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Yankees Designate Ryan Weber For Assignment

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The Yankees announced that they have reinstated Luis Severino from the COVID-19 injured list, with right-hander Ryan Weber being designated for assignment in a corresponding move. This is the inverse of today’s earlier transaction, where Severino went on the IL, with Weber taking his roster spot. Severino has since tested negative and rejoined the team.

Weber, 31, has worn a number of jerseys in his career, suiting up for Atlanta, Seattle, Tampa, Boston and Milwaukee before this season. This winter, he was signed by the Yankees to a minor league deal and impressed down on the farm. Through 21 1/3 innings with the RailRiders, he had a 2.95 ERA. His 16.9% strikeout in that time wasn’t stellar, though his 1.1% walk rate certainly was.

After Severino experienced viral symptoms and needed to bow out of today’s start, the Yanks called on Weber to help bail them out of the emergency situation. Weber answered the call with aplomb, throwing 3 2/3 innings against the Rays in relief tonight, allowing one earned run on two hits. The Yanks would eventually earn a walkoff 2-1 victory over their division rivals in the contest.

However, as a reward for his valiant efforts, Weber has been sent into DFA limbo. The club will have a week to trade him or put him on waivers. If he were to clear waivers, he would be able to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency as a player who has previously been outrighted in his career.

Yankees Place Luis Severino On COVID IL

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9:05pm: Boone tells reporters (including Bryan Hoch of MLB.com) that Severino has tested negative and will travel with the team to Toronto for this weekend’s series.

3:34pm: Severino has not tested positive for COVID, Boone told reporters (including Lindsey Adler of the Athletic). He’d experienced viral symptoms overnight but has improved today.

2:26pm: The Yankees have placed starter Luis Severino on the COVID-19 injured list, meaning he won’t start tonight’s ballgame against the Rays as scheduled. That assignment will go to Clarke Schmidt, while right-hander Ryan Weber has been selected onto the big league roster in Severino’s place.

Severino has pitched brilliantly in 11 turns through the rotation. He owns a 2.80 ERA across 61 innings, striking out an excellent 28.7% of batters faced while walking a mere 6.1% of opponents. It’s been a welcome development to see him back in that role after he was limited to seven MLB appearances between 2019-21. The two-time All-Star missed the bulk of the 2019 season battling lat and shoulder troubles, then he underwent Tommy John surgery in February 2020. Groin and shoulder issues cropped up during last season’s rehab process, keeping him from getting back on a major league mound until September.

Once healthy, Severino more or less picked up where he’d left off as one of the game’s top starters. He’s been part of arguably the league’s best starting staff, as the Yankees top quintet all have an ERA of 3.33 or better. Nestor Cortes, Gerrit Cole, Jordan Montgomery, Jameson Taillon and Severino have combined to start 60 of the club’s 62 ballgames, but they’ll perhaps have to dip into their depth to cover a Severino absence.

The club did not specify whether Severino has tested positive for the virus or is being scratched due to symptoms or exposure. Players who test positive are subject to a 10-day absence under the 2022 health and safety protocols, although it’s possible to return sooner if the player subsequently tests negative twice and gains clearance from a trio of medical professionals (one each appointed by the league and MLBPA, as well as the team physician). Players who experience viral symptoms but don’t test positive can return as soon as their symptoms abate.

Weber, 31, is headed to the majors for an eighth consecutive season. He’s worked as a swing player for virtually his entire career, starting 16 of his 63 appearances. A control artist who generates plenty of ground-balls, Weber doesn’t throw particularly hard or miss many bats. He’s nevertheless caught the attention of various clubs as a depth arm based on his ability to work multiple innings. Assuming he makes it into a game with the Yankees, Weber will have suited up for six different teams at the major league level.

The Florida native had cups of coffee with each of the Mariners, Red Sox and Brewers last year. He tallied a combined 9 2/3 innings of 13-run ball, bringing his career ERA up to 5.28. Weber signed a minor league deal with New York this past offseason and has spent the year with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, working to a 2.95 mark through eight outings (four starts). He’s walked just one of the 89 batters he’s faced in the minors this year and will offer a long relief possibility for manager Aaron Boone.

Yankees Release Ender Inciarte

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The Yankees are releasing outfielder Ender Inciarte from his minor league contract, reports Conor Foley of the Scranton Times-Tribune (on Twitter). He’ll hit the open market and seek out additional opportunities elsewhere.

