big league bullpen later this year.
Brewers Claim Jake Hager
The Brewers announced Tuesday that they’ve claimed infielder/outfielder Jake Hager off waivers from the Mets, who’d designated him for assignment over the weekend. Hager has been assigned to Triple-A Nashville. Milwaukee had space on its 40-man roster, so a corresponding move isn’t necessary.
Hager, 28, made his big league debut with the Mets in 2021, going 1-for-8 in a brief five-game stint. This will be his second stint with the Brewers organization, having spent the 2018-19 seasons with Milwaukee’s Double-A and Triple-A affiliates.
Hager has spent the bulk of his career at shortstop, although he’s begun to diversify his defensive repertoire in recent seasons. The Mets, due in no small part to the rash of injuries they’ve incurred at the big league level, got Hager some work in the outfield corners and even trotted him out to center for one game with their Triple-A affiliate. Hager has just 67 innings of outfield work in his professional career but has ample experience at all four infield positions.
Chris B. Young Joins MLB Network
Former All-Star outfielder Chris Young is joining MLB Network as an on-air analyst and will make his debut on MLB Tonight on Memorial Day, the network announced in a press release this morning. He becomes the second recently retired big leaguer to join the network’s roster in recent weeks. Yonder Alonso was announced as a new analyst for MLB Network just under a month ago.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to join the squad to talk baseball, mix in a little trash talk, have some fun and get my feet wet in the industry,” Young said in a statement within today’s announcement. “Being fresh out of the game, I’ve followed it closely and am ready for this new challenge. I played for seven different teams in my career and I can’t wait to get started with my eighth.”
Young’s last MLB action came with the 2018 Angels, when he played through a hip injury that ultimately required surgery. He hit just .168/.252/.363 in 128 trips to the plate that season, but his overall body of work through parts of 13 MLB seasons was solid. Young finished fourth in 2007 NL Rookie of the Year voting with the D-backs, made the All-Star team in 2010, and for years was a big league regular with an enticing blend of power and speed. Young belted 191 homers and swiped 142 bases, tallying a trio of 20-20 seasons along the way. Overall, he batted .235/.314/.428 with above-average defensive ratings in center.
Mets Exploring Trade Market As Injuries Mount
With the Mets reeling due to a massive slate of injuries, they’re not waiting until the trade deadline to look for ways to help their roster. Acting general manager Zack Scott told reporters prior to last night’s game that he’s in active pursuit of reinforcements (links via Newsday’s Laura Albanese and The Athletic’s Tim Britton).
“I’m pretty much on the phone all day, every day,” Scott said prior to a game which saw the Mets incur yet another injury, when Johneshwy Fargas sustained a sprained AC joint in his shoulder upon crashing into the center field fence. “We’ve got to find the best solutions, always. … We’re trying to find the best internal options and the best external options and trying to get the best out of the guys that we have
The Mets have been hit with a near-unfathomable slate of outfield injuries, some of the soft-tissue variety that have been on the uptick in 2021 throughout the league but many freak injuries that are entirely unforeseeable. Fargas becomes the second Mets outfielder to injure himself colliding with the wall in center field, joining Albert Almora Jr. in that regard. Kevin Pillar was struck in the face by a fastball last week, leading to multiple nasal fractures that required surgery. Brandon Nimmo is currently being plagued by a nerve issue in his left hand that forced a recent minor league rehab assignment to be halted. Meanwhile, the Mets revealed last night that both Michael Conforto and Jeff McNeil will likely be out until late June, as the hamstring strains that sent them both to the injured list have proven to be “significant.”
At this point, the Mets are a catcher injury shy of having legitimate MLB-caliber starting lineup on the IL. Pete Alonso, McNeil, Luis Guillorme, J.D. Davis, Pillar, Nimmo and Conforto represent a better foundation for a lineup than many rebuilding clubs around the league trot out on a nightly basis.
