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The Opener: Pepiot, Thomas, Red Sox, MLBTR Chat

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With more than 20% of the 2024 season in the books, here are four things we’ll be keeping an eye on throughout the day today:

1. Pepiot to the IL?

Rays right-hander Ryan Pepiot was struck in the leg by a pitch during the third inning of his start against the Mets over the weekend, and while both initial x-rays were negative and a follow-up CT scan did not reveal a fracture, manager Kevin Cash told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) last night that the right-hander is still likely to require a trip to the injured list. It’s an unfortunate turn of events for the Rays, as Pepiot had carried a strong 3.12 ERA and 3.32 FIP into his abbreviated start over the weekend and had established himself as a reliable arm in the club’s rotation since joining the Rays in the Tyler Glasnow trade this past winter.

Left-hander Jacob Lopez is the only pitcher on the 40-man roster to be drawing starts at the Triple- A level, but he’s struggled badly in both the major and minor leagues this season. If the club doesn’t want to insert Lopez into the rotation while Pepiot is out, former top prospect Brendan McKay could be an option after performing excellently across five starts at the Double-A level this season. Of course, the Rays could also simply rely on their bullpen to cover the innings lost from Pepiot’s injury, as they frequently have in the past when short on starting pitching.

2. Thomas to undergo MRI:

Diamondbacks center fielder Alek Thomas “felt a little something” in his hamstring over the weekend and took Monday off to try and avoid the issue worsening, manager Torey Lovullo told reporters (including MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert), but upon returning to baseball activity yesterday Thomas still didn’t feel completely normal. As a result, Arizona brass decided to send the 24-year-old for an MRI to further evaluate the situation. Thomas appeared in just four games this season before going on the injured list at the end of March due to a strained hamstring.

While Corbin Carroll has performed well defensively in center field and Jake McCarthy has hit well in Thomas’s stead, a notable setback would still be a costly hit to the team’s depth. A delayed return from Thomas, who’s played just four games this season, puts off a tricky decision on how to handle the outfield mix going forward. Carroll and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. entered the season as the clear starters at the outfield corners but both have struggled to this point — Gurriel has faded after a blistering start — while McCarthy has excelled despite opening the season in a bench role.

3. Red Sox to shuffle roster:

A handful of roster moves are expected for the Red Sox later today, headlined by the return of right-hander Nick Pivetta from the injured list. Also returning from the injured list is utility infielder Romy Gonzalez, with righty Naoyuki Uwasawa headed to Triple-A and infielder Zack Short poised to be designated for assignment in the corresponding moves.

Pivetta’s return to the rotation comes as the Red Sox are set to face longtime ace Chris Sale in Atlanta for the first time since he was swapped to the Braves in exchange for infielder Vaughn Grissom. While Grissom has only just returned from the injured list after being sidelined by groin and hamstring issues to this point in the season, Sale has enjoyed a renaissance with the Braves as he’s posted a solid 3.44 ERA with an even better 3.01 FIP across six starts. He’ll toe the rubber opposite Pivetta at 7:20pm local time this evening.

4. MLBTR Chat Today:

The 2024 season is now in full swing, and two teams recently got a head start on trade season with the Luis Arraez trade. If you have questions regarding your favorite club’s start to the campaign, or perhaps questions that look ahead to this summer’s trade deadline and the 2024-25 offseason, MLBTR’s Steve Adams will host a live chat with readers today at 1pm CT. You can click here to ask a question in advance, and that same link will allow you to join in on the chat once it begins or read the transcript after it is completed.

Cubs Acquire Jake Wong From Reds

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The Cubs acquired minor league right-hander Jake Wong from the Reds late last week, according to the transaction log at MLB.com. He is not on the 40-man roster. The 27-year-old made his organizational debut with Double-A Tennessee.

