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Closer Role Notes: Red Sox, Pirates, Marlins

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The notion of a closer’s role has evolved over the years, but there’s never been any doubt of the importance of a reliable late-inning relief strategy. While some organizations prefer more flexible arrangements, quite a few still utilize dedicated ninth-inning men. Settling on a closer isn’t just important to a team and to fantasy baseball gurus. It’s also a factor in a player’s trade and free agent status and — especially — to his potential arbitration earnings.

Here are some early notes on spring closer situations from around the game …

  • Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke made rather clear that he views Brandon Workman as the top closing option entering camp, as Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com tweets. The club isn’t making anything official just yet, but the comments from the just-minted skipper give him a strong presumption. That’s not too surprising: the 31-year-old Workman emerged as a premium pen arm last year, when he racked up 71 2/3 innings of 1.88 ERA ball with 13.1 K/9 and 5.7 BB/9. He does have some experience closing out games, having finished 16 Boston wins as part of a committee approach last year.
  • For the Pirates, there’ll be no waiting: new skipper Derek Shelton says Keone Kela will handle the ninth, as Adam Berry of MLB.com reports on Twitter. Kela’s time in Pittsburgh hasn’t exactly been smooth, but he’s undeniably talented enough to do the job and will now be challenged with added responsibility as the organization seeks to turn the page on a brutal 2019 season. There were numerous problems on and off the field for the Bucs. By far the most important was the arrest of closer Felipe Vazquez on charges so awful that it’s hard even to think of the matter from a baseball perspective. But the organization has obviously had to make decisions to account for that departure. There is plenty of incentive for Kela, who will be a free agent at season’s end. If things go better for the 26-year-old than for the remainder of the Pirates team, he could also feature as a significant mid-season trade piece.
  • The Marlins have set about compiling a new-look bullpen this winter. It seems it’ll be anchored by one of the club’s recent veteran additions. Manager Don Mattingly strongly suggested that Brandon Kintzler is the top choice to function as closer, Craig Mish of FNTSY Sports Radio tweets. The 35-year-old isn’t exactly a prototypical swing-and-miss, capital-C closer type. But he did turn in 57 frames of 2.68 ERA ball last year with a typically strong 54.7% groundball rate. And Kintzler has saved 49 games in his career.

Red Sox Avoid Arbitration With Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr.

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The Red Sox have avoided arbitration with outfielders Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. Betts, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, will receive a record-setting $27MM for his final season of club control. Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe, meanwhile, tweets that Bradley will earn $11MM. Betts’ record payout comes in $700K shy of his $27.7MM projection from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, while Bradley’s $11MM salary is an exact match with his projection.  The Boston organization also locked up righty Brandon Workman to a $3.5MM deal, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter).

Betts’ contract sets a record for an arbitration salary, topping previous record holder Nolan Arenado’s old mark by a full million dollars. He’ll head into his final season of club control as one of the more fascinating storylines in baseball; Red Sox ownership reportedly is intent on dipping south of the luxury tax, and while there’s been no indication that the team is definitively planning to move Betts this winter — much the opposite, as of late, in fact — they could find themselves in a trickier situation as the trade deadline approaches.

Boston could yet take another run at extending Betts, but the former AL MVP has been vocal and candid about his desire to test the open market once he accrues six years of Major League service. As such, the team’s previous efforts to hammer out a long-term deal have fallen flat.

It’s another case altogether with Bradley, who is also entering his final year of club control but is a much more plausible trade candidate. Moving him wouldn’t dip the Red Sox below the luxury line in one fell swoop, as moving Betts effectively would, but as the season draws nearer it’d be a surprise if Bradley’s name weren’t bandied about the rumor circuit to an extent. While his overall season numbers in 2019 weren’t particularly eye-catching, Bradley hit .252/.342/.504 over his final 422 plate appearances and has long been considered a standout defender. Given the lack of center field options available in free agency, he could yet hold appeal to a club looking for a short-term boost in center.