Inciarte signed with New York over the offseason, hoping to crack the big league roster after a rough 2021 season. He didn’t break camp with the team and was sent to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he ultimately appeared in 34 games. Inciarte hit .252/.336/.408 across 116 plate appearances, collecting four home runs and stolen bases apiece. The 31-year-old walked a strong 11.2% clip while only punching out in 14.7% of his plate appearances.

It was a respectable showing, but the Yankees nevertheless determined there wasn’t room on the active roster at this point. Aaron Judge is hitting at an MVP-level and has taken over as the primary center fielder, while both Joey Gallo and Aaron Hicks have started to heat up after slow starts to the year. With Giancarlo Stanton and Marwin González also capable of rotating into the outfield as needed, the 45-16 Yankees weren’t in a rush to shake up their position player group.

Since being released by the Braves last July, Inciarte hasn’t cracked the majors on successive minor league pacts with the Reds and Yankees. Nevertheless, he’s likely to attract interest from teams looking for non-roster depth. Inciarte is no longer the elite defender he was at his Gold Glove peak, but he’s still a solid gloveman at all three spots on the grass. He’s hit .200/.267/.277 in 220 plate appearances at the major league level since the start of 2020.

Braves, Red Sox Had Interest In Matt Carpenter

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  • The Red Sox and Braves were among the teams who had interest in Matt Carpenter after the Rangers released the veteran infielder in May, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.  The Rangers didn’t have a role for Carpenter at the big league level, but his big numbers at the Triple-A level surely caught the attention of multiple teams wondering if the former All-Star had gotten back on track.  Much to Boston’s particular chagrin, Carpenter ended up signing with the Yankees, and he has already delivered four homers and a 1.250 OPS over his first 25 plate appearances in the pinstripes.

Giants Sign Shelby Miller To Minor League Deal

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The Giants recently signed reliever Shelby Miller on a minor league contract. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Sacramento, where he made his first appearance on Wednesday.

Miller had opened the season in the Yankees’ organization on a non-roster deal. According to his transactions log at MLB.com, he was released on May 31. The right-hander was one of a host of veterans afforded an automatic June 1 opt-out possibility by the collective bargaining agreement. Whether he triggered that provision or was simply let go by the Yankees isn’t clear, but in either event, he’s quickly landed a new opportunity.

A high-end starting pitcher during his early days with the Cardinals and Braves, Miller has had some highly-publicized struggles since the D-Backs parted with Dansby Swanson and Ender Inciarte to acquire him before the 2016 season. He didn’t perform well during his first season in the desert, and he missed most of the 2017-18 season recovering from Tommy John surgery. Miller was hit hard in a swing role with the Rangers in 2019, then opted out of the 2020 campaign. He returned to the big leagues with the Cubs and Pirates last year but was tagged for a 9.24 ERA with more walks than strikeouts in 12 2/3 combined innings.

Now 31 years old, Miller is having a nice year in the minors. He pitched in 16 games with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, logging 21 innings with a 1.71 ERA. His .231 BABIP indicates there’s some good fortune there, but he’s also earning it to some degree with a 29.4% strikeout rate and 7.1% walk rate. Since switching organizations, he’s made one scoreless appearance for the Sacramento River Cats.

He’ll provide depth for a Giants’ bullpen that has been a bit disappointing so far this year. Their collective 4.41 ERA places them 24th among MLB teams, though advanced metrics are a bit kinder, as they have a 3.77 FIP, 4.08 xFIP and 3.79 SIERA.

Miguel Andujar Asks To Be Traded From Yankees

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Miguel Andujar told Yankees manager Aaron Boone yesterday that he wishes to be traded, Z101 Digital’s Hector Gomez reports (Twitter link).  Andujar was optioned to Triple-A after last night’s game, as the Yankees needed to open a roster spot for Giancarlo Stanton’s activation from the 10-day injured list today.

As per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, this isn’t the first time Andujar has asked to be dealt, as the infielder/outfielder has gone from future cornerstone to a seeming afterthought on New York’s roster.  After finishing second in AL Rookie Of The Year voting in 2018, Andujar has played in only 90 Major League games since the start of the 2019 season.  Injuries have been a factor in this lack of playing time, as Andujar missed most of the 2019 season due to shoulder surgery and also missed a notable chunk of the 2021 campaign due to wrist problems.

