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Diamondbacks Activate Christian Walker From 10-Day IL

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The Diamondbacks announced that first baseman Christian Walker has been activated off the 10-day injured list.  Walker will take the place of Andrew Young, who was optioned to Triple-A after yesterday’s game.

Right oblique soreness has twice relegated Walker to the IL this season, and the D’Backs are certainly hoping that this latest absence has finally gotten Walker fully healthy.  It’s probably fair to say that the stop-and-start nature of his season has impacted Walker’s play, as he has hit only .203/.268/.313 over 71 plate appearances thus far in 2021.  Walker was a much more productive bat in 2019-20, when he hit .262/.344/.471 with 36 home runs in 423 PA for Arizona.

Like many teams this season, the D’Backs have been hit hard by injuries, but Arizona is on a 12-game losing streak and has sunk to last place in the NL West.  There might not be much time left before the Diamondbacks start thinking about selling at the trade deadline, and it isn’t out of the question that Walker himself could be moved.  Though he has three arbitration-eligible years remaining, Walker is already 30 years old and might not be seen as a long-term piece for the D’Backs, if the front office decides that a larger roster reshuffle is necessary to get the club on track.  Owed only around $415K for the remainder of the season, an in-form Walker would draw a lot of attention from payroll-stretched teams looking for lineup help.

Giants Activate Wilmer Flores, Logan Webb From 10-Day IL

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The Giants activated infielder Wilmer Flores and right-hander Logan Webb from the 10-day injured list.  Both players are slated to return to action tonight, as Webb is scheduled to start tonight’s game with the Dodgers and Flores is in the lineup as the starting first baseman.  Righty Nick Tropeano and infielder Jason Vosler were optioned to Triple-A to create roster space.

Both Flores and Webb will end up missing the minimum 10 days due to what (thankfully) appears to have been minor injuries.  Flores hit the IL due to a right hamstring strain, while Webb was sidelined with a right shoulder strain.

Flores’ return comes at a particularly opportune time for the Giants, as first basemen Brandon Belt and Darin Ruf are both on the 10-day IL themselves.  The club can now at least tread water at the position with an experienced first baseman like Flores, plus Austin Slater and LaMonte Wade Jr. can also fill in at first base in a pinch.  Flores is off to something of a slow start this year, with a .219/.308/.343 slash line over 120 plate appearances that is well off his .277/.323/.469 mark from 2016-20.

San Francisco has gotten strong results from its starting pitchers this year, Webb included.  The right-hander has a 4.09 ERA/3.50 SIERA over 44 innings, with a strong 58.7% grounder rate and a strikeout rate (25%) that is slightly above the league average.

Angels Select Kean Wong, Designate Drew Butera

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The Angels selected the contract of infielder Kean Wong prior to today’s game with the Athletics.  Catcher Drew Butera was designated for assignment last night to open up a roster spot.

Wong was in today’s starting lineup, marking his first appearance in an MLB game since the 2019 season.  Wong made his Major League debut that season, appearing in seven total games with the Rays and (after a late-season waiver claim) Angels.  The Giants then claimed Wong off waivers in November 2019, before he returned to Anaheim on a minor league contract this past winter.

A veteran of nine minor league seasons, Wong will add some depth to an Angels infield that lost Jose Iglesias and Franklin Barreto to the injured list.  Wong has spent much of his career as a second and third baseman, but has also gotten playing time as a left fielder and seen a handful of games as a shortstop and corner outfielder.  With Iglesias out and David Fletcher taking over shortstop duties, Wong and Phil Gosselin are likely to combine for an interim second base platoon.  (Wong started at second base for the Halos today.)

Butera was acquired in a minor trade with the Rangers earlier this month, when the Angels were hurting for catching depth due to injuries.  With Max Stassi now on a Triple-A rehab assignment following a concussion, the Halos seem content with Stassi, Kurt Suzuki and Anthony Bemboom as their catching mix, leaving Butera expendable.

If this is it for Butera with the Angels, his 12 games will at least exceed his previous stint with the team — 10 games during the 2015 season.  The well-traveled veteran is in his 12th Major League season, and now may be looking to join his ninth different organization.

Mets Notes: Walker, Diaz, Lugo

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The Mets have activated Taijuan Walker from the injured list, optioning Yennsy Diaz to Triple-A to free up the roster spot, per Tim Healey of Newsday (via Twitter). Walker missed the minimum amount of time with tightness in his side. Walked has excelled in eight starts this season with a 2.05 ERA/2.84 FIP across 44 innings.