AL East Notes: Kimbrel, Rays, Orioles, Red Sox

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Though the common belief is that the Rays wouldn’t make an expensive splash to add Craig Kimbrel, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that there’s somewhat of a “never say never” sentiment within the organization as Kimbrel continues to linger (and as his price likely drops in corresponding fashion). The right-hander doesn’t appear likely to cash in on the mega contract he sought early in the offseason, and it’s not clear at this point how many clubs would even have interest on a multi-year pact. I ran through some potential landing spots for Kimbrel on shorter-term deals (with a significant annual value) last Friday and largely glossed over the Rays due to their historic reluctance to spend at that level and due to the fact that Kimbrel would require forfeiture of a draft pick (another prior sticking point for Tampa Bay). However, with a projected Opening Day payroll of just $60MM and only $27MM on the books in 2020 (per Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez), the Rays certainly have the payroll space to add Kimbrel if they look to break character for a second time this winter after already inking Charlie Morton (two years, $30MM). The Rays opened the 2018 season with a $76MM payroll.

Here’s more from the AL East…

  • The Orioles would trade any of their starters who are “making significant money,” Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes in his latest notes column (subscription required). It’s hardly surprising that Baltimore would jump at the opportunity to shed the remaining $43MM (over three years) on Alex Cobb’s contract or the $8MM owed to Andrew Cashner this season, but Rosenthal also lists right-hander Dylan Bundy (earning $2.8MM) among the group. Moving Bundy would be more surprising given his affordable salary and remaining three seasons of control, though it seems unlikely they’d sell low on the former No. 4 overall pick after he led the Majors with 41 homers allowed last season. Bundy, 26, has demonstrated very appealing K/BB numbers over the past two seasons, but home runs have continually been a problem for him at the MLB level. A trade of any of the three seems extraordinarily unlikely to happen before Opening Day, but if any of that trio is performing well early in the year, he’ll emerge as a trade candidate this summer.
  • Red Sox right-hander Brandon Workman opened Spring Training with a fastball that was sitting 92 to 93 mph, writes Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald, but his velocity has dipped substantially in recent outings. Workman has averaged 87 to 89 mph on his fastball in his past two outings, and manager Alex Cora spoke to Mastrodonato about the current “dead arm” Workman is attempting to overcome. As Mastrodonato points out, the majority of Boston’s candidates for the bullpen have struggled this spring, which at least has the potential to open the door for a prospect like Darwinzon Hernandez to get a look.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: American League

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The deadline for players and teams to exchange arbitration figures passed at 1pm ET yesterday, meaning over the next few hours, there will be a landslide of settlements on one-year deals to avoid an arbitration hearing. We’ll track today’s minor settlements from the American League in this post. Once all of the day’s settlements have filtered in, I’ll organize them by division to make them a bit easier to parse.

It’s worth mentioning that the vast majority of teams have adopted a “file and trial” approach to arbitration, meaning that once arbitration figures are exchanged with a player, negotiations on a one-year deal will cease. The two parties may still discuss a multi-year deal after that point, but the majority of players who exchange figures with their team today will head to an arbitration hearing.

As always, all salary projections referenced within this post are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, and we’ll also be updating our 2019 Arbitration Tracker throughout the day…

