Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

MLBTR Seeking A Shohei Ohtani-Focused Writer

By | at

I feel that Shohei Ohtani’s upcoming free agency deserves special treatment here at MLBTR.  Ohtani does unprecedented things all the time, and he’s on track for free agency in about seven months.  We’ll certainly be covering the topic from many angles here at MLBTR, but I’m also planning to have extra Ohtani articles concerning topics not normally covered at MLBTR, and we’re seeking a new paid part-time writer for the job.  These additional articles will be housed at Ohtani’s player page, so that those looking for enhanced coverage of the man outside of hot stove news can get it.

For example, the Ohtani player page may include articles about his endorsements, regular updates from his game performances, and coverage of his MVP and/or Cy Young chances.

Just to repeat, for extra clarity: the additional Ohtani articles will be on a separate page and not on MLB Trade Rumors itself.  It should be a great place for those who want more and easily avoided for those who do not.

As a late addition to this post – I would love for this role to serve as a springboard into supplementing MLBTR’s NPB coverage across the board, beyond just Ohtani.

MLBTR’s writing team will continue to cover all aspects of Ohtani’s free agency on MLBTR, but we’re looking to add a paid writer to cover additional topics.  These are the qualifications:

  • You must be fluent in both English and Japanese.  The articles will be written in English, but in addition to monitoring U.S.-based Ohtani non-hot stove news, you will be tasked with monitoring coverage of Ohtani in the Japanese media and translating it into English-language posts.
  • Availability to live blog all of Ohtani’s remaining starts as a pitcher this season.
  • Though you may be a fan of Ohtani, you will need to write objectively about him.
  • A high school degree is required, and further education is preferred. Please include your highest completed level of education in your application.
  • Writing experience is necessary, and online writing experience is preferred.
  • Attention to detail and ability to follow the MLBTR style and tone.
  • Strong knowledge of Ohtani’s history, including prior to his coming to the United States.
  • Ability to craft intelligent, well-written posts analyzing and contextualizing Ohtani news quickly and concisely.
  • Ability to use Twitter, Tweetdeck, Facebook, and WordPress. Experience with these is strongly preferred.
  • Ability to incorporate feedback to improve performance.
  • If you’re interested, email shoheiohtanirumors@gmail.com and explain how you stand out and qualify in a couple of short paragraphs. Please attach your resume to the email.
  • Please also include a writing sample that you feel would fit on the site, keeping in mind that this role involves covering all aspects of Ohtani other than his free agency or a potential trade.  Feel free to write an article about this Forbes report from last October concerning Ohtani’s endorsements, and/or about his performance in the Angels’ April 5th game.  Bonus points if you want to try writing a sample post in English where the source material is in Japanese.

MLBTR Poll: Angels’ Sixth Starter

By | at

The Angels have run six-man rotations in recent seasons. They’re expected to do the same this year, although manager Phil Nevin has already indicated the club will be a little less rigid than in prior years to try to get more innings for their top arms.

The Halos had an off day on the second day of the season, mitigating the need for a sixth starter the first time through. They had an extra day to get a second start from Shohei Ohtani yesterday before settling on a sixth starter.

After today’s scheduled off day, the Angels play on six consecutive days. Sam Blum of the Athletic tweets the Angels are likely to turn to their sixth starter for their April 12 matchup with the Nationals. It remains unclear whom Nevin will give the first crack to assume that role behind Ohtani, Patrick Sandoval, Reid Detmers, Tyler Anderson and José Suarez.

The most likely candidates appear to be left-hander Tucker Davidson and righty Griffin Canning. Davidson, acquired in last summer’s Raisel Iglesias trade with Atlanta, is out of minor league option years. He has to stick on the MLB roster in some capacity if the Halos don’t want to chance losing him. They could deploy him out of the bullpen, where he made his only appearance of the season on April 1. Davidson tossed four innings of mop-up work to finish off a blowout win in Oakland. That was only his second relief appearance at the MLB level, as he’s started 16 of 18 big league games.

