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A’s Place Ramon Laureano, Trevor May On Injured List

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The A’s announced a series of roster moves Wednesday, placing outfielder Ramon Laureano and righty Trevor May on the 10-day and 15-day injured lists, respectively. Laureano is dealing with a left groin strain, while May has been placed on the injured list for issues pertaining to anxiety. The A’s formally selected the contract of top pitching prospect Mason Miller and recalled infield prospect Jordan Diaz in their place, as had been previously reported. Righty Dany Jimenez was moved to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Miller.

Laureano, 28, is hitting .218/.295/.436 with a pair of homers, four doubles, a triple and two stolen bases through 61 plate appearances this season. He’s already garnered strong marks for his glovework in right field despite the limited amount of innings he’s put in, recording four Defensive Runs Saved on the young season. He’d missed the past couple games due to hamstring soreness, however, and will now miss at least 10 days in total. With Brent Rooker also banged up at the moment, the A’s have Tyler Wade in left field and Conner Capel in right field.

May becomes the third player with a recent IL stint owing to anxiety issues, joining Daniel Bard (who was just activated today) and Austin Meadows, who have both spoken up about their own anxiety issues in recent months. Oakland general manager David Forst provided the following statement on May (Twitter link via Martin Gallegos of MLB.com):

“I commend Trevor for speaking up about his mental health, and for taking action to address it. The whole A’s organization supports him fully and we are committed to giving Trevor whatever time he needs to be ready to return to playing, as well as continued resources to help all our players tackle the physical and mental challenges they face daily.”

May, 33, signed a one-year deal with the Athletics over the winter. He entered the season looking to rebound from an injury-shortened 2022 campaign in which he missed three months with a triceps issue while playing out the second half of a two-year deal signed with the Mets. His results in 2023 are jarring, as the typically steady right-hander has yielded eight runs on 10 hits and an alarming nine walks (two intentional) in six innings. May came into the season with a 7.5% walk rate dating all the way back to 2015, but he’s walked nearly a quarter of his opponents. His strikeout rate, which had topped 30% over the past six years — including a four-year run with a combined 32.7% rate — is sitting at just 16.2%, despite his velocity still clocking in at an average of 95 mph.

There’s no telling how long he’ll be away, but as Forst said, it’s good to see May speak up about his mental health not only to do what’s best for him and the team but also to help others who might be going through similar battles. Our readers might remember May chronicling some of his journey through Tommy John surgery rehabilitation right here at MLBTR, and he’s also graciously taken some time in the past to host a mailbag column with MLBTR readers. We at MLBTR offer our best wishes to Trevor.

Giants Acquire Cal Stevenson, Designate Sam Long

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The Athletics traded outfielder Cal Stevenson to the Giants in exchange for cash, per announcements from both teams. Oakland had designated Stevenson for assignment late last week. San Francisco designated lefty Sam Long for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Stevenson has been optioned to Triple-A Sacramento.

Stevenson, 26, appeared in his first 23 big league games with Oakland last year but managed only a .167/.261/.217 output in 71 plate appearances. Oakland picked him up alongside minor league righty Christian Fernandez in a trade that sent catcher/first baseman Christian Bethancourt back to Tampa Bay. Thus far, that hasn’t panned out in the A’s favor, though Fernandez is out to a nice start in High-A this season.

Stevenson has been an on-base machine in the minors, with more walks (240) than strikeouts (222) through 1471 minor league plate appearances. He’s spent parts of two seasons (2023 included) at the Triple-A level and posted a combined .289/.397/.414 batting line, showing plus plate discipline and bat-to-ball skills but minimal power. He’s never turned in a double-digit home run total in a professional season, though he did pop nine long balls in an injury-shortened 2021 Double-A campaign that saw him tally just 365 plate appearances. He has ample experience in both center field and in left field. Stevenson also has two minor league option years remaining (2023 included).

As for Long, the 27-year-old southpaw has spent parts of the past two seasons in the Giants’ bullpen but opened the 2023 campaign in Sacramento, where he’s gotten out to a rough start. Through 10 Triple-A innings, Long has been tagged for 11 runs on the strength of 14 hits and five walks with just seven punchouts.