Wong entered the professional ranks as a third-round pick of the Giants in 2018. Cincinnati acquired him as the player to be named later in an offseason trade that sent Rule 5 pick Blake Sabol to San Francisco. The Reds called Wong up for one appearance at the end of June. He allowed three runs in as many innings working in relief against the Orioles. Cincinnati outrighted him off the 40-man roster not long after.

The Grand Canyon product struggled in the upper levels of the minors with Cincinnati. Wong pitched to a 5.17 ERA over 47 Double-A frames. He had a particularly tough time in Triple-A, where he allowed more than a run per inning while walking more hitters (18.1%) than he struck out (12.8%). That’s a season he’ll obviously look to put behind him. Wong had better numbers in High-A while a member of the San Francisco organization back in 2022, turning in a 4.52 ERA while punching out more than a quarter of opposing hitters.

Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Heat Check: National League

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Every week, Nicklaus Gaut writes a fantasy baseball article for Trade Rumors Front Office.  Here's his latest...

Hello friends.

Well, we covered the American league bullpen situations last week so proper order dictates we slide on over to the National League for this week's musing. So let's run it back, checking on each team's closing situations as well as looking for notable backups, dark horses, and best options for those fishing for Holds.

But before we head over to the senior circuit, let's update a couple of situations that have seen movement since last we spoke.

Minnesota Twins Update

What we said then: "Duran should slide back into his closer role."

What actually happened: Duran immediately racked two Saves in his first two appearances but two Holds in his last two, with Cole Sands getting the Save in one, and Caleb Thielbar in the other.

Duran was brought in to face Tyler O'Neill, Wilyer Abreu, and Connor Wong with a two-run lead in the eighth on Saturday, and Sands cleaned up in the ninth. On Monday night, Griffin Jax pitched the seventh and allowed the tying run, with Duran out for the eighth to face Dylan Moore, Josh Rojas, and Julio Rodriguez after the Twins gave him a two-run lead in the top. Lefty Caleb Thielbar then came in to finish out the ninth.

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Marlins Place Xavier Edwards On 60-Day Injured List

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The Marlins reinstated reliever Huascar Brazoban from the restricted list this evening. The Dominican-born righty was out of action for the first six weeks after visa issues delayed his arrival to Spring Training. Miami optioned him to Triple-A but needed to reinstall him onto the 40-man roster. To create space, the Fish moved infielder Xavier Edwards from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list. Miami also optioned Roddery Muñoz and recalled George Soriano before tonight’s game in Los Angeles.

Edwards, acquired from the Rays a couple years ago, has yet to make his season debut. He opened the season on the IL after battling a foot infection during Spring Training. According to the MLB.com injury tracker, Edwards has been gradually progressing through baseball activities at the team’s complex in Jupiter. There’s no indication of when he might go on a rehab assignment.

The 60-day minimum reverts to the date of the original IL placement, three days before Opening Day. Edwards won’t be eligible to return until the final week of May, although it doesn’t seem likely he’ll be ready by then anyhow. The 24-year-old appeared in 30 games for Miami as a rookie. He hit .295 but didn’t draw many walks or hit for any kind of power.

Edwards is coming off an excellent season in Triple-A, as he turned in a .351/.429/.457 batting line with nearly twice as many walks as strikeouts over 433 plate appearances. Once he’s healthy, he should have a decent path to regular playing time on a rebuilding team that just subtracted Luis Arraez from the infield.

Phillies Acquire Tyler Gilbert From Reds

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The Phillies have acquired left-hander Tyler Gilbert from the Reds, reports Matt Gelb of The Athletic on X. Since Gelb uses the word “purchased,” it seems the Reds will receive cash considerations in return. The southpaw wasn’t on the Reds’ 40-man roster and therefore won’t need a roster spot with the Phillies.

Gilbert, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Reds in the offseason. He has made seven appearances, three of them starts, logging 11 2/3 innings. He has an awful earned run average of 13.11 so far, though that’s obviously a tiny sample and there are some other numbers that are more favorable.

