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Cubs, Dee Strange-Gordon Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Cubs are in agreement with veteran infielder Dee Strange-Gordon on a minor league contract, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). The Rep 1 Baseball client will head to Triple-A Iowa and give the Cubs some additional depth in the infield following last night’s hamstring strain for Nico Hoerner — an injury that could very well send Hoerner back to the injured list.

NBC Sports Chicago’s Gordon Wittenmyer tweets that Hoerner underwent an MRI this morning. Meanwhile, Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register reports that outfield Rafael Ortega is leaving the Cubs’ Iowa affiliate to either join the taxi squad or the big league club, which could serve as further evidence that an IL trip for Hoerner is on the horizon.

Strange-Gordon appeared in 33 games with the Mariners in 2020 but tallied only 82 plate appearances with a dismal .200/.268/.213 batting line. The 33-year-old was a two-time All-Star with the Marlins from 2014-15, when he was among baseball’s most prolific threats on the basepaths, but his base-stealing and overall offensive prowess have taken considerable steps back in the years since.

The Mariners acquired Strange-Gordon from the Marlins with the idea of putting him in center field, but despite his excellent speed Strange-Gordon never seemed to take to the position switch. Seattle moved him back to second base in 2019 after he posted poor defensive numbers in center field during the 2018 campaign.

Strange-Gordon batted .308/.341/.375 with an NL-best 60 steals in 2017, but his three seasons with the Mariners proved forgettable, as he managed only a .266/.293/.343 output. He signed a minor league deal with the Reds over the winter but didn’t land an Opening Day roster spot and was eventually released. He briefly signed with the Brewers organization as well, but Milwaukee went in another direction for its infield needs, acquiring Willy Adames from the Rays. Strange-Gordon was released the next day despite having batted .333/.375/.500 in 10 games and 45 plate appearances with the Brewers’ Triple-A club in Nashville.

NL Injury Notes: Ozuna, Mets, Jazz, Hoerner

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Braves outfielder Marcell Ozuna dislocated two fingers on his left hand during the team’s win over the Red Sox on Tuesday, according to Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe. The Braves aren’t sure whether they’ll have to place Ozuna on the injured list. Ozuna was one of the game’s premier hitters a season ago, leading the Braves to re-sign him to a four-year, $65MM guarantee in free agency, but he has been slow out of the gates in 2021. The 30-year-old has hit a disappointing .213/.288/.356 with seven home runs in 208 plate appearances.

  • The last thing the Mets need is more negative news on the injury front, but here it is: Third baseman J.D. Davis has returned to New York from his Triple-A rehab assignment “to receive treatment on his left hand from our health and performance team, as well as determine next steps,” according to the club (Twitter links via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). Davis, who last played May 1, has inflammation and won’t resume his rehab for at least another few days. He’s one of several notable Mets hitters on the IL, with first baseman Pete Alonso, second baseman Jeff McNeil, and outfielders Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo and Kevin Pillar unavailable as well. They’re also missing outfielder Johneshwy Fargas, who suffered a left AC joint sprain Monday. He’s “week to week” and will go on the IL on Wednesday, per manager Luis Rojas.
  • Marlins second baseman Jazz Chisholm suffered a mild ankle sprain in their loss to the Phillies on Tuesday, manager Don Mattingly told Christina De Nicola of MLB.com and other reporters. “We’ll see where he’s at tomorrow,” Mattingly said of Chisholm, who spent time on the IL earlier this season with a strained left hamstring. When healthy, Chisholm has helped lead the Marlins’ offense this year with a .275/.336/.480 line, five home runs and eight stolen bases across 113 trips to the plate.
  • Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner strained his left hamstring during their victory over the Pirates on Tuesday, Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times was among those to report. Whether that will lead to a trip to the IL remains to be seen, but Hoerner has already been there this season. He sat out earlier this month with a left forearm strain, but the 24-year-old has otherwise enjoyed a productive campaign. Although Hoerner hasn’t homered in any of his 84 PA, he has batted .338/.405/.432.

Cubs Designate Jason Adam For Assignment, Place Matt Duffy On Injured List

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The Cubs have placed infielder Matt Duffy on the 10-day injured list due to a lower back strain and selected the contract of infielder Patrick Wisdom in his place, the team announced to reporters (Twitter link via Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times). In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Wisdom, Chicago has designated right-handed reliever Jason Adam for assignment.

The veteran Duffy, 30, has proven to be one of the best minor league signings any team made this winter. He’s stepped in frequently at third base for the Cubs — Kris Bryant has spent more time in the outfield as a result — and delivered a very solid .278/.378/.356 slash through his first 106 plate appearances.

