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Twins Release Addison Reed

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May 21: Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey tells reporters that Reed has been informed of his placement on release waivers (Twitter link via the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Phil Miller). He’ll be a free agent once he clears in 48 hours. At that point, he can sign with any club for the prorated league minimum.

May 16: The Twins announced that they’ve designated right-hander Addison Reed for assignment. The veteran setup man had been pitching on a rehab assignment in Triple-A Rochester after opening the season on the injured list due to a thumb sprain, though Dan Hayes of The Athletic tweets that Reed’s velocity was topping out at 88-89 mph in recent appearances.

It’s a disappointing outcome for both the Twins and Reed, whose initial two-year, $16.75MM pact with Minnesota looked to be a relative bargain. Reed got out to a terrific start last season, pitching to a 2.36 ERA with 9.1 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and 1.01 HR/9 through his first 26 2/3 innings. However, he began to struggle and landed on the shelf due to triceps discomfort and an elbow impingement in July. He struggled in his return while demonstrating the same type of velocity loss Hayes mentioned in reference to Reed’s rehab assignment. He finished up the season with a cumulative 4.50 ERA, 7.1 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, 1.77 HR/9 and a 31.6 percent ground-ball rate.

Minnesota will have a week to trade Reed, release him or pass him through waivers. He’s likely to clear, given this season’s $8.5MM salary, and even if the Twins try to outright him to Triple-A, Reed could reject the assignment in favor of free agency.

His spot on the 40-man roster will go to right-hander Austin D. Adams, whose promotion to the Major Leagues was reported last night. Adams’ contract has now been formally selected, per the Twins’ announcement.

Yoenis Cespedes Fractures Ankle In Accident At His Ranch

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Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes suffered “ankle fractures” in an accident at his ranch in Port St. Lucie over the weekend, general manager Brodie Van Wagenen announced Monday afternoon. Additional information was not provided, and it’s not known how far back this will push what was already a murky timeline for Cespedes’ return. He’s being evaluated by medical professionals in New York City today. Tim Healey of Newsday adds that Cespedes sustained multiple fractures in his right ankle after stepping in a hole and experiencing a “violent” fall (Twitter link).

Cespedes underwent a pair of surgeries last year to address calcification in both heels, the effects of which were expected to sideline him until at least midway through the 2019 campaign. There was no defined timetable for his return to baseball activities, but it’s difficult to imagine him allowing this new injury to heal and still having enough time to build up to a return this season.

Now 33 years of age, Cespedes is in the third season of what has become an ill-fated four-year, $110MM deal with the Mets. The slugger was an instant hero in Queens upon being acquired minutes before the 2015 non-waiver trade deadline, as he led the Mets’ World Series charge with a .287/.337/.604 performance down the stretch. He returned on a three-year, $75MM contract that allowed him to opt out after the first year of said deal and, after posting a superlative .280/.354/.530 line and making the NL All-Star team, he did just that. Cespedes was viewed as a vital piece of the team’s offense at that point, and his four-year deal to return to the club was generally met with favorable reviews.

Hamstring troubles limited him to just 81 games in the first season of the new contract, though when healthy, his .292/.352/.540 slash was right in line with expectations. His offensive performance in 2018 was strong as well (.262/.325/.496), but he was limited to an even smaller set of 38 games, thanks to the aforementioned heel troubles that ultimately required surgery. Now, it appears possible, if not likely, that Cespedes won’t even match that total in 2019. He’s being paid $29MM both this season and next. Specifics of the policy aren’t known, but it’s been reported that Cespedes’ contract, as was the case with David Wright, is insured, so the team won’t be out that entire $29MM sum this season.

Braves, Mariners Swap Jesse Biddle, Anthony Swarzak

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1:13pm: The Mariners are sending around $2MM to the Braves in the trade to balance out the difference in salary, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Paired with the remaining money that would’ve been allocated for Biddle’s pre-arb salary, it seems likely that the trade is effectively cash-neutral.

