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Reds Sign Alec Mills To Minor League Deal

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The Reds have signed right-hander Alec Mills to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He’s been assigned to the club’s Complex League team for now, where he will presumably build up before joining an affiliate in the upper levels of the club’s farm system.

Mills, 31, spent 2018 to 2022 with the Cubs, serving as a frequently-optioned depth starter in the first few of those seasons. By the end of 2019, he had tossed 57 1/3 innings with a 3.77 ERA. He was out of options going into 2020 and held his roster spot all year, posting a 4.48 ERA over 11 starts, which the obvious highlight being a the no-hitter he tossed in September.

Since then, however, he’s had some challenges. He dealt with ongoing back issues throughout 2021 and 2022, posting a combined 5.66 ERA in 136 2/3 innings over those two campaigns. After a couple of years of migrating on and off the injured list, he eventually underwent back surgery in September of last year. All told, he currently has a career 4.95 ERA in 256 1/3 career innings with a 19.5% strikeout rate, 7.2% walk rate and 48.5% ground ball rate.

Mills crossed three years of service time last year and would have been eligible for arbitration for the first time this past offseason, but the Cubs outrighted him off the roster instead. He lingered on the open market all winter but now has a new club.

The Reds have plenty of need for starting pitching, as they recently released Luis Cessa while Nick Lodolo, Justin Dunn, Vladimir Gutierrez and Connor Overton are all on the injured list. That leaves the current rotation as Hunter Greene, Graham Ashcraft, Brandon Williamson, Ben Lively and Luke Weaver. Williamson was just called up and looked good but in just one start so far. Lively has made a couple of relief appearances this year but will take the ball tomorrow, which will be his first start in the majors since 2018. Weaver, meanwhile, has a 6.26 ERA through his five starts this season.

The club has some intriguing pitchers in Triple-A, such as Levi Stoudt and Andrew Abbott, but is currently running with a group in the big leagues that has plenty of uncertainty in it. Mills will likely need some time to build up strength after last year’s surgery and missing Spring Training, but he could bolster the club’s rotation depth once he gets stretched out. If he can put the back issues behind him and return to the big leagues, he’ll be out of options but could be kept around beyond this season if the Reds so choose. He currently has three years and 97 days of service time and could be retained via arbitration until he crosses the six-year mark.

Dodgers Designate Dylan Covey For Assignment

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The Dodgers announced today that left-hander Justin Bruihl and right-hander Andre Jackson have been recalled to the club. In corresponding moves, right-hander Dustin May was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right forearm strain and righty Dylan Covey designated for assignment.

The Dodgers have been facing various challenges with their pitching staff in recent days, leading to much improvising. They played a 12-inning game against the Twins on Monday, using six relievers after Noah Syndergaard lasted just four innings. On Tuesday, Clayton Kershaw was also bounced after just four frames, requiring the bullpen to pick up the remaining five.

That led the club to select Covey’s contract yesterday to give the bullpen a fresh arm. It was a good thing that they did, since May had to depart after just one inning with elbow pain. It was later reported that he has a flexor pronator strain and will likely miss four to six weeks, making today’s injured list placement inevitable. Covey stepped in and threw four innings in relief of May, allowing a couple of earned runs on five hits and one walk with three strikeouts. Four other pitchers came in after him as the Dodgers managed to pull off a 7-3 victory.

Despite playing a key role in that victory, Covey has been nudged out of his roster spot as the club was once again facing an exhausted pitching staff and needed some fresh arms. Prior to joining the big league club, he had a 4.22 ERA in 32 Triple-A innings on the year. The Dodgers will now have one week to trade him or pass him through waivers. He hasn’t really been a major league regular for a few years, pitching in the CPBL in Taiwan in 2021 and 2022, but it wouldn’t be a shock to see some other club express interest given the mounting pile of pitcher injuries around the league. In the event he does clear waivers, he would have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency, by virtue of having a previous career outright.