With Andujar missing so much time, the Yankees simply moved on to other players — most notably Gio Urshela, who enjoyed a big breakout season when replacing Andujar at third base in 2019.  Andujar wasn’t necessarily seen as a long-term defensive fit at third base anyway, but a shift to mostly outfield and first base work over the last couple of the years also hasn’t created a clearer path to a regular lineup spot.

When not on the IL, Andujar has been shuttled back and forth from Triple-A and the majors.  He is still consistently producing at the Triple-A level, which could give other teams some indication that the 27-year-old Andujar can bounce back in a new environment and with steadier playing time at the big league level.  It isn’t surprising that Andujar has become frustrated over his situation, but between his injuries and his .234/.260/.329 slash line over 319 PA from 2019-22, Andujar’s trade value isn’t exactly high.

Andujar has been mentioned in trade rumors in the past for a few years now, and Newsday’s Erik Boland reported just last March that the Yankees were again shopping Andujar to other teams.  While Yankees GM Brian Cashman was undoubtedly not open to buy-low offers in 2019 or 2020, however, Andujar’s stock simply hasn’t rebounded to the point where New York could still score a big return in a deal.

It’s possible Cashman could look to move Andujar for another post-hype prospect type or reclamation project, or perhaps include Andujar as part of a larger trade package.  Of course, the Yankees are also under no obligation to actually trade Andujar, as he is under team control through the 2024 season.  Andujar is earning $1.3MM in 2022, in his first year of arbitration eligibility.

Yankees Reinstate Giancarlo Stanton

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The Yankees have reinstated slugger Giancarlo Stanton from the 10-day injured list, per the team. He is back on the active roster batting cleanup as the designated hitter.

New York weathered the loss of Stanton just fine, having gone 7-2 in his absence. Stanton spent the minimum amount of time away, missing only nine games. Prior to his placement on the injured list, Stanton was hitting .285/.339/.523 in 168 plate appearances with 11 long balls.

The corresponding roster moves were made yesterday after last night’s ballgame. Miguel Andujar was optioned to Triple-A. Andujar appeared in 12 games, slashing .268/.279/.317 through 43 plate appearances while mostly playing left field.

Tim Locastro also completed his rehab assignment. He was reinstated and optioned to Triple-A as well. The speedy Locastro is largely a reserve option for the Yankees. His ability to play all three outfield positions provides some value as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement.

Yankees Acquire Jake Bauers From Reds

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The Yankees have acquired first baseman/corner outfielder Jake Bauers from the Reds in exchange for cash, according to team announcements. He’s not on the 40-man roster and has been assigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Bauers has appeared in parts of three big league seasons, suiting up with the Rays, Indians and Mariners. The left-handed hitter was a highly-regarded prospect, seen by many as a potential plus hitter based on the strength of his minor league numbers. Bauers hit for high batting averages and drew plenty of walks on his way up the ladder, and he appeared among Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects list each season from 2016-18.

The California native has never carried over that success during a lengthy run against MLB arms, though. While he’s continued to draw walks at a strong 11.5% clip in the big leagues, he’s also fanned in 26.4% of his trips to the plate. Bauers hit 11 home runs in 96 games with Tampa Bay as a rookie, but he’s not made much extra-base impact in the seasons since then.

Seattle outrighted Bauers off their 40-man roster at the end of last season, at which point he elected minor league free agency. The 26-year-old caught on with the Reds via minor league contract, and he’s appeared in 29 games with their top affiliate in Louisville. Bauers has gotten off to a dreadful start there, hitting .135/.276/.271 with a 28.4% strikeout rate for the Bats.

Despite that slow start, New York decided to add Bauers as non-roster depth at the upper levels. He’s continued to show quality plate discipline, at the very least, and he’s only a few years removed from being seen as one of the better young bats in the minors.

16 Impending Free Agents Off To Slow Starts At The Plate

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The Padres cut ties with Robinson Cano this morning, just as the Mets did before them. It was a tougher decision for the Mets, given the financial obligation they have toward Cano through the 2023 season. However, his lack of production and the presence of younger, better options forced the hand of both parties.

We’re coming up on a third of the way through the 2022 season, and it’ll become increasingly difficult for teams with struggling veterans in the Cano mold to continue trotting them out there. That’s especially true of players who are impending free agents. While fans can (and do) disagree with the thinking, a player like Aaron Hicks, whom the Yankees owe $30.5MM from 2023-25, will get a longer leash than an impending free agent due to that multi-year commitment. So while there are plenty of struggling veterans on long-term deals, those with the thinnest grasp on their current roster spots are those who’ll be off the books at season’s end anyhow.

