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Mario Guerrero Passes Away

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Former major league infielder Mario Guerrero has passed away, his family told reporters over the weekend (relayed by Enrique Rojas of ESPN). He was 73 years old.

Guerrero, a native of the Dominican Republic, started his professional career when he signed with the Yankees in 1968. The right-handed hitting infielder spent four seasons in the New York farm system, playing his way to Triple-A. Midway through the 1972 campaign, he was dealt to the Red Sox as a player to be named later in the deal that saw New York acquire future Cy Young winner Sparky Lyle.

Within one season, Guerrero made his MLB debut in Boston. A light-hitting middle infielder, he played in 66 games with the Sox as a rookie. Guerrero was entrusted with the Opening Day start at shortstop the following season, ultimately appearing in 93 games and hitting .246/.282/.282.

Going into the 1975 campaign, Boston traded Guerrero to the Cardinals for a player to be named later. He spent a season-plus bouncing on and off the St. Louis roster before being traded again in May ’76 — this time to the Angels for a pair of players who never reached the majors. Guerrero played in just over half of California’s games the next two seasons, hitting .283/.298/.342 over 540 trips to the plate.

Guerrero signed with the Giants over the 1977-78 offseason. Before he could play a game, they moved him to the A’s as a player to be named later in the trade that sent Vida Blue to San Francisco a month prior. Guerrero got Opening Day nods at shortstop in Oakland in two of the next three seasons. He had arguably the best year of his career in 1978, hitting .275/.302/.345 in a personal-high 143 games.

His MLB career came to a close when he was released by the Mariners going into the 1981 campaign. Guerrero played in parts of eight big league seasons, logging a little more than 2400 plate appearances across 697 contests. He hit .257/.285/.312 while playing for four different franchises. Guerrero never posted particularly strong offensive numbers, but clubs trusted him enough as a defender to give him nearly 4600 innings of shortstop work in the big leagues.

MLBTR sends our condolences to his family, loved ones, friends and former teammates.

A’s Announce Series Of Roster Moves

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The A’s made a number of transactions before tonight’s series opener with the White Sox. Oakland activated reliever Kirby Snead from the 60-day injured list while recalling Rico Garcia and Jordan Diaz from Triple-A Las Vegas.

Right-handers James Kaprielian and Yacksel Ríos are headed to the 15-day IL, while infielder Jonah Bride was optioned to Vegas. To clear space on the 40-man roster for Snead’s return, the A’s transferred Mason Miller from the 15-day to the 60-day IL.

Snead is back in Mark Kotsay’s bullpen for the first time this year. He strained his throwing shoulder in Spring Training. One of four players acquired from the Blue Jays in the Matt Chapman deal, Snead tossed 44 2/3 innings of 5.84 ERA ball during his first season in Oakland. He has allowed four runs in five innings in Triple-A on a rehab stint.

Kaprielian has a shoulder strain of his own, Kotsay told reporters (including Martín Gallegos of MLB.com). Ríos is battling Raynaud’s syndrome, a condition in which blood flow to a person’s hand can be diminished, thereby leading to numbness. The return timetable on both pitchers is unclear.

Miller has already missed just under two months with a sprain of the UCL in his throwing elbow. That makes his transfer a formality, though his long-term prognosis is still up in the air. Kotsay said Miller will soon go for follow-up examination (via Gallegos). The hard-throwing rookie has been throwing off flat ground for a few weeks and will continue his throwing program pending that evaluation.

In other injury news, catcher Manny Piña has reported to Low-A Stockton for a rehab stint, according to his transaction log at MLB.com. Acquired from the Braves to offset salary in the Sean Murphy deal, Piña has missed the entire season with a left wrist issue. He underwent surgery on the same wrist last May and hasn’t played an MLB game in 14 months.

Injury Notes: Wilson, Rucinski, Stewart

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Brewers left-hander Justin Wilson began a rehab assignment yesterday, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. The lefty required Tommy John surgery in June of last year and Milwaukee signed him knowing that he would miss the first half of 2023 even in a best-case scenario. He’s making $850K this year and the club has a $2.5MM option for next season with a $150K buyout.

The 35-year-old has plenty of experience as a solid left-handed reliever, having appeared in 527 career games with an ERA of 3.41. He’s struck out 25.9% of batters faced, walked 10.7% of them and kept the ball on the ground at a 46.8% rate. If he’s able to get healthy and back to his old self, he could give the club a second lefty in the bullpen alongside Hoby Milner.

