Nationals’ Opening Day Roster Will Be Impacted Following Positive Covid-19 Test
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
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.
Rays Have Had Extension Talks With Randy Arozarena
The Rays have had “recent discussions” about a contract extension with outfielder Randy Arozarena, FanSided’s Robert Murray tweets. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times adds that Arozarena is one of several players with whom the Rays have inquired regarding a potential long-term deal, but nothing is close on any front. Still, it’s of at least some note that the team is getting a sense of what it’d take to get last year’s breakout star signed to a long-term pact.
Arozarena, 26, was acquired from the Cardinals in the trade that sent top pitching prospect Matthew Liberatore to St. Louis. He didn’t end up being promoted to the big leagues until late August, but his impact was nearly immediate. Arozarena homered in his fourth game with the Rays and proceeded to go on an otherworldly tear that catapulted him into the national spotlight during postseason play.
From his Aug. 30 debut through the end of the regular season, Arozarena posted a huge .281/.382/.641 slash with seven home runs through 76 plate appearances. That was impressive enough on its own, but he somehow managed to not only improve upon those numbers in the playoffs — but to do so in dramatic fashion. Through an even larger sample of 91 postseason plate appearances, Arozarena erupted with a Herculean .358/.429/.790 batting line. He launched 10 long balls during that historic stretch and took home ALCS MVP honors in the process.
Between the regular season and the playoffs, Arozarena gave the Rays 167 plate appearances of .324/.409/.724 production with a ridiculous 17 home runs in that time. Obviously, that level of output isn’t sustainable, but producing at that rate — often against high-caliber, high-leverage pitchers in the postseason — speaks to the upside Arozarena possesses.
Of course, there are other elements to consider. That’s an exceptionally small sample, impressive as it may be, and Arozarena has never been nearly that productive in the minor leagues. He’s struggled through a dismal Spring Training, slashing just .237/.256/.289 with a 28 percent strikeout rate that is roughly in line with last year’s strikeout tendencies. He was also briefly detained in Mexico over the winter after allegedly getting into a physical altercation with the father of his former girlfriend during an apparent custody dispute regarding Arozarena’s daughter. Arozarena and his former partner reached an agreement to settle the matter without further legal action being taken, however.
The Rays currently control Arozarena all the way through the 2026 season, and he won’t even be eligible for arbitration until the 2022-23 offseason, depending on whether he secures Super Two status. He’s currently on pace to enter that offseason with two years, 129 days of big league service, which would indeed lead to Super Two eligibility based on recent history.
Currently, Ronald Acuna Jr.‘s $100MM contract with the Braves is currently the largest ever guaranteed to a player with under one year of Major League service time, though that contract came after Acuna had racked up 487 big league plate appearances and been named National League Rookie of the Year. More plausible points of comparison, speculatively speaking, could be the White Sox’ contract extensions with Eloy Jimenez (six years, $43MM) and Luis Robert (six years, $50MM). Both of those deals, however, came before either player had taken a single big league plate appearance.
Cubs Designate James Norwood For Assignment
The Cubs announced Wednesday that they’ve designated right-hander James Norwood for assignment. His spot on the roster goes to catcher Tony Wolters, whose rumored one-year deal with the club has now been formally announced.
Norwood, 27, has spent parts of the past three seasons in the big leagues with Chicago, pitching to a 4.50 ERA through 22 innings with sub-par strikeout and walk percentages (19.6 percent and 13.0 percent, respectively). He struggled in big league camp this spring as well, serving up eight runs (four earned) on eight hits and nine walks with 14 strikeouts through 7 1/3 innings of relief.
Norwood’s heater averages better than 97 mph, and he has a minor league option remaining, which could appeal to another club willing to take a speculative bullpen flier on a live arm. The 2014 seventh-rounder carries a 3.91 ERA, a solid 26 percent strikeout rate and a 10.3 percent walk rate through parts of six minor league seasons.
Cubs Sign Tony Wolters
12:30pm: The Cubs announced that they have indeed signed Wolters to a one-year, Major League contract.
9:00am: Veteran catcher Tony Wolters, who recently opted out of a minor league contract with the Pirates, is now likely to sign with the Cubs, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). Bruce Levine of 670TheScore reported last night that the Cubs had interest in the longtime Rockies backstop.
Willson Contreras, of course, is the starting catcher for the Cubs and should be in line for a sizable workload this year. However, the Cubs traded backup Victor Caratini to the Padres alongside Yu Darvish earlier in the winter, and they’ve done little to address the position in the subsequent months. Wolters and fellow veteran Jonathan Lucroy were on the Cubs’ radar, per Levine, but it seems the Cubs will go with the younger and more well-regarded defender of that pairing.