Today’s Updates

  • Yankees 1B Greg Bird will make $1.2 MM next season, per Bob Nightengale on Twitter.
  • The controversial Roberto Osuna will make $6.5MM next season, per Feinsand. Teammate Jake Marisnick, who again scuffled in ’18 after a promising 2017, will make $2.2125MM.
  • Per Mark Feinsand on Twitter, A’s lefty Sean Manaea $3.15MM in what’s sure to be an injury-marred 2019.
  • Hard-throwing reliever Mychal Givens will make $2.15MM, per Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter), with additional incentives for making the All-Star team or placing in the Top-3 for the Rivera/Hoffman Reliever of the Year Awards, added MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter).
  • The Mariners agreed on a $1.95MM deal with outfielder Domingo Santana, per MLB.com’s Greg Johns (via Twitter). Santana is the second and last of the Mariners’ arbitration-eligible players.
  • The Angels agreed to contracts with a pair of players yesterday, per Maria Torres of the LA Times (via Twitter). Reliever Hansel Robles signed for $1.4MM. Robles threw 36 1/3 innings of 2.97 ERA baseball after the Angels claimed him off waivers from the Mets in June. Luis Garcia, acquired via trade from the Phillies this winter, signed for $1.675MM.
  • The Tigers and reliever Shane Greene settled on $4MM, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (via Twitter).
  • The Yankees reached an agreement with Sonny Gray for $7.5MM, per Nightengale. Gray, of course, has been involved trade rumors most of the winter, but for the time being, he stands to play a role in the Yankee pen while providing insurance for the rotation.
  • Didi Gregorius has also come to an agreement with the Yankees on a one-year, $11.75MM deal in his final season before free agency, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter links).
  • New Yankee James Paxton signed for $8.575, per Nightengale (via Twitter). Paxton is under contract for the 2020 season as well.
  • The Houston Astros came to an agreement with Collin McHugh for $5.8MM, per Nightengale (via Twitter). McHugh could be moving back into the rotation after a stellar season in the pen, either way this will be his final season of arb eligibility before hitting the open market.
  • Jonathan Villar comes away with $4.825MM for what will be his first full season in Baltimore, per Nightengale (via Twitter).

Earlier Updates

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Dodgers, Red Sox Set World Series Rosters

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With the World Series set to kick off tonight, both teams have announced changes to their 25-man rosters.

For the Dodgers, left-handed reliever Scott Alexander replaces Caleb Ferguson, the team announced. Alexander will be LA’s third left-handed option out of the pen, along with 22-year-old Julio Urias and regular season starter Alex Wood. The Dodgers have shuffled between Urias, Ferguson and Alexander as the third left-hander in the pen this postseason, with each player making the roster for two of the three playoff rounds. 

Of the three, the 21-year-old Ferguson is the least seasoned, whereas Alexander profiles most-closely to a left-handed specialist – though none have drastic platoon splits. Still, it’s likely Alexander spent the weekend going over the scouting reports of Andrew Benintendi, Rafael Devers, Mitch Moreland and Jackie Bradley Jr. 

For the Red Sox, they’ve also made a change to their bullpen. The team announced the addition of lefty Drew Pomeranz over right-handed options Brandon Workman or Steven Wright. It’s a bit of a surprising move given Pomeranz hasn’t pitched since September 30th. Conversely, Wright is recovering from left knee issues, while Workman was shelled in his three October appearances. Workman appeared twice in the ALDS and and once in the ALCS, pitching one third of an inning each time, surrendering a total five earned runs and seven hits in his one total inning of work.

You have to figure the Red Sox believe Pomeranz is closer to his 2017 self (137 ERA+) than his 2018 self (72 ERA+). One glimmer of hope in Pomeranz’s disastrous 2018 campaign: all 12 HRs surrendered this season were vs. right-handed hitters. For his career, lefties have hit .224/.305/.313 against Pomeranz, whereas righties have hit .247/.330/.420. Should Chris Sale or David Price fail to go deep into games, Boston will have the option of deploying Pomeranz as a long-man, or as a lefty specialist to counter Max Muncy, Joc Pederson and/or NLCS MVP Cody Bellinger. 

Players Avoiding Arbitration: American League

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The deadline for MLB teams to exchange salary arbitration figures with their arbitration-eligible players is today at 1pm ET. As such, there will be a veritable flood of arb agreements piling up in the next few hours — especially in light of a more universal approach to the “file and trial” method for teams. (That is to say, those teams will no longer negotiate one-year deals after arb figures are exchanged and will instead head to a hearing with those players, barring an agreemenr on a multi-year deal.)

