Rangers Notes: DeShields, Yang, Allard, Jung
Outfielder Delino DeShields Jr. has foregone the June 1 opt-out clause in his minor league contract and will remain with the Rangers for the time being, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). Grant notes that the Rangers are still open to helping DeShields land on a big league roster if the opportunity presents itself. The Yankees reportedly looked into a trade involving DeShields but have thus far opted to go in another direction. Given Texas’ openness to helping DeShields back to the Majors, the Yankees probably wouldn’t have to give much of anything in return.
Of course, Texas could also opt to take another look at DeShields themselves. He’s batting .363/.433/.538 in Triple-A Round Rock, albeit in just 91 plate appearances and with a ridiculous .500 average on balls in play that won’t be sustained. DeShields has spent parts of five seasons as a Ranger, but Texas is currently committed to evaluating younger and/or more controllable players throughout the bulk of the lineup — hence the decision to move on from Elvis Andrus and Rougned Odor this season. Twenty-five-year-old Jason Martin is getting a look right now, and Texas also has Willie Calhoun, Adolis Garcia and Joey Gallo in the current outfield mix.
Some more notes from Arlington…
- Lefty Hyeon-jong Yang is moving back into the bullpen after four of his past five appearances (including three in a row) were starts, Grant tweets. The former KBO MVP has been hit hard when working out of the rotation — particularly the second time through the order. Everything regarding Yang’s numbers so far comes with a small-sample caveat, given his limited innings count, but he’s pitched to a 3.55 ERA in 12 2/3 innings as a reliever while holding opponents to a .191/.255/.340 output. As a starter, he’s been tagged for 11 runs in 15 innings while yielding a .298/.388/.561 slash. One good start or one poor relief outing could obviously skew those numbers substantially at this point, so those numbers can be taken with a grain of salt. The 33-year-old Yang has tossed at least three innings in all of his appearances as a Ranger, so he’ll give skipper Chris Woodward a multi-inning option.
- Stepping into Yang’s rotation spot will be left-hander Kolby Allard. The former Braves top prospect and first-round pick has worked primarily out of the bullpen this season but stretched to four innings in his most recent relief outing. Allard held his own as a rookie following the trade that swapped him and reliever Chris Martin in 2019, but he was clobbered for a 7.75 ERA in 33 2/3 innings last summer. He’s been sharp through his small sample of 11 1/3 innings in ’21, sporting a career-best 27 percent strikeout rate and a strong seven percent walk rate. It feels like Allard has been a prospect forever, but that’s common with high-profile high school draftees. He’s still just 23 years of age and has only 19 big league starts under his belt, so there’s time for him to yet emerge as a solid back-end starter for Texas.
- Top prospect Josh Jung is expected to be cleared to return to action within the next two weeks, per Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The 23-year-old Jung, selected eighth overall in 2019, has yet to play this season after suffering a stress fracture in his foot back in Spring Training. He underwent surgery that came with a recovery period of up to eight weeks. Jung has yet to play above A-ball because of last year’s canceled minor league season, but he hit .316/.389/.443 between Rookie ball and Class-A in 2019, his lone pro season thus far. He’s widely considered to be among the game’s top 100 overall prospects and is viewed as the club’s third baseman of the future.
Braves Notes: Pache, Freeman, Greene
The Braves announced Wednesday that outfielder Cristian Pache has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett. It’s the second time this year the top prospect has been sent to Gwinnett for further refinement, which isn’t a surprise given that the 22-year-old has batted just .111/.152/.206 in 68 plate appearances. Pache is considered an all-world defender with substantial upside at the plate, but his offensive game is nowhere near as polished as his defense at this point. With Pache down and Marcell Ozuna both injured and facing assault allegations, the Braves’ outfield mix is comprised by Ronald Acuna Jr., Ender Inciarte, Guillermo Heredia, Abraham Almonte and Ehire Adrianza. Top prospect Drew Waters is hitting reasonably well in Triple-A but is striking out at a rather unpalatable 28 percent clip there.
