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MRI Reveals No UCL Damage For Reds’ Tejay Antone

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JUNE 27: In encouraging news, Antone told reporters (including Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer and C. Trent Rosecrans of the Athletic) that an MRI revealed no damage to his UCL. The righty suggested he’s targeting a return immediately after the All-Star break, although he’ll be shut down from throwing for the moment.

JUNE 26: The Reds announced that right-hander Tejay Antone has been placed on the 10-day IL due to a right forearm strain.  Left-hander Cionel Perez was recalled from Triple-A Louisville in the corresponding move.

Antone only just returned earlier this week from an 11-day stint on the injured list due to inflammation in that same forearm.  It certainly isn’t a good sign that the righty is so quickly headed back to the IL with what looks like an even more serious forearm issue, especially since Antone already has a Tommy John surgery in his health history.  It certainly looks like Antone will miss more than just a minimal amount of time with his latest injury, as the Reds will want to be as cautious as possible in avoiding any more serious damage.

In part because of that earlier TJ procedure that wiped out his 2017 season, Antone didn’t make his Major League debut until 2020, but he has made up for lost time with some impressive numbers.  Over 69 innings in the big leagues, Antone has a 2.22 ERA/3.32 SIERA, 32.5% strikeout rate, and 48% grounder rate.  While a .194 BABIP has helped minimize the damage from all those ground balls, Antone also isn’t allowing much hard contact.

There was some speculation in Spring Training that Antone could win a rotation job, though a minor hip injury scuttled that idea and placed him in the Reds’ bullpen.  It ended up working out for the best, given that Antone has been more or less the only consistent arm in a very shaky Cincinnati relief corps.  Even with Antone’ s 1.60 ERA over 33 2/3 relief innings this season, the Reds bullpen ranks last in the majors in ERA.  Assuming Antone misses a noteworthy amount of time recovering from this forearm strain, it will put even more pressure on the Reds’ front office to land some bullpen help before the July 30 trade deadline.

Reds Option Cionel Perez, Activate Wade Miley

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The Reds have optioned Cionel Perez to Triple-A to make way for the activation of Wade Miley from the injured list, per the Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans (via Twitter). Miley will start today’s game against the Phillies.

Miley has been out just the minimum amount of time because of a foot sprain. His last two outings were his shortest of the season coming on the heels of no-hitting the Indians on May 7th. The veteran lefty has a 3.50 ERA/3.20 FIP in eight starts this season totaling 43 2/3 innings.

Perez has struggled through 17 appearances. The former Astro currently owns a 7.47 ERA/5.99 FIP in 15 2/3 innings of work. Control has been a problem for Perez with an untenable 20.5 percent walk rate. Amir Garrett and Sean Doolittle are the only southpaws left in the Reds’ bullpen.

Reds Select Heath Hembree

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The Reds announced Friday that they’ve selected the contract of veteran right-hander Heath Hembree from their alternate training site and recalled righty Ryan Hendrix for his big league debut. Infielder Max Schrock and southpaw Cionel Perez were optioned in a pair of corresponding moves (Schrock to the alternate site and Perez to the taxi squad).

Hembree, 32, has spent the vast majority of his career with the Red Sox, for whom he pitched from 2014-20. In parts of seven seasons with Boston, the righty pitched to a 3.70 ERA with a 24.2 percent strikeout rate and an 8.6 percent walk rate. The Red Sox traded him and former teammate Brandon Workman to the Phillies prior to the 2020 trade deadline as part of the deal that sent Nick Pivetta to Boston. Hembree’s time in Philadelphia didn’t go well, however, as was the case for just about every Phillies reliever in 2020. In 9 1/3 innings, he was clobbered for 13 runs on the strength of an alarming seven homers.

That ugly showing notwithstanding, Hembree has a solid track record in the big leagues and enjoyed better results in Spring Training, when he allowed just one run in 7 2/3 frames. The six walks he issued in that time were still an eyesore, but while his control has never been elite, Hembree’s career walk rate has hovered around the league average.