12:51pm: The Mariners announced that they’ve acquired left-handed reliever Jesse Biddle and right-hander Arodys Vizcaino from the Braves in exchange for right-hander Anthony Swarzak and cash. Vizcaino’s inclusion in the trade would appear to be purely a financial component of the trade, as he’s a free agent at season’s end and is not expected to pitch again in 2019 after undergoing shoulder surgery. Vizcaino is on the 60-day injured list, so there are no additional 40-man moves required by the Mariners to accommodate the addition of Biddle, who will report to the team’s Major League bullpen.

Jesse Biddle | Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Biddle, 27, gave the Braves 63 2/3 innings of 3.11 ERA ball with 9.5 K/9, 4.4 BB/9, 0.85 HR/9 and a 55.6 percent ground-ball rate in 2018, but virtually nothing has gone right for the southpaw so far in 2019. Through 15 appearances and a span of 11 2/3 frames, Biddle has served up seven earned runs (and another four unearned runs) on 18 hits and 10 walks with 11 strikeouts. His velocity has remained strong, as Biddle has averaged 94.1 mph on his fastball so far in 2019.

Because he was out-of-options and playing on a win-now club, Biddle’s fate looked largely sealed as this year’s control struggles continued from April into May. He was designated for assignment by the Braves last week. The Mariners will hope that they’re able to turn him around and get him back to his 2018 form. If they can manage to do so, they’ll control Biddle through the 2023 season. However, he’ll have to sort things out at the big league level, as his lack of minor league options means he can’t be sent down without first being passed through waivers.

For the Braves, they’d already decided to move on from Biddle and stood to watch Vizcaino leave as a free agent at the end of the year, so they’re not really giving up anything to take a cheap look at Swarzak. The 33-year-old Swarzak has struggled to a 5.27 ERA and eight walks (one intentional) in 13 2/3 innings with the Mariners, but he’s also racked up 17 strikeouts. Injuries have hampered him considerably since signing a two-year, $14MM contract with the Mets prior to the 2018 season, as he’s dealt with an oblique strain and a pair of shoulder-related injuries.

Anthony Swarzak | Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

In his last full, healthy season in 2017, however, Swarzak turned in 77 1/3 innings with a 2.33 ERA, 10.6 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 0.70 HR/9 and a 43.9 percent grounder rate between the White Sox and Brewers. That success is recent enough to give the Braves something to dream on as they scour what is likely an extremely thin trade market for bullpen help at this juncture of the season. Atlanta will surely be active in pursuing additional pieces over the next couple of months, but few teams are willing to sell off quality arms in mid-May — and those that are willing to do so generally place lofty asking prices on said arms given the scarce supply this time of year.

Swarzak will head to Atlanta without any sort of guarantee that he’ll be a long-term piece for the remainder of the season. The fact that the Braves unloaded the remaining $3.43MM on Vizcaino’s deal and acquired cash from the Mariners makes it likely that Seattle sent enough money to make this a cash-neutral swap. Swarzak is being paid an $8.5MM salary in 2019 and has about $6.08MM of that sum still to be paid out.

Cardinals Release Luke Gregerson

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The Cardinals announced Monday that they’ve requested unconditional release waivers on right-hander Luke Gregerson. He’ll become a free agent once he (presumably) clears waivers in 48 hours. Gregerson was previously designated for assignment Friday evening.

Gregerson, 35, signed a two-year, $11MM contract with the Cardinals in a 2017-18 offseason during which the bullpen was a major focus. Gregerson joined Greg Holland and Dominic Leone as fresh faces brought into the St. Louis relief corps that winter, but none of the three proved to be a viable contributor for the Cards.

Gregerson is being paid $5MM in 2019 and is still owed about $3.575MM of that sum plus a $1MM buyout on an option for the 2020 season. Given that salary and his struggles since signing in St. Louis, he’ll almost certainly go unclaimed and then become a free agent who can sign with any club for the prorated league minimum through season’s end. The Cardinals would then see that sum subtracted from their own obligation to Gregerson through season’s end.

A hamstring strain and a shoulder impingement limited Gregerson to just 12 2/3 innings in 2018, and those shoulder troubles lingered into the 2019 campaign. He missed the first month-plus of the season due to that shoulder, and the effects may well have impacted him upon his return. While he’s never been a hard thrower, Gregerson found success with the Padres and Astros with a fastball that averaged around 89.5 mph; however, his heater averaged just 87.8 mph in 2018 and 86.7 mph in this season’s even more limited sample.

