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Nationals Sign Luis Garcia

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July 8th: The Nationals have now officially announced the signing of Garcia. Right-hander Eduardo Salazar has been optioned to Triple-A Rochester as the corresponding active roster move. Righty Trevor Williams has been transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot. Williams was just placed on the 15-day IL a few days ago due to an elbow sprain. It appears the Nats don’t expect him to return before September. Washington also recalled catcher Drew Millas and placed catcher Keibert Ruiz on the seven-day concussion-related IL.

July 6th: The Nationals have signed right-hander Luis Garcia to a Major League contract, the Washington Post’s Andrew Golden reports.  The deal will become official when the 38-year-old Garcia passes a physical.

It didn’t take long for Garcia to find a new landing spot, as the Dodgers only just released the veteran reliever on Friday.  Garcia signed a minor league deal with Los Angeles last winter and broke camp with the team, but his struggled during his time on the big league roster.  Garcia posted a 5.27 ERA and 12.7% walk rate over 27 1/3 innings, and spent about a month on the injured list recovering from an adductor strain.

There have been plenty of ups and downs for Garcia over his 13 MLB seasons, which isn’t surprising for a grounder specialist who relies a lot of batted-ball luck.  His most sustained stretch of success came fairly recently, as Garcia posted a 3.62 ERA, 23.4% strikeout rate, and 7.4% walk rate across 154 relief innings for the Cardinals and Padres from 2021-23.  Those results led to a one-year, $4.25MM free agent deal with the Angels during the 2023-24 offseason, and Garcia continued to pitch decently well before his production dipped after a deadline trade to the Red Sox.

Washington has one of the league’s worst bullpens, so there’s not much risk for the Nats in taking a flier to see if Garcia can bounce back from his rough showing in L.A.  If he really pitches well between now and the July 31 trade deadline, the Nationals could even look to quickly flip Garcia elsewhere for a low-level minor leaguer.

Once Garcia gets into a game with his new club, he will have pitched with eight different teams at the big league level over the course of his long career.  This is actually the second Dodgers-to-Nationals trip Garcia has taken — after beginning his career as an international prospect in Los Angeles’ farm system, the Dodgers dealt Garcia to the Nats way back in August 2009.  Garcia didn’t see any big league action during his year-plus in the Washington organization, and didn’t end up making his MLB debut until he was a 26-year-old pitching with the Phillies in 2013.  (By coincidence, Garcia pitched against the Nats in his first Major League game.)

Dodgers To Recall Alexis Díaz For Team Debut

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The Dodgers are calling up right-hander Alexis Díaz, reports Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. The former Reds closer was acquired in a trade earlier this year but has been in the minors since that deal. He is on the 40-man roster, so the Dodgers will only need to make a corresponding active roster move to open a spot.

Díaz will get his first look in Dodger blue. L.A. acquired the 2023 All-Star from Cincinnati in late May. It was essentially a salary dump for the Reds. The Dodgers agreed to cover the nearly $3MM remaining on Díaz’s $4.5MM salary for this season. Between that and the associated 110% luxury tax figure, it was a sizable bet on a rebound. Díaz had given up eight runs with more walks than strikeouts through his first six MLB innings this year. He was pitching in Triple-A at the time of the trade.

The Dodgers opted for a complete reset, assigning Díaz to their Arizona complex for a couple weeks. They presumably felt they could iron out some kind of repertoire or mechanical issues before sending him back to a minor league affiliate. He has been at Triple-A Oklahoma City for the past two weeks. The results haven’t been any better, as he’s allowed five runs while issuing seven walks and hitting two more batters in only 4 2/3 innings.

Díaz has always had below-average command, but he showed big swing-and-miss ability over his first two MLB seasons. His velocity and strikeout rate each dipped last year, though he managed a respectable enough 3.99 ERA across 56 1/3 frames. Díaz combined for 65 saves between 2023-24 but won’t be in position for high-leverage work unless he begins missing bats again. He remains a project but will get a look in Dave Roberts’ middle innings group, likely bumping one of Will Klein or Julian Fernández back to Triple-A. Díaz is trending towards a non-tender but would be eligible for arbitration for another three seasons if he pitches well enough to hold his roster spot.

