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Roenis Elías Signs With KBO’s SSG Landers

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The SSG Landers of the KBO League announced that they have signed left-hander Roenis Elías, hat tip to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net. Elías will take the roster spot of fellow lefty Enny Romero and make a salary of $540K. Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News had previously reported that these moves were close.

Elias, 34, has made 133 major league appearances dating back to the 2014 season, spending time with the Mariners, Red Sox and Nationals. He has a 3.96 ERA in 395 2/3 career innings, striking out 19.6% of batters faced, walking 9% and getting grounders at a 42% clip.

The lefty signed a minor league deal with the Cubs this winter but didn’t make the club out of camp. He made four starts in Triple-A this year, posting a 5.48 ERA, but will now get a chance to test himself overseas, earning a larger salary than he would have garnered if he stayed in the minors.

He’ll take the place of Romero, who signed with the Landers back in December. However, he injured his shoulder back in March, per Kurtz, and hasn’t pitched in an official game yet this season. KBO teams can only carry two foreign pitchers on their roster and the Landers have one spot taken by Kirk McCarty. Romero’s unfortunate injury will open the door for Elías to get an opportunity.

Angels Interested In Gary Sánchez

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The Angels are among the clubs that have interest in free agent catcher Gary Sánchez, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

Sanchez, 30, had previously been with the Giants on a minor league deal. He would have earned a $4MM salary if he made the club but he also had an opt-out on May 1 if he didn’t. He hit just .164/.319/.182 for the River Cats and then triggered that opt-out after the Giants declined to give him a roster spot.

Despite that rough showing, it’s not terribly surprising that the the Angels would have interest, given their uncertainty behind the plate. Logan O’Hoppe was off to a hot start through the first few weeks of the season but was recently diagnosed with a torn labrum in his left shoulder that will keep him out of action for the next four to six months. Max Stassi began the year on the injured list due to a hip injury but has also been waylaid by an unknown personal issue and has no timeline for return, per Sam Blum of The Athletic.

That’s left the club with Chad Wallach and Matt Thaiss as the only healthy backstops on the roster. Wallach is hitting an excellent .261/.292/.522 on the year for a 121 wRC+ but in a small sample of 24 plate appearances. His career batting line is a much more modest .203/.267/.316, leading to a 61 wRC+. It’s somewhat similar for Thaiss, who is slashing .207/.343/.379 this year for a 108 wRC+ but his .205/.304/.374 career slash translates to an 84 wRC+.

Sanchez has struggled in recent years and so far this season but was once one of the most potent backstops in the game. From 2016 to 2019, he hit 105 home runs and produced a line of .247/.328/.518 and a 123 wRC+. Unfortunately, his 25.2% strikeout rate in that time spiked to 29.5% in the 2020-2022 stretch. He still hit 49 home runs but his diminished .195/.287/.394 line amounted to a wRC+ of just 90 in that time. He’s long received shaky reviews for his defense but he was considered above average by Defensive Runs Saved last year in addition to getting strong marks for his framing from both FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus.

Neither Thaiss nor Wallach can be optioned, so the Halos would likely be looking at cutting one of them if they gave a spot to Sanchez. But since he had to settle for a minor league deal last time he was on the market and didn’t perform especially well, he might be looking at another minor deal this time around unless injuries around the league have expanded the demand.

Robinson Chirinos Announces Retirement

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Veteran catcher Robinson Chirinos announced on Twitter today that he is retiring from professional baseball. “With a happy, yet heavy heart, I am announcing my retirement from professional baseball,” the statement reads. “After much contemplation and reflection, I have decided to close this chapter of my life. It has not been an easy decision, but I feel that it is the right one for me as I have given my heart and soul to this sport over so many years.” He then goes on to thank his family members, teammates, coaches, fans, team staff and many others who he crossed paths with over the years.

Chirinos, now 38 years old, originally signed with the Cubs as an amateur out of Venezuela back in 2000, shortly after his 16th birthday. An infielder at that time, he would toil away in the Cubs’ minor league system for a decade, starting his move to the catcher position in 2008. He was added to the club’s 40-man roster after 2010 but was traded to the Rays a few months later, going alongside Chris Archer and others as the Cubs acquired Matt Garza.