Long tallied a career-high 42 1/3 Major League innings last season with San Francisco, pitching to a 3.61 ERA with a sharp 7.7% walk rate but a well below-average 18.2% strikeout rate. He averaged 94.5 mph on his heater but was also exceptionally homer-prone despite a spacious home park, serving up an average of 1.70 big flies per nine innings pitched. Metrics like FIP (5.07) and SIERA (4.31) felt he had some good fortune to keep his ERA so low, which is likely the case to some degree, given a fairly low .248 average on balls in play.

This is Long’s final minor league option year, so he can freely be shuttled between Triple-A and the big leagues for the remainder of the season but not in 2024. The Giants will have a week to trade him or attempt to pass him through outright waivers.

A’s Notes: Diaz, Miller, Jimenez

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The A’s are planning to recall infield prospect Jordan Diaz, as first reported by Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El ExtraBase (Twitter link). The 22-year-old infielder has spent the year on optional assignment to Triple-A Las Vegas.

Díaz debuted in the big leagues late last season. The Colombian-born infielder got into 15 games, hitting .265/.294/.327 through his first 51 plate appearances. He only struck out seven times but walked just twice and has yet to connect on an MLB homer. Díaz had posted excellent numbers between Double-A Midland and Las Vegas prior to his promotion, combining to hit .326/.366/.515 in 120 minor league games.

After 11 more contests in Triple-A, Oakland is bringing Díaz back up the majors. He’ll add a bat-first infielder to a mix that also includes Aledmys Díaz, Jace Peterson, Tony Kemp and Kevin Smith. The #12 prospect in the system according to Baseball America, Díaz will look to hit enough to offset questions about his ideal defensive home.

Díaz isn’t the most notable forthcoming prospect promotion for the A’s. Oakland announced earlier today they were promoting pitching prospect Mason Miller to make his big league debut. General manager David Forst subsequently informed the club’s beat that the A’s were planning to keep Miller in the rotation from here on out (relayed by Martín Gallegos of MLB.com). With the revelation it’s not simply a spot start for the 24-year-old, Oakland will have to either turn to a six-man starting staff or bump someone from the rotation.

None of Oakland’s starters has fared especially well thus far. JP Sears has the lowest ERA in the group at 4.60. Each of Shintaro Fujinami, Ken Waldichuk and James Kaprielian has allowed more than a run per inning. Opening Day starter Kyle Muller sports a 7.23 ERA with a modest 15.1% strikeout rate.

Everyone in the group still has minor league options remaining. That could lead to one of them being demoted to Las Vegas, but it’s also possible the club looks into a bullpen or swing role for a struggling starter. The A’s were dealt a hit to the relief corps this afternoon, as righty Dany Jiménez went on the 15-day injured list with a shoulder strain.

Jiménez operated as the club’s primary closer at points last season. He’s picked up the team’s only save thus far in 2023, though his overall results have been rough. The 29-year-old has walked six with only four strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings. He’s allowed four runs and seen sharp dips in his swinging strikes and velocity. It seems clear he has not been operating at full strength. The team hasn’t provided a return timetable, though a shoulder strain prematurely ended his 2022 campaign in late August.

Athletics To Promote Mason Miller

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The Athletics are planning to promote pitching prospect Mason Miller, reports Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle. It seems possible that Miller will join the team today and could make his major league debut tomorrow. He’s not yet on the 40-man roster and will require a corresponding move.

Miller, 24, was selected by the A’s in the third round of the 2021 draft, making his professional debut with a few Complex League outings shortly after that draft. He logged just six innings there, but Baseball America ranked him the #16 prospect in the system going into 2022, largely based on his work in college. He was then limited by a shoulder strain in 2022, not making his season debut until late August. He made one appearance in the Complex League, three in High-A and then two in Triple-A. He finished the year with a combined 3.86 ERA in 14 innings over those games.