Davidson threw 52 innings between Atlanta and Anaheim last season. He was tagged for a 6.75 ERA, walking 14.4% of opponents while striking out 13.7% of batters faced. That kind of production obviously isn’t sufficient but the Halos have kept him on the 40-man roster, clearly believing he’s capable of taking a step forward. Davidson had been solid over 15 Triple-A starts last year, with an above-average 27.8% strikeout rate and solid 7% walk percentage more encouraging than his 4.59 ERA there lets on.

Canning is currently on the 15-day injured list. He opened the season on the shelf with a groin strain, but the issue seems exceedingly minor. The UCLA product made a rehab start for Low-A Inland Empire this evening, working five innings and 92 pitches. Assuming he responds well in the next few days, it seems he’s on track for a quick reinstatement. Canning is first eligible to return on April 12, so his timetable could align with the Angels’ first need for a sixth starter.

If he got the nod, it’d be his first big league outing since July 2021. Canning has lost the past year and a half to back injuries. One of the organization’s more promising pitching prospects a few seasons ago, he looked like a possible mid-rotation arm when he worked to a 3.99 ERA over 11 starts during the shortened season. Canning surrendered a 5.60 ERA through his first 14 outings in 2021 before the back issues that cost him more than 18 months. He has 209 1/3 MLB innings under his belt, almost all of them as a starter. Unlike Davidson, Canning can still be optioned for another season.

While Davidson and Canning seem the top candidates for sixth starter work, they’re not the only options. Righty Jaime Barria indicated in Spring Training he had his sights set on the job. Barria had worked almost exclusively in long relief in 2022, throwing 79 1/3 innings across 35 appearances. He posted a 2.61 ERA out of the bullpen but without huge strikeout or ground-ball numbers.

Barria had primarily been a starter before last season, working to a 4.49 ERA built on solid control. Like Davidson, Barria has made one appearance out of the bullpen this season. He tallied 3 2/3 frames of low-leverage work in a blowout loss to Seattle on Tuesday. He’s also out of options and has to stick in the majors in some capacity.

Chase Silseth is also on the 40-man roster and started seven games as a rookie last year. The right-hander showed intriguing velocity but was hit hard in his initial MLB look. He started the year on optional assignment to Triple-A Salt Lake. Kenny Rosenberg and Jhonathan Diaz also got brief rotation showings last season, though neither occupies a spot on the 40-man at this point. It’s unlikely any of that group is in consideration for MLB starts this early in the year.

Who should get the first crack for the Angels when they turn to a sixth starter?

(poll link for app users)

Who Should Get The Angels' Sixth Starter Job To Open The Season?
Griffin Canning 55.44% (1,382 votes)
Tucker Davidson 27.56% (687 votes)
Jaime Barria 12.15% (303 votes)
Other (specify in comments) 4.85% (121 votes)
Total Votes: 2,493

 

Marlins Outright Jeff Lindgren

By | at

The Marlins have sent right-hander Jeff Lindgren outright to Triple-A Jacksonville, according to his transactions log at MLB.com. The rookie hurler went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment on Tuesday.

Lindgren, a 24th-round draftee in 2019, was just called up for his MLB debut on Monday. The Illinois State product was called upon almost immediately, as he was pressed into long relief after Johnny Cueto left his start due to injury. Lindgren tossed five innings of four-run ball, allowing four hits and walking three without recording a strikeout. He tallied 80 pitches.

Miami subsequently DFA Lindgren to get a fresh arm, Daniel Castano, in the bullpen. It was an unfortunate but not entirely unexpected turn of events for the 26-year-old, as it’s fairly common for pitchers towards the back of the depth chart to lose their roster spot as teams cycle through fresh arms. Now that he’s gone unclaimed on waivers, he’ll head back to Jacksonville and remain in the organization without occupying a 40-man spot. Lindgren has never previously been outrighted and doesn’t have the requisite service time to elect free agency.