Dodgers To Activate Tyler Glasnow On Wednesday

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The Dodgers will welcome Tyler Glasnow back on Wednesday, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including MLB.com’s Sonja Chen). He’ll take the ball opposite veteran southpaw Jose Quintana in the series finale against the Brewers. Glasnow is on the 60-day injured list, meaning the Dodgers will need to create a 40-man roster spot within the next two days.

Glasnow has been out since late April with inflammation in his throwing shoulder. He had made five starts before the injury, surrendering nine runs across 18 innings. Glasnow punched out 23 hitters but issued 11 walks and surrendered four home runs. The Dodgers shut him down for a couple weeks before he built back into game shape. He has been at Triple-A Oklahoma City on a rehab assignment since June 22. Glasnow allowed eight runs in 8 2/3 innings over three minor league appearances. He struck out eight while throwing 78 pitches in 4 1/3 frames during his final rehab start last Thursday.

The Dodgers will give Glasnow five days rest leading up to his return to the MLB rotation. He’s likely to be limited to a 4-5 inning appearance in his first outing. That’ll be his only appearance before the All-Star Break, so he’ll have plenty of time off before he next toes the rubber. Dustin May, who had initially been scheduled to pitch on Wednesday, will move back to Friday’s series opener in San Francisco.

Los Angeles has used Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw and Shohei Ohtani alongside May in the rotation. They recalled Emmet Sheehan to start yesterday against the Astros. Sheehan could be optioned back to OKC to clear an active roster spot for Glasnow. They’ve limited Ohtani to 1-2 inning appearances after his return from elbow surgery. Ben Casparius is capable of working multiple innings out of the bullpen and could pitch behind Ohtani in a piggyback setup.

Dodgers Designate CJ Alexander For Assignment

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The Dodgers announced a series of roster moves today. Outfielder James Outman has been recalled to the big league club and they have also selected the contract of right-hander Julian Fernández. In corresponding active roster moves, left-hander Justin Wrobleski has been optioned while infielder/outfielder Enrique Hernández has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to left elbow inflammation. To open a 40-man spot for Fernandez, infielder/outfielder CJ Alexander has been designated for assignment. The Fernández move was reported earlier today.

There isn’t a lot of information about the injury to Hernández. Per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, manager Dave Roberts says the issue has been around for about a month. It’s Hernández’s non-throwing elbow, which is presumably why he was able to play through it, but the club has decided to give him a breather. With the All-Star break coming up, he might not actually miss many games if it’s a minor issue. Roberts does believe Hernández could be back in there shortly after the break, per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times.

Outman gives the club some extra outfield coverage but the position player mix is a bit thin at the moment, particularly on the infield. Max Muncy is on the injured list and will miss several weeks. Tommy Edman is not in the lineup tonight, seemingly due to a right pinky toe issue, per David Vassegh of SportsNet LA. Outfielder Teoscar Hernández was getting scans on his left foot last night after fouling a ball off himself last night, per Vassegh, and isn’t in the lineup tonight.

In tonight’s lineup, the Dodgers have Freddie Freeman at first, Hyeseong Kim at second, Mookie Betts at shortstop and Miguel Rojas at third. The bench consists of backup catcher Dalton Rushing, outfielder Esteury Ruiz, and then the banged-up Teoscar and Edman. If Edman is unable to play tonight, those four infielders are apparently locked in. If another injury were to pop up, the club would have to get creative and try an outfielder on the dirt. Roberts hopes Edman and Hernández will be available off the bench tonight, per Harris, though that may be hollow optimism.

Alexander was just claimed off waivers a few days ago, seemingly to give the club some extra infield depth, but he hasn’t been recalled today. Instead, he’s been bumped off the 40-man roster and into DFA limbo, likely to return to the waiver wire in the coming days.

He has a small amount of big league experience with the Royals and Athletics, having produced a .160/.160/.160 line in 25 plate appearances. He had a really good performance in the minors last year but hasn’t carried it over into 2025. He slashed .302/.361/.559 for a 130 wRC+ on the farm in 2024, but this year’s minor league line is .236/.335/.429 for a wRC+ of 83.

