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Yankees Sign Tim Hill

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The Yankees announced that they have signed left-hander Tim Hill to a one-year deal. Fellow lefty Clayton Andrews has been designated for assignment in a corresponding 40-man move. Andrews was on optional assignment, so the club will still need to make a move to get Hill onto the active roster once he reports to the team. Jeff Passan of ESPN reported Hill’s impending signing on X prior to the official announcement. Hill was released by the White Sox earlier this week, meaning the Yanks will only have to pay him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster.

Hill, 34, is a veteran ground ball pitcher who signed with the White Sox in the offseason. That one-year deal guaranteed him $1.8MM as the Sox were surely hoping to have him serve as a solid veteran presence in a relief corps that had been thinned out by trades.

But the topline results were poor, as Hill made 27 appearances for Chicago with a 5.87 earned run average. The Sox decided to move on, designating him for assignment last week. Since Hill had more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment while keeping his money, he was released and went to the open market.

Despite the poor ERA, there are reasons why the Yankees would still be intrigued. Hill has always been a ground ball guy, with a 60.5% rate of wormburners in his career. For context, the major league average is usually around 43% or so and is at 42.6% this season. Hill’s numbers in that department have actually been better than ever, as he has had 65.6% of balls in play go into the dirt while with the Sox.

But a lot of them were finding holes, as he has a massive .436 batting average on balls in play for the year. That’s well beyond his .310 career BABIP and this year’s .287 league average. That might have something to do with the poor defenders on the White Sox. That club has a collective -19 Outs Above Average on the year, which is better than just four other teams. Defensive Runs Saved is way more pessimistic, as the Sox are in dead last with a score of -49. The second-worst club by that metric is the Rays at -28.

Hill’s 11% strikeout rate is subpar but it’s understandable that the Yankees perhaps expect some better results going forward. If he can keep making opponents pound the ball into the ground but with some better defense and better luck, the ERA should come down. It’s for those reasons that his 3.45 FIP and 3.89 SIERA are far more attractive.

It’s a fairly low-risk gamble for the Yankees to take. Since the Sox released Hill, they remain on the hook for most of what’s left of his salary. The Yanks will pay him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Sox pay, and easily can move on at any point if it doesn’t work out.

As noted by Passan, the Yankees’ bullpen could use some help. They have had Scott Effross, Lou Trivino and Jonathan Loáisiga on the injured list for most or all of the season, while Nick Burdi and Ian Hamilton recently joined them. Last night, Gerrit Cole came off the injured list and tossed 62 pitches over four innings against the Orioles. The game eventually went to ten innings with the Yanks using six different relievers. They don’t have another off-day until Monday, so Hill will give the club a fresh arm for a fairly weary bullpen.

Andrews, 27, has only been a Yankee for a short time. He came up as a Brewers prospect but that club designated him for assignment in February. The Yankees acquired him in a small trade and then passed him through waivers in early April, though he was added back to the roster just over a month later.

In between those transactions, the lefty has made just one appearance at the big league level. Back on May 21, he was put into a game against the Mariners and then proceeded to allow a Luke Raley home run, hit Cal Raleigh with a pitch and strike out Mitch Haniger before being replaced.

He’s spent most of his time in Triple-A, tossing 24 2/3 innings with a 5.84 ERA. His 25.9% strikeout rate and 51.8% ground ball rate at that level are both strong but he’s also given out walks at an awful rate of 20.4%, as well as hitting two batters and throwing two wild pitches. That lack of control has been an issue for Andrews before and has likely contributed to bumping him off the Yankees’ roster.

They will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers. Despite the wildness, some other club might be enticed by the strikeouts and ground balls like the Yankees were, especially since Andrews can still be optioned for the rest of this year and one more season. If he were passed through waivers unclaimed, he would have the right to elect free agency by virtue of his previous outright.

Yankees Transfer Anthony Rizzo To 60-Day Injured List

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The Yankees announced that right-hander Gerrit Cole has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list, a move that was reported earlier this week. To open a roster spot for him, first baseman Anthony Rizzo has been transferred onto the 60-day IL.

