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Injury Notes: Nick Sandlin, George Springer

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Guardians righty Nick Sandlin departed yesterday’s win over the Rays with right upper arm tightness, reported by Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal. Sandlin has a small history of shoulder problems, missing the last month of the 2021 season with a right shoulder strain, but it is unclear of the exact nature of his new ailment.

Sandlin, playing in his second major league season, improved upon his strong rookie season (2.94 ERA in 33 2/3 innings) and pitched to a robust 2.25 ERA in 46 appearances this season, allowing only 2 homers in 44 innings pitched. He has been particularly tough on right-handed hitters,  holding them to a measly .149/.265/.238 line.

With the Guardians earning a trip to the ALDS following their two-game sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays, Sandlin will have two days to recover before facing the New York Yankees. If he is unable to return to the field, right-handed Aaron Civale, a notable omission from the Wild Card roster, is a possible candidate to replace him on the postseason roster.

In other Wild Card series injury news, Blue Jays outfielder George Springer was carted off the field in yesterday’s game following a collision with shortstop Bo Bichette in the eighth inning.  Blue Jays interim manager John Schneider said in his postgame conference that the All-Star center fielder, who signed a six-year, $150MM contract with the Jays prior to the 2021 season, was “doing ok” and that Springer was going to “be evaluated for a couple of different things,” per Julia Kreuz of MLB.com. Schneider followed up by saying that the team would know more about Springer’s injury in the next few days.

Springer has had another successful year, slashing .267/.342/.472 en route to his fourth All-Star game appearance while playing slightly above average defense in center, earning one Outs Above Average. With the Jays ending their 2022 season following yesterday’s defeat to the Mariners, Springer will have a few months to recover before the start of the 2023 season.

Guardians Set Wild Card Roster

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The AL Central champion Guardians are set to host the Rays for the 2022 Wild Card round — a best-of-three series that will be played entirely in Cleveland. They’ll turn to 2020 AL Cy Young winner Shane Bieber to square off against Rays ace Shane McClanahan in the opener of today’s series. Here’s how the roster breaks down…

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catcher

Infielders

Outfielders

Right-hander Aaron Civale is a notable but understandable absence, given that he tossed six innings and threw 84 pitches in the final regular-season game of the year just two days ago. One would imagine that if Cleveland advances, he’d factor into the ALDS, considering the manner in which he rebounded following a disastrous start to the season. Over his final 13 starts, Civale worked to a 3.55 ERA with a 25.9% strikeout rate against a 4.9% walk rate.

Somewhat remarkably, the Cleveland postseason roster will feature four late-season call-ups who each have fewer than 100 career plate appearances in the Majors. Each of Will Brennan, Will Benson, Gabriel Arias and Bo Naylor was selected to the MLB for the first time on Aug. 1 or later — Oct. 1 in Naylor’s case. Both Naylor and Arias have drawn fanfare on Top 100 prospect rankings around the industry, though the latter’s stock dipped in 2022 with a rough season in Triple-A. The inclusion of Bo Naylor on the roster makes for a feel-good story, as he and older brother Josh have now not only both reached the big leagues and played in the postseason, but done so as teammates.

The bulk of young and untested players is both a reflection of ownership’s annual payroll constraints and a testament to the organization’s exceptional player development prowess. Few pegged the Guardians, who entered the season as the game’s youngest team, as postseason contenders. While it’s true that the AL Central is generally regarded as the game’s weakest division, Cleveland still not only toppled more veteran Minnesota and Chicago clubs that were expected to vie for the division crown but did so handily, closing out the regular season with a whopping 11-game lead over the second-place White Sox.

Outrights: Shaw, Barnes, Ogando, Liberato

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A few players on postseason teams have cleared outright waivers after recently being designated for assignment.

