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Red Sox Acquire Zack Littell, Select Him Onto MLB Roster

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TODAY: As expected, the Red Sox selected Littell’s contract and he is now part of their active roster. In corresponding moves, Ort was optioned to Triple-A and Adam Duvall was shifted to the 60-day injured list. Duvall was placed on the 10-day IL just under four weeks ago due to a fractured wrist, and since it will still be a couple of weeks before Duvall is even able to start swinging, his move to the 60-day IL opens up a 40-man roster spot for Boston.

MAY 5, 11:38pm: Littell’s contract with the Rangers contained an upward mobility clause requiring the Rangers to trade him or promote him to the majors if another club was willing to add him to the MLB roster, reports Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). The Red Sox expressed a willingness to do so, leading to the trade. While Littell was initially assigned to Triple-A Worcester, he’s expected to be formally promoted to the major league roster shortly.

5:30pm: The Red Sox have acquired right-hander Zack Littell from the Rangers, reports Kennedi Landry of MLB.com, with cash considerations going the other way. Littell wasn’t on the club’s 40-man roster, so no corresponding moves will be necessary.

Littell, 27, was with the Giants the past two years but was outrighted off their roster at the end of last season and elected free agency. He signed a minor league deal with the Rangers in the winter and had been pitching well in Triple-A. Through 12 innings for the Round Rock Express, he had a 2.25 ERA, striking out 33.3% of opponents against a tiny walk rate of 4.2%.

That’s a stronger performance than he’s managed in the big leagues recently. With San Francisco in 2021 and 2022, he tossed 106 innings with a 3.82 ERA, 23.1% strikeout rate and 8.4% walk rate. It seems the Red Sox were encouraged enough by the small sample improvements to take a shot on him, while the Rangers were seemingly content to let him go and pocket some cash.

Littell is out of options, meaning that he’d have to stick in the big leagues if he gets back there, or else be designated for assignment. But in the event he does back to the bigs and sticks, he could be retained for future seasons. He came into this season with three years and 67 days of service time, meaning he could get to the four-year mark in 2023 if called up soon. Even in that case, he’d have a couple more arb years before getting to the six-year mark and automatic free agency, though a delayed call-up could push that back.

The Sox have dealt with a handful of injuries to their relief corps this year, as Zack Kelly, Joely Rodríguez and Wyatt Mills are all on the injured list. Right-hander Kutter Crawford joined them today when the Sox put him on the IL with a left hamstring strain, recalling righty Kaleb Ort to take his place. Littell will give the club a bit of extra non-roster depth and try to work his way back to the majors.

Reds Activate Wil Myers, DFA Matt Reynolds

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The Reds announced they’ve activated Wil Myers from the injured list and designated infielder Matt Reynolds for assignment.

It’ll be the minimum time possible on the IL for Myers, who went on the IL due to neck spasms last month. The veteran signed a one-year, $7.5MM deal with the Reds this winter, but has struggled to a .222/.292/.321 line with two home runs through his first 89 plate appearances of the season. A big concern for the Reds is the spike in strikeouts for the veteran, who’s punched out in 34.8% of his plate appearances so far this season, a number that’s been rising year-on-year since his impressive 2020 season.

With Myers back, the team parts ways with utility-man Reynolds. The 32-year-old got into just two games for the Reds this season, tallying a single hit in five plate appearances. It’s his second season in Cincinnati, and in a far more extended run in the bigs last year Reynolds hit .246/.320/.332 with three home runs in 273 plate appearances.

Primarily an infielder, Reynolds has also logged time in the outfield, spending time at every position bar catcher throughout his career. He’ll now be exposed to the rest of the league via the waiver wire.

White Sox Designate Jake Diekman, Franklin German; Select Alex Colomé, Sammy Peralta

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May 6: The White Sox have requested unconditional release waivers on Diekman following his DFA earlier in the week, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun Times relays.

