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Lonnie Chisenhall Out Eight To Ten Weeks

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The Indians announced to reporters today that outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall will miss the next eight to 10 weeks due to a Grade 3 strain of his left calf muscle (Twitter link via Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon-Journal). That timeline will keep Chisenhall on the shelf until at least early September, and if there are any setbacks along the way in his recovery, it could potentially jeopardize the remainder of his season.

It’s a tough loss for the Indians, to be sure. While Chisenhall has been quite prone to injury over the past two seasons, he’s also been an extremely productive hitter when on the field, slashing .297/.368/.503 with 13 homers, 23 doubles and a pair of triples through 365 plate appearances. He was limited to 82 games last season by a concussion, a shoulder sprain and a calf strain, and this will now be his second extended absence of the 2018 season due to a calf injury.

Cleveland has recently been relying on Michael Brantley, Greg Allen and Tyler Naquin in the outfield, with Brandon Guyer and Rajai Davis also representing options on the big league roster. Former first-rounder Bradley Zimmer also remains on hand as an option at the Triple-A level.

For Chisenhall himself, the timing could scarcely be worse. He’s just months away from free agency, and in a best-case scenario, he’d have roughly four weeks to demonstrate his health to teams before the end of the season. He’s already been limited to a mere 95 PAs in 2018, and it’s now quite possible that he’ll head into free agency having played somewhere in the vicinity of 130 to 140 games combined in the two-year platform to his first trip to the open market. Given his success at the plate dating back to 2016 and the fact that he’ll be 30 years old for all of the 2019 season, Chisenhall should still find Major League offers on the market, but his stock is obviously weakened handily by what is now his third calf injury of the past calendar year.

Phillies Select Trevor Plouffe, Designate Hoby Milner For Assignment

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The Phillies announced a series of roster moves today, revealing that in addition to the previously reported promotion of right-handed pitching prospect Enyel De Los Santos, they’ve selected the contract of Trevor Plouffe. In order to create space for both De Los Santos and Plouffe on the 40-man roster, the Phils designated left-hander Hoby Milner for assignment and moved Pedro Florimon from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL. Additionally, outfielder Dylan Cozens was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to create 25-man roster space.

Plouffe, 32, turned in the worst season of his career between the A’s and Rays last season, hitting just .198/.272/.318 in 313 plate appearances. However, the long-time Twins third baseman has shown signs of a rebound this season in Triple-A, hitting a combined .242/.371/.488 with a dozen homers and 15 doubles through 256 PAs between the Rangers and Phillies organizations. Plouffe has extensive experience at both infield corners, and his right-handed bat has long been a thorn in the side of left-handed pitching.

As for Milner, the lefty will be either traded, placed on outright waivers or released in the next week now that he’s been designated. The 27-year-old allowed four runs in 4 2/3 MLB innings this season but was considerably better in Triple-A, where he’d worked to a 2.39 ERA with 9.6 K/9, 4.8 BB/9 and 0.68 HR/9 with a 46.8 percent ground-ball rate. Milner has a pretty solid track record in Triple-A over the past three seasons and has multiple minor league option years remaining, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a club in need of a left-handed bullpen option take a look.

Orioles Select Jhan Marinez

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The Orioles are set to select the contract of right-handed reliever Jhan Marinez. Rich Dubroff of PressboxOnline.com was among those to tweet the news, and Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun tweets that Marinez already has a locker set up in the Orioles’ clubhouse. Baltimore’s 40-man roster already had an open spot, so the O’s won’t need to make a corresponding move in that regard.

[Related: Updated Baltimore Orioles depth chart]

Marinez, 29, is in the midst of a very nice season in Triple-A, having worked to a 2.78 ERA with 9.1 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, 0.99 HR/9 and a 42.5 percent ground-ball rate in 45 1/3 innings of work. He’s no stranger to the Majors, either, having logged 126 frames with a 3.43 ERA at the game’s top level.

Most recently, Marinez totaled 58 1/3 innings between the Brewers, Pirates and Rangers last season. He notched a 3.70 ERA along the way, though his 45-to-26 K/BB ratio, seven hit batters and six wild pitches all indicated that he was a bit fortunate to post that mark. Marinez doesn’t miss many bats and has long had somewhat shaky control, but he averages nearly 95 mph on his fastball and is good about keeping the ball on the ground and limiting hard contact.

Phillies To Promote Enyel De Los Santos

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The Phillies are set to promote promising young right-hander Enyel De Los Santos, as first reported by James Clark of the East Village Times (via Twitter). He’ll make his Major League debut when he starts Tuesday’s game. The promotion will require the Phillies to formally select De Los Santos’ contract, so Philadelphia will need to make a 40-man roster move, though they have a clear 60-day DL candidate in Pedro Florimon, who has already been out since May 30 due to a broken foot and has yet to begin a minor league rehab assignment.

De Los Santos, 22, was acquired from the Padres in the offseason trade that sent Freddy Galvis to San Diego. It seemed a fairly steep price for the Padres to pay in exchange for Galvis at the time, as De Los Santos is a generally well-regarded arm and was coming off a solid 2017 season in Double-A. This season, De Los Santos entered the year ranked as the Phillies’ No. 11 prospect, per MLB.com, and all he’s done since that time is elevate his stock.