He is capable of playing any of the four corner spots and can still be optioned to the minors. Perhaps there will be interest from clubs who think he’s capable of getting back to last year’s performance. If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, the Dodgers could retain him as non-roster depth.

Photo courtesy of Neville E. Guard, Imagn Images

Dodgers To Select Julian Fernández

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The Dodgers are going to call up right-hander Julian Fernández, reports Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. The club will need to make corresponding moves to get the righty onto the active and 40-man rosters.

Fernández, 29, is a flame-throwing right-hander. He signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers in the offseason. He has since thrown 28 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level with a 4.08 earned run average in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He has struck out 25.6% of batters faced and given out free passes at an 8% clip. He is strictly a fastball-changeup guy, with the heater averaging 96.9 miles per hour this year and the change at 85.1 mph.

Despite the intriguing stuff, he hasn’t been able to carve out a huge major league career yet. He did rack up two years of big league service time over 2018 and 2019, though that was due to being plucked in the Rule 5 draft and then requiring Tommy John surgery, spending that whole time on the injured list. He made six appearances for the Rockies in 2021, with a 10.80 ERA, which is the extent of his actual big league action thus far.

He was outrighted off Colorado’s roster in 2022 and finished that year with a 6.63 ERA in the minors. He signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays in 2023 but posted a 10.61 ERA and was released before the end of May. He then spent 2024 in Mexico and put up an ERA of 1.82 there before landing his deal with the Dodgers for 2025.

Fernández has a couple of options remaining, so he can jump into the club’s ever-changing pitching mix and provide some roster flexibility. The Dodgers currently have 12 pitchers on the injured list and have been trying to improvise solutions as the body count has climbed. The upcoming All-Star break will give them a breather and they will presumably make some moves to shuffle things at the deadline. For now, they’ll add Fernández into the equation to see if he can get some big league hitters out.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images

Details On Bryan Reynolds’ Limited No-Trade Protection

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The Pirates appear to be open for business regarding trade talks for most of their roster (sans Paul Skenes) this summer. In a trade market without many quality bats available, that could make two-time All-Star Bryan Reynolds a particularly intriguing commodity for some teams. One potential wrinkle in Reynolds’s availability is his partial no-trade protection, which allows him to block trades to a list of six teams. A report from Noah Hiles from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette yesterday revealed those teams are the Yankees, Mets, Blue Jays, Dodgers, Giants, and Padres.

All six of those teams are in playoff contention and stand out as likely to not only buy this season, but do so fairly aggressively. It’s not unheard of for a player to waive their no-trade clause, and some players with limited no-trade protection even specifically prioritize putting likely contenders on their no-trade lists to maximize the amount of leverage they have in determining their destination should their team decide to trade them. With that being said, the news of Reynolds’ no-trade list certainly makes a deal sending him to any of those six clubs far less likely.

Many of the clubs Reynolds can block a trade to appear to be imperfect fits on paper. The Dodgers, Yankees, and Mets all have deep corner outfield mixes and seem very unlikely to prioritize adding a bat like Reynolds when they have larger needs elsewhere. The Giants likely made their big splash of trade season already when they acquired Rafael Devers from the Red Sox, although Mike Yastrzemski is in the final year of his contract and would be unlikely to stop San Francisco from adding an impact bat. Addison Barger’s breakout and George Springer’s resurgence have more or less locked down the right field and DH spots for the Blue Jays, and while there’s an opening in left field for the moment that figures to change as soon as Anthony Santander returns from the injured list.

Perhaps the clearest fit for Reynolds on his no-trade list is the Padres, who have long appeared to be a bat short in the lineup as they’ve cycled through options like Jason Heyward, Trenton Brooks, and Oscar Mercado with little success this year. There’s a clear opening in left field for Reynolds to theoretically step into, as well. With that being said, San Diego has operated under some extremely tight financial constraints in recent years that would make it difficult to see them deal a player like Reynolds, who is due more than $77MM after this season on his extension with the Pirates. It should also be noted that, despite Reynolds’s long track record of success in the majors, he’s in the midst of the worst full season of his career as he’s slashed just .232/.298/.384 with a wRC+ of 87 this season.