Some more news and notes out of Atlanta…
- Braves icon (and current assistant hitting coach) Chipper Jones weighed in on Freddie Freeman‘s contractual situation in a chat with The Athletic’s Jeff Schultz. Jones stresses that he’s only offering his own opinion but wonders whether the Liberty Media-owned Braves are waiting to see what 2021 attendance numbers look like before making a market-value offer to Freeman. The Hall of Famer also calls Liberty Media an “absentee owner” that is “rooted in trying to make money off the franchise” more so than conventional ownership structures. Atlanta fans will want to check out the column for Jones’ full, lengthy quotes on the matter. Freeman, 31, didn’t start the 2021 season particularly well, but he’s hitting a much more characteristic .284/.411/.527 over his past 20 games (90 plate appearances). He’s scheduled to become a free agent for the first time this winter after the $135MM contract extension he signed eight years ago draws to a close.
- Right-hander Shane Greene‘s most recent schedule appearance in Gwinnett was pushed a couple of days due to soreness in his back, manager Brian Snitker told reporters Monday (link via MLB.com’s Mark Bowman). The veteran reliever was able to take the mound yesterday for his third appearance since re-signing with Atlanta, however. Thus far, Greene has rattled off 3 1/3 shutout innings with five strikeouts and one walk allowed. Snitker noted Monday that there’s still no timetable for when Greene is expected to join the Major League bullpen. After sitting out until early May, Greene is effectively going through a makeshift Spring Training in Gwinnett right now.
Rockies Notes: Story, Joe, Trejo, Bowden
The Rockies can breathe a sigh of relief: There is no structural damage to Trevor Story‘s elbow, per the Athletic’s Nick Groke (via Twitter). The star shortstop’s MRI came back clean, so the Rockies can now look forward to his return as early as next Tuesday.
While the biggest news out of Colorado was no doubt results of that MRI, they also completed a couple of roster moves. The Rockies recalled infielder Alan Trejo from Triple-A and optioned Connor Joe.
Joe has done a nice job in 52 plate appearances, particularly getting on base with a .365 OBP, but the 25-year-old Trejo brings the ability to play up the middle. At least while Story is out, Trejo provides the Rockies with more defensive insurance, especially as they run with a four-man bench. Trejo made his Major League debut earlier this season, slashing .216/.268/.270 in 41 plate appearances.
Yesterday, southpaw Ben Bowden was reinstated from the injured list and optioned to Triple-A, per the team. The 26-year-old Vanderbilt product posted a 6.39 ERA/4.54 FIP in 15 appearances prior to the left shoulder strain that landed him on the injured list.
Minor MLB Transactions: 5/31/21
The latest minor moves from around baseball:
- The Orioles have released left-hander Josh Rogers, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. Rogers, soon to turn 27, was part of the return the Orioles received from the Yankees in a July 2018 trade centering on reliever Zack Britton. He wasn’t regarded as a high-end prospect at the time, and his stock took a hit when he underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2019. Rogers did appear in the majors with the Orioles during his first two seasons with the organization, but he could only muster an 8.65 ERA in 26 innings. While Rogers has returned to the mound at the Triple-A level this season after his TJ procedure, his struggles continued before the O’s cut him loose, evidenced by a 7.79 ERA in 17 1/3 frames.
Astros Injury Notes: Urquidy, Taylor, Gurriel, Alvarez, McCullers
The Astros’ long list of injured pitchers will get a bit shorter today, as Jose Urquidy and Blake Taylor have both been activated from the 10-day injured list. Urquidy will get the start in today’s game against the Red Sox. Right-handers Andre Scrubb and Ralph Garza were optioned to Triple-A to make room for Urquidy and Taylor on the active roster.
Urquidy hit the IL on May 16 due to right shoulder discomfort, though that potentially ominous-sounding diagnosis wasn’t considered too serious. The right-hander will indeed return in pretty short order, and he’ll look to continue what has thus far been a solid 2021 season. Urquidy has a 3.22 ERA and a very strong 5.1% walk rate over 44 2/3 innings, though advanced metrics (such as a 4.58 SIERA) haven’t been as impressed with his work. Urquidy has both a low strikeout rate (18.6%) and grounder rate (28.5%), and he has been relying on a lot of soft contact and some batted-ball luck (.242 BABIP) to retire batters.