Wolters, 28, has spent the past five seasons as the Rockies’ primary catcher despite a meager .238/.323/.319 career batting line (57 wRC+, 62 OPS+). He had a particularly rough year at the dish in 2020’s shortened schedule, batting just .230/.280/.270 in a limited sample of 109 plate appearances.
On the defensive side of the coin, however, Wolters is considerably more appealing. He went just 3-for-20 in thwarting stolen bases last year, but prior to the 2020 season he carried a lifetime 32.8 percent caught-stealing rate that is well above the league average (around 27 percent). Wolters’ framing marks have dipped since 2019, but he graded as one of the game’s better options in that regard for much of his early career. Beyond that, Baseball Prospectus has graded him as average overall in terms of blocking pitches (and quite a bit above average as recently as ’19).
The Rockies non-tendered Wolters rather than pay him a raise on last year’s $1.9MM salary. He still hasn’t reached five full years of big league service, so if Wolters is able to make the Cubs’ roster and stick through the season, he’d be controllable via arbitration through the 2022 campaign.
Royals Place Adalberto Mondesi On Injured List
The Royals announced Wednesday that shortstop Adalberto Mondesi has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right oblique strain. The move is retroactive to March 30. Fellow infielder Nicky Lopez is up from the team’s alternate site to take Mondesi’s spot on the Opening Day roster.
It’s something of an out-of-the-blue placement, as Mondesi played as recently as Monday and hasn’t been known to be battling any soreness in his oblique. The 25-year-old speedster turned in a .303/.343/.606 slash with two homers, a triple, two doubles and two stolen bases through 36 plate appearances this spring. He was limited early in camp after being hit by a pitch on his foot but had put that minor injury behind him.
It’s a sour note on which to start the season for Mondesi, who played in 59 of the Royals’ 60 games last season while slashing a combined .256/.294/.416 with a league-leading 24 steals. He’s battled shoulder and groin injuries in seasons prior, however, and will now be out at least a week early in the season — perhaps a good bit more. The Royals have yet to announce a timeline on Mondesi or the grade of the strain, but it’s common for oblique strains to sideline players for upwards of a month. The Royals will surely have more information on his status later today when skipper Mike Matheny meets with reporters.
With Mondesi sidelined for the time being, it’ll likely fall to the light-hitting Lopez to handle everyday work at shortstop. The 26-year-old is known as a strong defender but has managed just a .228/.279/.307 slash in 594 big league plate appearances.
For much of the offseason, Lopez was expected to be the Royals’ primary second baseman in 2021 — or at least to have a strong chance at winning the job in camp. However, his .118/.231/.147 batting line through 39 Cactus League appearances left him as an odd man out at the end of camp. Kansas City optioned him on Monday, deciding instead to move Whit Merrifield back to the infield to cover second base and leaving outfielders Michael A. Taylor, Kyle Isbel, Ryan McBroom and Jarrod Dyson in the mix for playing time in center and right alongside left fielder Andrew Benintendi .
Dodgers, Steven Souza Jr. Agree To Minor League Deal
The Dodgers have agreed to a minor league contract with veteran outfielder Steven Souza Jr., reports MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.
Souza, 31, spent the bulk of Spring Training with the Astros but didn’t make the team after going just 2-for-21 with 13 strikeouts in 27 trips to the plate. The former Rays slugger is still working to establish himself after a disastrous 2019 knee injury derailed his career.
Then with the Diamondbacks, Souza was lined up to serve as the everyday right fielder in Arizona when he tore the ACL, LCL, PCL and posterolateral capsule in his left knee on a play at the plate late in Spring Training. The gruesome knee injury obviously required surgical repair and unsurprisingly wiped out his entire 2019 campaign. Souza rehabbed into the summer of 2020 and wound up resurfacing in the big leagues with the Cubs, but he hit just .148/.258/.333 in 31 plate appearances last year before being cut loose.
At his best, Souza was a solid right field defender with above-average power and plate discipline. He’s always been prone to strikeouts (31.5 percent), but his 2017 campaign produced a .239/.351/.459 batting line and a career-best 30 home runs for Tampa Bay. Three seasons have elapsed since that time, and Souza has been dogged by pectoral injuries in addition to that horrific knee injury since that peak season. Assuming he heads to Triple-A with the Dodgers once that season kicks off, he’ll finally be able to continue his rebound efforts in a normal game setting — something that wasn’t possible in 2020 with last year’s lack of a minor league season.