Unfortunately for the Mets, this is also happening at a time when most clubs aren’t yet ready to throw in the towel on their season. Save for a few clubs who entered the year knowing the 2021 season wouldn’t be a competitive one — Pirates, Tigers, Orioles, etc. — teams generally wait until further into the summer to determine their trade deadline direction.
Even those clear sellers may prefer to wait a bit longer, as the demand for the players they plan to market will likely increase along with the number of motivated buyers. Many of today’s front offices seemingly prefer to wait until the eleventh hour and choose not to start dealing until the deadline is just days or even hours away. The Nationals’ remarkable turnaround in 2019 likely only further dissuades clubs from becoming early sellers.
“It’s harder to assess, to address your needs in May or early June, than it is when everyone’s kind of in that (trade deadline) mode,” Scott said last night. At the same time, there’s urgency for the Mets to act now, to the extent possible. “[T]he risk of waiting given all our injuries is that we’re in a different spot and not where we want to be come the end of July,” Scott added.
The Mets, improbably, remain in first place in the National League East in spite of their litany of injuries and a -14 run differential. They can hardly be expected to maintain that standing with the skeleton crew they’re running out on a nightly basis, but Scott and team president Sandy Alderson face an uphill battle in terms of prying meaningful help away from another club at this point in the schedule.
Brewers Acquire Willy Adames In Four-Player Trade With Rays
In a rare May swap of significance, the Rays have traded shortstop Willy Adames and righty Trevor Richards to the Brewers in exchange for right-handed relievers J.P. Feyereisen and Drew Rasmussen. Both clubs have announced the move.
The immediate speculation in the aftermath of the news naturally surrounded Wander Franco, the sport’s top overall prospect and current shortstop for the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate. The trade of Adames clearly opens a spot for Franco in the long term, but Rays general manager Erik Neander announced to reporters that it’ll be top shortstop prospect Taylor Walls who gets the call to replace Adames for now (Twitter link via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times).
For the Brewers, Adames provides a sound defensive option that they’ve lacked all season. Milwaukee cut bait on Orlando Arcia earlier this season after giving the former top prospect myriad chances in recent years. The trade of Arcia to the Braves was intended to create everyday opportunities for Luis Urias at shortstop, but the 23-year-old wasn’t able to handle the position from a defensive standpoint. Urias has already made nine errors in just 310 innings at shortstop and unsurprisingly has negative ratings in just about every defensive metric. Were Urias hitting up to his capability, perhaps the Brewers could’ve stomached the errors, but he’s managed only a .205/.317/.359 slash in 140 plate appearances.
Adames isn’t hitting much himself in 2021, but he had a huge 2020 season and a strong year in 2018 as well. He’s also a very sound defender at his position, evidenced by above-average marks in Defensive Runs Saved (12), Ultimate Zone Rating per 150 games (1.6) and Outs Above Average (3) over the past three seasons.
So far in 2021, Adames is hitting just .197/.254/.371 through 142 plate appearances, but he entered the season as a career .262/.329/.426 hitter. He also put together a hefty .259/.332/.481 slash with eight home runs last summer and slugged a career-best 20 round-trippers a year prior, in 2019. Adames is far too strikeout-prone, punching out at a 36 percent clip across the past two seasons, but he’s making hard contact and barreling the ball at career-best rates in 2021. He’ll likely continue to hit for a low average if he can’t curb those strikeout tendencies, but the uptick in high-quality contact does suggest that his offensive numbers are still likely in line to improve.
Adames entered the season with two-plus years of big league service time, so he’s a potential piece for the Brewers not just in 2021 but for several years beyond. The Brewers can control Adames all the way through the 2024 season via the arbitration process, should they see fit. He’ll be installed as their starter immediately, and if he takes well to his new settings, it’s possible the Brewers have found an answer at the position for the foreseeable future. Urias will be downgraded to a utility role, but perhaps playing more familiar positions at second base and third base will help him get his bat back on track.
