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Dodgers Select Kyle Hurt

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5:48pm: Los Angeles has officially announced Hurt’s promotion. Victor Gonzalez was optioned in a corresponding move. To create space on the 40-man roster, L.A. transferred Varland to the 60-day injured list. His season is over because of a knee issue.

12:43pm: The Dodgers are planning to select the contract of right-hander Kyle Hurt, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan. He’s started 16 games in the minors this year (plus another nine relief outings) but will work primarily out of the bullpen in Los Angeles.

Hurt, 25, was a fifth-round pick by the Marlins in 2020 who went to Los Angeles alongside lefty Alex Vesia in a trade that sent Dylan Floro from L.A. to Miami. The 6’3″, 240-pound righty posted fairly nondescript numbers in his first two professional seasons but has put himself on the prospect map in 2023 with 88 1/3 innings of 3.87 ERA ball and, more interestingly, a ridiculous 39% strikeout rate between Double-A and Triple-A. As is often the case, that ability to miss bats at an elite level is accompanied by some shaky command (11% walk rate). Still, Hurt’s strikeout rate is the highest among the 613 minor league pitchers with at least 70 innings so far in 2023.

To his credit, Hurt has tamped down that walk rate a bit since moving up the minor league ladder. After walking 11.8% of his opponents in Double-A this year, he’s issued walks at a much tidier 8.6% clip in 23 1/3 Triple-A frames. He’s also seen his ground-ball rate jump from 44.2% in Double-A to 52.1% in Triple-A.

As a college arm (USC) who was drafted in 2020, Hurt was a lock to be added to the Dodgers’ 40-man roster this winter, as opting not to do so would’ve left him eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. The Dodgers were never going to leave an arm capable of missing bats at this level unprotected, so one way or another, his contract would’ve been selected sooner than later. They’ll opt to take a look at Hurt down the stretch and evaluate him for a possible role in the postseason bullpen. While Hurt wasn’t on the 40-man roster at the time the postseason eligibility deadline passed back on Sept. 1, he can be added to the roster as a replacement for any number of injured Dodgers, by virtue of the fact that he was at least in the organization prior to Sept. 1.

The Dodgers have a staggering ten relievers currently on the 15-day or 60-day injured list. Each of Yency Almonte, Tyler Cyr, J.P. Feyereisen, Daniel Hudson, Joe Kelly, Jimmy Nelson, Alex Reyes, Wander Suero, Blake Treinen and Gus Varland is currently shelved with an injury. They’ve patched things together with a characteristic hodgepodge of little-known names and veteran reclamation projects, getting key innings from waiver-wire closer Evan Phillips, minor league signee Ryan Brasier and resurgent veteran Shelby Miller — among others. Hurt will join that group and vie for a spot in the playoff bullpen with a big showing in the season’s final three weeks.

Oneil Cruz Won’t Return This Season

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Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz won’t be able to return to the club this season, manager Derek Shelton said on his 93.7 The Fan radio show, as relayed by Alex Stumpf of DK Pittsburgh Sports. Cruz has been been on the injured list since April and hoped to return before season’s end, but it seems that won’t happen.

It’s hardly a shocking development, as it was reported last month that Cruz had “plateaued” in his rehab. He was still experiencing soreness in his leg at that time and had been shut down for seven to 10 days already. A few weeks have gone by since then but the end of the season is drawing nigh and the Bucs are out of contention, making it sensible to focus on next year.

Though not surprising, the news is surely still disappointing to Cruz, the club and its fans. It was hoped that 2023 would be the year Cruz answered questions about his long-term path forward. But in just his ninth game of the season, he collided with catcher Seby Zavala of the White Sox while attempting to score and suffered a left ankle fracture that required surgery. The club provided an estimated four-month timeline on his return to action but it seems things haven’t been able to follow that plan.