May 2: The White Sox announced a massive series of roster moves today, including reinstating infielders Tim Anderson and Hanser Alberto from the injured list. Additionally, they selected the contracts of right-hander Alex Colomé, left-hander Sammy Peralta and outfielder Billy Hamilton, the latter move having already been reported earlier today. To make room for all of those players, righty Joe Kelly was placed on the paternity list, infielder/outfielder Romy González was placed on the 10-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation, outfielder Óscar Colás and infielder Lenyn Sosa were optioned to Triple-A while lefty Jake Diekman and righty Franklin German were designated for assignment. One spot on the 40-man roster was already open after A.J. Alexy was outrighted last week.

The White Sox have been off to a terrible start this year, going 8-21 as multiple key players have dealt with injuries. It was reported on the weekend that Anderson and Alberto would be coming back today, so those moves aren’t surprising. But it seems the club has decided to use their returns to springboard an incredible roster shakeup, with 11 players involved in today’s shuffling as they try to alter their trajectory.

Diekman, 36, has a lengthy track record of effectiveness in the big leagues but has fallen on hard times in recent years. At the end of 2021, he had a 3.73 ERA through 529 career appearances. His 12.7% walk rate was definitely on the high side but he also struck out 29% of batters faced and got grounders on 47.9% of balls in play. His ERA was a bit high at 4.23 with the Red Sox at the deadline last year when they flipped him to the Pale Hose for Reese McGuire, a player to be named later and cash. Unfortunately, he posted a 6.52 ERA with the Sox the rest of the way and has a 7.94 mark so far this year. He’s walked an incredible 22.4% of batters faced this season, exacerbating a longstanding issue and getting himself bumped off the roster.

The Sox will now have a week to trade Diekman or pass him through waivers but the interest around the league is unlikely to be widespread. Left-handed relief is always in demand but Diekman is making $3.5MM this year and has a $1MM buyout on a $4MM club option for 2024. Given his recent struggles, no team will want to take on that money, meaning he will likely pass through waivers unclaimed. Once he does so, he has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency.

Also designated for assignment is German, 25, who made his major league debut with the Red Sox last year but changed the color of his Sox via a February trade. Though he got five appearances in the big leagues last season, he spent most of the year in Triple-A, posting a 2.58 ERA with a 30.5% strikeout rate and 10.6% walk rate. Unfortunately, everything has gone in the wrong direction since the deal. He has an ERA of 7.15 in Triple-A so far this season, with his strikeout rate having dipped to 26.7% and his walks up to 15%.

One of those roster spots will go to Colomé, 34, who has a long résumé of work in the big leagues, including a previous stint with the White Sox. He has a 3.34 ERA over his career but has seen his results slip in the past couple of seasons. He had a tiny 0.81 ERA in the small sample of the shortened 2020 season but saw that jump to 4.15 and 5.74 in the subsequent campaigns. He signed a minor league deal with the Nationals this winter but didn’t make the club out of camp and opted out, jumping to the White Sox on another minors deal. He has a 2.25 ERA through his first 10 appearances in Triple-A this year, but with some good luck seemingly helping him out. He’s stranded 84.9% of baserunners despite an 18.9% strikeout rate and 10.8% walk rate.

Also joining the club’s bullpen will be Peralta, which will be a bit of an early birthday present for him, as he turns 25 next week. An 18th round selection in the 2019 draft, he has climbed the minor league ladder in the years since. He split last year between Double-A and Triple-A with a combined 3.77 ERA in 62 innings, striking out 29.2% of batters faced while walking 8.5%. He has a 3.52 ERA so far this year through 15 1/3 Triple-A innings.

In addition to all that 40-man roster shuffling, the club also optioned Colás. He will still be on the 40-man but it’s notable that he’s seemingly been pushed out of the club’s plans for the time being. He had no major league experience coming into this year but was a bit older and more experienced than a typical prospect since he had already played in the Cuban National Series and Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.