With that in mind, here’s a look at some names to watch and, when applicable, some of the names behind them who could aid in pushing them out the door (all stats entering Thursday’s play):

Carlos Santana, Royals: I’m not sure anyone other than the Royals’ front office understands the thinking behind continuing to trot Santana out to the field at this point. The 36-year-old is hitting .161/.293/.250 through 147 plate appearances, and it’s not as though that enormous slump is an entirely new development. Santana hit just .214/.319/.342 while playing in 158 of 162 games for the Royals last year and .199/.340/.350 in Cleveland during the shortened 2020 season.

Santana’s very presence on the Royals is due to the team’s effort to return to win-now mode after a rebuild focused on drafting college arms. He signed a two-year, $17.5MM contract heading into the 2021 season but hasn’t been able to bounce back to the form that long made him one of the game’s biggest on-base threats and most underrated offensive performers.

Signing Santana might’ve been a “win-now” move, but it’s hard to argue that continuing to run him out there is in the Royals’ best interest. That’s doubly true with top prospects Nick Pratto and Vinnie Pasquantino mashing in Triple-A Omaha. Both are in the same first base/designated hitter mold as Santana, and both Pratto (55) and Pasquantino (61) rank prominently in Baseball America’s updated Top 100 prospect rankings. Pratto got off to a slow start but is hitting .246/.392/.483 over his past 148 plate appearances. Pasquantino burst out of the gates and hasn’t slowed down; he’s hitting .298/.392/.667 with 15 home runs in 204 plate appearances.

The Royals owe Santana the balance of his $10.5MM salary whether he’s on the roster or not, but he’ll start racking up incentives when he reaches 300 plate appearances.

Joey Gallo, Yankees: Gallo was one of the Yankees’ biggest trade-deadline additions in recent years, but he’s never found his footing in the Bronx. His status as a three-true-outcomes player is well-documented, but he’s trended more aggressively toward the least-desirable of those outcomes since donning pinstripes. Gallo has fanned in 38% of his plate appearances as a Yankee while seeing both his power and his walk rate dip. Since the Yankees acquired him, he’s batting .167/.295/.370.

Even with the short porch in right field, Gallo has only five home runs through 141 plate appearances this season. He’s also seen his average exit velocity, launch angle and barrel rate drop in 2022. Gallo is still making loads of hard contact when he hits the ball in the air, per Statcast, and perhaps that’s helping to keep him both in the lineup and on the roster. New York isn’t getting any real offense from Hicks, Isiah Kiner-Falefa or Kyle Higashioka, however. Giancarlo Stanton and Josh Donaldson are once again on the injured list. Anthony Rizzo had a massive April but is batting just .162/.274/.303 in his past 117 plate appearances. The Yankees’ AL East lead has begun to shrink, as the Jays have rattled off eight straight wins, and they can’t realistically count on Aaron Judge to carry the offense all season long.

Gallo doesn’t have a high-end outfield prospect breathing down his neck, but if he can’t get things going at the plate, the calls for change are only going to grow louder. He’s earning $10.275MM in his final arbitration season before free agency, and another club might view him as a change-of-scenery candidate with the hopes that he’ll be the position-player equivalent of Sonny Gray and thrive following a rocky stint in the Bronx.

Adam Duvall, Braves: Like Gallo, Duvall’s skill set and offensive profile were well established when the Braves opted to retain him via arbitration. He was coming off a 38-homer campaign, so there was never much doubt he’d be tendered a contract, but Duvall’s brand of huge power/bottom-of-the-scale OBP always left him with a pretty low floor should the power ever evaporate.

That’s been the case in 2022, as Duvall still isn’t walking or hitting for average, and he’s only slugged two homers on the season. Paired with a career-worst 31.9% strikeout rate, those troubling trends have resulted in a .191/.257/.272 slash for Duvall, who has also already been tasked with playing more center field in 2022 than he had in his entire career to date.

Atlanta has already called up Michael Harris II, one of the sport’s fastest-rising outfield talents, and former top prospect Drew Waters is at least putting together respectable, if unexciting results in Triple-A. The Braves have also tinkered with catcher William Contreras in the outfield. Duvall has been MLB’s second-worst qualified hitter, by measure of wRC+, and it’s fair to wonder how long the leash will be.

