Injured List Placements: Thompson, Bolt, Cabrera
Catching up on some of today’s injury news…
- Nationals right-hander Mason Thompson was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right biceps strain. Washington called up Hunter Harvey from Triple-A in the corresponding move, with the former Orioles top prospect getting his first look with his new team since the Nats claimed him off waivers from the Giants two weeks ago. Thompson threw only three pitches before being forced out of last night’s outing against the Mets. X-rays are negative, and Thompson is also undergoing an MRI today, Washington manager Dave Martinez told MLB.com’s Jessica Camerato and other reporters.
- The Athletics placed Skye Bolt on the 10-day IL with a right oblique strain. Left-hander Adam Kolarek was called up from Triple-A. After debuting with five games for Oakland in 2019, Bolt didn’t see any action in 2020 and then played in 34 total games with the Giants and A’s last season. Bolt has some big numbers with Oakland’s Triple-A affiliate but hasn’t brought that pop to the majors, with only an .090/.116/.164 slash line over 71 career plate appearances in the Show.
- Edward Cabrera has been placed on the minor league injured list, as the former Marlins top prospect is dealing with a right biceps injury. Beyond the delayed start that everyone faced for Spring Training, Cabrera’s spring work was also delayed by a visa issue, hence his extra time in the minors. While this particular injury isn’t thought to be too serious, Cabrera did miss two months last season due to an inflamed nerve in that same right biceps. Among the many highly-touted young arms in the Marlins organization, Cabrera is one of the most promising, regularly featuring on top-100 lists over the last three seasons. The right-hander made his MLB debut last season, posting a 5.81 ERA over 26 1/3 innings for Miami.
Marlins’ Sean Guenther Undergoes Tommy John Surgery
The Marlins informed reporters this afternoon that left-hander Sean Guenther underwent Tommy John surgery yesterday (via Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald). That’ll obviously keep him out for the entire season, and it seems likely he’ll miss a good portion of the 2023 campaign.
It’s a difficult blow for Guenther, albeit not all that unexpected. It was reported last week the southpaw was dealing with an arm issue which may require surgery. Miami had already placed him on the 60-day injured list, so there won’t be any forthcoming transaction now that he’s gone under the knife.
Guenther, 26, reached the big leagues for the first time last season. He made 14 appearances and worked 20 1/3 innings, struggling to a 9.30 ERA. Guenther didn’t miss many bats in the majors, but he induced grounders at a decent 47.2% clip. He also posted some excellent strikeout and walk numbers with Triple-A Jacksonville, where he punched out 30.1% of batters faced and only walked 4.3% of opponents.
While he won’t pitch in 2022, Guenther will receive major league pay and service time for his time on the IL. The Marlins will have to add him back to the 40-man roster at the start of next offseason.
Marlins Select Shawn Armstrong
The Marlins announced this morning that reliever Shawn Armstrong has made the Opening Day roster. Miami cleared a 40-man roster spot with yesterday’s trade of Alex Jackson to the Brewers. The Fish also placed reliever Dylan Floro and infielder Jose Devers on the 10-day injured list and recalled outfielder Bryan De La Cruz from Triple-A Jacksonville.
Armstrong, 31, has pitched in the big leagues in each of the past seven seasons. He owns a career 4.63 ERA in 167 innings, striking out and walking batters at roughly average respective clips. Last year, the right-hander split the season between the Orioles and Rays and posted a 6.75 ERA in spite of a capable 26.7% strikeout rate. Outrighted off the Tampa Bay roster at the end of the year, he latched on with Miami on a minor league contract.
Home runs were a real issue for Armstrong, as he served up ten longballs in just 36 innings. The Miami front office is certainly hopeful that’ll even out in a more pitcher-friendly home environment. He’s out of minor league option years, so the Marlins will have to carry Armstrong on the active roster moving forward or else make him available to other teams.
AJ Ramos Announces Retirement
Reliever AJ Ramos is retiring from professional baseball, he announced this afternoon (on Twitter). “Everyday you get to play/live truly is a blessing,” Ramos wrote as part of his statement. “The ability to enjoy the process is a big part of being successful because you soon realize that every setback or failure is just an opportunity to learn and get better. So I am thankful for my failures just as much as my success, beyond grateful for my time playing baseball.”
