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Diamondbacks Claim J.B. Wendelken

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The D-backs have claimed right-hander J.B. Wendelken off waivers from the Athletics, reports FanSided’s Robert Murray (via Twitter). The A’s designated him for assignment just yesterday.

It’d have been surprising for a team in the Diamondbacks’ position — dismal bullpen, No. 1 waiver priority, multiple open 40-man spots — to pass on Wendelken. The right-hander hasn’t had a great season in Oakland, but his work leading up to the 2021 campaign was quite strong.

From 2018-20, Wendelken pitched 74 1/3 innings for the A’s, working to a 2.30 ERA with a strong 26.4 percent strikeout rate and a very solid 8.4 percent walk rate. The righty also thrived in terms of limiting hard contact, yielding an 86.6 mph average exit velocity, a 30.6 percent overall hard-hit rate and just a 2.1 percent barrel rate. Fielding-independent pitching metrics weren’t quite as bullish as his baseline ERA (3.04 FIP, 3.72 SIERA) but still generally agreed that Wendelken was a solid reliever.

The 2021 season hasn’t gone quite as well, but Wendelken has pitched to a respectable 4.32 ERA in 25 frames. His 22.2 percent strikeout rate is his lowest since a brief rookie debut in 2016, and his 11.1 percent walk rate is a career-high. Still, the 28-year-old has continued to limit hard contact effectively, and his swinging-strike and chase rates have actually improved over their 2020 marks.

Wendelken will be arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter, and the D-backs can control him through the 2024 season via that arbitration process. He’s out of minor league options, so he’ll have to stick on the big league roster, but based on his past 100 innings in the Majors, there’s reason to think he can stick.

It’s always possible that Wendelken’s strikeout and walk tendencies continue to trend in the wrong direction, but there’s no reason for the last-place D-backs to pass on a risk-free flier. Arizona relievers rank second-to-last in the Majors with a combined 5.41 ERA, so Wendelken is an upgrade even if he doesn’t quite return to his peak form.

Diamondbacks Release Josh Reddick

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The Diamondbacks announced they’ve released veteran outfielder Josh Reddick. He had been designated for assignment last week.

A release was the anticipated outcome once Arizona bumped Reddick from the 40-man roster. The 34-year-old has more than enough big league service to reject an outright assignment, and the rebuilding Diamondbacks are long past focusing on the 2021 season. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic wrote last week that Reddick’s designation was part of a broader organizational plan to give some more run to younger players as the front office looks for more information about who could comprise their core in future years.

Upon clearing release waivers, Reddick will be free to sign elsewhere. He’ll presumably be looking at minor league offers, as he settled for a minors pact over the offseason before being selected to Arizona’s big league club in late May. He struggled to the worst offensive showing of his career — .258/.285/.371 over 158 plate appearances — in the desert.

Nevertheless, Reddick figures to find decent interest from other clubs willing to offer him a Triple-A opportunity. The left-handed hitter has generally been a productive player over the course of his career, and he posted league average offensive numbers between 2018-20. If Reddick signs elsewhere on or before August 31, he’d be eligible for a new team’s postseason roster.

COVID Notes: Brewers, Diamondbacks, Protocols

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The latest on COVID-19 around the league:

