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Brewers Acquire Erik Kratz, Designate Jett Bandy, Option Orlando Arcia

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The Brewers made a significant series of roster moves on Friday, acquiring veteran backstop Erik Kratz from the Yankees in exchange for cash and designating Jett Bandy for assignment to clear a spot on the roster. Both teams have announced the trade. Additionally, Milwaukee announced that shortstop Orlando Arcia and righty Jorge Lopez have been optioned to Triple-A Colorado Springs in favor of veteran infielder Eric Sogard and right-hander Adrian Houser.

Set to turn 38 in June, Kratz is off to a .269/.356/.538 start with the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate. While he doesn’t have a lengthy track record at the big league level, he’s shown throughout parts of eight big league seasons that he possess some pop, homering 24 times in 649 plate appearances and notching a .163 ISO. Of course, Kratz’s overall .203/.250/.366 slash line in that time has been sub-par and serves to illustrate why his time in the Majors has been sporadic. To his credit, he’s halted 34 percent of stolen-base attempts against him in the Majors and has been similarly effective throughout his minor league career (32 percent).

As for Bandy, the Brewers will have a week to trade him, Ttry to pass him through outright waivers or release him. The 28-year-old showed a bit of promise early in his career with the Angels but has struggled in two seasons with Milwaukee, hitting just .202/.282/.326. While Milwaukee GM David Stearns has made his share of shrewd moves since taking over the team’s baseball operations department, the decision to flip Martin Maldonado to the Angels in exchange for Bandy likely ranks among his most regrettable swaps, as Maldonado has provided more with the bat and also took home an AL Gold Glove last season in his first year with the Halos.

Arcia, meanwhile, looked to have gone a long way toward establishing himself as a regular in the Milwaukee infield last season. After struggling as a 21-year-old in his debut back in 2016, the longtime top prospect hit .277/.324/.407 with 15 home runs and 14 stolen bases last season. The 2018 season, however, has proven to be a full course reversal at the dish.

Through 146 trips to the dish this season, Arcia has mustered a feeble .194/.233/.273 slash with two homers and five doubles. His walk rate is down two percent, his strikeout rate is up five percent, and his 28.6 percent hard-contact rate is considerably south of the league average. Arcia has contributed quality glovework, to be sure, but that apparently wasn’t deemed enough to salvage his spot on the roster for the time being.

Tyler Saladino figures to be the primary beneficiary of the Brewers’ decision to offer Arcia a mental reset of sorts, as he’s hit well in his brief time since being acquired from the White Sox and offers a solid glove in his own right. While the 28-year-old certainly doesn’t possess the same upside as Arcia, who once ranked as one of the game’s 10 to 15 top overall prospects, he’ll serve as a stopgap while Arcia seeks to remedy his swing and improve upon his plate discipline in a lower-pressure setting.

Yankees Select Contract Of Ryan Bollinger

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The Yankees announced today that they have selected the contract of lefty Ryan Bollinger. He will be added to the active roster for tonight’s game.

A corresponding 40-man move is not necessary, as the Yankees had an open spot still available. The club still has plenty of flexibility for the time being, as several players currently on the 10-day DL could potentially be shifted to the 60-day DL should a need arise.

Bollinger will make it to the majors about nine years after he was taken in the 47th round of the 2009 draft by the Phillies. He never pitched with the Philadelphia organization, but did spend three seasons in the low minors with the White Sox beginning in 2011.

For the past three seasons, Bollinger has pitched outside of the affiliated ranks, making several indy ball stops and appearing last year in the Australian Baseball League. River Ave. Blues covered his unheralded signing, providing a video of Bollinger pitching in Germany and rightly noting: “Would be something if this guy made it, huh?” Indeed.

Since joining the Yankees organization over the offseason, Bollinger has worked as a starter in the upper minors. In 29 innings, he owns a 1.86 ERA with 6.2 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9. It seems reasonable to presume that the 27-year-old will join the Yankees’ bullpen upon his arrival. It remains to be seen, though, how long he’ll hold onto his active and 40-man roster spots.

AL Injury Notes: A. Garcia, K. Davis, Bird, Astros

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White Sox right fielder Avisail Garcia likely won’t return to game action until the end of June, the team announced. Garcia, who has been out since April 24 with a strained right hamstring, underwent an MRI “that revealed improvement but the continued presence of a grade 2 strain,” per the club. On the heels of a terrific 2017, Garcia looked like a potential trade chip entering this season. However, between Garcia’s lengthy absence and the fact that he opened 2018 with a .233/.250/.315 line and no walks in 76 pre-injury plate appearances, his trade value has likely taken a sizable hit this year.