Ramos began his professional career as a 21st-round pick of the Marlins out of Texas Tech in 2009. Despite not being a high draft pick, the right-hander pitched his way to the majors within three years. Ramos made 11 appearances with the Fish late in the 2012 campaign, and he emerged as an important and effective late-inning option by the following year.
The 2013 season marked Ramos’ first of four straight seasons working at least 64 innings with an ERA no higher than 3.15. He held opponents to a pitiful .194/.303/.277 slash line over that stretch, allowing a cumulative 2.64 earned runs per nine. The Lubbock native punched out 27.4% of batters faced at a time when the league-wide strikeout rate for bullpen arms was about five points lower. Ramos emerged as Miami’s closer by 2015 and he was selected to the All-Star game during a 40-save 2016 campaign.
Miami traded Ramos to the division-rival Mets in advance of the 2017 trade deadline. His numbers ticked down in Queens, particularly in 2018. He never seemed fully healthy that season, and he was diagnosed with a labrum tear in his throwing shoulder that June. That required season-ending surgery, one from which Ramos didn’t appear to ever fully recover.
After missing all of the 2019 campaign rehabbing, Ramos announced he was attempting a comeback in July 2020. After successive stints with the Dodgers and Cubs didn’t result in a big league look, he was rewarded for his perseverance with a late-season return to the majors as a Rockie. He signed a minor league contract with the Angels last season, and Los Angeles brought him up for the final week of the year.
Ramos returned to the Anaheim organization on another minors pact this offseason. Unfortunately, he suffered a torn capsule in his shoulder last week. Ramos quipped in his retirement announcement that he “gave it (his) all until (his) arm gave out … then threw two more pitches just to make sure.” It’s certainly not how the 35-year-old would’ve wanted his career to wrap up, but there’s no question he had a successful run.
Altogether, Ramos appeared in parts of nine big league seasons, working 373 1/3 innings across 381 games. He struck out 430 hitters, saved 99 games, held 46 more leads and posted a 3.04 ERA. Ramos had a four-year stretch as one of the more quietly effective relief arms around the sport, and while injuries plagued the late stages of his career, he was rewarded for his comeback efforts with late MLB looks in each of the last two years. MLBTR congratulates Ramos on his career and wishes him the best in retirement.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Brewers Acquire Alex Jackson From Marlins
Just hours after acquiring Víctor Caratini from the Padres, the Brewers have landed another catcher. Milwaukee is picking up Alex Jackson from the Marlins in exchange for minor leaguers Hayden Cantrelle and Alexis Ramirez, according to announcements from both teams.
Milwaukee already had a pair of vacancies on the 40-man roster, and Jackson has been optioned to Triple-A Nashville. Milwaukee is still set to open the year with a catching tandem of Omar Narváez and Caratini, but Jackson joins prospect Mario Feliciano as depth options on the 40-man roster.
Jackson, 26, spent less than a season as a Marlin. The Fish acquired from the division-rival Braves for Adam Duvall last summer. He appeared in 42 games with Miami late last year, hitting .157/.260/.278 while striking out in 48.8% of his 123 plate appearances. That marked Jackson’s most extended MLB work, as he’d picked up just 50 plate appearances in Atlanta between 2019-21.
Obviously, Jackson will need to make more contact moving forward. The right-handed hitter is a former 6th overall pick and top prospect, though, drawing praise from evaluators for big raw power and arm strength behind the dish. Jackson has popped 42 home runs and 29 doubles in 597 career Triple-A plate appearances. That’s massive power production, although it’s been accompanied by a .234 batting average and .318 on-base percentage.
Jackson has one option year remaining, so the Brewers can stash him at Nashville for the rest of this season. If he stays on the 40-man roster, Milwaukee will have to decide whether to carry him on the active roster in 2023. For now, he’ll add some depth to a catching group that just lost Pedro Severino to an 80-game PED suspension and saw Brett Sullivan shipped to San Diego in the Caratini deal.
