Yankees Planning To Place Jazz Chisholm On IL With UCL Injury
The Yankees are likely to place Jazz Chisholm Jr. on the 10-day injured list with an injury to the UCL in his left elbow, manager Aaron Boone told the New York beat (relayed on X by Chris Kirschner of the Athletic). The organization is unsure whether Chisholm will need to undergo surgery.
If there’s a silver lining, it’s that the injury is to Chisholm’s non-throwing arm. It’s nevertheless a tough blow that’ll subtract the Yankees’ key deadline acquisition from the lineup. Chisholm has gotten out to an excellent start to his time in the Bronx. He already has seven homers in 14 games. He’s hitting .316/.361/.702 across 61 trips to the plate since the trade.
Chisholm had connected on 13 longballs with Miami. This is his first major league campaign reaching the 20-homer mark. He has also swiped 27 bases (including a perfect 5-5 showing with the Yankees) and now carries an above-average .257/.328/.445 slash line on the year. The Yankees have won nine of 14 games since Chisholm joined the team. They enter play tonight half a game behind the Orioles for the top spot in the AL East. Baltimore is tied with the Guardians for the #1 seed in the American League, so that’s very much in play for New York as well.
While Chisholm had spent his entire Marlins career in the middle of the diamond (primarily at second base or in center field), he has moved to the hot corner in the Bronx. Chisholm has been in the starting lineup for all 14 games since the Yankees acquired him. Thirteen of those have come at third base, while he has made one start in center field. The hot corner has been a problem for New York all season. Yankee third basemen aside from Chisholm have hit .231/.292/.320 through 419 trips to the plate.
Oswaldo Cabrera and DJ LeMahieu have gotten the bulk of that work and neither has hit at a league average level. The Yankees have deployed LeMahieu as the right-handed half of a first base platoon with lefty-swinging Ben Rice lately. That could point to Cabrera, who gets the nod there tonight against White Sox righty Jonathan Cannon, as the primary option if Chisholm goes on the shelf. Oswald Peraza, who is hitting .244/.352/.384 in a fairly pedestrian Triple-A campaign, is on the 40-man roster. So is Jorbit Vivas, whom the Yankees acquired in an offseason trade with the Dodgers. The Yankees briefly called Vivas up around the All-Star Break but didn’t get him into a game. He’s hitting .242/.379/.374 over 58 Triple-A contests.
The Yankees can no longer turn to the trade market for anything more than a minor league depth pickup. Amed Rosario is headed to the waiver wire after being designated for assignment by the Dodgers last night. If Chisholm is out for an extended stretch, the Yankees could look to put in a claim for the righty-hitting infielder. New York is behind everyone other than the Phillies, Guardians and Orioles in the waiver priority, though. There’s a good chance that another team claims Rosario before the Yankees get an opportunity.
AL East Notes: Orioles, Casas, Story, Schmidt
Orioles general manager Mike Elias spoke to reporters (including Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports) ahead of today’s game against the Rays, offering updates on several injured players. First and foremost, he expressed optimism regarding starter Grayson Rodriguez, who landed on the 15-day IL last week. Elias described Rodriguez’s right lat/teres injury as “pretty mild” – much less serious than the similar injury he suffered in 2022 – and said the team is hoping to have him back in the rotation by late September. The young right-hander has a 3.86 ERA across 20 starts this season, and Elias made it clear that the Orioles are still hopeful he will play an “enormous” role for the team come October.
Discussing his club’s minor league rotation depth while Rodriguez is out, Elias named Cade Povich, Cole Irvin, and, interestingly, Brandon Young of Triple-A Norfolk. Povich, 24, is a top prospect and has a spot on the 40-man roster, while Irvin, 30, has six seasons of MLB experience. Young, 25, doesn’t have Povich’s prospect pedigree or Irvin’s big league resume, but he is enjoying a strong season; he has a 3.82 ERA and 2.92 FIP across 20 games between Double-A and Triple-A. Barring another injury, the Orioles rotation is set with Corbin Burnes, Zach Eflin, Trevor Rogers, Dean Kremer, and Albert Suarez. Still, Young is a name worth keeping an eye on.