Lindgren worked as rotation depth in the minors last season. He started 27 games between Double-A Pensacola and Jacksonville, working to a 4.21 ERA in 136 2/3 cumulative innings. He’d yet to make a minor league appearance this season before being promoted.

This Date In Transaction History: German Marquez Extension

By | at

The most notable early April transactions tend to be extensions. Those talks often commence during Spring Training and can sometimes linger into the early portion of the regular season. One notable example occurred on this date four years ago, when the Rockies officially announced an extension with staff ace Germán Márquez.

That contract guaranteed the Venezuelan-born righty $43MM over five seasons. Márquez had between two and three years of service at the time. The deal bought out all four seasons of arbitration eligibility — he’d qualified for early arbitration as a Super Two player — and at least one free agent year. It also contained a club option for a sixth season, potentially pushing Colorado’s window of control out by two years.

It remains the second-largest extension for an arbitration-eligible pitcher within that service window, trailing only the $50MM deal Blake Snell had signed with Tampa Bay the month prior. Márquez was coming off the best season of his career, throwing 196 innings of 3.77 ERA ball with a 28.2% strikeout rate to help the Rox to a playoff berth.

The results over the past few seasons have been mixed. Márquez’s ERA backed up to 4.76 in 2019. His peripherals remained solid, although his strikeout rate dropped by almost four percentage points. Márquez rebounded with a 3.75 ERA over 13 starts during the shortened season, a strong mark for a pitcher who spends half his time at Coors Field. He earned his first All-Star nod in 2021, as he carried an excellent 3.36 ERA through that year’s first half. Opposing hitters teed off towards the end of that season, though, tagging him for more than six earned runs per nine innings after the All-Star Break.

Those struggles lingered into the following season. Márquez’s 2022 campaign was arguably the worst of his career. While he stayed healthy and soaked up 181 2/3 frames in 31 outings, his 4.95 ERA was his highest mark (excluding a six-outing debut in 2016). His 20% strikeout percentage was a hair below the league average. Márquez hasn’t missed bats as frequently as he did back in 2018 even though his average fastball velocity has held steady in the 95-96 MPH range. His slider and curveball speeds have gone up a couple ticks over the years but have lost some depth, contributing to the dip in whiffs.

Including his first two starts this year, Márquez owns a cumulative 4.58 ERA in 106 starts since the beginning of the 2019 season. He’s been durable and easily leads the team in innings, soaking up 628 2/3 frames over that stretch. Márquez has punched out 22% of opponents, kept his walks to a 7.1% rate and induced grounders at a 49.5% clip. That’s slightly above-average production after accounting for his home park, with a 4.08 SIERA painting him as a capable #3 type starter. Yet while he flashed top-of-the-rotation numbers at times, his past year and a half have been below his early-career standards.

The Rockies have gotten solid value out the Márquez extension and it’s a deal they’d likely sign again in hindsight. The organization has signed a few other arbitration-eligible players to extensions with mixed results. Ryan McMahon is signed through 2027, while the club locked up Kyle Freeland and Antonio Senzatela through 2026. The McMahon deal ($70MM over six years) looks like solid value. The club didn’t get much from Senzatela or Freeland last year, the first seasons of their respective contracts. A three-year, $14.5MM deal for backstop Elias Díaz didn’t go well in year one.

Colorado hasn’t found any team success over the past four seasons. They’ve finished either fourth or fifth in the NL West every year, and they’re generally expected to do the same in 2023. They’re potentially facing an inflection point with Márquez, as this is the final guaranteed season of his deal. The Rox hold the aforementioned club option next year, which is valued at $16MM and comes with a $2.5MM buyout. That still looks like decent value considering his career body of work. Jameson Taillon and Taijuan Walker, for instance, each secured $17-18MM annually over four years as free agents last offseason. If Márquez repeats his 2022 numbers, however, it could be a more borderline call for the Colorado front office.