It was in that 2011 season that Chirinos was able to make his major league debut, getting into 20 games, but he had to miss the entire 2012 campaign due to a concussion.  He was traded to the Rangers in April of 2013 for a player to be named later and would eventually spend six years with that club. His role was initially limited but gradually grew over time as he provided some pop behind the plate. From 2013 to 2018, he hit 67 home runs in 442 games, slashing .233/.325/.443 during that time for a wRC+ of 104. That coincided with a good stretch for the club as well, as Chirinos was able to get into four postseason games with the Rangers between 2015 and 2016.

He reached free agency for the first time after 2018 and he eventually signed with the Astros for one year and $5.75MM. He had a nice season in Houston, launching 17 home runs and hitting .238/.347/.443 for a wRC+ of 112. He would get into 14 more postseason games that year as the Astros went to the World Series, ultimately falling to the Nationals in seven games.

He would go into journeyman mode for the next few years. He returned to the Rangers for 2020 on a one-year, $6.75MM deal but ultimately hit just .162/.232/.243 in the shortened season, which included a trade to the Mets. He signed a minor league deal with the Yankees for 2021 but fractured his wrist after being hit by a pitch in Spring Training. He was released and eventually got into 45 games for the Cubs after returning to health, then got into another 67 contests with the Orioles last year.

All told, it was an unusual career for Chirinos, who seemed to do everything a little later than normal. He didn’t start playing his primary position until his mid-20s, then didn’t make it to the majors until his age-27 season and didn’t really become a regular until he was 30. Both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference consider his best season by wins above replacement to be 2019, his age-35 campaign.

Despite that delayed trajectory, he still managed to get into 714 major league games and make 2,457 plate appearances. He tallied 480 hits, including 95 home runs, scoring 275 times and driving in 306. MLBTR congratulates Chirinos on a fine career and wishes him the best in the next stages of his life.

Nationals Sign José Ureña To Minor League Deal

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The Nationals have signed right-hander Jose Ureña to a minor league deal, per Bobby Blanco of MASNsports.com, relaying word from the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings.

Ureña, 31, was signed by the Rockies this winter, securing himself a $3.5MM guarantee in the form of a $3MM salary for this year and a $500K buyout on a $4MM club option for 2024. Unfortunately, he was torched for a 9.82 ERA in his first five starts, getting designated for assignment and then released. The Rockies will still be on the hook for the majority of that money. If Ureña eventually earns his way onto the Nats’ roster, they will only have to pay him the prorated league minimum, with that amount being subtracted from what the Rockies dish out.

The righty has some good seasons on his ledger, but they are a bit in the rearview mirror now. He posted an ERA under 4.00 with the Marlins in both 2017 and 2018 but has seen it finish north of 5.00 in each season since then. He’s bounced from the Marlins to the Tigers, Brewers and Rockies in that time. For his career, he has a 4.92 ERA, 15.4% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate and 48.1% ground ball rate.

The Nationals have a bit of rotation uncertainty right now, with Stephen Strasburg on the injured list with no return in sight, Cade Cavalli set to miss the entire season due to Tommy John surgery and Chad Kuhl recently hitting the IL due to a toe injury. That’s left them with a rotation consisting of Josiah Gray, MacKenzie Gore, Patrick Corbin, Trevor Williams and Jake Irvin. Gray, Gore and Williams are posting good results so far but Corbin has a 5.74 ERA and hasn’t been below 5.00 in a full season since 2019. Irvin is just making his major league debut tonight.

Ureña will head to Rochester to try to get into a good groove and perhaps get himself in line to get called the next time the club needs a starter. The Nats also have depth options on the 40-man roster in Cory Abbott, Paolo Espino and Joan Adon.