Note that you can keep an eye on all of today’s deals using MLBTR’s 2018 Arbitration Tracker, which can be filtered to show only the results of the team you follow and is also sortable by service time and dollar value of the agreement. All projections that are referenced come from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz’s annual compilation of projected arbitration salarie

American League West

  • The Astros and Evan Gattis agreed to a $6.7MM deal for 2018, per FanRag’s Robert Murray (Twitter link). A free agent next season, Gattis lands within $100K of his $6.6MM projection. The club also has deals (for values unknown) with starters Dallas Keuchel, Lance McCullers Jr., and Brad Peacock, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
  • The Rangers agreed to a $1.05MM deal with infielder Jurickson Profar, tweets Murray. Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star Telegram, meanwhile, tweets that lefty Jake Diekman landed a $2.7125MM deal and righty Keone Kela will earn $1.2MM. Profar had been projected at $1.1MM and is controllable another three seasons. Diekman, a free agent next winter, was projected at $2.8MM. And Kela, still controlled for three more years, matched his $1.2MM projection on the dot.
  • The Athletics and closer Blake Treinen agreed to a $2.15MM deal for next year, tweets Murray. The A’s can control Treinen for another three years. He was projected at $2.3MM. Shortstop Marcus Semien has settled for $3.125MM, Heyman tweets; his $3.2MM projection was nearly spot-on. Oakland has announced that it has avoided arbitration with Liam Hendriks and Josh Phegley as well, but their salaries have yet to be reported.
  • The Angels have a one-year, $7.3MM agreement in place with right-hander Garrett Richards, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). Richards, a free agent next offseason, tops his $7MM projection by a margin of $300K. The Halos have also avoided arb with first baseman C.J. Cron ($2.3MM) and left-hander Tyler Skaggs ($1.875MM), tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Cron’s total falls a ways shy of his $2.8MM projection, while Skaggs comes in just $25K south of his $1.9MM projection. Both are controllable through the 2020 season. Lastly, Murray tweets that Matt Shoemaker agreed to a $4.125MM deal. He’s controlled through 2020 and projected at $4.4MM. Fletcher also tweets that the club has agreed with righty J.C. Ramirez ($1.9MM salary vs. $2.6MM projection) and lefty Jose Alvarez ($1.05MM salary vs. $1.1MM projection). Finally, righty Cam Bedrosian has agreed at $1.1MM, Flecher tweets, which represents a payday close to his projection of $1.2MM.
  • Left-hander James Paxton will earn $4.9MM with the Mariners in 2018, tweets Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Murray tweets that the Mariners and David Phelps agreed to a $5.55MM deal. Paxton, controlled through 2020, projected to earn $5.6MM, while Phelps was pegged at $5.8MM. He’s a free agent next winter. Righty Erasmo Ramirez took a $4.2MM deal, MLB.com’s Greg Johns reports. That’s half a million shy of what the model suggested. Fellow right-hander Nick Vincent also has an agreement, but the terms aren’t yet known.

American League Central

  • New lefty Luis Avilan has agreed to a $2.45MM deal with the White Sox, Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune reports via Twitter. The recent trade acquisition came with a projected $2.3MM price tag. Fellow southpaw Carlos Rodon will receive $2.3MM, a bit of a bump over the $2MM he projected to receive. Also, utilityman Leury Garcia gets $1.175MM, which is just $25K short of his projected value.
  • The Royals and righty Nate Karns agreed to a $1.375MM deal for 2018, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports (on Twitter). That lands within $25K of his $1.4MM projection for the coming season. Kansas City controls Karns through 2020. Meanwhile, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reports (via Twitter) that Kelvin Herrera will earn $7.9375MM in 2018, landing a bit shy of his $8.3MM projection. Herrera is a free agent next winter.
  • The Indians have a $5MM agreement with righty Danny Salazar, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets. He had projected to earn just $200K more, this falls right in line with expectations. Cleveland also agreed with Lonnie Chisenhall on a $5.5875MM deal, tweets Nightengale. The third baseman-turned-outfielder, who was projected to earn $5.8MM, will be a free agent following the 2018 season.
  • Trevor May has a $650K agreement with the Twins for the 2018 season, according to Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. May, who missed the entire season due to Tommy John surgery (and did some writing for MLBTR during his rehab process), had been projected at $600K. The Twins also agreed to a $1MM deal with infielder Ehire Adrianza, per La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune. Meanwhile, righty Ryan Pressly has agreed to a $1.6MM deal, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN. Both deals are identical matches with their projections. Adrianza has three years of team control remaining, while Pressly has two. Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets that outfielder Robbie Grossman settled at $2MM, leaving him $400K shy of his projection. Grossman is controlled for another three seasons.
  • Tigers third baseman/outfielder Nick Castellanos will earn $6.05MM, per Heyman (via Twitter). He had projected at a much heftier $7.6MM in his second-to-last season of arb eligibility. MLB.com’s Jason Beck reports (Twitter links) that the Tigers and right-handed reliever Alex Wilson settled at $1.925MM, while fellow righty Shane Greene will earn $1.95MM. Wilson was projected to earn $2.1MM, while Greene was at $1.7MM. Wilson is controlled through 2019, while Greene is under control through 2020.