Milwaukee will also add the 28-year-old Richards as part of the deal. The righty has pitched for both the Marlins and the Rays to this point in his career, working to a 4.42 ERA over the life of 305 2/3 innings. Richards looked to be in the midst of a breakout in 2019 after the Marlins traded him to Tampa Bay alongside Nick Anderson, as he logged a 1.93 ERA with a 24-to-5 K/BB ratio in 23 1/3 frames down the stretch. He’s posted a 5.52 ERA in 44 innings since that time, however.
To his credit, Richards has an immaculate minor league track record that gives continual hope of improved performance at the MLB level. Unsigned out of Drury University, Richards began his professional career with the Gateway Grizzlies of the independent Frontier League. He caught the Marlins’ attention, landing a deal with them in 2016 and going on to excel at every minor league stop. Richards has a career 2.35 ERA in 252 minor league frames, and the highest ERA he’s posted at any individual level is his 2.87 mark in Double-A. He’s worked as both a starter and reliever along the way.
Richards is in his final minor league option year, so the Rays can shuttle him back and forth between Triple-A and Milwaukee as much as they like for the duration of the season. He’ll need to stick on the MLB roster next spring, however, when he’ll have exhausted all of his minor league options.
It was surely a difficult trade for the Rays to make. Manager Kevin Cash told Topkin and others that the trade will be felt in the clubhouse, where Adames was beloved and had emerged as a leader. The GM called it a “tear-jerking” move to make, but with the looming presence of Franco, Walls and top middle-infield prospect Vidal Brujan, an eventual trade involving Adames has felt nearly inevitable.
Fans were surely hoping the trade would push Franco to the big leagues, but Walls is a highly touted farmhand in his own right, ranking as the game’s No. 107 prospect over at FanGraphs. He’s considered one of the better defensive prospects in the game at his position, and he’s posted strong offensive numbers at every stop since 2018. His bat has exploded to new heights so far in 2021, as he’s come out of the gates with a blistering .327/.468/.490 slash with a pair of homers and a couple steals through his first 62 plate appearances. Franco understandably gets more attention, but Walls and Brujan have the potential to be vital cogs in the Tampa Bay infield themselves.
Turning to the Rays’ return in this trade, they’ll add a pair of arms to help a banged-up relief corps. Feyereisen is headed straight to the MLB bullpen, Neander revealed, while Rasmussen is ticketed for Triple-A Durham.
There was no way the Rays were going to send the 28-year-old Feyereisen to the minors after the start he’s had in 2021. Through 19 1/3 innings, the righty has pitched to a 3.26 ERA with a 26 percent strikeout rate and a 47.7 percent ground-ball rate.
Walks have been an issue, as Feyereisen has yielded a free pass to 14.3 percent of opponents so far, but his 16.9 percent swinging-strike rate is among the best in the game. Feyereisen’s 59.6 percent opponents’ contact rate is the third-lowest in MLB, trailing only his now-former teammate Josh Hader and surprising Pirates setup man Sam Howard.
Feyereisen sits 93.7 mph with his heater and throws the pitch at a 41 percent clip, pairing that heater with a slider (38 percent) and changeup (21 percent). It’s been an effective mix for the 28-year-old rookie, whom the Rays can now control through at least the 2026 campaign. This marks the second notable trade of Feyereisen’s career, as he was traded from the Indians (alongside Clint Frazier, Justus Sheffield and Ben Heller) to the Yankees in 2016’s Andrew Miller deal. New York eventually traded him to Milwaukee for additional international bonus pool space. Feyereisen has a pair of minor league options remaining.
Rasmussen, 25, has pitched 32 1/3 innings for the Brewers since Opening Day 2020, posting a sizable 31.1 percent strikeout rate but a troubling 14.2 percent walk rate that nearly mirrors Feyereisen’s mark. A sixth-round pick by the Brewers in 2018, he ranked as their No. 6 prospect at FanGraphs and No. 14 at Baseball America. He’s already had two Tommy John surgeries, despite his relative youth, but Rasmussen boasts a 97 mph heater and was excellent in the minors when healthy in 2019.
