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MLB Weekend Roster Roundup: Cabrera, Hill, Mauer, Soto, Swanson

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ROSTER MOVES BY TEAM
(May 19th-May 20th)

NATIONAL LEAGUE

  • LOS ANGELES DODGERS | Depth Chart
    • Placed on 10-Day DL: SP Rich Hill (blister)
      • Hill was removed two pitches into his start on Saturday. He’s expected to miss at least 4 weeks.
    • Activated from 10-Day DL: RP Tony Cingrani
    • Added to roster: RP Erik Goeddel
      • Goeddel was claimed off waivers from the Mariners on Friday and added to the 25-man roster prior to Game 2 of Saturday’s double-header.
    • Promoted: RP Yimi Garcia, RP Pat Venditte
      • Garcia was the 26th man in Saturday’s double-header
      • Venditte was optioned after the 1st game of Saturday’s double-header and recalled prior to Sunday’s game.
    • Optioned: RP Adam Liberatore
  • PITTSBURGH PIRATES | Depth Chart
    • Activated from 10-Day DL: 2B Josh Harrison
      • Harrison played 2B and batted 1st on Sunday.
    • Promoted: SP Nick Kingham
      • Kingham started Saturday’s game and was optioned to the minors prior to Sunday’s game.
    • Optioned: INF Max Moroff, SP Nick Kingham 

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AMERICAN LEAGUE

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FUTURE EXPECTED MOVES

Reliable Relievers Are More Valuable Than Ever

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If you felt like relievers were getting special attention this offseason, you weren’t imagining things. In a 2017-2018 winter that featured a free agent freeze the likes of which we haven’t experienced in recent memory, relief pitchers were the one position group that hardly seemed to suffer. They flew off the board remarkably early in comparison to the rest of the free agent crop this season; 17 of the 30 seven-figure major league free agent signings to occur on or before December 15th, 2017 (an admittedly arbitrary date) were relief pitchers.

I’ll follow that statistic up with the obvious disclaimer that one offseason doesn’t necessarily set a trend. But the buyer’s frenzy that took place in regards to relief pitchers this past offseason is in line with a startling trend in today’s baseball climate: reliable relievers are a more valuable commodity today than they’ve ever been before.

Notice the qualifier reliable. I’m not suggesting that the Warwick Saupolds and Alec Ashers of the world are suddenly any more valuable than they would have been five years ago. But the upper echelon of relievers, the ones who can be relied upon to come in the game and consistently get outs in the late innings over the course of a full season, the value of those relievers relative to other positions has increased from what it was in years past.

Of course, baseball is a game of context, and the word reliable doesn’t mean anything without tangible statistics assigned to it. Fortunately, the echelon of relief pitcher I’m talking about seems to have clearly defined itself across the past several seasons.

But before I get too much into those statistics, it’s important to set the context of this analysis by pointing out a clear trend in baseball: starters are pitching fewer innings than ever, leaving relievers to shoulder the remainder of the workload. Below is the number of total innings thrown by the starting pitchers in MLB games in the past three seasons…

2014: 28,992
2015: 28,223 1/3
2016: 27,412 2/3
2017: 26,787 1/3

With the starters getting quicker hooks, MLB relievers have seen their combined workload increase by 735 innings per season since 2014. Because of this, MLB bullpens were forced to handle an average of 73.49 more innings per team in 2017 than they had to in 2014. It looks like we’ll be seeing yet another decrease in total innings pitched by the starters this season; they’re on pace to throw about 26,542 total innings in 2018. With the way things tend to work in September, I’d be willing to bet that innings total will end up being even lower when the season comes to a close.

As one might expect, the number of qualified relievers last season reached its zenith in the modern era (155). But the number of relievers to throw at least 60 innings has remained within the same range across the past decade or so. There were 84 such pitchers in 2017, 85 in 2016, 79 in 2015, 82 in 2014, 93 in 2013 and 88 in 2012. So while we’re seeing bullpens shoulder larger workloads on the whole, we aren’t seeing an increase in the number of workhorse relievers who are able to remain healthy or hold down a job for the bulk of the season.

If an innings threshold doesn’t do it for you, perhaps an overall measure of effectiveness will. WPA, or Win Probability Added, is a measure of how much value a player has provided to a team based on performance in each plate appearance (or batter faced, in this case) in relation to the leverage of those situations. Though there’s been a significant uptick in the number of relief pitchers who accrued a WPA of at least 1 in each of the past several seasons, the number of relief pitchers who’ve managed a WPA of about 2 has remained largely the same. Here’s the breakdown by year (past five years) of pitchers who’ve met that 2.0 WPA mark…

2013: 25
2014: 23
2015: 24
2016: 23
2017: 23

It’s hardly a coincidence that almost every single one of the relievers to accrue 2.0+ WPA in a given season also threw at least 60 innings in that season. So while “reliable reliever” is a somewhat nebulous label, there are clear indications that we’re seeing an increase in the number of reliable relievers needed to make a complete ballclub, but not an increase in the number of reliable relievers in MLB on the whole.