It was a very limited sample, but he did rack up 25 strikeouts, exactly half of the 50 batters he faced, while keeping his walks down to a 6% rate. He was then sent to get some extra work in the Arizona Fall League, tossing 16 2/3 innings there with a 3.24 ERA, racking up another 20 punchouts. Based on that strong-but-limited showing, BA bumped him to #4 in the system coming into this year. FanGraphs was perhaps even more bullish, giving Miller the #98 spot on their preseason list of the top 100 prospects in the league. Both outlets highlight Miller’s velocity, with his fastball able to hit triple digits, while also complimenting his slider and changeup. BA adds that he was planning to re-introduce a cutter in 2023, a pitch he had been avoiding as part of his rehab.

This year, Miller started out with a Double-A appearance, allowing two earned runs over 3 2/3 innings, but striking out eight opponents. He then got bumped to Triple-A, where he tossed five shutout innings with 11 punchies. By all accounts, Miller clearly has electric stuff and great results, but in very small samples. His entire professional career consists of 28 2/3 innings in the minors and those 16 2/3 frames in the AFL, adding up to 45 1/3. He did log 239 innings in college, but it’s still unusual for a club to fast-forward a player’s rise through the minors like this. That being said, Miller seems to have excellent stuff and might be ready to get big league hitters out right now.

The A’s have been toying with using a six-man rotation this year, in part to help Shintaro Fujinami adjust from the once-a-week pitching schedule preferred in Japan to the five-day rotation that’s more common in North America. He’s been joined by Kyle Muller, JP Sears, James Kaprielian, Ken Waldichuk and Adam Oller so far, though Oller made two long relief outings before getting his first start of the year last week. He was rocked for seven earned runs in just 2 1/3 innings in that start and was optioned to the minors shortly after. It seems his struggles have perhaps opened an opportunity for Miller to make his MLB debut. The A’s weren’t expected to compete this year and are off to a 3-14 start, giving them little reason not to see what they have in Miller.

Now that Opening Day has moved into the rearview mirror, it won’t be possible for Miller to reach a full year of service time. A baseball season is 187 days long but a player needs just 172 days on the active roster or injured list to accrue a full year. With the season now 20 days in, Miller would come up just shy of that one year mark even if he stays up for good. The new collective bargaining agreement has a path for players to get a full year of service time anyway, though that only applies to those who cracked two of the preseason top 100 lists at Baseball America, MLB Pipeline or ESPN. Miller made the FanGraphs list but none of those other three, meaning he doesn’t have a path to a full service year in 2023.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Injury Notes: Burnes, Blackburn, Hendricks, Haniger

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Brewers ace Corbin Burnes called for the trainer and exited last night’s game after recording the first out in the sixth inning, with 85 pitches under his belt. After the game, manager Craig Counsell told reporters that Burnes had a minor strain of the left pectoralis in his chest (link via Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). Burnes incurred the injury in the fourth inning after picking off Eugenio Suarez at second base, catching him in a rundown, and stretching to make the tag on the play. Burnes explained that the injury cramped up beginning in the sixth inning. “I had zero command and then clearly the velo started to drop,” said Burnes, who began the inning with a four-pitch walk.

It’s a surely a relative sigh of relief for Brewers fans, though the team figures to have more info on Burnes in the next day or so as he progresses. For now, it seems the 2021 NL Cy Young winner has avoided a major injury, which is particularly important with righty Brandon Woodruff facing a lengthy absence due to a shoulder strain.