Wilson will likely need some time to get into game shape, but the fact that he’s beginning a rehab assignment barely a year after going under the knife is an encouraging sign that things are progressing well. His health and performance down the stretch will undoubtedly impact how much interest the Brewers have in picking up that option.

Some other health notes from around the league…

  • Athletics right-hander Drew Rucinski has had a frustrating season in the health department and those frustrations seem to be continuing. He landed on the injured list in late May due to a stomach illness but that was followed by a low-grade MCL sprain in his right knee suffered during a bullpen session. Now Martín Gallegos of MLB.com relays that Rucinski will be undergoing MRIs on his left hip and lower back due to some apparent degenerative changes. That testing will hopefully shed some light on what’s ahead for the righty, whose return to North America isn’t going as hoped. He parlayed a strong performance in the KBO into a $3MM deal with the A’s plus a $5MM club option for 2024. He began the year on the IL due to a hamstring strain then got healthy enough to make four starts, allowing 18 earned runs in 18 innings before this recent cascade of setbacks. He’s already been transferred to the 60-day injured list and isn’t eligible to return until late July.
  • Twins right-hander Brock Stewart was placed on the 15-day injured list yesterday, retroactive to June 26, with right elbow soreness. His agent Joe Speed told Darren Wolfson of Skor North that it wasn’t a big issue and expressed confidence that Stewart would be able to contribute in the second half of the season. Manager Rocco Baldelli also seemed to think it wouldn’t be a huge problem, telling Bobby Nightengale of the Star Tribune that it appeared to be a minor bout of tendinitis. If it ultimately proves to be true that it’s no big deal, that’s a tremendous break for the Twins. Stewart has been utterly dominant this year, with an ERA of 0.70 through 25 2/3 innings, striking out 35.4% of opponents against an 11.1% walk rate. It’s been an incredible comeback story for a guy who is in the big leagues for the first time since 2019 and the club would undoubtedly be thrilled if he could make a quick return after the All-Star break.

Athletics Place Ramón Laureano On IL With Hand Fracture

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2:55pm: Martin Gallegos of MLB.com relays word from the A’s training staff that this injury is the result of Laureano getting hit by a pitch in Milwaukee earlier this month. The slide in Tampa injured his left hand, not his right. The A’s were in Milwaukee June 9 to 11, so Laureano has apparently been battling this injury for two weeks already.

2:40pm: The Athletics announced today that outfielder Ramón Laureano has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 22, with a fractured right hand. Outfielder Conner Capel has been recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas in a corresponding move.

Laureano has been dealing with a hand issue for over a week now. It was on June 14 that he appeared to injure his fingers on a slide into third base in a game against the Rays. He’s been in and out of the lineup since then but will now get a lengthier absence of over a week. It’s unclear whether the initial injury simply hasn’t healed or if he reaggravated it.

The outfielder had spent many years as a solid two-way player for Oakland until receiving an 80-game suspension in August of 2021 after testing positive for Nandrolone, a banned performance-enhancing substance. Prior to that suspension, he hit .263/.335/.465 for a wRC+ of 119 in 313 career games while also stealing 34 bases and earning plaudits for his glovework.

He returned last year but hasn’t been able to get back to that level of performance. He’s hit .212/.282/.370 since being reinstated for a wRC+ of 90, though the other portions of his game are still solid. He’s swiped 19 bags since then and, though he’s been largely bumped from center to right field, is still considered a strong defender.

The loss of Laureano won’t mean too much to the A’s in the short term as their 19-58 record is the worst in all of baseball. However, it’s potentially significant for the upcoming trade deadline. The Athletics are one of very few clubs that make for obvious sellers this year, with the expanded playoffs and weak Central divisions giving most clubs some kind of plausible shot at a postseason run. The A’s have already traded away most of their veterans and the roster is now filled with younger players they are hoping to build around.

Laureano will turn 29 next month and has already reached arbitration on a struggling team, making him one of the few straightforward trade candidates this summer. His offensive slide wouldn’t have given him much value but his speed and defense at least give him a solid floor as a bench piece that could garner interest around the league. He’ll now have to recuperate from this hand injury with just over five weeks until the August 1 deadline.

With Laureano sidelined, the club will turn to Capel as well as outfielders like Seth Brown, JJ Bleday, Tony Kemp and Brent Rooker to fill the corners, with Esteury Ruiz in center field most days.

A’s Preparing Application To MLB For Relocation

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The Athletics have begun the process to officially apply to Major League Baseball for relocation, writes Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. It’s unclear how long they’ll need before they can officially put their relocation efforts up for a vote.