He was given the club’s everyday right field job this year but has hit just .211/.265/.276 through 25 games for a wRC+ of 51. He was just added to the club’s roster in March and has a full slate of options, which the club will now use to get him some more seasoning in the minors. He hit an incredible .314/.371/.524 in the minors last year, going from High-A to Double-A to Triple-A, but only seven of his 117 games were at the highest level. He’ll now head back to Charlotte to work his way back to the majors. This could have ramifications for his service time, since he was previously on pace to get a full year in 2023 but now will end up shy of that once he spends 20 days in the minors, which would push back his free agency and perhaps his arbitration as well.

Andrew Benintendi and Luis Robert Jr. would normally be in left and center field, respectively, but the latter has been dealing with a minor injury of late. With Colás now optioned out, right field could be shared by some mix of Eloy Jiménez, Gavin Sheets and Adam Haseley, with Hamilton perhaps entering the mix as well.

Cardinals Activate Adam Wainwright, Select Tres Barrera, DFA Taylor Motter

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The Cardinals announced a series of roster moves prior to today’s clash with the Tigers, activating veteran Adam Wainwright from the 15-day IL and selecting the contract of catcher Tres Barrera. Guillermo Zuniga was optioned to Triple-A while infielder Taylor Motter was designated for assignment. Wainwright will start today’s match.

The return of Wainwright is a big boost to a Cardinals rotation that – outside of Jordan Montgomery – has struggled mightily to start the season. Cardinals starters rank 24th in the majors with a 5.39 ERA, with Montgomery’s 3.29 mark holding things together while Steven Matz, Miles Mikolas and Jack Flaherty have all disappointed.

The 41-year-old Wainwright will make his first start of what will be his final big league season. Despite his age, Wainwright has been a reliable starter for the Cardinals in recent years, making 64 starts in the past two seasons and working to a 3.37 ERA. His return should help as the Cardinals try to stabilize their rotation, and get back into the race for the NL Central after a disappointing 10-23 start.

The selection of Barrera is also a noteworthy one, as it sees the Cardinals shift major off-season recruit Willson Contreras off catching duties. St Louis will now primarily work with Andrew Knizner at backstop with Barrera backing him up, while Contreras will almost exclusively see time at DH and in the outfield, manager Oli Marmol told reporters (including Derrick Goold of the St Louis Post-Dispatch).

The presence of Contreras in the outfield and DH will further crowd the Cardinals’ picture there, with Tyler O’Neill, Lars Nootbar, Dylan Carlson and the recently optioned Jordan Walker all factors in play. Contreras has hit at usual above average clip, posting a .280/.361/.421 line with a pair of home runs but his framing numbers are below average and with the Cards’ rotation struggling it appears they’ve moved to shake things up a bit.

Barrera joined the Cardinals on a minor league deal this winter after spending the entirety of his career in the Nationals organization. He has exactly one year of service time over three big league seasons, putting together a .231/.317/.315 line with two home runs in that time. He’ll now presumably serve as Knizner’s backup with the big league club.

Motter also joined the Cardinals this year to a work as a utility option off the bench. He’d put together a .200/.273/.300 line in just 22 plate appearances, striking out in more than 36% of his plate appearances. In his brief stint with the Cardinals he logged time at second and third, but he’s also seen time at short and in the outfield for other teams throughout his career. While the offensive numbers don’t inspire much confidence, it’s possible another team sees value in Motter’s ability to bounce round the diamond and places a claim on the 33-year-old.

Zuniga, 24, made his big league debut for the Cards this season, pitching just a solitary inning out of the bullpen, striking out a couple of batters and keeping things scoreless. He’ll head back to Triple-A and continue to provide the team with relief pitching depth there, where he has a 5.40 ERA in 8 1/3 innings this season.

NL East Notes: Nola, Strahm, Suarez, Mets, Wright

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Phillies starter Aaron Nola will go into the off-season as one of the top available free agent pitchers, but Philadelphia’s expected to make a strong push to re-sign him, according to a report from the New York Post’s Jon Heyman.