  • The Brewers have been dealing with virus spread throughout the clubhouse in recent days, and another pair of players has tested positive. Starter Adrian Houser and reliever Jandel Gustave tested positive and were placed on the COVID IL, manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). They join Josh Hader, Hunter Strickland, Eric Lauer, Jake Cousins, Keston Hiura and Christian Yelich on the COVID list. Yelich was cleared to return to the club today, but Milwaukee has elected to hold off on activating him for now as the star outfielder works his way back into game shape following a ten-day absence.
  • The Diamondbacks have also been hit by COVID spread recently, but they got one of their players back today. Reliever Joe Mantiply, who had been out as a close contact of a player(s) who tested positive, was reinstated from the IL before this evening’s game against the Padres. Fellow southpaw Ryan Buchter, who was selected last week, was removed from the 40-man roster and returned to Triple-A Reno. As a COVID replacement, Buchter could be reassigned to the minor leagues without needing to pass through waivers.
  • The recent uptick in viral spread (the Rockies and Yankees have each had similar issues recently) in both the league and the United States as a whole has caught the attention of MLB and the Players Association. After relaxing restrictions for vaccinated players and staff in mid-June, MLB is considering tightening protocols, reports Evan Drellich of the Athletic. The league updated its mask policy at Spring Training facilities this week, requiring those working at the facilities to wear masks in indoor areas regardless of vaccination status, Drellich writes. It seems MLB would prefer to tighten mask and distancing protocols rather than “aggressively” incentivize further vaccination among players and staff. Drellich writes that 85.5% of Tier 1 personnel leaguewide (players, coaches and other staff members in direct contact with the team) have been vaccinated.

Diamondbacks Designate Josh Reddick For Assignment

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The Diamondbacks announced a series of roster moves this afternoon, most notably the designation of veteran outfielder Josh Reddick for assignment. Right-handers Taylor Clarke and Riley Smith and first baseman/outfielder Pavin Smith have all been reinstated from the injured list. Riley Smith and righty J.B. Bukauskas were optioned to Triple-A Reno. Meanwhile, reliever Ty Tice has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Reno.

Arizona signed Reddick to a minor league deal in April and selected him to the big league roster the following month. He’s seen a good bit of action in right field in Phoenix since then but struggled to a .258/.285/.371 line over 158 plate appearances. That was trending as the worst offensive output of Reddick’s typically strong career, as well as a downturn from the roughly league average hitting he managed with the Astros between 2018-20.

Reddick has more than enough service time to reject a minor league assignment while retaining what remains of his $750K salary. Assuming he clears waivers, he’ll almost certainly hit free agency — either via release or rejection of an outright assignment. The move clears an outfield spot for the league-worst Diamondbacks to continue to look at younger players — Pavin Smith among them — while freeing Reddick to explore opportunities elsewhere. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the 34-year-old hook on with a new organization via minor league pact over the coming days to serve as lefty-hitting outfield depth.

Clarke has been out since mid-June with a teres major strain. Before the injury, the 28-year-old was one of the more reliable relievers in a shaky Arizona bullpen. Clarke has worked 33 2/3 innings across 30 appearances this season, pitching to a 3.74 ERA with a slightly below-average 22.5% strikeout rate but a strong 6.3% walk percentage. Pavin and Riley Smith missed a few days as close contacts after Noé Ramirez and Stuart Fairchild tested positive for COVID-19 last Friday.

The D-Backs added Tice off waivers from the Braves a little more than two weeks ago. After succeeding in passing him through waivers themselves, they’ll keep him in the organization as non-roster bullpen depth. The 25-year-old hasn’t appeared in the majors for the D-Backs, instead making four appearances with Reno, but he did see brief MLB time with the Blue Jays and Braves earlier in the year. Tice has tossed eight innings of four-run ball in the big leagues but has a 10.67 ERA with thirteen walks and eleven strikeouts across 14 1/3 Triple-A frames.

Diamondbacks Select Tyler Gilbert

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The Diamondbacks announced they’ve selected the contract of pitcher Tyler Gilbert. Southpaw Miguel Aguilar was optioned to Triple-A Reno in a corresponding move.

It’s the first big league call for Gilbert, a 27-year-old southpaw. A sixth-round pick of the Phillies out of USC in 2015, Gilbert spent his first few professional seasons in the Philadelphia organization. The Phils traded him to the Dodgers for Kyle Garlick in February 2020, but he never appeared in a game for a Los Angeles affiliate due to last year’s canceled minor league season. The D-Backs selected Gilbert in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft over the offseason.