While the above milestones are admittedly somewhat arbitrary, the fact that they’re holding so steady across a period of five years is probably not. The fact that there’s a need for more talented bullpen arms doesn’t necessarily mean that more of them will just suddenly appear. That would likely require a dramatic change in how teams draft and develop players, and it seems unlikely teams would place any additional emphasis on developing pitchers as relievers when the main strategy seems to revolve around turning them into successful starters, and shifting them to the bullpen if that doesn’t work out.

So to recap, bullpens in 2017 were forced to take on an average of 73.49 more innings than they were in 2014, but they aren’t developing any additional high-end arms to compensate for that. It makes sense, then, to think that almost all of those extra innings are likely going to replacement-level or near-replacement level relievers. That works out to nearly an extra out and a half per team game put in the hands of a relief pitcher who may be an up-and-down- or waiver-claim-type arm. Obviously it doesn’t work exactly like that, but the core logic checks out.

Perhaps that’s why a higher percentage of the free agent dollars have been going to relievers on the market lately. According to data pulled from Spotrac.com, total reliever earnings accounted for an average of 28.98% of free agent dollars spent across the past two offseasons. That’s a remarkable upgrade over the four offseasons prior; relievers averaged a 19.54% share of the total free agent spending, topping out at a 21.51% pie slice in 2013. Last year saw 15 different free-agent relievers earn eight-figure guarantees and 21 earn multi-year contracts, both stunningly high numbers in comparison with years past.

It’s not just the free agents, though. Teams have paid handsomely on the trade market for elite bullpen arms in recent years. The Indians gave up a hefty package for Andrew Miller at the 2016 trade deadline that included top prospects Clint Frazier and Justus Sheffield. The second Aroldis Chapman trade brought back a top 10 prospect in Gleyber Torres, and the Cubs parted with the highly-regarded Jorge Soler in order to get just one season of Wade Davis. Extensions for Brad Hand, Kenley Jansen and Felipe Vazquez in the past two offseasons guaranteed significant numbers of years and dollars, too. While no one of these transactions is necessarily an abnormality in and of itself, the general pattern of these reliever valuations and more beyond them are in line with the trend of top-flight bullpen arms being valued more in today’s game than in years past.

At its core, this seems a simple lesson in the laws of supply and demand. With a greater need for relievers that can be depended upon for consistency and high innings totals, contending teams are facing a sense of urgency in pursuing a crop of those relievers that’s remained the same size. Logically, said urgency would figure to drive up the market value of those players in comparison with other positions.

As is always the case in the game of baseball, things could change quickly. For instance, with superstar position players like Manny Machado, Bryce Harper and Josh Donaldson set to hit the market next year, it’s incredibly unlikely that reliever contracts will account for over a quarter of free agent spending, even with Craig Kimbrel, Andrew Miller and Cody Allen set to join the pool. Still, I’m willing to bet that the latter three end up with hefty paydays, with a handful of others surpassing expectations as well.

MLB Daily Roster Roundup: Braun, Cahill, Cespedes, Soroka

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ROSTER MOVES BY TEAM
(May 16th-May 17th)

NATIONAL LEAGUE

  • ATLANTA BRAVES | Depth Chart
    • Placed on 10-Day DL: SP Mike Soroka (strained shoulder)
    • Promoted: SP Max Fried
      • Fried was scheduled to start in Soroka’s place on Thursday, but the game was rained out. No word on whether he’ll be slotted into the rotation this weekend.
  • MILWAUKEE BREWERS | Depth Chart
    • Placed on 10-Day DL: OF/1B Ryan Braun (mid-back tightness)
      • Jesus Aguilar has been playing 1B and batting 3rd during Braun’s absence.
      • Corresponding roster move will be made on Friday.

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AMERICAN LEAGUE

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FUTURE EXPECTED MOVES

Second Base Options For The Mariners

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With Tuesday’s bombshell news that Robinson Cano will be suspended for the next 80 games, the Mariners found themselves with an immediate hole at second base. With Cano under contract through 2023, and the left side of the infield spoken for by long-term assets, it’s mostly a fill-in situation.

[RELATED: Current Mariners Depth Chart]

Gordon Beckham and Andrew Romine are plugging the gap for now, but that’s likely not a sufficient pairing for a team with sights on contention. The organization has already asked Dee Gordon to begin taking grounders once again in preparation for a potential switch back to the infield, though that move is largely about creating flexibility for GM Jerry Dipoto and his staff to explore trades both in the infield and in the outfield. If the club finds a second baseman to its liking, then it seems Gordon will remain in center field, where they envisioned him playing for the next three seasons when acquiring him from the Marlins this offseason.