Elias also provided some good news about several Orioles relievers. Jacob Webb hit the IL last week with inflammation in his right elbow, but tests revealed no structural damage. The club is hopeful his IL stint will be a short one, perhaps no longer than the minimum 15 days. Webb has pitched well for Baltimore since joining the club last August. In 71 2/3 innings, the 30-year-old has a 3.14 ERA and 3.98 SIERA as a middle relief option for manager Brandon Hyde. The Orioles are also planning to have Danny Coulombe back in late September. Coulombe, who has a 2.68 ERA over the past two seasons, has been out since June, when he had surgery to remove bone chips in his left elbow. Finally, Elias touched on Félix Bautista‘s rehab, explaining that things are “going really well” for the star closer as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. He will not pitch for Baltimore this year, in the regular season or the playoffs, but he is set to throw off a proper mound next week as he prepares himself for a full and healthy 2025 campaign.
On the position player side of things, Elias noted that there is “still time” for Jordan Westburg to get back on the field before the end of the regular season. The All-Star infielder has been out since he fractured his right hand on July 31. He has 18 home runs, an .815 OPS, and 2.8 FanGraphs WAR over 101 games this year. Elias also expressed hope that Heston Kjerstad won’t be out for “too much longer” as he continues to recover from a concussion. The GM acknowledged that it’s “pretty mild” as far as concussions go, but the team is still taking his symptoms “really seriously” and will not bring him back until they make sure he is “totally out of the woods.” The Orioles had previously optioned Kjerstad back to Triple-A, but placing him back on the injured list reverses the option.
In additional injury news from around the AL East…
- Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas is reportedly “close to returning” from his rib cage injury, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive. He is currently on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester, and Cotillo suggests Casas could be back in the majors as soon as Thursday. Boston will need to activate him once he maxes out his minor league rehab time on August 18, but it appears the slugger could be back in the lineup a few days sooner. Casas hit six home runs over his first 22 games this season before suffering his injury, and his big lefty bat will undoubtedly be a huge boost to the Red Sox’s lineup.
- Meanwhile, Trevor Story is about to take what manager Alex Cora describes as a “huge step” toward returning this season, according to Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. The shortstop, who has been out since April after undergoing shoulder surgery, will take batting practice on Monday. His surgery seemed to be season-ending back in April, but Cora now believes the two-time All-Star will be back with the Red Sox before the end of the year. Story himself suggested that his return has gone from “a maybe” to “a reality.” He is already ready to return defensively, and he is making excellent progress swinging the bat. He says his swings have felt “really good” with “no hesitation or hold back.”
- Finally, Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt told reporters (including Mark W. Sanchez of the New York Post) that it is “very realistic” to expect he will return to the club before the end of August. The right-hander has been out since May with a right lat strain. Over his first 11 starts, Schmidt pitched to a sparkling 2.52 ERA and 3.64 SIERA. Meanwhile, since his last appearance, Yankees starters rank second-last in the AL with a 5.22 ERA. Their problems go far beyond Schmidt’s injury, but it will surely help to have him back in the fold. It’s not clear how manager Aaron Boone will arrange his rotation once Schmidt returns, but Boone was reportedly “thrilled” with Schmidt’s performance in a live batting practice session earlier today (per Joel Sherman of the New York Post). There will be a job for Schmidt when he’s ready, even if he has to push a more established arm – like Marcus Stroman or Nestor Cortes – out of the rotation.
Yankees Acquire Cam Eden From Blue Jays
The Yankees announced Friday that they’ve acquired outfielder Cam Eden in a trade sending cash back to the Blue Jays. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for the time being.