  • The Guardians have outrighted reliever Bryan Shaw to Triple-A Columbus, according to his transactions log at MLB.com. While the veteran has more than enough service time to elect free agency while still collecting the remainder of his guaranteed salary, Tom Withers of the Associated Press tweets that he’ll accept the assignment. Shaw remains in the organization and could technically factor into the playoff mix as a result, but it’s unlikely he’ll do so after Cleveland took him off the 40-man roster. Re-signed to a one-year deal over the winter, the veteran righty soaked up 58 1/3 innings across 60 appearances. He’s long been a durable bullpen workhorse, but his 2022 results were disappointing. Shaw posted a 5.40 ERA with a below-average 19.9% strikeout rate against an elevated 10% walk percentage. Cleveland will owe the 34-year-old a $500K buyout on a 2023 club option, and he’ll head to free agency at the start of the offseason.
  • Yankees reliever Jacob Barnes has gone unclaimed and been outrighted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the team announced. It was a quick turnaround for the righty, who was promoted for his team debut on Saturday. He threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings but was immediately DFA as the club cycled through fresh arms at the back of the bullpen. Barnes had a tough run earlier in the season with the Tigers, allowing a 6.10 ERA across 20 2/3 frames. He’s previously been outrighted and has more than enough service time to refuse the minor league assignment, although he could choose to follow Shaw’s path and stick in the organization as a depth option. He’ll hit free agency at the end of the year regardless if not added back to the 40-man roster.
  • Rays righty Cristofer Ogando was outrighted to Triple-A Durham over the weekend, per his MLB.com transactions log. The 28-year-old reliever has garnered a pair of brief looks with Tampa Bay, his first taste of MLB action. Ogando has made three big league appearances, working 4 1/3 innings of two-run ball. He’s spent the vast majority of the season in Durham, serving as a multi-inning bullpen arm and compiling a 4.56 ERA with a 23.5% strikeout rate and 11.5% walk percentage over 53 1/3 frames. Tampa Bay has outrighted Ogando off its 40-man roster twice this season, giving him the right to refuse this assignment in favor of free agency.
  • Padres outfielder Luis Liberato also went unclaimed on waivers last week, according to the transactions tracker. He’s been assigned to Triple-A El Paso. Signed to a minor league deal last offseason after ten seasons in the Mariners system, the left-handed hitter spent most of his year in El Paso. He had an impressive .261/.354/.541 showing over 99 games there, briefly earning his first major league call last month. Liberato only tallied five hitless at-bats with the Friars before losing his 40-man roster spot, however. He’s never previously been outrighted and doesn’t have the requisite service time to refuse the assignment, so he’ll remain in the organization for the time being. That’s largely immaterial, as he’ll qualify for minor league free agency at the end of the season unless added back to the 40-man roster in the intervening time. Liberato’s quality work with the Chihuahuas should land him a number of minor league offers this winter.

Guardians Select Bo Naylor, Activate Zach Plesac, Designate Bryan Shaw

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The Guardians announced a quartet of roster moves, including the activation of Zach Plesac from the 15-day injured list and the selection of Bo Naylor’s contract from Triple-A.  To create roster space, infielder Tyler Freeman was optioned to Triple-A, and right-hander Bryan Shaw was designated for assignment.

This will be Naylor’s first taste of Major League action, as the 22-year-old will get a chance at making his debut in the Show before the 2022 season is over, and the unique thrill of suiting up alongside older brother Josh.  The 29th overall pick of the 2018 draft, the younger Naylor is rated as the 58th-best prospect in the sport by Baseball America, while MLB Pipeline has Naylor rated 75th.

It hasn’t exactly been a smooth ride for Naylor in the minors, as after posting respectable numbers in his first two pro seasons, he and countless other prospects had to sit out the canceled 2020 minor league season.  While Naylor still got some reps at Cleveland’s alternate training site, the lack of proper game action seemed to severely impact him in 2021, when he hit only .189/.280/.332 over 335 plate appearances for Double-A Akron.

Remaining at Double-A to begin 2022, Naylor has now regained his status as a potential catcher of the future for the Guardians.  Naylor has hit a cumulative .263/.392/.496 with 21 home runs over 510 PA this season (220 PA at Double-A, 290 at Triple-A).  As per Pipline’s scouting report, Naylor got on track “by using a much more disciplined approach and utilizing the opposite field more often,” which also bodes well for his longer-term development as a big league-caliber hitter.

Cleveland has long prioritized defense at the catcher position, and Naylor has also drawn solid reviews for his blocking and framing ability.  He could continue the Guardians’ focus on glovework while also bringing some much-needed pop behind the plate, if he delivers on his potential at the MLB level.  Naylor is also the rare catcher who has five-tool ability, as he stole 20 bases in 24 chances in the minors this season.