Taylor has been out of action since suffering a right ankle sprain on April 17, and he has been on a Triple-A rehab assignment since last week. Taylor made his MLB debut last season, and he has a 3.12 ERA, 18.4% strikeout rate, and 12.3% walk rate over 26 total innings in the big leagues. With Kent Emanuel still on the IL, Brooks Raley has been the only other left-hander in Houston’s bullpen, so Taylor’s return will add some depth in that area.
The lineup will continue to be shorthanded, however, as manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart and The Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome) that neither Yuli Gurriel or Yordan Alvarez are available for today’s game, though both are “close” to returning. Alvarez appears to be the nearest of the two, though Baker said he “nixed” the idea of Alvarez in the lineup in order to give the young slugger another day of recovery.
This will make it five games missed for Alvarez due to a wrist problem, while Gurriel is now on track to miss his third game due to inflammation in his left middle finger. Baker did say Gurriel would return at some point during Houston’s four-game series with the Red Sox that begins today.
“It’s a situation where they’re not hurt badly enough where you can put them on ten days and lose them, so you’d rather wait two or three days extra and not lose them for ten,” Baker said.
The Astros still scored 15 runs in the two games without Gurriel and Alvarez in the lineup, though naturally the team would like to have two of its best hitters back as soon as possible. Both players have hit seven home runs this season, with Gurriel hitting .309/.380/.511 in 205 PA and Alvarez hitting .310/.343/.525 over 169 PA.
Baker also told McTaggart and company that he is hopeful Lance McCullers Jr. can be back in the rotation by the “middle of June.” McCullers was placed on the 10-day IL on May 26 due to right shoulder soreness but, like Urquidy, the issue as thought to be pretty minor. McCullers is playing catch in the outfield today, Baker said. Over 51 2/3 innings this season, McCullers has a 2.96 ERA/4.02 SIERA, despite allowing a lot of hard contact.
Central Notes: Indians, Fillmyer, Cardinals, Pike, Elledge, Tigers, Greiner
It’s Memorial Day, which means a full slate of day baseball. While we await the start of the action, let’s round up some news and notes from around the game…
- The Indians have purchased the contract of Heath Fillmyer from the Lancaster Barnstormers, per the Atlantic League club. Fillmyer has been assigned to Triple-A. The 27-year-old right-hander last appeared in the Majors in 2019 withe the Royals. He owns a 5.07 ERA/5.31 FIP over 104 2/3 innings between 2018-19.
- The Cardinals have called up Seth Elledge from Memphis, per MLB.com’s Jeff Jones (via Twitter). The move comes as a response to Kodi Whitley being placed on the 10-day injured list because of mild back spasms. St. Louis also signed southpaw Tyler Pike to a minor league contract, according to their transactions log on MLB.com.
- Tigers catcher Grayson Greiner is putting his rehab assignment on hold for now after experiencing some hamstring discomfort, per Evan Woodbery of MLive Media Group (via Twitter). He’s been on the injured list since May 12th. The 28-year-old backstop owns a .237/.256/.342 line in 39 plate appearances on the year.
Pirates Injury Notes: Kuhl, Hayes, Moran, Evans, Swaggerty
Pirates GM Ben Cherington updated reporters (including Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) with the latest on several injured Bucs players. The most imminent news concerns Chad Kuhl, who will be activated from the 10-day injured list to start Monday’s game with the Royals.
Kuhl was placed on the IL on April 22 due to right shoulder discomfort. After tossing a pair of rehab outings at Triple-A, Kuhl will look to get back on the big league mound and turn the page on what has been a tough 2021 season. Kuhl has a 6.32 ERA over his first four starts and 15 2/3 innings, in large part due to an extreme lack of control — Kuhl has 16 walks in those 15 2/3 innings.
“Part of Chad’s rehab was not just getting healthy, it was making sure that he continued to build off what he had done in that last start and attack the strike zone,” Cherington said, referencing Kuhl’s final start before his IL visit. While Kuhl still allowed three earned runs in five innings against the Brewers on April 18, he did walk just one Milwaukee batter, while striking out six.