Though De Los Santos is roughly four years younger than the average player in the Triple-A International League, he’s currently sporting a league-leading 1.89 ERA through 95 1/3 innings of work. He’s averaged 8.2 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 and 0.94 HR/9 to go along with a 42.1 percent ground-ball rate through his 16 starts, and he was recently named to the MLB Futures Game.

Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com note in their free scouting report on De Los Santos that the righty sits 94-95 mph on his heater and can reach 97-98 mph at times. De Los Santos thrives on missed bats and weak contact with that fastball and a plus changeup, though his curveball is a less-effective third pitch and still needs work to be considered Major League average.

De Los Santos will step into the MLB rotation for now alongside Aaron Nola, Jake Arrieta, Zach Eflin and Nick Pivetta, though it’s not immediately clear if he’ll simply be making a spot start or if he’ll receive further chances beyond Tuesday’s outing while Vince Velasquez mends from a forearm contusion. The Phils are playing a doubleheader against the Mets today, and threw rookie Drew Anderson in his own MLB debut on Sunday, so their pitching mix is currently a bit jumbled.

Nationals Activate Matt Wieters

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The Nationals announced Monday that they’ve activated Matt Wieters from the disabled list and optioned fellow catcher Pedro Severino to Triple-A Syracuse in order to open a spot on the active roster. Wieters has been out since mid-May following a hamstring injury that ultimately required surgery.

Wieters returns to the Nats at a time when the organization is widely reported to be in the market for an upgrade behind the dish. He’ll look to change the organization’s thinking in that regard over the next three weeks, though that may prove too difficult after a disastrous 2017 season in which Wieters batted just .225/.288/.344 with lackluster defensive contributions.

To his credit, Wieters was off to a much better start to the season before sustaining his injury. Through 76 plate appearances, he’d hit .231/.342/.385 with three homers. It’s a tiny sample, to be sure, but Wieters had boosted his walk rate by five percent while trimming roughly that same figure off his strikeout rate. Of course, a couple of his walks came while batting eighth early in the season, and his chase rate on pitches out of the zone had actually increased, while his swing rate at pitches in the zone had decreased.

Even with Wieters in the fold, it seems likely that the Nats will continue to explore the possibility of adding another option who’d likely push Wieters into a backup role. Wilson Ramos is the most frequently mentioned candidate connected with the Nationals as of late — especially following GM Mike Rizzo’s blunt comments about Miami’s asking price on J.T. Realmuto being too high. ESPN’s Buster Olney wondered yesterday, too, whether the Nationals would inquire on Martin Maldonado, should the Angels fall any further out of the race for a Wild Card spot in the American League (Twitter link).

Manny Machado Trade Rumors: Monday

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2:40pm: Outfielder Brett Phillips is one prospect who could go from the Brewers to the Orioles in a potential trade package, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). Phillips doesn’t have a clear path to playing time in an outfield mix that has Lorenzo Cain, Christian Yelich, Ryan Braun, Eric Thames and Domingo Santana, but he’s more or less big league ready and could give Baltimore a potential replacement for Adam Jones in center field. Crasnick notes that Jones, a free agent at season’s end and a trade candidate in his own right, wouldn’t stay in center field beyond 2018 even if he ultimately returned to the O’s.

Phillips, 24, is in his second season at the Triple-A level and has batted a combined .280/.359/.498 with 23 homers and 20 steals through 716 plate appearances at that level. He entered the season ranked as the game’s No. 80 overall prospect, per Baseball America.

9:34am: Morosi now tweets that in addition to Buehler and Verdugo, the Dodgers are also unlikely to include Ruiz in a trade for a rental player.

8:50am: The Manny Machado saga continues to be the focal point of Major League Baseball’s rumor mill and appeared to take a step forward over the weekend. Seven teams have reportedly made offers for Machado, with the Dodgers and Brewers now reported to be the most serious suitors. Today, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi takes a look at those top two teams and the manner in which each lines up with Baltimore as a trade partner.

Morosi echoes a prior report from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, writing that he hears Dodgers Class-A right-hander Dustin May is of particular interest to the Orioles. So, too, is Double-A catcher Keibert Ruiz, whom Baseball America recently dubbed the No. 26 prospect in all of baseball. It’s not clear how willing the Dodgers are to part with either player, though Morosi notes that L.A. would be reluctant to trade away either Walker Buehler or Alex Verdugo for a half-season of Machado (or any rental player).

The Brewers, however, appear to be a better fit in terms of the type of MLB-ready arms that they can offer, Morosi observes. Corbin Burnes and Luis Ortiz are both on the cusp of MLB readiness (to say nothing of Brandon Woodruff), and the Brewers have multiple players with MLB experience that have been back and forth between Triple-A and the Majors this season, including Orlando Arcia, Domingo Santana and Keon Broxton.