American League East

  • The Yankees have knocked out some of their biggest arb cases, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (Twitter links). Shortstop Didi Gregorius receives $8.25MM and righty Sonny Gray checks in at $6.5MM. The former had projected to earn $9.0MM while the algorithm was just $100K high on the latter.Backstop Austin Romine will earn $1.1MM, Heyman also tweets, which is also $100K below the projection. Righty Adam Warren and the Yankees have a $3.315MM deal, per Murray (Twitter link). This is Warren’s final season of eligibility before hitting the open market next winter. He’d been projected at $3.1MM. Meanwhile, fellow right-hander Dellin Betances has agreed to a $5.1MM deal, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). That’s just $100K more than Betances had sought last year, when he took his case to a hearing that he ultimately lost. But it’s quite a bit more than the $4.4MM he projected to receive after a subpar season in which he played at a $3MM salary.
  • The Red Sox have agreed to pay $8.5MM to southpaw Drew Pomeranz, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). That’s short of the $9.1MM that had been projected after Pomeranz turned in a productive 2017 season. Boston and Jackie Bradley Jr. settled at $6.1MM, tweets Murray. That’s a bit north of the $5.9MM at which he’d been projected for the upcoming season. Bradley Jr., a Super Two player, has another three seasons of club control remaining. Nightengale tweets that righty Joe Kelly ($3.6MM projection) agreed to a $3.825MM deal. He’ll be a free agent next winter. Lefty Eduardo Rodriguez ($2.375MM salary vs. $2.7MM projection) and righty Brandon Workman ($835K salary vs. $900K projection) are two other Sox hurlers that have agreed to terms, Speier reports (Twitter links). On the position player side, catcher Sandy Leon falls a bit under his projection $1.95MM (via Speier, on Twitter) while utilityman Brock Holt just beats expectations at $2.225MM (per ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick, on Twitter). The team also agreed with shortstop Xander Bogaerts for $7.05MM, Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston tweets, which comes in a bit shy of his $7.6MM projection. Boston also announced agreement with backstop Christian Vazquez, who’ll earn $1.425MM, per MLB.com’s Ian Browne (via Twitter). That’s just under the projection of $1.5MM.
  • The Blue Jays and righty Aaron Sanchez agreed to a $2.7MM deal for 2018, according to Nightengale (Twitter link). That crushes his $1.9MM projection, which was likely suppressed due Sanchez’s lack of innings (just 36) in 2017. He’s under Jays control through 2020. Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, meanwhile, tweets that second baseman Devon Travis will make $1.45MM next year, falling a bit shy of his $1.7MM forecast. Other Toronto players agreeing to terms include Kevin Pillar ($3.25MM vs. $4.0MM projection) and Dominic Leone ($1.085MM vs. $1.2MM projection), MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm tweets.
  • The Rays and closer Alex Colome settled at $5.3M, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (on Twitter). He’d been projected at $5.5MM and is controllable for three more years. They also settled at $5.95MM with outfielder/DH Corey Dickerson ($6.4MM projection) and $4.5MM with infielder Brad Miller ($4.4MM projection), per Murray (all Twitter links). Steven Souza, according to Murray will earn $3.55MM, placing him right in line with his $3.6MM projection. Dickerson and Miller are controlled through 2019. Souza is controlled through 2020.