Yankees Place Jose Trevino On IL With Hamstring Strain, Recall Ben Rortvedt

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The Yankees announced that they have placed catcher Jose Trevino on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. Fellow backstop Ben Rortvedt has been recalled to take his place on the active roster.

Trevino, 30, had spent the 2018-2021 seasons as a part-time catcher with the Rangers before the Yankees acquired him going into 2022. He already had a reputation as a glove-first backstop, tallying eight Defensive Runs Saved with Texas in 2021. He took that part of his game to new heights with the Yanks last year, accruing 21 DRS for the season, winning a Gold Glove and a Fielding Bible award. He also hit 11 home runs and slashed .248/.283/.388 for a wRC+ of 91.

He hasn’t quite been able to maintain that pace so far this year, as he’s hitting just .219/.265/.333 and his defense has been around league average. Nonetheless, it’s a frustrating development for the Yankees, for whom injuries have become an ongoing concern. Trevino joins Josh Donaldson, Oswald Peraza, Giancarlo Stanton, Carlos Rodon, Luis Severino, Frankie Montas, Luis Gil, Scott Effross, Ian Hamilton, Tommy Kahnle, Jonathan Loáisiga and Lou Trivino, who are all currently on the injured list, while they’ve also seen Aaron Judge and Harrison Bader miss some time. Despite all of those absences, the club is still hanging tough with a 25-20 record so far, but continually shuffling the deck chairs could become a growing concern over a long season unless the health situation improves.

As for Rortvedt, he was also acquired prior to the 2022 season, coming over from the Twins alongside Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, but has yet to appear in a game as a Yankee mostly due to injuries. He suffered an oblique injury in the spring of 2022 then underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in April. He was eventually activated in August but was optioned to the minors. He did get recalled to the big league club in September but was optioned three days later without getting into a game. This year, Rortvedt underwent surgery in February on an aneurysm near the posterior in his left shoulder that was affecting his circulation. He began the year on the injured list and was activated a week ago but optioned to the minors again.

Given all of those hurdles, a running joke has developed among some Yankee fans that Rortvedt doesn’t even exist, but it now seems inevitable he will make his team debut at some point in the near future. He’ll likely be in the backup role in support of Kyle Higashioka, who had been backing up Trevino until now. Rortvedt has 39 games of MLB experience, which came with the Twins back 2021. He hit just .169/.229/.281 but earned 5 DRS in that short time and has positive framing metrics.

The Yankees also announced that Kahnle will begin a rehab assignment today with Single-A Tampa. The 33-year-old was signed in the offseason to a two-year, $11.5MM deal but has been on the IL all year so far due to biceps tendinitis. He was eventually transferred to the 60-day IL, meaning he won’t be eligible to return until next week but will likely need some time to get into game shape anyway. He has a career 3.78 ERA and 29.3% strikeout rate but has only thrown 13 2/3 innings since the end of 2019 due to various injuries.

AL Central Notes: McKenzie, White Sox, Kowar

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Guardians right-hander Triston McKenzie is headed out on a rehab assignment this Saturday, tweets MLB.com’s Mandy Bell. He’s slated to throw three innings and throw up to 50 pitches in what’ll likely be the first of multiple rehab outings. Cleveland has been without the 25-year-old righty all season due to a teres major strain, and the Guards have felt the absence acutely. Cleveland starters, regularly among the best in baseball, instead rank 15th in MLB with a 4.32 ERA this season. They’ve gotten strong results from several young hurlers Tanner Bibee and Logan T. Allen, but righties Hunter Gaddis, Zach Plesac and (to a lesser extent) Peyton Battenfield have all had their struggles.

McKenzie was Cleveland’s second-best starter in 2022, trailing only ace Shane Bieber in innings pitched (191 1/3) and ERA (2.96) while leading Cleveland starters with a 25.9% strikeout rate. If all goes well on McKenzie’s rehab stint, he’ll likely step back into the rotation alongside Bieber, Bibee, Allen and Cal Quantrill. McKenzie is currently on the 60-day injured list, so Cleveland will have to make a 40-man roster move before long in order to reinstate him.