Ke’Bryan Hayes might also soon be returning to the Pirates, as Cherington indicated that “all reports have been good” about Hayes’ Triple-A rehab stint. The star rookie went on the IL after just two games due to left wrist inflammation, and his recovery process already hit one setback in April. With so much time missed, Cherington felt Hayes needed “almost a Spring Training progression” to get ramped up, since “the last thing we wanted to do was sort of rush him back and then something else happens because his body was just not ready….So that’s why you’ve seen maybe a little longer progression than we would in some other cases with rehab.”
Hayes has already appeared in seven games with Triple-A Indianapolis, and figures to clock a few more appearances before June 3, when he is eligible to be reinstated from the 60-day injured list. It is quite possible Hayes will be activated that day, when the Pirates begin a four-game series at home with the Marlins.
Colin Moran and Phillip Evans are also likely to be starting rehab assignment of their own, possibly as early as within the next two days, Cherington implied. Moran has been out since May 9 due to a groin injury, while Evans went on the IL on May 13 because of a hamstring strain. Evans’ versatility helped the Pirates fill several holes around the diamond before he too was lost to the injured list, while Moran has hit well as the team’s regular first baseman.
On the minor league front, Cherington said that Travis Swaggerty‘s dislocated right shoulder is “going in [the] direction” of requiring surgery. Swaggerty suffered the injury while diving back to first base during a Triple-A game, and he has spent much of the last two weeks weighing recovery options. Swaggerty was the tenth overall pick of the 2018 draft, and MLB Pipeline ranks him as the ninth-best prospect in Pittsburgh’s farm system. Surgery would seemingly end the season for the outfielder, an especially tough blow since Swaggerty already lost a year of development when the 2020 minor league season was canceled.
Cardinals Notes: Trades, Miller, DeJong, Bedell
“Opportunities at the margins are sometimes available in the near term. Opportunities to make…more significant changes are rarely going to happen until six to eight weeks from now,” Cardinals GM Michael Girsch told Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat and other reporters earlier this week. In short, it doesn’t appear too likely that the Cards will be swinging any notable trades in the near future. As Jones notes, the club hasn’t really made any win-now types of deadline moves in recent seasons, and it remains to be seen if the Cards will change course by July 30 of this year.
St. Louis entered Sunday in first place in the NL Central, in a tight race with the Cubs and Brewers. There is certainly room for upgrades on the Cardinals’ roster, with Jones pointing out that (in particular) the bullpen is lacking depth beyond Genesis Cabrera, Giovanny Gallegos, and Alex Reyes. Adding another middle relief type wouldn’t necessarily count as a headline-grabbing move, and by that same token, a team that’s already in “seller mode” might be more willing to part with a reliever now rather than wait until closer to July 30.
More from the Gateway City…
- Some bullpen help could come from within, as Andrew Miller could be activated from the 10-day injured list this week. The target date may be Thursday for the start of the Cardinals’ series with the Reds, as manager Mike Shildt told reporters (including MLB.com’s Daniel Guerrero) that wants at least one more Triple-A rehab outing. Miller has been on the IL since April 29 due to a blister on his right foot.
- Paul DeJong‘s return date is less certain, as Shildt told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other reporters yesterday that the shortstop will require a rehab assignment before getting back to the field. A non-displaced left rib fracture sent DeJong to the injured list in the middle of May, and the nature of the injury has kept the Cardinals from pushing too hard: “A non-displaced fracture become a fracture if we don’t take care of it,” Shildt said. DeJong has, at least, been able to take some grounders.
- Pitching prospect Ian Bedell underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this week, as Bedell revealed himself on his Instagram page. The University Of Missouri product was a fourth-round pick for St. Louis in the 2020 draft, so his first minor league season was already canceled by the pandemic, and Bedell only appeared in two games for high-A Peoria before being sidelined with injury. Given the 13-15 month recovery timeline associated with Tommy John procedures, Bedell might face a bit of a squeeze in getting back on the mound before the end of the 2022 minor league season.
