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Outrighted: Martini, Minaya

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The latest outrights from around Major League Baseball:

  • Cubs outfielder Nick Martini has accepted an assignment to Triple-A Iowa after clearing waivers, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune was among those to report. Martini – who signed a minor league contract with the Cubs in the offseason – earned a promotion in early May but went just 1-for-12 in the bigs before they designated him for assignment last week. The 30-year-old former Athletic and Padre has enjoyed some success in the majors, though, as shown by his .261/.363/.366 line across 303 plate appearances.
  • Righty Juan Minaya will stay with the Twins after accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A St. Paul, Dan Hayes of The Athletic tweets. The club designated Minaya over the weekend after he yielded three earned runs on five hits (including two homers) and put up four strikeouts against three walks in 6 1/3 innings. It was the first major league action for the 30-year-old since his run with the White Sox from 2016-19. He joined the Twins on a minors pact over the winter.

Cubs Notes: Kimbrel, Baez, Pederson

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The Cubs have been a frequent topic of conversation this year (and the last couple) when it comes to the trade market. If they continue to be competitive, it’s certainly difficult to imagine a sell-off of their big brand stars. One interesting suggestion making the rounds (most recently from Jesse Rogers on ESPN) is that Chicago could continue to walk-the-line between short-and-long-term planning by trading star closer Craig Kimbrel. With Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin, and Tommy Nance providing good work out of the pen, the Cubs could conceivably back-fill the closer spot while adding to the farm system.

There would certainly be interest in Kimbrel, who appears back to his old self. The 33-year-old has locked down 14 saves in 24 appearances with a 0.75 ERA/1.27 FIP, stellar 45.1 percent strikeout rate, and much-improved 8.8 percent walk rate, his lowest such mark since 2017. He’ll be a name to watch, but for now, Kimbrel’s not going anywhere. The Cubs are more focused on getting healthy. On that front…

  • Javier Baez buzzed his right hand hitting the ball off the end of the bat in San Francisco. His wrist, hand, and thumb were sore. He will be looked at further when the team arrives in San Diego, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian (via Twitter). It does not sound like a significant injury, which is good for the Cubs, as they’re already a little short-handed in the infield with David Bote, Nico Hoerner, and Matt Duffy on the injured list. Sergio Alcantara and Eric Sogard will have to stand in at shortstop if Baez misses any time.
  • Joc Pederson is also day-to-day after tweaking his back, per MLB.com. Pederson left Saturday’s game in San Francisco after running into the wall on an Alex Dickerson home run. Rafael Ortega has been seeing playing time in the outfield for the past couple of days.

Agent: Ben Zobrist’s Playing Days Are Over

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Ben Zobrist’s name surfaced in the news over the last few days, as a tweet from Heritage Auction Sports claimed that Zobrist’s World Series ring from the 2016 Cubs was going to be up for bids in August.  However, Zobrist’s agent Scott Pucino told Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune that the ring wasn’t going to be sold, and that Zobrist told him that ” ’Why would I sell this ring?  It makes no sense.  I’m never going to get rid of this ring — never, never, ever.’ ”

That would seem to put that curious matter to rest, and Pucino also confirmed what has seemed increasingly obvious over the last two years: Zobrist has ended his playing career.  Though Zobrist has not officially retired, Pucino said that Zobrist is focusing on taking care of his children while going through a divorce.  “He’s a devoted dad and grabbing the bull by the horns and taking hold of the situation,” Pucino said.

Zobrist last played in 2019, his 14th Major League season.  He only played in 47 games during that final year, as his divorce led him to spend much of the season on personal leave — the money surrendered by Zobrist for his time on the restricted list allowed the Cubs enough luxury tax wiggle room to sign Craig Kimbrel, so Zobrist’s impact is still being felt on the Cubs to this day.

Of course, Zobrist had already long since made his mark on Chicago baseball history due to his role in the Cubs’ curse-breaking 2016 championship run.  Signed to a four-year, $56MM free agent deal in the 2015-16 offseason, Zobrist hit .272/.386/.446 over 631 PA during the regular season, and then won World Series MVP honors by batting .357/.419/.500 over 31 PA during the Fall Classic.  That came on the heels of another big performance for Zobrist in the previous year’s World Series, as Zobrist was acquired by the Royals before the trade deadline in 2015 and then helped Kansas City capture the title.