Obviously, there are myriad options for Dipoto & Co. to explore, as the $10.26MM they’ll save on Cano’s suspension provides the Mariners with some financial firepower to add to the roster as well. One plus for the Mariners is that with Mitch Haniger and Guillermo Heredia both capable of playing center field, they don’t necessarily need to focus solely on center fielders in exploring the outfield market. Certainly, they could look to add a true center fielder, but playing Haniger there for the next couple of months and instead acquiring a corner outfielder is a perfectly viable option.

Given that context, there are very few limits on the types of players the Mariners could look to acquire in the outfield. In light of the recent track record of this front office, the club would surely weigh potential targets’ abilities to provide value both on defense and at the plate. But there are quite a lot of possibilities.

This post, then, will focus on the relatively narrower list of conceivable targets at second base. If the preference is to keep Gordon on the grass, then surely second base will be the place the Seattle organization looks first. Here are some hypothetical possibilities:

  • Brandon Phillips, Free Agent: The free agent market is hardly teeming with options this time of season, though there’s one particularly notable free agent that has long been a quality regular at second base. Phillips remains unsigned and told MLB.com’s Jon Morosi last month that he hopes to continue his career and is open to playing in a utility role if need be. Certainly, the Mariners could find him everyday at-bats at second base for the next few months if they believe he’d be a good fit in the clubhouse and feel his bat can handle big league pitching at age 37 and with a considerable layoff. Phillips slashed .285/.319/.416 in 604 MLB plate appearances last season and could almost certainly be had on a relatively minimal salary. Phillips would need some time to get up to speed in extended Spring Training and/or in the minor leagues, but the Mariners obviously have time to get him the reps he needs, as Cano won’t be back until mid-August.
  • Scooter Gennett, Reds: Controlled only through the 2019 season before reaching free agency and currently on one of the NL’s worst teams, Gennett stands out as a clear trade piece this summer. The Reds can obviously afford to move him sooner than that, though, with Alex Blandino and Rosell Herrera capable of stepping in at second base and keeping the seat warm for top prospect Nick Senzel. Gennett is earning $5.7MM in 2018 and has broken out with the Reds since coming over as a largely unheralded waiver claim, hitting .301/.346/.525. He’s also performing well against lefties so far this year, albeit in only a forty-plate appearance sample.
  • Cory Spangenberg / Carlos Asuaje / Jose Pirela, Padres: The Friars have three MLB-ready pieces at second base, and it’s possible that none of the bunch is even their second baseman of the future. That distinction may go to prospect Luis Urias, who is not terribly far from MLB readiness himself (though Urias is almost certainly unavailable in trade). Spangenberg has the most MLB experience and is controlled through 2020, while Pirela is controlled through 2022 and Asuaje is controllable through 2023. They’ve all had some degree of MLB success but struggled in 2018, and each has experience playing multiple positions and could be a useful utility piece once Cano is back and Gordon returns to the outfield on a full-time basis. The Padres aren’t going anywhere in the NL West this season and have a fairly notable logjam on their hands here, making them a natural fit as a trade partner, though the recent decision to move on from Chase Headley does help to reduce the roster pressures.
  • Logan Forsythe, Dodgers: The 31-year-old Forsythe is an undoubtedly talented player, but he’s been a disappointment in a season-plus with the Dodgers. The Mariners could absorb the remainder of his $9MM salary for the 2018 season — about $6.7MM — and perhaps part with little in the way of minor league talent. That’d help further separate the Dodgers from the luxury tax barrier, and L.A. could hand the second base reins over to Chase Utley and several other infield options.
  • Neil Walker / Brandon Drury, Yankees: As a free agent who signed just this past offseason, Walker would have to consent to being traded before June 15. Drury, meanwhile, was recently optioned to Triple-A just months after being acquired, as the Yankees currently plan to go with Miguel Andujar at third and Gleyber Torres at second base. Both are valuable and affordable depth pieces for the Yankees, but there’s a definite logjam in New York’s infield. It’d be surprising to see them move on from either Walker or Drury this quickly, and it’s worth pointing out that Andujar’s low walk rate could use some refinement (thus creating the possibility for an eventual demotion that’d bring Drury back to the Bronx), but I’d imagine that Dipoto will still be reaching out to counterpart Brian Cashman to test the waters.
  • Yolmer Sanchez, White Sox: A solid bat that can be trusted at multiple infield positions, Sanchez is, on one hand, the type of player you’d expect the rebuilding White Sox to want to hold onto. However, Matt Davidson’s huge showing at the plate thus far could push him into regular third base duties, and Yoan Moncada is the second baseman of the future on Chicago’s south side. There’s plenty of sense to hanging onto Sanchez and mixing him in for regular at-bats while giving Moncada and Davidson some breathers at DH, but the ChiSox could also view this as another opportunity to add some talent. While the Mariners are thin in prospects, the top of their system isn’t exactly devoid of intriguing prospects.
  • Devon Travis, Blue Jays: A change-of-scenery candidate, Travis was sent to the minors recently, and the Jays are likely plenty comfortable giving Yangervis Solarte regular work at second base for the foreseeable future. Travis has persistently battled knee injuries and struggled to stay on the field, but when healthy he’s hit at a .282/.322/.447 clip for Toronto. He’s controllable for two years beyond the current campaign and is earning a modest $1.45MM after missing much of last season due to injury. He’s never played anywhere other than second base as a professional, though, so the Mariners would need to be convinced that he can handle other positions once Cano returns.
  • Starlin Castro, Marlins: It’s hard to imagine that the Marlins won’t be open to trading Castro this summer, but he’s not an ideal fit with the Mariners, either. Castro is earning a total of $22MM between 2018 and 2019, and once Cano returns, they won’t have a spot for him to receive any type of consistent at-bats. Perhaps they could simply acquire him and then trade him again in the offseason, but while Castro is a perfectly logical, if not likely trade candidate this summer, he may not represent a great on-paper fit for Seattle.

