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Mets Place Tommy Hunter On 15-Day Injured List

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The Mets have placed right-hander Tommy Hunter on the 15-day injured list with lower back tightness, per Tim Healey of Newsday Sports (via Twitter). In his place, David Peterson has been added to the active roster. Peterson will start the first game of today’s doubleheader, while reliever Yoan Lopez was added to serve as the 27th man for today’s twin bill.

The veteran Hunter has appeared in the bigs in every season since making his debut with the Rangers in the 2008 season. Hunter, now 36, has gone on to suit up for the Orioles, Cubs, Guardians, Rays, Phillies, and Mets. He made four appearances last year for New York, all scoreless. This year, he has made 11 appearances with a 2.51 ERA/4.02 FIP across 14 1/3 innings of work.

With the Mets rotation now intact, it’s likely this is a spot start for Peterson, though that could certainly change. The towering southpaw has been a solid rotation option for manager Buck Showalter this season, making 13 starts and another four appearances out of the bullpen. In total, Peterson has a 3.54 ERA/4.04 FIP across 73 2/3 innings with a strong 27.5 percent strikeout rate, 11.2 percent walk rate, and career-best 53.2 percent groundball percentage.

Lopez’s previous time in the Majors with the Mets was marked by a suspension he picked up for throwing for his perceived targeting of Kyle Schwarber on May 1st. He made just seven appearances with the team, giving up four earned runs across 10 2/3 innings on 10 hits and five walks while striking out 10 batters.

NL Notes: Diamondbacks, Nationals, Reds

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The Diamondbacks have removed Mark Melancon from the closer’s role, writes Theo Mackie of the Arizona Republic. Melancon was signed in the offseason to a two-year, $14MM deal, and there’s still value to be extracted from that deal, even if Melancon doesn’t return to the ninth inning. After all, Melancon may still receive some save opportunities, but the Diamondbacks will explore a situation-based approach for the rest of the season. Let’s check around the league for other roster updates…

  • The Nationals have released southpaw Josh Rogers, who elected free agency after clearing outright waivers. Infielder/outfielder Dee Strange-Gordon has also been granted his release. Strange-Gordon was in his second stint with the Nationals this season, but he requested a release after not being called up to the Major League club, per Bobby Blanco of MASNsports.com. As for Rogers, the 28-year-old began the year in the Nats’ rotation, making three starts before a move to the bullpen. In all, Rogers posted a 5.13 ERA/6.42 FIP over 26 1/3 innings.
  • Kyle Farmer’s run of 192 consecutive starts at shortstop will end with a move to the hot corner, writes Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. Youngster Jose Barrero is getting the call-up from Triple-A, and he’ll be given the rest of this season to showcase his ability to be a regular at the position. Farmer, meanwhile, will move to third base and, in the long term, probably back into more of the utility role that he played for most of his career before taking over as the Reds regular shortstop in 2021. Farmer was a substantial defensive upgrade over Eugenio Suarez at the time, but his defensive metrics (-4 OAA, -1 DRS) at shortstop suggest there’s still room to improve for the Reds as a franchise.

Twins Notes: Smith, Sanchez, Cotton

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The Twins have released reliever Joe Smith, per Betsy Halfand of the Pioneer Press (via Twitter). The 38-year-old side-slinger appeared in 34 games for the Twins this season, pitching to a palatable 4.61 ERA. His usage was fairly protected, however, compiling only 27 1/3 total innings in that time, and his peripheral numbers suggest a performance that doesn’t exactly fall in line with his prolific career. Smith’s 6.29 FIP was the worst such mark of his career, and his hard hit percentage rose to 42.1 percent, well-above the league average mark of 35.7 percent.

Still, it’s certainly possible that, by pedigree alone, Smith catches on somewhere to finish out the season. Smith has appeared in every season since 2007 (except for 2020, for which he opted out), taking turns with the Guardians, Mets, Angels, Blue Jays, Astros, Cubs, and Mariners before suiting up for the Twins. His most stable function came as a setup man for the Guardians from 2009 to 2013, but particularly the final three seasons of that stretch in which he averaged 71 appearances and just under 66 frames with a 2.42 ERA/3.33 FIP and almost 21 holds per campaign.