The lefty has a massive .545 batting average on balls in play so far and 43.3% strand rate, both of which are unsustainably unlucky. His 20.6% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rate are close to average and he hasn’t allowed a home run yet this year, so his FIP is actually 2.94 in his brief 2024 showing. Regardless, it seems the Reds are willing to move on take the cash while letting the Phils take a chance on him.

Gilbert has 91 2/3 innings of major league experience, working as a swingman with the Diamondbacks over the previous three seasons, famously throwing a no-hitter in his first career start. He currently sports a 4.32 ERA in his career, with a 17.1% strikeout rate and 7.5% walk rate. He was outrighted by the Snakes at the end of last year, which led to his minor league deal with the Reds.

The Phillies don’t really need starting depth in the short-term. Taijuan Walker recently returned from the injured list, which bumped Spencer Turnbull to the bullpen despite having a 1.67 ERA on the year. The rest of the rotation consists of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez. There’s also Max Castillo, who is on the 40-man roster and starting in Triple-A. Prospect Mick Abel isn’t yet on the roster but is also starting at the Triple-A level. Andrew Painter could be rehabbing at some point later this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in July of last year.

But pitching depth can often be thinned out in a hurry, which is why there’s the old saw that you can never have too much. It’s also possible that the Phils may envision Gilbert focusing more on relief work as a way to unlock another gear with him. If he cracks the roster at any point, he still has one option year remaining and less than two years of service time.

Yankees Outright Taylor Trammell

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The Yankees announced that outfielder Taylor Trammell has been sent outright to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment on the weekend.

Trammell, now 26, was once a highly-touted prospect. He was selected 35th overall by the Reds in 2016 and cracked Baseball America’s top 100 list in three straight years from 2018 to 2020. He was traded to the Padres in the 2019 deal that sent Trevor Bauer to the Reds and Yasiel Puig to Cleveland, then was flipped to the Mariners in the 2020 deal that also sent Ty France and Andrés Muñoz to Seattle.

Along the way, Trammell has continued to perform well in the minors but has struggled whenever given opportunities in the big leagues. He has 359 major league plate appearances over the four most recent seasons, but has hit just .167/.270/.363 in that time. His 11.1% walk rate in that stretch is quite strong, but he’s also been punched out at a huge 37% clip.

Since the start of 2021, he stepped to the plate 812 times at the Triple-A level, with a 14% walk rate and 24% strikeout rate. He hit 38 home runs and produced a combined batting line of .274/.381/.506 for a wRC+ of 116.

He exhausted his three option years from 2021 to 2023 as he struggled in the majors, continually getting sent back down to the minors. That left him out of options here in 2024, but the past prospect pedigree and strong minor league numbers still led to interest from other clubs.

The Mariners designated him for assignment on Opening Day, with the Dodgers claiming him off waivers. He received only six plate appearances in two weeks with the Dodgers before getting designated for assignment again. The Yankees put in a claim but didn’t give him playing time either. He got into five games but mostly as a late-game substitute, getting just two plate appearances in over two weeks in pinstripes before his third DFA of the year.

Now that Trammell has finally cleared waivers, he will reported to the RailRiders and look to work his way back to the majors. This is his first career outright and he doesn’t have three years of service time, meaning he doesn’t have the right to elect free agency.

Cubs To Activate Cody Bellinger

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Cubs manager Craig Counsell announced that outfielder Cody Bellinger is going to be activated from the injured list today, relayed by Bruce Levine of 670 The Score on X. The full slate of moves was laid out by Madde Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times on X, with outfielder Alexander Canario optioned to Triple-A, while right-hander Daniel Palencia was placed on the 15-day injured list due to right shoulder stiffness with fellow righty Keegan Thompson recalled to take his place. Additionally, outfielder Seiya Suzuki is going on a rehab assignment, playing with Triple-A Iowa tomorrow. Lee was among those to relay that on X.

