The Opener: Contreras, Orioles, Fry
Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Contreras to return:
The Cardinals are set to activate Willson Contreras from the injured list today, manager Oli Marmol told reporters yesterday (link via MLB.com’s John Denton). The final step before Contreras will be officially activated is a medical evaluation upon joining the club in Atlanta today. The news caps off a surprisingly fast return to action for Contreras, who was initially expected to miss ten weeks after suffering a fractured arm when he was struck by a swing from Mets DH J.D. Martinez.
Contreras is now set to return nearly a month ahead of schedule, and it couldn’t come at a better time for the Cardinals. The St. Louis club surged back into postseason contention during Contreras’ absence and will now plug the same bat that hit .280/.398/.551 in their first 31 games back into the lineup. Contreras’ return also dovetails with a recent injury to young Ivan Herrera, who had been filling in behind the plate but is now on the shelf with a back injury. That’s left the Cardinals with a third-string catching duo of Pedro Pages and Nick Raposo in recent days.
2. Orioles roster move incoming:
The Orioles will recall outfielder Heston Kjerstad to the major leagues today for what will be his third stint with Baltimore. The 25-year-old top prospect has hit just .205/.286/.364 in 50 trips to the plate in the big leagues but has torn up the Triple-A level. In 56 games this year, the former No. 2 overall pick has slashed .301/.397/.601 with 31 extra base hits (16 homers) in 258 plate appearances.
In order to make room for Kjerstad, the Orioles will need to make a corresponding move. Typically, that move could simply come in the form of optioning another player to the minors, but the Orioles’ bench lacks optionable players aside from veteran outfielder Austin Hays, who’s been on a hot streak (.333/.380/.569) since returning from the injured list last month. MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko suggested yesterday that the club could designate utilityman Nick Maton for assignment to make room for Kjerstad, but there’s no official word from the team just yet.
3. Guardians update on Fry?
The Guardians suffered a tough blow yesterday when slugger David Fry was pulled after the second inning due to inflammation in his elbow, as noted by The Athletic’s Zack Meisel. Meisel adds that Fry is currently being considered day-to-day by the club. MLB.com’s Injury Tracker adds that Fry was set to be evaluated further after yesterday’s game and that the Guardians hope to know more about his status today.
Much of the Guardians’ success on offense can be attributed to Fry, who has slashed an otherworldly .312/.429/.526 (172 wRC+) while splitting time between catcher, DH, first base, left field, right field and even third base for Cleveland. There’s no replacing that blend of production and defensive versatility, but if Fry lands on the IL, the Guardians could turn to top prospect Kyle Manzardo to take over Fry’s spot in the first base/DH mix while Bo Naylor and Austin Hedges take on a more traditional role as a catching tandem.
Yankees Acquire J.D. Davis
The Yankees announced this afternoon that they’ve acquired infielder J.D. Davis and cash considerations from the A’s in exchange infielder Jordan Groshans. Davis had been designated for assignment by the A’s earlier this week. The Yankees transferred right-hander Nick Burdi to the 60-day injured list in order to make room for Davis on the 40-man roster.
Davis, 31, signed with the A’s in late spring after the Giants released Davis during Spring Training in order to get out from under most of the $6.9MM salary he had been awarded in arbitration over the winter. He managed to secure a guarantee of just $2.5MM from Oakland, a far cry from his previously-awarded arbitration salary even after factoring in the roughly $1.1MM in termination pay he received from San Francisco.
After that late spring controversy, Davis went on to appear in 39 games with the A’s where he slashed a roughly league-average .236/.304/.366 in 135 trips to the plate while splitting time between first base, third base, and DH. While his offensive numbers this year leave something to be desired, Davis’s positional versatility and track record as an above-average hitter make him a perfect fit for the Yankees’ current needs.
The club lost starting DH Giancarlo Stanton to the injured list earlier today, and first baseman Anthony Rizzo was also placed on the shelf not long ago due to a fractured forearm. Rookie Ben Rice has scuffled a bit in his first few games replacing Rizzo at first base, while the club has no obvious alternative to Stanton as an everyday DH in-house. Even at third base, where the club is currently relying on the combination of Oswaldo Cabrera and DJ LeMahieu, New York has gotten a wRC+ of just 78 — this ranks second-worst of all AL third-base units, ahead of only the White Sox.