Diaz has thrown two scoreless innings in two appearances. He came to the Mets this winter from the Blue Jays as part of the Steven Matz trade. While Diaz was mostly a starter with the Blue Jays, the Mets have thus far used him exclusively out of the pen both in the Majors and in Triple-A.

The Mets also plan to get another arm back soon in Seth Lugo. The Mets plan to activate Lugo when he’s eligible to return on Monday, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (via Twitter). Lugo has been a huge piece of the Mets’ pitching staff over the past five seasons, but arm surgery has kept him from the mound so far this season. Over 167 games (38 starts) since 2016, Lugo has pitched to a 3.45 ERA/3.59 FIP in 383 1/3 innings, notching 25 wins, 32 holds and 12 saves.

Latest Cardinals Roster Moves

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The Cardinals made a number of roster moves today, as reported by MLB.com’s Jeff Jones (Twitter links). Counter to yesterday’s report that Jose Rondon would be released to participate on Venezuela’s Olympic team, Rondon instead has had his contract selected to join the Cardinals’ Major League roster. Rondon last appeared in the Majors in 2019. He owns a .206/.260/.336 line across 290 career plate appearances with the Orioles, Padres, and White Sox.

The Cardinals are adding Rondon as a response to Max Moroff suffering left shoulder subluxation, an injury that will land him on the 10-day injured list. Moroff was just 1-for-16 in six games this season.

In other moves, Junior Fernandez has been recalled from Triple-A, while Johan Oviedo has been optioned to Triple-A, though he will remain with the team on the taxi squad, per the team. Fernandez was just optioned yesterday, but he’s able to re-join the team because of the Moroff injury. The 24-year-old has just two appearances this season covering 3 2/3 innings.

Oviedo, meanwhile, has appeared five times, starting four games. He has posted a 5.40 ERA/6.02 FIP across 20 innings with a 47.4 percent groundball rate, 17.4 percent strikeout rate and 16.3 percent walk rate. The Cardinals will want to see significant improvement from Oviedo in those strikeout and walk rates, though with just 20 innings, we’re still in the small sample size category for the 23 year old.

Padres Recall Aaron Northcraft, Option Nick Ramirez

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The Padres optioned Nick Ramirez after last night’s game, per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). Ramirez tossed a pair of scoreless innings early in the Padres’ 10-3 11-inning win on Friday night. He has made seven appearances on the season allowing six earned run across 10 2/3 innings.

Opting to bring in a fresh arm, Aaron Northcraft has been recalled in Ramirez’s place. The 31-year-old Northcraft made his Major League debut this season, tossing six innings across four outings, allowing just a pair of earned runs. The Padres used seven pitchers to get through yesterday’s game, so Northcraft should be put to use pretty quickly for the Friars.

Pitching depth figures to remain an issue throughout the season, even for a team with as many weapons as San Diego. MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell expects the Padres to explore the trade market for a starter and a lefty solution in the pen before the trade deadline. Until that point (and indeed, even after), the Padres are likely to continue to be aggressive in managing their pitching staff with moves like the one today.

Yankees Place Justin Wilson On 10-Day Injured List, Recall Deivi Garcia

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The Yankees placed Justin Wilson back onto the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain, per the team. Deivi Garcia was recalled to make a spot start for the Yankees.

There could be some long-term opportunity for Garcia to stick in the rotation, given the injury to Corey Kluber. The 21-year-old hasn’t been all that sharp through four starts in Triple-A, however, walking more than 17% of enemy combatants. He has one big league start so far this season, a four-inning outing against the Orioles late in April.

Wilson, meanwhile, was attempting to work through a hamstring issue. Through 15 appearances, however, he was clearly being affected. His 6.08 ERA/6.79 FIP through 13 1/3 innings are far higher than we’ve come to expect from the veteran southpaw. His 19.7 percent strikeout rate would be his lowest such mark for his career.

Another Yankee southpaw is on the comeback trail. Zack Britton is beginning a rehab assignment in Double-A, the team notes. Britton has yet to appear this season. Britton has been a huge piece of the Yankees’ late-game calculus for the past two and a half seasons.