Bellinger landed on the IL a couple of weeks ago after colliding with the Wrigley Field wall and fracturing two ribs. Despite that scary diagnosis, he’s made a quick return without going out on a rehab assignment.

Prior to the injury, Bellinger had hit five home runs in his first 22 games of the season. Despite a tiny .215 batting average on balls in play, he was still slashing .226/.320/.440 for a 107 wRC+. With the Cubs in 2023, he hit 26 homers and had a .307/.356/.525 batting line, which translated to a 134 wRC+.

The quick return should be good for both the club and for Bellinger personally. Assuming he finds a bit better batted ball luck going forward, his numbers this year could move closer to where they were last year. That would naturally be good for the club’s offense while also helping set Bellinger up for this winter.

Despite his strong 2023 season, Bellinger never found a large contract to his liking. That was perhaps at least partially due to his notable struggles in 2021 and 2022 in the aftermath of shoulder surgery. He returned to the Cubs on a three-year deal with opt-outs after each season, allowing him to grab a bit of financial security while also giving him the chance to return to free agency when he sees fit.

Another lengthy injury layoff would have hurt his chances at maximizing his earning power this coming winter, so the quick turnaround still gives him a shot at putting together a good stretch of quality playing time between now and the end of the year.

Pete Crow-Armstrong came up when Bellinger first got injured but it seems he’s sticking around for now. His defense is excellent but he’s hitting just .216/.231/.351 on the year so far. Perhaps he will stick in center with Bellinger in a corner or in the designated hitter slot, with Mike Tauchman and Ian Happ also in that mix. But when Suzuki is ready to come off the IL, perhaps Crow-Armstrong will be optioned back down for regular playing time with Bellinger back in the regular center field role.

Tigers Option Parker Meadows, Select Ryan Vilade

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May 7: The Tigers have now officially announced that they have optioned Meadows, selected Vilade and transferred Gipson-Long to the 60-day IL.

May 6: The Tigers plan to option center fielder Parker Meadows to Triple-A Toledo before tomorrow’s matchup with the Guardians, reports Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press. Detroit will promote Ryan Vilade to take the active roster spot, Petzold adds (on X). The Tigers will need to open a spot on the 40-man roster but can do so by transferring Sawyer Gipson-Long to the 60-day injured list.

While Detroit is out to a respectable 18-17 start, they’re riding a four-game losing skid after this evening’s loss in Cleveland. Their decent overall results are largely a credit of the pitching staff. The Tigers entered play Monday ranked 22nd in MLB in scoring. They’re 24th in on-base percentage and 25th in slugging.

It has been a very top-heavy group. While Riley Greene, Mark Canha, Kerry Carpenter, Matt Vierling and (in a smaller sample) Wenceel Pérez have hit well, Detroit has gotten almost nothing beyond the top half of their lineup. That’s particularly true at the up-the-middle positions. The catching duo of Carson Kelly and Jake Rogers and the middle infield tandem of Javier Báez and Colt Keith haven’t produced.

Meadows, who has started 26 of 35 games in center field, is off to perhaps the coldest start of all. He has punched out 32 times in 85 plate appearances. Meadows is hitting .096/.224/.219 with a pair of home runs. To his credit, he hasn’t carried those offensive struggles with him into the outfield. Public metrics have rated him among the sport’s best defensive players through the season’s first few weeks. Yet the Tigers clearly need some level of offensive contributions from the bottom of the order.

Plugging Pérez into the lineup is one way to try to inject more life into the offense, though it’ll surely involve a defensive downgrade. It seems that’s a trade-off the Tigers are willing to embrace. Manager A.J. Hinch had penciled Pérez into center field for four straight games at the end of last week. Meadows has gotten the start for the last two games while Pérez battled an illness. The rookie came off the bench to hit for Meadows in the sixth inning of tonight’s game.