Miguel Sano, Twins: Sano isn’t technically a free agent at season’s end, but barring a Herculean push to finish the season, it’s nearly impossible to fathom the Twins picking up a $14MM option on him. To Sano’s credit, he hit quite well from June through season’s end (.251/.330/.503, 21 homers, 21 doubles in 373 plate appearances), but he looked absolutely lost at the plate in 2022 before landing on the injured list due to a torn meniscus. Sano hit just .093/.231/.148 in 65 plate appearances.

When Sano does return, he’ll come back to a retooled roster that has seen versatile Luis Arraez rake while picking up regular at-bats at first base. Former No. 1 pick Royce Lewis is getting looks at third base and in left field — though Lewis is on the 10-day IL himself now — and top outfield/first base prospect Alex Kirilloff is hitting well in Triple-A following his return from a wrist injury.

The Twins can keep Sano in Triple-A for 20 days on rehab assignment when he’s ready, and they may want to do just that to give him a chance to show he can recapture some of his late 2021 form. But the clock on Sano’s three-year, $30MM deal is running out, and the first-place Twins have plenty of options to fill out the lineup. None of them have Sano’s raw power — almost no one in MLB does — but the big man’s ongoing contact issues tend to lead to protracted slumps like the one he slogged through earlier this year. If he can’t turn it around quickly upon his return, it’d be difficult to justify playing him over Arraez, Kirilloff and others.

Enrique Hernandez & Jackie Bradley Jr., Red Sox: Hernandez was a revelation in 2021 when he smacked 20 homers, hit .250/.337/.449, and delivered all-world defense in center field. But as good as year one of his $14MM contract was, the second and final campaign of that deal has been nightmarish. Hernandez is hitting .203/.269/.340 with a career-low hard-hit rate and exit velocity. He’s still playing great defense in center and helping shoulder the second base workload, but the offensive deficiency is glaring.

That’s also somewhat true of Bradley Jr., who returned to Boston after one ill-fated season in Milwaukee. To Bradley’s credit, he has actually picked up the pace quite a bit, hitting .291/.328/.491 since mid-May, but that surge still only brings his overall season line to .227/.284/.353. If Bradley can sustain some of this production, he’ll surely hang onto his roster spot, but it’s hard not to look at young Jarren Duran’s .309/.391/.523 output in Triple-A and start thinking of ways to insert him into the big league lineup. Duran struggled in his debut last year but is still a touted young prospect whom the Sox envision as a long-term building block.

Hernandez is earning $8MM this season. Bradley is on a $9.5MM salary and is still owed an $8MM buyout on a mutual option for the 2023 season.

Yuli Gurriel, Martin Maldonado & Jason Castro, Astros: Gurriel won a batting title and looked like one of the game’s best pure hitters in 2021, but he’s started his 2022 season with a woeful .223/.261/.361 performance through 176 plate appearances. His strikeout rate is up about four percentage points, while his walk rate has halved and his hard-contact numbers have plummeted. Gurriel is also chasing more pitches off the plate (36.4% in 2022, 29.8% in 2021) and making contact on pitches out of the zone at a far lower rate (74.5% in 2022, 81.9% in 2021).

Houston’s catchers, meanwhile, have been the least-productive in baseball. Maldonado has never been much of a hitter but is batting only .133/.208/.239 this season. Castro hasn’t even been able to match that, batting .104/.228/.146. If catching prospect Korey Lee weren’t enduring immense struggles of his own in Triple-A, a change might’ve already been made.

It seems unlikely that the Astros would cut bait on Gurriel, who’s been a prominent presence and one of the team’s most productive hitters since signing more than a half-decade ago. A reduced role is something they’ll have to consider if he can’t right the ship, however. The catchers seem far more vulnerable, and there figure to be some prominent names available on the trade market (Willson Contreras, most notably). That Houston is leading the AL West by 5.5 games despite having the least-productive catchers (29 wRC+) and 29th-ranked offensive output from its first basemen (74 wRC+) is both a testament to their pitching and indictment on the play of their divisional opponents thus far.

Gurriel is being paid $8MM in 2022, while Maldonado is earning a $5MM salary and Castro is at $3.5MM.