Cantrelle was a fifth-round pick in 2020 out of the University of Louisiana. The 23-year-old drew some praise for his athleticism and defensive aptitude on draft day, but he’s coming off a rough professional debut. Cantrelle hit .175/.376/.313 in 341 High-A plate appearances during his first pro action last year. He stole 28 bases and walked in an incredible 22.6% of his trips to the dish, but Cantrelle also fanned 26.4% of the time and only had 20 extra-base hits. Baseball America slotted him 37th in the Milwaukee farm system this winter.
Ramirez signed as an amateur out of the Dominican Republic during the 2017-18 signing period. He pitched at a pair of rookie ball levels during his first two professional seasons. Ramirez hasn’t pitched in game since 2019; after the 2020 minor league season was canceled, he spent all of last season on the minor league injured list. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs wrote last July that he was up to 96 MPH with a potential above-average slider in 2019.
Marlins, Jesus Aguilar Avoid Arbitration
The Marlins and first baseman Jesús Aguilar have agreed on a $7.5MM deal to avoid arbitration, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (on Twitter). That comes in the form of a $7.3MM salary for the upcoming season plus a $200K buyout on a new mutual option for the 2023 campaign. That buyout will increase to $250K if Aguilar, a client of MVP Sports Group, tallies at least 550 plate appearances this season.
Aguilar had filed at $7.75MM, while team had countered at $7MM. They’ll eventually come in a bit north of the midpoint of those figures to avoid an in-season hearing. It concludes the final trip through the arb process for Aguilar, as the 31-year-old is set to hit free agency at the end of the season.
The mutual option theoretically raises the possibility of him not hitting the open market, although it’s likely little more than an accounting measure. Mutual options are very rarely exercised by both sides, and the primary purpose is to push the team’s responsibility for the buyout to the end of the season as opposed to dispersing that money over the coming months in 2022 salary.
Aguilar has spent the past two seasons in South Florida. He’s served as Miami’s primary first baseman since being claimed off waivers from the Rays in December 2019. The right-handed hitter has been a solid but not elite hitter over that run, hitting .265/.336/.458 in a pitcher-friendly home ballpark. He’ll be part of what looks to be a solid crop of free agent first basemen next winter; Brandon Belt, José Abreu, Josh Bell, Yuli Gurriel and Trey Mancini are all set to hit the open market, while Anthony Rizzo will have the opportunity to opt-out of his deal with the Yankees.
Roster Notes: Twins, Marlins, Pirates, Yankees, Cubs, Phillies
With the season just a few days away, roster decisions around the game continue to trickle in. We’ll round up some notable non 40-man roster decisions here.
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- Twins pitching prospect Jhoan Duran has made the Opening Day roster, per a club announcement. He’ll initially work out of the bullpen. Ranked the #9 prospect in the Minnesota organization by Baseball America, Duran draws praise for an upper-90s fastball and a power splitter that have helped him run plus strikeout rates throughout his minor league career.
- The Marlins have informed outfielder Roman Quinn he will not make the Opening Day roster, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid (Twitter link). It comes as a bit of a surprise, as Quinn had seemed the favorite for a fourth outfield role after the Fish released Delino DeShields Jr. over the weekend. Presumably, that job will fall to utilityman Jon Berti early on.
- Infield prospect Diego Castillo has made the Pirates’ Opening Day roster, tweets Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Castillo, acquired in the trade that sent righty Clay Holmes to the Yankees, will make his big league debut the first time he gets into a game.
- The Yankees announced they’ve reassigned outfielder Ender Inciarte and left-hander Manny Bañuelos to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Inciarte has an opt-out clause in his minor league deal and tells ESPN’s Marly Rivera he hasn’t yet decided whether he’ll accept the assignment to Triple-A.
- The Cubs informed pitching prospect Ethan Roberts he’ll be on the Opening Day roster, he informed reporters (including Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times). A fourth-round pick in 2018 out of Tennessee Tech, the right-hander is the #33 prospect in the organization according to Baseball America. The reliever posted an even 3.00 ERA over 54 innings between Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa last season. The Cubs reassigned non-roster invitees Jonathan Holder, Robert Gsellman, Steven Brault, Stephen Gonsalves and Ildemaro Vargas to Iowa, tweets Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.