The Pirates will now go into 2024 with the same questions they had coming into this year, and perhaps more. Cruz has showcased elite tools in his time in the big leagues, with his exit velocity, arm strength and sprint speed all featuring at or near the top of league leaderboards. But there were also reasons for hesitation. He struck out in 34.9% of his plate appearances last year, a mark that only Joey Gallo and Chris Taylor topped, among those with at least 350 plate appearances.

There have also long been questions about whether he can actually stick at shortstop, as no one with his 6’7″ frame has ever done it before. He was given a +1 grade from Defensive Runs Saved last year but Ultimate Zone Rating had him at -7.5 and Outs Above Average at -9.

Ideally, 2023 would have been a chance for him to show progress in those areas and convince the Bucs that he is their franchise shortstop going forward. Or even in the scenario where he didn’t progress, it would at least give them the information that they needed to start getting him time at other positions and find other solutions for the position. Instead, it’s been essentially a lost season, with Cruz sitting out the vast majority of it. The club sprinkled the shortstop playing time to various other players without any of them doing anything to cement themselves at the position.

Those questions around Cruz’s long-term fit will now linger, with the added uncertainty of how his ankle will heal. Perhaps more rest over the winter and a normal Spring Training will get everything back on track for next year, but his inability to get healthy on the expected timeline this year is at least somewhat concerning.

Although the Pirates showed signs of life early in the year, they ultimately fell out of contention and are in fourth place in the National League Central. With still many question marks around the roster, perhaps the club can still give him the chance to prove himself that he didn’t get here this year. But they will have to make a pivot towards contention at some point, which will eventually force some kind of decision on Cruz.

Marlins Designate Daniel Castano For Assignment

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The Marlins have designated left-hander Daniel Castano for assignment, per Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. Left-hander Josh Simpson has been recalled to take his place on the roster and will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.

Castano, 28, was outrighted off Miami’s roster in the offseason but selected back onto it in April. He was outrighted again in June and could have elected free agency but decided to stay in the organization. He got added back to the roster on the weekend but has now been bumped off yet again.

Around those transactions, Castano has made just two appearances in the majors this year, allowing seven earned runs in three innings. He’s spent most of his time in Triple-A, tossing 57 2/3 innings at that level with a 4.06 earned run average, 22.4% strikeout rate, 8.9% walk rate and 45.4% ground ball rate.

The Marlins will place Castano back on waivers in the coming days and it’s possible the same sequence of events plays out as earlier in the year, with Castano clearing and then accepting an outright assignment, though that will be determined in due time.

As for Simpson, now 26, he was a 32nd round selection of the Marlins in the 2019 draft. Last year, he split his time between Double-A and Triple-A with a combined 3.97 ERA in 68 innings, walking 12.4% of batters but with a massive 40.7% strikeout rate. That got him added to the 40-man roster in November, to prevent him from being available in the Rule 5 draft.

Here in 2023, he’s mostly been in Triple-A, carrying over a similar profile. He has struck out 37.9% of batters faced in his 32 innings for Jacksonville but also given out walks at a 15.2% rate, leading to an ERA of 4.50 at that level this year. Despite the obvious control issues, the Marlins will bump him up to the majors to see how his stuff plays against big league hitters.

Padres Place Rich Hill On Waivers

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The Padres have placed veteran lefty Rich Hill on waivers, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. They’ll see if another team wants to claim southpaw — and the remaining $817K on this year’s $8MM salary in the process. If Hill goes unclaimed, he can remain with the Padres. They don’t have to outright him to a minor league affiliate.

Hill, 43, was acquired from the Pirates alongside Ji Man Choi prior to the trade deadline but hasn’t performed as hoped. In seven appearances with the Friars, he’s logged a 9.27 ERA, yielding 23 runs over the life of 22 1/3 innings. He was far more serviceable in Pittsburgh, where he logged a 4.76 ERA in 119 frames over the season’s first three months. Hill isn’t missing bats like he used to, with a below-average 19.6% strikeout rate against a slightly higher-than-average 8.9% walk rate.