Andrew McCutchen, Brewers: Milwaukee added McCutchen on a one-year, $8MM contract this offseason with the idea of installing him as their primary designated hitter. McCutchen tormented the Brewers during his early years with the Pirates, which included an NL MVP win, but he’s hitting .214/.263/.312 to begin his tenure in Milwaukee. Even McCutchen’s typically outstanding production against lefties has gone up in smoke this year, as he’s managed a .196/.224/.391 slash against them.

Despite McCutchen’s ineffectiveness, the Brewers are leading the Majors in homers (70) and sit fifth in total runs scored (238). But if McCutchen, who’s hitless in six straight and has been 73% worse than average at the plate since a return from the Covid list (27 wRC+ in 57 plate appearances), can’t begin to show some signs of life, the Brewers could be on the lookout for some offensive help as the Aug. 2 trade deadline draws nearer.

Robbie Grossman & Tucker Barnhart, Tigers: Between Grossman, Austin Meadows and Victor Reyes, the Tigers have an entire outfield on the injured list. Underwhelming play from young options like Daz Cameron, Akil Baddoo and Derek Hill will probably extend Grossman’s leash, but he was hitting a career-worst .199/.311/.241 in 167 plate appearances prior to landing on the IL due to ongoing neck soreness. Grossman has a solid track record, but the Tigers will also want to get a look at top prospect Riley Greene soon, and they’re giving Kody Clemens an opportunity after a nice start down in Toledo.

Behind the plate, the Tigers are probably content with Barnhart’s glovework and leadership. There was talk of a potential extension after he was acquired, but a .229/.263/.257 start might have tempered that. Backup Eric Haase isn’t hitting enough to force a change, and the Tigers’ Triple-A catchers are journeymen Dustin Garneau and Ryan Lavarnway. They have a well-regarded prospect at Double-A in Dillon Dingler, but Barnhart shouldn’t be in imminent danger of losing his spot at this time.

Maikel Franco, Nationals: Franco is probably only in this everyday role because Carter Kieboom suffered an elbow injury that eventually required Tommy John surgery, but he hasn’t done much with his latest opportunity. The former Phillies, Royals and Orioles third baseman is hitting .258/.284/.374 (82 wRC+) through 208 plate appearances. The Nats have an ultra-thin farm system without much in the way of third base options in the upper minors, and they’re clearly not winning anything this year anyhow. That might keep Franco safe, but if an even semi-interesting option presents itself on the waiver wire, there’s little reason not to take a look.

Corey Dickerson, Cardinals: Prior to the 2022 season, Dickerson had never been worse than five percent below-average with the bat in any full year (by wRC+). That’s all but certain to change now, as the typically steady lefty has posted an uncharacteristic .183/.238/.215 slash in 101 plate appearances. For a lifetime .283/.327/.488 hitter who was coming off a solid 2021 campaign, it’s a rather astonishing swoon.

Dickerson has been in a platoon with Albert Pujols at DH for the most part, logging only 110 innings on defense in the outfield corners recently due to injuries elsewhere on the roster. He’s also only on a one-year, $5MM contract, so if he can’t find his swing in the near future, it’s easy to see the Cards giving more at-bats to Pujols’ long-shot chase for 700 home runs and to young standout Juan Yepez. Dickerson is safe for now with both Tyler O’Neill and Dylan Carlson on the injured list, but he needs a hot streak sooner than later.

Mike Zunino, Rays: Zunino’s career-high 33 home runs from a year ago feel like a distant memory, as he’s off to a .147/.193/.294 start in 109 plate appearances in 2022. He’s still drawing excellent marks for his defensive contributions, which the Rays value heavily, but Zunino isn’t even hitting against lefties, whom he’s handled well throughout his career — particularly in recent seasons.

Backup Francisco Mejia isn’t hitting much himself, going just 6-for-42 without a walk over the past month or so. Were he producing at the plate, it’d be more tempting for Tampa Bay to significantly reduce Zunino’s playing time. The Rays do have 25-year-old Rene Pinto mashing in Triple-A, and he’s made his big league debut already this year. As with the Astros, however, the Rays are in firm win-now mode and entered the season with World Series aspirations. If the in-house options aren’t performing up to par, the trade market beckons.

Austin Hedges, Guardians: Hedges has never hit and has always been one of the game’s premier defensive players, so his 2022 season is nothing new. Still, a .155/.223/.282 output from your primary catcher is just difficult to stomach, no matter how strong the defense is. Veteran backup Luke Maile has hit well in a tiny sample of 35 plate appearances, but he’s a career .208/.264/.317 hitter himself.