Roster Notes: Bettinger, Burdi, Lakins, Tom, Paredes

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With three doubleheaders around baseball today, we have a number of 27th men getting an opportunity today. Alec Bettinger gets the temporary call-up for the Brewers’ twin bill against the Nationals today, per the team. Bettinger has made three appearances for the Brewers this season, including one start. Elsewhere…

  • The White Sox recalled Zack Burdi to be their 27th man for a double dip against Baltimore today, per the team. Yesterday’s game in Chicago was cancelled due to inclement weather. The 26-year-old tossed three innings against the Red Sox on April 19th, allowing one earned run in his only big-league appearances of the season.
  • On Baltimore’s end, Travis Lakins has been recalled to be the extra man for the day, the team announced. Lakins has been up and down with the big league club this year, and he’ll serve as a right-handed option out of the pen for manager Brandon Hyde. He owns a 7.36 ERA in 14 2/3 innings over 16 appearances.
  • The Pirates reinstated Ka’ai Tom from the injured list today, per the team. He will serve as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader. Tom began the season as a Rule 5 draft pick on the A’s, and as a waiver claim, he maintains that designation with the Pirates. Thus, the Pirates will need to add him to the active roster tomorrow in order to keep him in the organization.
  • In non-doubleheader roster news, the Astros optioned Enoli Paredes to Triple-a today to make room for Jake Odorizzi, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Paredes struggled mightily with his command, issuing 11 walks in just 4 1/3 innings.

Dodgers Activate Cody Bellinger, Zach McKinstry, Option DJ Peters And Sheldon Neuse To Triple-A

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The Dodgers got some good news today as Cody Bellinger and Zach McKinstry have both re-joined the team from the injured list, per MLB.com’s Juan Toribio (via Twitter). DJ Peters and Sheldon Neuse have been optioned to Triple-A to create the necessary roster space.

Bellinger has been out for all but four games of the 2021 season. He suffered a stress fracture of his fibula in the first week of the season. The former MVP had just 21 plate appearances before hitting the injured list. With his return, Chris Taylor can return to a super-utility role.

While the Dodgers are no doubt thrilled to get Bellinger back in the lineup, they haven’t missed a step with Taylor in Bellinger’s place: Taylor has posted a 146 wRC+ this season. The reverberant effects, however, have left the Dodgers a little short-handed at times, leading to the signing of Albert Pujols and continued use of Max Muncy at second base. Muncy has continued to prove himself capable at the keystone. Regardless, the Dodgers will enjoy the options available to them now that Taylor is once again freed up to move around the diamond.

McKinstry, 26, had been perhaps the story of the season for the Dodgers before he, too, went down with an injury. The infielder/outfielder was slashing .296/.328/.556 before landing on the injured list with an oblique strain.

On the whole, the Dodgers have had to flex their tremendous depth early on this season. They’ve done so successfully. With McKinstry and Bellinger back in the fold, they again appear to have perhaps the deepest and most versatile collection of position players in the game.

Peters, 25, will benefit from more regular playing time as he returns to Triple-A. In 34 plate appearances with the parent club, Peters hit .192/.382/.385, good for a 96 wRC+. Neuse, 26, has yet to figure it out at the dish this season, posting a 47 wRC+. Both players figure to find their way back to the bigs at some point this season.

Rockies Place Trevor Story On 10-Day Injured List, Reinstate Matt Adams

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The Rockies have placed shortstop Trevor Story on the 10-day injured list with right elbow inflammation, retroactive to yesterday. Matt Adams has been reinstated from the injured list to take his roster spot, per the team.

Story’s health will now be a top article for the Rockies moving forward. This is an injury he dealt with back in 2018, notes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. There’s plenty of time to get him back into the lineup to prove his health before peak trade season, however. The Rockies, of course, have to consider their trade options for Story, a free agent at the end of the season. His numbers are down a touch thus far with a triple slash line of .255/.322/.424 through 205 plate appearances, though there would still be plenty of interest should the Rockies ultimately decide to deal their franchise player. In the meantime, Brendan Rodgers steps in at short in what could prove to be an audition for the role in the long-term.

Adams, 32, returns to his role primarily as a bopper off the bench. “Big City” hasn’t had much opportunity since slugging 20 home runs for the World Champion Nationals in 2019. He has stepped to the plate just 72 times between this year and last for the Braves and Rockies, respectively. In total, Adams has just two long balls in that span with a .162/.208/.279 slash line.

Lucas Gilbreath has also been recalled to serve as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader, notes Fangraphs’ Roster Resource architect Jason Martinez. The 25-year-old southpaw has an 8.59 ERA over 7 1/3 innings this season, the first Major League action of his career.

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