That combination of a hefty contract, a tough 2025 campaign so far, and now a list of six contenders who likely will not be in the market for Reynolds’s services could mean the Pirates won’t get as much interest in their star outfielder as they may have hoped. Even if that proves to be the case, however, Reynolds is sure to get at least some interest around the league. The Royals have already been connected to Reynolds just this past week, and there will surely be more outfield-needy teams who at least give the Pirates a call to see if there’s a match. Speculatively speaking, the Phillies and Cardinals stand out as clubs that could theoretically stand to make a substantial upgrade to their outfield who might have the resources necessary to take on Reynolds’s contract.

Dodgers Not Planning To Add Third Base Help Before Deadline

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Max Muncy is expected to be out until roughly the second week of August after sustaining a bone bruise in his left knee on Wednesday.  While losing Muncy for six weeks will leave a significant hole in the Dodgers’ lineup, the club seems content to just stick with internal replacements rather than seek out infield depth at the trade deadline, manager Dave Roberts and GM Brandon Gomes told reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times).

“Even if [Muncy’s recovery] is way slow, you have a full month of baseball before we hit the playoffs,” Gomes said.  “So we’re giving him that time to get back into a good place and try to set a good foundation, like we try to do with all of our guys, to be prepared for that stretch run.”

The Dodgers have baseball’s best record (56-33) and an eight-game lead over the second-place Padres in the NL West.  With yet another postseason trip already looking like a lock, the Dodgers can afford to play the long game in even their post-deadline plans, on top of the remaining weeks to evaluate things prior to the July 31 trade deadline.

“With the time we have, there’s nothing pressing as far as needing to rush [Muncy] back,” Roberts said.  “I think we’re in a good spot….Knowing the certainty of Max coming back at some point.  I don’t think that will really impact our thinking going into the deadline.”

Of course, this could be gamesmanship on some level for Gomes and Roberts, as it wouldn’t exactly help the Dodgers’ leverage to publicly announce a quest for infield help.  It is also possible that the duo are being completely forthright, yet Los Angeles could still change course before the deadline if Muncy has a setback, or if he isn’t progressing well as July 31 approaches.  Bone bruises are often hard to officially diagnose in terms of a recovery timeline, since the nature of the injury lends itself to lingering discomfort.

The L.A. roster is also deep enough that Muncy’s absence opens up some room for others to get some deserved playing time.  Most prominently, Hyeseong Kim will likely get more time in the lineup, after hitting .360/.406/.506 over his first 96 big league plate appearances.  Kim’s playing time at second base should increase as Tommy Edman is used along with Enrique Hernandez and Miguel Rojas in the third base rotation while Muncy is out.

Dodgers Release Luis Garcia

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The Dodgers have released Luis Garcia, according to the right-hander’s MLB.com profile page.  Garcia was designated for assignment last week and (upon clearing waivers) had the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, though L.A. streamlined that process by parting ways with the 38-year-old.

Signed to a minor league contract this past winter, Garcia made the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster, and posted a 5.27 ERA over 27 1/3 innings with the club.  The righty’s 4.25 SIERA was more respectable, as Garcia’s sky-high .388 BABIP greatly hampered his grounder-heavy approach.  Bad batted-ball luck notwithstanding, Garcia also hurt himself by allowing a lot of hard contact, and walking batters at a 12.7% rate.  That elevated walk rate was an unwelcome return to the control problems Garcia faced earlier in his career, though he had seemingly harnessed his control by posting a more palatable 7% walk rate from 2021-24.

Garcia missed about a month of the season due to an adductor strain, and made two final appearances for Los Angeles before he was DFA’ed.  The 13-year veteran will now be changing addresses yet again after already pitching for seven different teams at the big league level over his lengthy career.  This long track record figures to get Garcia another look from some team on a minors deal, and the reliever was still posting quality results as recently as the first half of 2024, before the deadline trade that sent Garcia from the Angels to the Red Sox.

If Garcia indeed signs elsewhere, new team would only owe him the MLB minimum salary for any time spent in the majors.  That money would be subtracted from the remainder of Garcia’s $1.5MM salary for the 2025 season, which will be otherwise covered by the Dodgers.