Enter Davis, who entered the 2024 season with five consecutive seasons of solid production with the Mets and Giants. Since the start of the 2019 season, Davis has slashed a solid .265/.349/.438 with a wRC+ of 118. While he’s struck out a 27.1% clip during that time, he’s walked at a healthy 10% rate while flashing 20-homer power. That sort of production would be a major upgrade for a Yankees club that has generally struggled to produce offense outside of the outfield this year even before losing Stanton for at least the short-term. Davis seems likely to slide into the everyday DH role for the Yankees while Stanton is unavailable, but could also spell Rice at first base against left-handed pitching and even contribute at third alongside LeMahieu and Cabrera.
On days where Davis is playing the infield, the Yankees could offer Aaron Judge or Juan Soto the opportunity to get a half-day of rest as a DH and improve the club’s outfield defense by inserting glove-first center fielder Trent Grisham into the mix. When Stanton eventually returns to reclaim regular DH, the Yankees could pick and choose from Davis, Rice, Cabrera, and LeMahieu based on how everyone is performingt. That being said, if Davis can even maintain his production as an Athletic in the Bronx he should be a shoe-in for at least semi-regular playing time around the Yankees infield even after Stanton’s eventual return.
In exchange for Davis’ services, the Yankees are sending Groshans to Oakland. The 24-year-old’s stint in the Yankees organization was a relatively brief one, as the club claimed him off waivers from the Marlins back in February. He was outrighted off their 40-man roster in early March and has struggled to this point in the 2024 season with a .232/.310/.281 slash line while playing all four infield spots in 50 games split between the Double- and Triple-A levels. That follows a similarly rough performance at Triple-A with Miami last year; in 528 plate appearances across 125 games in 2023, Groshans slashed a paltry .244/.339/.330 with just six home runs.
Despite Groshans’ struggles over the past two seasons, it’s not hard to see why the A’s would be willing to give the youngster a shot. After all, the infielder was the 12th overall pick in the 2018 draft by the Blue Jays and received plenty of top prospect buzz earlier in his career, including a stint as a consensus top-50 prospect in the sport back in 2021. That pedigree combined with Groshans’ stronger numbers at the Double-A level earlier in his career provide some reason for optimism that he could contribute at the big league level at some point.
That possibility is surely an attractive one for an Oakland club that has struggled to find a consistent option at third base this year while cycling between Davis, Abraham Toro, and Tyler Nevin at the position. Toro will be out until at least the All-Star break recovering from a hamstring strain, leaving even more opportunity for Groshans to win some playing time at the hot corner.
Reds Outright Conner Capel
Outfielder Conner Capel has cleared waivers and been outrighted to the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate. Capel had the option of rejecting the outright assignment in favor of free agency because he has previously been outrighted in his career, but The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Charlie Goldsmith (X link) reports that Capel will indeed report to Triple-A Louisville.
The Reds designated Capel for assignment earlier this week, a month after optioning him down to the minors after a five-game cup of coffee on the big league roster. Capel signed a minor league contract with Cincinnati over the offseason and had that contract selected in early May, with Capel receiving eight plate appearances in his five games.
A veteran of three Major League seasons, Capel made his MLB debut with the Cardinals in 2022, making a strong first impression with a .308/.356/.519 slash line in 59 plate appearances with St. Louis and (after a September waiver claim) Oakland. Capel didn’t receive much of a longer look in 2023, however, as he appeared in just 32 games for the A’s with 86 trips to the plate. All in all, the 27-year-old has a career .278/.359/.398 slash line in 153 PA over 59 games in the Show.
Capel’s minor league numbers are more solid, as he has hit .259/.354/.435 with 43 home runs in 1430 career PA at the Triple-A level. He has also stolen 52 bases in 71 attempts, and has played mostly center field in the minors while also getting a lot of playing time at the two corner outfield slots. This skillset makes Capel a useful player to have as depth either on a big league bench or in the upper minors, so he’ll continue to bide his time in Louisville awaiting his next opportunity in Cincinnati.
Orioles To Promote Heston Kjerstad
The Orioles are set to call top prospect Heston Kjerstad back up to the majors, according to Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner (via X). The corresponding move isn’t known, but MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko guesses the O’s might designate Nick Maton for assignment. Maton had his contract selected earlier this week to give Baltimore some infield depth when Jordan Westberg was nursing a hip contusion, but since Westberg has kept playing with seemingly no ill effect from the contusion, Maton could be expendable.