It hasn’t been Hill’s best season, but he’s only a year removed from starting 26 games for the Red Sox and turning in a 4.27 earned run average with a slightly improved 20.7% strikeout rate and a sharp 7% walk rate. He wouldn’t be postseason-eligible with a new team, as players are required to be in their organization prior to Sept. 1 in order to qualify for that distinction. Still, a team in need of some innings down the stretch could certainly look to Hill as a veteran stopgap. He’s also voiced a desire to continue his career into 2024 — his age-44 season — so a quick stint elsewhere in the season’s final three weeks could serve as an audition of sorts for next year.

Hill’s recent performance and remaining salary give him a good chance at passing through waivers. However, if a team were to claim him, he’d have the potential to make some anecdotal history. The Padres are the 13th team of Hill’s career, placing him one shy of Edwin Jackson’s oddball record of 14 teams. If a new team claims Hill, he could tie Jackson’s mark and perhaps pass it this offseason, though that’s surely not of great consequence to him. (Immaculate Grid players, on the other hand, would surely welcome the record.)

In 379 career games dating all the way back to 2005, Hill has pitched 1400 1/3 innings, logging an overall 4.01 ERA with an 89-73 record, 23.9% strikeout rate and 9.1% walk rate. A new team and a potential offseason deal to come back for a 20th Major League season would give him a chance at topping 1500 innings and 100 wins in a career that’s been as lengthy as it has unusual.

Mariners Select Luis Torrens

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The Mariners announced that they have selected the contract of catcher Luis Torrens, with fellow backstop Brian O’Keefe placed on the paternity list in a corresponding move. There was already a vacancy on their 40-man roster.

Seattle was operating with Tom Murphy as its backup to Cal Raleigh for much of the year, but Murphy landed on the injured list in August due to a thumb issue, which bumped O’Keefe into the job. It was reported earlier today that Murphy’s injury, initially reported as a displaced tendon, was actually revealed to be a fracture once the swelling subsided. He’s been shut down from baseball activities for the next 10 days and may not be able to return to the team this year.

Now with O’Keefe leaving the club for a few days, that has bumped Torrens up to the big league club. Torrens was signed to a minor league deal in August to provide some extra depth after Murphy’s injury and O’Keefe’s promotion. He’s been wearing many jerseys this season, having signed a minor league deal with the Cubs in the offseason and cracking that club’s Opening Day roster. But he was designated for assignment about a month into the season and traded to the Orioles for cash. But he got the DFA treatment again less than a week later, eventually clearing waivers before electing free agency and signing another minors deal with the Nationals. After about six weeks without getting promoted to the big leagues, he opted out of that deal, which allowed him to sign with the M’s.

Amid all of those transactions, he hit .250/.318/.300 in 22 big league plate appearances and .244/.295/.442 in 95 trips to the plate in the minors. He’s generally considered to be a bat-first catcher, which he showed with the Mariners in 2021. He hit 15 home runs in 378 plate appearances that year but his 26.2% strikeout rate has ticked up since. It climbed to 30.1% last year and 36.4% this year, leading to his nomadic trip around the league.

He’ll now get another shot at the big leagues, which may be brief, depending on what happens when O’Keefe comes back. The latter has options and could be sent down to the minors in order to preserve depth, though Torrens is out of options. It’s also possible the club keeps three catchers for the stretch run, with expanded rosters giving them a bit more roster flexibility. If Torrens hangs onto his roster spot, he can be retained via arbitration for three more seasons.

Reds Designate Chasen Shreve For Assignment

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The Reds announced today that left-hander Brandon Williamson has been activated from the COVID-19 injured list, with fellow lefty Chasen Shreve designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Shreve, 33, signed a minor league deal with the Tigers in the offseason and cracked that club’s Opening Day roster. He posted a 4.79 earned run average over 47 appearances before getting released in August as that team began giving opportunities to younger players.

He landed with the Reds on a minors deal and was one of many pitchers recently ushered to the majors as the club dealt with a COVID outbreak. Over the past couple of weeks, five pitchers and one position player have been placed on the COVID IL, necessitating frequent roster moves as the club tried to continually bring in fresh arms. Shreve pitched 3 1/3 innings for Cincinnati since being added to the roster, allowing one earned run in that time. But as the affected players have been returning to the roster of late, Shreve has now been nudged out.