He’s spent the year to date with Reno, making eleven appearances (ten starts). Over 52 1/3 innings, Gilbert has a 3.44 ERA with decent strikeout and walk rates (22.8% and 8.7%, respectively). That’s deceptively strong production in the supercharged Triple-A West environment. Among the 26 pitchers with 50+ innings in the league, only one (Drew Anderson) has a better ERA than Gilbert. That quality work in the high minors will earn him a look from a D-Backs team that has little reason not to give opportunities to potential long-term members of the pitching staff.

Diamondbacks Claim Sean Poppen

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The D-backs announced Monday that they’ve claimed righty Sean Poppen off waivers from the Rays. Right-hander Stefan Crichton, who’d been with the club as a Covid-19 replacement player, was returned to Triple-A Reno in a corresponding roster move. Because Crichton had been selected to the roster as a replacement player, he didn’t need to be put through outright waivers to be sent back to Reno.

Poppen, 27, has seen brief big league action in each of the past three seasons, totaling 21 1/3 innings between the Twins, Pirates and Rays. He pitched just two-thirds of an inning for Tampa Bay this season and another 4 2/3 frames with the Pirates early in the year. The rest of his MLB experience has come in Minnesota. Overall, he carries a 6.33 ERA but a much more palatable 3.85 FIP and 4.12 SIERA in that small sample of work.

Poppen has spent parts of two seasons in Triple-A and pitched quite well — particularly with the Rays’ top affiliate so far in 2021. He’s thrown 28 1/3 frames of 1.59 ERA with Durham while also notching strong strikeout, walk and ground-ball percentages (26.8, 9.8 and 64.3, respectively). Poppen is in his final option year, so he can be shuttled between Reno and Phoenix as the D-backs see fit for the remainder of the 2021 campaign. He’ll be out of options at season’s end, however, so the D-backs won’t be able to send him down next spring unless they first pass him through outright waivers.

Injury Updates: Brito, Marte, Belt, La Stella, Kershaw

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Phillies Triple-A prospect Daniel Brito collapsed in the first inning of today’s game, and had to be taken off the field via ambulance.  According to a statement released by the team, Brito is currently undergoing surgery at a local hospital, but no other details were provided.  (Sal Maiorana of The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle has a fuller account of the on-field situation.)

Brito is in his sixth pro season, all in the Phillies organization, and he earned his first promotion to Triple-A after hitting .296/.363/.457 in 275 PA for Double-A Reading this season.  We at MLB Trade Rumors wish all the best for Brito in the wake of this terrifying incident, and we hope he has a full recovery.

More on injury situations from around baseball…

  • The Diamondbacks reinstated Ketel Marte off the 10-day injured list today.  Marte missed just over a month due to a left hamstring strain, and between this injury and a right hamstring strain earlier in the season, Marte has appeared in only 37 games in 2021.  On the plus side, Marte had been hitting extremely well (.370/.419/.556 in 148 PA) when he was able to play, so he still has two months to salvage something positive from what has been a lost season for the D’Backs.  Since Arizona had no intention of dealing Marte or any other core players, the IL stint seemingly didn’t scuttle any potential Marte trades prior to the deadline.
  • Giants manager Gabe Kapler told reporters (including Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle) that Brandon Belt and Tommy La Stella are hopefully within 7-10 days of rejoining the team.  Belt has missed a little over a month with a knee injury, while La Stella hasn’t played since May 2 due to both a hamstring injury and a fractured hand.
  • There is some doubt as to whether or not Clayton Kershaw will make his 60-pitch sim game tomorrow, as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Mike DiGiovanna of The Los Angeles Times) that the star left-hander has “some residual soreness” in his throwing elbow.  A bout of forearm inflammation sent Kershaw to the IL on July 7, and while he was expected back in August, this development could possibly throw a wrench into that timeline.  To be clear, Roberts indicated that Kershaw might still throw the 60-pitch anyway, just that it wasn’t set in stone that the sim game would indeed take place as planned.