A few more notes from the AL Central…

  • White Sox slugger Eloy Jimenez is hoping to return by next weekend, writes James Fegan of The Athletic. Jimenez told Sox beat writers that on the morning he had his appendix removed, he woke up vomiting and unable to see straight or stand. “I really thought I was going to die,” Jimenez said of that unsettling experience, but the 26-year-old pledged to be back in the lineup soon. Manager Pedro Grifol discussed the ways in which he’ll work each of Jimenez, Jake Burger and third baseman Yoan Moncada into the lineup, noting that playing Moncada or Burger at second base isn’t a consideration. The Sox will likely give Jimenez some time in right field, ostensibly at the expense of Gavin Sheets, and Grifol indicated that the hot-hitting Burger could also see some time at first base. In 106 plate appearances this season, Jimenez has batted .258/.321/.423, though he was on a 14-for-33 hot streak at the time of his placement on the injured list.
  • Former top pitching prospect Jackson Kowar is back with the Royals but will move to the bullpen on a long-term basis, writes Jaylon Thompson of the Kansas City Star. Kowar, the No. 33 overall selection in the 2018 draft, was one of several college pitchers around whom the Royals hoped to center their latest rebuilding efforts. It hasn’t gone to plan — either with Kowar specifically or with the rebuild as a whole — as he’s been tattooed for a 10.76 ERA in 46 big league innings. The former Florida Gator standout and top-100 prospect worked near-exclusively as a starter in the minors prior to this season but has made 12 of his 13 appearances in relief in 2023. The transition hasn’t been a smooth one, evidenced by the 26-year-old’s 7.00 ERA and 22-to-15 K/BB ratio in 18 relief innings in Triple-A Omaha, but the team believes enough in the raw stuff to give Kowar a look at the big league level. Manager Matt Quatraro tells Thompson the Royals see Kowar as “someone we can count on going forward.”

Dennis Santana Accepts Outright Assignment With Mets

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Mets right-hander Dennis Santana went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Syracuse, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. It’s the second time this season the Mets have outrighted Santana, which grants him the ability to reject the assignment in favor of free agency. I’m told that Santana has accepted the assignment and will head to Syracuse, however.

Santana, 27, has appeared in eight games for the Mets this season, tallying 8 2/3 innings but allowing six runs on eight hits — including a pair of homers — and five walks. He’s punched out 11 of 40 opponents and averaged 95.6 mph on his heater. That’s above-average velocity but still down from last year’s 97.7 mph average in Texas. Santana has also tossed 7 1/3 frames for the Mets’ top affiliate in Syracuse, notching a 3.68 ERA with an 11-to-6 K/BB ratio there.

Once considered one of the top prospects in a deep Dodgers system, Santana has begun to bounce around the league, going from L.A. to Texas to Atlanta and to Minnesota before being claimed by the Mets earlier this year. A rotator cuff strain back in 2018 wiped out most of that season, and Santana moved from a starting role to a relief role the following season. He’s seen Major League action in parts of six big league campaigns and compiled 147 2/3 innings, most of which has come with the Rangers over the past two seasons. Overall, Santana has a 5.18 earned run average 21.4% strikeout rate, 11.8% walk rate and 45.4% ground-ball rate as a big leaguer.

Santana has generated swinging strikes, chases on pitches off the plate and grounders at average or better rates throughout his Major League tenure — all while sitting at an average of 96.1 mph with a fastball that has plus spin rates each year. He’ll head back to Syracuse and continue to work on his command in hopes of earning another look at the big league level with the Mets sooner than later. Given the fluid state of the injury-plagued Mets relief corps — they’ve used 17 relievers already, tied for fourth-most in MLB — a strong showing in Syracuse could put Santana back on the big league map before long.