The Rox might also have to again grapple with trade questions this summer. Colorado has made clear they wouldn’t listen on Márquez near the deadline in recent seasons. That could well again be the case considering the organization’s longstanding opposition to a retool or complete teardown. As the extension gets closer to its conclusion, that decision could become tougher for general manager Bill Schmidt and his front office.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

2023 Trade Deadline Reportedly Set For August 1

By | at

This year’s trade deadline will be August 1, reports Jim Bowden of the Athletic (Twitter link). That’s a day earlier than last year’s iteration.

One of the new features of the collective bargaining agreement was a “floating” trade deadline. While the deadline had previously typically been on July 31 annually, the new CBA affords the league office more flexibility in scheduling. The commissioner can now choose to set the deadline date any time between July 28 and August 3.

MLB’s primary consideration has been to ensure the deadline falls on a weekday. The league isn’t keen on a weekend deadline, which could result in a number of trades coinciding with ongoing games due to the league’s tendency to schedule a number of early games on weekends. Last year’s deadline fell on a Tuesday at 6:00 pm EST, with all trades finalized and announced before that night’s play kicked off at 7:00.

According to Bowden, the league will stick with the first Tuesday in August (this time falling on the 1st of the month) for the cutoff. The time of day isn’t clear, though it wouldn’t be a surprise if the league sticks with 6:00 pm EST for a second consecutive year.

The Most Notable Remaining Free Agents

By | at

We’re now a week into the regular season and most of the attention amongst clubs and fans is on the games themselves. It’s a quiet time of year from a hot stove perspective. The offseason is finished and it’s far too early for teams to kick the tires on meaningful trades. Some extension talks might trickle into the season but otherwise, transactions this time of year typically take the form of waiver claims and internal prospect promotions.

Even at a relatively quiet portion of the season, there remain a handful of notable players on the free agent market. Gary Sánchez just came off the board on a minor league deal last week, for instance. Which other players — many of whom are late-career former stars — could still find interest as depth options, particularly if they’re amenable to a minor league contract?

Miguel Sanó

Sanó had a disastrous 2022 season. Right knee troubles kept him to 20 games and 71 plate appearances, in which he hit .083/.211/.133 with only one home run. That ended his time with the Twins, who made the obvious call to buy him out of a club option, but he’s only a year removed from hitting 30 homers. Sanó has topped 25 longballs on four occasions in his career. He won’t turn 30 until next month, making him one of the younger players who didn’t sign over the offseason. Sanó reportedly held a showcase for scouts in early February but there was no publicly reported interest from any teams thereafter.

Chris Archer

Like Sanó, Archer spent the 2022 season in Minnesota but was bought out at year’s end. He tossed 102 2/3 innings across 25 outings, posting a 4.56 ERA with a modest 19.2% strikeout rate and an elevated 11% walk percentage. It was the most hittable Archer has been in his career, but he still averaged 93 MPH on his four-seam and 88.7 MPH on his slider. He’s clearly not the upper mid-rotation arm he was when he made two All-Star games during his time with the Rays, but he’s probably the top unsigned starting pitcher. Archer hasn’t been substantively linked to any team since being cut loose by Minnesota in November. Last month, Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote that Archer had conducted a showcase for teams, though it isn’t clear when that workout occurred.

Darin Ruf

Released by the Mets earlier this week, Ruf is a right-handed hitter who has typically been an effective platoon first base/corner outfield option of late. He mashed at a .271/.385/.519 clip two years ago. At last summer’s deadline, he was carrying a .216/.328/.373 line over 90 games for the Giants. New York acquired him for a four-player package including J.D. Davis and Thomas Szapucki. Ruf’s production cratered in Queens but he’s not far removed from being a well-regarded offensive player.

Stephen Piscotty

Piscotty has tallied over 2800 MLB plate appearances split between the Cardinals and A’s. An above-average hitter through his first four seasons, he’s struggled significantly in the last four years. Piscotty was released by Oakland last summer and didn’t return to the majors after signing a minor league deal with the Reds. He caught on with the Giants and collected eight hits in 25 at-bats (.320/.370/.440) but didn’t land a job out of camp. San Francisco granted him his release on Opening Day.