Rizzo was injured earlier this week when attempting to run out a ground ball. First baseman Dominic Smith fielded the grounder and flipped to pitcher Brennan Bernardino as he covered first base. Rizzo and Bernardino bumped into each other, which resulted in Rizzo falling to the ground and landing awkwardly. Video link of the play from MLB.com.

It was later reported that Rizzo was diagnosed with a fractured radial neck in his right arm. The club announced that Rizzo could be back in about eight weeks, as relayed by Brendan Kuty of The Athletic on X. That eight-week timeline and the 60-day stint on the injured list are roughly equivalent, so it’s not surprising that the Yankees decided to make this transfer.

Rizzo will now be ineligible to be reinstated until the middle of August, which will be interesting timing. The trade deadline is on July 30 this year, so the Yankees will have to make some decisions about what moves to make to address their lineup while Rizzo is still away from the club. A decent chunk of their hitters are performing well but Rizzo was struggling prior to his injury.

In his absence, DJ LeMahieu and Ben Rice seem likely to share the first base duties, but LeMahieu is also having a poor season and Rice just made his major league debut yesterday. Players like Oswaldo Cabrera and Gleyber Torres have also been struggling, leaving the club with a fairly weak infield group around shortstop Anthony Volpe.

The Yankees have the best record in the majors at 51-24, so they can use the next few weeks to assess these players and decide on their deadline plan. Rizzo himself came to the Yankees in a 2021 deadline deal while Luke Voit was on the injured list.

Rizzo and the Yankees reunited on a free agent deal going into 2022, a two-year deal with an opt-out. He triggered that opt-out but re-signed with the Yanks again going into 2023, this time on a two-year, $40MM deal. Rizzo made $17MM last year and is doing so again this year, with a $6MM buyout on a $17MM club option for 2025, making it a net $11MM decision.

Prior to landing on the injured list, Rizzo was hitting just .223/.289/.341 for the year and won’t have much time to improve those numbers with this injury. His rehab progress and the performance of Rice will be interesting situations to watch in the months to come, as the club will have some decisions to make at the deadline and at the end of the season as well.

MLBTR Podcast: José Abreu’s Release, Betts and Yamamoto Hit The IL And Even More Injuries

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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 Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Do the Giants have a chance of getting Pete Alonso? Or will the Mets make additions if they carry the power of Grimace into the deadline? (32:15)
  • How should the Nationals address their outfield surplus? And where did all these good pitchers come from? (42:35)
  • What are the chances the White Sox package Luis Robert Jr. and Garrett Crochet at the deadline? And if they trade Crochet and Erick Fedde, how will they fill the rotation after? (49:55)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Yankees Place Ian Hamilton, Cody Poteet On Injured List

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The Yankees announced a series of roster moves today. First baseman Anthony Rizzo was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right forearm fracture, an injury that was reported yesterday. They also placed right-handers Ian Hamilton and Cody Poteet on the 15-day injured list. Hamilton’s move is due to a right lat strain and retroactive to June 17. Poteet’s is due to a right triceps strain and retroactive to June 15. In corresponding moves, they recalled left-hander Clayton Andrews and also selected the contracts of left-hander Anthony Misiewicz and catcher/infielder Ben Rice. The moves for Misiewicz and Rice were previously covered on MLBTR.

In terms of the 40-man roster, the Yankees had one vacancy for Misiewicz/Rice but opened another by transferring righty Clarke Schmidt to the 60-day injured list. The 40-man is now full but the club is planning to reinstate righty Gerrit Cole from the 60-day IL tomorrow and will need to open a spot for him.

Poteet was recalled a few weeks ago to take a rotation spot when Schmidt landed on the injured list. Poteet has made four good starts since then, currently sitting on a 2.14 earned run average for the year. Despite that strong work, he was likely going to be optioned back to the minors to make way for Cole, since each of Luis Gil, Carlos Rodón, Nestor Cortes and Marcus Stroman have been in good form this year.

But instead of going back down to the minors, Poteet is now on the IL. He won’t throw at all for the next week or two, per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic on X, before taking things from there. The Yanks have the strongest rotation in the league this year, even before accounting for Cole’s return, as their collective 2.90 ERA leads the majors at the moment. But having both Schmidt and Poteet on the IL at the same time leaves their depth a bit thinned out.