It’s reported that the Phillies had at least some discussion with Nola this past winter about an extension, but their offer – which came in north of $100MM but south of the $162MM Carlos Rodon received from the Yankees – clearly didn’t get the job done. Heyman adds that Nola prefers a return to Philadelphia, and while 29 other teams could make a run at him in the winter, the Phillies will likely try again to keep him in town.

Nola’s off to a slower start than usual this year, working to a 4.64 ERA through his first seven starts, but has been one of the game’s most durable pitchers in recent seasons. He’s made more than 30 starts in every full season going back to 2018, and has compiled a very healthy 3.47 ERA in that time with above average walk and strikeout rates. As for this season, seven starts is not an insignificant sample size, and a slight drop in velocity in his fastball has seen his strikeout rate dip to just 19.2%, the lowest rate of his career.

As Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer noted about a week ago, Nola is a slow worker and the pitch clock change has been a tough adjustment for him. In any case, it’s certainly too early to write off Nola based on seven starts and it’s worth noting that the bulk of the damage was done in his first three starts, and he’s averaging almost seven innings per start with a 3.29 ERA since then.

While there’s still a full season to play out, Nola’s track record should stand him in good stead to do well in free agency. While he may not possess the dominant stuff Rodon displayed in the past two seasons, his durability is far superior and as we see so often, that is a huge value add for starting pitchers. With that in mind, it’s unsurprising Nola seemingly wasn’t interested in a deal below Rodon’s $162MM.

Here’s some more notes from around the NL East:

  • Sticking with the Phillies to begin with, and they’ll move Matt Strahm back to the bullpen with Ranger Suarez expected to return to the rotation shortly, per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. Strahm’s given the Phillies some solid value out of the rotation, making six starts and working to a 3.51 ERA – including three scoreless starts. That’s been hugely helpful to a Phillies rotation that’s been slow out of the gates, with Nola and Zack Wheeler sporting ERAs above four and off-season recruit Taijuan Walker sitting at 6.91. The return of Suarez from an elbow injury will be a welcome addition, particularly if he can continue the excellent work he put in last season, where he worked to a 3.65 ERA across 29 starts. The Phillies have made a slow start to the season, sitting 15-18 entering play Saturday and seven games adrift of the Braves in first place, so the return of players like Suarez and Bryce Harper will be critical to getting them back in the race for one of baseball’s more competitive divisions.
  • The Mets are one more team off to a slower than expected start, after another busy off-season they sit 17-16 entering play Saturday. That’s not concerning GM Billy Eppler though, who told reporters (including Tim Britton of The Athletic) that he still believes in this roster. “I believe in this team and the players that are here. There’s too much track record, there’s too much these guys have accomplished, there’s too much know-how,” Eppler said. While a 17-16 record is certainly not the end of the world, the Mets expected better and one focus might be the top of the team’s payroll, where some of their highly-paid stars are underperforming through the first month. Starling Marte is hitting just .219/.299/.286 while Max Scherzer has a 5.56 ERA, yet Eppler says he’s not concerned by either. The Mets also just welcomed back Justin Verlander from the IL, so his return to the rotation will provide a big boost as they look to keep up with the Braves.
  • Kyle Wright’s MRI revealed a right shoulder strain which the Braves will re-evaluate at a later date, per Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. There is currently no timetable for his return. After a breakout season in 2022 which saw him finish tenth in NL Cy Young voting, Wright’s struggled in 2023, working to a 5.79 ERA in five starts. It seems likely the shoulder played a part in that step back, given Wright dealt with shoulder problems during spring training, and started the season on the IL. That’s a blow for Wright, who made 30 starts and pitched to a 3.19 ERA last season. The Braves, at least, are in a good position to weather the loss of Wright, with Spencer Strider, Max Fried and Charlie Morton all well established arms in Atlanta’s rotation, and Bryce Elder enjoying a strong start to the season.

