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Nationals Reinstate Three From COVID List; Designate Jonathan Lucroy For Assignment

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The Nationals announced a series of roster moves as they continue to bring players back from the COVID-19 list.  Josh Bell, Kyle Schwarber, and Josh Harrison are all back from COVID protocols and are active for today’s game.  Infielder Luis Garcia and outfielder Yadiel Hernandez were optioned to the alternate training site but will remain on the Nats’ taxi squad, while left-hander T.J. McFarland and righty Ryne Harper were sent to the alternate site.  As well, catcher Jonathan Lucroy was designated for assignment.

Jon Lester is the only player still on the COVID-related injury list, as the Nationals have just about all of their roster back following the coronavirus outbreak that forced the team to postpone its first four games of the season.  Washington hasn’t yet announced its lineup for tonight’s game with the Cardinals, but it’s probably safe to assume that at least one of Bell, Schwarber, or Harrison will be able to play, since the team would otherwise be rather shorthanded.

Lucroy was signed to a minor league deal on April 3 and he ended up appearing in five games with Washington (hitting .357/.357/.429 in 14 plate appearances).  The Nationals added Lucroy since their catching corps was also depleted by the COVID-19 outbreak, and the veteran could now potentially head elsewhere with at least a decent five-game audition under his belt for a future suitor.  As noted by MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman and other writers, Lucroy is very close to achieving 10 full years of Major League service time, and will continue to accumulate service days while designated.

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Nationals Set Opening Day Roster

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After having their first four games postponed due to positive Covid-19 tests within the organization, the Nationals have announced their roster for today’s season opener. Four Nationals players are said to have tested positive, with several more in the organization being deemed close contacts who are also going through protocol. Tuesday’s announcement was accompanied by a dizzying series of roster moves, which included placing catchers Yan Gomes and Alex Avila; left-handers Patrick Corbin, Brad Hand and Jon Lester; infielders Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer; first baseman Josh Bell; and outfielder Kyle Schwarber on the Covid-19 related injured list. Right-hander Will Harris was also placed on the 10-day injured list after his recent procedure to address a blood clot.

In a sequence of corresponding roster moves, the Nats recalled catcher Tres Barrera; right-handers Ryne Harper and Kyle McGowin; infielders Carter Kieboom and Luis Garcia; lefty Sam Clay; and outfielder Yadiel Hernandez from their alternate training site. Washington also selected the contracts of veteran catcher Jonathan Lucroy and outfielder Cody Wilson. Wilson was specifically designated as a “replacement player,” indicating that he can be removed from the 40-man roster and sent back to the minors without clearing waivers as the affected Nationals players are cleared to return to the roster.

Notably, the Nationals’ Opening Day roster includes shortstop Trea Turner — a welcome development after Turner was absent from yesterday’s workout with the team. Manager Dave Martinez tells reporters that Turner was not cleared to be on the field yesterday (Twitter link via the Washington Post’s Jesse Dougherty), so it seems he cleared protocols this morning. Turner will be joined in the Opening Day infield by Ryan Zimmerman, Hernan Perez (at second) and Starlin Castro (at third). The Nats will give Andrew Stevenson the nod in left field alongside Victor Robles and Juan Soto, while Lucroy draws the start behind the plate, catching Max Scherzer.

The Nationals will make up yesterday’s postponed contest against the Braves in a doubleheader tomorrow. It’s not yet clear when they’ll make up their three postponed games against the Mets, although given that they’re division rivals, the remainder of this season’s schedule will provide ample opportunity for those games to be played.

AL West Notes: Rangers, Lyles, Astros, Díaz, Odorizzi, Javier

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Jordan Lyles won’t get turns as a traditional starter to open the season for the Rangers, and he’s not thrilled about it, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter). Rangers manager Chris Woodward told the 6’5″ right-hander that he’s likely headed for 50-60 pitch outings, at least to start the season. Lyles surrendered more earned runs than any other pitcher in 2020, finishing with a 7.02 ERA/5.95 FIP in 57 2/3 innings. Outside of a 2-inning outing to start the season, Lyles served as a starter, though he did twice enter the game following an opener. Despite his struggles, Lyles averaged 88 pitches per outing as a starter/follower. The Rangers presumably want to protect Lyles while getting an extended look at some of their younger hurlers like Taylor Hearn and Brett Martin. Staying in Texas…