Over 14 MLB seasons, the switch-hitting Zobrist batted .266/.357/.426 over 6836 PA for the Rays, Athletics, Royals, and Cubs.  The Astros initially drafted Zobrist in the sixth round in 2004, and after being dealt to Tampa in July 2006, Zobrist went from being mostly a full-time shortstop into the super-utilityman position that defined his career.

Through far from the only “Swiss Army Knife” of a player in history (Jose Oquendo and Tony Phillips stand out for fans of 80’s and 90’s baseball), Zobrist’s name became synonymous with on-field versatility in this generation.  He made 794 of his 1503 career starts as a second baseman, but also 363 starts in right field, 196 starts at shortstop, 107 starts in left field, as well as time as a center fielder and at both corner infield slots.  Between his multi-position ability and productive switch-hitting bat, Zobrist could be moved around the diamond and utilized in a number of different fashions by Rays manager Joe Maddon and future skippers throughout Zobrist’s career.

While Zobrist ranks third in fWAR (behind Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford) on the Rays’ all-time franchise list, it can be argued that Zobrist might be the “greatest Ray ever” for both on-field value and symbolic reasons, as he exemplifies how the Rays have looked to mold a seemingly endless array of multi-positional players since Zobrist’s time with the franchise.  Beyond just Tampa Bay, teams all over baseball in recent years have looked to maximize bench depth by having super-utility types on the roster.

From 2009-16, Zobrist generated 40.5 fWAR, a total surpassed by only eight players in baseball during that eight-season span.  These prime years saw him reach three All-Star teams, finish as high as eighth place in AL MVP voting (2009), and capture those two World Series titles with the Royals and Cubs in consecutive years.

MLBTR wishes all the best to Zobrist in his post-playing days, and congratulates him on an outstanding career.

Cubs Activate Jason Heyward, Designate Nick Martini, Claim Dakota Chalmers

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3:47PM: Left-hander Brad Wieck was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move for Abbott’s call-up, the Cubs announced.

3:14PM: The Cubs announced a trio of roster moves, including Jason Heyward’s activation from the 10-day injured list.  (The Athletic’s Meghan Montemurro was among those to report the news.)  Chicago also designated outfielder Nick Martini for assignment, thus opening up a 40-man roster spot for right-hander Dakota Chalmers, who was claimed off waivers from the Twins.  Right-hander Cory Abbott is also being called up from Triple-A to make his big league debut, FanSided’s Robert Murray reports (via Twitter)

A left hamstring strain forced Heyward to the IL on May 20, and the injury hiatus could allow the veteran outfielder something of a reset of his season.  Heyward has hit just .183/.254/.341 over his first 138 plate appearances, an unfortunate slow start after the strong numbers he posted during the 2020 season.  Through Heyward’s tenure in Wrigleyville (he’s in the sixth year of an eight-year, $184MM contract) has been marked by a lack of offensive production, Heyward was one of the team’s best bats in 2020, hitting .265/.392/.456 with six homers over 181 PA.

Martini was signed to a minor league deal in February, and saw his contract selected by the Cubs in May.  The 30-year-old Illinois native has appeared in 12 games this season, mostly working as a pinch-hitter but he was only 1-for-12 in 15 total plate appearances.  Martini has hit .261/.363/.366 over 303 total PA with the A’s, Padres, and Cubs at the MLB level, though much of that production came with Oakland during his 2018 rookie season.  Martini has experience at all three outfield positions as well as first base, so this versatility and his knack for setting on base could potentially entice another team to claim him off the waiver wire.

Speaking of waiver claims, Chalmers joins the Cubs after being DFA’ed by Minnesota earlier this week.  Chalmers made his debut at the Double-A level this season but the results haven’t been good, with a 9.49 ERA over 12 1/3 innings.  Between Tommy John surgery and the canceled 2020 minor league season, Chalmers tossed only 39 2/3 total frames from the start of the 2018 season to the start of the 2021 minor league campaign.