Astros’ Luis Garcia To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Astros starter Luis Garcia will undergo Tommy John surgery, the club informed reporters (including Chandler Rome of the Athletic). He’ll miss the rest of the season and quite likely a good chunk of the 2024 campaign as well.

It’s a brutal blow to the defending World Series champions. Garcia has been a pivotal member of the starting staff. After a brief debut during the abbreviated season, Garcia secured a rotation spot in 2021. The Venezuelan-born hurler started 28 games in each of the next couple years, tossing between 155 and 160 innings. He allowed fewer than four earned runs per nine with better than average strikeout and walk rates during each year.

The 26-year-old had been off to a similar start in 2023. Through six starts, he tallied 27 frames of 4.00 ERA ball. Garcia had punched out 27% of batters faced against a serviceable 8.7% walk rate. For his career, he’s now up to 352 innings with a 3.61 ERA while fanning a little more than a quarter of opponents.

Unfortunately, Garcia departed Monday’s start in the first inning with elbow discomfort. He’d thrown just eight pitches and was working with diminished velocity before his early exit. The Astros sent him for an MRI that apparently revealed damage to the UCL in his throwing elbow.

Houston is also without José Urquidy and Lance McCullers Jr. at the moment. Urquidy is dealing with shoulder inflammation and midway through a 10-day shutdown period. McCullers is building back from a muscle strain in his throwing arm. Garcia’s injury is even more serious and leaves the club with a top-heavy starting staff. Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier and rookie Hunter Brown make for an excellent top three. The final two spots have been thrown in flux. Brandon Bielak is moving into the starting staff, while 28-year-old J.P. France is coming up for his major league debut tomorrow.

Bolstering the rotation midseason could well be a priority for general manager Dana Brown and his front office. Houston has started the season with a pedestrian 16-15 record. They’re still within 2 1/2 games of the division-leading Rangers and it’d be a surprise if the Astros weren’t in position to add to the MLB roster midseason. Notable external solutions aren’t likely to be available for over a month, though, leaving Houston to rely upon a group of mostly inexperienced depth starters from the upper minors.

Garcia is already on the 15-day injured list. He’ll be transferred to the 60-day IL whenever the club needs to free a spot on the 40-man roster. He can remain on the IL for the rest of the season but will need to be reinstated onto the 40-man over the winter. Garcia will collect service time for his rehab time, pushing him past the three-year mark by the end of the season. He’ll be eligible for arbitration for the first time next offseason and isn’t ticketed for free agency until the 2026-27 offseason.

Astros Acquire Nick Allgeyer From Phillies

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The Astros acquired minor league lefty Nick Allgeyer from the Phillies in exchange for cash considerations this afternoon, as reflected on the MLB.com transaction tracker. He’ll report to Houston’s top affiliate in Sugar Land.

Initially selected by the Blue Jays in the 12th round of the 2018 draft, Allgeyer pitched his way to the upper levels of the Toronto system. He earned a cup of coffee at the big league level in 2021, tossing one inning of scoreless relief. The Jays ran him through outright waivers quickly thereafter, however, and he hasn’t made it back to the majors since that point.

For the past two-plus years, the University of Iowa product has mostly pitched in Triple-A. He’s worked in a swing role, starting 36 of 61 appearances. Over 202 1/3 Triple-A frames, Allgeyer carries a 5.34 ERA with a slightly below-average 20.9% strikeout rate and an elevated 11% walk percentage. Allgeyer started four games with the Phils’ top affiliate after signing a minor league contract over the winter. He’s struck out 15 and walked six in 12 innings of six-run ball while keeping the ball on the ground at a solid 48.3% clip.

Allgeyer adds some upper level rotation help to an organization whose starting pitching depth is being tested. Luis Garcia, José Urquidy and Lance McCullers Jr. are all on the injured list. Garcia is done for the year after today’s announcement that he’ll undergo Tommy John surgery. That has pushed Brandon Bielak and J.P. France to the MLB rotation, while some of Houston’s other depth starters are battling injuries of their own.

