Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Jacob Nottingham

Brewers To Place Manny Pina On IL, Recall Jacob Nottingham

By | at

The Brewers announced after last night’s game that catcher Manny Pina will be headed to the 10-day injured list with a hamstring injury. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by fellow receiver Jacob Nottingham, per MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy (via Twitter).

It’s not clear how long Pina will be sidelined, but he’ll need to use his time away to work on more than just his hamstring. Soon to turn 32, Pina has struggled to a .133/.220/.244 slash to open the season — well shy of the palatable offensive numbers he carried over the prior two campaigns.

Pina’s role has unsurprisingly been reduced in the wake of the addition of Yasmani Grandal, who’ll continue to see the bulk of the action behind the dish. Grandal will now be supplemented by Nottingham, a 24-year-old who enjoyed a cup of coffee last season.

Nottingham originally came to Milwaukee in the swap that sent slugger Khris Davis to the A’s. (Before that, he landed in the Oakland organization in the July 2015 Scott Kazmir trade.) At the time, he was seen as a bat-first catching prospect with real potential. He has struggled at times in the upper minors, though he was productive last year at Triple-A and was graded by MLB.com as the Brewers’ 16th-best prospect over the winter. Nottingham is slashing .247/.351/.395 in 94 plate appearances at San Antonio thus far in 2019.

Call-Ups: White Sox, Rays, Brewers

By | at

In an announcement that comes as a surprise to no one, Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports tweets that the White Sox will not call up top prospect Eloy Jimenez this September. By suppressing Jimenez’ service time until the third week of April 2019, the rebuilding South Siders can gain another year of team control over the power prodigy. Jimenez has dominated the minor leagues ever since joining the White Sox organization as part of a cross-town swap with the Cubs for left-hander Jose Quintana; the outfielder has hit at least .300 and slugged at least .550 at every level since that trade. At Triple-A, he’s managed an outstanding .368/.409/.618 batting line with a minuscule 12.7% strikeout rate.

Instead of giving Jimenez a September look, the club opted to call up right-hander Ian Hamilton in the wake of the trade that sent Xavier Cedeno to the Brewers, (h/t Scott Merkin of MLB.com). Merkin labels Hamilton as the club’s “closer of the future”; perhaps a fair designation considering he’s pitched to a 1.71 ERA at Triple-A this year with an eye-popping 7.00 K/BB ratio. Hamilton fired a perfect inning last night in his MLB debut.

A couple of other call-ups in the wake of last night’s trades and impending roster expansions…

  • The Rays selected the contract of catcher Adam Moore last night and added him to the MLB team, thus filling out their 40-man roster. The 34-year-old Moore cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Durham just a month ago after seeing his first major-league action since 2016. The veteran has also played for the Indians, Padres, Royals and Mariners throughout the course of his ten-year MLB career, but owns a lifetime batting average south of the Mendoza line and has only managed a 45 wRC+.
  • The Brewers are calling up catcher Jacob Nottingham, Robert Murray of The Athletic tweets. He’s ranked as the club’s ninth-best prospect by MLB Pipeline, owing to his power upside that hasn’t yet appeared at the major-league level. He has accrued just a single extra-base hit (a double) at the MLB level, but he managed to post a .281/.347/.528 batting line with ten homers in 196 appearances at the Triple-A level this season.
  • In addition to Nottingham, the Brew Crew will bring back another familiar face in the form of outfielder Domingo Santana (also per Murray). Santana enjoyed a breakout season last year, hitting .278/.371/.505 with 30 homers. However, an unsightly 29.3% strikeout rate and seemingly unsustainable .363 BABIP pointed to the likelihood of regression, which hit him hard this season as he saw his power disappear almost completely en route to a 78 wRC+. That led to a summer demotion, and while Santana’s power hasn’t entirely returned, he’s managed 8 homers in 227 Triple-A plate appearances. His walk rate in the minors (15.9%) is also nearly double what it was in the majors this season (8.5%).

NL Central Notes: Nottingham, Senzel, Harrison

By | at

The Brewers will recall catcher Jacob Nottingham from Triple-A Colorado Springs before tonight’s game, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports. It’ll be the first taste of the Majors for Nottingham, who was acquired by Milwaukee in the trade that sent Khris Davis to Oakland. The 23-year-old Nottingham has had two rough seasons in Milwaukee’s system, posting a sub-.700 OPS at Double-A in both 2016 and 2017. He’s off to a fast start this year, however, hitting .296/.345/.519 through a tiny sample of 29 plate appearances. The corresponding 25-man move for Milwaukee isn’t yet clear, though primary catcher Manny Pina is day-to-day at the moment, as are Eric Thames and Ryan Braun, McCalvy notes. Nottingham doesn’t figure to be a long-term add for the time being, as Pina, Jett Bandy and Stephen Vogt (who is working his way back from a shoulder injury) all come with more experience.

More from the Central…

  • The struggling Reds have received zero production from their third basemen since Eugenio Suarez hit the disabled list, but they’ve yet to call on one of baseball’s top prospects, Nick Senzel, to fill the void. As John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes, we’re already deep enough into the season that the Reds could promote Senzel and have delayed his free agency by a full year. Manager Bryan Price indicated that he believes Senzel could help the team right now but added that it’s a group decision and not one he can make on his own. “This is a decision that’s made by a lot of people for a lot of varying reasons,” said Price. “…I think he could help us. There’s also the argument that the people who see him and know him better than I do need to feel like he’s ready.” Senzel, the former No. 2 overall pick in the draft, is hitting just .233/.283/.349 through 46 Triple-A plate appearances, though his bat has picked up a bit after a four-game hitless slump.
  • Pirates infielder Josh Harrison is undergoing further evaluations today after being hit by a pitch in Sunday’s game against the Marlins, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. Harrison was hit on the forearm by a 96 mph fastball from Jose Urena and exited the game rather to stay in and run for himself. A rumored trade piece for much of the offseason, Harrison is off to a .263/.328/.351 start to the season for an 11-4 Pirates club. The Bucs would likely turn to either Adam Frazier or Sean Rodriguez if Harrison requires a trip to the disabled list.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top