Max Muncy Expects To Miss Around Six Weeks With Bone Bruise

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The Dodgers placed Max Muncy on the 10-day injured list this evening, an inevitability after he was helped off the field following an ugly left knee injury yesterday. He has been diagnosed with a bone bruise and tells Sonja Chen of MLB.com that he expects to be out for roughly six weeks. Imaging did not reveal any structural damage.

All things considered, this is probably a positive development. Muncy’s knee appeared to snap back awkwardly when he was injured in a collision with White Sox outfielder Michael A. Taylor. Taylor was attempting to steal third base and unintentionally dove directly into Muncy’s knee as the infielder stretched to apply the tag. Muncy was in a lot of pain and gingerly walked off the field with assistance from trainers. It raised initial fears about potential season-ending ligament damage.

Those proved unfounded, though the bone bruise will keep him on the shelf into the middle or end of August. Muncy has been on a tear for the past couple months. After hitting .194 over the season’s first month, he has raked at a .282/.410/.546 clip with 12 home runs since the beginning of May. That shut down any speculation that the Dodgers would trade for a third baseman. A season-ending injury might have changed that calculus, but it’s unlikely they’d alter their deadline plans when they expect Muncy back for the stretch run.

Miguel Rojas gets the first start at third base tonight, drawing into the nine hole against Sox righty Aaron Civale. Manager Dave Roberts told media (including David Vassegh of 570 AM) that Tommy Edman will begin taking third base drills. Rojas, Edman and Enrique Hernández will rotate through the hot corner, allowing the Dodgers to use Hyeseong Kim more frequently at second base. They also claimed CJ Alexander off waivers from the Yankees to add corner infield depth at Triple-A.

Dodgers Claim CJ Alexander, Designate Steward Berroa For Assignment

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The Dodgers have claimed infielder CJ Alexander off waivers from the Yankees, according to an announcement from the latter club. The Yanks designated him for assignment earlier this week. To open a 40-man spot for Alexander, the Dodgers have designated outfielder Steward Berroa for assignment, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.

Alexander, 28, has limited big league experience. Between the Royals and Athletics, he has appeared in 10 big league games and stepped to the plate 25 times with a .160/.160/.160 line, produced with four singles and no walks.

His minor league track record is naturally greater in both quantity and quality. Last year, he slashed .302/.361/.559 in 411 Triple-A plate appearances, split between the Royals’ and Athletics’ systems. That production translated to a wRC+ of 130.

This year, his offense has dipped a bit. He started the year with Triple-A Las Vegas and hit .252/.348/.509 in 42 games, but that actually led to a wRC+ of 98 in the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League. The A’s put him on waivers at the beginning of June and the Yankees claimed him. In 13 games for the RailRiders, he had a .196/.302/.196 line, which pushed him to the waiver wire yet again.

The Dodgers presumably feel there’s a path to getting him back closer to his 2024 form, or perhaps just somewhere in between last year’s production and this year’s. He has a bit of defensive versatility, capable of playing the four corner spots.

Third baseman Max Muncy appeared to injure himself last night and may end up on the injured list. That could push Hyeseong Kim into a more regular role. The Dodgers came into today with four position players on optional assignment: catcher Hunter Feduccia and outfielders Esteury Ruiz, James Outman and Berroa. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported earlier today that Ruiz would be joining the team, presumably to take Muncy’s roster spot. Grabbing Alexander gives the Dodgers an optionable infielder who could be called upon if their infield group takes another hit.

Berroa, 26, was acquired from the Blue Jays in a cash deal in May. He has since put up a huge .330/.424/.433 slash line in 27 Triple-A games, though aided by a .403 batting average on balls in play in that sample, stealing 11 bases along the way.

Dating back to the start of 2023, he has a combined .268/.367/.401 line and 110 wRC+ in 955 minor league plate appearances. He has also stolen 101 bases in that time while playing all three outfield spots. He made his major league debut with the Jays last year, hitting .189/.333/.216 in 45 plate appearances.

He now heads into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Dodgers could take as long as five days to explore trade talks. The last time Berroa was in DFA limbo, the Dodgers gave up some cash to skip the waiver line. He has been in good form since then, so it seems like he has a decent chance of getting scooped up in the coming days.

Photo courtesy of Neville E. Guard, Imagn Images

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