As for the 26-year-old Hendrix, he was Cincinnati’s fifth-round pick back in 2016 and ranked among the organization’s top 30 prospects from 2018-20, per Baseball America. He’s yet to pitch in Triple-A thanks to last year’s lack of a minor league season, but Hendrix has had success at each minor league stop he’s made. Through 172 2/3 frames in the minors, he’s logged a combined 2.55 ERA with an excellent 32.2 percent strikeout rate against a fairly bloated 10.5 percent walk rate. Scouting reports at BA and FanGraphs credit him with a mid-90s heater and a plus slider.

Reds Do Not Have Fourth Option On Aristides Aquino

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An arbiter ruled this week that Reds outfielder Aristides Aquino is out of minor league options, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic tweets. The team was granted a fourth option on lefty Cionel Perez and righty Jose De Leon.

The ruling on the trio of Reds players is the latest in an increasingly wide-reaching swath of players who were in limbo with regard to their option status in 2021. Players typically have three minor league options, but a fourth option year can be granted to teams in the case of players who use all of their options before completing five “full” seasons. A “full” season, per the league, requires a player to spend 90 days on an active roster (not the injured list) at either the big  league or minor league level. Because last year’s season was shortened to 60 games in a 67-day span, there was some uncertainty regarding a number of players.

Aquino’s option status looked to be straightforward at first glance. He was optioned in 2017, 2018 and 2020, spending more than 20 days in the minor leagues in each season. However, as Doug Gray covered at RedlegNation.com earlier this spring, the Reds did not list him as out of options on their spring media guides and believed there to be a case, based on missed playing time throughout his career, that he could be the recipient of a fourth option. MLB’s arbiter, it seems, did not agree.

The result now is that the Reds will either have to carry Aquino on the Opening Day roster or else trade him or attempt to pass him through outright waivers, at which point any of the 29 other clubs could place a claim. It’s something of a tricky situation for the Reds, as there’s no path to a starting role with Jesse Winker, Nick Senzel and Nick Castellanos lined up from left to right. Aquino isn’t a center fielder, so he’s not an ideal fourth outfielder. Even if Aquino could handle center, Shogo Akiyama is expected back before too long, which would push Aquino further down the depth chart.

Aquino caught all of baseball’s attention in 2019 when he turned in one of the best debut months in recent memory. Called up on Aug. 1, Aquino turned in a preposterous .320/.391/.767 slash with 14 home runs through his first 115 plate appearances. Having emerged from relative obscurity, he suddenly looked like a potential everyday outfield option for the Reds. But the month of September was nearly as bad as August was good; in 110 plate appearances Aquino batted .196/.236/.382 with a 30.9 percent strikeout rate. The Reds added both Castellanos and Akiyama the following winter, and Aquino’s path to playing time was suddenly blocked.

The Reds still managed to get Aquino 56 plate appearances last year, but he hit just .170/.304/.319 in that time. All told, dating back to September 2019, Aquino has slashed just .188/.259/.362 with a 31.3 percent strikeout rate. There’s obvious power in his bat, but it’s also hard to overlook the fact that Aquino’s massive power spike came in a 2019 season marred by controversy surrounding what most believe was a juiced baseball in both Triple-A and the Majors. Aquino hit 47 long balls in 134 games between Louisville and Cincinnati that year, but he’d never previously topped 23 dingers in a single season of games.

Now, absent a fourth option year, the Reds are left with a week’s time to determine whether Aquino will make the roster or be made available to other clubs via trade or waivers. Even if he does make the roster, Akiyama’s looming return will cloud his future with the club. Aquino is hitting .241/.353/.448 with four doubles, a triple and no homers in 34 plate appearances this spring. He’s punched out eight times.