Eden, 26, was Toronto’s sixth-round pick back in 2019. He briefly made his big league debut late last season, appearing in five games and going 1-for-6 with a pair of strikeouts. The Jays removed him from the 40-man roster after the season, outrighting him to Triple-A Buffalo. Because Eden was not on the Jays’ 40-man roster at any point this season, he’s eligible to be traded even after the major league trade deadline.
[Related: How to Acquire Players After the MLB Trade Deadline]
While Eden isn’t likely to factor heavily into the Yankees’ plans down the stretch, he’s a Triple-A piece at a time when Everson Pereira is out for the season and Jasson Dominguez could soon get a call to the big leagues. Eden is also a potential bench/pinch-running option in September or even in the postseason, if the Yankees choose to dedicate a roster spot to someone with that type of specialized skill set. He’s hitting just .198/.299/.322 with a 27.4% strikeout rate this season, but he’s also swiped 26 bags in 33 tries. This is his second run through the Triple-A level; Eden hit .257/.354/.333 there last year and stole 53 bases in 57 attempts.
Eden has played all three outfield spots in his pro career. The Cal product has spent the bulk of his time in center field. FanGraphs Eric Longenhagen ranked him at the back of the Jays’ top-34 prospects back in 2022, touting Eden’s plus speed, quick first step in center and baserunning acumen — while also noting that lack of offensive upside that limits his ceiling.
East Notes: Grissom, Suarez, Volpe, Lowe, De La Cruz, Shim
The Red Sox activated Vaughn Grissom from the 10-day injured list today and optioned the infielder to Triple-A, a move that The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey reported the team was considering last week. Grissom hasn’t played in the majors since June 1 due to a right hamstring strain, adding to his troubled first season in Boston. Between this injury and a left hamstring strain in Spring Training, Grissom has been limited to 23 Major League games, and a dismal .148/.207/.160 slash line in 87 plate appearances.
Some kind of decision was required since Grissom’s 20-day minor league rehab assignment was up tomorrow, but his .604 OPS in 58 Triple-A PA during that assignment didn’t exactly force Boston’s hand for a promotion. Even as the Sox continue to look for answers at second base, Grissom will need to perform better to earn another call-up, and it remains to be seen when (or even if) he might be back in the majors before 2024 is over.
More from both the AL and NL East…
- Ranger Suarez has been on the Phillies‘ 15-day injured list since July 24, and manager Rob Thomson told Lochlahn March of the Philadelphia Inquirer and other reporters that Suarez isn’t expected back until after the end of the Phils’ next homestand (August 13-18). Suarez does appear to be making decent progress in his recovery from lower-back soreness, as he threw a 36-pitch bullpen session today. Perhaps another bullpen session and at least one live batting-practice session will be in order, and Suarez’s return could be delayed a bit longer if the Phillies opt to send him on a minor league rehab assignment. The left-hander was arguably the best pitcher in baseball over the first three months of the season before his back problems started to surface, and Suarez struggled to a 7.71 ERA in his last 21 innings prior to his IL placement.
- Anthony Volpe fouled a ball off his left foot during a plate appearance in the second inning of tonight’s 9-4 Yankees loss to the Angels, and the shortstop was eventually forced out of the game in the eighth inning. Manager Aaron Boone told the New York Post’s Greg Joyce and other reporters that x-rays were negative and Volpe just received a contusion, though more will be known in the coming days if Volpe will need to miss any time. Volpe has an exactly average 100 wRC+ over 516 PA this season, with a lot of streakiness baked into a .257/.304/.410 slash line. The second-year player has been hot at the plate recently and is still delivering standout defense at shortstop, so the Yankees can only hope the injury isn’t serious.
- It was a similar story for Rays outfielder Josh Lowe, as x-rays were also negative on Lowe’s right knee after he fouled a ball off himself in the first inning of tonight’s game. Lowe was in enough discomfort that he couldn’t take the field for the bottom of the first, but his injury was also deemed a contusion. A pair of oblique strains have already sent Lowe to the IL twice this season, and he has hit .236/.296/.410 over 213 plate appearances thus far in 2024, playing almost exclusively against right-handed pitchers.