While Feyereisen has two minor league options left, Rasmussen has all three, making him a particularly flexible piece for the Rays in the coming years. Of course, the hope is that he’ll pitch his way into a role where he needn’t be returned to the minors at all. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen notes that Rasmussen has just that type of ceiling — the potential to become a high-leverage option late in games. The pair of surgeries naturally raises injury concern levels, but Rasmussen has the makings of a quality reliever if he can avoid further elbow troubles.
Overall, it’s a notable swap on many levels. It’s rare not only to see a trade of this magnitude in May, but also to see a trade in which two contending clubs are dealing big leaguers from positions of depth to help the other address an immediate, pressing need. The Brewers, after middling results from both Arcia and Urias, surely hope to have found a shortstop for years to come. The Rays, meanwhile, have seen several key relievers go down with injuries, leaving them with a relief corps that has been solid but not as dominant as hoped. The trade clears a path for the Rays to take a look at Walls now, and it puts an even more defined clock on the countdown to Franco’s MLB emergence.
MLB Network’s Jon Heyman first reported that an Adames trade was in the works (Twitter links). MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand first reported that Adames had been traded to Milwaukee. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported the other three players in the deal (Twitter links).
Dodgers Select Nate Jones, Designate Travis Blankenhorn
The Dodgers have selected the contract of veteran right-handed reliever Nate Jones from Triple-A Oklahoma City, per a team announcement. Infielder Travis Blankenhorn, whom L.A. recently claimed off waivers from Minnesota, was designated for assignment in order to create a spot on the 40-man roster for Jones.
Jones, 35, had a strong spring showing with the Braves but was rocked in his 10 1/3 innings for Atlanta during the regular season. Lack of command was his primary downfall, as Jones issued 10 free passes in that time. The Braves released him earlier this month, and he quickly inked a minors pact with the Dodgers.
Jones allowed four runs in three innings with the Dodgers’ Triple-A club, but he also had a 6-to-1 K/BB ratio there. The improved control seemingly was enough for the Dodgers to give him a look at the big league level. It helps, of course, that Jones has a lengthy track record at the big league level. The veteran hurler was somewhat quietly a high-quality member of the White Sox’ bullpen from 2012-19. He battled numerous injuries along the way, but whenever Jones was healthy enough to pitch, he was generally sharp. In 291 1/3 frames with the South Siders, he pitched to a 3.12 ERA with a 26.5 percent strikeout rate.
Blankenhorn, 24, was a third-round pick of the Twins back in 2015. He’s tallied four plate appearances with the Twins since Opening Day 2020, representing his lone MLB experience. Last year’s canceled minor league season meant Blankenhorn missed what would’ve been his first taste of Triple-A action, so the six games he’s played there in 2021 are his first at that level. He hit .278/.312/.474 with 18 dingers and 11 steals at Double-A in 2019. Given the heavily pitcher-friendly nature of that setting, Blankenhorn’s slash line was good for a hearty 125 wRC+.
The Dodgers will have a week to trade Blankenhorn or attempt to pass him through outright waivers. He has a minor league option remaining beyond the 2021 season and has ample experience at second base and third base, so it’s not out of the question that another club with some infield needs might look to place a claim or pick him up in a small trade.
Giants Designate Trevor Hildenberger For Assignment
The Giants announced Friday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Nick Tropeano from Triple-A and opened a spot on the 40-man roster by designating righty Trevor Hildenberger for assignment. Right-hander Camilo Doval was optioned to Sacramento to open a spot on the 26-man roster.
Hildenberger, 30, spent just a few days in the Giants’ system, as he was only claimed earlier this week. He didn’t throw a pitch for them, however, and now appears likely to head back to waivers for the second time in as many weeks. The Mets designated him last week after he yielded four runs in 2 1/3 innings for them.