Robbie Ray Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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The Mariners provided an update today on left-hander Robbie Ray, who was reported last week to require season-ending flexor tendon surgery. “Ray, 31, had surgery today on his left elbow,” the press release reads. “The surgery was performed by Dr. Keith Meister at TMI Sports Medicine in Arlington, Texas. Dr. Meister performed a flexor tendon repair and reconstructed the Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL) in Ray’s left arm.” The flexor tendon surgery was already reported upon but the UCL reconstruction, also known as Tommy John surgery, wasn’t publicly known prior to today.

In the short term, this news doesn’t change much for the Mariners, as they’ve already been planning on operating without Ray for the remainder of the year. But since TJS typically requires a recovery period of 14 to 18 months, this update seems to indicate the club will be without Ray for even longer, likely a few months into the 2024 season as well.

That’s obviously unwelcome news, as Ray has been one of the better pitchers in the league in recent seasons. After some inconsistency earlier in his career, he had a tremendous season with the Blue Jays in 2021. He posted an ERA of 2.84 in 32 starts with a 32.1% strikeout rate, 6.7% walk rate and 37.2% ground ball rate. He won the American League Cy Young award and parlayed that performance into a five-year, $115MM deal with the Mariners.

His first year with Seattle was a bit of a drop-off from the previous season but still with plenty to like. He made 32 starts with a 3.71 ERA, striking out 27.4% of opponents, walking 8% and getting grounders at a 39.2% clip. That helped the Mariners break their postseason drought, making it into the playoffs for the first time since 2001. Unfortunately, he was only able to make a single start this year before landing on the injured list and likely won’t make another until midway through 2024.

The Mariners should still have a strong front four in the rotation between now and then as long as everyone is healthy. Luis Castillo and Marco Gonzales are both still under contract next year while both George Kirby and Logan Gilbert are still many years from qualifying for free agency. The final spot is a little less certain since Chris Flexen has been struggling and is slated for free agency after this season anyway. Prospect Bryce Miller was called up recently to start an audition and Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reported that it wasn’t going to be just a spot start. That was before Miller debuted and tossed six innings against the A’s, allowing just one earned run on two hits and no walks while striking out 10. It’s best not to read too much into just one game, but given that the club planned on giving him a lengthy stay in the rotation anyway and he dominated his first time out, he seems to have a legitimate chance at securing a rotation spot going forward.

Athletics Recall JJ Bleday

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The Athletics announced today that outfielder JJ Bleday has been recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas, with fellow outfielder Conner Capel optioned to Vegas in a corresponding move. Bleday is in tonight’s lineup, batting fifth and playing left field.

This will be the first appearance as an Athletic for Bleday, who came over from the Marlins this winter in a one-for-one trade with A.J. Puk going the other way. The fourth overall selection of the 2019 draft, Bleday has been considered one of the top prospects in the league but has had an inconsistent professional career thus far. He struggled in Double-A in 2021 but hit well enough in Triple-A last year to get a 65-game audition in the big leagues. He walked in 12.6% of his plate appearances in the majors but also struck out 28.2% of the time and slashed .167/.277/.309 for a wRC+ of 72.

The Marlins decided to move on from him and flipped him for Puk, but Bleday is making some noise so far this year. In 119 plate appearances in Triple-A, he’s walked more than he’s struck out, a 16.8% rate of free passes compared to just a 12.6% clip for the punchouts. His .316/.429/.643 batting line needs to be taken with a grain of salt because he’s playing in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, but it’s still 50% above league average, as shown by his 150 wRC+.

Bleday will now see if he can fare better against major league pitchers this year than he did last year. If he’s able to play well enough to stick around, it could have ramifications on the business side of things. Bleday earned 75 days of service time with the Marlins last year, meaning he’s 97 shy of the 172 that are required to get to the one-year mark. With about five months left in the season, there’s still a chance for him to get over the line and be on track for arbitration after 2025 and free agency after 2028. However, future optional assignments could push those targets back.

If Bleday does hit the ground running and emerge as a key piece for the A’s, it doesn’t currently seem like the Marlins will have too much regret. Puk has been absolutely lights out so far this year, posting a 0.75 ERA through 12 innings pitched, striking out 27.1% of batters faced while walking just 4.2%. That performance seems to have vaulted him into the closer’s seat, as he’s racked up five saves on the year so far.