Central Notes: Tigers, Cabrera, Nunez, Cubs, Pirates, Ponce
The Tigers will open the season with Miguel Cabrera lined up at first base, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters this morning (Twitter link via Jason Beck of MLB.com). “I think he gives us the best chance to win at first base,” Hinch said of the soon-to-be 38-year-old. Cabrera didn’t play in the field at all in 2020, serving as a designated hitter for the Tigers on 56 occasions. He did see some action there in 2019 before sustaining a season-ending biceps injury, but Cabrera hasn’t logged even 300 innings in a season at first base since the 2017 campaign. It’s not a permanent arrangement, but playing Cabrera in the field from time to time allows an outfielder to move to DH on occasion and makes it easier for the Tigers to carry Rule 5 pick Akil Baddoo on the Opening Day roster.
Some more notes from the game’s Central divisions:
- Renato Nuñez will remain with the Tigers and head to the alternate training site to begin the 2021 season even after being informed that he didn’t make the Opening Day roster, writes Evan Woodbery of MLive.com. Hinch called the decision “great news for us” and said he expects Nuñez to eventually be up with the big league club. Nuñez, 27 on Sunday, slugged 43 homers with the Orioles from 2019-20 but didn’t exactly force his way onto Detroit’s roster with a spring they couldn’t ignore. In 13 games and 32 plate appearances, he slashed .194/.219/.355 with a homer and a dozen strikeouts (37.5 percent).
- The Cubs have interest in catchers Tony Wolters and Jonathan Lucroy, reports Bruce Levine of 670 the Score (Twitter link). A deal with the left-handed hitting Wolters might be more likely, Levine notes, considering Chicago’s starting catcher, Willson Contreras, hits right-handed. Both Wolters and Lucroy were recently released from minor-league deals with other clubs (the Pirates and White Sox, respectively) after failing to crack the active roster. Wolters has spent his entire MLB career with the Rockies, while Lucroy briefly played for the Cubs in 2019.
- Pirates right-hander Cody Ponce will not be available for Opening Day, GM Ben Cherington announced to reporters (including Rob Biertempfel of the Athletic). The 26-year-old “felt something…in his forearm area,” in the words of the GM. That sounds rather ominous but Ponce has at least been able to continue throwing on the side as he attempts to work through the injury. A former second-round pick of the Brewers, Ponce made his MLB debut with Pittsburgh last season, working to a 3.18 ERA/5.27 SIERA over five appearances.
Mets Re-Sign Tommy Hunter
MARCH 30: The Mets have re-signed Hunter to another minor-league deal, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitter link).
MARCH 25: The Mets announced Thursday that veteran reliever Tommy Hunter has been released. Newsday’s Tim Healey tweets that the right-hander had an opt-out clause in his contract today. Hunter will head back to the open market in search of a spot with a club that has a clearer path to the big leagues.
Hunter, 34, has been a rock-solid reliever for the past eight seasons but has battled injuries in recent years with the Phillies. A hamstring strain limited his time with the Phils in 2018, and a forearm strain wiped out nearly his entire 2019 season. He returned to the Phils on a low-cost, one-year deal last winter and performed fairly well, logging a 4.01 ERA and 3.57 SIERA with strong strikeout and walk percentages (24.5 and 5.9, respectively).
Dating back to the 2013 season, Hunter carries a 3.24 ERA/3.40 SIERA in 394 innings of bullpen work. He’s had excellent control throughout his career, but Hunter’s once-pedestrian strikeout rates have ticked upward in recent seasons. After punching out just 19 percent of his opponents from 2013-16, he’s fanned batters at a 23.5 percent clip from 2017-20.
Hunter’s sinker, which averaged 96.3 mph as recently as 2017 with the Rays, clocked in at a much more timid average of 92.7 mph with the Phillies this past season, so there’s perhaps some moderate cause for concern. But he still proved effective with that reduced velocity, perhaps in part due to a big jump in his curveball usage. His swinging-strike rate (10 percent) and opponents’ chase rate (34.8 percent) were both within striking distance of the levels he’d set in previous seasons as well, so it doesn’t seem as though the lost life on his sinker was a substantial detriment.
Hunter has pitched in five games this spring, allowing three runs on four hits and four walks with three punchouts through five innings of work. It’s not the most impressive body of work, but it is of course a rather small sample. The more important note for clubs seeking some veteran bullpen depth will be that Hunter has been getting in regular work this spring and should be largely built up for Opening Day readiness.
MLBTR Chat Transcript
Click here to read a transcript of Tuesday’s chat with MLBTR’s Steve Adams.