  • Athletics slugger Khris Davis left their game Sunday with a right groin strain, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. The severity isn’t known, though Slusser points out that groin strains tend to take anywhere from two to six weeks to heal. A stint on the disabled list seems like a strong possibility, then, and that would be a tough development for the surging A’s. The club’s on its way to a 25-22 start, and Davis has certainly had a role in that with a .235/.307/.497 line and a team-high 13 homers in 205 PAs.
  • Yankees first baseman Greg Bird could make his season debut during the upcoming week, manager Aaron Boone told Mike Mazzeo of the New York Daily News and other reporters Sunday. Bird hasn’t played this year on account of the right ankle surgery he underwent in late March, after missing most of last season with foot problems and all of 2016 with a torn labrum. Owners of the majors’ best record (29-13), the Yankees have gotten off to a great start without the talented Bird, thanks in part to first base fill-in Tyler Austin’s production. The 26-year-old rookie has smacked two HRs on Sunday to give him eight on the season and raise his OPS to .930 through 100 PAs.
  • The Astros have placed outfielder Derek Fisher on the DL (retroactive to Saturday) and recalled corner infielder/outfielder J.D. Davis from Triple-A, per reports from Mark Berman of FOX 26 and Jake Kaplan of The Athletic. Fisher, who has hit just .176/.222/.419 in 81 PAs, is dealing with gastrointestinal discomfort. Like Fisher, Davis hasn’t been great at the big league level this year (250/.357/.250 in 28 PAs). However, the 25-year-old laid waste to the Triple-A Pacific Coast League prior to Sunday’s call-up, slashing .415/.473/.654 in 146 tries.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/19/18

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The latest minor moves from around baseball:

  • The Yankees have brought back right-hander David Hale on a minor league contract, according to a team announcement. Hale, who will report to Triple-A, has now signed three separate minors deals with the club since January. He saw action with the Yankees under each of his previous two accords and combined for five innings of two-run ball. Between inking those pacts, the Twins claimed Hale off waivers from New York on April 26. Hale made just one appearance as a Twin, with whom he threw three frames of four-run ball, before they designated him for assignment. The Yankees have also designated Hale this season (twice, in fact), the latest occurrence coming earlier this week. The 30-year-old then elected free agency, where he sat on the market for a day before returning to the Yanks. Hale owns a 4.58 ERA during his 186 2/3-inning major league tenure.
  • Brewers righty Josh Pennington has retired, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. The 22-year-old made the decision after suffering a shoulder injury, per Rosiak. Pennington, a 29th-round pick of the Red Sox in 2014, joined the Brewers in December 2016 as part of a trade that featured more prominent names in Travis Shaw, Tyler Thornburg and Mauricio Dubon. He opened 2018 at the Single-A level, concluding his career with a pair of scoreless innings.
  • More from Rosiak, who reports that the Brewers have released infielder Javier Betancourt. He also came to the Brewers in a trade – a 2015 swap in which they sent reliever Francisco Rodriguez to Detroit. Betancourt was a promising prospect at the time, but he struggled to produce from 2016-17 as a member of the Brewers’ Double-A affiliate, with whom he hit .233/.286/.344 in 744 plate appearances. The 23-year-old then suffered a gunshot wound to the arm in his native Venezuela last November, but fortunately, he avoided any life-threatening injuries.

East Notes: Yankees, Eickhoff, Smith, Garcia

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Aaron Boone recently offered some words of encouragement regarding the imminent return of first baseman Greg Bird to the lineup (h/t Marc Carig of The Athletic). But while Bird’s activation appears to be “around the corner”, news surrounding fellow Yankees hitter Jacoby Ellsbury is not as promising. Ellsbury is reportedly dealing with a minor back injury and as such is not participating in baseball activities at this time. The outfielder made just 406 plate appearances last season and has yet to make his 2018 debut. Unfortunately, Ellsbury’s absence is not the end of the bad news for the Yankees this week, as it turns out hard-hitting outfield prospect Estevan Florial will require surgery on a broken hamate bone (according to a tweet from George A. King III of the New York Post). The injury will keep him sidelined until at least August. Florial was off to somewhat of a slow start at the High-A level, posting a .246/.353/.343 slash line across 156 plate appearances.