  • Chander Rome of the Houston Chronicle wonders if Aledmys Díaz might make some sense as a trade candidate for the Astros. The utility man is set to make $3MM this year, and the Astros would love to trim a little off the top of their payroll. Díaz has slashed .265/.337/.470 in 306 plate appearances the past two seasons as one of the first guys off the bench. Robel Garcia and Abraham Toro are competing for the second utility guy off the bench, and it certainly makes some sense to consider a Díaz trade if there’s one to be had. That said, Diaz is the best fit as a backup at shortstop, and Carlos Correa hasn’t exactly been an iron man. The Astros could also try to move Brooks Raley ($2MM), Joe Smith ($4MM) or Martin Maldonado ($3.5MM) as a way to trim the payroll, though the latter isn’t particularly likely.
  • Elsewhere on the Astros’ roster, they’re going to need to utilize their pitching depth from the jump. Recently-signed Jake Odorizzi isn’t likely to be ready for opening day, neither is Pedro Baez, currently on the COVID-19 injured list. Cristian Javier is also a bit of a question mark, not having pitched in a game since March 2, writes MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. Zack Greinke, Lance McCullers Jr., and Jose Urquidy remain at the top of the rotation, but the final two spots may be up for grabs. If Javier and Odorizzi aren’t ready for opening day, Luis García and Bryan Abreu are back in camp and ready to audition.

Yankees Sign Derek Dietrich, Nick Goody

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The Yankees announced their full slate of non-roster invitees to Spring Training on Wednesday, and while the bulk of them have already been reported over the course of the offseason, there are a few new attendees among the bunch. Infielder/outfielder Derek Dietrich, right-handers Nick Goody and Luis Garcia, outfielder Ryan LaMarre and southpaw Lucas Luetge are will all be in camp as non-roster players with the Yanks.

Dietrich, 31, has gravitated toward a three-true-outcomes skill set over the past couple of seasons as his power, strikeout rate and walk rate have all spiked. Since being cut loose by the Marlins after the 2018 campaign, he’s spent time with the Reds and Rangers, batting a combined .189/.332/.462 with 24 home runs, a 9.7 percent walk rate and a 25 percent strikeout rate. Dietrich has experience at first base, second base, third base and in left field, and his increasingly powerful left-handed swing would be a good fit at Yankee Stadium if he were to crack the MLB roster at some point.

Goody, 29, was a Rangers teammate of Dietrich’s in 2020 but struggled in his lone season with Texas. The former Indians setup man served up 11 runs in 11 innings last year but had strong showings in Cleveland both in 2019 and in 2017. Yankees fans quite likely recall Goody from his prospect days and his 2015-16 big league debut as a Yankee. His best season came with the 2017 Indians when he tossed 54 2/3 innings of 2.80 ERA ball with a huge 32.6 percent punchout rate and a respectable nine percent strikeout rate, though his ’19 season was also sound: 40 2/3 innings, 3.54 ERA, 28.9 K%, 12.7 BB%. His 2018 season was shortened by elbow troubles, and last year’s struggles came in a season marred by back spasms.

Garcia, 34, makes a trifecta of 2020 Rangers joining the Yankees organization. He’s spent parts of eight seasons in the big leagues, mostly with the Phillies, but was knocked around for seven runs on 10 hits and nine walks with 11 strikeouts in 8 1/3 frames as a Ranger last year. Garcia was excellent with the 2017 Phillies but hasn’t had much success since — just a 5.26 ERA in 116 1/3 frames. He still averaged 97.2 mph on his four-seamer in 2020, however.

The 2020 season was the first that LaMarre, 32, didn’t log some big league time since 2014. He’s been an up-and-down fourth outfield type with the Reds, Red Sox, A’s, Twins and White Sox since making his MLB debut with Cincinnati in ’15, hitting .236/.286/.338 in 246 plate appearances along the way. LaMarre is a right-handed hitter who can play all three outfield spots and who carries a .281/.349/.415 career batting line in parts of seven Triple-A seasons.

Luetge, 34 in March, pitched in the Majors with the Mariners from 2012-15 but hasn’t been in the big leagues since. He’s bounced around the Triple-A clubs of the Orioles, Reds, Angels and D-backs in the meantime and owns a 4.22 ERA and 24 percent strikeout rate at that level. In 89 MLB innings he has a 4.35 ERA with pedestrian K/BB numbers but an above-average 47.7 percent grounder rate.