Diamondbacks Sign First-Rounder Jordan Lawlar

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4:19PM: The D’Backs have officially announced their agreement with Lawlar.

3:45PM: As originally reported yesterday by John Gambadoro of 98.7FM Phoenix, the Diamondbacks reached an agreement with sixth overall pick Jordan Lawlar.  The high school shortstop signed for a hefty $6,713,300 bonus, according to MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis (Twitter links).  This is both well over the $5,742,900 assigned slot price for the sixth pick, and the largest bonus for any position player in the 2021 draft.

The highly-touted Lawlar was seen by some as a potential first overall pick, and as a consensus top-five selection, it was perhaps a bit of a surprise that he fell to the D’Backs.  Arizona used the remaining money in its $11,271,900 draft pool to sign Lawlar, so the Diamondbacks didn’t exceed the threshold by more than five percent and thus won’t have to surrender any future draft picks.

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo each ranked Lawlar as the best prospect of the 2021 draft class, with McDaniel calling Lawlar “the best combination of skills, hit tool and track record” of all the top high school shortstops available this year.  The 19-year-old has strong all-around ability, and Collazo feels that Lawlar has a “regular all-star” ceiling if he develops a bit more power.

July Headlines: National League

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This year’s trade season did not disappoint. After a wild couple of days, we’re gonna do our best to recap the action from one of the busiest trade deadlines in recent memory. Let’s start with the headlines coming out of the Senior Circuit this month…

The Champs Are Still The Champs: This phrase, in many ways, could serve as an ironic headline for this year’s trade deadline, as we saw the dismantling of a couple of former championship teams. The reigning champ, however, was not one of them. The Dodgers reasserted themselves as the team to beat in the National League by making the splashiest move of the deadline in acquiring Max Scherzer and Trea Turner from the Nationals.

The Dodgers stepped up, and now they have perhaps the most intimidating starter of his generation slotted into a rotation with Clayton Kershaw, probably the best pitcher of his generation, along with young stud Walker Buehler. It’s an amazing collection of talent for a single team.

That said, the Turner acquisition might be even more impactful, as he’s under team control  through next season. Turner and Mookie Betts as a 1-2 punch in the lineup are devastating. Interestingly, the Dodgers also got Corey Seager back from the injured list today, and it remains to be seen how the Dodgers will deploy their pair of All-Star shortstops (to say nothing of Gavin Lux and Chris Taylor). The Dodgers have options now and for the future. Remember, Seager is a free agent after the season. They can still bring back their World Series MVP at the right price point, but they won’t be pressured to now that they have Turner in the fold.

The Padres Don’t Land Mad Max: The trade deadline madness really began on Thursday night when it was announced that the Padres and Nats had agreed on the players involved in a Scherzer deal. That didn’t sit well with the Dodgers, who swooped in to remind the Padres of who still runs the West. The Padres were expected to turn their attention to Jose Berrios, but they weren’t able to get him either.

At the end of the day, the Padres didn’t get Scherzer, Berrios, Joey Gallo, or any other of the big names. They did add Adam Frazier, a versatile defender and good contact hitter, along with Daniel Hudson, who is a legitimate get for the bullpen, and Jake Marisnick, who compliments their centerfield options nicely, even if he’s not much more than a depth piece. It was a less impactful deadline than expected, but what’s worse: Fernando Tatis Jr. promptly reaggravated his shoulder injury. Add it all up, and the swing from potentially acquiring Scherzer to potentially losing Tatis is enough to give any Padres fan whiplash.

Giants Add Bryant: The Padres took a big swing and missed, the Dodgers took their swing and connected, and sure to form, the Giants played the deadline slow and steady. Does the tortoise win again? Time will tell, but the Giants did ultimately nab a former MVP in Kris Bryant without giving up a top prospect. Bryant fits their profile like a glove, and he’ll be able to fill in at third until Evan Longoria returns and then move to the outfield.