Kjerstad made his MLB debut with 13 games in the 2023 season, and he received 17 plate appearances over seven games earlier this season when the O’s had called him up to the active roster from April 23 to May 12. Kjerstad had a .748 OPS over 33 PA in 2023 and only a .437 OPS in his 17 PA this season, so one can’t really make any judgements based on such small and sporadic doses of playing time.
What is clear that is Kjerstad doesn’t have much less to prove at the Triple-A level. He has hit .301/.390/.601 with 16 home runs over 255 PA for Norfolk this season, which comes on the heels of his .298/.371/.498 slash line in 334 Triple-A trips to the plate in 2023. On just about any other team, Kjerstad would’ve already been a staple of the everyday lineup and been given a lot of time to test himself against big league pitching, but the Orioles’ unique situation creates more questions about just how often Kjerstad is going to play.
Kjerstad is a left-handed hitter who has played first base and both corner outfield slots in the minors, and he is generally considered a bat-first player more than a prime defensive option at any of his positions. Ryan O’Hearn is another lefty bat on Baltimore’s roster with that same defensive profile, plus the O’s have Ryan Mountcastle and Anthony Santander in everyday roles at first base and right field. Cedric Mullins and Colton Cowser (both left-handed hitters) have been splitting time in center field, with Cowser also seeing a lot of time in left field, and the right-handed hitting Austin Hays also in the mix.
When a right-handed pitcher is on the mound, therefore, the Orioles already have a pretty full set of lefty-swinging options. It is worth noting that Cowser has struggled badly since a hot start to his season, so he might be the likeliest to lose playing time if Kjerstad is coming back to the Show. Mullins has also started hitting better after a deep slump, so the Orioles could give Mullins more time in center field and Cowser could be become something of a clearer backup outfielder. The issue there is that Cowser is another highly-touted young player whose development won’t be helped by mostly being a bench player in the majors, rather than getting regular time on the field.
Since the Orioles’ return to full-fledged contention has outpaced their rebuild, the team finds themselves with having almost too many good young players for too few 26-man roster spots. Kyle Stowers, Connor Norby, and Jackson Holliday are other top prospects who have received limited playing time in the bigs this season, though in Holliday’s case, he was clearly ticketed for an everyday role but simply struggled too much to maintain a spot in the majors. Kjerstad could force the issue by going on a tear at the plate once he’s back in the Show, though obviously that’s easier said than done for a 25-year-old player.
MLBTR Chat Transcript
Click here to read the transcript of tonight’s live baseball chat
Mets Notes: Marte, Reid-Foley, Senga
Starling Marte left Saturday’s 8-1 loss to the Cubs midway through the second inning due to soreness in his right knee, and he will undergo an MRI on Monday to explore what has been a nagging problem for the Mets outfielder. As MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo writes, Marte has been battling knee discomfort for about three weeks, with the Mets giving Marte a few extra off-days in that stretch to see if the extra rest could correct the problem.
“I thought we’ve been doing a pretty good job, especially with our communication with him and him being honest with me and all of us,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told DiComo and other reporters. “That’s why there’s been days where he’s been off when he felt like he could have played….But as of late, that knee continues to bother him. We’ve just got to wait and see what we’re dealing with.”
The Mets don’t play on either Monday or Thursday this week, as they get a pair of off-day sandwiched around their two-game interleague series with the Yankees. DiComo feels that this relatively light schedule might allow the Mets to put Marte on the 10-day injured list, which would both give him time to fully rest up while sitting out less games than he’d normally have to miss in a fuller schedule. That said, the Mets could also view these built-in off-days as a chance to let Marte rest without the benefit of an actual IL placement, so he might not have to miss 10 full days’ worth of action.
It seems likely that the club will first wait and see what the MRI says before making a decision, as if tests reveal an actual injury, Marte will obviously have to miss time regardless of any schedule. Despite the bad knee, Marte’s production hasn’t been slowed down, as he is hitting .304/.360/.457 with one home run over 50 plate appearances in the month of June. Marte’s hot bat has been one reason the Mets have surged back into the playoff picture, as New York has won 12 of its last 16 games.
Another Met headed for an MRI is Sean Reid-Foley, as the right-hander was placed on the 15-day IL yesterday (retroactive to June 20) due to an impingement in his throwing shoulder. A similar injury sidelined Reid-Foley at the start of the season and prevented him from making his 2024 debut until April 22. Talking to the New York Post’s Mike Puma and other reporters yesterday, Reid-Foley described the latest injury as “kind of the same stuff — it’s kind of in the front of the shoulder again. I don’t have X-ray vision or MRI vision, but I would say it’s probably an impingement.”