As for De Leon and Perez, they’ll be able to be optioned between Louisville and Cincinnati this year, giving the Reds some additional depth in the ’pen and perhaps the rotation. De Leon was once one of baseball’s premier pitching prospects, but he’s bounced between three teams now and undergone Tommy John surgery along the way. He’s pitched just 66 innings in a pro game over the past three years. Perez was acquired from the Astros over the winter and worked as a starter in the minors with Houston, but all 20 of his MLB appearances have come out of the bullpen.

Reds Acquire Cionel Perez From Astros

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The Reds have acquired left-hander Cionel Perez in a trade with the Astros, as officially announced on the Reds’ Twitter feed.  Houston will pick up minor league catcher Luke Berryhill in their end of the swap.

The move opens up a 40-man roster spot for the Astros, so the Michael Brantley signing could be officially announced at any moment.  For the second time in two days, the Reds picked up a reliever from a team looking to clear a 40-man spot, after Cincinnati acquired Hector Perez from the Blue Jays so Toronto could accommodate George Springer (whose deal is now official) on the roster.

Perez, 24, has pitched in each of the last three seasons, amassing a 5.74 ERA, 23.1K% and 10.3K-BB% over 26 2/3 career innings as a big leaguer.  Armed with a mid-90s fastball, Perez misses his fair share of bats but control has been an issue — particularly in 2020, when he issued six walks in just 6 1/3 innings of work.  He was a fairly high-profile international signing out of Cuba back in December 2016, but didn’t get much of a consistent look in Houston, as the Astros frequently shuttled Perez back and forth between their active roster and Triple-A (or to the alternate training site, in 2020).

While a small sample size, Perez has been significantly better against left-handed batters (.630 OPS in 39 PA) over his MLB career than against righty swingers (.825 OPS in 78 PA).  The three-batter rule will prevent the Reds from utilizing him as a true lefty specialist, but he does provide some southpaw depth for a Cincinnati team that is heavy in right-handed pitching.  Amir Garrett is the only other left-handed reliever on the Reds’ 40-man roster, so opportunity exists for Perez to win a job in Spring Training.

The Reds selected Berryhill in the 13th round of the 2019 draft.  A product of the University of South Carolina, Berryhill’s professional career thus far consists of only 32 Rookie League plate appearances in 2019, as the minor league shutdown last season kept Berryhill off the field.

Lance McCullers Jr. Placed On 10-Day Injured List

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TODAY: The procedure Baker mentioned was “a mild anti-inflammatory injection to alleviate nerve irritation in [McCullers’] neck,” according to Rome.

SEPT. 8: McCullers “had some procedure done” on his neck, manager Dusty Baker announced (via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle). The surgery repaired “95 to 98 percent of whatever discomfort he was feeling,” according to Baker, though it’s still unknown when McCullers will return.

SEPT. 6: The Astros have placed right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. on the 10-day injured list due to neck nerve irritation, reports Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Beyond the requisite 10 days on the IL, a timeline for McCullers’s return is unclear. Southpaw Cionel Perez was recalled from the taxi squad to join the active roster.

McCullers pitched Friday against the Angels, failing to record an out and exiting the game after facing just five batters. He walked three Angels hitters and conceded three runs, but stated after the game that his struggles weren’t due to injury.

While we don’t know precisely how long the Astros expect McCullers to be shelved, any injury to an already-thin Houston pitching staff is a significant one. The team has been without ace Justin Verlander for practically the entire season, and Jose Urquidy has only just returned from a bout with COVID-19. As such, Houston has had to rely on inexperienced starters like Cristian Javier, Framber Valdez, and Brandon Bielak.

McCullers, for his part, has had an up-and-down campaign in his return from Tommy John surgery, which cost him all of last year. There’s been a mix of good starts and bad starts, but the numbers indicate for the most part that the 26-year-old is not quite back to the form that earned him an All-Star nod in 2017.