The Yankees also confirmed previously reported minor league agreements with several former big leaguers, including righties Kyle Barraclough, Jhoulys Chacin, Adam Warren and Asher Wojciechowski; lefties Nestor Cortes Jr. and Tyler Lyons; outfielders Socrates Brito and Jay Bruce; catchers Rob Brantly and Robinson Chirinos; and infielder Andrew Velazquez.

NL Notes: Nationals, Third Base, Coaching Announcements, Reds, Cubs

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The Nationals have no qualms about Carter Kieboom as their starting third baseman despite an alarming lack of power, writes Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com. The 23-year-old has produced a meager .051 ISO over his first 165 plate appearances, including just a solitary double in 122 plate appearances in 2020. Kieboom hit 16 home runs in 2019 at Triple-A with a respectable .189 ISO, and Fangraphs gives him a 55-potential in-game power grade on a 20-80 scale. The Nationals believe the power will come. Luis Garcia, the Nats’ top offensive prospect after Kieboom, was rushed to the Majors in 2020, but he does not appear to be in serious consideration for an everyday role on the 2020 roster, notes Zuckerman. Starlin Castro enters camp as the starter at second base, while Josh Harrison lines up as the primary backup at all three non-first-base infield spots. The Nationals aren’t famous for boasting tremendous depth, though they do have non-roster invitees Jordy Mercer, Adrián Sanchez, and Hernán Pérez also in camp. Let’s check in on some coaching announcements in the National League…

  • Jose Moreno, the Manager of the Year in the Venezuelan Winter League this season, will take over as manager for the High-A Dayton Dragons in the Reds’ system, per the Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans (via Twitter) and a press release from Dayton. It will be Moreno’s second season with the Reds after spending 19 years in the Seattle Mariners’ organization. As the Dragons make the move from Low-A to High-A, they’ll do so with with Darren Bragg, Brian Garman, and Daryle Ward on Moreno’s staff as a development coach, pitching coach, and hitting coach, respectively. Ward returns as the Dragons hitting coach after serving in the same role with the club in 2016 and 2017. Garman, meanwhile, was hired for the 2020 season before the cancellation.
  • The Cubs announced their minor league coaches and coordinators for the 2021 season today. Among the additions, Dustin Kelly has taken over as minor league hitting coordinator after three seasons as a hitting coach in the Dodgers’ organization. He played three seasons in the minors after being drafted in 2004 by the Red Sox. Kelly replaces Chris Valaika, who was promoted to assistant hitting coach for the big league club, notes the Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma (via Twitter).

Rays, Astros Set Game 5 Starters

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The Rays and Astros have set their starters for Thursday’s Game 5 of the ALCS. Tampa Bay will give the start to right-handed reliever John Curtiss in what should be a bullpen game, while Houston is turning to rookie right-hander Luis Garcia with their season on the line. Garcia has yet to pitch in the playoffs and pitched just 12 1/3 regular-season frames — his first career work above the Class-A Advanced level.

The 27-year-old Curtiss proved to be the latest gem unearthed by the Rays, as he gave the club 25 innings of 1.80 ERA ball with a 25-to-3 K/BB ratio during the regular season. The former Twins prospect was greeted rudely in his playoff debut earlier this month when the Yankees clobbered him for five runs in just two thirds of an inning, but he’s bounced back with a trio of scoreless outings. Curtiss didn’t pitch more than 2 2/3 innings in any appearance this season and hasn’t thrown more than 43 pitches in an outing, so it’ll be an all-hands-on-deck approach for the Rays today.

Garcia, 23, hasn’t pitched in a game since Sept. 27 and wasn’t asked to pitch more than two innings at any point after a five-inning effort back on Sept. 9. The Astros won’t be asking for bulk innings from the rookie today, as manager Dusty Baker told reporters his hope is that Garcia can navigate a potent Rays lineup once through the order (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart). It’s a stark contrast from last year’s Astros club, which rode the trio of Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole and Zack Greinke to Game 7 of the World Series, but it’s also a testament to the club’s young pitching that their arms have been able to take them this far in spite of so many key injuries to veteran pitchers.