This is no surprise, of course. Nevada lawmakers signed off on the A’s request for $380MM in public funding last week as part of their efforts to construct a $1.5 billion stadium on the Vegas Strip. That permitted the A’s to turn their attention to MLB, the last step in their move to depart Oakland for Southern Nevada.

Once finalized, the application will go in front of a three-owner relocation committee. After review, that committee makes its recommendations to league officials and other owners for a vote. If 75% of ownership groups sign off, the A’s will finalize their move to Las Vegas. That’s all expected to be an easy final hurdle for the organization. With commissioner Rob Manfred backing the A’s efforts and indicating the league is prepared to waive the franchise’s relocation fee, there’s little intrigue about the results of the forthcoming vote.

The A’s lease at RingCentral Coliseum runs through the end of next season. Akers wrote last week the club had not yet made any efforts to break the lease, suggesting they’re likely to play in Oakland for one more year. The permanent Las Vegas facility isn’t expected to be ready until the start of the 2028 campaign, leaving the franchise to figure out temporary options for home games between 2025-27.

A’s Claim Angel Felipe

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The Athletics have claimed right-hander Angel Felipe off waivers from the Padres, per a team announcement. Felipe has been optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas. The A’s transferred righty Zach Jackson from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Felipe, 25, joins the rebuilding Athletics as a power-armed righty reliever with questionable command. Baseball America ranked him 29th among Padres prospects just a few weeks ago, touting a four-seamer and two-seamer that could both reach triple digits, as well as a potentially plus slider and potentially above-average changeup. Felipe is still relatively new to pitching, having played shortstop in his teenage days before moving to the mound upon signing as an amateur with the Rays.

This had been Felipe’s second season with the Padres, with whom he signed a minor league deal in the 2021-22 offseason. He’s yet to make his MLB debut and has spent the entire season in Triple-A El Paso, where he’s posted an ugly 6.20 ERA in 24 2/3 innings. Poor command has contributed to those ugly run-prevention numbers, evidenced by a 14.9% walk rate, a pair of hit batters and seven wild pitches in his brief time on the mound this year. However, Felipe has also fanned 32.2% of his opponents and has a history of gaudy ground-ball rates — even if this year’s 46.7% clip is “only” a few percentage points above league-average.

The Athletics have virtually no stability in their big league bullpen at the moment, and given the bleak outlook on their current rebuild, it’s only logical that they’d roll the dice on a big arm even with command issues. Flamethrowers who struggle to locate the ball aren’t exactly uncommon in today’s game, but the A’s can afford a longer leash than most clubs given that they’re not close to competing. Felipe has an option year remaining beyond the current season, so Oakland doesn’t need to make any kind of decision on the right-hander’s future in the short term.

Athletics Select Yacksel Ríos

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The Athletics announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Yacksel Ríos. Fellow righty Chad Smith was optioned in a corresponding move. To open a spot for Rios on the 40-man roster, righty Drew Rucinski was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Ríos, who turns 30 next week, signed a minor league deal with Atlanta in the offseason but was just acquired by the A’s on the weekend. It was reported at that time that he had a provision in his contract whereby Atlanta had to add him to their roster or else give the other clubs in the league the opportunity to do so, making this selection an expected development.

He has 89 games of major league experience from 2017 to 2021, posting an ERA of 5.77 in that time. He’s had to settle for minor league deals in each of the past two offseasons, however. He linked up with the White Sox for 2022 but never got called up, tossing 33 Triple-A innings with a 4.91 ERA. He’s been much stronger this year with a 2.49 ERA in 25 1/3 innings, striking out 30.3% of batters while walking 8.1%.

The A’s have had quite a poor bullpen this season, as their relievers have a collective 5.58 ERA that’s easily the worst in the majors. They’ll give Ríos a shot based on his hot start and see if he can take any of that to Oakland with him. He’s out of options but could be kept around for future seasons if he sticks on the roster all year long. In that scenario, he would cross just over the three-year service time marker and qualify for arbitration.

As for Rucinski, he was placed on the injured list just over a month ago due to a stomach illness but then subsequently was diagnosed with a low-grade MCL sprain in his right knee. Just over a week ago, manager Mark Kotsay told MLB.com that there would be a shutdown period of two to three weeks. He’ll now be officially ineligible to return until mid-July, 60 days from his initial IL placement. Since he’s still at least a week away from throwing and then will require a ramp-up period, that makes this move fairly procedural.

Dick Hall Passes Away

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The Orioles have announced that former major leaguer Dick Hall has passed away. He was 92 years old.