While he clearly hasn’t hit for much power, Duffy has been a tough strikeout (17 percent), drawn 11 walks (10.4 percent) and gone 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts while playing strong defense. Suffice it to say, he’s been an important piece so far for a Cubs team that, at 24-22, sits one and a half games back in the NL Central.

Adam’s DFA is the culmination of a highly unfortunate sequence. The right-hander was a bright spot in the Chicago bullpen last season and got out to a nice start in 2021. However, he was placed on the Covid-19 list after Chicago’s bullpen coach tested positive, and Adam was shelled for five runs without recording an out in his return. Adam was optioned out to Triple-A Iowa, where he suffered a dislocated ankle while shagging fly-balls prior to a recent minor league game. The injury required surgery that could put an end to his season.

Injured players can’t be placed on outright waivers, so there’s a good chance that Adam’s DFA will ultimately result in the Cubs requesting unconditional release waivers on him. It’s common, but not a given, for players in this situation to quickly re-sign a minor league deal with the organization (as we saw with the Tigers and righty Franklin Perez a couple weeks back).

It’ll be interesting to see whether another club tries to find a way to bring Adam into the fold despite the fact that he may not pitch again in 2021. From 2019-20, he pitched a combined 35 1/3 innings of 3.06 ERA ball between the Blue Jays and Cubs, striking out 26.2 percent of opponents. His 2021 season in Chicago was particularly intriguing, as he punched out a whopping 36.1 percent of his opponents. Adam is something of a Statcast darling, thanks largely to a 99th-percentile spin rate on a four-seamer that has averaged just shy of 95 mph over the past three seasons.

Wisdom, 29, is an experienced Triple-A slugger whose start with the Cubs in 2021 has been a mixed bag. He’s just 4-for-25 in a tiny sample of 34 plate appearances but has slugged three home runs, hit a double, drawn six walks and been plunked by a pair of pitches. The resulting .160/.353/.560 slash is rather unusual, but he’s a career .250/.329/.479 hitter in parts of five Triple-A seasons. He’s homered four times in 88 MLB plate appearances but has an overall .219/.299/.397 batting line with a massive 38.6 percent strikeout rate.

Injury Notes: Contreras, Springer, Dozier

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The Cubs’ 2-1 victory over the Cardinals last night came with some pain for Willson Contreras, as the backstop was hit in the wrist while trying to catch a pitch from Craig Kimbrel in the 10th inning.  Contreras remained in the game after being checked out by trainers, though Cubs manager David Ross told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian) that he initially was worried that Contreras had broken his wrist.

While it seems like the worst has been avoided, Contreras could quite possibly sit out Chicago’s next game (on Tuesday against the Pirates) for precautionary reasons, and an injured-list trip probably shouldn’t be ruled out given the vagaries of wrist injuries.  This would create a vacuum behind the plate for the Cubs, as normal backup Austin Romine is on the 60-day IL due to a sprained wrist.  Rookie P.J. Higgins is current acting as Contreras’ backup, and veterans Tony Wolters and Jose Lobaton are at Triple-A but not on the 40-man roster — Wolters was only just outrighted off the 40-man on Saturday.

More on other injury situations from around baseball..

  • There isn’t much new on George Springer’s status, as Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo told reporters (including Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith) that Springer is “improving” but there isn’t yet any sense of when the outfielder might begin a rehab assignment or be ready to rejoin the lineup.  Springer is, however, accompanying the Jays on their upcoming road trip.  Due to an oblique strain and a pair of quad strains, Springer has played in only four games for Toronto this season.
  • The Royals moved Hunter Dozier from the seven-day concussion IL to the regular 10-day IL, which could be a hint that he is nearing a return to the lineup.  Dozier went to the seven-day IL on May 14 after a collision with Jose Abreu on the basepaths, so he has already been absent for the minimum 10 days and could be activated as early as tomorrow, when the Royals begin a series against the Rays.  Dozier has already played in two Triple-A rehab games.  Over 124 plate appearances this season, Dozier has yet to get going, as he has hit only .139/.202/.339 with five homers.

Cubs Outright Tony Wolters

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Cubs catcher Tony Wolters has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Iowa, per his transactions log at MLB.com. Chicago designated the 28-year-old for assignment earlier this week when they selected the contract of fellow backstop P.J. Higgins.

Having already been outrighted earlier this season, Wolters had the right to elect free agency after passing through waivers unclaimed. However, he’s decided to accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Iowa, where he’s listed on the active roster.