Abbott has only a 6.39 ERA in 25 1/3 innings at Triple-A Iowa this season, his first experience of Triple-A ball.  The 25-year-old will still get a look in the Show, potentially as a starter or as a reliever.  MLB Pipeline ranks Abbott 15th on its list of the Cubs’ top 30 prospects, with his slider and curveball acting as his top pitches.  “With an easy delivery that he repeats well and a fearlessness about challenging hitters, Abbott provides consistent strikes,” according to the Pipeline scouting report.  Abbott was a second-round pick for the Cubs in the 2017 draft, and he posted some solid numbers in his first three pro seasons before hitting his Triple-A struggles.

Rangers Claim Tyson Miller From Cubs

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The Rangers have claimed right-hander Tyson Miller off waivers from the Cubs.  Miller has been optioned to the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock.  Righty Hunter Wood was shifted from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL to open up a 40-man roster spot for Miller.

Miller was designated for assignment earlier this week.  A fourth-round pick for Chicago in the 2016 draft, Miller made his MLB debut last season, appearing in two games and tossing five innings for the Cubs.  He posted generally solid numbers while working his way up the organizational ladder, though Miller hasn’t fared well at Triple-A Iowa, posting a 7.33 ERA over 54 innings at the top minor league level.  The righty has mostly been used as a starter throughout his career, so Texas could deploy him in a similar capacity, or perhaps use him as a long reliever or swingman out of the bullpen.

After initially going on the 10-day IL due to right elbow discomfort on May 23, Wood’s injury has now been termed as a mild right UCL sprain.  He’ll now be sidelined until well after the All-Star break recovering, with the hope being that the mild sprain doesn’t worsen and lead to a longer-term elbow problem.  Wood signed a minor league contract with Texas this offseason and has a 3.60 ERA in his first five innings in a Rangers uniform.

Cubs’ Trevor Williams Out Indefinitely After Emergency Appendectomy

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11:09AM: Williams has been officially placed on the 10-day IL, retroactive to May 28.  Right-hander Kohl Stewart was called up from Triple-A and will start today for the Cubs.

8:19AM: Cubs hurler Trevor Williams will be out indefinitely after undergoing an emergency appendectomy, per Jared Wyllus of the Chicago Sun-Times. Williams was originally slated to start today’s game against the Padres.

It’s looking like Keegan Thompson will step in for a spot start. The 26-year-old made his first career start in the second game of a doubleheader against the vaunted Dodgers back on May the 4th, tossing 3 2/3 scoreless innings. Thompson has yet to surrender an earned run in his young career with 15 scoreless innings over his first nine appearances. He’s done a tremendous job of keeping the ball on the ground so far with a 58.3 percent groundball rate, though that’s not a tendency he displayed as a minor leaguer.

As for Williams, the situation might seem more dire than it is, given the “indefinite” designation of his injury status. Likely, this is simply a matter of wait-and-see, assuming there were no further complications to the surgery.

They will need to replace his production in the meantime. Williams hasn’t exactly been a revelation since joining the rotation from the Pirates – 5.36 ERA/4.76 FIP while averaging less than five innings per start – but if nothing else, he’s striking out batters at a career-best rate of 24.9 percent. He’s also walking more batters than usual with a 10.2 percent walk rate. To his credit, Williams has allowed two or less earned runs in seven of his ten starts, and he’s coming off his best outing of the year, a six-inning, one-earned-run effort against his former club in Pittsburgh.

Cubs’ David Bote Suffers Separated Shoulder

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TODAY: Bote’s MRI revealed no fractures or any unusually serious damage, with Ross describing the result (to NBC Sports Chicago’s Maddie Lee and other reporters) as the “best news possible” given the severity of the injury.

MAY 29: Cubs infielder David Bote left today’s game due to a separated left shoulder, as manager David Ross told The Chicago Tribune’s Paul Sullivan and other reporters in the post-game media session.  Bote suffered the injury while sliding into second base on what ended up as an Eric Sogard double play during the fourth inning, and Patrick Wisdom replaced Bote in the field at third base for the top of the fifth.