In addition, right-handers Aaron Sanchez and Jharel Cotton have both cleared waivers and accepted assignments to Triple-A St. Paul, per The Athletic’s Dan Hayes (via Twitter). The pair could serve as depth for the rest of the season as the Twins make a push for the playoffs.

Cotton, 30, made 25 appearances covering 30 innings for the Twins this season, posting a disjointed 2.83 ERA/5.48 FIP, 21.5 percent strikeout rate, 11.1 percent walk rate, and 29.5 percent groundball rate. Sanchez, 30, made one start for the Twins and previously made seven starts for the Nationals. In total, the veteran has registered a 7.68 ERA/4.93 FIP over 36 1/3 innings for the two clubs combined.

Frankly, the Twins have enough pitching depth in Triple-A right now with players like Devin Smeltzer, Josh Winder, and Jovani Moran – all of whom remain on the 40-man roster – that the greater possibility is that Sanchez and Cotton simply help cover the innings load in St. Paul for the rest of the season. Not to mention, Minnesota has a number of arms on the injured list that could still return to bolster the Major League crew.

Brewers Sign Aaron Ashby To Five-Year Extension

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The Brewers have announced a five-year contract extension with left-hander Aaron Ashby, running through the 2027 and including club options for 2028 and 2029.  Ashby will earn $20.5MM over the five guaranteed years of his extension, as per Joel Sherman of The New York Post (Twitter link).  He can more than double that total if the contract is maxed out, as Sherman notes that another $25.5MM is available if both options are exercised and Ashby hits all his escalators.  Ashby is represented by Turner-Gary Sports.

Robert Murray of FanSided reports the specific breakdown of terms (on Twitter). The young southpaw receives a $1MM signing bonus, and the year-by-year salary breakdown is as follows:

2023: $1MM
2024: $1.25MM
2025: $3.25MM
2026: $5.5MM
2027:$7.5MM

There’s a $1MM buyout on the 2028 option, which is valued at $9MM. The ’29 option is valued at $13MM.

The extension only cements Ashby’s place as an important piece of the Brewers’ future, and it also gives the 24-year-old some guaranteed money and security early in his career.  Ashby (the nephew of former big leaguer Andy Ashby) was a fourth-round pick in the 2018 draft, and he moved quickly through the minors, winning the Brewers’ minor league Pitcher Of The Year honors in 2019 and then making his MLB debut in 2021.

Pitching as both a starter and reliever over his two seasons in the Show, Ashby has a 4.56 ERA, 58% grounder rate, 27.5% strikeout rate, and 9.9% walk rate.  The unimpressive walk total is really the only blemish on Ashby’s resume, as other advanced metrics (including a career 3.40 SIERA and only a .291 xwOBA this season) indicate that his ERA is a bit misleading.  A .339 BABIP this year, for instance, weighs heavier on a groundball-heavy pitcher like Ashby.

Still, there is obviously a lot for the Brewers to like with his performance to date, and Ashby has moved from swingman to full-fledged starter in the wake of injuries in Milwaukee’s rotation.  Freddy Peralta and Adrian Houser are still on the injured list, though Peralta is set to begin a rehab assignment this weekend and Houser is expected back sometime in August.

With Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff both getting more expensive in their arbitration years and both scheduled for free agency after the 2024 season, it remains to be seen how the Brewers will address their rotation over the long term.  Eric Lauer will also be a free agent that same winter, and Lauer is raising his own price tag with a strong performance in 2022.  In locking up Ashby and Peralta to extensions, president of baseball operations David Stearns has already planted some cornerstones for a possible future without any of their other three starters, and the franchise’s proven ability to find and develop pitching continues to be a key factor in the Brewers’ ability to compete.