With the trade deadline long gone, the Reds will place Shreve on waivers in the coming days. If he were to pass through unclaimed, he would have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency. However, since it’s after September 1, he would not have postseason eligibility with any new club he joins. The Reds are within two games of the final Wild Card spot in the National League, so perhaps that gives Shreve incentive to stick around and hope for a shot at postseason play.

It’s also possible that he garners attention on waivers, based on his track record. His combined 4.63 ERA on the year isn’t especially impressive but his 23.3% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate are both solid. He has a career ERA of 3.97 over 367 career appearances. The Tigers are on the hook for what’s left of his salary, meaning a claiming club would only have to pay him the prorated version of the league minimum for any time spent on the roster.

Yankees Claim Luke Weaver From Mariners

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The Yankees have claimed right-hander Luke Weaver off waivers from the Mariners, per announcements from both clubs. Weaver had recently been designated for assignment by the M’s. Lefty Nestor Cortes was transferred to the 60-day injured list in order to open up a spot on the Yankees’ 40-man roster.

Weaver, 30, began the year with the Reds, signing with them in the offseason on a one-year contract worth $2MM. Although he had shown some encouraging signs working as a reliever in 2022, the Reds tried moving him back to a starting role this year, which didn’t work out. He tooks the ball 21 times for the Reds but posted a 6.87 earned run average in 97 innings, getting released in August.

The Mariners decided to take a shot on Weaver, signing him to their roster. That was a no-risk move from a financial perspective, since the Reds remained on the hook for what remained of his salary. He made five appearances for Seattle, four of them out of the bullpen. But he posted an ERA of 6.08 in that small sample and was designated for assignment on the weekend.

Despite his poor results this year, it’s understandable why the Yankees would grab him. The Reds are still on the hook for the bulk of what remains of his contract, meaning that the Yanks will only have to pay the prorated version of the $720K league minimum for any time spent on the roster. That amount will be subtracted from what the Reds pay.

The Yankees have been battling poor health on their pitching staff all year, a problem that has gotten worse of late. Each of Ian Hamilton, Keynan Middleton, Jonathan Loáisiga, Albert Abreu and Luis Severino have landed on the injured list in just the past two weeks, further thinning out a staff that was already fairly snakebit. The club now has a total of 11 pitchers on the injured list.

At this time of year, adding new players is a challenge since the trade deadline has already passed. But by claiming Weaver off waivers, the Yankees get a fresh arm for their banged-up pitching staff at essentially no cost.

Weaver’s career has been up and down but he has shown flashes of potential at times. He posted an ERA of 2.94 in 2019, though injuries limited him to just 12 starts that year and he’s been less effective in subsequent years. Working primarily as a reliever last year didn’t look great on the surface level, with a 6.56 ERA in 35 2/3 innings, though poor luck may have been involved. His batting average on balls in play was .429 while his strand rate was 58.6%, leading to a 2.69 FIP and 3.64 SIERA.

Weaver will be a free agent again at season’s end, but donning the pinstripes will possibly give him a chance to finish the season strong, while the Yankees can use him to help patch together their pitching staff and limp to the end of a lost year.

As for Cortes, he’s been dealing with a rotator cuff strain and manager Aaron Boone admitted last month that he likely wouldn’t be back this year. This move makes it official, as he now won’t be eligible to return until 60 days from his August 8 IL placement, which would push into October. He’ll finish the year with a 4.97 ERA, only able to make 12 starts due to multiple injuries.

Jose Siri Sustains Hand Fracture

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September 12: The Rays officially placed Siri on the IL today, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, recalling Curtis Mead in a corresponding move.

September 11: Rays center fielder Jose Siri suffered a fracture in his right hand during this evening’s win over the Twins, manager Kevin Cash told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). He’ll land on the 10-day injured list, though the Rays are hopeful he could return in around three weeks.