It’s been a remarkably swift downfall for Hildenberger, who looked to have broken out with an outstanding rookie campaign with the 2016 Twins. That season, the sidearming righty tossed 42 innings of 3.21 ERA ball with a 25.9 percent strikeout rate and a minuscule 3.5 percent walk rate. But Hildenberger was hit hard in 73 innings for the Twins the following season, and by the time the 2019-20 offseason rolled around, Minnesota non-tendered him.
Tropeano will be in the mix to start a game this weekend in place of the injured Logan Webb, who landed on the 10-day IL a couple days back due to a shoulder strain. It’s not expected to be a lengthy absence for Webb, so if Tropeano indeed gets the call, it’d likely be a spot start. The 30-year-old Tropeano started 35 games for the Angels from 2015-19, missing a season due to injury along the way. He tossed 15 strong innings for the Pirates in 2020 and has a generally solid track record at the Major League level. Through 233 big league innings, Tropeano carries a 4.29 ERA, a 21.2 percent strikeout rate and a nine percent walk rate.
A’s Select Cam Bedrosian, Transfer Mike Fiers To 60-Day IL
The Athletics announced Friday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Cam Bedrosian from Triple-A Las Vegas. Righty Mike Fiers was moved from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, while southpaw Adam Kolarek was optioned to Vegas to open a spot on the 26-man roster. Bedrosian, who began the year with the Reds, was signed to a minor league deal earlier this month. Fiers was placed on the injured list back on May 8 due to a sprained right elbow, and he’ll now be out until at least early July.
Bedrosian, 29, was clobbered for seven runs in just 5 2/3 innings with Cincinnati earlier this season, but he has a strong track record that spans several years with his now-division-rival Angels. From 2016-20, he gave them 225 innings of 3.20 ERA ball with a 3.74 SIERA, a 25.1 percent strikeout rate and a 9.1 percent walk rate. He’s missed fewer bats in recent years after seeing his strikeout rate peak in 2016-17, but Bedrosian has been a largely reliable bullpen option who even saw a bit of an uptick in fastball velocity this year in Cincinnati.
The A’s haven’t provided any sort of update on Fiers’ elbow injury other than the transfer to the 60-day injured list. Oakland brought the righty back on a one-year, $3.5MM deal back in February. He surrendered eight runs on 14 hits, including four homers, and four walks through 9 1/3 innings before landing on the IL earlier this month.
Red Sox Select Danny Santana, Designate Austin Brice
The Red Sox announced Friday that they’ve selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Danny Santana from Triple-A Worcester. To create a spot on the 40-man roster, right-hander Austin Brice was designated for assignment.
It was reported yesterday that Santana, who had a Sunday opt-out clause in his minor league contract, would be joining the Red Sox at some point this weekend. We took a lengthier look at how he might fit into the mix at the time, but suffice it to say he’ll join Enrique Hernandez and Marwin Gonzalez as yet another highly versatile option who can be deployed just about anywhere on the diamond by skipper Alex Cora.
The switch-hitting Santana had a pair of excellent seasons — one with the Twins, one with the Rangers — but struggled in his other five seasons at the MLB level. His 2020 season was cut short by an elbow injury that required surgery, and his 2021 campaign was delayed by a foot infection that also required surgery.
Brice, 28, had a nice 2019 season with the Marlins (3.43 ERA, 44 2/3 innings), but he’s been hit hard in each of the past two seasons with the Red Sox. He’s tallied a total of 31 1/3 frames with Boston but managed only a 6.94 ERA with far too many walks and home runs allowed. Brice, who has a 5.18 ERA in 160 Major League innings, will either be traded or placed on outright waivers within the next week. He has enough service time to reject an outright assignment if he goes unclaimed, but doing so would mean forfeiting the remainder of this year’s $870K salary, so he’d surely accept an assignment to Worcester.