Bote will certainly be placed on the 10-day injured list prior to Sunday’s game, and a trip to the 60-day IL could be a distinct possibility depending on the severity of the separation.  Regardless, it represents yet another hit to a Cubs infield that has lost Matt Duffy and Nico Hoerner to the IL within the last week, and Anthony Rizzo has also missed four games in a row due to a bad back.

Given all the injuries that have plagued the Cubs this season, Bote has ended up becoming a regular for the team, appearing in 49 of Chicago’s 51 games.  Bote has hit only .194/.273/.333 over 162 PA, but his ability to fill in at both second and third base has been a plus for a Cubs team in need of depth.

Dee Strange-Gordon recently signed a minor league deal with the Cubs and could very well be getting a quick call to the big leagues with Bote now sidelined.  Such MLB veterans as Andrew Romine, Sergio Alcantara, and Trayce Thompson are also available at Triple-A depending on how the Cubs want to handle the infield situation, as an outfielder could be called up to allow Kris Bryant to move back to third base.

Cubs Select Sergio Alcantara, Designate Tyson Miller

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The Cubs announced this afternoon they’ve selected the contract of infielder Sergio Alcántara. He’ll replace David Bote, who is headed to the 10-day injured list, on the active roster. To clear 40-man roster space, righty Tyson Miller has been designated for assignment.

Originally signed by the Diamondbacks as an international amateur, Alcántara was traded to the Tigers as part of the 2017 deal that sent J.D. Martinez to the desert. The utilityman made a brief MLB debut with Detroit last season, picking up 23 plate appearances, but the Tigers designated him for assignment over the offseason. Chicago claimed Alcántara and then passed him through outright waivers themselves.

Alcántara has begun his tenure in the Cubs organization on a tear. He’s hitting .328/.481/.459 with a pair of homers over his first 79 plate appearances at Triple-A Iowa, his first crack at the minors’ highest level. That’s a substantial improvement over the decent but unspectacular .261/.340/.317 line he’s managed over 872 career plate appearances at Double-A. Alcántara is out of minor league option years, so now that he’s back on the Cubs 40-man roster, he’ll have to stick with the big league club or again be exposed to other teams. For now, he’ll get an opportunity to fill in for Bote, who separated his left shoulder in yesterday’s game.

Miller, ranked by Baseball America over the winter as the #27 prospect in the Cubs system, made a pair of MLB appearances in 2020. He tossed five innings of three-run ball, representing his only major league experience to date. Miller has managed just a 7.33 ERA over 54 career Triple-A innings, but he’s generally been productive up through Double-A. The Cubs will have a week to trade Miller or place him on outright waivers. The 25-year-old still has a pair of option years remaining, so any acquiring club would be free to shuttle him back-and-forth between the majors and Triple-A this season and next, assuming they believe he’s worthy of a 40-man roster spot.

Cubs Place Nico Hoerner On IL, Designate Shelby Miller

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The Cubs have placed infielder/outfielder Nico Hoerner on the 10-day injured list, designated right-hander Shelby Miller for assignment and selected the contract of outfielder Rafael Ortega, Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago was among those to report.

Hoerner suffered a left hamstring strain earlier this week, forcing the team to place him on the shelf for the second time this month. He missed time earlier with a left forearm strain, but a healthy version of Hoerner has been a standout this season. Even though the 24-year-old hasn’t homered in 84 plate appearances, he has made up for it with a .338/.405/.432 line and a paltry strikeout percentage of 14.3. Hoerner has also seen some time and both middle infield positions and all three outfield spots, though he has primarily lined up at the keystone. The Cubs figure to use a combination of Eric Sogard and David Bote at second while Hoerner’s out.

Miller, 30, is a former star hurler whose career fell off course in 2016 after a trade to Arizona, and he hasn’t been able to get back on track since then. Injuries have been part of the problem along the way, and Miller was on the IL with a back problem before the Cubs designated him. They signed Miller to a minor league contract last winter but have only gotten two disastrous innings of seven-run, seven-hit, five-walk ball from him.

Ortega, also 30, has past MLB experience with a handful of teams, though he has slumped to a .229/.287/.290 line in 447 plate appearances at the game’s top level. He has, however, hit a much more effective .294/.368/.447 with 39 home runs and 86 stolen bases across 2,232 trips to the plate in Triple-A.

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.

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