Siri was injured in the fifth inning when he was hit by a Dylan Floro pitch. He finished that half-inning but was subbed out for the following defensive frame. Vidal Bruján came into the game to play right field, pushing Josh Lowe over to center.

Lowe has spent the vast majority of his season in right but could move to center while Siri is sidelined. Luke Raley could move more frequently into right field, potentially clearing a path for Harold Ramírez and/or Jonathan Aranda to pick up a few extra at-bats at designated hitter. However the Rays play it, they’ll face a defensive downgrade.

Siri is one of the better defensive center fielders in the game. He consistently rates highly with the glove, with Statcast crediting him as nine runs above average over 830 2/3 innings entering play tonight. He’s a streaky offensive player but is amidst a respectable second full season at the big league level. Siri has rather quietly popped 25 home runs and is slugging .494 over 364 trips to the plate. A dismal strikeout/walk profile has led to him hitting .222 with a well below-average .267 on-base percentage, but he has rare power potential for an impact defensive outfielder.

The Rays are all but mathematically assured of a playoff spot. They’re three games behind the Orioles in the race for the AL East title (and likely the league’s top seed). Tracking down Baltimore was already an uphill battle and becomes a little more challenging with today’s news.

More notable is the possibility that Siri’s injury could linger into the postseason. The playoffs begin exactly three weeks from tomorrow. The club’s recovery timetable puts him right on the border of being ready by then, likely without the benefit of many lower-leverage at-bats to get back to game speed. It’s possible that Siri could miss a playoff round, especially if the Rays don’t track down Baltimore and therefore have to play in a Wild Card series instead of securing a first-round bye.

Yankees Select Zach McAllister

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The Yankees announced Tuesday that they’ve selected the contract of veteran righty Zach McAllister from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and placed right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his right elbow. Anthony Rizzo was transferred to the 60-day injured list to create space for McAllister on the 40-man roster. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported shortly before the team’s official announcement that McAllister was slated to be called up to the big leagues.

It’s the 35-year-old McAllister’s first big league stint since the 2018 season. Originally selected by the Yankees in the the third round of the 2006 draft, it’ll also be McAllister’s debut appearance with the organization that started his big league career. The Yankees traded McAllister to Cleveland in a 2010 swap that brought outfielder Austin Kearns back to the Bronx. He went onto become a solid arm both in the rotation and the bullpen, but McAllister’s peak proved brief.

From 2012-13, McAllister started 46 games and pitched 259 2/3 innings for the since-renamed Indians, logging a 3.99 ERA along the way. He struggled in 15 starts the following season but found new life after a move to the bullpen. From 2015-17, he was a key member of Terry Francona’s relief corps, compiling 183 1/3 frames of 2.99 ERA ball.

McAllister again got out to a rough start to begin the 2018 season and this time found himself cut loose by the only big league club he’d ever known. He briefly signed with his longtime division-rival Tigers late in that 2018 season but pitched just 3 1/3 innings while allowing eight runs. He hasn’t pitched in the Majors since.

Since that brief stint in Detroit, McAllister has quickly reached journeyman status. He’s inked minor league deals with the Dodgers (twice), Rangers, Phillies, Cardinals and Diamondbacks but never climbed back to the Majors with any of them. That hasn’t stopped him from continuing his efforts to grind his way back to the show, and he’ll finally get that opportunity after a half decade in the minors — with the team that originally drafted him 17 years ago.

Plenty has gone wrong for the Yankees’ this year, but McAllister’s promotion was well-earned even when setting aside Loaisiga’s unfortunate injury. Since signing with the Yankees earlier this summer, he’s pitched 16 2/3 innings with the RailRiders, recording a pristine 1.62 ERA with a 20-to-4 K/BB ratio (33.3% strikeout rate, 6.7% walk rate). He’ll be a free agent again at season’s end and won’t be pitching for a postseason contender, but that won’t make the return to the Majors any less sweet for him after a lengthy, half-decade odyssey around the minor league circuit.

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