As much as the Guards have relied on young players to fuel their run to the AL Central crown, it probably seems likely that the team will stick with the veteran duo of Austin Hedges and Luke Maile heading into the postseason.  Naylor’s presence does at least give the Guardians another potential option to consider for the playoffs, but this late-season call-up could be more about rewarding Naylor for his big season and taking a look to the future.  Hedges is a free agent this winter, so Cleveland could potentially head into 2023 with a tandem of Naylor and Maile (who is still arbitration-eligible), though there has been speculation that the Guardians could make a bigger move at catcher, such as past trade target Sean Murphy.

Plesac will start today’s game against the Royals, as the righty returns after missing just over a month of action.  Plesac suffered a fracture in his pinkie finger in rather unusual fashion, as he punched the mound in frustration after allowing a Jake Lamb home run in his last start on August 27.

The injury continued what has been a rough season overall for Plesac, who has a respectable 4.39 ERA over 127 innings but also a slate of unimpressive Statcast numbers.  It remains to be seen whether Plesac will get any consideration for a postseason start should the Guardians advance beyond the wild card series, and in the bigger picture, there have been some whispers about whether or not Cleveland could look to trade Plesac this winter.  Though Plesac still has all three years of arbitration eligibility remaining, questions about Plesac’s maturity and focus have been asked for the last few seasons, and the Guardians could prefer to sell relatively high on Plesac as a controllable young starter.

The DFA likely brings an end to Shaw’s latest stint in Cleveland, as the veteran righty returned on a one-year, $3MM free agent deal in March.  That contract contained a $4MM team option for 2023, yet it already looked like the Guards would instead use their $500K buyout rather than exercise Shaw’s option.  The 34-year-old has eaten a lot of innings (58 1/3) out of the bullpen this year, but has a 5.40 ERA and a below-average 19.9% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate.

This isn’t the first time Shaw has run into some struggles, as his 2021 season helped right the ship after a shaky three-year stretch with the Rockies and Mariners.  Returning to Cleveland on a minor league deal in the 2020-21 offseason, Shaw posted a 3.49 ERA over 77 1/3 innings and a league-leading 81 appearances.  However, his inability to recapture that form in 2022 now puts Shaw on the outside of the Guardians’ playoff roster plans.

A’s Claim Ernie Clement From Guardians

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The A’s announced they’ve claimed infielder Ernie Clement off waivers from the Guardians, who’d designated him for assignment earlier this week. Oakland also recalled reliever Sam Selman from Triple-A Las Vegas and placed right-hander Joel Payamps on the 15-day injured list with a lumbar strain. The A’s already had an opening on the 40-man roster, so no additional corresponding move was necessary.

Clement changes organizations for the first time in his career. A fourth-round pick out of Virginia in 2017, the right-handed hitter spent a few seasons generally ranked at the back half of Cleveland’s top 30 prospects. One of the game’s highest-contact batters, he worked his way up the minor league ladder and eventually earned a spot on the 40-man roster heading into the 2021 campaign. After opening last season with Triple-A Columbus, he received his first MLB call last June.

The 26-year-old has bounced on and off the active roster over the past year-plus. Clement has tallied 294 major league plate appearances, hitting .214/.273/.274. He’s only picked up three home runs and doubles apiece, and his well below-average exit velocities have muted his overall offensive impact. He’s continued to showcase excellent bat-to-ball skills against MLB arms, though, making contact on greater than 85% of his swings and only going down on strikes in 14.6% of his plate appearances (well below this year’s 22.3% league average). He’s been better overall in the minors, hitting .261/.311/.419 with a 13% strikeout rate over 238 Triple-A plate appearances.

In addition to his plus contact skills, Clement offers a fair bit of defensive versatility. He’s capable of playing anywhere on the infield, with the bulk of his professional experience coming at shortstop. He’s played mostly second and third base in the majors, with brief stints both at shortstop and in left field. The A’s have plenty of long-term uncertainty on the infield, giving Clement an opportunity to at least carve out a utility role if he can make a bit more impact from a power perspective.