Pérez, 24, has started his MLB career with a .296/.387/.556 slash over 62 plate appearances. While he’s not likely to continue hitting at that elite clip, the switch-hitter had a solid .274/.368/.417 showing between the top two minor league levels in 2023. At the very least, he’s currently in a much better groove at the plate than Meadows has been.

Meadows entered the season with 42 days of MLB service. He needs to spend 130 days on the MLB roster or injured list to surpass the one-year threshold in 2024. Meadows has spent 40 days in the majors this year. If he stays in Toledo for around two months, his path to free agency would be pushed back until the 2030-31 offseason.

Vilade, 25, has three games of MLB experience. A former second-round pick of the Rockies, he was once a prospect of some regard in the Colorado system. Vilade stalled out in the upper minors, though, and he only received a cup of coffee at Coors Field in 2021. He spent the 2023 season in Triple-A with the Pirates after being claimed off waivers. Vilade hit .271/.370/.382 with Pittsburgh’s top affiliate but didn’t get a big league look.

The right-handed hitter signed a minor league deal with the Tigers in November. He’s out to a big start in Toledo, hitting .333/.398/.551 with three homers and eight doubles. Vilade has also swiped eight bases in nine tries. He’s striking out at a 27.3% clip, which is a concern, but the overall production was enough to snag a roster spot. Vilade has bounced all over the diamond for the Mud Hens, starting multiple games at second base, third base, designated hitter and in all three outfield positions. He can work as a bat-first utility piece off the bench.

J.P. France Facing Notable Absence Due To Shoulder Injury

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Astros right-hander J.P. France is dealing with a shoulder injury and is going to be out “a while,” per reporting from Chandler Rome of The Athletic. Rome adds in a post on X that manager Joe Espada told SportsTalk 790 that France has been shut down with “right shoulder soreness” and will be sent for more testing. The righty dealt with a shoulder issue during Spring Training but got over it in time to make the Opening Day roster, making five starts before being optioned to Triple-A at the end of April.

An injury to a starter on optional assignment wouldn’t always be a big deal, but there are a few reasons why it would be concerning for the Astros right now. The club is out to a rough 12-22 start, making it feel like their season is in peril. Houston has a very strong track record in the recent past and it’s still early here in 2024, but they will need a run of victories at some point to gain ground in the playoff race.

On top of that, the next part of their schedule is going to be tough. Today marks the start of a period where they play 29 games in 30 days, a challenging enough stretch that the club is likely to go with a six-man rotation.

The starting staff has been a juggling act all year. They knew coming into the season that Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia would be missing significant time as each underwent elbow surgery last year. On top of that, each of Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier and José Urquidy have spent time on the injured list.

Verlander and Valdez have since returned and are currently active. The other three rotation spots are currently held by Ronel Blanco, Hunter Brown and Spencer Arrighetti. Blanco has pitched very well, even throwing a no-hitter against the Blue Jays last month, but Brown and Arrighetti have faced significant struggles. Brown has an 8.89 earned run average through his seven starts while Arrighetti has a mark of 8.27 through his four outings.

Javier is expected to be activated from the IL at some point in the near future, perhaps as soon as this weekend, to give the club six starters. France could have perhaps been an option to replace Brown or Arrighetti but this injury could force the Astros to stick with those two.

Urquidy is nearing a rehab assignment but would likely need at least a few weeks to build up since he’s missed the entire season so far. Pitchers like Brandon Bielak and Shawn Dubin have some starting experience but are currently in the big league bullpen and not stretched out. Blair Henley is on the 40-man but his one major league start was disastrous, allowing five earned runs while recording just one out, while his Triple-A numbers aren’t great either.

One surprising name that could be entering the mix is A.J. Blubaugh, as Rome reports that the right-hander has “opened eyes” after his recent promotion to Triple-A. A seventh-round pick from the 2022 draft, Blubaugh has recently made five Triple-A starts with a 4.43 ERA, 24.2% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate. He’s not currently on the 40-man roster.