More out of the East…

  • Phillies righty Jerad Eickhoff is set to begin a rehab assignment, according to Matt Breen of the Philly Enquirer. He’ll kick it off at Triple-A LeHigh Valley. Eickhoff has been sidelined since spring training due to a lat strain, and at this time it’s not clear how he’d fit into a suddenly crowded Phillies rotation that includes Aaron Nola, Nick Pivetta, Jake Arrieta, Vince Velasquez and Zach Eflin.
  • The Red Sox haven’t gotten any particularly good news about Carson Smith in recent days. According to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe, manager Alex Cora says the club can’t determine at this time whether or not the righty will pitch again this season. Smith was off to a serviceable start this season, posting a 3.77 ERA and 11.30 K/9 in his first 14 1/3 innings before going down with a shoulder subluxation.
  • The Blue Jays are describing left-hander Jaime Garcia’s injury as “left shoulder inflammation”. He’s been placed on the DL retroactive to May 16th. The Jays brought Garcia into the fold this past offseason on a one-year deal worth a guarantee of $10MM, but he’s disappointed thus far with a 6.28 ERA across his first 38 2/3 innings. In a related move, the club has recalled righty Deck McGuire from Triple-A Buffalo.

David Hale Elects Free Agency

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Righty David Hale has elected free agency after clearing outright waivers, the Yankees announced today. He had recently been designated for assignment.

Roster churn is nothing new for Hale, who has had multiple stints in New York and one with the Twins this year, in addition to the time he has spent at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The 30-year-old has allowed 15 earned runs in his 22 2/3 innings at all stops on the year.

This is the most extensive action that Hale has seen at the game’s highest level since the 2015 season. All told, he carries a 4.58 ERA with 6.1 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 over 186 2/3 MLB innings.

Yankees Recall Clint Frazier, Designate David Hale For Assignment

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The Yankees announced this afternoon that they’ve recalled outfielder Clint Frazier from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and designated right-hander David Hale for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster.

This’ll be the first big league stint for Frazier in 2018 after sustaining a concussion during Spring Training and spending the first few weeks of the season on the disabled list. He’s played in four games with Class-A Tampa and another 12 in Triple-A, raking at a .362/.423/.702 clip with three doubles, two triples and three homers in Scranton. He’ll add some additional depth in the outfield for a Yankees club and, for the time being, return the club to a 12-man pitching staff with the subtraction of Hale. His presence will also give the Yankees an additional bat on the bench for an upcoming NL series, which undoubtedly played a role in his promotion.

It’s the second time the Yankees have designated Hale for assignment this season. The 30-year-old inked a minor league pact with the Yankees this winter and was designated after tossing a pair of shutout innings on April 23 against the Twins. Once he hit waivers, it was actually Minnesota who claimed Hale, though the Twins were forced to DFA Hale themselves after just one rough appearance when their bullpen was stretched to thin levels by a series of rough losses. Hale wound up back with the Yanks on another minor league deal, had his contract selected once again, and allowed a pair of runs in three innings in yet another one-appearance stint with the Yankees last week.

Yankees Activate Brandon Drury From DL, Option Him To Triple-A

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The Yankees announced on Monday that they’ve reinstated infielder Brandon Drury from the 10-day disabled list and optioned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The move means that for the time being, New York will continue to rely upon Miguel Andujar, Gleyber Torres, Tyler Austin, Neil Walker and Ronald Torreyes around the infield, with Drury somewhat surprisingly waiting in the wings at Triple-A on the heels of a very productive minor league rehab assignment.

Drury hit the disabled list last month due to ongoing migraine issues and blurred vision. He’s reportedly tried out wearing some yellow-tinted glasses during rehab games in an effort to aid his vision, and while it may have been mere coincidence, the results from his recent stretch of 11 games with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre were impressive; in 42 plate appearances, he hit .343/.452/.514 with a homer and three doubles.

[Related: Updated New York Yankees depth chart]

However, Drury’s placement on the DL opened the door for some younger prospects to make their debuts, and during his absence, Walker’s bat began to show signs of life. The veteran Walker is hitting .346/.514/.462 in 35 plate appearances this month and has provided the Yankees with some key hits, while Andujar and Torres have shown varying degrees of promise. In the case of Torres, he’s hitting .319/.360/.493 with three homers through his first 76 big league plate appearances and hasn’t done much of anything to give the Yankees cause to send him back down to the minors.