Some more injury scenarios to monitor around the league…

  • Right-hander Paul Blackburn’s return to the Athletics could be further delayed by a blister issue on his pitching hand, tweets Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle. The 29-year-old Blackburn rode a first-half breakout to an All-Star nod last summer, but his season went off the rails in mid-July, when he was torched for 21 runs in a span of 14 1/3 innings. He was diagnosed with a torn tendon sheath in his pitching hand, which ended his season. Blackburn looked to be on track for the 2023 campaign, but a fingernail avulsion shelved him briefly. He’s made a pair of rehab starts but will see his third rehab outing delayed by the current blister troubles. Through his first 16 starts last season, Blackburn pitched to a 2.90 ERA with a below-average 18.8% strikeout rate but strong walk and ground-ball rates of 6.2% and 48.7%, respectively, while yielding just an 87.7 mph average exit velocity.
  • Cubs righty Kyle Hendricks threw 36 pitches in a two-inning simulated game yesterday and came away from that session feeling good, tweets Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times. Assuming he doesn’t incur any setbacks in the coming days, that could put Hendricks on pace for a minor league rehab stint sooner than later. He’d likely need multiple starts to build up, which generally aligns with Hendricks’ previous statements that he’s aiming to be on a rehab assignment by May. The 33-year-old Hendricks was one of the NL’s most durable and consistently effective starters from 2015-20, pitching to a 3.17 ERA over the life of 967 innings in that time. He’s stumbled to a 4.78 ERA in 48 starts over the past two seasons, however, as he’s become increasingly homer-prone. Hendricks is entering the final guaranteed season of a four-year, $55MM contract, though the Cubs hold a net $14.5MM decision on him for the 2024 campaign ($16MM option with a $1.5MM buyout).
  • Mitch Haniger is slated to begin a minor league rehab assignment today, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The Giants signed Haniger to a three-year, $43MM contract over the winter (which contains an opt-out after 2024), but he’s yet to make his team debut after suffering an oblique strain during spring training. He went 3-for-10 with a pair of doubles in 10 official spring at-bats before sustaining the injury. Haniger dealt with myriad injuries in 2019-20 and 2022 but played in 157 games apiece in 2018 and 2021, slugging a combined 65 home runs between those two seasons. Once healthy, he’ll add some more thump to a Giants lineup that somewhat surprisingly ranks fourth in the Majors with 25 homers so far.

Athletics Select Tyler Wade, Designate Cal Stevenson

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The A’s announced a series of roster moves today, recalling left-hander Hogan Harris and selecting utility player Tyler Wade. In corresponding moves, righty Adam Oller and infielder Nick Allen were optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas. To open a spot for Wade on the 40-man roster, outfielder Cal Stevenson was designated for assignment.

Wade is back in the majors for what’ll be a seventh straight year. A longtime prospect of some regard with the Yankees, the left-handed hitter settled into a depth role in the Bronx. He never tallied more than 145 plate appearances in a season, though he got into 103 games as a frequent pinch-runner and defensive replacement in 2021. Wade’s plus speed has allowed him to swipe 38 bases in his MLB career.

The 28-year-old got his most notable playing time after being traded to the Angels heading into 2022. He picked up 163 trips to the plate but only connected on one home run with a .218/.272/.272 batting line. The Halos outrighted him off their 40-man roster and traded him back to the Yankees last summer. He didn’t return to the majors with New York and elected minor league free agency at year’s end.

Wade hooked on with the A’s on a non-roster deal and has appeared in ten games for Las Vegas. He doesn’t have an extra-base hit but has walked six times while striking out on just seven occasions. Between his contact skills, speed and ability to cover any infield position and all three outfield spots, he’s earned a look on the big league bench. Wade doesn’t have any minor league options remaining, so the A’s will have to keep him in the big leagues or designate him for assignment now that he’s secured a spot on the 40-man roster.

While Wade steps into the infield mix, Oakland sends Allen out for the moment. The defensive specialist has long been regarded as one of the better prospects in the A’s system. He’s an excellent gloveman at both middle infield positions but faces questions about his offensive upside. Allen limped to a .207/.256/.291 line over 326 plate appearances as a rookie last season. He’s gotten starts in just five of the first 13 games this year and opened the season in a 1-16 slump. Oakland has given Aledmys Díaz and Kevin Smith most of the shortstop run in the past few days.

Wade’s promotion necessitated bumping a player from the 40-man roster. Stevenson loses his spot despite starting the season with eight hits and six walks over 29 plate appearances for Las Vegas. The 26-year-old outfielder hasn’t gotten much run at the major league level, appearing in 23 games last season with the A’s and struggling to a .167/.261/.217 line after being acquired in the Christian Bethancourt trade.

A former tenth round pick, Stevenson has been involved in a few trades as a professional. He’s also appeared in the Blue Jays, Astros and Tampa Bay organizations and put together an impressive .294/.409/.420 line over parts of five minor league seasons. Stevenson has never gotten much favor from prospect evaluators despite his plate discipline, largely because of limited power potential in his 5’9″ frame. Oakland will have a week to trade him or look to run him through waivers.