There are also numerous depth-style acquisitions that could be had who’ve already been designated for assignment since Spring Training began. For those reasons, of course, such players likely won’t come with the promise of significant output. Gift Ngoepe was designated by the Jays and cleared waivers last week, while players such as Eliezer Alvarez (Rangers) and Breyvic Valera (Dodgers) were acquired on the cheap after being designated for assignment by their former organizations. Tyler Saladino has gone from the White Sox to the Brewers in exchange for cash and could be viewed as a depth add while Dipoto and his staff look for more impactful upgrades. Jace Peterson finds himself in a similar situation with the Orioles, as does Philip Gosselin, who is in Triple-A with the Braves after being claimed off waivers from the Reds. If the Mariners are not satisfied with Beckham and want to focus first on shoring things up at second, perhaps they’ll consider these and other names.

Mid-Season Roster Check: Los Angeles Angels

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The Angels won the offseason, as you may have read. In years past, that has often meant only that a team sacrificed the most in future resources (salary commitments and/or pre-MLB talent) to improve its MLB roster. With regard to the 2018 Halos, though, it meant landing a great degree of major-league talent at a relative bargain — thanks, mostly, to the score of the century in Japanese wunderkind Shohei Ohtani.

We’ve already broken down the Angels’ offseason efforts in full. And we’ve now observed the team run out to a 25-18 start to the season that has kept it in range of the defending World Series champion Astros in the AL West. So, what are the key factors in the team’s quality opening play and can it be sustained?

[Angels Depth Chart]

How have the Angels succeeded thus far?

It’s not all about Ohtani, of course, but adding him at minimal cost has been everything the Halos hoped for and more. He’s settling in and looking increasingly dangerous on the mound, where he has provided 32 2/3 innings of 3.58 ERA pitching. And Ohtani has exceeded even the most optimistic projections at the plate, with a .348/.392/.652 output through 74 plate appearances.

The other significant position players the Angels added or retained over the winter, meanwhile, have been more solid than great. Justin Upton is hitting well but not exactly outproducing his hefty contract. Zack Cozart has been solid. Ian Kinsler is continuing to defend like a star but is off to a sluggish start at the plate.

The rock upon which all of this is built, of course, remains Mike Trout, who’s a merciless WAR machine. But Andrelton Simmons has somewhat quietly also been among the game’s very best players to this point in 2018. The all-world defender is rather amazingly walking at nearly twice the rate he has struck out (9.3% vs. 5.6%) while producing at about 50% better than league-average on offense.

With Ohtani in the mix, the rotation has been in the top third of the league by measure of ERA, FIP, and xFIP. In some ways, this is the most promising development of the young season. Tyler Skaggs, Andrew Heaney, Garrett Richards, and Nick Tropeano are all healthy and delivering quality results, while Jaime Barria has a 2.13 ERA through his first 25 1/3 MLB innings.

Is it sustainable?

On a team level, there’s no indication that the Angels are just lucking their way into victories by squeezing out close wins. Their Pythagorean and BaseRuns records are spot on to the actual results for a team with a +31 run differential to this point of the season. But that’s not to say there aren’t some underlying numbers worth considering.