- The Marlins made several trades during their pre-deadline selloff, and the deal that sent Bryan De La Cruz to the Pirates drew some “disagreement and discussion internally,” according to The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson and Craig Mish. De La Cruz isn’t arbitration-eligible until this coming offseason and is now under the Pirates’ control through 2027, but the Marlins’ analytics department wasn’t impressed by his long-term potential, “and a belief that De La Cruz wasn’t going to be a starter [in Miami] when the team is ready to contend.” The Fish also had a particular interest in prying right-hander Jun-Seok Shim away from Pittsburgh, as Shim’s spin rates and pitching arsenal impressed Miami evaluators. A Marlins source told Jackson/Mish that the team isn’t concerned about the shoulder issue that has thus far kept Shim from pitching in 2024.
NL West Notes: Snell, Rushing, Senzatela
Blake Snell‘s free agency was one of the top — and most drawn-out — storylines of the 2023-24 offseason. After lingering on the market well into spring training despite having just won his second Cy Young Award, he inked a two-year, $62MM deal with the Giants that affords him the ability to opt out and return to the open market again this offseason (this time without a qualifying offer). Snell’s decision to eventually settle on a two-year pact with San Francisco came months after a reported overture from the Yankees, who pivoted to sign Marcus Stroman after Snell rejected a longer-term offer.
At the time, MLB.com reported that the Yankees had put forth a six-year, $150MM offer to Snell, which he purportedly spurned in hopes of landing a lengthier deal. Snell himself was asked about the reported terms in a recent appearance with hosts Scott Braun, A.J. Pierzynski and Cameron Maybin on Foul Territory (video link). While the two-time Cy Young winner declined to delve into specifics, he stated in no uncertain terms that the numbers which became public were not accurate.
“The deal that came out — that wasn’t what was offered to me,” said Snell. “I can say that. … What they offered wasn’t close to that.”
Snell understandably wasn’t keen on going into specifics, which is common practice for players and executives alike when discussing free-agent interest. (Although Teoscar Hernandez notably divulged the Red Sox’ offer to him in a recent interview.) At this point, the specifics matter little; Snell seemed like a long-shot to join the Yankees once they added Stroman and pushed themselves into the top tier of luxury-tax penalization, meaning Snell would’ve come with a 110% tax hit (thus making his current $31MM AAV an expenditure north of $65MM). He signed with the Giants, and after a disastrous and injury-marred start to his San Francisco tenure, he looks largely back to Cy Young form.
Snell’s upcoming player option will mark a fascinating decision. If he continues at his current post-IL pace or anywhere near it (33 innings, 0.55 ERA, 36.3 K%, 8.8 BB%), he’ll surely turn down that second year and look for a long-term pact. He’s recently blanked the Rockies while punching out 15 batters over six frames and, of course, threw a no-hitter against the Reds his last time out. However, if he begins to struggle or incurs further injuries, there’ll be more consideration given to the second season of the contract. Few finishes in baseball will be more intriguing to follow than that of Snell.
Some other notes from the National League West division…
- The Dodgers recently promoted catching prospect Dalton Rushing from Double-A to Triple-A and his new team seems to come with a new assignment. Oklahoma City manager Travis Barbary says Rushing will exclusively be playing left field for now, per broadcaster Alex Freedman on X. The move is likely related to the fact that the Dodgers won’t have any playing time available behind the plate for a while. Will Smith recently signed an extension that runs through 2033. He’s essentially locked into the backstop role because Shohei Ohtani will be the designated hitter through 2033 while Freddie Freeman has first base locked up through 2027. Even after trading Thayron Liranzo in the Jack Flaherty deal, the Dodgers have two top 100 catching prospects in Rushing and Diego Cartaya, but Cartaya is considered the better defender with Rushing considered better at the plate. It’s been speculated that the club might deal from this catching surplus but it also seems they’re experimenting with Rushing at other positions to improve his chances of cracking the roster. He has logged some first base time as well as 35 innings in left field in Double-A and he now seems set to add to that total at Triple-A. Before the promotion, he hit 17 home runs in 77 Double-A games and drew walks in 11.4% of his plate appearances, slashing .270/.378/.512 for a wRC+ of 147. If he can generate that kind of offense in the majors or anything close to it, his bat will play at any position.