It’s more arguable that Andujar has shown some cracks at the big league level and could yet be in need of refinement. While he’s hitting .282 with a .458 slugging percentage, Andujar has drawn just three walks in 135 plate appearances, resulting in a paltry .296 on-base percentage. While he’s not striking out much, his .337 average on balls in play is considerably higher than the league norm of .295. If that BABIP regresses at all, then he could very well see his OBP fall into the .280 range. For the time being, he’s hit in six straight games (8-for-25), though all of his hits in that time have been singles.

The Yankees could’ve created a temporary solution by sending Austin to Triple-A, but the 26-year-old has slugged five homers in 89 plate appearances despite hitting just .222 with a .292 on-base percentage. Austin seems likely to be a roster casualty when Greg Bird is ready to be activated from the disabled list anyhow.

Whether due to an injury somewhere around the big league infield or a slump from Andujar, it still seems reasonable to expect that Drury will be back with the Yankees at some point in the relatively near future.

AL East Notes: Drury, Bird, Vlad Jr., Pearson, Mujica

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The Yankees may soon have a welcome problem on their hands with multiple infield options, with youngsters Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres performing well as Brandon Drury has tried to sort out a long-standing migraine problem. (Neil Walker and Ronald Torreyes are also on the MLB roster, along with everyday shortstop Didi Gregorius.) As MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch discusses in response to a reader inquiry, there continues to be progress in Drury’s health issue and he could soon be ready to return. While he could be optioned, Hoch suggests the organization could consider moving him around as well, possibly giving Drury time at second, third, and the corner outfield. Hoch also checks in briefly on injured first bagger Greg Bird, explaining that he’s on track to return later this month. Barring further injuries, there’ll certainly be some interesting decisions to be made for a ballclub that has been on a tear.

More from the AL East:

  • Blue Jays prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has obviously earned quite a few headlines with his excellent work thus far at Double-A level, leading many to wonder whether he’s a near-term option in the majors. Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca addresses that topic (video link on Twitter), arguing that the team has good reason to ensure the 19-year-old is ready for the huge amount of visibility a promotion would entail. That’s the larger factor than on-field readiness, says Nicholson-Smith, though of course it’s also worth bearing in mind that Vlad Jr. has only taken 118 plate appearances thus far in the upper minors. Nicholson-Smith proposes further experience there, perhaps including some time at Triple-A Buffalo, before weighing a possible mid-summer debut in Toronto.
  • Another Blue Jays prospect is in the news, too, but for less promising reasons. Young righty Nate Pearson has been diagnosed with a non-displaced fractured ulna in his pitching arm, per a club announcement. He suffered the injury on a comebacker. At this point, all that’s known is that he’ll be down for four to six weeks before being evaluated further. The 21-year-old, a first-round pick in last year’s draft, was making his season debut after an oblique injury sidelined him to open the year. Pearson was appearing at the High-A level, so he’s likely still a ways away from the majors, but he had already emerged as a top-100 prospect and will now at least lose some development time while rehabbing.
  • In other pitching injury news, the Rays have suffered another dent to their depth, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports on Twitter. 21-year-old right-hander Jose Mujica is sidelined with a forearm strain, per the report, which is never the sort of news you want to hear for a young hurler. Mujica had shown well in his first six starts at the Triple-A level, working to a 3.13 ERA with 32 strikeouts against ten walks in his 31 2/3 innings of action. His anticipated timeline is not yet known.

MLB Announces London Series

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As expected, Major League Baseball has announced that it is taking its show across the Atlantic to the United Kingdom next year. The Yankees and Red Sox will play a two-game set on June 29th and June 30th at London Stadium, the facility that hosted the 2012 Olympics.

This initiative is the latest in a line of MLB overseas adventures, but the first that is located in Europe. Previously, the league has held regular season contests in Japan, Mexico, and Australia. (Additionally, games have been held on U.S. territory in locales that lack MLB franchises, with recent events in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and Fort Bragg, North Carolina.) That’s all in addition to the World Baseball Classic.

It’s not surprising that the league has first focused on other international markets. The game of baseball has a greater foothold, of course, in Asia and Latin America. That’s not to say that it’s completely unknown in Europe, though. Those interested in learning more about Euroball may enjoy listening to the MLBTR Podcast episode on the topic, featuring subject matter expert Josh Chetwynd, from a few years back.

International engagement is hardly a new concept in baseball or other professional sports, of course. Even the NFL has recently been holding games in London of late. But staging games that actually count in the standings is a relatively more challenging undertaking — and one that was specifically contemplated in the most recent collective bargaining agreement. That’s particularly true for baseball, with its intense travel schedule and near-daily games.

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