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Home Run Derby Field Finalized

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The eight-man field is set for the 2021 Home Run Derby. Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani, Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, Rockies shortstop Trevor Story, Orioles first baseman Trey Mancini, Royals catcher Salvador Pérez, Athletics first baseman Matt Olson, Nationals outfielder Juan Soto and Rangers outfielder Joey Gallo will compete in the event.

Ohtani has been perhaps baseball’s biggest story in 2021. The two-way star has a league-best thirty-one home runs and looks like the early favorite to win the AL MVP award. Alonso, who won the most recent Derby in 2019, will be looking to defend his title. The right-handed slugger has popped fifteen homers this year. Story figures to be the fan favorite with All-Star festivities taking place in Denver. The 28-year-old has hit 11 longballs this season. It’ll be an emotional sight to see Mancini on such a big stage. He missed all of last season battling colon cancer but made it back this year and has popped fifteen homers.

Pérez has been the game’s most powerful catcher. He leads all backstops with twenty homers and he’ll get the starting nod behind the plate for the American League in the All-Star game. Olson has also hit twenty dingers this year and will represent the playoff-contending A’s in the All-Star game. Gallo, who’ll join Ohtani, Pérez and Olson on the AL All-Star team, has been on an absolute tear over the last month, bringing his season total in homers up to twenty-three. Soto only has ten home runs this season, but he’s been one of the game’s best hitters since reaching the majors as a 19-year-old in 2018.

The Home Run derby will take place at Denver’s Coors Field on Monday, July 12.

MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported Gallo’s inclusion.

Orioles’ Travis Lakins Undergoes Elbow Surgery

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Orioles right-hander Travis Lakins Sr. underwent surgery this morning to address a recurrent olecranon stress fracture in his throwing elbow, manager Brandon Hyde told reporters (including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com). The hope is that Lakins will be ready for Spring Training in 2022, although that doesn’t seem to be a foregone conclusion.

It’s not especially surprising to hear Lakins required surgery. He’d already been placed on the 60-day injured list after leaving an outing last week with an elbow issue the team called “significant.” That suggested a season-ending absence was a possibility, and that’ll indeed prove to be the case.

Lakins has pitched in the big leagues in each of the past three seasons. He broke in with the Red Sox in 2019 and was traded to Baltimore in 2020. The 27-year-old has made 46 appearances (45 in relief) with the O’s since then, working 53 2/3 innings of 4.36 ERA/4.65 FIP ball. He’ll remain on the 60-day IL for the rest of the season, but he’ll need to be reinstated from the injured list at the beginning of the offseason. If the O’s feel it’s worth devoting a 40-man roster spot to him over the winter, he’d be controllable through 2025 and wouldn’t reach arbitration eligibility until after 2022.

Outrighted: Beasley, Bergen, Wade

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A handful of players around the league have cleared waivers:

  • Right-hander Jeremy Beasley and lefty Travis Bergen both went unclaimed on outright waivers, the Blue Jays announced. They’ve been subsequently assigned to Triple-A. Beasley, 25, appeared in eight games with the Jays this season and posted an impressive 27.7 percent strikeout rate in 9 1/3 frames. However, he also surrendered eight earned runs, walked 19.1 percent of his opponents and served up three home runs in that short time. Bergen was designated for assignment last week despite a 1.69 ERA in 10 2/3 innings, although the 27-year-old’s eight walks in that time make that ERA look rather dubious. Bergen has an excellent minor league track record but has been injured frequently throughout his pro career to date. If he can repeat his past minor league success and remain healthy, he could get another look before too long.
  • The Orioles announced that righty Konner Wade cleared waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Norfolk. The 29-year-old made a very brief MLB debut last week but was hit hard, surrendering six runs on seven hits and a walk with one strikeout in 1 2/3 innings. The former Rockies and Red Sox farmhand has been enjoying a solid season in Norfolk to date, having pitched to a 3.24 ERA through 33 1/3 frames. Wade has just a 16 percent strikeout rate there, but he’s also notched a tidy 6.1 percent walk rate and an above-average 48.5 percent ground-ball rate. While it obviously wasn’t the debut Wade had envisioned, there’s been a fairly steady churn on the Orioles’ pitching staff so far in 2021, so continued success in Triple-A could lead to another look in the Majors later this summer.