Catchers Martin Maldonado and Rene Rivera have each hit at an average-or-better rate. Unfortunately, their career number suggest that’s unlikely to continue; each (particularly Rivera) has benefited from ball-in-play fortune. Of course, some other players have been on the other side of the BABIP gods. That’s particularly true of Kinsler, though he certainly has not stung the ball this year (.298 xwOBA). Similarly, Kole Calhoun’s miserable start has likely been the product of both bad luck and suboptimal contact (.173 wOBA vs. .271 xwOBA). Somewhat worryingly, reserves Chris Young (.246 wOBA vs. .237 xwOBA) and Luis Valbuena (.283 wOBA vs. .263 xwOBA) have even been a bit fortunate to produce at the middling rate they have to this point, though certainly both have broader track records of solid offensive output.

One issue remains the ongoing presence of Albert Pujols, whose fall-off at the plate has really not abated. He doesn’t strike out much but also doesn’t get on base or even hit for all that much power (.165 ISO). Limited to first base or the DH slot, he’s a replacement-level player. If you imagine he and Simmons swapping batting lines, perhaps it doesn’t sting us much. But there’s no indication that Pujols will get back to being an above-average hitter, while there’s likely good reason to believe that Simmons will begin to regress back toward his typical levels of average (or worse) outcomes with the bat. Likewise, it seems reasonable to bake in a bit of caution into projections for Ohtani’s work at the plate.

In the aggregate, the Halos may be outperforming their true talent on offense, but not dramatically so. Entering the season, though, that wasn’t the question. Instead, as we heard over and over in MLBTR chats, fans wondered: “Do the Angels have enough pitching to contend?”

There’s good news and bad news on that front. While Barria and Tropeano are outperforming their peripherals, the rotation as a whole has deserved its quality results. Ohtani and Heaney have each been much more impressive by measure of fielding-independent pitching than of actual earned runs. Promising as it is to see so many talented arms finally healthy and productive in the majors, there still has to be some concern about whether that’ll hold up all year long. The club has already lost JC Ramirez for the year, while there’s increasing concern for Matt Shoemaker.

It therefore seems that depth, more than quality, is a concern in the rotation. But what about that bullpen?

Areas of need and resources

The Halos’ somewhat dodgy relief unit leads to worry that the club won’t capture as many winnable contests as possible. Keynan Middleton had been effective (more so than his peripherals) but now seems destined to miss a big chunk of time. Blake Parker has continued to excel after his surprising 2017 showing, while Noe Ramirez is quietly breaking out (his peripherals are better than his 3.80 ERA). Jose Alvarez has been a solid southpaw presence. And veteran Jim Johnson is another useful arm to have around. But that’s not an overly impressive group of leading bullpen lights. Cam Bedrosian has come crashing back to earth; Justin Anderson is getting loads of whiffs but also doling out too many walks and dingers.

There’s little question, then, that the Angels are going to be prowling the waiver wire for arms over the next ten weeks. And they’ll likely be among the most relief-needy teams at this summer’s trade deadline. The club could justifiably target high-quality, high-leverage assets as well as useful middle-relief arms … to say nothing of whatever the needs in the rotation will be come July.

Otherwise, perhaps, there may not be much work to be done unless an injury intervenes. It’s certainly possible that the front office could weigh an outfield addition, but it’s hard to imagine Calhoun and Young will continue to be this bad. And relatively unknown reserve Jefry Marte has been on fire out of the gates, helping to ease the situation. While Pujols likely isn’t going anywhere, Valbuena is an increasing concern in his own right; he’s now striking out more and walking less than ever. With the possibility of some quality bats being available for little, it’s not inconceivable that the Angels could at some point jettison Valbuena and reduce Pujols’s role to fit another player on the roster.

With an improving farm system, GM Billy Eppler has an increasing slate of prospect assets from which to trade. Of course, he’ll surely be hesitant to part with any of the team’s most treasured young players. It seems likely the Angels will attempt to utilize their financial flexibility to the extent possible. With nearly $25MM in space beneath the luxury line, there is some room to work with. But there are limits to how much talent you can get without giving up talent in return. The organization could well end up facing some tough questions over the summer.

Outlook

All things considered, the Angels have performed up to expectations and seem to be positioned to continue to do so. That said, the club is somewhat more exposed to injury risk than others and may need to be creative to land mid-season improvements given that it is still rebuilding its talent pipeline.

Looking For A Match In A Blake Swihart Trade

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Blake Swihart’s career path has been anything but conventional. The former first-round pick was considered one of the game’s elite prospects prior to the 2015 season and was heralded as a potential cornerstone behind the dish before injuries, questions about his defense and the emergence of Christian Vazquez changed his role. Swihart took to the outfield in 2016 with the hope that he’d be able to improve his defense there on the fly while keeping his bat in the lineup, but an ankle injury cost him most of the season. By the time he returned, Andrew Benintendi was entrenched as Boston’s everyday left fielder.

