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Mariners Activate Marco Gonzales, Recall Taylor Trammell, Place Kyle Lewis On 10-Day Injured List, Option Robert Dugger

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The Mariners announced a slew of impactful roster moves this afternoon, starting with the reigning Rookie of the Year in the American League Kyle Lewis going back on the injured list – this time with a right meniscus tear, per the team. Robert Dugger also departs; Seattle optioned the right-hander to Triple-A.

In good news, Marco Gonzales is re-joining the team from the injured list, as anticipated. He will start tonight’s ballgame for the Mariners. If the third-place M’s are going to make an unexpected run at relevancy this year, they’ll need Gonzales to be a force in the rotation. He has made five starts on the season with a 5.40 ERA/5.52 FIP.

As for Lewis, it’s not yet clear if the tear is significant, but he has had multiple procedures performed on that knee, notes Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. That’s certainly not ideal for a player like Lewis, whose athleticism is a key asset. He has appeared in just 36 of the Mariners’ 55 games this season, posting 0.7 bWAR and a 112 wRC+ in that time.

While losing Lewis definitely smarts, Mariners’ fans will have another young outfielder to tune in for: Taylor Trammell has been recalled after a successful stint in Triple-A. Trammell posted some highlights at the start of the season, but ultimately slumped to a .157/.255/.337 line in 95 plate appearances.

It’s easy to forget because he’s been traded twice, but Trammell remains a top prospect, and he’s still just 23 years old. Prior to this season, he had not played about Double-A, but he found himself on the opening day roster nevertheless. When he was optioned on May 13th, then, it was his first thwack at Triple-A, and he took it: .384/.413/.726 with six home runs in 80 plate appearances for the Tacoma Rainiers.

Finally, Dugger returns to the minors with a 6.06 ERA in eight appearances (two starts). A 4.83 FIP suggests Dugger has dealt with a touch of small-sample bad luck. The former Marlin has induced a 39.6 percent groundball rate with a 22.1 percent strikeout rate and 8.3 percent walk rate in 16 1/3 innings for Seattle’s parent club.

Rangers Sign Wade LeBlanc To Minors Deal

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The Rangers have signed free agent veteran Wade LeBlanc and assigned him to Round Rock, per the team. It’s a minor league contract.

The Rangers are LeBlanc’s third organization of the 2021 season. He spent time in the Brewers minor league system and made six appearances (one start) at the big league level for the Orioles. Those outings weren’t a rousing success as LeBlanc served up seven earned runs on 11 hits and one walk in 6 2/3 innings. He also struck out six.

LeBlanc will be around the plate, but he’s long lacked the put-away type of stuff to make batters skittish at the dish. Regardless, he’s hung around the Majors since 2008, dressing for the Padres, Marlins, Astros, Angels, Yankees, Mariners, Pirates and Orioles. He owns a career 4.59 ERA/4.73 FIP over 889 career innings.

For the Rangers, they have some uncertainty in their rotation in the near-term and likely don’t want to find themselves backed into a corner, throwing arms before they’re ready. They’re waiting to see how Kyle Gibson recovers from a strained groin, and they recently placed Kohei Arihara on the 60-day injured list. Kolby Allard looks like he’ll have a chance at earning a rotation spot, but he made his first start of the season this week after posting a 3.15 ERA out of the bullpen.

Mike Montgomery To Sign With KBO’s Samsung Lions

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Veteran left-hander Mike Montgomery will finalize a contract with the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization today, MLBTR has confirmed. Naver Sports in South Korea first reported that a deal between the Lions and the Ballengee Group client was “likely.”

Montgomery, 31, was in Spring Training with the Mets but didn’t land a roster spot. He quickly signed with the Yankees back on April 5, but his minor league deal contained an opt-out clause that he’s now exercised. Montgomery was hit hard in a tiny sample of 16 2/3 innings with the Yankees’ top affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but he of course has a rather successful track record in parts of six Major League seasons.

The No. 36 overall pick by the Royals back in 2008, Montgomery was traded to the Rays 2012’s Wil Myers/James Shields/Jake Odorizzi deal before being flipped to the Mariners in exchange for Erasmo Ramirez in 2015. A third trade in 2016 then sent him to the Cubs in exchange for Daniel Vogelbach, and the Cubs completed the circle when they traded him back to Kansas City in a 2019 swap that sent Martin Maldonado to Chicago.

Montgomery has spent the bulk of his career in Chicago but also appeared with Seattle and Kansas City. On the whole, he’s put together a 3.84 ERA in 541 Major League frames, striking out 18 percent of his opponents against an 8.8 percent walk rate. He’s also generated grounders at a healthy 53.6 percent clip during his big league tenure. He opened the 2020 season on the Royals’ staff but was ultimately limited to just 5 1/3 innings after suffering a lat strain that sent him to the 60-day injured list. That marked the second straight season in which a lat strain had sidelined Montgomery.