Yankees Plan To Activate Luis Severino On Sunday

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The Yankees are planning to activate right-hander Luis Severino from the injured list on Sunday, manager Aaron Boone said last night (Twitter link via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). He’ll make his season debut against the Reds after spending the first quarter of the year on the shelf with a lat strain. The news on injured reliever Ian Hamilton is a bit more ominous, as Boone revealed that the right-hander is back in New York to undergo an MRI after being placed on the 15-day IL due to a groin strain.

Severino, 29, will provide a sizable boost to a Yankees rotation that has also been without Carlos Rodon all season and recently lost Domingo German to a 10-game suspension after he was ejected from his most recent start on the heels of a foreign substance check from the umpiring crew. The Yankees have turned to former top prospect Clarke Schmidt and right-hander Jhony Brito in the rotation for much of the season, but neither has pitched well.

Despite the sub-par showings from Brito (5.20 ERA) and Schmidt (6.30), Yankees starters still rank 14th in the Majors with a collective 4.30 ERA. Gerrit Cole’s sensational start to the year skews that number, however. He and German are the only Yankees starters with an ERA under 5.00 at the moment, making Severino’s return of particular importance.

Severino, of course, has proven capable of pitching at an ace-caliber level when healthy. Dating back to the 2017 season, he boasts a 3.10 ERA with a 28.8% strikeout rate and 6.6% walk rate. The “when healthy” caveat carries plenty of weight with regard to Severino, however, as that impressive ERA and K-BB% profile has come in a sample of just 504 2/3 innings — including just 120 frames since the conclusion of the 2018 season. Severino pitched just 12 innings in 2019 due to shoulder and lat injuries, and he underwent Tommy John surgery in February of 2020. His 2021 comeback efforts were largely derailed by a Grade 2 groin strain and some recurring tightness in his shoulder. He pitched just six innings that year.

The 2022 season was Severino’s healthiest since he topped 190 innings in both the 2017-18 seasons, but he still managed only 19 starts and 102 innings of work due to a strain of the same right latissimus dorsi that has plagued him in 2023. The Yankees’ obvious hope is that the issue can be firmly put in the rearview mirror now, but only time will tell. Severino has made a pair of minor league rehab starts, lasting 3 1/3 innings apiece and holding opponents to three runs on eight hits and a pair of walks with six punchouts.

A healthy return will be of great importance not just from a team perspective but also through a personal lens. The Yankees exercised a $15MM option on Severino back in November, and he’s slated to become a free agent for the first time this coming offseason. The hope of pitching a full slate of 30-plus starts is already out the window, but if Severino can avoid the injured list from this point forth, he’ll still be viewed as one of the top arms in the class — obvious health risks notwithstanding.

For the time being, Severino will slot into the rotation along with Cole, Schmidt, Brito and a struggling Nestor Cortes (5.53 ERA in 42 1/3 innings). The team hasn’t gone on record to provide a firm timetable on Rodon, though Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported earlier in the week that a six-week timetable is viewed as a best-case scenario. That seems to generally align with the Yankees’ latest updates on the lefty, as Boone noted to Hoch and others that he’s recently thrown from 90 feet without incident. Rodon will still likely need multiple bullpen sessions, some live batting practice sessions and multiple minor league rehab starts before he’s a realistic option, so a return late next month indeed seems plausible if he can avoid further setbacks.

Nationals, Franmil Reyes Agree To Minor League Deal

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11:15am: Reyes’ contract with the Nats has opt-out dates on June 16 and July 1, Andrew Golden of the Washington Post tweets.

9:18am: The Nationals have agreed to a minor league contract with free-agent outfielder/designated hitter Franmil Reyes, per a report from Talk Nats (Twitter link). Reyes opened the season with the Royals but was optioned to Triple-A Omaha after a rough start and designated for assignment shortly thereafter. He cleared outright waivers and elected free agency last week.

The 27-year-old Reyes has a pair of 30-homer campaigns under his belt at the big league level but has seen his production take a sharp nosedive in recent seasons. After hitting .260/.325/.503 with 92 home runs in 1540 plate appearances between San Diego and Cleveland from 2018-21, the 6’5″ slugger flopped with a .221/.273/.365 batting line and 33.2% strikeout rate in 473 plate appearances between the Guardians and Cubs in 2022.