- The Phillies reassigned non-roster invitees Ronald Torreyes, Yairo Muñoz and Dillon Maples to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, tweets Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. Torreyes and Muñoz were competing for utility spots, while the hard-throwing Maples had been seeking a spot in the Philly bullpen.
Marlins Acquire Tanner Scott, Cole Sulser From Orioles
8:56PM: Both teams have officially announced the trade. To clear 40-man roster space for Scott and Sulser, the Marlins have designated left-hander Nick Neidert for assignment and placed lefty Sean Guenther on the 60-day injured list. MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola reported Friday that Guenther was dealing with an arm injury that may require surgery.
5:52PM: The Marlins have acquired left-hander Tanner Scott and right-hander Cole Sulser from the Orioles. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported (Twitter links) Scott’s inclusion in the deal, while The Miami Herald’s Craig Mish reported that Sulser had also been dealt. Feinsand reports that the Orioles will receive prospects Antonio Velez and Kevin Guerrero, a player to be named later, and the Marlins’ pick in Competitive Balance Round B of this summer’s amateur draft.
The bullpen was known to be a target area for Miami, and the Fish have now bolstered their relief core with a pair of experienced arms. In Sulser, the Marlins have also found a new closer candidate, as Sulser saved eight games with Baltimore last season. While the Marlins aren’t expected to have a full-time closer, there is a vacancy for the ninth inning, as Dylan Floro is expected to start the season on the injured list.
Sulser is a late bloomer who didn’t make his MLB debut until he was 29, so he is still controlled through the 2025 season even though he only recently celebrated his 32nd birthday. Injuries played a factor in Sulser’s late start, as he underwent two Tommy John surgeries (one in college, and the other in 2015 when he was pitching in Cleveland’s farm system). He finally surfaced in the majors with the Rays in 2019, and then came to Baltimore on a waiver claim at the end of the 2019 season.
After posting a 5.56 ERA over 22 2/3 innings in 2020, Sulser broke out with a 2.70 ERA over 63 1/3 relief innings for Baltimore last season. Though his 8.9% walk rate ranked only in the 40th percentile of all pitchers (as per Statcast), Sulser’s 28.4% strikeout rate was well above average, and fit in the high strikeout totals he has posted during his minor league career.
Scott also hasn’t had much trouble missing bats, but the southpaw’s control issues have resulted in some inconsistent numbers over 156 Major League innings. Scott has an ungainly 13.6% walk rate during his MLB career, which is a big reason why he has posted only a 4.73 ERA with the Orioles despite a 50.1% grounder rate and a 29.4% strikeout rate.
Between those numbers, Scott’s mid-90s fastball, and his three remaining years of arbitration control (Scott is set to earn $1.05MM this season after avoiding arbitration with the O’s), it is easy to see why Scott has drawn his share of trade buzz over the years. As well, Sulser’s name also surfaced in trade rumors earlier this year, as the rebuilding Orioles continue to be open for business on pretty much everyone on the roster.
In fact, the Marlins themselves swung another notable bullpen trade with the O’s back in August 2020, picking up Richard Bleier. Sulser and Bleier will now join Anthony Bass and Anthony Bender as Miami’s top save candidates, with Floro joining the mix when he returns to action. It is quite possible more names might end up emerging as closer possibilities for manager Don Mattingly, or one of those relievers might pitch well enough to firmly establish themselves as the top choice for the ninth inning.
From Baltimore’s perspective, the CBR-B draft pick may be the biggest score of the trade return. The Competitive Balance Rounds are two separate draft rounds that respectively take place after the first round and second round of the draft, with 15 teams (all falling within the bottom 10 of market or revenue size) getting a bonus pick in one of the two rounds. For the 2022 draft, the Marlins were selected into CBR-B and had the first pick of that round. As it so happens, Baltimore will now be picking first in both Competitive Balance Rounds, as the O’s also have the first selection of CBR-A. The Competitive Balance picks are the only draft selections that are allowed to be traded.
Baseball America ranked Guerrero 29th and Velez 34th on their most recent list of the Marlins’ top 40 prospects. Guerrero is a 17-year-old outfielder who was part of the 2020-21 international signing class, and he hit .260/.373/.298 in 159 PA this past summer with the Marlins’ Dominican Summer League squad. BA’s scouting report describes him as something of a work in progress, as his “future will be based around the way his body develops,” given that Guerrero is already 6’3″ but only 165 pounds.