Even with these shoulder problems bookending his season, Reid-Foley has been one of the Mets’ best relievers this season, with a 1.66 ERA and a 27.8% strikeout rate over 21 2/3 innings. A 3.86 SIERA is perhaps a better reflection of Reid-Foley’s production when factoring in his high 15.6% walk rate and the good fortune of his .255 BABIP, especially since Reid-Foley is a grounder specialist (60.8% groundball rate). Still, that bottom-line 1.66 ERA has still been a big help within an overall inconsistent New York bullpen, so losing Reid-Foley for any length of time is a setback for the club.
In other Mets injury news, Kodai Senga took an important step ahead in his injury rehab, as he had a live batting practice session of 22 pitches today. Senga is tentatively slated for another live BP later this week, but he’ll first reconvene with the team medical staff in New York.
It has been a long road back for Senga, who hasn’t yet pitched this season since suffering a moderate capsule strain his right shoulder during Spring Training. He had a live BP session in late April and seemed to be progressing towards a return in late May (once his 60-day IL stint was over), but he then took time to work on some mechanical issues, and then suffered a triceps injury that required a shutdown period and a cortisone shot.
Senga had already been ruled out until after the All-Star break, and considering the amount of ramp-up work it will take for him to be fully ready to pitch, it would seem early-to-mid August might be the earliest we see the right-hander make his 2024 debut. If the Mets can stick around in the wild card race, getting Senga back would be quite a nice boost to the Amazins’ playoff chances, if he returns at anything close to his 2023 form.
Merrill Kelly Aiming For Mid-August Return
Merrill Kelly had a stellar 2.19 ERA over his first four starts of the season before a teres major strain in his throwing shoulder sent him to the Diamondbacks’ injured list on April 20. Kelly was soon moved from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL, and now that his 60-day window has passed, it will be quite a while before the right-hander is back on the mound.
Speaking at a Q&A event with fans and media (including Jake Oliver of Inside The Diamondbacks), Kelly said that “in my mind, I’m hoping I’m on that Tampa, Miami, Boston trip,” referring to a nine-game Diamondbacks road trip that starts on August 16. “That seems to be around the right time I might be back in there, but obviously, things can change as we go along.”
There is still a lot of fluidity within this rehab plan, and the fact that Kelly’s initial estimated return date has already been significantly pushed back isn’t a great sign. As Kelly noted, he and the team first thought he could be back around the All-Star break — if mid-August now represents perhaps something of a best-case scenario, any kind of setback could quite possibly put his season in jeopardy. There is still a long way to go in Kelly’s ramp-up process, as he only just started a throwing program with games of catch.
The D’Backs have a modest 38-40 record in the defense of their National League pennant, yet the NL’s parity has kept Arizona within two games of the last wild card spot. Considering that the Snakes have been without Kelly for most of the season, Eduardo Rodriguez for the entire season, and Zac Gallen for a little more than three weeks, a 38-40 record isn’t a bad result for a team missing its three top starters.
Gallen could potentially return next week, and Rodriguez has started his own throwing progression after his long layoff, so he might be facing a similar timeline as Kelly. If Arizona can continue to at least tread water in the playoff race until mid-August, getting Kelly and Rodriguez back into the rotation would provide an enormous boost down the stretch.
Kelly also discussed his longer-term career future as part of the Q&A, saying “I’d love to be a Diamondback my whole career and especially being the Arizona native, I would love to stay here as long as I can.” Kelly also revealed that he had spoken with the Diamondbacks about a possible contract extension, saying “I keep trying to sign and keep trying to talk them into signing me some more,” though he didn’t give any details on the status of those talks or if the D’Backs had shown any reciprocal interest.
It would be understandable if the D’Backs first wanted to see how Kelly emerge from this long injury layoff before considering a new contract, plus Kelly is already under team control for the 2025 season via a $7MM club option. Since a $1MM buyout is attached to that option, that the $6MM decision seems like a pretty easy one for the Diamondbacks to make even despite Kelly’s shoulder problems, considering how well he has pitched over his six seasons in Arizona.