Peralta’s extension is an obvious comp for Ashby’s deal.  Signed back in February 2020, Peralta (with just over a year of MLB service time) inked a deal also consisting of five guaranteed years and two club option years, except worth $15.5MM in guaranteed money and $14.5MM more over the option seasons.  At the time, Peralta was also a swingman who had yet to fully establish himself as a rotation fixture, and Ashby’s larger guarantee could reflect his better big league results and perhaps simply two-plus years of salary inflation.

Adam Duvall To Undergo Season-Ending Wrist Surgery

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4:41PM: Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters that Duvall will undergo surgery, and Toscano reports that the procedure will end Duvall’s season.  The outfielder will finish 2022 with a .213/.276/.401 slash line and 12 homers over 315 PA, so between that inconsistent production and his wrist injury, Duvall could be facing a pretty modest market as a free agent this winter.

Marcell Ozuna, Guillermo Heredia, and Orlando Arcia could each be utilized as the right-handed hitting side of the platoon with Rosario, or the Braves could very possibly look to add a new outfielder to the mix prior to the trade deadline.

9:03AM: The Braves have placed outfielder Adam Duvall on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left wrist. Mike Ford has been recalled from Triple-A to fill Duvall’s roster spot, per Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter).

Duvall began the year as the Braves’ starting center fielder, but the arrival of Michael Harris II has pushed the veteran into a bench role. For the past few weeks, he’s been in a more-or-less straight platoon with Eddie Rosario in left field. Offensively, he hasn’t yet accessed the prodigious power output that makes him an effective role player. He does have 12 home runs across 315 plate appearances, but that only amounts to a .401 SLG and .188 ISO, numbers that come closer to average than Duvall’s career norms.

Ford, 30, will fill a short-term bench role as a left-handed bat for the Braves. He has already appeared in the Majors this season with the Giants and Mariners, as well as the Braves. And yet, he has accumulated just nine plate appearances between those three stops.

Giants Place Evan Longoria On 10-Day Injured List

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The Giants have placed Evan Longoria on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain, per MLB.com’s Maria I. Guardado (via Twitter). With Longoria back on the shelf, right-hander Gregory Santos was recalled from Triple-A.

Longoria has struggled with the injury bug throughout his Major League career. The 36-year-old hasn’t played in more than 100 games since 2019, although that somewhat mischaracterizes a healthy 2020 season in which Longoria appeared in 53 of the pandemic-shortened 60 games. This season, Longoria missed more than a month early on to repair a torn ligament in his finger, and he recently spent another turn on the IL because of an oblique strain.

When healthy, the veteran has been his usual self at the plate, slashing .243/.331/.459 with 9 home runs across 169 plate appearances, good for a 124 wRC+. Without his bat in the lineup, the Giants have relied on rookie David Villar, whose positive approach at the plate has led to a 21.2 percent walk rate and 132 wRC+ through his first 52 big league plate appearances.

Santos, just 22 years old, has four big league appearances under his belt, but just one so far this season. Santos is the Giants’ 7th-ranked prospect per Fangraphs, though he did not make Baseball America’s list of top-30 prospects in the Giants’ system. The power righty owns a 3.42 ERA across 26 1/3 innings in Triple-A.

Marlins Roster Moves

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The Marlins made a number of roster moves today, including moving All-Star Jazz Chisholm Jr. to the 60-day injured list. Anthony Bender and Cody Poteet were also moved to the 60-day injured list. Those moves cleared 40-man roster spots for Willians Astudillo, Jeff Brigham, and Huascar Brazoban, who were all added to the active roster. To create those spots on the active roster, Brian Anderson was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left shoulder strain, while Max Meyer and Tommy Nance were both placed on the 15-day injured list, per Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (via Twitter).

The Chisolm move is the most noteworthy (if expected) move of the bunch. The All-Star was recently diagnosed with a stress fracture in his back. The Marlins hope he can return by the end of the season, though that’s definitely in doubt.

It’s equally disappointing to see Meyer make a quick trip to the injured list after just two big league starts. The 23-year-old surrendered five earned runs in seven innings while striking out six and walking two.