Zack Britton

Britton was arguably the sport’s most dominant reliever during his halcyon days in Baltimore. He remained an elite ground-ball artist for much of his time with the Yankees, excelling in high-leverage innings through 2020. Poor health has intervened in the last two years. Britton spent time on the injured list with elbow concerns in 2021, struggling when able to take the mound. He eventually required Tommy John surgery, which wiped out virtually all of the ’22 season. Britton returned at the tail end of the season but couldn’t find the strike zone and was shut back down. He’s thrown multiple showcases in recent months.

Ken Giles

Much of what applies to Britton is also true of Giles. They’re different pitchers stylistically — Giles is a right-hander whose best days were fueled by huge strikeout tallies instead of grounders — but he’s also a formerly elite reliever who has fallen on hard times from a health perspective. Giles also required Tommy John surgery. His procedure came late in 2020 and cost him all of the ’21 campaign. He returned to the majors with the Mariners last summer and was let go after five appearances. Giles also worked out for clubs late in the offseason but has yet to put pen to paper.

Corey Knebel

Continuing with the run on relievers, Knebel is a former All-Star closer in his own right. He wasn’t as dominant as either Britton or Giles at his peak, and his career has frequently been interrupted by injury. Knebel was very productive as recently as 2021, when he posted a 2.45 ERA in 25 2/3 innings for the Dodgers. That earned him a $10MM deal with the Phillies, which was sidetracked by shoulder problems. He finished the year on the injured list after tearing his shoulder capsule.

Leury García

García spent a decade with the White Sox in a utility capacity. Never much of an offensive threat, he nevertheless endeared himself to multiple coaching staffs based on his defensive flexibility. García signed a surprising three-year deal with Chicago over the 2021-22 offseason. He had a dreadful ’22 campaign and was off to a rough start in Spring Training. The White Sox cut bait in spite of the two remaining years on his contract. García’s an affordable utility option elsewhere.

Mike Minor

Minor made 19 starts for the Reds last season, allowing a 6.06 ERA. He was hampered by shoulder issues at times and struggled significantly with the home run ball. Minor has allowed more than five earned runs per nine innings for three consecutive seasons, though his strikeout and walk rates were solid up until 2022. He held a showcase in February and drew some reported attention from the Cubs last month.

Dallas Keuchel

A former Cy Young winner who was effective for the White Sox during the shortened 2020 season, Keuchel has been hit hard over the past couple years. He played for each of Chicago, Arizona and Texas last season and was tagged for a 9.20 ERA across 14 starts. Keuchel was excellent over four Triple-A outings in the Ranger organization. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported a couple weeks ago that the Phillies had expressed loose interest in the two-time All-Star, though Philadelphia apparently didn’t put a formal minor league offer on the table.

Others of note: Archie Bradley, Kole Calhoun, Robinson Canó, Kyle Crick, Didi Gregorius, Michael Pineda, Garrett Richards, Aníbal Sánchez, Andrelton Simmons, Jonathan Villar

Braves Place Collin McHugh On IL, Recall Jared Shuster

By | at

The Braves announced that right-hander Collin McHugh has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to right shoulder inflammation. Left-hander Jared Shuster has been recalled to take McHugh’s spot on the roster.

McHugh, 36 in June, is in the second year of a two-year, $10MM deal, though the club has a $6MM option for 2024 with a $1MM buyout. He served as a starter earlier in his career but he’s become an effective reliever in recent years, which continued in the first season of his current contract. With Atlanta last year, he tossed 69 1/3 innings over 58 appearances with a 2.60 ERA. He struck out 27.6% of batters faced while walking just 5.1% and getting grounders at a 39.9% clip.

It’s unclear how long he’s expected to be out of action but the club will have to get by without him for at least a couple of weeks. With closer Raisel Iglesias also on the IL due to shoulder inflammation and reportedly still not throwing, they will have to proceed without two of their best high-leverage relief options. That work is now likely to fall to pitchers like A.J. Minter and Joe Jiménez, at least for the time being.