Clayton Beeter is on the 40-man roster but seems to be injured as well, since he hasn’t pitched at Triple-A since May 15. Yoendrys Gómez is also on the roster and has a 3.13 ERA in Triple-A, but is working around a high walk rate of 13.9%. If they suffer another rotation injury, that depth situation could be a factor, though perhaps Schmidt and/or Poteet can return to health before it becomes an issue.

As for Hamilton, his injury seems to be even more significant as he won’t throw for three to four weeks, per Kirschner on X. He’ll likely have to build back up after such an absence so he might end up missing a couple of months, depending on how things develop in the interim.

The righty emerged as a key piece of the Yankee bullpen last year, tossing 58 innings with a 2.64 ERA. His 10.9% walk rate was a bit on the high side but he struck out 28.9% of batters faced while getting grounders on 55.3% of balls in play.

His ERA has jumped to 4.55 this year but perhaps the injury has played a role in that. He had a 2.81 ERA after his June 6 appearance but has allowed seven earned runs in four innings since then. If the lat issue started bugging him in that time, perhaps that explains the recent struggles. In his absence, pitchers like Luke Weaver, Tommy Kahnle, Caleb Ferguson and Michael Tonkin will help set up closer Clay Holmes. Most contending clubs look for bullpen additions prior to the trade deadline and the Yankees will surely be in the market since they currently have the best record in baseball.

As for Schmidt, he was placed on the injured list May 27 with a right lat strain and will now be ineligible to be reinstated until 60 days from that initial IL placement, which would be July 26. Shortly after he was placed on the IL, the Yanks announced that he would be shut down for four to six weeks. Even if he starts throwing in early July, he’ll surely need a few weeks of rehab to build back up to a starter’s workload.

Yankees To Select Anthony Misiewicz

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The Yankees are going to select the contract of left-hander Anthony Misiewicz, reports Joel Sherman of The New York Post on X. The club has a vacancy on its 40-man roster but is also planning to select catcher/first baseman Ben Rice and activate righty Gerrit Cole from the injured list tomorrow, so further moves are likely coming, both for the 40-man and active rosters.

Misiewicz, 29, pitched five innings for the Yankees last year as well and has totaled 114 2/3 big league frames between five clubs, dating back to his 2020 MLB debut. After pitching to a respectable 4.43 ERA with a 23.9% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate through his first 103 big league innings, however, he was roughed up for a 7.36 ERA in last year’s small sample of work.

The Yankees clearly saw plenty they liked in Misiewicz last year, even with those rocky big league results, as they brought him back on a minor league deal. He’s had a nice start to the season pitching in Triple-A, where he’s thrown 30 2/3 frames of 3.23 ERA ball while recording a hefty 29.4% strikeout rate against a 7.9% walk rate. He’s also kept the ball on the ground at a sharp 46.8% clip and yielded just two homers (0.59 HR/9).

Caleb Ferguson and Victor Gonzalez are the only two lefties in the Yankees’ bullpen at the moment. The former has struggled to an ERA north of 5.00, while the latter sports a 3.05 ERA but has walked more batters than he’s struck out. The Yankees are known to be on the lookout for bullpen help as next month’s trade deadline looms, with a lefty specifically among their reported targets.

For now, the journeyman Misiewicz will get a look to see if he can pitch his way into a more prominent role and lessen the urgency the front office feels in its search for competent left-handed bullpen arms. If Misiewicz is given an actual opportunity that he runs with — and not just designated tomorrow to make room for Cole — he’d be arbitration-eligible this offseason and controllable for three more years beyond the current season.

Yankees To Select Ben Rice

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The Yankees are selecting the contract of catcher/first baseman Ben Rice, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Rice will take over at first base with Anthony Rizzo expected to miss over a month due to a fractured arm. The Yankees have space open on their 40-man roster, so a corresponding move won’t be necessary to clear a spot for Rice.

Rice, 25, was a 12th-round pick by the Yankees in the 2021 draft out of Dartmouth but has hit quite well at every level of the minors despite his status as a late-round pick. He ranks as the #14 prospect in the club’s system per Baseball America and 12th according to MLB Pipeline. After spending the first two seasons of his professional career at the Single-A level, Rice enjoyed a breakout season in 2023, advancing across three levels of the minors to reach Double-A for the first time in his career. He slashed an impressive .324/.434/.615 in 332 trips to the plate across the Single-A, High-A, and Double-A levels that year—including an excellent .327/.401/.648 line with 30 extra-base hits (16 homers) in 48 games at Double-A Somerset.