Wolters spent his entire MLB career prior to this season with the Rockies, working as Colorado’s primary catcher for a good portion of the 2016-20 seasons. The Rockies non-tendered him last November and he later hooked on with the Pirates on a minor league deal. After failing to crack Pittsburgh’s Opening Day roster, Wolters opted out and signed with the Cubs, where he’s picked up 30 MLB plate appearances so far in 2021.

The left-handed hitting Wolters has never made much of an impact at the plate. He’s generally regarded as a solid receiver and leader of a pitching staff, though, and he has cut down an impressive 30.7% of attempted base stealers at the big league level. Wolters will give the Cubs a quality defensive option as high minors depth.

Cubs’ Jason Adam Undergoes Ankle Surgery

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Cubs reliever Jason Adam underwent surgery to repair a dislocated left ankle last night, Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times was among those to note (Twitter link). Adam, who has been at Triple-A Iowa, went down awkwardly while shagging balls during batting practice before yesterday’s minor league game. The injury was severe enough he had to be taken by ambulance to a local hospital, writes Gordon Wittenmeyer of NBC Sports Chicago.

The Cubs didn’t provide a timetable for Adam’s potential return, but given the circumstances of the injury, it’d be a surprise if he weren’t out of action for a long while. It’s a difficult blow for the 29-year-old, who had been hoping to pitch his way back into the major league bullpen after a tough start to the year. Adam allowed seven runs in 7 2/3 MLB innings this season, a disappointing follow-up to a 2020 season in which he tossed 13 2/3 frames of 3.29 ERA/3.45 SIERA ball.

Adam has shown the ability to miss plenty of bats at the game’s highest level, but he’s been plagued by control issues. He’s currently on Chicago’s 40-man roster, but it seems likely he’ll wind up being placed on the 60-day injured list when the need for a 40-man spot arises.

The Best Minor League Deals Of 2021 (So Far): Position Players

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Minor league contracts don’t generally draw much of a reaction over the course of a baseball offseason, with some rare exceptions. Everyone loves to see an out-of-the-blue comeback story on a non-guaranteed arrangement, but most minor league deals of any note are injured veterans, struggling former prospects or fringe big leaguers who have never really solidified their status as a contributor at the game’s top level. Every year, however, a handful of these no-risk investments produce solid returns.

We’re about a quarter through the 2021 season, so let’s check in on a handful of non-guaranteed pacts that have already proven to be wise investments for their clubs.