In other lineup news, Baker revealed that x-rays taken after Michael Brantley fouled a ball into his foot were negative. He’s batting second as the Astros’ DH in today’s elimination game.

Rangers’ Luis Garcia Becomes Free Agent

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The Rangers have granted right-hander Luis Garcia free agency, per a team announcement. The club previously designated Garcia for assignment on Tuesday, but the reliever subsequently cleared waivers.

Garcia will head back to the open market eight months after signing a minor league contract with the Rangers in January. The 33-year-old wound up throwing 8 1/3 innings with Texas this season and surrendering nine runs (seven earned) on 10 hits and nine walks, though he did strike out 11 hitters along the way.

This will count as the third straight subpar season for Garcia, who has also spent time with the Phillies and Angels, but he has mostly posted respectable numbers in the majors. Since he debuted with Philadelphia in 2013, Garcia has logged a 4.26 ERA/4.32 FIP with 8.31 K/9, 4.77 BB/9 and a 55.1 percent groundball rate. Garcia has also averaged 96.2 mph on his fastball during his time in the bigs.

Rangers Designate Luis Garcia

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The Rangers announced that they’ve designated right-hander Luis Garcia for assignment. They also activated outfielder Willie Calhoun, recalled righty Demarcus Evans and optioned outfielder Scott Heineman.

The 33-year-old Garcia was a winter minor league pickup for the Rangers, with whom he threw 8 1/3 innings this season but had little luck keeping runs off the board. Opposing offenses battered Garcia for nine runs (seven earned) on seven hits and nine walks. The former Phillie and Angel now owns a 4.26 ERA/4.32 FIP with 8.55 K/9, 4.77 BB/9 and a 55.1 percent groundball rate in 315 major league innings.

Calhoun’s now back after missing just under a month with a left hamstring strain. At 17-30 and in possession of the AL’s second-worst record, playoff hopes are dead for the Rangers, but perhaps Calhoun will be able to end the season on a positive note. The former top 100 prospect seemed to turn the corner at the plate in 2019, but he could only manage a .172/.206/.224 line with no home runs in 63 plate appearances this season before his IL stint.

Rangers Select Luis Garcia, Place Juan Nicasio On Restricted List

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The Rangers have selected right-hander Luis Garcia’s contract from their alternate training site, per a team announcement. To make room for Garcia, the Rangers placed righty Juan Nicasio on the restricted list.

The 33-year-old Garcia may now get a chance to pitch in the majors for an eighth straight season. He divided 2013-19 between the Phillies and Angels, with whom he combined for a 4.17 ERA/4.29 FIP with 8.22 K/9, 4.64 BB/9 and a 55.4 percent groundball rate. At his best, the hard-throwing Garcia gave the Phillies 71 1/3 innings of 2.35 ERA/3.12 FIP ball in 2017, but he struggled mightily over the previous two seasons. As a result, Garcia had to settle for the Rangers’ minor league offer over the winter.

Nicasio, also 33 and another veteran reliever whom the Rangers inked to a minors pact, is down for “personal reasons.” He made his first two Rangers appearances Sunday and Monday, but those outings were disastrous. Nicasio combined to give up six earned runs on five hits and two walks in 1 1/3 innings in a pair of Texas losses.

Nationals To Promote Luis Garcia

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The Nationals will promote infield prospect Luis Garcia, per Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). He’s expected to join the team for its game this evening.

Garcia, who just turned 20 in May, will step right into the starting lineup. He had been on the club’s taxi squad but an immediate opening arose when Starling Castro suffered a wrist injury earlier today. Castro’s outlook remains to be seen.

The Nats have not hesitated to call upon their best young talent, with generally excellent results. Garcia will now have an opportunity to take a place in a still-developing new core of position players on the D.C. roster.

Though he’s still quite young, Garcia did play a full season at the Double-A level last year. He ran into some challenges there, ultimately slashing just .257/.280/.337 over 553 plate appearances, but was markedly better in the second half.

Talent evaluators see Garcia as a potential everyday player. For now, he’ll line up at second base alongside regular shortstop Trea Turner. It remains to be seen how lengthy an opportunity Garcia will receive. No doubt that’ll depend both upon the health status of Castro and Garcia’s ability to adapt to MLB pitching.

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