Hall underwent many transitions in his career, which began as an outfielder and third baseman for the Pirates in 1952. But in 1955, he moved to the mound, tossing 94 1/3 innings over 13 starts and two relief appearances, registering a 3.91 ERA that year. He continued serving as a pitcher for the Bucs and also for the Kansas City Athletics in 1960.

In April of 1961, he was acquired by the Orioles. He would go on to spend most of his career with Baltimore, including his best seasons, gradually shifting into the relief role that he thrived in. From 1961 to 1966, he made 244 appearances for the O’s with a 2.82 ERA over 599 2/3 innings.

That final season of that stretch was the beginning of a golden age of Orioles’ baseball, as the 1966 Orioles went 97-63, led by future Hall of Famers Frank Robinson and Brooks Robinson. They won the American League pennant and then swept the Dodgers to win the first World Series in franchise history, though Hall didn’t appear in that series.

Hall was with the Phillies in 1967 and 1968 as the O’s missed the playoffs in those two seasons. But he returned in 1969 and so did the success of the club. They made it back to the World Series in three straight years beginning in 1969, winning a second title in 1970. He made one appearance in that second title-winning series, tossing 2 1/3 scoreless frames as the O’s topped the Reds. 1971 proved to be his final season in the big leagues.

Hall ultimately pitched 1259 2/3 regular season innings in his career with a 3.32 ERA. He went 93-75 while racking up 68 saves, striking out 741 opponents in the process. He helped the club win four pennants, earned two World Series rings and was elected to the Orioles Hall of Fame. He is survived by his wife, four children, nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. MLBTR joins those in the baseball world in sending condolences to all those mourning him today.

A’s Acquire Yacksel Rios

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6:56 PM: As noted by Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a clause in Rios’s pact with the Braves required the club to add him to the active roster by tomorrow or else trade him to a team willing to do the same. Given this, it seems all but certain that the A’s will select Rios to the roster ahead of their next game, which will occur Tuesday against the Guardians.

6:43 PM: The Athletics have acquired right-hander Yacksel Rios from the Braves in exchange for cash considerations, per an announcement by Oakland. Rios signed with the Braves on a minor league deal back in January.

A 12th round pick by the Phillies in the 2011 draft, Rios made his MLB debut with the club in 2017, pitching to a league average 4.41 ERA in 16 1/3 innings of work. He’s suited up for the Pirates, Mariners, and Red Sox in addition to the Phillies since then, with his most recent big league work coming with Boston in 2021, where the right-hander threw to a solid 3.70 ERA (128 ERA+) in 24 1/3 innings of work, though his 4.90 FIP indicates that strong run prevention may not have been fully earned. Overall, Rios has a career 5.77 ERA in 96 2/3 big league innings of work. During his big league career, Rios’s biggest issue has been his control, as he sports a career walk rate of 11.5% that spiked has high as 14% during the 2021 season.

While Rios, who celebrates his 30th birthday later this month, has a fairly lengthy track record of mediocrity at the big league level, a dominant start to the 2023 season at the Triple-A level with the Braves has seemingly caught Oakland’s attention. Across 24 2/3 innings with the Braves’ affiliate in Gwinnett, Rios has dominated to a 1.46 ERA with a 31.9% strikeout rate and a far more manageable walk rate of 8.5%. If the journeyman reliever can keep anything approaching that pace with the A’s, it’s possible the club has an intriguing bullpen piece on their hands.

As of now, there’s no word as to whether or not Oakland intends to promote Rios to the majors. That said, given the club’s bullpen sports an MLB-worst ERA of 5.61, it would be of little surprise to see the A’s try to use Rios to give a boost to their relief corps, which currently sports Trevor May, Lucas Erceg, and Sam Moll in the late innings.

Report: Red Sox Interested In Aledmys Diaz

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The Red Sox are looking to acquire an infielder who can play multiple positions, MassLive.com’s Sean McAdam writes, with a focus on the middle infield.  McAdam notes that Aledmys Diaz’s name has “been linked to the Red Sox,” though it isn’t clear how deep talks might be between the Sox and Athletics.  Diaz is struggling through a tough season (.208/.266/.264 over 173 plate appearances) but he is also an experienced player who could help a Boston infield that is still trying to figure itself out, particularly at shortstop until Trevor Story is healthy.  That said, Diaz’s contract is hefty enough that he would be more than a stopgap, as Diaz is owed roughly $4.1MM for the rest of this season and then $8MM in 2024.  The A’s are naturally looking to unload salary and might eat some of that money, but one would imagine the Sox might explore cheaper options if they truly only want a short-term option.

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