- Rockies right-hander Antonio Senzatela is going to begin a rehab assignment on Thursday, per Patrick Lyons of Just Baseball on X. The righty underwent Tommy John surgery just over a year ago, in July of 2023. His return won’t have a huge impact on this season as the Rockies are 42-72, ahead of only the lowly White Sox. But getting back on the mound before the offseason would be a nice development as the club looks to have a much stronger rotation in 2025 that could consist of Senzatela, Germán Márquez, Kyle Freeland, Cal Quantrill, Austin Gomber and Ryan Feltner. Senzatela and Márquez both underwent Tommy John surgery last year and have missed most of this season while Freeland also missed a couple of months due to a left elbow strain. Márquez was reinstated last month but went back on the IL due to elbow inflammation.
Yankees Release Duane Underwood Jr.
The Yankees released right-hander Duane Underwood Jr., who’d been pitching for their Triple-A affiliate after signing a minor league deal in the offseason, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. He’s a free agent who can now sign with any club.
Underwood’s release comes despite generally solid results in Scranton. He’s pitched 38 2/3 innings for the RailRiders, logging a 3.26 ERA with a 23.4% strikeout rate that’s slightly north of the big league average. The Yankees never game him a look in the big leagues this season, likely due in part to an unpalatable 14% walk rate that portends some regression in that otherwise sharp earned run average.
A second-round pick by the Cubs back in 2012, the now 30-year-old Underwood has three-plus years of big league service that have been accrued over parts of six seasons split evenly between the Cubs and Pirates. Underwood found some decent success with Pittsburgh from 2021-22 and even worked his way into a leverage role with the ’22 Bucs. Over those two seasons, he tallied 130 innings of 4.36 ERA ball with a 21.1% strikeout rate, 9% walk rate, 45.7% ground-ball rate, one save and a dozen holds. He was arguably miscast as a setup man, but Underwood looked the part of a perfectly serviceable middle reliever at the very least.
The 2023 season marked a notable step back for the right-hander, however. Underwood pitched just 24 1/3 frames in the big leagues and was roughed up for a 5.18 ERA with glaring declines in his strikeout and walk rates. His average sinker fell from 95.3 mph in ’22 to 93.6 mph in ’23, and Underwood posted a career-low 14% strikeout rate against a career-worst 11% walk rate. Pittsburgh passed him through waivers last June. He became a minor league free agent at season’s end and signed with the Yankees.
On the whole, Underwood has 190 2/3 innings of 4.63 ERA ball under his belt in the majors. He’s set down 21.5% of his opponents on strikes and issued free passes at a 9% clip — both numbers right in line with the results he delivered for the 2021-22 Pirates. He’s worked mostly in short relief with the Yankees organization, although Underwood does have eight appearances in which he’s recorded between four and six outs over the past couple months. He could be an option for a team seeking some depth in the form of an experienced arm that’s comfortable working more than an inning per appearance.
Yankees Release J.D. Davis, Outright Jahmai Jones
The Yankees announced that infielder J.D. Davis has been released while infielder/outfielder Jahmai Jones has been sent outright to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Davis has already cleared waivers and is a free agent, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post on X.
Davis, 31, began his year by winning an arbitration hearing against the Giants, or so he thought. He was in line to make $6.9MM this year but the Giants released him after they signed Matt Chapman to take over their third base job.