If there’s one silver lining in McHugh going on the shelf, it’s that it helps the club deal with a gap in their rotation. The club went into the spring with four rotation spots filled by Max Fried, Spencer Strider, Charlie Morton and Kyle Wright, with the final spot up for grabs. Wright was delayed in spring and needed to start the season on the injured list, allowing both Jared Shuster and Dylan Dodd to get starts in the early going. When Fried got hurt on Opening Day, they need another arm, calling up Bryce Elder for that job. Amid all that roster shuffling, Shuster got optioned to the minors, which normally requires a 15-day period before being recalled. However, an exception is made when a player goes on the IL, allowing Shuster to return to the active roster earlier. Wright is expected to be activated next week when first eligible, which could lead to one of Dodd, Shuster or Elder getting optioned.

Mets Claim Edwin Uceta From Pirates

By | at

The Mets announced that they have claimed right-hander Edwin Uceta off waivers from the Pirates and optioned him to Triple-A. Uceta had been designated for assignment by Pittsburgh earlier this week. In order to open a roster spot for him, the Mets transferred righty Sam Coonrod to the 60-day injured list.

Uceta, 25, has been extremely popular on the waiver wire. He spent the early parts of his career with the Dodgers but was claimed off waivers by the Diamondbacks in October of 2021. He spent one season with the Snakes, though they put him on waivers in January of this year. Over the past few months, he’s been claimed by the Tigers, the Pirates and now the Mets, making for four claims in the past year and a half and three in just the past few months.

Amid all of that, he’s been able to make 24 major league appearances, 14 with the Dodgers in 2021 and 10 more with the D’Backs last year. He has a 6.27 ERA in that time, striking out 23% of opponents, walking 11.5% and getting grounders at a 37.1% clip.

What’s surely enticing to clubs is that Uceta has shown huge strikeout stuff in the minors, posting a 29.5% strikeout rate in Triple-A in 2021 and then 32.7% at that level last year. He’s also paired that with high walk rates and ERAs just under 5.00 in both instances, but there’s enough to dream on there that clubs keep giving him a shot. He still has an option year so the Mets can keep him in the minors and see if Uceta can better harness his stuff.

The club’s bullpen depth has taken a few hits already in the early parts of the season. Edwin Díaz required knee surgery that is likely to be season-ending, while Bryce Montes de Oca required Tommy John surgery. Tommy Hunter, Stephen Ridings and Coonrod are also on the IL with various ailments. By grabbing Uceta off waivers, the Mets have added a bit of optionable depth to their roster.

As for Coonrod, this transfer doesn’t come as a shock since he was recently diagnosed with a high-grade lat strain and wasn’t likely to be available in the near future. This move makes him ineligible to return until late May at the earliest.

Evan White Out Two Months With Groin Strain

By | at

Mariners first baseman Evan White recently suffered a Grade 2 groin strain and will be out of action for the next two months, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times.

This news is the latest in a series of frustrating setbacks for a player who was once a highly-touted youngster. Selected 17th overall in the 2017 draft, White thrived in the lower levels of the minors and got himself onto Baseball America’s top 100 list in 2019 and 2020. It was in that time, November of 2019, that he and the club agreed to a six-year, $24MM extension. It was a vote of confidence in a young player who had yet to crack the majors but seemed on the verge of a breakout after hitting .293/.350/.488 in Double-A.

White was promoted to the big leagues in 2020 but struggled in his first taste of the majors, hitting .176/.252/.346. He also struck out in 41.6% of his plate appearances over 54 games in the shortened season. Since that time, White hasn’t been able to play much at all due to injuries, requiring hip surgery and sports hernia surgery. He played just 34 games in 2021 between Triple-A and the majors, then just 28 Triple-A games last year.

Here in 2023, White came into spring healthy, but the club optioned him to the minors. Since Ty France had taken over the first base job in his absence, it made sense for White to get everyday reps in Tacoma to get back into a groove after so much missed time. But now, after just a couple of games with the Rainiers, White is facing yet another significant stretch of time on the shelf.