Bad Bunny And Noah Assad Launch Rimas Sports Agency

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Rimas Entertainment CEO Noah Assad, his client Bad Bunny and Rimas executive Jonathan Miranda have launched a sports management agency, per a report from Thania Garcia of Variety. MLB certified agent William Arroyo is working for Rimas, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post.

“We are thrilled to break into a new industry with the launch of Rimas Sports. In the music world we accomplished success by knowing how to develop talent, helping our clients reach their vision by catering to their unique needs,” said Assad in a statement. “This new venture is an expansion of that mission as we aim to bring greater representation to the Latin community in the world of sports.”

Bad Bunny is already well known on account of his music career, where he has been represented by Rimas for many years. He’s also clearly a baseball fan, as he took part in the Celebrity Softball Game during last year’s All-Star festivities, as covered by Daniel Kreps of Rolling Stone. Now he will get involved in baseball in a different way, with he and Rimas getting into the agency side of things.

Per Garcia’s report, Miranda will serve as president of the agency, which will offer a wide range of services from agent management to public relations and more. Former big leaguer and Hall of Famer Iván Rodríguez is involved as an ambassador.

They seem to have already inked a number of major and minor leaguers, with Garcia’s report listing the following players as being part of the Rimas roster:

Heyman says that Fernando Tatis Jr. has employed Rimas for marketing but will retain Dan Lozano of MVP Sports Group as his agent for baseball purposes.

Injury Notes: Cueto, Kelly, Acevedo

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Right-hander Johnny Cueto departed his first outing for the Marlins after recording just three outs and was later placed on the 15-day injured list with biceps tightness. The club hasn’t provided any updates on his expected return timeline but Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald provided a pessimistic update this week, reporting that Cueto could be out of action for several weeks.

That still doesn’t provide much clarity, though it does at least indicate that the 37-year-old Cueto seems ticketed for more than a minimum stay on the IL. That’s a frustrating development for the club, who just signed Cueto to a one-year, $8.5MM deal this offseason. It now seems possible that the veteran could miss a decent chunk of the campaign. He’s coming off a strong 2022 season, but injuries have had an impact on him in previous years. He only made 13 starts over 2018 and 2019 combined due to an ankle injury and Tommy John surgery. He then struggled in 2020 before having improved results over 2021 and 2022.

Without Cueto, the Marlins should still have a good rotation consisting of Sandy Alcantara, Edward Cabrera, Jesús Luzardo, Trevor Rogers and Braxton Garrett, though the depth will be weaker as long as Cueto is out of the picture. The club has a $10.5MM option for his services in 2024 that comes with a $2.5MM buyout. How they feel about that net $8MM decision will surely be impacted by when he returns and how effective he looks at that point.

Some other injury notes from around the league…

  • The Red Sox announced earlier today that they recalled right-hander Kutter Crawford while placing fellow righty Zack Kelly on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation. Chris Cotillo of MassLive reported on the moves prior to the official announcement. Kelly was removed from yesterday’s game in obvious distress, both physical and emotional, alternating between grabbing at his elbow area and hiding his face in his hands. “Definitely emotional for two reasons,” Kelly said to Cotillo after the game. “One, because I care. I care about this game, these guys and I enjoy doing this. Two, just all the s*** I went through to get here. It’s just a lot. Whenever something like that happens, you get emotional about it.” Kelly, 28, was an undrafted free agent who toiled away in the minors for many years before finally reaching the big leagues last year. He posted a 3.95 ERA over 13 appearances in 2022 and had a 3.68 mark through six games here in 2023. More information will surely come after Kelly and the club do further testing, but it’s a concerning development for a guy who has obviously walked a long road to make it to the big leagues.
  • The Athletics placed right-hander Domingo Acevedo on the 15-day injured list yesterday. It seems it was an unfortunate freak accident that led to this move, as manager Mark Kotsay told Joe Trezza of MLB.com that Acevedo slipped walking into the dugout on Monday and suffered a left back strain. It’s unclear how long he will be out of action, but the issue is significant enough that Acevedo underwent an MRI, with those results still not publicly known. The 29-year-old righty had a solid season last year, posting a 3.33 ERA over 70 appearances for the A’s, striking out 21.8% of opponents while walking just 6.4%. He has a 13.50 ERA this year, but in a small sample of just five appearances. His return to action will become more clear once the club gets a chance to examine his MRI results.