Injury Notes: Cespedes, Turner, O’Day, Beltre, Pedroia, Travis

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Here’s the latest flurry of notable players leaving, joining, and (temporarily?) avoiding the disabled list…

  • Yoenis Cespedes is expected to be activated by the Mets tomorrow, manager Terry Collins tells the New York Times’ James Wagner and other reporters.  The slugger will be the 26th man on the Mets’ roster for their double-header against the Braves.  Cespedes has been sidelined since April 27 due to a hamstring strain, with the Mets saying they were being particularly careful with their star outfielder due to nagging lower-leg injuries that have bothered Cespedes dating back to last season.  Cespedes was off to a red-hot start when he was able to play, posting a .992 OPS in 75 plate appearances.
  • Justin Turner will be activated from the 10-day DL tonight, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (link to their tweet).  The third baseman has been recovering from a hamstring strain since May 19.  Turner was hitting .379/.453/.493 over 162 prior to his injury.
  • The Tigers activated catcher James McCann, who has been out of action since May 25 due to a laceration on his left hand.  McCann will be returning to a “platoon-oriented” timeshare but not exclusively so, Detroit manager Brad Ausmus told reporters (including Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press).  The left-handed Alex Avila has a whopping 1.074 OPS over 139 PA this year, so it seems likely that he’ll get the lion’s share of playing time over the right-handed hitting McCann.
  • The Orioles have placed right-hander Darren O’Day on the 10-day DL due to a right shoulder strain, the team announced.  The move is retroactive to June 7, and righty Stefan Crichton has been called up in a corresponding transactions.  O’Day is having another solid year out of Baltimore’s pen, with a 3.86 ERA, 2.42 K/BB rate and a career-high 11.2 K/9 over his 23 1/3 IP.  O’Day’s absence will further tax an Orioles bullpen that is still missing ace closer Zach Britton.
  • As expected, the Rangers officially called Jurickson Profar up from Triple-A but lefty Dario Alvarez was demoted in the corresponding move, as the club is still waiting to see on Adrian Beltre’s bad ankle.  Beltre told Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Tribune (Twitter link) that he could sit out through the weekend but be available off the bench as a pinch-hitter.  Beltre only just returned to action after spending much of the season on the DL with a calf injury, playing in seven games before suffering his ankle problem on Tuesday.
  • The Red Sox activated Dustin Pedroia off the 10-day DL, one of multiple roster moves that included first baseman Sam Travis and right-hander Brandon Workman being optioned to Triple-A and lefty Brian Johnson being called up to start tonight’s game.  Pedroia was originally thought to be in for a lengthy absence after suffering a sprained left wrist, though he’ll instead return after missing just the minimum 10 days.  Travis’ demotion is noteworthy, as he excelled (8-for-17 with a 1.115 OPS in 19 PA) in his first taste of big league action, though Boston doesn’t really have a place for him on the roster.  Both Josh Rutledge and Deven Marrero are needed for infield depth and to spell the struggling Pablo Sandoval at third, while Hanley Ramirez is currently locked into DH-only duties.

Red Sox Place Steven Wright On 10-Day DL

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The Red Sox have placed righty Steven Wright on the 10-day DL with a knee sprain, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal was among those to report on Twitter. Boston will call up reliever Brandon Workman to take the open roster spot, though it’s not yet known who’ll account for Wright’s slot in the rotation.

It’s not yet clear at all how serious an issue the knee problem is. Teams are certainly utilizing the newly shortened ten-day disabled period to help with roster maintenance, and that’s especially true of starters who can simply be skipped while they are out. But Wright has had some recent knee issues.

Wright has also markedly struggled for most of the year, posting an unsightly 8.25 ERA over 24 frames through five starts. He has managed just 4.9 K/9 to go with 1.9 BB/9 while permitting nine home runs. That’s neither the length nor the quality that the club needs from the knuckler.

Whether there’s a better option on hand, though, isn’t clear. While Kyle Kendrick has struggled, Henry Owens and Brian Johnson have each been rather successful at Triple-A, and both already have 40-man spots. With David Price still a ways away from his anticipated return, Boston will likely need to hope for better from Wright — who, it should be noted, is out of options — or one of the available replacements for a while longer.