Rice returned to Somerset to open the 2024 campaign and once again hit well at the level, albeit in not quite as dominant a fashion as his first taste of Double-A action. in 218 trips to the plate at the level this year, Rice posted a .261/.383/.511 slash line while slugging 12 home runs and going an impressive 8-for-8 on the basepaths. That performance was enough to earn Rice the call up to Triple-A on June 5, and he responded to the call by slashing an excellent .333/.419/.619 in his first 50 trips to the plate at the level. While it’s certainly unusual for a prospect to get promoted to the big leagues just 11 games into their tenure at the highest level of the minors, Rice’s exceptional offensive numbers are hard to deny.

The youngster’s bat is well ahead of his skills defensively behind the plate, a reality that caused the Yankees to begin getting him time at first base back in 2022. He’s split time between first and catcher since then, although between his status as an unfinished product behind the plate and the Yankees’ move to call him up following Rizzo’s injury it seems unlikely he’ll see much time behind the plate in the majors for the time being. Some scouts have suggested that first base could be his long term home, anyway, although there appears to still be some optimism he could stick behind the plate. BA notes that Rice has shown plenty of improvement in his blocking skills throughout his time with the Yankees, even as his ability to control the running game still leaves much to be desired.

Regardless of where the 25-year-old ultimately makes his home on the diamond in the long term, Rice seems ticketed for at least semi-regular reps at first base in his first taste of big league action. Previous reporting had suggested that the infield corners would be handled by Oswaldo Cabrera at third base and DJ LeMahieu at first while Rizzo was on the shelf, and it remains to be seen exactly how playing time will be distributed between the three players. It’s possible that Cabrera and LeMahieu could end up in a timeshare at third while Rice takes the lion’s share of playing time at first, but it stands to reason that LeMahieu could still see some time at first base against southpaws. After all, the lefty-swinging Rice showed a significant platoon split during the 2023 season. In 70 trips to the plate against same-handed pitching last year, he hit just .217/.329/.317. Given those concerns, it would hardly be a surprise if the Yankees decided to protect Rice against some or even all lefty pitchers in the early days of his big league career.

Anthony Rizzo Diagnosed With Arm Fracture

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Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo has been diagnosed with a fractured radial neck in his right arm, report Ken Rosenthal, Brendan Kuty and Chris Kirschner of the Athletic. The Athletic writes that Rizzo will not require surgery but is likely to miss around 4-6 weeks. Though the Yankees haven’t announced the diagnosis, they’ll certainly place the first baseman on the 10-day injured list before tomorrow’s series opener against the Orioles.

Rizzo was injured in last night’s loss to the Red Sox. The veteran hit a slow grounder to Boston first baseman Dominic Smith. Smith flipped to pitcher Brennan Bernardino, who was covering the bag, but Rizzo collided with Bernardino when Smith’s throw was behind him. Rizzo landed awkwardly on his right hand and had to come out of the game.

Oswaldo Cabrera came off the bench to play third base with DJ LeMahieu kicking across the diamond. That’ll likely be the corner infield tandem for the next couple weeks. It’s not a great pairing for a team trying to hold off the Orioles in what should be an extremely competitive division race.

LeMahieu lost a good chunk of the season himself. He fractured his right foot in Spring Training and wasn’t able to make his season debut until May 28. The two-time batting champ hasn’t gotten into a groove. He’s hitting .188 with no extra-base hits through his first 15 games. While LeMahieu certainly won’t continue to perform that poorly, he has only been a slightly above-average hitter over the last three seasons. Between 2021-23, he hit .258/.345/.375 in nearly 1800 trips to the plate.

That’s not the level of power production typically associated with the first base position. Of course, Rizzo hadn’t provided much of an offensive impact this year either. His .223/.289/.341 batting line over 291 plate appearances would easily be his worst pace since his abbreviated rookie season more than a decade ago. LeMahieu should be able to top that production, though the Yankees will now need to turn back to Cabrera for a significant role.