Rule 5 Draft Update: April 2023

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Fifteen players were selected in the 2022 Rule 5 Draft — an annual avenue for teams to potentially acquire talent from other organizations whose decision-makers did not place them on the 40-man roster. For those unfamiliar, in order to be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft, a player must not be on his team’s 40-man roster and must have played in either parts of five professional seasons (if they signed at 18 or younger) or four professional seasons (if they signed at 19 or older). The deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 by selecting their contracts to the 40-man roster typically falls in mid-November and spurs a good deal of player movement as teams jettison borderline players and non-tender candidates from their roster in order to protect younger prospects.

A player who is selected in the Rule 5 Draft must spend the entire subsequent season on his new club’s Major League roster and cannot be optioned to the minors. The player can technically spend time on the injured list as well, but at least 90 days must be spent on the active roster. If not, the player’s Rule 5 status rolls into the following season until 90 days on the active roster have been accrued. If a team at any point decides it can no longer carry a Rule 5 selection, that player must be passed through waivers and subsequently offered back to his original organization. Any other club can claim the player via waivers, but the same Rule 5 restrictions will apply to the claiming team.

Broadly speaking, the Rule 5 Draft rarely produces impact players. There are plenty of exceptions over the years, though, with names like Johan Santana, Dan Uggla, Shane Victorino, Joakim Soria, Josh Hamilton and, more recently, Garrett Whitlock and Trevor Stephan thriving in new organizations. The Rule 5 Draft dates back more than a century and has even produced a handful of Hall of Famers: Roberto Clemente, Hack Wilson and Christy Mathewson.

It’s unlikely we’ll see any Cooperstown-bound players come from this year’s crop, but the teams who opted to select a player will be content if any of these names become a viable reliever or role player for the next several seasons. Here’s a look at this year’s group of 15 Rule 5 players and where they stand a couple of weeks into the 2023 season. We’ll do a few of these throughout the season, keeping tabs on which players survive the season and formally have their long-term rights transferred to their new clubs.