Red Sox Avoid Arbitration With Brandon Workman

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The Red Sox have avoided arbitration with Brandon Workman, per a club announcement (h/t Tim Britton of the Providence Journal, via Twitter). It’s a $635K deal, per ESPN.com’s Scott Lauber (via Twitter), coming in just over MLBTR’s $600K projection.

Workman, 28, was eligible for the first time despite the fact that he hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2014. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2015, and never quite made it back to the big leagues last season — though did throw twenty minor-league rehab frames.

While there may still be some risk in the health of Workman’s right arm, Boston isn’t staking much on its bet. Most of the already limited salary figure won’t even be guaranteed until camp is about to break next spring. Mostly, it’s a matter of occupying a 40-man spot, which the Sox are evidently willing to do to get another look at the former second-round pick.

In his 128 2/3 total major league frames, Workman owns a 5.11 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9. But he has generally been better in the minors, including 17 starts at Triple-A, over which he owns a 3.63 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9.

AL Notes: Red Sox, Orioles, Angels

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With 23 extra-base hits, including nine home runs, 5-foot-9, 180-pound Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts is showing rare power for such a diminutive player, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe details. Even scout Danny Watkins, who was instrumental in Boston’s fifth-round selection of Betts in the 2011 draft, is surprised. “I did not see home runs like this,” Watkins told Speier. “Honestly, I thought he could have some impact with power, but I really thought it would come in the form of doubles more than home runs. Knowing what I saw, it would still be very difficult for me to go back and project this type of performance by this age.” Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is also taken aback by the 23-year-old’s power-hitting ways. “I don’t remember a thinner, smaller guy in that regard who generates the type of power he does. He’s just got exceptional talent.” Betts is currently on pace to reach the 30-homer plateau; if he does, he’ll join exclusive company – Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Mel Ott – as the only players 5-10 or under to accomplish the feat by the age of 23, notes Speier.

More from Boston and two other American League cities:

  • Catcher Matt Wieters’ offseason decision to accept the Orioles’ $15.8MM qualifying offer is paying dividends for the team, writes Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com. In addition to hitting .291/.331/.453 with four homers in 124 plate appearances, Wieters has thrown out 4 of 8 attempted base stealers, and Connolly argues that the lack of steal attempts is a sign of respect from opposing offenses for the backstop’s arm.
  • One of Wieters’ teammates, right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez, should accept a demotion to the minors to get back on track, opines Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun. After yielding six runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks in just 1 2/3 innings Saturday, Jimenez’s ERA spiked to 6.36. In his six May starts, the 32-year-old allowed 43 hits, nearly an earned run per frame (27 in 29 1/3 innings) and struck out as many hitters as he walked (19). Worsening matters is a contract that pays the ex-Rockies star $13MM this year and another $13.5MM in 2017. The Orioles would perhaps be willing to cut bait on Jimenez and eat the remaining $22.7MM on his deal if they had more starting options, which they don’t, per Schmuck.
  • It appeared Angels southpaw C.J. Wilson was making progress in his recovery from a shoulder injury, but he suffered a setback Saturday and had to be shut down, reports Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. The Angels diagnosed Wilson with biceps tendinitis and will send him for further tests before determining what comes next. Wilson, who’s making $20MM this season in a contract year, hasn’t taken the hill for the Halos since last July because of elbow and shoulder issues.
  • Red Sox right-hander Brandon Workman – on the mend from June 2015 Tommy John surgery – could serve as a bullpen reinforcement for the club later in the season, relays Ian Browne of MLB.com. Workman last pitched in 2014 and owns a less-than-stellar 5.11 ERA – including a 6.07 mark as a reliever – in 128 2/3 major league innings, but manager John Farrell likes that the 27-year-old racked up experience with a World Series winner in 2013. “Extremely valuable,” he said of Workman’s time with that Red Sox team. Going forward, Farrell added, “How he throws and how the arm strength returns will indicate how we factor him in and what he’s going to be capable of.”

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