Kelly didn’t make his MLB debut until he was 30 years old, as he started his pro career in the Rays’ farm system before pitching in South Korea for four seasons. Impressed by Kelly’s KBO League performance, the D’Backs signed him to a two-year, $5.5MM free agent deal in December 2018, in a decision that will go down as one of GM Mike Hazen’s shrewdest moves. Kelly has already signed one extension with the Diamondbacks, agreeing to his current two-year, $18MM contract in April 2022.
Cardinals Notes: Arenado, Siani, Contreras, Nootbaar
TODAY: Arenado received a pain-killing injection in his forearm today, Marmol told John Denton and other reporters today. It isn’t yet clear if Arenado will need an IL stint, but he wasn’t available for pinch-hitting duties in today’s game.
JUNE 22: Cardinals star Nolan Arenado departed the club’s win over the Giants in the eighth inning today due to discomfort in his left forearm, as noted by MLB.com’s John Denton. Notably, that’s not the same arm that Arenado suffered an elbow contusion on after being struck by a pitch from Marlins right-hander Huascar Brazoban earlier this week. More information was not made available following tonight’s game beyond the fact that Arenado would be evaluated further tomorrow.
It’s an unfortunate turn of events in the midst of what has been a difficult season for the 33-year-old veteran, who is slashing just .260/.315/.375 with a 99 wRC+. That would be Arenado’s first below-average offensive performance in a 162-game season since his rookie campaign back in 2013. He’s paired that lackluster offense with surprisingly pedestrian glovework at third base, where he’s been worth +0 Outs Above Average and -5 Defensive Runs Saved. That’s a far cry from the fielding he offered at the position earlier in his career, when he won the NL Gold Glove award at third base in ten consecutive seasons from 2013 to 2022.
Even with that diminished production this year, however, the loss of Arenado would still be a tough blow for the Cardinals should he end up missing time due to his injury. Not only is he just two seasons removed from a campaign where he was a finalist for the NL MVP award, but the eight-time All Star is the club’s only clear solution at third base given the present construction of the lineup. While former top prospect Jordan Walker came up as a third baseman and is currently in the minors, the 22-year-old has struggled both in Triple-A and at the big league level this year and converted to the outfield full time last year making him an unlikely choice to take over for Arenado in the case of an injury.
Super-utility bat Brendan Donovan has played the hot corner at times, but he’s settled in as the club’s regular left fielder in the absence of Lars Nootbaar. It’s possible that Donovan could slide over to third base and open up left field for Dylan Carlson, but perhaps a more likely scenario would see the Cardinals rely more heavily on bench bats Brandon Crawford and Jose Fermin to fill in for Arenado at third. That’s especially true given the fact that center fielder Michael Siani also exited today’s game due to an injury, though Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat relayed after the game that x-rays on Siani’s ribs after he hit the ground hard on a diving play in the outfield came back negative. The 24-year-old appears to have avoided a major injury, but even a day-to-day issue would at least temporarily weaken the club’s outfield depth noticeably.
As for Nootbaar, the 26-year-old has been sidelined by an oblique strain since the end of May. Jones relays that he appears to be making progress in his rehab but the outfielder has not yet even begun to take batting practice, instead only hitting off a tee at this stage in the process. That would seem to indicate that Nootbaar, who will surely require a rehab assignment before he can return to action, isn’t going to be returning to the club’s positional mix any time soon to provide Marmol additional flexibility as he fills out the club’s lineup card in the wake of Arenado’s and Siani’s possible injuries.
One piece of good news for Cardinals fans is the impending return of star catcher Willson Contreras, who Marmol told reporters (including Jones) will catch seven innings for Triple-A Memphis tonight before DH’ing tomorrow’s game. As Jones notes, Contreras caught for the Redbirds yesterday and Marmol acknowledged that seeing how the 32-year-old held up after catching back to back games was the last major box the club needed to check regarding Contreras’s rehab.
Contreras has been out since early May with a broken forearm and was initially expected to miss ten weeks due to the injury, but the backstop has long since clearly been ahead of that schedule and seems like he could factor into the club’s plans before the end of the month. The slugger posted an excellent .280/.398/.551 slash line in 31 games for the Cardinals this year before being sidelined by the injury and could provide a boost to an offense that has posted a collective wRC+ of just 95 to this point in the season.
Cubs Place Mark Leiter Jr. On 15-Day Injured List
The Cubs announced that right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a right forearm strain. Left-hander Luke Little has been called up from Triple-A Iowa to take Leiter’s spot on the 26-man roster.