Twins Notes: Kepler, Maeda, Arraez
MAY 30: Kepler has indeed been placed on the 10-day IL, with catcher Ben Rortvedt recalled from Triple-A to replace him on the active roster. Baldelli told reporters (including Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com) that Rob Refsnyder is set to get everyday run in center field with Buxton and Kepler on the shelf.
Baldelli also addressed Maeda’s setback this afternoon (via Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press). While the right-hander was initially placed on the IL due to a groin strain, he’s fully recovered from that injury. His current issue is unrelated “general arm soreness.” The timetable for his return is still uncertain, although Baldelli says Maeda could resume playing catch next week.
MAY 29: The Twins’ 6-5 victory over the Royals today may have come at a price, as Max Kepler left the game due to a left hamstring strain. Kepler came up limping while trying to beat out a grounder in the second inning, and was immediately replaced in the field for the top of the third.
Manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters (including The Athletic’s Dan Hayes) that Kepler would undergo an MRI and could potentially be heading to the injured list. At the very least, “I don’t think he’s going to be out there in the next few days,” Baldelli said.
This is the second time in under two weeks that a hamstring problem has forced Kepler out of a game, as he made an early exit back on May 16. Since that injury, Kepler has sat out four games and also been limited to DH duty in three others in an attempt to play through the issue. Now, however, Kepler looks to be joining Byron Buxton, Jake Cave, and utilityman Luis Arraez on the 10-day IL as Minnesota will be further short-handed in the outfield.
As per the wRC+ metric, Kepler has delivered exactly average (100) offensive production this season, hitting .212/.303/.424 over 152 plate appearances. Beyond the lingering hamstring injury, Kepler also missed 10 days recovering from a case of COVID-19.
Baldelli also has less-than-positive updates about two other injured Twins in Arraez and Kenta Maeda. Arraez hit the injured list (in retroactive placement fashion) on May 24 due to a right shoulder strain, and that strain now looks like a subluxation that will keep Arraez out of action for multiple weeks.
A groin strain sent Maeda to the IL on May 23, and Baldelli said that Maeda suffered a setback during a bullpen session on Friday. The right-hander was initially expected to miss between 10-14 days, but now it isn’t known when Maeda might be back in the Minnesota rotation. Maeda has a 5.27 ERA/4.07 SIERA through nine starts and 42 2/3 innings for the Twins this season.
Injury Notes: Chisholm, Duvall, Soler, Garcia
Two Marlins regulars are nursing injuries, as Jazz Chisholm has missed four games due to an ankle sprain and Adam Duvall has missed games due to soreness in his left side. Manager Don Mattingly indicated to reporters that both players were being held out largely due to precautionary reasons, noting that “if we weren’t being conservative, I think [Chisholm] probably could have played today.” Chisholm spent just shy of three weeks on the injured list earlier this season after suffering a hamstring strain, and the Marlins are naturally being careful to ensure that their young star isn’t lost for another extended amount of time.
Chisholm is hitting .286/.350/.486 with five home runs and nine stolen bases over 117 PA this season. Duvall hasn’t been performing as well (.213/.257/.425 in 171 plate appearances) at the plate, but the veteran has provided some extra utility in the field by playing respectable defense over 53 innings as a fill-in center fielder. Mattingly described Duvall as already feeling “better” by Saturday, so it’s possible Duvall could be back in the lineup for Sunday’s game with the Red Sox.
More injury updates from around baseball…
- Jorge Soler left today’s 6-5 Royals loss to the Twins after the first inning due to right groin discomfort. An injury would further damper what has already been a rough season for Soler, who is hitting just .178/.257/.314 with four home runs over his first 195 plate appearances. Soler’s last full season in 2019 saw him lead the American League with 48 homers while batting .265/.354/.569 in 679 PA.
- Nationals infielder Luis Garcia will receive an MRI after suffering an on-field hamstring cramp prior to the third inning of the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader with the Brewers. While warming up before the inning, a cramp that had bothered Garcia earlier in the game suddenly forced him to the ground, and he had to be helped off the field. Garcia has spent much of the season at Triple-A, at Washington’s alternate training site, or on the big league taxi squad, and was just called back up to the active roster earlier this week.