Chicago outrighted Reyes off the 40-man roster, and he elected free agency heading into the offseason. He lingered on the market into the new year but signed on with the Royals on a minor league pact. Reyes made Kansas City’s roster this spring but faded after a pair of early homers. In 65 trips to the plate, he hit just .186/.231/.288 and fanned at an ugly 36.9% clip.

Joey Meneses has been the Nationals’ primary designated hitter in 2023 and is slashing .295/.326/.387 with a pair of homers and ten doubles on the season. Reyes isn’t going to supplant Meneses anytime soon, and Dominic Smith is getting on base at a strong enough clip as the primary first baseman (.277/.361/.311) that there’s little urgency to push him out of the lineup, even if the Nats are surely hoping he’ll add some power to that output. It seems unlikely that the Nats would give Reyes substantial time in the outfield; he has just 208 innings on the grass dating back to 2020 and carries career marks of -17 Defensive Runs Saved and -10 Outs Above Average in 1420 career innings there.

Where Reyes could fit onto the big league roster is a secondary consideration at the moment anyhow. He hasn’t been a productive big league hitter since 2021, and his brief run with the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate saw him go 3-for-15 with a homer and seven strikeouts. He’ll head to Triple-A Rochester for the time being and hope to pare back his strikeout rate and tap back into the power he displayed during that strong stretch from 2018-21.

Rays Recall Taj Bradley, Plan To Keep Him In Rotation

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The Rays announced this morning that they’ve recalled right-hander Taj Bradley from Triple-A Durham and optioned fellow righty Zack Burdi to Durham in his place. It’s already Bradley’s third recall of the season, but Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that the top pitching prospect is expected to be installed in the rotation in a more permanent fashion moving forward. Manager Kevin Cash tells Topkin that the Rays “view him as one of our better options to go forward with.”

The 22-year-old Bradley, one of the most highly regarded pitching prospects in all of baseball, has made three starts in his debut campaign at the MLB level. In that time, he’s tossed 15 1/3 innings and held opponents to six runs (3.52 ERA) on 12 hits and two walks with an impressive 23 punchouts. He’s fanned 38.3% of his opponents against just a 3.3% walk rate in that tiny sample and averaged a hearty 96.4 mph on his heater.

Things haven’t been quite as rosy in the upper minors this season. Bradley made three starts following his most recent demotion and was tagged for an ugly 16 runs in nine innings during that stretch, although the bulk of the damage against him came in one nightmarish outing that saw Bradley yield eight runs in a single inning of work. That sour stretch won’t impact his chance to carve out a long-term spot in the team’s rotation, however.

Even if Bradley remains in the rotation from this point forth, he’ll finish out the season with 146 days of Major League service time, leaving him shy of a full year. A top-two finish in Rookie of the Year voting could still supersede that accrual of service time and award Bradley a full year of service, as agreed upon under the 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement. Failing that, he’s on track to reach Super Two status and be eligible for arbitration four times rather than the standard three — the first of which would fall after the 2025 season. As things currently stand, Bradley would be controllable through the 2029 season (again, pending Rookie of the Year voting or future optional assignments).

The Rays have one of the most talented pitching staffs in all of baseball but have been hit hard by injury, even dating back to the 2022  season, when prized prospect Shane Baz underwent Tommy John surgery. Early in the 2023 season, left-hander Jeffrey Springs looked to be taking his game to an even higher level after a breakout 2022 showing, but he made just three starts before requiring Tommy John surgery as well. The Rays also lost righty Drew Rasmussen to a forearm strain that’ll keep him out for at least two months.

Tyler Glasnow, meanwhile, missed the majority of the 2022 season while rehabbing from a Tommy John procedure and has yet to pitch in 2023 due to an oblique strain. He’s expected to return on May 26, per Topkin. That’d align Glasnow and Bradley in the rotation alongside Shane McClanahan, Zach Eflin and Josh Fleming, provided all can stay healthy.