Nance, a 31-year-old reliever, joins Meyer on the injured list. The former Cub has a 5.76 ERA/3.28 FIP in 19 outings covering 25 innings this season for the Marlins. The power righty misses a fair amount of bats, but struggled at times with his command. For the year, he has struck out a robust 29.9 percent of opponents, but he has also walked 11.1 percent of opposing hitters, a number that needs to come down in order for him to become an effective late-inning arm.

Brazoban made his Major League debut today, throwing an arsenal based around a sinker that neared 98 mph on average. The 32-year-old Dominican was playing in the independent league last season. Brigham, 30, has made 37 appearances for the Marlins over the past three seasons, posting a 5.01 ERA/5.32 FIP across 55 2/3 innings. Astudillo has stepped to the plate 38 times for the Marlins this season, slashing .270/.289/.351.

Reds Activate Tyler Mahle, Place Jeff Hoffman On 15-Day Injured List

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The Reds have activated starter Tyler Mahle from the 15-day injured list to start today’s game. In a corresponding move, the club placed reliever Jeff Hoffman on the 15-day injured list. The Reds also activated Justin Dunn from the 60-day injured list and optioned the former Mariner to Triple-A, per Mark Sheldon of MLB.com (via Twitter).

Mahle has made 17 starts on the season, posting a 4.48 ERA/3.55 FIP across 92 1/3 innings with a 25.8 percent strikeout rate, 9.1 percent walk rate, and 34.5 percent groundball rate. Mahle will certainly find himself in some trade rumors over the next ten days, though the Reds do not have to move him. He has one season of arbitration remaining.

Hoffman’s injury does not appear to be serious, but they’ll give him a couple of weeks to make sure it doesn’t turn into something more involved. The 29-year-old has provided solid short-to-long-stint relief for the Reds, tossing 44 2/3 innings over 35 outings with a 3.83 ERA/4.30 FIP.

Dunn was acquired from the Mariners this past winter as part of the Jesse Winker/Eugenio Suarez deal. He just completed his rehab assignment, making six starts in Triple-A and posting a 5.40 ERA over 20 innings of work. If the Reds end up moving a starter or two over the next ten days, Dunn could find himself with an opportunity back in the bigs. With the Mariners, he logged 102 2/3 innings over three years with a 3.94 ERA/5.61 FIP.

Rays Reinstate Jeffrey Springs, Option Luis Patino

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The Rays have reinstated Jeffrey Springs from the 15-day injured list and optioned right-hander Luis Patino to Triple-A, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter).

Patino started yesterday’s ballgame for the Rays, giving up three earned runs in four innings of work. It was just Patino’s third start of the season, and just his second as a true starter. He was an opener for his first outing, going just 2/3 of an inning. In Triple-A, the 22-year-old has posted a 3.57 ERA across six starts totaling 17 2/3 innings.

Springs is having a mini breakout campaign at the age of 29. Across 11 starts and seven relief appearances, Springs has registered a 2.53 ERA/3.66 FIP in 64 innings, which is already a career-high. He’s been particularly sharp in terms of limiting free passes with a career-best 5.9 percent walk rate, well below the league average rate.

Angels Designate Jonathan Villar For Assignment, Select Magneuris Sierra

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The Angels have designated veteran Jonathan Villar for assignment, per the team. The move makes room for Magneuris Sierra, whose contract was selected from Triple-A.

This is the second time this season that Villar finds himself designated for assignment. He began the year with the Cubs, but the utility man hit just .222/.271/.327 in 166 plate appearances with the Cubs. He didn’t fare much better with the Angels, hitting just .163/.226/.224 across 54 plate appearances.

Coincidentally, the 31-year-old made two errors in last night’s ballgame, and while that alone would not be the reason to DFA Villar, the bat-first Villar has long been viewed as a subpar defender, despite his versatility. With the Angels all but out of postseason contention, they may prefer to use the roster spot on someone with a longer-term future in Los Angeles.

Sierra, 26, isn’t necessarily that guy, but he does bring a little more youth to the roster spot. The speedy outfielder has not yet appeared in the Majors this season after spending the last four campaigns with the Marlins. Sierra has earned his opportunity with solid play in Triple-A where he has slashed .297/.358/.437 in 311 plate appearances.

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