Clement is in his second minor league option year, so the A’s can bounce him between Oakland and Triple-A Las Vegas through the end of next season if he holds his spot on the 40-man roster. He won’t be arbitration-eligible until after the 2024 season at the earliest.

Guardians Designate Ernie Clement, Select Will Brennan

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The Guardians announced a series of roster moves prior to today’s game, recalling infielder Gabriel Arias and selecting outfielder Will Brennan. In corresponding moves, outfielder Richie Palacios was optioned while infielder Ernie Clement was designated for assignment.

Clement, 26, was first added to Cleveland’s 40-man roster in November of 2020, prior to that year’s Rule 5 draft. Since that time, he’s bounced between the majors and the minors, not hitting much in either case. In 104 MLB games between last year and this year, he has a career batting line of .214/.273/.274. That production amounts to a wRC+ of 55, or 45% below league average. In 21 games in Triple-A this year, it hasn’t been much better, with Clement hitting .238/.291/.428, wRC+ of 89.

Clement’s best tool is arguably his ability to avoid punchouts. He’s only gone down on strikes in 14.9% of his plate appearances in the big leagues this year, well below the 22.3% league average. That hasn’t translated into strong results just yet, but that could give him a floor to build on as he looks to create more meaningful contact. He also brings defensive versatility to the table, having played all four infield positions, as well as left field and even mop-up duty on the mound. He can still be optioned for the remainder of this year and one more season after this, meaning a team interested in his skills could grab him off waivers and stash him in the minors. Since the trade deadline has passed, the Guardians will have no choice but to put him on outright or release waivers in the coming days.

Taking his spot on the 40-man roster is the 24-year-old Brennan. He was an eighth-round selection of Cleveland in 2019 and has never really been a top prospect, but just keeps hitting everywhere he goes. This year, he’s split his time between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting .315/.373/.482 for a wRC+ of 128. He’s also struck out in just 11.6% of his plate appearances. Based on his strong season, he jumped onto Baseball America’s list of top Cleveland farmhands for the first time at their midseason update, currently sitting in the #17 spot. The Guards will give him a shot to see if his incredible bat-to-ball skills can play at the major league level. He’ll jump into an outfield mix next to Myles Straw, Oscar Gonzalez, Steven Kwan and Will Benson for the final playoff push and perhaps try to earn a spot on the postseason roster. The Guardians are currently atop the AL Central with a five-game lead over the White Sox and just two weeks remaining in the regular season.

Guardians’ Anthony Gose Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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Guardians lefty Anthony Gose underwent Tommy John surgery yesterday, per the team. He’ll miss the remainder of the current season, of course, and quite likely all of the 2023 campaign as well, given the timing of the procedure.

Gose, 32, was a second-round pick, as an outfielder, by the Phillies back in 2008. Traded to Houston as one of the headline prospects in the deal that brought Roy Oswalt to Philadelphia, Gose eventually landed in Toronto after a one-for-one flip that sent fellow top prospect Brett Wallace to the Astros.

While Gose did indeed make it to the big leagues as an outfielder, he hit just .240/.309/.348 in parts of five seasons — three with the Jays and two with the Tigers. Touted for his blazing speed, Gose never managed to reach base enough or come up with enough power to keep his place in the Majors.

A former two-way star in high school, Gose began working off the mound again with the Tigers in 2017 and, by 2018, had become a full-time pitcher in the Rangers organization. He signed with Cleveland in 2019 and has spent the past several seasons remaking himself as a flamethrowing reliever, showing off the arm strength that helped make him such a promising outfield prospect in a new way: with a triple-digit heater.

Gose pitched in 28 games for the Indians/Guardians across the past two seasons, logging a combined 27 2/3 innings with a 3.90 ERA, a 31.9% strikeout rate and a 13.8% walk rate. While command has been an issue for him, he averaged just shy of 98 mph on his fastball and generated an impressive 15% swinging-strike rate in his limited big league work on the mound.  The potential for an impactful, high-leverage relief role was there, if Gose could scale back the free passes a bit.

Gose hit the injured list earlier this summer with what was initially announced as a left triceps strain. At the time, the injury wasn’t believed to be particularly serious, though certainly things have changed. It’s not clear whether Gose sustained a ligament tear while working back from that triceps issue or if there was simply more damage in the arm than initially discovered or divulged, but the end result is the same: another sizable roadblock in one of the more atypical baseball journeys we’ve seen in recent years. Gose is a feel-good story of perseverance whether he makes it back to the mound in what would be his age-34 season or not, but it’s hard not to root for another comeback after all the struggles he’s already endured.