How the club decides to tackle their rotation challenges will be an interesting situation to monitor over the next month as they navigate this tricky patch of their schedule. For France personally, it would be quite unfortunate timing for him if the injury turns out to be significant, beyond the obvious frustrations. Since he was optioned to the minors a few weeks ago, he’s not currently accruing major league pay or service time.

France came into 2024 with 149 days of service time, just 23 shy of the 172 required for a full year. He spent 28 days on the active roster to start this season before getting optioned, meaning he barely eclipsed that one-year line. But if he were to languish in the minors while injured for a while, it would hurt his chances of reaching arbitration and free agency in the future. If he is set to miss significant time and the Astros want to use his 40-man roster spot, they could recall him and place him on the major league 60-day injured list, which would start his service clock running again.

Reds Select Conner Capel

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The Reds announced a series of roster moves today, selecting the contract of outfielder Conner Capel while also activating outfielder TJ Friedl and right-hander Frankie Montas from their respective stints on the injured list. The club had optioned left-hander Sam Moll yesterday and opened up two more roster spots today by optioning outfielders Nick Martini and Bubba Thompson. To open a 40-man spot for Capel, right-hander Ian Gibaut was transferred to the 60-day IL.

Capel, who turns 27 this month, signed a minor league deal with the Reds in the offseason. He has been in Triple-A so far this year and performing quite well. Through 122 plate appearances, he has walked almost as often as he’s struck out, with a 16.4% walk rate compared to a 17.2% strikeout rate. He’s hit seven home runs and has a batting line of .268/.397/.567, which translates to a 146 wRC+.

The outfielder has 145 major league plate appearances on his résumé with a slash line of .280/.366/.408. He struggled in Triple-A last year, which caused the Athletics to bump him off their roster, but he hit .263/.364/.422 in the minors in 2022 for a 112 wRC+.

On top of that mostly solid offensive work in the past few years, Capel can steal a few bases and move around the outfield. He’s been playing both left and center field this year, with some past experience in right field as well. He has swiped six bags so far here in 2024, with double-digit tallies in most of his previous minor league seasons.

The Reds came into the season with seemingly too many position players, but that apparent surplus evaporated fairly quickly. Noelvi Marté was hit with an 80-game PED suspension, Matt McLain required shoulder surgery and Friedl suffered a wrist fracture. Lately, some players have been missing time without going on the IL, including Jake Fraley, Tyler Stephenson, Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Jeimer Candelario.

That led to some extra playing time for players like Martini and Thompson. Martini hit two homers on Opening Day but has added just one more since then and is currently batting .177/.200/.329 for the season overall. Thompson is one of the fastest players in the league but hasn’t hit much. With the Reds this year, he has struck out in 11 of his 18 plate appearances.

Friedl has hit .267/.341/.456 in his career and should give a boost to the lineup. Capel could as well, but it’s also possible he’s behind Friedl, Will Benson, Spencer Steer and Fraley on the outfield/designated hitter depth chart. But perhaps he’ll fill Thompson’s role as a speedy bench outfielder, though with better abilities in the batter’s box. Capel still has an option remaining and can be easily sent back down to the minors at a later date if the Reds so choose.

Montas hit the IL a couple of weeks ago after being hit by a comebacker on his right forearm. The x-rays were negative but the club wanted to give him a breather as the soreness and swelling went down. He has now returned after a minimum stay on the IL, as hoped. Nick Martinez made a couple of starts in his absence but made a relief appearance on the weekend. Montas will slot into the rotation alongside Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott, Hunter Greene and Graham Ashcraft.

Gibaut, 30, has been on the injured list all year due to a right forearm strain. He has tried rehabbing a couple of times but keeps getting shut down with renewed soreness. Just over a week ago, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer relayed on X that the righty was shut down again and going for another exam. Today’s transfer means he’s ineligible to return until 60 days from his initial IL placement, which would be late May. That doesn’t seem to be possible at the moment since he’s not throwing and would need some time to ramp even if he is soon cleared to throw.

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