The switch-hitting Cabrera had a great first couple weeks before falling into a major slump. He’s hitting .237/.275/.350 in 56 games overall. LeMahieu’s return had pushed him to a utility role, but he’ll step back into the starting lineup for the time being. The Yanks don’t have much in the way of experienced first base depth in the minors, but former 12th-round pick T.J. Rumfield is hitting .303/.358/.454 in 47 Triple-A contests. Jon Heyman of the New York Post notes (on X) that catcher/first baseman Ben Rice — owner of a .275/.393/.532 slash in 60 games between the top two minor league levels — may soon hit his way to the majors.

Infield help could be a summer priority for GM Brian Cashman and his front office. Rizzo’s reported timeline leaves open the possibility of a return before the July 30 deadline, but he won’t have much time to demonstrate he has turned a corner offensively. The combination of LeMahieu, Cabrera and the currently injured Jon Berti haven’t provided much at third base, while Gleyber Torres is amidst a rough year at the keystone. There aren’t a ton of obvious trade candidates on the infield, particularly if the Rockies hold Ryan McMahon. More opportunities could open up if teams drop out of the playoff picture over the next month and a half.

Yankees To Reinstate Gerrit Cole On Wednesday

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The Yankees are getting their ace back. Right-hander Gerrit Cole is going to be reinstated from the injured list on Wednesday, per manager Aaron Boone, relayed by Talkin’ Yanks on X.

The Yanks and their fans got a big scare back in the spring when Cole was shut down with his throwing elbow having difficulty recovering between starts and throwing sessions. That naturally led to concerns that he would require some sort of surgery and miss the entire season on the heels of winning the American League Cy Young in 2023.

Thankfully, those worst-case scenarios have not come to pass. Cole was recommended for non-surgical rehab and has been slowly working his way through that process over the past few months. He was able to begin a rehab assignment at the start of this month, making three starts in the minor leagues over the past few weeks. His most recent outing was in Triple-A on Friday, during which he tossed 70 pitches over 4 1/3 shutout innings with ten strikeouts.

Despite not having Cole all year, the Yanks have been dominating. Their rotation has a 2.90 earned run average, the best in the majors. In Cole’s absence, Carlos Rodón, Nestor Cortes, Marcus Stroman and Luis Gil have all engineered fantastic bounceback seasons after they each were injured and/or struggling in 2023. Cortes had the highest ERA of those four at 3.59. Clarke Schmidt was also a big part of the rotation success until recently. He has a 2.52 ERA on the year but has been on the IL for about three weeks with a lat strain. Cody Poteet has stepped up to make four good starts in Schmidt’s absence but is now likely to get optioned or sent to the bullpen with Cole’s return.

Cole is one of the best pitchers in the league and, as mentioned, won the Cy last year. He took the ball 33 times in 2023 and tossed 209 innings with a 2.63 ERA, 27% strikeout rate and 5.8% walk rate. Even if he has a bit of post-injury rust and can’t quite get back to that elite peak, he will still strengthen and lengthen a team that has the best record in the league.

The Yankees are 50-24 and have the best winning percentage in the majors, though they are in a tough divisional battle. The Orioles are tied with the Phillies for the second-best record in baseball behind the Yanks, meaning there’s a small gap of 1.5 games between the top two teams in the American League East.

Getting Cole back could also impact how the Yankees assemble their rotation going forward. Gil pitched less than 30 innings over 2022 and 2023 due to Tommy John surgery and may need to face workload limitations at some point, perhaps when Schmidt is back in the picture.

The other long-term factor is Cole’s contract. He will have four years and $144MM left on his deal at the end of this season when he can decide to trigger an opt-out. If he does so, the club can void that opt-out by triggering a $36MM club option for 2029. Before this injury, the industry expectation was that he would trigger his opt-out and the Yanks would void it by triggering the option, though those decision are now at least somewhat up in the air due to his absence. His performance in the coming months will gradually shed more light on the likely outcome of that scenario.

Yankees Place Jasson Dominguez On Triple-A Injured List

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The Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders placed Jasson Dominguez on the seven-day injured list today, after the outfield prospect made an early exit from Saturday’s game.  Yankees manager Aaron Boone told the New York Post’s Gary Phillips and other reporters that Dominguez is dealing with a left side injury and is still undergoing more testing to determine the extent of the problem.