Remember: The Giants have a three-game head start on LA and a five-game lead on the Padres. Adding Bryant has game-changing potential, while Tony Watson was a solid, low-key add to the pen. The Dodgers are scary, but if the Giants keep playing their game, LA may find themselves in the wild card game anyway.

Cubs Collapse, Dismantle 2016 World Series Champs: In a vacuum, the Cubs had a pretty good deadline. They added a number of buzzy, interesting young players like Nick Madrigal, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Alexander Canario. But it came at a cost. After years of rumors, Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Javier Baez were finally shipped out of town, along with Craig Kimbrel, Andrew Chafin, Ryan Tepera, Marisnick, and Trevor Williams. New players — and new narratives — are long overdue in Chicago, and the next chapter awaits.

Nationals Collapse, Dismantle 2019 World Series Champs: It’s appropriate that the Cubs are in DC to play the Nats this weekend, because really, the two clubs are mirror images of one another, right down to their interconnecting pieces like Kyle Schwarber and Jon Lester. Both teams were trying to contend on the legs of recent title teams, both teams had disastrous months of July, and both clubs desperately needed an influx of young talent. Both teams got it on Friday.

The Nats farm system was even more barren than Chicago’s and their need to restock even direr given the presence of young superstud Juan Soto. So Washington said their fare-thee-wells to  Scherzer, Turner, Hudson, and Yan Gomes from the title team, plus recent additions Lester, Schwarber, Brad Hand, and Josh Harrison. GM Mike Rizzo does not sell off pieces willy nilly, but in doing so, they got some high-end, near-ready pieces as they look to quickly rebuild a contender in context around Soto before the Scott Boras client reaches free agency after the 2024 season.

Brewers Take Their Place Atop The NL Central: Milwaukee made their big acquisition back in May, and Willy Adames has transformed himself and the club since his arrival. They were last under .500 on the day before Adames arrived, they’ve gone 41-19 since and taken firm hold of the NL Central. Still, some tinkering remained on the docket for July, as the Brewers picked up Eduardo Escobar, Rowdy Tellez, John Curtiss, and Daniel Norris.

Injuries Keeping Mets From Runaway Division Title: The Mets left deadline day with a more acute awareness of what they lost than what they gained: Jacob deGrom has been shut down for another couple of weeks, leaving the all-world hurler out until at least September. That’s heartbreaking for a Mets team with a clear path to an NL East title. Plenty of upside remains in the Mets rotation with Marcus Stroman and Taijuan Walker posting career years, Carlos Carrasco set to make his debut, and Tylor Megill providing the surprising rookie breakout contenders seek. Still, deGrom and Noah Syndergaard are questionable at best for the rest of the season, and the only rotation additions the Mets made at the deadline were Rich Hill and Trevor Williams.

They did, however, account for Francisco Lindor’s injury by adding Javier Baez, Lindor’s friend and countrymate who can ably fill in while Lindor is out and then slide to second or third when he returns. Baez isn’t, perhaps, the former Cub that Mets fans expected, but he’s an excellent fit alongside Lindor and should bolster the pitching staff with his stellar glove — even if acquiring him did cost them a former first-rounder in Crow-Armstrong.

Braves Lose Acuna For The Season: The deadline might have looked a lot different for Atlanta had they not lost Ronald Acuna Jr. for the season back on July 10th. Without Acuna and Mike Soroka, the Braves weren’t expected to make any major swings at contention. But even a 13-12 July was enough to keep them within four games of first. A fourth consecutive NL East title remains in reach. So they nabbed one of the top available relief arms in Richard Rodriguez, as well as, seemingly, all the outfielders: Jorge Soler, old pal Adam Duvall, Eddie Rosario, and Joc Pederson, plus Stephen Vogt to reinforce their catching corps.