Swihart is now a man without a real role on a Red Sox team that is effectively employing a 24-man roster. Vazquez and Sandy Leon continue to handle the catching, while Benintendi, Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley and J.D. Martinez are all more frequently used in the outfield. Swihart has appeared in only 15 games for the Sox this season and totaled 32 plate appearances. His only four starts have been at DH. He’s played a grand total of 24 innings in the field — 19 in the outfield, four at first base and one behind the plate. The Red Sox have used Swihart about as often as the rebuilding Tigers have used Victor Reyes — a 23-year-old Rule 5 outfielder they’re trying to hold onto for the entire season despite the fact that he’s not quite MLB ready.

Suffice it to say, no one should have been surprised to learn this morning that Swihart’s agent, Brodie Scoffield of the Legacy Agency, asked the Red Sox to trade his client. The current setup is a poor one for team and player. Boston can’t send Swihart to Triple-A for regular at-bats because he is out of minor league options and would surely be lost on waivers. He’s not going to provide virtually any value in such a limited role, though, and the Red Sox could probably make better use of that spot by giving it to a true fourth outfielder, a utility infielder capable of handling several positions, or a reliever with options remaining to create some additional flexibility in the ’pen.

Assuming president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski eventually honors the request and gauges interest in Swihart, there’ll probably be no shortage of clubs interested in taking a shot on the once-vaunted prospect. Some speculative fits for the switch-hitting 26-year-old…

  • Nationals: It was a surprise that the Nats didn’t add any catching help this offseason, as Matt Wieters turned in a terrible first year in D.C. and the organization had limited options beyond him. Miguel Montero signed a minor league deal but was quickly jettisoned, and the Nats now have Pedro Severino and Spencer Kieboom behind the plate with Wieters on the disabled list. Swihart is hardly a definitive upgrade, as he’s yet to prove himself over an extended period in the Majors, but he has more upside than their internal options.
  • Twins: Minnesota found out on Wednesday that Jason Castro will miss the remainder of the season after surgeons discovered more damage than expected when operating on his right knee. Rookie Mitch Garver and journeyman Bobby Wilson now top the team’s depth chart behind the plate, so perhaps the Twins would be open to flipping some pitching depth for a chance at Swihart.
  • Brewers: Milwaukee catchers are hitting a combined .197/.274/.333 on the season, as neither Manny Pina nor Jett Bandy has been performing well. Veteran Stephen Vogt’s season is over due to shoulder surgery, leaving Jacob Nottingham and former prospect Christian Bethancourt as the only upper-level alternatives currently within the organization. Swihart won’t see much, if any playing time in a crowded Milwaukee outfield, but there should be at-bats up for grabs at catcher.
  • Mets: Catching is an obvious area of need for the Mets, though they’ve already made one move in the past week, acquiring Devin Mesoraco from the Reds. Given that Kevin Plawecki is nearing a return from a broken hand, it doesn’t seem likely that the Mets would swing a second trade in the near future. But if Swihart is still in Boston as the All-Star break approaches and the Plawecki/Mesoraco tandem is struggling, perhaps the Mets would make another change.
  • Athletics: Jonathan Lucroy is only on a one-year deal with the A’s, and Bruce Maxwell’s lack of production was already enough to make him a questionable long-term option before his highly publicized off-field issues. Oakland has room in the outfield corners as well and certainly has never had an aversion to rotating players through multiple positions.
  • Rangers: Robinson Chirinos is signed affordably through 2019, and the Rangers do have a fair bit of catching talent in the pipeline, though most of those prospects are still several years away from the Majors. Isiah Kiner-Falefa has done some catching in the minors but has only caught three games this season and has been working primarily as an infielder. There’s not much room in the outfield corners once Willie Calhoun arrives for good, and the Rangers do have former Phillies backstop Cameron Rupp in Triple-A. Still, there’s more playing time available for Swihart in Arlington than there is in Boston.
  • White Sox: Welington Castillo is the primary catcher for manager Rick Renteria, and that won’t change after he signed a two-year, $15MM contract in the offseason. But Swihart could easily displace Omar Narvaez as the backup and see some occasional outfield time as well.
  • Padres: No one questions Austin Hedges’ defensive prowess, but he’s yet to prove that he can get on base at the highest level. Hedges mashed 18 homers last season but did so with a .262 OBP that ranked dead last in the National League (min. 400 PA). San Diego has a stacked farm system but is still light on catching talent in the upper minors. The Padres don’t really have much to offer in the way of playing time in the outfield or at first base, so they’d need to believe that Swihart can make an impact behind the dish.
  • Marlins: J.T. Realmuto is among the game’s best catchers, but he’s also one of the most easily identifiable trade candidates in Major League Baseball as well. The Marlins will get offers on Realmuto this summer, and while they won’t simply take the best one that’s presented with Realmuto controlled through 2020, there’s still a chance that he moves. If they hang onto him, the rumor carousel will fire up again this winter. There’s no real catching help on the horizon beyond Realmuto, and the Marlins are the exact type of rebuilding club that can afford to give Swihart a lengthy look behind the plate.
  • Diamondbacks: Arizona GM Mike Hazen and assistant GMs Amiel Sawdaye and Jared Porter all have Red Sox roots, and D-backs catchers haven’t hit whatsoever in 2018. The Diamondbacks added Alex Avila on an affordable two-year deal in the offseason, but that’s yet to pay dividends. Defensive specialist Jeff Mathis isn’t hitting, either, and John Ryan Murphy has a .259 OBP. The Diamondbacks have carried three catchers in each of the past two seasons, and the Hazen-led front office took a similar roll of the dice on another out-of-options former Boston first-rounder, Deven Marrero, late in Spring Training.