  1. Tyler Naquin, OF, Reds: Naquin’s signing was met with a collective yawn, but one Ohio club’s leftovers have turned into another’s treasure. The former Indians first-rounder has mashed his way into a regular role in Cincinnati, raking at a .265/.346/.530 clip through 133 plate appearances. Naquin parlayed a strong spring and a March injury to Shogo Akiyama into an Opening Day roster spot, but he’s now fourth on the team in plate appearances and third in wRC+ at 135 (min. 20 PAs). He’s hitting so much better than struggling center fielder Nick Senzel that Cincinnati hasn’t hesitated to move Senzel to the infield in the wake of Joey Votto’s injury, creating more playing time for Naquin. This doesn’t appear to be a mere small-sample fluke, either. Naquin ranks in the 95th percentile of MLB hitters in average exit velocity and has similarly strong percentile rankings in hard-hit rate (84th), xwOBA (89th), xSLG (93rd) and barrel rate (90th). He’s also controlled through the 2022 season via arbitration. For an Indians club that has gotten virtually no production from its outfield over the past two seasons, watching Naquin’s start in 2021 has to sting, even if they’re happy for their former prospect on a personal level.
  2. C.J. Cron, 1B, Rockies: Cron’s ability to hit hasn’t really been in question since his 2014 MLB debut, but injuries have dogged him in recent years. Fresh off a season-ending knee surgery in 2020, Cron inked a non-guaranteed pact with the Rockies, made the club out of Spring Training and has unsurprisingly emerged as their primary first baseman. He’s out to an excellent start, hitting .300/.397/.500 in 116 plate appearances. Cron missed 10 days with a back strain and, unlike Naquin, is a free agent at season’s end, so he didn’t grab the top spot on this list. Still, he’s been a bright spot for the Rockies and could give them a summer trade chip if he can stay healthy. It’s still somewhat puzzling that the Tigers didn’t bring him back, given how poorly things have gone at first base in Detroit, but perhaps Cron simply liked the opportunity presented in Colorado better.
  3. Matt Duffy, 3B, Cubs: Duffy began with his MLB career with a stellar year for the 2015 Giants, in which he hit .295/.334/.428 and finished second behind current teammate Kris Bryant in NL Rookie of the Year voting. He never really followed up on that debut effort, though, as underperformance and injuries knocked him off track over the next two seasons. Duffy rebounded to play fairly well with the Rays in 2018 but wound up released after a difficult 2019 campaign. The veteran infielder spent 2020 at the Yankees alternate training site. This offseason, Duffy attracted interest from a few clubs in a coaching and/or front office capacity, but the Cubs offered him a chance to reinvigorate his playing career and have been rewarded for doing so. Duffy made the Opening Day roster and has come out with a .281/.375/.360 line over his first 104 plate appearances, his top offensive output since the aforementioned rookie season. The right-handed hitter isn’t a power threat, but he’s an above-average defensive third baseman with a good approach who makes plenty of contact. Duffy solidifying the hot corner has allowed Bryant to help out an otherwise shaky, inconsistent outfield.
  4. Jed Lowrie, 2B, Athletics: There’s something about Lowrie and the A’s that just clicks every time he dons the green and gold. In his third stint with the team after missing practically all of the 2019-20 seasons as a Met, Lowrie is improbably hitting .254/.329/.394 through 158 plate appearances. With offense down around the league and a cavernous home park, that’s good for a healthy 108 wRC+. The veteran switch-hitter’s bat has cooled since a torrid start to the season, but the early return on his no-risk minor league pact has been strong.
  5. Charlie Culberson, INF/OF, Rangers: A popular utility player wherever he goes, Culberson is well on his way to endearing himself to the Rangers’ fanbase. Through his first 97 plate appearances, the 32-year-old is hitting .264/.316/.429 with three homers. Culberson has made one-off appearances at second base, shortstop and in left field, but the bulk of his playing time has come at third base.
  6. Pablo Sandoval, INF, Braves: Atlanta fans might’ve groaned when the Braves brought the Panda back on another minor league deal, but Sandoval has thrived as a pinch-hitter and seldom-used bench bat. Sandoval has come to the plate as a pinch-hitter 26 times and homered in four of those plate appearances. On the whole, he’s hitting .250/.372/.583 through 43 plate appearances. No one expects the former All-Star to continue at this pace, and you can certainly argue that since Sandoval is effectively a dedicated pinch-hitter, this isn’t an ideal use of a roster spot. Still, it’s hard to argue with four pinch-hit dingers, and we’re talking about minor league deals here, after all.

We’ll check in on this year’s crop of minor league signees a few months from now, as it’s quite likely that we’ll see the tides turn on some of these (and other) contracts. A hot streak from Travis Shaw in Milwaukee could quickly make his deal look all the more prudent, and Connor Joe is out to a hot start with the Rox in a return from last year’s cancer diagnosis, which is a feel-good story in and of itself. At least through the season’s 25 percent mark, however, this group of bats is paying dividends for the teams that rolled the dice.

Hoyer: No Current Extension Talks With Cubs’ Core Players

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The core of the Cubs’ 2016 World Series club is nearing the end of its tenure in Chicago, and president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Thursday that there are no current extension talks with any members of that core (Twitter link via 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine). Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Javier Baez are all slated to become free agents at season’s end, while catcher Willson Contreras hits the market following the 2022 season.

For much of the offseason, talk around Bryant was focused on whether he’d even make it to Opening Day. The fact that former Rookie of the Year and NL MVP had a dismal 2020 season likely helped keep him in Chicago, as last summer’s struggles paired with a hefty arbitration raise to sap much of his trade value.

A quarter of the way through the 2021 season, the pendulum has swung in the other direction. While the entire league seems to be plagued with anemic offensive performances, Bryant is better than ever. Through his first 167 trips to the plate, he’s raking at a .301/.401/.615 pace with 10 homers, 14 doubles and a pair of stolen bases. He’s even doing so while splitting his time between third base and all three outfield positions, showing off plenty of defensive versatility.

Rizzo is also in the midst of a resurgent campaign, having increased his average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage over last year’s levels. He’s still not back to peak form, but a .250/.361/.443 slash is solid — particularly in the aforementioned era of strikeouts and near-weekly no-hitters. Rizzo is a rarity in 2021, having walked at a higher clip (14.8 percent) than he’s struck out (12.4 percent). The Cubs reportedly offered him an extension in the vicinity of five years and $70MM back in Spring Training, which checks in at about $60MM shy of the $130MM commitment the division-rival Cardinals made to Paul Goldschmidt. That deal began in Goldschmidt’s age-32 season — the same age at which Rizzo will play in 2022.