Per the rules of the collective bargaining agreement, arbitration salaries are not guaranteed if the two sides go to a hearing, so the Giants only had to give Davis about $1.1MM in termination pay in letting him go. He landed with the A’s but only secured a $2.5MM guarantee on that deal.
With Oakland, he missed some time with a right adductor strain and hit a tepid .236/.304/.366 for a wRC+ of 96. He was flipped to the Yankees, who mostly kept him in a bench role, as Davis only got into seven games in over a month on the roster. He was designated for assignment when the Yanks acquired Jazz Chisholm Jr. and the other 29 clubs evidently passed on the chance to grab Davis off waivers.
The Yanks will remain on the hook for what’s left of his salary, which is around $775K. Any other club could sign him for the prorated league minimum salary for any time spent on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Yankees pay. He hit .268/.352/.443 from 2019 to 2023 for a wRC+ of 120 and that past performance could perhaps intrigue some other clubs.
As for Jones, it’s a bit more surprising to see him go unclaimed. Roughly half the teams in the league have open 40-man roster spots in the wake of the trade deadline. Jones is not too far removed from being a notable prospect and has not yet qualified for arbitration, meaning he’s making a league minimum salary. He is out of options and would have needed an active roster spot with any claiming team, but could have been controlled for five additional seasons beyond this one.
He has hit just .198/.257/.278 in his major league career but without getting much of a chance, as he’s still never reached 75 plate appearances in a season. He was claimed by the Yankees back in February but was only sent to the plate 47 times in his stretch of about four months on the roster, getting designated for assignment when Giancarlo Stanton came off the injured list.
Prior to exhausting his option years, his work in the minors was strong. Over the 2021 to 2023 seasons, he took a walk in 15.2% of his plate appearances, only getting struck out 21.8% of the time. He hit a combined .254/.378/.441 in that time for a 114 wRC+. He also stole 25 bases in 34 tries while playing all three outfield spots, second base and even a bit of third base.
On top of that solid minor league work, he’s a former second-round pick who appeared on some top 100 prospect lists a few years ago, but he nonetheless went unclaimed on waivers. Since this is his first career outright and he has less than three years of service time, he doesn’t have the right to elect free agency at this time. He’ll report to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for now but will qualify for minor league free agency at season’s end if he’s not added back to the roster.
MLBTR Podcast: Trade Deadline Recap
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams and Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- Were the prospect prices high in this year’s trades? Is this a new normal due to the expanded playoffs creating a seller’s market? (2:15)
- The three-team trade involving the Dodgers, White Sox, Cardinals, Erick Fedde, Miguel Vargas and others (15:40)
- The Rays and Cubs, the buy-sell tightrope and the trade involving Isaac Paredes and Christopher Morel (29:30)
- The Astros acquire Yusei Kikuchi from the Blue Jays for a three-player package and the connection to the the Dodgers acquiring Jack Flaherty from the Tigers but the Yankees reportedly being scared off by his medicals (48:00)
- The Guardians acquire Alex Cobb from the Giants and acquire Lane Thomas from the Nationals (58:35)
- The Orioles acquire Trevor Rogers from the Marlins and acquire Zach Eflin from the Rays (1:09:10)
- Will teams have to be more aggressive in the offseason going forward if the expanded playoffs will make less good players available at the deadline? (1:20:35)
- The Rockies and Angels held onto a lot of trade candidates (1:23:35)
- The Marlins leaned in hard to seller status (1:31:40)
- The Padres built a super bullpen (1:44:50)
- The Braves acquire Jorge Soler from the Giants (1:47:40)
- The Royals acquire Lucas Erceg from the Athletics (1:54:40)
Check out our past episodes!