Right-handers Yonny Chirinos and Cooper Criswell provide some depth beyond that group, but the swath of injuries is putting even the perennially pitching-rich Rays to the test. Another notable injury or two would leave the organization in a tougher spot. Tampa Bay has plenty of intriguing arms on the farm (e.g. Mason Montgomery, Cole Wilcox), but the majority of their most highly regarded pitchers beyond Bradley are a bit further down the ladder. Former top prospect Luis Patino has been moved from the rotation to the bullpen in Durham and struggled in both roles. The Rays have looked into stretching out righty Calvin Faucher, but his longest outing to date was 2 2/3 innings — back on April 15. He hasn’t pitched more than two innings in an appearance since. Of course, the team pioneered the usage of openers and is no stranger to bullpen games; that tactic is always an alternative, but does take a toll on the staff over a long term.

For now, the hope will be for Bradley to stabilize one spot on the starting staff and for Glasnow to return in roughly a week’s time. From a bigger-picture standpoint, Bradley will look to follow in McClanahan’s shoes as the next homegrown rotation star from a Rays organization that routinely churns out high-quality pitchers (both draftees and trade acquisitions alike).

The Opener: Freeman, Sanchez, Stripling

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As the 2023 regular season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Freeman approaching milestone:

Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman sits at 299 career home runs. With his next trip around the bases, he’ll become just the 155th player in MLB history to hit 300 home runs in his career, joining Miguel Cabrera, Nelson Cruz, Giancarlo Stanton, Mike Trout, Joey Votto, Evan Longoria, Paul Goldschmidt, and Nolan Arenado as the only active players to reach the milestone. Freeman is playing up to his usual excellent standards so far in 2023, with a .310/.382/.511 slash line that puts him right in line with his career averages.

2. Will Sanchez be promoted?

Rumors percolated yesterday that the Mets were considering a promotion to the big league club for veteran catcher Gary Sanchez, who is in Triple-A on a minor league deal. Sanchez, who spent seven seasons in New York with the Yankees, has posted a 1.077 OPS in 32 plate appearances for the club’s affiliate in Syracuse. Sanchez would take the spot of Michael Perez on the roster if promoted, forming a tandem with longtime top prospect Francisco Alvarez for the time being. The Mets, of course, would need to re-evaluate their catching tandem upon the return of Omar Narvaez, who is due back from a calf strain sometime next month. The potential promotion for Sanchez comes against the backdrop of his looming opt-out, which he can exercise tomorrow.

3. Stripling exits:

Giants right-hander Ross Stripling exited yesterday’s start against the Phillies with lower back tightness, as relayed by MLB.com’s Maria Guardado. The 2023 season has been a struggle for Stripling so far. The 33-year-old righty owns a 7.24 ERA and 6.74 FIP in 32 1/3 innings, with five starts and four appearances out of the bullpen. The Giants have an off-day today, meaning it’s possible that Stripling’s status going forward won’t be made clear until tomorrow. With that being said, if Stripling is set to miss time, that could open the door for left-hander Sean Manaea to return to the rotation. Manaea has struggled similarly to Stripling so far this year, with a 7.81 ERA and 6.74 FIP in 27 2/3 innings of work split between six starts and three appearances out of the bullpen.

MLB Trade Rumors Podcast: The Cardinals’ Contreras U-Turn, Mitch Keller’s Breakout, The Padres

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Episode 7 of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Simon Hampton is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss:

  • The Cardinals’ U-turn on having Willson Contreras catch (4:22)
  • Mitch Keller’s breakout season with the Pirates, and whether he can be their ace moving forward (10:32)
  • When can Reds fans expect to see Elly De La Cruz in the big leagues? (17:09)
  • Eduardo Rodriguez’ form for the Tigers, and whether Detroit can contend this season (20:56)
  • The Padres’ slow start to the season (25:34)

Check out our past episodes!

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

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