Gregerson was designated for assignment just 13 days after being activated from the injured list. In all, Gregerson will throw only 18 1/3 innings at the MLB level as a Cardinal. In that time, he posted a 7.36 ERA with a 14-to-7 K/BB ratio and 25 hits allowed (including a pair of homers). That said, he has a solid track record as a setup man and occasional closer. In 599 career innings prior to signing with the Cardinals, Gregerson owned a 3.02 ERA with 9.1 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 0.8 HR/9 and a 51 percent ground-ball rate.

Rockies Promote Brendan Rodgers

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TODAY: The move is official, with Colorado also activating lefty Jake McGee from the injured list. Righty DJ Johnson and infielder Pat Valaika were optioned down to create active roster space.

YESTERDAY: The Rockies are expected to promote top prospect Brendan Rodgers, according to Thomas Harding of MLB.com. Corresponding moves remain to be seen, but a recent injury to shortstop Trevor Story is said to have played a role in the decision.

The 22-year-old Rodgers has been considered an elite prospect ever since he went to the Colorado organization with the third overall pick in the 2015 draft. He has steadily marched up the club’s farm system, briefly reaching Triple-A late last year. Rodgers entered the current season with consensus top-thirty leaguewide prospect billing; MLB.com was most bullish, grading him the tenth-best prospect in the game.

Rodgers has shown himself more than ready for a MLB opportunity early in the 2019 campaign. He’s slashing .356/.421/.644 with nine home runs over 152 plate appearances thus far at Albuquerque — impressive numbers even in an offensively robust league with a launching pad for a home park.

The Rockies could certainly stand to receive a boost. They enter play today at two games under .500 and 7.5 back of the Dodgers in the NL West. Whether Rodgers can perform at a top-end level out of the gates remains to be seen. But it’s a shot worth taking for a club that has received little with the bat from its other options at second base — where he’ll presumably line up except when he plays short in relief of Story.

There’s no reason to believe that Story’s injury will sideline him for long, or even that he’ll require a trip to the injured list. But the middle-infield duo has lacked punch even with the established slugger at full health. Story has held up his end of the bargain, but Garrett Hampson, Ryan McMahon, and Pat Valaika have not. The Rox offensive output at second base has easily been the worst in baseball this year. Hampson was already optioned down recently; another of those players could be pushed out to make way for Rodgers. (Both can still be optioned.)

Harding indicates that the promotion will likely occur on Friday. If that indeed comes to pass, then Rodgers can record as many as 136 days of MLB service this season. That would set him up for potential Super Two qualification in the future, so long as he’s able to keep his roster spot.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mets’ Michael Conforto Diagnosed With Concussion

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7:28pm: Carlos Gomez was removed from tonight’s Triple-A game, leading MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo to speculate that the Mets will purchase Gomez’s contract before Friday’s game.

5:27pm: Mets outfielder Michael Conforto suffered a concussion after a scary collision with teammate Robinson Cano during today’s game.  Both Conforto and Cano were chasing after a Howie Kendrick fly ball near the right field line when their signals got crossed, causing Cano to accidentally elbow Conforto in the head.

Conforto was immediately removed from the game, and will head back to New York for further observation, as manager Mickey Callaway told reporters (including Newsday’s Tim Healey) after the game.  Conforto will be sidelined for at least a week, as per the league’s seven-day concussion IL policy.

The 26-year-old was off to a fantastic start in 2019, hitting .271/.406/.521 with nine home runs over his first 180 plate appearances.  As per the advanced metrics, Conforto even had room to grow, as his .387 wOBA still trailed behind his .405 xwOBA.  Between this hot hitting and an above-average defensive showing as New York’s everyday right fielder, Conforto has already amassed 1.6 fWAR, tying him with Nolan Arenado for 18th among all players.

With Conforto out of action, the Mets could be further shorthanded in the outfield for at least a day or two since Jeff McNeil also left today’s game with abdominal tightness.  The good news in McNeil’s case is that the injury doesn’t seem serious, as he told reporters (including The Athletic’s Tim Britton) that he has faced similar issues before in the wake of multiple hernia operations.