Velez is a Miami native who wasn’t drafted coming out of Florida State, owing to the shortened nature of the 2020 draft. Baseball America credited Velez as having the best changeup and best control of any pitcher in the Marlins’ farm system, which is no small achievement given all of the high-profile young arms in Miami’s minor league ranks. In addition to that quality changeup, Velez’s “low-90s fastball is amplified by vertical break that borders on double-plus.”
While the Orioles continue to bolster their minor league ranks, today’s trade marks yet another move that depletes the MLB roster. Sulser was tentatively set to act as Baltimore’s closer, and since Scott was also in the mix for save chances, it is now an open question as to who will end up getting ninth-inning duties. Paul Fry, Jorge Lopez, and Dillon Tate look like the next men up on the depth chart, though any number of pitchers could be cycled through depending on performance, shifting roles, injuries, and perhaps more trades.
Marlins Release Delino DeShields
The Marlins announced that outfielder Delino DeShields has been released from his minor league contract. DeShields didn’t show much in limited Grapefruit League action, getting just one hit in eight plate appearances over four games.
DeShields’ strong center field glove and basestealing ability earned him a regular spot in the Rangers’ lineup in 2017-19, even if his bat was rarely dangerous. Cleveland acquired DeShields as part of the Corey Kluber trade in the 2019-20 offseason, but he was then non-tendered the next, and bounced around to three different teams during the 2021 campaign. The outfielder’s only MLB action last year came in a Reds uniform, as he hit .255/.375/.426 in 58 PA for Cincinnati.
In the wake of this release, DeShields will now try to catch on with another team in need of outfield depth. The Marlins seemed to be such a club, as DeShields’ center field ability made him a good backup for a starting outfield that will feature Jesus Sanchez and Avisail Garcia sharing time in center. However, with DeShields now gone, it seems as though the Fish will be going with another minor league signing in Roman Quinn as their top outfield bench option.
Mets Claim Yoan Lopez Off Waivers From Marlins
The Mets have claimed reliever Yoan López off waivers from the Marlins, according to announcements from both teams. To clear space on the 40-man roster, New York placed left-hander Joey Lucchesi on the 60-day injured list.
López continues to bounce around the league — and more specifically, the NL East — via waivers. Designated for assignment by the Braves early in the offseason, he was claimed by the Phillies just before the lockout. Since the work stoppage, he’s gone from Philadelphia to Miami and now to Queens on the waiver wire.
Despite having been a member of four NL East teams within the past six months, the only big league club for which López has ever suited up is the Diamondbacks. A high-profile signee by Arizona out of Cuba, he was one of the better pitching prospects in the D-Backs system for the next couple years. López reached the big leagues briefly in 2018 and found a bit of success early in his career. He pitched to a 3.41 ERA over 60 2/3 innings during his second MLB campaign, but an underwhelming 17.1% strikeout rate indicated he might have trouble continuing to keep runs off the board.
That proved to be the case, as he’s posted a 6.19 mark in 32 innings over the past two years. His 19.6% strikeout percentage and 10.1% walk rate in that time are both worse than average. That said, the 29-year-old has actually had some success missing bats on a pitch-by-pitch basis. He’s generated swinging strikes on nearly 13% of his offerings in each of the past two years, about a point above the 11.7% league average for bullpen arms. López has also averaged north of 95 MPH on his fastball and has posted slightly better than average ground-ball marks.
Traded from Arizona to Atlanta in May, López spent the majority of last season with the Braves’ top affiliate in Gwinnett. He had much better results there than he’s had in the big leagues, posting a 3.03 ERA with a 26.7% strikeout rate in 32 appearances. Between his Triple-A performance and pair of remaining minor league option years, López has clearly piqued the interest of a handful of teams. None have yet been willing to devote him a permanent spot on the 40-man roster, but the Mets can stash him at Triple-A Syracuse as a depth option for the next couple years were they to keep him on the 40-man.
Lucchesi’s 60-day IL placement was an inevitability whenever New York needed a roster spot. The southpaw underwent Tommy John surgery last June and will miss most or all of the upcoming season recovering.