Turning back to Bleday, he’ll jump into the outfield mix in Oakland next to some other players looking to prove themselves. Rookie Esteury Ruiz is getting most of the playing time in center while Ramón Laureano is the regular in right, looking to get back into a groove after his PED suspension and shaky return last year. Brent Rooker is also in the mix, having a tremendous season at the plate thus far, but has been frequently in the designated hitter slot of late.

José Quijada To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Angels left-hander José Quijada will undergo Tommy John surgery, manager Phil Nevin tells reporters, including Sam Blum of The Athletic.

The news doesn’t come as a total shock, since it was reported yesterday that the lefty had some ligament damage in his elbow and was headed for a second opinion before deciding on next steps. It seems that the second opinion didn’t provide any way for Quijada to avoid his fate and he will now go under the knife. He will miss the remainder of the 2023 season and likely at least half of 2024 as well, given the typical recovery period of 14 to 18 months.

The 27-year-old began his career with the Marlins but has been an Angel since being claimed off waivers prior to the 2020 season. Overall, he has a 4.89 ERA in his career, spanning 118 major league appearances. He’s struck out 30.6% of batters faced, walked 13.8% of them and got grounders at a 35.3% clip. He’s earned some high-leverage work in that time, racking up eight saves and 26 holds.

The Halos will now have to navigate the rest of the season without Quijada and part of next year as well. They won’t be hurting for left-handers in the short term, as they have four in their starting rotation and then have Matt Moore, Aaron Loup and Tucker Davidson in the bullpen.

Quijada is already on the 15-day injured list and will be moved to the 60-day whenever the Angels need his roster spot. He’ll spend the remainder of the season there and will cross three years of service time in the process, which will allow him to qualify for arbitration for the first time this winter.

Cardinals’ Rule 5 Pick Wilking Rodriguez Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

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Cardinals righty Wilking Rodriguez, whom they selected from the Yankees in the 2022 Rule 5 Draft, underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery today and will miss the next four to six months, manager Oli Marmol announced to reporters (Twitter link via Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat).

The surgery likely ends Rodriguez’s season. He’ll spend the entire season on the Cardinals’ big league injured list, which won’t wipe away his Rule 5 status. The Cards will have the right to keep Rodriguez if they’re comfortable carrying him on the 40-man roster all offseason and putting him on the Opening Day roster in 2024. He’d still need 90 days on the active roster next season before he’d shed his Rule 5 designation and be eligible to be optioned to the minors.

Rodriguez, 33, is a rather remarkable story. Eight years have elapsed since his last season of affiliated ball, and it’s been nine years since his lone MLB stint with the Royals. He’s been a regular in the Venezuelan Winter League and, more recently, in the Mexican League, where he’s been particularly impressive of late. From 2021-22, Rodriguez tossed 73 innings of 2.71 ERA ball, including a 2.01 ERA and 43.2% strikeout rate in 44 2/3 frames last year.

The Yankees saw that production and signed Rodriguez to a minor league deal back in August. However, Rodriguez had so much minor league service from with the Rays, Reds, Royals and Yanks themselves from 2007-15, that he was eligible for selection when the Rule 5 Draft rolled around. The Cardinals selected him, hoping to plug Rodriguez’s power arm into the bullpen. Things won’t play out that way, and only time will tell whether the Cardinals want to carry the experiment over into the 2024 campaign. For now, Rodriguez will accrue MLB service time and pay so long as he’s on the Cardinals’ Major League disabled list.

Cubs Trade Luis Torrens To Orioles

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The Orioles have acquired catcher Luis Torrens from the Cubs in exchange for cash, per a team announcement. Right-hander Joey Krehbiel was designated for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Torrens, 26, signed a minor league deal with the Cubs in the offseason. He appeared in 13 games for them this season but tallied only 22 plate appearances, going 5-for-20 with a double, a walk and eight strikeouts in that time (.250/.318/.300).