Currently on a Major League Roster

  • Thaddeus Ward, RHP (Nationals, from the Red Sox): Ward was one of Boston’s best prospects a few years back but went the better part of two years without pitching due to the canceled 2020 minor league season and Tommy John surgery in 2021. He impressed in 51 minor league frames in his 2022 return, and many Red Sox fans were irked not to see him protected last November. The Nats selected him with the top pick in the Rule 5, and after a solid spring he’s tossed 5 2/3 innings and allowed three runs on four hits and a couple of walks. Ward is averaging 94.3 mph with his heater and has fanned seven of his 23 opponents (30.4%). The Nats are the exact type of rebuilding team that can afford to carry a player all season even if he struggles, so it’s quite likely that Ward will spend the year in their bullpen — and potentially get a look in the rotation sometime down the road.
  • Ryan Noda, 1B/OF (Athletics, from the Dodgers): Like the Nats, the A’s aren’t going anywhere this season, so there’s every incentive for them to give Noda a long audition. The 27-year-old slugger hit .259/.395/.474 in Triple-A last season, and while he fanned in 28.2% of his plate appearances he also walked at a gaudy 16% clip. It’s been more of the same with the A’s. He walked 11 times but fanned on 26 occasions in 69 spring plate appearances. So far in the regular season, he’s belted a pair of homers, drawn seven walks and whiffed a dozen times in 37 A’s plate appearances. The A’s aren’t ones to shy away from a three-true-outcomes skill set, and they’ll see if Noda can do the Jack Cust dance for them moving forward.
  • Jose Hernandez, LHP (Pirates, from the Dodgers): A rocky spring didn’t dissuade the Pirates from carrying Hernandez on their Opening Day roster, and so far it seems wise that they looked past that 8.18 Grapefruit League ERA. In 5 1/3 frames, Hernandez has held opponents to one run on five hits and a walk with four strikeouts. He’s averaged 96 mph on his heater. The 25-year-old Hernandez used that power fastball and a sharp slider to fan nearly 30% of his opponents in Double-A last year, and the Bucs are currently trusting him as one of two lefties in Derek Shelton’s bullpen. He’s already picked up his first big league hold.
  • Blake Sabol, C/OF (Giants, from the Pirates): Sabol was technically selected by the Reds with the fourth pick in the draft, but Cincinnati and San Francisco had an agreed-upon deal sending Sabol to the Giants for a player to be named later. (Such swaps are common in the Rule 5 Draft.) The 25-year-old Sabol split the 2022 season between Double-A and Triple-A in Pittsburgh, batting a combined .284/.363/.497 with 66 games behind the dish and another 22 in the outfield. A monster spring showing (.348/.475/.630) and an injury to Mitch Haniger set the stage for Sabol to open the season in left field for the Giants. He’s hitting just .194/.265/.290 through his first 10 games and has split time between catcher and outfield pretty evenly. If the Giants feel he can legitimately play both spots, that’s just the type of versatility they crave when constructing their roster.
  • Mason Englert, RHP (Tigers, from the Rangers): Englert isn’t a power arm but had a strong showing in the Rangers’ High-A and (briefly) Double-A rotations in 2022, when he pitched to a combined 3.64 ERA in 118 2/3 innings. The Tigers have used him out of the bullpen so far, and the results haven’t been great. He’s surrendered six runs in just 7 1/3 innings, including a trio of long balls. Englert was a 2018 fourth-rounder who’s generally regarded as a potential back-of-the-rotation starter. It’s feasible Detroit could get him a look in a starting role at some point. Englert entered the 2023 season with just 15 1/3 innings above A-ball, so some struggles aren’t exactly surprising.
  • Kevin Kelly, RHP (Rays, from the Guardians): In a shocking and unprecedented development, the Rays look like they’ve plucked a pitcher from obscurity and perhaps found a keeper. Small sample caveats abound this time of season, but Kelly has now made four relief appearances of at least two innings (including today’s game) and yielded three runs on eight hits and no walks with seven punchouts. That comes on the heels of a 3.38 ERA and 21-to-6 K/BB ratio in 13 1/3 spring innings. The Guardians have a deep farm system and perennial 40-man crunch, which can lead to players like this going unprotected; Kelly posted a 2.04 ERA, 29.9% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate in 57 1/3 frames between Double-A and Triple-A last year.
  • Gus Varland, RHP (Brewers, from the Dodgers): The Brewers looked past Varland’s woeful 5.98 ERA in Double-A across the past two seasons, betting on the right-hander’s raw stuff rather than his results. So far, so good. Varland obliterated opposing hitters in spring training, whiffing a comical 17 of the 35 batters he faced (48.6%). So far during the regular season, he’s allowed a pair of runs on eight hits and two walks with four strikeouts through six innings out of the bullpen. Varland is averaging 95.9 mph on his fastball and has kept 11 of the 22 balls in play against him on the ground.