Welington Castillo Retires

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Former big league catcher Welington Castillo is retiring from baseball, reports Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (Twitter link). He’ll hang up his spikes having appeared for five teams in parts of ten major league seasons.

Castillo began his professional career with the Cubs, signing out of the Dominican Republic in 2004 and reaching the majors by 2010. He went on to spend the next four-plus years on the North Side of Chicago, hitting fairly well as the Cubs regular catcher from 2013-14. Chicago traded him to the Mariners in May 2015, and Seattle flipped him to the Diamondbacks as part of a deal to acquire Mark Trumbo a little more than a month later.

The right-handed hitting backstop spent the next year and a half in Arizona, working as the D-Backs primary backstop before being non-tendered. He signed on with the Orioles for the 2017 campaign, again offering his typical blend of quality offense and fringy but playable defense behind the dish. He then returned to Chicago — this time on the South Side — on a two-year deal with the White Sox.

Unfortunately, Castillo’s White Sox tenure didn’t go as hoped. He was suspended for eighty games after testing positive for a banned substance midway through the 2018 season, and he struggled at the plate for the first time in his career in 2019. While Castillo signed minor league deals with the Nationals in each of the past two offseasons, he didn’t make it back to the majors. The 34-year-old opted out last season due to COVID-19 concerns and has spent this year with Washington’s Triple-A affiliate.

While Castillo’s career didn’t end the way he’d likely envisioned, there’s little doubt he had a solid run. Castillo tallied 2701 plate appearances over his ten big league campaigns, compiling a .254/.313/.426 line that betters the .243/.311/.390 mark managed by the league average catcher between 2010-19. Castillo picked up 626 hits (including 98 home runs), drew 183 walks, scored 251 times and drove in 339 runs. Baseball Reference estimates he was worth around 12 wins above replacement. (FanGraphs, which accounts for his generally poor pitch framing metrics, pegs him closer to five wins). B-Ref tallies his career earnings at just north of $28MM. MLBTR congratulates Castillo on a fine career and wishes him all the best in his future endeavors.

Orioles Claim Shaun Anderson Off Waivers From Rangers, Designate Konner Wade For Assignment

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The Orioles claimed Shaun Anderson off waivers from the Rangers and optioned him to Triple-A, the team announced. He’ll be joined there by Stevie Wilkerson, who cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Norfolk. To create a spot on the 40-man roster, Konner Wade was designated for assignment.

The Orioles are always in need of innings eaters. and Anderson can do exactly that. The 26-year-old has 16 career starts to his name, though those came with the Giants in 2019. More recently, he’s been a bullpen arm, though still one capable of shouldering a multi-inning load.

Anderson did not actually pitch in the Majors for Texas. In fact, his time with the Rangers consisted of a pair of outings in Triple-A, amounting to three scoreless innings. The Orioles are his third organization in 2021, however, starting the year as he did with the Twins, for whom he made four appearances, logging 8 2/3 innings and yielding nine earned runs on 13 hits and five walks while striking out eight. It would not be surprising to see Anderson in the Majors at some point this season.

Having recently lost Travis Lakins to a significant elbow injury, the Orioles needed another depth arm. They like Anderson enough to get him at the potential expense of Wade, who will now be exposed to waivers. There’s a decent chance he stays in the organization, however, as the 29-year-old rookie has just one Major League appearance, and the control artist lacks the type of strikeout stuff that tends to attract the attention of other organizations.

Wilkerson, meanwhile, has come out the other end of that waiver process and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk. The 29-year-old utility man has hit just .167/.211/.208 in 76 plate appearances this year.