Prospect Bryan Lavastida got a brief MLB cup of coffee in April and is hitting .225/.330/.360 so far in Triple-A. His performance will bear monitoring, because if the Guardians are intent on pulling into the playoff picture, Hedges’ production might be too light to overlook. And if they end up selling at the deadline, Hedges could draw interest from a team seeking a glove-first backup option — which could open a door for Lavastida.

J.A. Happ Retires

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Veteran lefty J.A. Happ has retired after spending parts of 15 seasons in the Major Leagues. The 39-year-old discussed his career, his journey to pro ball and his decision to step away from the game in an appearance on the Heart Strong Podcast with Jessica Lindberg.

J.A. Happ | Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Happ acknowledges that he went “back and forth for pretty much the whole winter” trying to determine whether he wanted to return for another season, going through his usual training regimen to be ready in case he felt a pull to return to the mound.

“It got to the point where it was Opening Day, and I turned the first game on, and I talked to my wife, Morgan, and I said ’What are you feeling?’ She just kind of looked at me and said, ’A little anxiety.’ I wanted to turn it on to see what I felt, too, and I didn’t maybe feel what I needed to feel in order to think I wanted to keep doing this. I felt like that was a sign, like ’OK, it’s time to go.’ Even though I had put the work in to be ready if the right situation came, I felt like it was time to move on and be a dad and dive into the kids. … It was emotional — something I didn’t expect. I called my agent that day, right after we turned that game on, and said, ’I think this is it.’ I told the people I feel like I needed to tell. I think I’m still processing it, but I do wake up feeling good about it, and I’m happy to start the process of being a full-time dad, for the time being, at the very least.”

Originally a third-round pick by the Phillies back in 2004, Happ made his MLB debut with Philadelphia in 2007, appearing in just one game. He pitched in eight games the following year, earning enough trust to make the team’s NLCS roster and turn in three sharp innings of relief. By the 2009 season, Happ not only established himself as a member of the Phillies’ rotation but took home a second-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting after logging a 2.93 ERA in 166 innings of work. He began that year in the bullpen but moved into the rotation in late May, going on to hurl shutouts against the Blue Jays and Rockies in just the seventh and fourteenth starts of his big league career.

Strong as Happ’s early work was, the Phillies couldn’t resist the temptation to include him as part of the return for right-hander Roy Oswalt — a three-time All-Star and regular Cy Young contender at that point in his career. That 2010 swap proved to be the first of several notable trades in which Happ was involved over the course of his career. The Astros included him in a massive 11-player swap with the Jays that saw Happ land in Toronto and a then fresh-faced prospect named Joe Musgrove among the most notable names sent to Houston. Happ was also swapped straight up for outfielder Michael Saunders in 2014, and after returning to the Blue Jays on a three-year, $36MM deal as a free agent, he was flipped to the Yankees for Brandon Drury and Billy McKinney in the final season of that pact.

Happ was never a flamethrower or a perennial All-Star, but he carved out a lengthy career as a mid-rotation starter in the perennially dangerous American League East, spending six of his 15 years with the Jays and another three with the Yankees. From Happ’s peak in 2014-20, he notched 1058 2/3 innings of 3.81 ERA ball — a strong run that included an All-Star nod in 2018 and a sixth-place finish in 2016 American League Cy Young voting. His consistency netted him a trio of sizable free-agent contracts: his aforementioned $36MM deal with the Blue Jays, a two-year Yankees deal worth $34MM, and a one-year deal with the Twins that promised him $8MM just last season.

All in all, Happ steps away from the game with a lifetime 133-100 record, a 4.13 ERA, 1661 strikeouts, four complete games and three shutouts compiled while suiting up for eight teams: the Blue Jays, Phillies, Yankees, Astros, Twins, Mariners, Pirates and Cardinals. He reached the postseason six times, winning a World Series ring with the 2008 Phillies and pitching well in four of those six playoff runs. (He made one start with the Yankees both in 2018 and 2020, neither of which went particularly well.) Between the three previously referenced free-agent deals and his arbitration seasons, Happ earned more than $97MM in a career pegged at 21.5 wins above replacement by Baseball-Reference and 21.8 WAR by FanGraphs.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images/Imagn.

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