After posting a sterling 0.90 ERA over his first 20 innings of the season, Leiter’s performance has dipped sharply, with a ghastly 15.58 ERA over 8 2/3 innings in his last 12 appearances. Leiter’s last four outings specifically saw him touched up for eight earned runs over 3 1/3 innings of work, so it seems possible that these games might’ve been impacted by the forearm strain if Leiter had been trying to pitch through some discomfort.
All in all, Leiter has a 5.34 ERA over 28 2/3 innings this season, yet with a much more respectable set of secondary metrics. Leiter’s SIERA is only 2.96, as a .338 BABIP and a 55% strand rate have been working against him. On the plus side, Leiter has a strong 48.7% grounder rate, quality hard-contract numbers, and a 30.2% strikeout rate that sits in the 91st percentile of all pitchers.
Leiter’s walk rate is below average, but that was also true during the 2022-23 seasons, when he emerged as a very effective weapon out of Chicago’s bullpen. Leiter posted a 5.53 ERA in 114 innings with the Phillies and Blue Jays in 2017-18, but then didn’t pitch another big league inning for three full seasons, due to a Tommy John surgery, the pandemic-shortened nature of the 2020 season, and a stint in the Tigers’ farm system in 2021 that didn’t result in a call-up to the Show.
The Cubs signed Leiter to a minor league deal prior to the 2022 season, and then another minors contract in the 2022-23 offseason. The moves have become nice hidden-gem discoveries for the team, as Leiter had a 3.75 ERA and 27.2% strikeout rate over 132 innings in 2022-23, albeit with an 8.9% walk rate. Working first as a swingman, Leiter became a key set-up man behind closer Adbert Alzolay last season.
Unfortunately, Leiter now joins Alzolay and Julian Merryweather on the injured list, as the Cubs are without their three top bullpen arms. Merrywether is expected to return from a stress fracture in his ribs by around the All-Star break, while Alzolay’s return from a right flexor strain is still up the air. Details on Leiter’s forearm strain haven’t yet been revealed, but naturally any kind of a forearm issue is a big concern, particularly for a pitcher who already has one Tommy John procedure on his record.
These injuries and a lack of performance overall has made the Cubs’ bullpen into a weak link on the roster, though not much has gone right for the team over what has been a disastrous six weeks of baseball. Beginning the season strong with a 24-17 record, Chicago has stumbled to a 13-23 mark over its last 39 games. The NL’s parity has meant that the Cubs are still just two games out of a wild card slot despite a 37-40 record, yet Chicago will need to regain momentum quickly before the team is perhaps forced into some hard decisions at the trade deadline.
Vinny Nittoli Elects Free Agency
TODAY: Nittoli cleared waivers, the A’s announced, and Nittoli has chosen to become a free agent rather than accept the outright assignment to Triple-A.
JUNE 21: The A’s designated reliever Vinny Nittoli for assignment before tonight’s matchup with the Twins. Oakland recalled righty Osvaldo Bido from Triple-A Las Vegas to replace him on the active roster. Nittoli is out of options, so the A’s couldn’t take him off the big league club without removing from the 40-man roster. Their 40-man tally is down to 38.
Nittoli cracked the big league bullpen a couple weeks ago when Michael Kelly was suspended. Mark Kotsay has called upon him seven times, generally in low-leverage situations. Nittoli has allowed two runs over eight innings, punching out five against two walks. It was a generally solid showing, but the 33-year-old pitched two innings and tossed 28 pitches in yesterday’s loss to Kansas City. That’d likely have ruled him out for today and prompted the A’s to bring up a fresh arm. Bido, who hasn’t pitched in a week, should be able to work multiple innings out of the bullpen.
It’s a tough break for Nittoli, who has had MLB cups of coffee in each of the last four seasons. This year’s eight innings already topped his previous combined workload between the Mariners, Phillies and Mets. Nittoli has pitched in five seasons at the Triple-A level. He owns a 4.73 ERA there for his career, though he turned in an impressive 2.70 mark through 23 1/3 innings with Las Vegas before being called up. Nittoli punched out 36% of batters faced for the Aviators against an 11% walk rate.
The A’s have five days to trade him or place him on waivers. Nittoli has cleared outright waivers a few times in his career and would have the right to elect free agency if he goes unclaimed. Since he’s out of options, another team would need to plug him directly into the MLB bullpen if they claim him.