Orioles Acquire Kelvin Gutierrez From Royals For Cash Considerations

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The Orioles have acquired Kelvin Gutierrez from the Royals for cash considerations, per the team. The Royals had designated Gutierrez for assignment. He’ll now join the Orioles, who have optioned him to Triple-A. Both teams have confirmed the deal.

The 26-year-old third baseman saw the most Major League time of his career this season for Kansas City, posting a triple slash line of .215/.254/.296 in 142 plate appearances. Between Hunter Dozier and Hanser Alberto, the Royals figure to have third base covered, even with Emmanuel Rivera recently hitting the injured list and Alcides Escobar being traded to Washington.

Baltimore has Maikel Franco at third base on a one-year, $800K contract. The former Royal and Philllie doesn’t necessarily fit into the O’s long-term plan. The 28-year-old has a 75 wRC+ on the season, not exactly stolid production at the hot corner. Gutierrez also has some experience at shortstop, should the Orioles want to use him there while Freddy Galvis is on the injured list.

The Orioles moved Travis Lakins to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man roster for Gutierrez. Lakins was injured in his start last Tuesday. His injury has been labeled as right elbow pain, though an official diagnosis has not been revealed as of yet.

Orioles Place Hunter Harvey On 10-Day Injured List, Recall Zac Lowther

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The Orioles have placed Hunter Harvey back on the injured list with a right lat strain, per Rich Dubroff of baltimorebaseball.com. Harvey’s career continues to switchback from potential high-impact arm to star-crossed former prospect. The former first round pick has produced promising bottom-line results since moving to the bullpen full-time in 2019, though his opportunities has been limited because of injuries. This season, the 26-year-old appeared nine times for 8 2/3 innings of work with a 4.15 ERA/4.31 FIP. He’s shown decent control (8.3 percent walk rate), but for the second consecutive season, he has struck out less than 17 percent of opposing batters, a rate that falls well below the 23.3 percent league average (small sample caveats apply). Harvey now goes back on the 10-day injured list, not quite a month since coming off it: He missed the first 64 days of the year with an oblique injury.

Zac Lowther has been added to the active roster to claim Harvey’s roster spot. The 25-year-old southpaw made his Major League debut earlier this season, starting one game and pitching twice out of the bullpen, covering a total 5 1/3 innings. Lowther was knocked around for nine earned runs on 11 hits. On the plus side, he only allowed two walks — good for a 6.9 percent walk rate — and he missed some bats, posting a solid 24.1 percent strikeout rate. Because of the small sample, both the good and the bad here can be taken with a grain of salt. Lowther was the O’s No. 19 ranked prospect by Baseball America entering the season.

Baltimore also received bad news on Travis Lakins, who left his first start of the year earlier this week in just the second inning. Manager Brandon Hyde said that Lakins has a “significant elbow injury,” Dubroff noted. The 27-year-old right-hander has been a reliever for the O’s, pitching 23 times out of the pen before starting last Tuesday’s game. He has not, however, proved particularly effective in either role, logging a 5.79 ERA/5.11 SIERA in 28 innings. He’s neither missed very many bats (19.5 strikeout rate) nor done enough to limit free passes (13.8 percent walk rate). Still, his ability to handle multiple innings had value for the Orioles, who will dig deeper into the organization to fill innings.

Orioles Make Five Roster Moves

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The Orioles announced a series of roster moves prior to tonight’s game with the Astros, including the news that right-hander Travis Lakins Sr. is heading to the 10-day injured list due to right elbow pain.  Additionally, infielder Stevie Wilkerson has been designated for assignment and left-handed Alexander Wells was optioned to Triple-A.  Filling the spots on the active roster will be right-handers Isaac Mattson and Spenser Watkins — Mattson was called up from Triple-A, while Watkins’ contract was selected.  USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported earlier today that Watkins would be added to Baltimore’s 26-man roster.