While he’s been known as a strikeout pitcher for his entire career, he’s averaging only 7.7 K/9 in 2020.  McCullers’ sinker velocity is down ever so slightly from previous years, but the more glaring disparity is in his sinker’s spin rate, which has taken a considerable hit from where it was two years ago. That, along with decreased curveball usage (at 35%, he’s throwing the curveball less than ever), has made it more difficult to generate whiffs.

Yordan Alvarez, Jose Urquidy, Cionel Perez Cleared To Resume Training

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The Astros finally got a roster break today. Young slugger Yordan Alvarez, righty Jose Urquidy, and southpaw Cionel Perez have all been cleared to resume training with the club, as Jake Kaplan of The Athletic was among those to cover on Twitter.

While they’re now able to get back to action, the trio will obviously not be ready to jump right onto the active roster. All will report to the team’s alternative training site to get back up to full speed.

It’s especially encouraging to see Alvarez, the reigning American League Rookie of the Year, returning to action. He had previously dealt with some knee issues, but the young slugger has now had ample rest.

The ’Stros will also be anxious to get Urquidy back. He emerged late last year as a key piece of the rotation. Perez has struggled with the long ball in his own MLB opportunities, but remains a potentially useful swingman.

Astros Place Yordan Alvarez, Jose Urquidy On Injured List

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4:22pm: James is back with the team, per Mark Berman of Fox 26. He was away from camp because he was awaiting the birth of his second child, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com was among those to report.

3:27pm: The Astros have placed five players on the injured list, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports. 2019 Rookie of the Year Yordan Alvarez, right-handers Jose Urquidy, Shawn Dubin and Ralph Garza, and lefty Cionel Perez have all been shelved, though it’s not clear why in any of those cases. Rome tweets that Alvarez and Urquidy haven’t been present for the week-plus of Summer Camp to date, and manager Dusty Baker has attributed their absence to a “condition that prevents them from reporting to the field.”

Many teams throughout the league have had varying degrees of difficulty with regard to coronavirus testing delays, but it’s been a frequent issue for the Astros. Houston canceled last Monday’s workouts entirely, had no pitchers on hand yesterday and saw Alex Bregman miss a workout late last week due to delays in his test results.

As for Alvarez and Urquidy, their absence to date is especially troubling in its own right. That promising young pair’s health and well-being is of course the most important issue, but their importance to the club’s success can’t be understated, either. Alvarez immediately broke out as one of the league’s most feared bats last year when he hit .313/.412/.655 with 27 homers in just 369 plate appearances. Urquidy was all but assured a rotation spot behind Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke and Lance McCullers Jr., having pitched to a 3.95 ERA (3.68 FIP) with a 40-to-7 K/BB ratio in 41 innings last year.

The Astros were already thin in the rotation behind those top three names, and McCullers carries some uncertainty himself, as this will be his first action back after 2018 Tommy John surgery. Urquidy’s absence could further create openings for some combination of Brad Peacock, Austin Pruitt and Framber Valdez on the starting staff. Right-hander Josh James has not yet reported to Summer Camp.

Astros Promote Kyle Tucker

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Top outfield prospect Kyle Tucker will headline the Astros’ September call-ups, per Jake Kaplan of The Athletic (Twitter links). He’ll be joined by catcher Garrett Stubbs and left-hander Cionel Perez at the big league level today. Infielder/outfielder Myles Straw could be recalled later this week, too, once he’s met the 10-day minimum requirement for an optional assignment.

This won’t be the big league debut for Tucker, who ascended to the Majors as a 21-year-old in 2018. Tucker tallied only 72 plate appearances last season, though, and didn’t immediately distinguish himself in the sparse playing time he was allotted. He’s had another strong showing in Triple-A this season — albeit not as strong as last season’s .332/.400/.590 output through 100 games. That said, Tucker did recently polish off a 30-30 season with Round Rock; through 536 plate appearances this season he batted .266/.354/.555 with 34 long balls and 30 steals.