Central Notes: Francona, Anderson, Bednar, Cubs

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Terry Francona’s contract is up after the season, and the veteran manager told The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal that he has been in talks with team officials about his future with the Guardians.  It seems basically a foregone conclusion that Francona will remain as the Guards’ skipper beyond 2022, and yet given Francona’s multiple health issues, he is cognizant about the potential end of his managerial career.  “I want to enjoy what I’m doing. It’s getting harder to do that, just because physically it’s harder,” Francona said.  “I just want to be careful.  And at the same time, I want to be fair to the team.”  The respect goes both ways with Cleveland’s front office, as president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said that “I want to make sure [Francona] never feels he has this obligation to keep doing the job because he owes us anything.  I want him to do what’s best for him.”

Antonetti and team owner Paul Dolan have both said in the past that Francona can manage the Guardians for essentially as long as he feels up to the job, while Francona told Rosenthal that he might have already retired if he had been with any other team.  Speculatively, it would seem like any sort of formal contract extension between the two sides could perhaps take the form of a one-year deal with a rolling option, to be exercised should Francona feel he is ready to keep managing beyond 2023.  A decision might not be made until after Francona’s latest medical procedure takes place in the offseason — he is scheduled to have drains removed from his back, and Francona estimates that this will be roughly his 46th surgery.

Some items from around both the AL and NL Central divisions….

  • Back on August 11, Tim Anderson underwent surgery to fix a torn ligament in his left middle finger, and White Sox acting manager Miguel Cairo told reporters (including Ryan Taylor of NBC Sports Chicago) today that Anderson was scheduled to visit a hand specialist on Tuesday.  “We’re going to see from there” what the next step is in Anderson’s rehab, Cairo said, adding that the shortstop is “doing good.”  Anderson was hitting .301/.339/.395 over his first 351 plate appearances of the season.  Assuming the visit with the specialist goes well, there should still be time for Anderson to properly rehab and get back to the White Sox before the season is over, thus giving the Sox a big late boost in their push for the AL Central crown.
  • While the Pirates aren’t in a pennant race, they’re also expecting a key player back in closer David Bednar, as GM Ben Cherington said in an interview with 93.7 The Fan radio (hat tip to MLB.com’s Justice delos Santos).  Bednar has been out of action since late July due to lower back inflammation, but Bednar threw a bullpen session yesterday and Cherington said Bednar could begin a rehab assignment this week.  The right-hander has emerged as a major bullpen weapon (and popular trade ask) over the last two seasons, with Bednar posting a 2.70 ERA and a superb 33.5% strikeout rate over 46 2/3 innings in 2022.
  • The Cubs’ season “has been a success” in the view of chairman Tom Ricketts, who told The Chicago Tribune’s Paul Sullivan and other reporters that he has been impressed by the team’s progress in bringing along its young players and young pitchers.  Since the Cubs’ last rebuild resulted in the 2016 World Series championship, Ricketts feels that “having done it once, and largely with the same people, it gives me a lot of confidence that we’ll do it the right way again.”  As to whether or not the Cubs will start to invest more into payroll this winter, Ricketts somewhat vaguely said that president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has “got a lot of flexibility, and we’ll let him do it,” adding that the “ball is in Jed’s court when it comes to how and where” any funds are invested.  Of course, this isn’t exactly a full-on declaration that the Cubs are ready to start spending big, as while Seiya Suzuki and Marcus Stroman were two more expensive additions last winter, Hoyer stuck mostly to less-costly, shorter-term free agents.

AL Notes: Rizzo, Aguilar, Guardians, Pagan, Rangers, Heim, Huff

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Anthony Rizzo has been dealing with back problems for much of the season, and the Yankees first baseman received an epidural on Thursday that will sideline him for the next few games.  The plan is to have Rizzo in the lineup on Monday when the Yankees open a homestand against the Twins, manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News).  “This is something that should give him a lot of relief the rest of the way this season,” Boone said, also noting that Rizzo received a clean MRI on his back earlier in August.