Other clubs could and almost certainly will inquire, as well, of course. It stands to reason that while some organizations may not be sold on Swihart as a catcher, they’d be perfectly content to give him a tryout in left field and/or at first base. Some clubs are probably keen on simply shuffling him around at all three positions. In that sense, one could make an argument for Swihart fitting on just about any club in the league, given that he’s likely to have a low cost of acquisition and comes with a fair bit of upside even if his prospect star has undeniably dimmed.

Of course, if the goal of this exercise is to find an organization in need of an upgrade behind the plate, where he brings the most potential value, it’s worth stressing that perhaps no club in baseball could use a boost more than Swihart’s current team. Vazquez and Leon are batting a combined .174/.224/.219, but the Red Sox have still not seen fit to give Swihart more than that one lone inning behind the dish.

Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston recently chatted with Red Sox catching coordinator Chad Epperson about the work Swihart is putting into catching drills in taking a lengthier look at Swihart’s unusual role (or lack thereof) with the team. Within, pitching coach Dana LeVangie acknowledged the dilemma facing the Red Sox: in order for Swihart to improve, the biggest thing he needs is consistent reps behind the plate. Those simply aren’t available in Boston right now, despite the struggles of the team’s top two catchers.

The Sox, of course, signed Vazquez to a $13.55MM extension this offseason due in no small part to his defensive talents. It’s somewhat more puzzling that there doesn’t appear to be any thought to displacing Leon, however, as he’s hit just .217/.280/.336 in 351 plate appearances dating back to last season.

That the Sox aren’t willing to displace either struggling bat to give Swihart a more legitimate look behind the plate certainly seems like a statement on how they view his current defense. But it still seems likely that another club would be happy to acquire his bat at a discount rate in hopes that increased reps will help him to hone his craft. And for the Sox, who figure to spend the season vying for the AL East crown with the Yankees, having a 25th man on the roster whom they could actually use from time to time certainly seems like an endeavor worth pursuing sooner rather than later.

MLB Daily Roster Roundup: Darvish, Moncada, Pollock, Turner

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ROSTER MOVES BY TEAM
(May 15th)

NATIONAL LEAGUE

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AMERICAN LEAGUE

  • BALTIMORE ORIOLES | Depth Chart
    • Possible role change: RP Miguel Castro was set to start Wednesday’s game, though with a rainout Tuesday, it’s not clear if he’ll get a start later in the week or remain in the bullpen.
    • Outrighted: INF/OF Renato Nunez

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FUTURE EXPECTED MOVES

MLB Daily Roster Roundup: Cano, Candelario, LeMahieu, Middleton, Reyes

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ROSTER MOVES BY TEAM
(May 14th)

NATIONAL LEAGUE

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AMERICAN LEAGUE

  • BOSTON RED SOX | Depth Chart
    • Reinstated from Restricted List: P Steven Wright (reinstated after 15-game suspension)
      • Wright will pitch out of the bullpen.
    • Placed on 10-Day DL: RP Hector Velazquez (strained lower back)

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FUTURE EXPECTED MOVES

MLB Weekend Roster Roundup: Anderson, deGrom, Wainwright, Zimmerman

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ROSTER MOVES BY TEAM
(May 12th-May 13th)

NATIONAL LEAGUE

  • ST. LOUIS CARDINALS | Depth Chart
    • Activated from 10-Day DL: SP Adam Wainwright
      • Wainwright exited Sunday’s start after walking six batters. He is likely returning to the disabled list with renewed elbow discomfort.
    • Optioned: RP John Brebbia

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AMERICAN LEAGUE

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FUTURE EXPECTED MOVES

Will The Dodgers Make The Playoffs?