Tucker, 22, ranked inside the top 20 prospects in Major League Baseball on the midseason rankings of Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, Fangraphs, MLB.com and ESPN. He’s widely regarded as a potentially plus hitter with plus raw power who can cover enough ground in the outfield to play any of the three slots — though right field is typically believed to be his best position.

Houston’s outfield mix is crowded with Michael Brantley, George Springer, Josh Reddick and Jake Marisnick all in the fold, but Tucker should get some opportunities to showcase himself as a potential long-term piece in that outfield rotation and, perhaps, for a playoff roster spot. Each of Brantley, Springer, Reddick and Marisnick is signed or controlled through 2020, so there’s no immediate opening for next season unless the club makes some type of outfield move in the offseason. However, president of baseball operations Jeff Luhnow has steadfastly declined to include Tucker in trade proposals for the past two years, suggesting that Tucker is indeed viewed as a likely building block for the ’Stros.

Looking to the other call-ups, Stubbs will give the Astros a bit of depth behind the dish, joining Robinson Chirinos and Martin Maldonado as a third option. The 26-year-old also has a bit of outfield experience but isn’t likely to factor into that equation much — if at all. He batted .240/.332/.397 in 235 plate appearances with Round Rock this season. The 23-year-old Perez, like most pitchers, struggled in this season’s high-octane offensive environment in Triple-A, working to a 5.36 ERA with 8.2 K/9, 4.6 BB/9, 1.15 HR/9 and a 53.2 percent ground-ball rate in 47 innings. Houston doesn’t currently have a left-hander in the ’pen, so despite the fact that Perez has missed time with a forearm issue, he’ll join the club and give manager A.J. Hinch an option. Straw, 24, has batted .233/.353/.291 in 103 plate appearances with the Astros in 2019 and hit .322/.393/.396 with a homer and 19 steals in 309 Triple-A plate appearances.

Astros Option Corbin Martin

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5:12pm: The Astros announced that they’ve optioned Martin to Triple-A. It’s not clear who’ll step into his spot in the rotation, as the corresponding move was the recall of lefty reliever Reymin Guduan. As The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan points out (via Twitter), they’ll need a fifth starter on Saturday but can get through the next turn in the rotation with only four starters due to an off day next week.

11:05am: Though the Astros aren’t committing to a rotation change just yet, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle writes that one may not be far off. Corbin Martin has not made it past the fourth inning since his debut outing.

Martin’s first showing was a good one. But in his four intervening starts, he has allowed 10 earned runs on 20 hits with a 10:11 K/BB ratio in 14 innings.

The ’Stros are showing a fair bit of patience, but obviously won’t be satisfied with these sorts of results. Martin has struggled to get ahead of hitters, keep his pitch count down, and stay in the zone. And though the organization can afford some added audition time with a nine-game division lead, it also will be wary of tempting fate while several of its best players are on the injured list.

Skipper A.J. Hinch affirmed that the organization believes in Martin as a long-term option, citing his stuff and “mentality” as reasons for a “really good” long-term outlook. But Hinch says that for Martin “to stay in the rotation and be effective, not just for the foreseeable future but his entire career, it’s important for him to mix in some good outings and make sure he can get us deep in games.” Whether Martin will get one more chance to turn the corner remains to be seen.

The ’Stros certainly have alternatives. Collin McHugh would be an obvious choice, though he’s on the IL. Josh James, Framber Valdez, and Brady Rodgers could all slide over from the bullpen. It’d certainly be easy enough for the team to piggyback a few of those pitchers to get the length needed for a game or two, perhaps allowing one or more pitchers to stretch out fully on the fly.

Looking down on the farm, there are two 40-man starters — Cionel Perez and Rogelio Armenteros — camped out at Triple-A. Neither has been particularly impressive to this point of the season, at least in terms of earned runs, though both have swing and miss capabilities. It might have been hoped that top prospect Forrest Whitley would be ready for a taste of the big leagues, but he has been hammered early on at Round Rock and doesn’t seem likely to be tapped in the near future.

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