The lingering back problems are a likely cause of Rizzo’s slump in August, as the first baseman has hit only .200/.282/.371 in his last 78 plate appearances.  Rizzo still has a healthy 136 wRC+ for the season even despite these recent struggles, but the Yankees surely need him back at full production for both the playoffs and what has become a surprisingly competitive AL East race with the surging Rays.

More from around the American League…

  • The Guardians didn’t have interest in Jesus Aguilar before the first baseman signed with the Orioles, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.  Aguilar spent his first three MLB seasons with Cleveland in 2014-16, playing in only 35 big league games before being claimed by the Brewers in February 2017.  While he has enjoyed some success in his career, Aguilar has struggled in 2022, with only a .232/.282/.382 slash line over 463 plate appearances.  While the Guards are lacking in offense and Aguilar makes some sense as a first base/DH platoon partner with Josh Naylor, there’s no guarantee that Aguilar would’ve suddenly turned things around in Cleveland.
  • Emilio Pagan drew some “mild interest” in trade talks before the deadline, The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman reports.  Acquired as part of a notable four-player swap with the Padres before the season, Pagan’s first Twins season has difficult, with the reliever posting a 4.94 ERA over 51 innings.  Though Pagan has a very good 29.8% strikeout rate, he has been homer-prone, his 9.3% walk rate is well below average, and opposing batters are making tons of hard contact.  Pagan is arbitration-eligible this winter and might be a non-tender candidate, except the Twins feel they might still be able to deal the right-hander rather than let him go for nothing in a non-tender.
  • Rangers prospect Sam Huff has yet to receive a true extended look in the majors, with 10 games in 2020 and 30 games this season.  While Texas might call Huff up at some point before 2022 is over, the team will continue giving Huff regular work behind the plate at Triple-A while Jonah Heim continues as the regular catcher for the big league team, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes.  Heim still needs some seasoning in his own right, with interim manager Tony Beasley noting that Heim “needs to feel [an incresed workload] a little bit. That’s part of getting through the season, something that all everyday catchers have to feel.”  Heim has enjoyed a quality season on the whole, but his production has dropped off since the All-Star break, quite possibly because of his career-high number of MLB plate appearances and games played.

Orioles Claim Anthony Castro, Designate Phoenix Sanders

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The Orioles announced that right-hander Anthony Castro has been claimed off waivers from the Guardians, and subsequently optioned to Triple-A.  Right-hander Phoenix Sanders was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.  In addition, Baltimore outrighted infielder Richie Martin to Triple-A, as Martin cleared waivers after being designated earlier this week.

Castro has pitched in each of the last three MLB seasons, all with different teams — the Tigers in 2020, the Blue Jays in 2021, and the Guardians in 2022.  Cleveland acquired Castro from Toronto for Bradley Zimmer back in April, and Castro ended up posting a 7.43 ERA over 13 1/3 relief innings in the majors.

Within that small sample size, Castro issued 10 walks and allowed five home runs.  Control has been a persistent problem for Castro throughout his nine pro seasons, though at least at the minor league level, Castro has been able to mitigate a lot of those free passes due to some solid strikeout rates and grounder rates that routinely sit above the 50% threshold.  Over 596 1/3 minor league innings, Castro has a 3.47 ERA.

Between these decent numbers and a mid-90s fastball, Castro drew the Orioles’ interest, and he’ll now provide some extra bullpen depth for the surprise contenders.  He’ll take the place of Sanders, who was himself a waiver claim off the Rays roster less than two weeks ago.

Sanders has yet to see any Major League action with the Orioles, so his big league resume consists of the 14 2/3 innings he tossed for Tampa Bay earlier this season.  The 27-year-old’s first taste of the Show resulted in a very respectable 3.07 ERA.  Pitching mostly as a reliever during his career, Sanders posted a 3.46 ERA and a 29.55% strikeout rate over 260 innings in the minor leagues.

However, his work at Triple-A this year has been a struggle, with Sanders delivering only a 6.19 ERA over 32 frames.  Some back problems could be partially responsible, or perhaps Sanders had trouble adjusting to his first time being shuttled up and down between the minors and the Rays’ roster.  Given his past track record, it would seem possible that another club might grab Sanders in yet another waiver claim.

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