On the Major League Injured List

  • Nic Enright, RHP (Marlins, from the Guardians): Enright announced in February that just weeks after being selected in the Rule 5 Draft, doctors diagnosed him with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He’s undergoing treatment and has said he hopes to “use his platform to provide hope and inspiration to others who fight their battle with cancer.” Enright is currently on Miami’s 60-day injured list, but baseball of course takes a back seat in this type of instance. We at MLBTR join fans of the Marlins, Guardians and every other organization in pulling for the 26-year-old Enright and wishing him a full recovery.
  • Noah Song, RHP (Phillies, from the Red Sox): Ranked as the No. 65 prospect in the 2019 draft by Baseball America, Song slid to the Red Sox in the fourth round due to his military commitments as a Naval Academy cadet. His professional experience is limited to 17 Low-A innings in 2019 while spending the past three seasons in the Navy but was transferred from active duty to selective reserves earlier this year, allowing him to play baseball. He’s on the Phillies’ 15-day injured list with a back strain, and it’s tough to imagine him just diving into a Major League bullpen after spending three years away from the game. Still, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski held that same title in Boston when the Red Sox drafted Song and has said since the Rule 5 Draft that he feels Song’s pure talent is worth the risk.
  • Wilking Rodriguez, RHP (Cardinals, from the Yankees): The 33-year-old Rodriguez is a remarkable story. It’s been eight years since he last pitched in affiliated ball and nine years since his lone MLB cup of coffee with the Royals. Since then, he’s been a staple in the Venezuelan Winter League and the Mexican League. During his past two seasons in Mexico, he hurled 73 innings with a 2.71 ERA — including 44 2/3 innings of 2.01 ERA ball with a 43.2% strikeout rate there in 2022. The Yankees signed him to a minor league deal in August, but because of his prior minor league experience from 2007-15, he was Rule 5-eligible and selected by the Cardinals. A right shoulder issue has Rodriguez on the 15-day IL right now. He’s yet to pitch for the Cardinals this year.

Already Returned to their Former Club

  • Nick Avila, RHP: Avila allowed eight runs in ten spring innings with the White Sox and was returned to the Giants, for whom he posted an electric 1.14 ERA in 55 1/3 innings between High-A and Double-A last season.
  • Andrew Politi, RHP: Politi was tagged for six runs on nine hits and three walks in 8 2/3 spring innings with the Orioles, who returned him to the Red Sox late in camp.
  • Jose Lopez, LHP: Lopez walked five batters in six frames with the Padres this spring, and the Friars returned him to the Rays on March 27.
  • Chris Clarke, RHP: The towering 6’7″ Clarke faced the tough task of cracking a deep Mariners bullpen and was returned to the Cubs late in spring training after allowing four runs on eight hits and a pair of walks in 6 2/3 innings.
  • Zach Greene, RHP: The Mets plucked Greene out of the Yankees’ system, but in 4 2/3 innings during spring training he yielded seven runs with more walks (six) than strikeouts (five). The Mets returned him to the Yankees on March 14.

Athletics Claim Richard Lovelady From Braves

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The Athletics announced that they have claimed left-hander Richard Lovelady off waivers from the Braves and assigned him to Triple-A Las Vegas. To open a spot on the 40-man roster, right-hander Freddy Tarnok was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

There had been no public indication that Atlanta had made any kind of roster move with Lovelady, but they evidently tried to pass him through waivers at some point in recent days. Since the A’s swooped in to grab him, Atlanta’s 40-man count will drop to 39 as they also lose a bit of optionable bullpen depth. They liked the lefty enough to acquire him just a couple weeks ago by sending cash considerations to Kansas City but will now see him move out west.

For the A’s, they are adding an intriguing southpaw arm to the roster. Lovelady, 27, struggled in his first major league action but seemed to take a step forward in 2021. He posted a 3.48 ERA in 20 appearances for the Royals, striking out 27.4% of batters faced with a 7.1% walk rate and 56.6% ground ball rate. Unfortunately, he required Tommy John surgery in September of that year. The Royals then non-tendered him but re-signed him on a minor league deal.

He returned to health and made a couple of minor league appearances late last year, which encouraged the Royals enough to add him back to their roster in November to prevent him from reaching minor league free agency. But when faced with a roster crunch around Opening Day, they flipped Lovelady to Atlanta for cash. He’s made four appearances for Triple-A Gwinnett this year with a 7.20 ERA in that small sample.

Lovelady is in his final option year, which will mean the A’s can potentially keep him stashed in the minors for the rest of the year, though it’s possible he gets back to the majors by performing well or simply due to the club needing a fresh arm. The rebuilding club has a bullpen that’s light on experience and also light on lefties, with Sam Moll the only southpaw currently in the big league bullpen.

As for Tarnok, he was acquired from Atlanta in the Sean Murphy trade this winter but began the season on the injured list due to a strained right shoulder. It’s unclear how long he’ll be out of action but he’ll now be ineligible to return until 60 days from his initial IL placement, which would be late May.

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