- Trade Deadline Preview – listen here
- Top Trade Candidates, Hunter Harvey To KC And The Current State Of The Rays And Mets – listen here
- Brewers’ Pitching Needs, Marlins Rumors And The Nats Prepare To Sell – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Yankees Release Chasen Shreve
The Yankees released lefty reliever Chasen Shreve from his minor league contract, tweets Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. In another small roster move, New York announced they reinstated right-hander Nick Burdi from the 60-day injured list and optioned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The Yanks transferred Cody Poteet to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man roster spot for Burdi.
Shreve signed with New York in late June. He made 10 appearances for Scranton and pitched fairly well, allowing three earned runs over 11 innings. Shreve surrendered three more unearned runs but struck out 11 while only walking three. New York evidently didn’t believe he’d carry that form over at the major league level. Despite trading Caleb Ferguson and not adding another left-handed reliever at the deadline, they’ll let Shreve depart.
The 34-year-old Shreve hasn’t pitched in the big leagues this season. He has split his time between the Triple-A affiliates with the Rangers and Yankees. He made 50 MLB appearances between Detroit and Cincinnati a year ago, turning in a 4.63 earned run average with slightly better than average strikeout and walk rates over 44 2/3 frames.
New York added a pair of right-handers, Mark Leiter Jr. and Enyel De Los Santos, to their relief corps this week. Tim Hill is the only southpaw in their current bullpen while Anthony Misiewicz and Josh Maciejewski are on optional assignment in Triple-A.
Burdi is also headed to Scranton, though he’s evidently healthy after losing more than two months to a right hip injury. The Louisville product has had a very difficult time staying on the mound over his professional career but continues to intrigue evaluators with a fastball that sits around 98 MPH on average. Burdi has fired 9 2/3 innings of two-run ball for New York this season, already setting a personal-high mark with 12 MLB appearances.
Poteet’s 60-day minimum absence is retroactive to his initial IL placement on June 15. He’ll be eligible to return in the second week of August. He has yet to begin a minor league rehab assignment due to a triceps injury. Poteet started four games earlier in the year, turning in a 2.14 ERA across 21 innings.
Jeter Downs Signs With NPB’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
Catching up on some news that was set aside during the trade deadline frenzy, the Yankees announced yesterday that infielder Jeter Downs was released and signed with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.
Downs, 26, wasn’t a Yankee for very long. He was claimed off waivers from the Nationals in December, with the Yankees then passing him through waivers unclaimed in January. He didn’t have the right to elect free agency at that time and has been in the Yankees’ system in a non-roster capacity since then.
He has been having a decent year at Triple-A. In 69 games for Scranton Wilkes-Barre, he hit 10 home runs and slashed .264/.360/.498 for a wRC+ of 117. He also stole 15 bases while bouncing between second base, third base and shortstop.
Despite those decent numbers, he never got called up to the majors even though the Yankees have had plenty of infield challenges. Players like Gleyber Torres, DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera have had disappointing seasons so far and Jon Berti has been on the injured list for most of the year. But the club never felt compelled to call upon Downs and eventually acquired Jazz Chisholm from the Marlins and plugged him onto their roster. Since he was fairly blocked from getting any playing time in the Bronx, he will instead go overseas to see if this opportunity will work out for him.
Downs was once a top 100 prospect during his time in the Dodgers’ system, before being traded to the Red Sox in the now-infamous 2020 deal that sent Mookie Betts and David Price to Los Angeles. He struggled to live up to the hype in the subsequent seasons, hitting .200/.309/.365 in the minors over the 2021-23 campaigns. He was only given brief looks in the majors, producing a line of .182/.260/.273 in 50 plate appearances. He went from the Red Sox to the Nationals on waivers in December of 2022 but then the Yankees got him off waivers a year later, as mentioned.
If he fares well in Japan, he could intrigue teams based his past. He hit .267/.359/.458 in the minors from 2017 to 2019, though mostly at the lower levels, with only 12 games above High-A in that time. But he has the former prospect pedigree and was performing well in Triple-A this year. A nice run with the Hawks could perhaps lead the way to a return to the majors down the line, especially since he’s still only 26 years old.