Should the two-month timeline prove true, that will still give White a few more months to finish the season strong, though it’s surely not ideal or welcome for him to hit another speed bump after already going over so many. This won’t have an immediate impact on the big league club, but it does subtract from their first base depth, which could be an issue if France deals with an injury as the season goes along.

White’s contract runs through 2025 with three club options beyond that. The first of those is a $10MM option for 2026 with a $2MM buyout. As of right now, the odds of White being worth that kind of investment seem low. He still has a few years to change that perception, though that will have to wait at least another couple months.

NL Notes: Alvarez, Chisholm, Sánchez

By | at

Mets catching prospect Francisco Álvarez is joining the club in case fellow backstop Omar Narváez has to go on the injured list, per a report from Mike Puma and Ted Holmlund of The New York Post. The latter was removed from yesterday’s game with calf tightness and replaced by Tomás Nido. The Mets will have an extra day to let Narváez rest and assess the situation since their home opener was postponed until tomorrow due to inclement weather, though Andy Martino of SNY adds that the club is not optimistic about Narváez avoiding the IL.

Álvarez, 21, is one of the top prospects in the sport and is generally considered to be ready for the majors when it comes to his offense. He hit 27 home runs in the minors last year and also walked in 14.1% of his plate appearances, leading to a .260/.374/.511 and 136 wRC+. He also got promoted to the big leagues late in the year, getting into five regular season games and one postseason contest. He’s currently ranked among the top 10 prospects in the league by Baseball America and MLB Pipeline, and just outside the top 10 at FanGraphs.

However, he’s still quite young and his glove is considered to be a bit behind his bat. He also struggled a bit in spring on the heels of October ankle surgery. All those factors led the club to option him to Triple-A to start the season, relying on the more established players in Narváez and Nido. If the tightness in Narváez’s calf doesn’t clear up and he needs a spell on the injured list, Álvarez might get another crack at the big leagues sooner than expected.

Some more notes from the National League…

  • The Marlins got a bit of a scare yesterday when outfielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. departed their game against the Twins with an apparent injury. While sliding into second base on an attempted steal, his shoulder collided with the leg of Kyle Farmer. Chisholm was in obvious pain and left the contest after a visit from the trainer. The club later announced Chisholm’s injury as a stinger and listed him as day-to-day, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. A “stinger” is a burning or stinging sensation of the nerves in the neck and shoulder area. Though the initial situation may have caused some hearts to skip a few beats, it seems he’s avoided a significant injury, which is great news for the club. Chisholm had a huge breakout last year, hitting .254/.325/.535 for a wRC+ of 139, though he was limited to 60 games by a stress fracture in his back. He’s now attempting to make the challenging transition from second base to center field this year, an experiment that might be put on hold for a few days. Bryan De La Cruz replaced Chisholm in center yesterday and could get more time there, though Jesús Sánchez and Garrett Hampson could also be options.
  • The Giants recently brought Gary Sánchez aboard on a minor league deal to bolster their catching depth and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi spoke to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle about the move this week. “We’re excited to see how he does,” Zaidi said. “At his best, he’s been one of the handful of best offensive catchers in baseball. If he can show signs of that kind of feeling, I think he can really be an impactful addition.” Sánchez hit .284/.354/.568 in 2016 and 2017 for a wRC+ of 143 but has fallen off from those heights in subsequent years. Since the signing, Joey Bart went on the injured list due to back tightness but isn’t expected to be gone long. In the meantime, Roberto Pérez and Blake Sabol are handling the catching duties, though Sabol is also playing some outfield and Zaidi admits that Pérez is “not an everyday player at this stage of his career, and we have to make sure that whoever we have complementing him can carry a pretty big workload as well.” The club will have to make a decision on Sánchez fairly soon, as he has a May 1 opt-out on his contract, which would come with a $4MM salary if added to the big league club. “We have a few weeks before we have to make a decision. It’s all about: Does he have the chance to bring it all together?” Zaidi said. “And if he does, it’d be pretty good.”

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

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top