Baez, meanwhile, is enjoying a more productive season than he did in 2020, albeit with plenty of red flags. He’s raised his slash line across the board but is now striking out at a 37.2 percent clip that represents the highest non-rookie mark of his career. Even though he’s raised his average 60 points over its 2020 level, Baez’s OBP is still resting just shy of .300. He’s batting .263/.299/.526 on the whole, which is certainly sound production, but he’s needed career-highs in BABIP (.351) and homer-to-flyball ratio (32.3 percent) in order to get there. If either of those two marks regresses or his strikeouts continue to tick up, Baez’s 2.7 percent walk rate will become all the more glaring.

Contreras, the only one of the group controlled beyond the current season, is hitting .254/.349/.462, continuing a lengthy run as one of the game’s best-hitting backstops. That he’s controlled into 2022 puts a bit less of a spotlight on him, but there were some trade rumblings surrounding Contreras over the winter.

At 21-21, the Cubs needn’t yet entertain the idea of any sort of broad-reaching fire sale. They’re still just 3.5 games back of the Cardinals in the NL Central and very much in the mix as of mid-May. Should they wilt in the coming months, any of the impending free agents would make for a plausible trade candidate. There would of course be PR implications to consider with dealing from that group, but an unavoidable reality; even if the Cubs hold onto everyone through season’s end, they’ll eventually have to bid adieu to at least one, if not two or all three of Bryant, Rizzo and Baez in free agency. For now, the hope is likely that the group puts together a big showing over the next two months, positioning the Cubs as division favorites and deadline buyers.

The more interesting scenario to consider, though, will be what the Cubs will do if they’re still in precisely this spot come mid-July. A Cubs team hovering at .500, give or take a couple games, would have to weigh two sides of a difficult dilemma. Make one final run with an offensive core that really hasn’t gotten it done in October since that World Series victory, or sell off some of the most iconic players in recent franchise history? The former route could leave the Cubs with little to show in terms of compensation for a core that won’t stay intact. The latter route would be tantamount to waving a white flag while still in striking distance of a postseason bid while turning the page on a historic era of Cubs baseball.

Hoyer, it should be noted, did make clear that the Cubs maintain an “open-door” policy and aren’t ruling out future negotiations. But Rizzo said earlier this year that he’d made his peace with the lack of an extension, while Bryant has never seemed all that likely to sign before free agency. They’ve talked with Baez for the past two to three seasons without a deal ever coming together. Generally speaking, the expectation of a deal for any of the bunch coming together before free agency (save for perhaps Contreras this offseason) should be low.

Cubs DFA Tony Wolters, Select P.J. Higgins

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The Cubs made a change at their backup catcher spot today, selecting P.J. Higgins from Triple-A and designating veteran Tony Wolters for assignment, per Jordan Bastian of MLB.com (via Twitter).

Higgins joined the Cubs as a 12th-round pick in 2015, and he hasn’t yet played in the majors. The 28-year-old has batted .273/.359/.370 with 21 home runs in 2,014 minor league plate appearances. He’ll take over as the Cubs’ backup catcher behind Willson Contreras.

Wolters, 28, signed a minor league contract with the Cubs in March. The former Rockie opened this season with a .125/.276/.125 line in 30 trips to the plate before the Cubs designated him. He’s a lifetime .236/.322/.315 batter with seven HRs in 1,262 PA in the bigs.

Mets Acquire Cameron Maybin

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4:56pm: The Mets gave up a dollar for Maybin, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Cubs weren’t going to prevent Maybin from getting another major league opportunity, which he should soon receive with the Mets.

4:07pm: The Mets have acquired outfielder Cameron Maybin from the Cubs, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. The Cubs will receive cash in return, according to Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News.

Maybin will provide some much-needed depth to a New York outfield that is dealing with some key injuries. The club placed Kevin Pillar on the IL on Monday as a result of multiple nasal fractures. The Mets are also without Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo, among other outfield-capable members of their lineup.

Maybin, now 34 years old, has seen action with nine major league teams since the Tigers chose him 10th overall in the 2005 draft. He has hit .256/.324/.376 with 72 home runs and 186 stolen bases in 4,218 plate appearances, but he put up a worse .247/.308/.387 line with one HR over 101 PA between the Cubs and Tigers a season ago. The Cubs re-signed Maybin to a minor league contract in the offseason, and he batted .103/.186/.205 in 43 trips to the plate with their Triple-A affiliate prior to the trade.

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