Speaking with WFAN’s Mike Francesca this afternoon (hat tip to SNY.tv’s Steve Gelbs), Callaway said that J.D. Davis will handle left field duties on Friday, indicating that McNeil will miss at least one game.  As for the longer-term absence of Conforto, the Mets have Keon Broxton and Juan Lagares on the 25-man roster, though both have struggled badly at the plate.  Veterans Carlos Gomez, Gregor Blanco, and Rajai Davis are all on hand at the Triple-A level, though any of that trio would need to be added to the 40-man roster.

It’s hard to necessarily forecast anything until we know the severity of Conforto’s injury, as concussion symptoms can potentially linger.  If he faces an absence of weeks rather than days, the Mets might want to consider giving Dominic Smith another look in left field, as the team hasn’t allowed him any outfield work this year, Newsday’s David Lennon writes.  Smith offers far more hitting upside than any of the Mets’ other backup outfielders, and while Smith has hit very well in limited playing time this season, his spot at first base has been blocked by rookie sensation Pete Alonso.

Miguel Andujar To Undergo Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

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The Yankees announced tonight that third baseman Miguel Andujar will undergo surgery to repair the labrum tear in his right shoulder next Monday. He’s expected to miss the remainder of the 2019 season.

The team and fans alike had huge hopes for Andujar, who finished second in 2018 American League Rookie of the Year voting, but his 2019 campaign will unfortunately come to an end after just a dozen games and 49 plate appearances. The 23-year-old originally landed on the injured list after just three games and missed the entire month of April as well as some time in early May before opting to return in an attempt to play through the injury.

Andujar, though, went just 3-for-34 at the plate with a walk and nine strikeouts in his brief return to the active roster before being placed back on the IL. Yankees skipper Aaron Boone said yesterday that Andujar was once again weighing his options and planned to talk them over with his family, though the decision apparently didn’t take all that long this time around.

The injury to Andujar is the most serious the Yankees have faced in a season that has already been permeated by health woes, but the team currently has both Gleyber Torres and DJ LeMahieu healthy as well as Gio Urshela playing the best baseball of his professional career. The club eventually hopes to have both Troy Tulowitzki and Didi Gregorius back in the infield mix as well, and if that happens, they’ll still have a strong mix of options to pair with first baseman Luke Voit in rounding out the infield.

That said, the impact of losing a bat that produced a .297/.328/.527 batting line with 27 homers, 47 doubles and a pair of triples a year ago can’t be understated. Andujar was a key middle-of-the-order presence for last year’s 100-win Yankees club, and while there’s no shortage or internal options to replace him on a fully healthy club, it’s also unlikely that any of the alternatives can match that level of offensive output. Whoever shoulders the load at third base for the remainder of the season will likely be a defensive upgrade over Andujar, who struggled with the glove last season.

Andujar will still accrue Major League service time while he finishes out the season on the injured list, and he’ll cross the two-year mark in the months to come. He won’t be eligible for arbitration until after the 2020 season and won’t be a free agent until the 2023-24 offseason. The Yankees, meanwhile, will be able to easily open a 40-man roster spot by transferring him to the 60-day injured list the next time a need arises.

Braves To Promote Austin Riley

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The Braves will promote top position-player prospect Austin Riley to the majors, according to David O’Brien of The Athletic (subscription link). Ender Inciarte is expected to be placed on the injured list with back tightness; the corresponding 40-man move isn’t yet known.

With the move, the Braves are adding a player who entered the season graded as a consensus top-fifty prospect. Riley was listed as high as 22nd overall, by Baseball America. He has moved up the boards since with an impressive offensive onslaught.

The 22-year-old Riley has turned in 162 plate appearances of .299/.377/.681 hitting with 15 home runs thus far at Triple-A. He has also drawn 18 walks to go with 31 strikeouts, representing a notable improvement for a player who has shown some swing and miss in the past.

While Riley’s long-term fit is probably at third base, he began seeing time in the corner outfield recently. That clearly set the stage for a call-up, though it came a bit sooner than might have been anticipated.