Since Dominguez is not far removed from Tommy John surgery rehab, it makes sense that the Yankees would immediately take the precaution of putting Dominguez on the IL, even if tests don’t reveal a more severe issue like an oblique strain.  The outfielder would’ve likely sat out at least a few games anyway, plus the RailRaiders have an off-day on Monday so Dominguez might miss just six games if all goes well.

However, an oblique strain could lead to another extended stay on the injured list for “the Martian,” given how oblique problems can linger for weeks or even months.  The hope is that Dominguez can avoid such a setback, given how the TJ surgery already provided one early roadblock after his tantalizing Major League debut last season.

Heralded as one of baseball’s top prospects, Dominguez added to the hype by hitting .258/.303/.677 with four home runs in his first 33 plate appearances before suffering a torn UCL.  He was officially reinstated from the 60-day IL and optioned to Triple-A earlier this week, though he had already banked quite a bit of minor league playing time during his rehab assignments.  Dominguez has an outstanding .356/.404/.609 slash line in 94 combined PA at the Single-A, Double-A, and Triple-A levels in 2024, so there is little doubt that the 21-year-old is ready for the majors.

If Dominguez is able to return in relatively short order, the injury might not throw off whatever plan the Yankees had in place for his next promotion.  The first-place Yankees have the luxury of not really needing Dominguez at the moment, with Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and Alex Verdugo all excelling in the everyday outfield, and Giancarlo Stanton having a resurgent season as the regular DH.  Dominguez would theoretically be an upgrade over backup outfielder Trent Grisham, though New York prefers to have Dominguez playing every day in the minors than only getting sparing playing time as a bench player.

AL East Notes: Casas, Cole, Bichette

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The Red Sox got some good news regarding the status of first baseman Triston Casas yesterday. As he told Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe, Casas has begun taking dry swings as he works his way back from torn cartilage in his midsection. Casas indicated that if he continues feeling good after a few days of dry swings, he’ll begin making contact with a ball. McWilliams added that Casas hopes to be back in the Red Sox lineup in time for a series against the Marlins that begins on July 2.

If Casas is truly just two weeks away from a return to the majors, that would be a huge relief for a Red Sox lineup that has sorely missed his presence. While the club’s overall production since he last played on April 20 is still strong, with a 107 wRC+ that ranks eighth in the majors over that time, their wRC+ at first base has sat at just 98, below average overall and well below the production of an average first baseman. Of course, Casas is a great deal better than the average first baseman; the 24-year-old’s 160 wRC+ since the All Star break last year is the 11th-best figure in the majors over that timeframe and second only to Freddie Freeman among first basemen.

As noted by McWilliams, it’s far from guaranteed that Casas will be able to reach his target date for a return, even as he’s begun swinging a bat and running the bases. McWilliams relays that manager Alex Cora was more cautious in his comments regarding Casas’s timeline, noting that while “hopefully” Casas is back during the Miami series, the club also intends to be “smart” regarding his rehab and not rush him back before he’s ready. In the meantime, the Red Sox figure to rely on a combination of Dominic Smith and Bobby Dalbec at first base.

More from around the AL East…

  • Yankees ace Gerrit Cole made his third rehab start on Friday, striking out ten batters in 4 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level. While neither Cole nor manager Aaron Boone would commit to Cole’s next start for the club coming in the majors in conversation with reporters yesterday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post noted that he felt good both immediately after the outing and the next day and that his return to the big leagues will come “soon.” A quick return to the mound for Cole would be fantastic news for the Yankees, as the 2023 AL Cy Young award winner would surely bolster an already-excellent rotation that sports the league’s best ERA entering play today.
  • Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette has been out of the lineup for the past two games due to what manager John Schneider described to reporters (including MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson) as soreness in his right calf. It’s been a tough season at the plate for Bichette, who is hitting an uncharacteristically poor .237/.286/.342 in 276 trips to the plate with Toronto this year. Isiah Kiner-Falefa has handled shortstop in Bichette’s absence, and both Ernie Clement and Addison Barger have past experience at the position if further depth options are needed. Infielders Orelvis Martinez and Leo Jimenez are both on the 40-man roster and could step into the big leagues in the event that Bichette eventually requires a trip to the injured list.
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