Righty Shawn Dubin was placed on the minor league injured list today. Former top prospect Forrest Whitley is dealing with minor soreness near his throwing shoulder and will take a day or two off throwing, reports Brian McTaggart of MLB.com (Twitter link). Both Dubin and Whitley are on the 40-man roster, though neither has yet pitched in the majors.

Nationals Release Chad Pinder

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The Nationals have released Chad Pinder, reports the Talk Nats blog (Twitter link). The veteran utilityman had been in the organization on a minor league contract. He’ll return to the open market in search of a new landing spot.

Pinder, 31, played parts of seven seasons with the A’s. The former second round draftee hit .242/.294/.417 in 553 games with Oakland. At his best, the right-handed hitter has compensated for middling on-base marks with decent power production. He’s topped double digits in homers on four separate occasions. The bulk of the damage has come against left-handed pitching, as Pinder carries a career .264/.322/.456 line when holding the platoon advantage.

While Pinder continued to hit lefties at an above-average clip last season, he slumped to a .218/.250/.341 slash while fanning nearly a third of the time versus right-handed arms. That limited him to minor league offers over the winter. Pinder first caught on with the Reds and spent Spring Training in the Cincinnati organization. He slumped to a .103/.167/.154 line in exhibition play and didn’t make the team. Pinder exercised an opt-out and quickly landed with Washington.

Pinder’s offensive struggles continued with the Nats’ top affiliate in Rochester. In 16 games, he hit .218/.308/.309. He walked at a quality 11.3% clip against a manageable 24.2% strikeout rate but only managed three extra-base hits (a homer and two doubles) in 62 trips to the plate.

Latest On Carlos Rodon

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The Yankees have been without one of their top offseason signees all season. Carlos Rodón started the year on the injured list with a forearm strain, and while he’s put that issue behind him, back soreness has kept him out of action. There’s still plenty of uncertainty around the two-time All-Star’s timetable, as Rodón provided a concerning update this evening.

Rodón told the Yankees’ beat doctors informed him that his back issue is “chronic” (via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). He didn’t provide much more clarity, although he’ll receive a cortisone injection early next week. There’s no present target date for a return to the mound, as Rodón noted “whenever my body tells me I can throw and everyone agrees that I can throw, then I’ll start throwing” (link via Brendan Kuty of the Athletic).

It’s obviously a worrisome situation for the Yankees due both to its short and long-term implications. New York envisioned Rodón slotting in as co-ace alongside Gerrit Cole when signing him to a six-year, $162MM free agent deal. It was the second-largest pitching contract of the offseason, a reflection of the southpaw’s 2.67 ERA and 33.9% strikeout rate over the past two seasons.

Injuries have instead taken out the bulk of what the Yankees had planned as their season-opening starting staff. Frankie Montas is going to miss the majority of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery. Luis Severino has yet to make his debut because of a lat strain. Those issues have pushed Jhony Brito, Clarke Schmidt and Domingo Germán into the rotation behind Cole and Nestor Cortes.

New York’s rotation has still been solid overall. They rank 11th in ERA (4.07) and third in strikeout percentage (26%). That’s almost all attributable to Cole, though. He’s off to a Cy Young caliber start, allowing only 1.35 earned runs per nine while fanning 29.4% of opposing hitters. Cortes, Germán and Schmidt are all missing bats at above-average rates but have been victimized by the home run ball, resulting in ERAs pushing or north of 5.00. Brito has had an up-and-down rookie season.

The Yankees have started the year 17-15. That’s a respectable showing given the number of injuries they’ve faced but has them at the bottom of an ultra-competitive AL East. Rotation help figures to be among the priorities for general manager Brian Cashman and his front office once the summer trade market begins to heat up. That’d be particularly true if Rodón’s health outlook is still uncertain as the deadline gets closer.

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