Joining the majors today will mean that Riley can earn as many as 138 days of MLB service this season. That could set him up for eventual Super Two qualification, if he’s able to hang onto his roster spot permanently.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Braves manage things once they’re at full health. There could be some roster and playing time crunches. If so, the club will no doubt consider it a good problem to have.

Now that he’s in the majors, Riley will have the chance to drive the decisionmaking. Inciarte might return in a reduced role. Matt Joyce could be bumped from the roster, though he’s performing quite well in a limited capacity. Utilityman Johan Camargo can be optioned. Josh Donaldson will remain entrenched at third base this year and remains a qualifying-offer candidate at season’s end, but Riley could spell the veteran at times.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Yankees Acquire Kendrys Morales

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The Yankees announced that they’ve acquired first baseman/designated hitter Kendrys Morales from the Athletics in exchange for cash or a player to be named later. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, New York transferred righty Jonathan Loaisiga from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list.

Kendrys Morales | Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Morales, 35, was designated for assignment by the Athletics yesterday. Oakland had picked him up early in the season after losing first baseman Matt Olson to a hand injury for more than a month. However, the veteran Morales struggled quite a bit in limited time with the A’s, hitting at a .204/.310/.259 clip and connecting on just one home run. With Olson and fellow first baseman Mark Canha healthy in Oakland alongside designated hitter Khris Davis, there simply wasn’t a place on the Athletics’ roster for the struggling Morales.

That’s not necessarily the case up in the Bronx, however. While Luke Voit has solidified himself as the team’s primary first baseman, the outfield/designated hitter mix is considerably less certain. Morales could see fairly regular time at DH in the short term, leaving the Yankees with a starting outfield of Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks and Clint Frazier, while Cameron Maybin shifts into a reserve role. Although Morales’ 2019 production has been nonexistent, he’s just a year removed from a respectable .249/.331/.438 batting line and is a combined .270/.330/.465 hitter dating back to the 2009 season — when he first established himself as a Major League regular.

Of course, that alignment isn’t anywhere near what the Yankees had envisioned heading into the season, but the team’s jaw-dropping list of injuries has been well documented by now. Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Miguel Andujar, Greg Bird, Troy Tulowitzki and Didi Gregorius are all on the injured list, while Aaron Hicks was only just activated from the IL and has yet to make his season debut. To their credit, despite that slate of injuries, the Yankees are hitting .253/.333/.430 (104 wRC+) as a team and rank right in the middle of the pack in terms of total runs scored among MLB clubs.

Brewers Promote Keston Hiura

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12:34pm: Hiura’s promotion is official, along with the corresponding moves to open roster space.

9:33am: The Brewers will promote exciting second base prospect Keston Hiura, according to Robert Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link). Precise timing and corresponding roster moves aren’t yet clear.

Hiura, 22, entered the present season as a consensus top-twenty prospect leaguewide. Baseball Prospectus was particularly bullish, ranking him sixth. If the promotion occurs in advance of today’s game, Hiura can accrue as many as 139 days of service this year, setting him up for potential future Super Two qualification.

The ninth overall pick of the 2017 draft, Hiura has done nothing but hit since becoming a professional. That’s more or less what was expected out of the UC-Irvine product, who was seen as a highly advanced college batter. But he has perhaps exceeded expectations with a breakout start to the 2019 season.

Through 147 plate appearances this year at the highest level of the minors, Hiura carries a hefty .333/.408/.698 slash line with 11 long balls. It’s not entirely surprising to see the power emerging, though this is certainly whole new level of pop for a player who tallied 13 homers in 535 total plate appearances last year. That power surge comes as part of a PCL-wide jump, though Hiura still owns an impressive 164 wRC+.

That’s not to say that there aren’t any concerns at all.  Hiura has boosted his walk rate a bit, topping ten percent for the first time, but doesn’t draw a notable number of free passes. And he’s carrying a 27.2% strikeout rate this year, a significant step up from his prior levels and a potential area of concern as he adapts to MLB pitching.

Hiura isn’t seen as a particularly impressive defender, and does have a history of elbow woes, though he’s generally expected to provide solid-enough glovework at second base. Just how the Brewers will allocate playing time will be interesting to observe. Mike Moustakas will presumably continue to see more time at third base, creating added uncertainty for the struggling Travis Shaw.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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