Meanwhile, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports that some of the teams who’ve approached the Orioles have expressed interest in package deals involving both Machado and one of the Orioles’ relievers — Zach Britton, Brad Brach and Mychal Givens, specifically. The Orioles are open to packaging Machado and Britton or Machado and Brach in order to enhance a potential return, per Kubatko, but the team’s preference would be to hang onto Givens, who is controlled through 2021.

It’s certainly easy to understand why the O’s would prefer to hang onto Givens, whose stock is down from last year thanks to worsened control an a half-mile-per-hour dip in his average fastball velocity. There’s no urgency to trade him as there would be with Brach or the struggling Britton, each of whom is a free agent at season’s end. If Givens is finishes the season strongly or turns things around in 2019, his value could take a substantial step forward given that remaining club control. Of course, there’s also a case to be made that the O’s should be amenable to the idea of trading virtually anyone on the roster, given the poor quality of the farm system and the sizable gap between them and the Yankees and Red Sox — not only in 2018 but over the next few seasons as Baltimore reshapes its roster.

Marlins Select Javy Guerra

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The Marlins announced Monday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Javy Guerra from Triple-A New Orleans. In a series of corresponding moves, the Fish transferred left-hander Caleb Smith to the 60-day DL and placed righty Drew Rucinski on the 10-day DL due to a right groin strain. Additionally, J.T. Realmuto is headed out on paternity leave and has been replaced by Chad Wallach, who was recalled from New Orleans.

Guerra, 32, has rattled off 16 2/3 shutout innings with a 24-to-3 K/BB ratio and a 58.1 percent ground-ball rate in a dozen relief appearances with New Orleans so far in 2018. Once the Dodgers closer for a brief period, back in 2011, Guerra totaled just eight MLB innings from 2015-16 before returning a 21-inning stint with the Marlins in the second half last season.

Through 177 2/3 big league innings, Guerra has a strong 2.99 ERA, albeit with just 7.1 K/9 against 4.2 BB/9 and a 45.1 percent ground-ball rate. Though he has generally had solid numbers in the Majors, Guerra’s career has been slowed by myriad injuries (elbow, shoulder, knee, oblique), and he also served a 50-game suspension in 2015 (for a drug of abuse — not a performance-enhancing substance).

Smith’s season was already known to be over after the promising young lefty was diagnosed with a Grade 3 lat strain that required surgical repair. Realmuto, meanwhile, can remain on paternity leave for up to three days before returning to the team.

White Sox Claim Ryan LaMarre

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The White Sox announced that they’ve claimed outfielder Ryan LaMarre off waivers from the Twins. LaMarre was designated for assignment by Minnesota last week when Jorge Polanco was reinstated from his suspension. The ChiSox already had two open spots on the 40-man roster, so a corresponding move isn’t required. The White Sox didn’t announce that LaMarre is going to Triple-A (though he does have minor league options remaining), so it seems he’ll join their active roster.

LaMarre, 30, batted .263/.321/.313 through 109 plate appearances as a Twin before his DFA, logging plenty of time in center field with Byron Buxton struggling to stay healthy in 2018. Though his average and OBP were respectable, LaMarre also struck out in 30.3 percent clip of his big league plate appearances. He’s capable of playing any of the three outfield positions for the Sox and can be optioned back and forth between Charlotte and Chicago as a depth piece for the remainder of the season if the Sox hang onto him.

Mets Place Todd Frazier On DL Amid Series Of Roster Moves

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The Mets announced a series of roster moves today, most notably placing third baseman Todd Frazier on the disabled list due to a left rib cage strain. Additionally, the Mets recalled left-hander P.J. Conlon and right-hander Ty Kelly from Triple-A Las Vegas and optioned righty Chris Flexen to Vegas. Right-hander Jacob Rhame is also up with the team as the 26th man for today’s twin bill, and Tim Britton of The Athletic further reports that right-hander Drew Gagnon will have his contract selected tomorrow and start Tuesday night’s game.

It’s the second DL stint of the season for Frazier, 32, who previously missed nearly a month due to a hamstring strain. It’s not clear just how long he’ll miss at present, but the injury certainly won’t do any favors for Frazier’s already limited trade stock. Through 260 plate appearances on the season, Frazier is hitting .217/.300/.385 with 10 homers. As James Wagner of the New York Times points out (via Twitter), Frazier’s second trip to the DL in 2018 comes after a previous seven-year run in which he avoided the DL entirely.

Frazier has played solid defense at third base, per both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating, but Frazier’s walk rate has dropped from 14.4 percent in 2017 to 10.4 percent in 2018, leading to sub-par OBP contributions despite his still-strong power output (.239 ISO). He’s in the first season of a two-year, $17MM contract with the Mets.

The 28-year-old Gagnon will be making his MLB debut when he takes the mound for the Mets on Tuesday. The longtime Brewers farmhand is in his first season with the Mets organization and has pitched to a 4.40 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 with a ground-ball rate just shy of 50 percent. Gagnon’s K/BB numbers and ground-ball tendencies are encouraging, but he’s been plagued by the long ball — perhaps not entirely surprising given the hitter-friendly nature of both the Pacific Coast League in general and his home environment.

 

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