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With a major league-best 104-58 record, a National League-high plus-190 run differential and their first pennant since 1988, the Dodgers were a juggernaut in 2017. Because most of that great roster returned this year, expectations were that the Dodgers would once again rank among the majors’ so-called super teams. Instead, as the season nears the quarter pole, Los Angeles’ record places it in company with the dregs of the league.

LA dropped to a stunningly poor 16-23 on Saturday when it lost its third straight game to lowly Cincinnati, which at 13-27 is one of just three NL teams with a worse mark. The Dodgers will have to fight Sunday to stave off an embarrassing four-game home sweep and perhaps an even larger deficit in the NL West, a division they already trail by eight games. Not only have the rival Diamondbacks gotten off to the NL’s best start (24-15), but they’ve manhandled the Dodgers in the process, winning eight of 12 matchups. The two teams won’t see each other again until the end of August, and if they maintain something resembling their current pace, the Dodgers will be out of both the division and wild-card races by then.

Given the talent on the Dodgers’ roster, it stands to reason they’ll at least push for a wild card, though they’re already 6.5 games back in a crowded race. Ten of the league’s 15 teams are over .500, and eight of those clubs have posted positive run differentials. LA is among those clubs, having scored one more run than it has allowed (168 to 167) en route to an above-.500 Pythagorean record (20-19). It seems the Dodgers have been the victims of bad luck in the win-loss department, then, and they’ve definitely had poor fortune on the injury front.

LA’s laundry list of ailments began in earnest late in spring training when elite third baseman Justin Turner suffered a broken left wrist and hasn’t subsided since then. Along with Turner – who hasn’t yet debuted in 2018 – Clayton Kershaw, Corey Seager, Yasiel Puig, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Rich Hill, Logan Forsythe, Tony Cingrani and Tom Koehler are among key Dodgers who have spent time on the DL this year. Kershaw has been out for a week with a biceps issue, and it’s unclear when he’ll return. Meanwhile, the groin strain Ryu suffered earlier this month will keep him out until after the All-Star break.

The injuries to Kershaw and Ryu, not to mention the 2017 shoulder surgery young lefty Julio Urias is working back from, have dented an LA rotation that isn’t blessed with as much depth as it had during the team’s NL-winning showing last year. To their credit, Dodgers starters still rank toward the top of the majors in ERA (ninth) and fWAR (sixth), thanks in part to the much-needed emergence of rookie Walker Buehler.

The team’s relief corps has been ineffective, on the other hand, owing to closer Kenley Jansen’s shockingly rough start, a lack of help from offseason acquisitions Koehler (who hasn’t pitched) and Scott Alexander, and the loss of now-Cub Brandon Morrow in free agency. Only nine bullpens have posted a worse ERA than the Dodgers’ 4.49, while just two are short of the unit’s minus-0.1 fWAR. No Dodgers reliever has been a greater source of concern than the 30-year-old Jansen, who was utterly dominant from 2010-17 but has seen his velocity drop this year en route to career-worst numbers in the run prevention, swinging-strike, strikeout, walk and home run categories.

A revival from Jansen would obviously help key a Dodgers turnaround, as would a healthier squad. Fortunately for LA, Turner and Forsythe could return during the upcoming week to bolster a position player group that has actually managed respectable numbers thus far. The Dodgers rank middle of the pack or better in runs (14th), wRC+ (13th) and fWAR (ninth) despite having gone completely without Turner and largely without the excellent Seager, who racked up 115 plate appearances before undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery in late April.

The loss of Seager was and still is a devastating blow to the Dodgers, who could attempt to fill his shoes via trade (there has been Manny Machado speculation, for instance) if they’re in position to make a splash around the July non-waiver deadline. Any move(s) the Dodgers make may be partially geared toward keeping them under the $197MM competitive-balance tax threshold, which they seemingly worked to avoid during the offseason.. Thanks in part to a low-key winter in which Koehler, Alexander and a seemingly reborn Matt Kemp were their only noteworthy major league acquisitions, the Dodgers sit an estimated $10MM-plus under the CBT after blowing past it in previous seasons.

For its part, Dodgers management insists staying below the CBT isn’t a must, though that’ll be worth monitoring as the season progresses. Of course, the $197MM figure may not matter for the team come late July if it doesn’t do a 180 over the next two-plus months. There’s plenty of work ahead for the Dodgers to get back to .500, let alone firmly in playoff position, but it’s possible we’ll end up looking back on their first-quarter woes as a blip. Last year’s version did lose 16 of 17 games from late August to mid-September, after all, though they’d already banked an incredible 91-36 record prior to that slump. The current Dodgers would need to go 75-13 over their next 88 to match that pace. Not happening. But will the team rebound to earn its sixth straight playoff berth?

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