Soft Buys From The Fringes Of Contention: The Giants and Dodgers made headline additions, while the Nats and Cubs took a firm step away from contention. In the middle, there were a number of clubs that neither sold the farm nor raised the white flag. Such as…

…the Phillies… who seemed poised to add a bevy of arms given their bullpen situation, not to mention a starting rotation that’s received underwhelming performances from the back end. Instead, only Kyle Gibson and Ian Kennedy came to help, and they cost the Phillies’ top prospect Spencer Howard. Howard’s handling had been in question all season, and now he’s been served an unceremonious end to his Philly tenure. Gibson’s had a fine season thus far with the Rangers, but his groundball approach will be tested in front of Philly’s subpar infield defense. Sure, Freddy Galvis brings his glove back to help out, but will that be enough?

…and the Reds… who looked to undo their winter penny-pinching by restocking the bullpen. Justin Wilson, Luis Cessa, and Mychal Givens will try to help a bullpen that ranks 29th with a 5.31 ERA. The Reds’ inconsistent play in July kept them squarely on the deadline fence, however, and now that Nick Castellanos is on the injured list, they’re seven games behind the Brewers and looking like longshots for the postseason.

…and the Cardinals…who added a few pieces at the deadline, despite being 9.5 games behind the Brewers and 6.5 out of a wild card spot. The additions were modest, however, as St. Louis went on a run of graybeard southpaws in July, adding 36-year-old Wade LeBlanc, 37-year-old Jon Lester, and 38-year-old J.A. Happ to a rotation fronted by 39-year-old Adam Wainwright and caught by 39-year-old Yadier Molina.

Cellar Dwellers Sell: The Marlins, Pirates, and Diamondbacks, each in last place of their respective divisions, made some moves to turn expiring talent into youth for the future. The Marlins added the biggest fish in Jesus Luzardo, but the Pirates did well for themselves, too, by adding some plug-and-play talent like Michael Chavis from Boston and Bryse Wilson from Atlanta, while also grabbing two prospects from Seattle for Tyler Anderson. The Dbacks weren’t quite as active, but they did move Escobar and Joakim Soria, though a COVID-19 outbreak has brought more pressing issues to their attention.

The Rockies Don’t Trade Trevor Story Or Jon Gray: The most perplexing moves of the deadline were the trades that didn’t happen. Despite having no shot at contention in a division with zero margin for error (in the short-and-long term), the Rockies chose to stand pat rather than build for the future. Holding Gray is one thing, but Story has stated his desire to move on, so their decision not to acquire a prospect or two for him before he walks might be the biggest shock of deadline season.

Diamondbacks Re-Sign Jon Duplantier

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July 31: As anticipated, the Diamondbacks did in fact re-sign Duplantier on a minor league contract, per the team.

July 28: The Diamondbacks have released right-hander Jon Duplantier, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The move clears a spot on the D-Backs 40-man roster.

Arizona is hoping to bring Duplantier back on a minor league deal, according to Piecoro. The righty recently suffered a season-ending lat strain while pitching in the minors. Injured players cannot be placed on outright waivers, so the D-Backs’ only options to clear a 40-man roster spot were to place Duplantier on the 60-day injured list (entitling him to big league pay and service time) or to release him. The organization has apparently chosen the latter course of action.

It’s not uncommon for players in this kind of situation to eventually re-sign on a minor league pact. Franklin Perez re-upped with the Tigers in May, for instance, a few days after being released when he underwent season-ending shoulder surgery. As a free agent, though, Duplantier would have the right to explore options with other organizations — assuming he clears release waivers.

Duplantier was once one of the better pitching prospects in baseball, appearing on Baseball America’s preseason top 100 lists in both 2018 and 2019. A series of injuries has derailed his progress to this point, and he’s tallied just 49 2/3 major league innings to date. Duplantier made four starts for the D-Backs this year, allowing 19 runs across 13 frames.

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