Prior to that brief run in Chicago, Torrens spent two years with the Mariners after coming over alongside Ty France and Andres Munoz in the trade sending Austin Nola, Austin Adams and Dan Altavilla to the Padres. In 799 Major League plate appearances, he’s a .227/.289/.352 hitter with 19 long balls, a 26% strikeout rate and a 7.8% walk rate. While he wasn’t especially productive in his time with Seattle, he did make a fair bit of hard contact, averaging 91 mph off the bat and putting 45.7% of his batted balls in play at an exit velocity of at least 95 mph.

Defensively, Torrens has drawn below-average grades from Defensive Runs Saved and most pitch-framing metrics. He has a career 21.7% caught-stealing rate that’s below the league average, and he came up empty in his only attempt to throw a runner out with the Cubs. He did throw out nine of 28 attempted thieves (32.1%) as recently as last season.

Torrens is out of minor league options, so the Orioles will carry him on the big league roster. That’ll give them three catching options, as he’ll join 2022 Rookie of the Year runner-up Adley Rutschman and veteran James McCann on Baltimore’s roster.

Krehbiel, 30, hasn’t pitched in the Majors this season but logged 57 2/3 innings out of Baltimore’s bullpen in 2022, notching a solid 3.90 ERA with a below-average 18.4% strikeout rate but a sharp 7.4% walk rate. Overall, her has a 3.78 ERA in 69 Major League frames between the D-backs, Rays and O’s.

The 2023 season has been rough for Krehbiel, however. While he’s sporting a 2.00 ERA in nine Triple-A frames, he’s also walked more batters (seven) than he’s struck out (six) and has plunked another hitter. That’s nearly 22% of Krehbiel’s opponents that have either drawn a free pass or reached via hit-by-pitch. Even beyond those command woes, Krehbiel’s broader numbers in Triple-A (5.34 ERA in 175 1/3 innings) are actually worse than his big league output.

The Orioles will have a week to trade Krehbiel or attempt to pass him through outright waivers. He’s been outrighted once before, so even if he goes unclaimed, he’d have the right to elect free agency if he chooses.

Royals Select Austin Cox

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The Royals announced Wednesday that they’ve selected the contract of left-hander Austin Cox from Triple-A Omaha. Righty Jose Cuas was optioned to Omaha to open a spot on the active roster, and southpaw Kris Bubic was transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL to clear space on the 40-man roster.

Cox, 26, was Kansas City’s fifth-round pick out of Mercer University back in 2018. He’s opened the season with 20 1/3 innings of 2.21 ERA ball but a 22-to-11 K/BB ratio in Omaha. Cox is currently sporting a career-best 53.5% ground-ball rate in this year’s small sample of innings — a stark increase from the 37.5% mark he posted in 147 2/3 innings of Triple-A ball in 2022. Last season, Cox worked to a 4.21 ERA in Omaha, fanning just 16.2% of opponents but posting a strong 7.7% walk rate.

During the Royals’ most recent rebuilding effort, they spent a couple years putting an emphasis on college pitchers early in the draft, and Cox is a product of that strategy. It hasn’t panned out yet for Kansas City, however, as they’ve yet to produce a reliable big league starter from the experiment. Brady Singer certainly looked to be that during a breakout 2022 season, but he’s been torched for 28 earned runs in 29 2/3 innings this season. Other notable college draftees include Bubic, Daniel Lynch, Jackson Kowar, Asa Lacy, Alec Marsh, Grant Gambrell and Jonathan Bowlan, among others, but the development on that group simply hasn’t gone as hoped, whether due to injury or poor performance.

The Royals didn’t announce Cox as a starter for any of their upcoming games, so he could well head to the bullpen for his initial MLB assignment. That said, Kansas City starting pitchers have combined for a ghastly 5.80 ERA on the season, so there ought to be ample opportunity for Cox to eventually break into the group. Brad Keller and the injured Bubic —  who’ll miss the rest of the season following Tommy John surgery — are the only Royals starters with ERAs under 6.00. Zack Greinke (6.10), Jordan Lyles (6.11), Singer (8.49) and Ryan Yarbrough (7.40) have all struggled enormously to begin the year.

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