According to the Naver report, the Lions are on the lookout for a replacement for right-hander Ben Lively, who was recently diagnosed with a shoulder injury. Montgomery would step onto the Lions’ roster as their second foreign pitcher, the maximum allowed under KBO rules, joining former Phillies righty David Buchanan, who has been excellent for the Lions since joining them for the 2020 season.

Montgomery will have the opportunity to finish out the 2021 season with the Lions. If he enjoys success in his new environs, that could lead to either an offer to return in 2022 or perhaps interest elsewhere overseas or back in North America.

Reds Release Nicky Delmonico, Cheslor Cuthbert

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The Reds have released former big leaguers Nicky Delmonico and Cheslor Cuthbert, as announced this morning by their Triple-A affiliate (on Twitter). Both are now free agents.

Delmonico, 28, spent parts of the 2017-20 seasons in the Majors with the White Sox, serving as a left fielder, first baseman and designated hitter. He turned in an impressive rookie effort back in ’17, hitting at a .262/.373/.482 clip through 166 plate appearances.

It’s been a steady decline for the former Orioles and Brewers farmhand since that time, however. In 408 big league plate appearances from 2018-20, Delmonico hit just .210/.287/.346. Things haven’t gone too much better in Triple-A so far in 2021, as Delmonico has managed a rather tepid .221/.312/.382 output — albeit in a small sample of just 77 plate appearances. In parts of five Triple-A campaigns, Delmonico is a .259/.342/.421 hitter.

The 28-year-old Cuthbert, meanwhile, was once one of the Royals’ premier prospects but has never produced much in the big leagues. He did connect on a career-high 12 home runs back in 2016, his lone season as a regular in the Majors (510 plate appearances), but he carries an overall line of .250/.300/.378 in 1161 trips to the plate. Like Delmonico, he’s struggled with the Reds’ Triple-A club, hitting just .203/.330/.338 in 88 plate appearances.

He’s played primarily third base in his pro career, but Cuthbert does have some experience at first base and second base as well. This year’s struggles notwithstanding, Cuthbert is a career .281/.350/.463 hitter in parts of seven Triple-A seasons.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/31/21

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The latest minor moves from around baseball:

  • The Orioles have released left-hander Josh Rogers, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. Rogers, soon to turn 27, was part of the return the Orioles received from the Yankees in a July 2018 trade centering on reliever Zack Britton. He wasn’t regarded as a high-end prospect at the time, and his stock took a hit when he underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2019. Rogers did appear in the majors with the Orioles during his first two seasons with the organization, but he could only muster an 8.65 ERA in 26 innings. While Rogers has returned to the mound at the Triple-A level this season after his TJ procedure, his struggles continued before the O’s cut him loose, evidenced by a 7.79 ERA in 17 1/3 frames.

Mets Make Several Roster Moves

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The Mets have reinstated first baseman Pete Alonso, outfielder Kevin Pillar and reliever Seth Lugo from the injured list, Tim Healey of Newsday was among those to report. In other moves, the Mets designated outfielder Cameron Maybin and right-hander Sam McWilliams for assignment; selected outfielder Mason Williams; and optioned outfielder Khalil Lee, catcher Patrick Mazeika and reliever Sean Reid-Foley.

The returns of Alonso, Pillar and Lugo (all previously reported) will add some reinforcements to a New York team that has been ravaged by injuries this year. Despite their health issues, though, the Mets have started a solid 25-20 en route to a 3 1/2-game lead in the National League East.

Thanks in part to their injuries, the Mets acquired Maybin from the Cubs on May 18. The Mets bought extremely low on Maybin, whom they picked up for a dollar, but they got little bang for their buck. The 34-year-old totaled 33 plate appearances, collected one hit (a single) and struck out 12 times before they designated him.

McWilliams, meanwhile, signed a major league contract with the Mets last offseason despite having never pitched in the bigs. He also hasn’t reached the majors this season, instead throwing 8 1/3 innings of 10-earned run ball at the Triple-A level. The 25-year-old owns an ugly 8.60 ERA with 53 strikeouts against 25 walks in 52 1/3 Triple-A frames.

Injured List Returns: Fraley, Lopes, Wahl

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As injury news continues to dominate baseball, here’s the latest on a few players who are returning to action…

  • The Mariners reinstated outfielder Jake Fraley from the 10-day injured list, with infielder Eric Campbell heading to Triple-A to make room for Fraley on the active roster.  Fraley has been on the IL since suffering a left hamstring strain while making a diving catch in Seattle’s 10-4 loss to the White Sox on April 6.  He has seen action at all three outfield positions during his 24-game MLB career, and he’ll provide the Mariners with some depth behind the regular outfield trio of Kyle Lewis, Mitch Haniger, and Jarred Kelenic.
  • The Brewers announced that utilityman Tim Lopes and right-hander Bobby Wahl were optioned to Triple-A after being reinstated from the 60-day IL.  Both players have been sidelined by oblique strains suffered during Spring Training.  Lopes is still looking to make his Brewers debut after being claimed off waivers from the Mariners back in December.  Wahl has appeared in parts of three MLB seasons with the A’s, Mets, and Brewers, tossing 2 1/3 innings for Milwaukee in 2020 after missing the entire 2019 campaign recovering from a torn ACL.