Lakins was making a rare appearance as a starting pitcher last night when his elbow issue forced him out of the game ( a 13-3 Orioles victory over the Astros) after 1 2/3 innings.  O’s manager Brandon Hyde specified to The Baltimore Sun’s Jon Meoli and other reporters that Lakins suffered an elbow strain, and the righty will undergo further evaluation.  This isn’t Lakins’ first time dealing with elbow problems, as inflammation cut short his 2016 season while pitching in the Red Sox minor league system.

Baltimore claimed Lakins off waivers from the Cubs in the 2019-20 offseason, and the right-hander had a solid 2.81 ERA over 25 2/3 relief innings for the Orioles last year.  Things haven’t gone as smoothly this season, however, as Lakins has a 5.79 ERA and 13.8% walk rate over 28 innings of work in 2021.

With the O’s still in need of some rotation help while John Means is on the IL, it could open the door for Watkins to get a look in the starting five as he gets his first taste of the big leagues.  A 30th-round pick for the Tigers in 2014, Watkins pitched well at the lower levels of Detroit’s farm system but had some struggles at Double-A and Triple-A.  This almost led him to walk away from the game, as Nightengale notes that Watkins had a high school coaching job lined up before he signed a minor league deal with the Orioles this winter.

Wilkerson was another offseason minors signing for the O’s, and the utilityman appeared in 30 games for the team, hitting only .167/.211/.208 over 76 plate appearances.  Wilkerson didn’t see any big league action in 2020, and he has a career .210/.268/.340 slash line in 486 PA over parts of three seasons with Baltimore.

AL Injury Notes: Robert, Lakins, Urquidy

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Luis Robert could be roughly four weeks out from a rehab assignment, per The Athletic’s James Fegan (via Twitter). Assuming all goes well for Robert — a significant assumption this far out — and the White Sox could hope to have their star centerfielder back in the lineup for the stretch run late in August. The club itself has not put an exact timetable on his return, however. Still, an update of any kind is a positive sign for the first-place Sox. If Robert avoids any hiccups in the next few weeks, the White Sox could be emboldened enough to stick with their current roster, rather than make a move to add another centerfielder before the deadline. In the meantime,Brian Goodwin has been the latest replacement to man center, joining Billy Hamilton and Adam Engel as fill-ins.

Elsewhere in the American League, there were a couple notable injuries in last night’s games to check in on…

  • The Astros/Orioles game saw a couple of pitchers leave early due to injury. Both starters, Jose Urquidy and Travis Lakins, left their respective outings in the second inning. The Orioles expect to have the results of an MRI on Lakins sometime today, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Lakins was making his first start of the season.
  • As for Urquidy, he left with shoulder discomfort after 1 2/3 innings. For those wondering if this was a return of the shoulder discomfort that sidelined Urquidy for a couple weeks in May, that does not appear to be the case. The pain that forced Urquidy from Tuesday’s start was in a different area than his prior injury, per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. Urquidy has been a big part of the Astros’ strong first half, pitching to a 3.38 ERA/4.00 FIP across 14 starts while totaling 77 1/3 innings — more than five innings per outing.

Orioles Outright Mickey Jannis

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The Orioles announced that right-hander Mickey Jannis has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Norfolk. He’d been designated for assignment earlier in the week.

Jannis will remain in the organization as high minors depth. The 33-year-old has had a strong season with the Tides, working to a 2.92 ERA across 24 2/3 innings. His strikeout and walk rates (13% and 10%, respectively) are uninspiring, but that’s generally to be expected for a knuckleballer.

That quality Triple-A work earned Jannis the briefest of looks at the big league level earlier this week. He was selected to the roster and made his MLB debut on Wednesday. Jannis was called on for a few innings of mop-up work against the Astros, the league’s top lineup. He didn’t fare well, as Houston tagged him for seven runs on eight hits (including three homers) and four walks. At the very least, Jannis did record his first major league strikeout, punching out Yordan Álvarez.

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