Phillies Place Roman Quinn On 60-Day Injured List, Select Travis Jankowski

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TODAY: Quinn’s season is over, as the Phillies announced that he will undergo surgery to repair a ruptured left Achilles tendon.  Quinn will be sidelined for the next nine-to-12 months.

MAY 30: Quinn is indeed going to miss a substantial amount of time, as the Phillies announced they placed him on the 60-day IL this morning. Jankowski was selected to the roster in his place. The 29-year-old Jankowski has never hit much in the majors (.238/.315/.313 over 994 plate appearances) but he’s capable of playing all three outfield positions. He was off to a good start at the plate at Lehigh Valley, slashing .304/.451/.375 over his first nineteen games.

MAY 29: Phillies outfielder Roman Quinn left today’s game after suffering an injury to his left Achilles.  It certainly looks as if Quinn is facing a lengthy absence, as manager Joe Girardi told reporters (including Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia) that Quinn would be examined by doctors but “I don’t expect to get any good news from the MRI.  We’re pretty sure it’s not good.”

The injury occurred as Quinn was trying to score from first base on a Ronald Torreyes double in the fifth inning.  Quinn fell while rounding third base and managed to score the run while hopping to home plate, but he then had to be carried off the field.  Matt Joyce replaced Quinn in right field for the bottom of the fifth.

This isn’t the first Achilles injury Quinn has faced during his career, as a ruptured Achilles tendon in 2014 cost him a big chunk of his minor league season with high-A ball Clearwater.  Considered a top-100 prospect earlier in his career, Quinn’s progress has been hampered by numerous trips to the injured list over the years, and was only just activated off the 10-day IL on Tuesday after missing three weeks due a laceration on his right index finger.

Quinn is hitting .173/.306/.288 over 62 plate appearances this season, playing in 28 games and serving mostly as part of the Phillies’ revolving door in center field.  With Odubel Herrera having taken over center field duties in the last month, Quinn has since seen action in both corner outfield spots since returning from the IL, including two starts in right field in place of the injured Bryce Harper.

With Quinn joining Harper and Scott Kingery on the injured list, the Phillies’ outfield mix is down to Andrew McCutchen, Herrera, Joyce, and utilityman Brad Miller.  Nick Maton might be a candidate for the outfield mix once Didi Gregorius returns to handle shortstop, and Mickey Moniak, Travis Jankowski, Jorge Bonifacio, and Ryan Cordell are among the options at Triple-A.

Angels Place Jose Quintana On 10-Day Injured List

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The Angels announced that left-hander Jose Quintana has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to shoulder inflammation.  Southpaw Jose Quijada will take Quintana’s spot on the active roster.

Quintana threw three innings in a start yesterday before being removed from the game due to inflammation in his throwing shoulder, so today’s IL news isn’t a surprise.  It is only the third time in Quintana’s 10 Major League seasons that he has been sent to the injured list, though rather troublingly, all three of those placements have come within the last two seasons.  A picture of durability for much of his career, Quintana threw only 10 innings in 2020 with the Cubs due to left lat inflammation and a nerve problem in his left thumb.

Despite this abbreviated season, the Angels inked Quintana to a one-year, $8MM free agent contract in the hopes that he could help stabilize their long-suffering rotation.  Unfortunately, that hope hasn’t worked out, as Quintana has a 7.22 ERA through 33 2/3 innings.  Batters are making a lot of hard contact against Quintana’s pitchers and his 15.7% walk rate is by far the largest of his career.  There are some brief glimmers of hope, however, as Quintana’s 30.1% strikeout rate is also a career-best, and his SIERA is a much more palatable 4.37.  The left-hander has been victimized by the Angels’ poor defense, as Quintana has a stunningly high .400 BABIP.

Patrick Sandoval is the probable candidate to take Quintana’s rotation spot, manager Joe Maddon told reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times).  Sandoval has already started his last three outings, due to various fill-in and spot start circumstances, so it makes for a relatively easy transition for the left-hander.  The Statcast metrics haven’t liked Sandoval’s work this season, but he has managed a 3.80 ERA over 21 1/3 frames of work.

Giants Acquire Sam Delaplane

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The Giants have acquired right-hander Sam Delaplane from the Mariners in exchange for cash considerations.  Delaplane has been optioned to the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate.

Delaplane was designated for assignment earlier this week, and will be out of action for likely the first half of the 2022 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in April.  However, the Giants took the opportunity to trade for a local product (Delaplane is from San Jose) who has a rather eye-opening minor league track record.

A 23-round pick for the Mariners in the 2017 draft, Delaplane has a 2.29 ERA over 161 1/3 relief innings in Seattle’s farm system.  He also has an overwhelming 40.91% strikeout rate, whiffing 270 of 660 batters faced over his career.  Between all those missed bats and some solid control (8.2% walk rate), it’s easy to see why San Francisco took a long-term flier on Delaplane to see if he can continue anything close to this form at the MLB level when healthy.

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