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Mariners Release Drew Ellis

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The Mariners announced Friday evening that corner infielder Drew Ellis has been released. He’d been in camp as a non-roster invitee after being outrighted off Seattle’s roster last November.

Seattle claimed Ellis off waivers from the Diamondbacks last June. The Louisville product only played one MLB game with the M’s, going 1-3 with a strikeout. He spent 70 games at Triple-A Tacoma, hitting .231/.346/.488 with 15 home runs and a 14.2% walk rate. Ellis had posted similar numbers with Arizona’s top affiliate while playing in six big league contests for the Snakes. Despite the roughly average Triple-A production, his .141/.270/.212 line over 100 big league plate appearances led to him going unclaimed on waivers at the start of the offseason.

The M’s gave Ellis a look this spring as he looked to reestablish himself on the MLB radar. He went hitless in 17 at-bats, striking out in half of his 20 plate appearances. With Dylan Moore set to miss the start of the season due to an oblique strain, Seattle’s right-handed hitting infield depth is thinned out a couple weeks from the start of the season. Ellis’ rough exhibition showing wasn’t going to put him in position for a call-up, though, and Seattle now cuts him loose entirely.

Both Corey Brock of the Athletic and Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter link) suggested this evening that Moore’s injury could afford a season-opening job for non-roster invitee Mason McCoy. Like Moore and Ellis, McCoy is a right-handed hitting infielder. He’s capable of playing up the middle and coming off a .256/.332/.473 showing with 21 homers and 22 stolen bases over 503 plate appearances for Tacoma.

Ellis heads back out to free agency. Because he wasn’t on the 40-man roster, he won’t first have to clear waivers before hitting the open market. As a former second-round draftee with a .256/.374/.524 line in 826 career Triple-A plate appearances, he could find some interest on a minor league deal elsewhere.

Injury Notes: Blackburn, Pina, Morejon, Garcia, Szapucki

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The A’s will open the season with both starter Paul Blackburn and catcher Manny Piña on the injured list, manager Mark Kotsay told reporters this afternoon (link via Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle). Blackburn still can’t throw at full strength after ripping the nail on his middle finger a couple weeks ago. Piña, meanwhile, was diagnosed with left wrist inflammation after meeting with a specialist yesterday. His wrist is currently in a brace and there’s no timetable for his return to baseball activity.

Neither development comes as a surprise. Kotsay said a few days ago both players were questionable for Opening Day. Blackburn’s absence doesn’t figure to be a long-term concern but will require an adjustment to the starting five. Blackburn would have been assured of an Opening Day rotation spot, joining Drew Rucinski and Shintaro Fujinami in that regard. James Kaprielian seems as if he’ll join them, as Kotsay indicated today the righty is on track to be ready for the season after offseason shoulder surgery. The A’s will need to make a move at catcher in the next two weeks, as Shea Langeliers is the only healthy backstop on the 40-man roster.

More injury updates around the game:

  • Padres southpaw Adrián Morejón went for an MRI after departing a weekend Spring Training game with elbow discomfort. Manager Bob Melvin provided a generally positive update this afternoon, telling the media that Morejón’s MRI came back clean of structural damage (video provided by 97.3 FM The Fan). Imaging did reveal some inflammation in the joint and the young hurler will be shut down from throwing until symptoms subside. That could be within a matter of days, according to Melvin. While Morejón may still need to open the season on the 15-day injured list, that there’s no structural damage warrants a sigh of relief considering his injury history. He lost most of 2021 and the first half of last season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. The Friars used Morejón exclusively out of the bullpen last year. They’ve floated the possibility of moving him back to the rotation at some point, though it remains to be seen if his latest elbow discomfort will affect the club’s usage plan.
  • The Pirates announced last week that reliever Jarlín García was being shut down after experiencing some discomfort in his throwing arm. Director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk provided an update yesterday, telling reporters the southpaw has a nerve injury in the biceps area (via Justice delos Santos of MLB.com). He’ll remain shut down from throwing for at least four to five weeks before going for more testing late next month. It’s clear García is in for an extended absence to start the season, as even a best-case scenario in which he can start throwing again in mid-April will require a ramp-up period lasting into May. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Pittsburgh place him on the 60-day injured list at some point. García signed a $2.5MM free agent deal over the winter after being non-tendered by the Giants despite a 3.74 ERA in 65 innings last season.
  • Giants reliever Thomas Szapucki will meet with a thoracic outlet syndrome specialist next week, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. He’d been sidelined of late by discomfort in his elbow area and there’s evidently some concern it’s related to the condition. Thoracic outlet syndrome has become a fairly prevalent issue for pitchers in recent years, typically requiring a surgical procedure that involves the removal of a rib to reduce nerve pressure in the arm. The track record for players returning from that issue is mixed. While players like Merrill Kelly have come back better than ever, the likes of Stephen Strasburg and Matt Harvey have never regained their pre-surgery form.

Latest On Marlins’ Rotation

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Even after trading Pablo López for Luis Arraez as part of their effort to overhaul the lineup, the Marlins go into 2023 with a strong group of starting pitchers. Defending Cy Young award winner Sandy Alcantara is followed by Jesús Luzardo, Trevor Rogers and offseason pickup Johnny Cueto. The fifth spot has at least been a bit up in the air, with each of Braxton Garrett and Edward Cabrera having a case for the job out of camp.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes that Cabrera appears to have moved ahead of Garrett on the depth chart. Cabrera has had the edge with regards to Spring Training performance. He’s tossed five innings of one-run ball with four strikeouts and a pair of walks; Garrett, on the other hand, has been tagged for ten runs in 9 1/3 frames with seven punchouts, three walks and a hit batter.

There are certainly more important factors in the club’s decision than small-sample performances in exhibition games. One could argue Cabrera entered camp with the upper hand given his prospect status and higher-octane stuff. The right-hander worked to a 3.01 ERA over 14 starts last year, a solid rookie showing in spite of elbow tendinitis that resulted in a six-week injured list stint. Cabrera averaged north of 96 MPH on his fastball and generated swinging strikes on an excellent 13.3% of his total pitches. That power stuff had previously gotten him onto Baseball America’s top 100 prospect list each season from 2020-22.

The only area of concern for the 24-year-old Cabrera was some inconsistency in his strike-throwing. He walked an elevated 11.3% of batters faced, relying on an unsustainable 86.1% strand rate and .207 batting average on balls in play to keep his ERA around 3.00. Cabrera’s season was overwhelmingly positive overall, though, and the organization no doubt anticipates him pitching alongside Alcantara and Luzardo towards the top of the staff for years to come.

Garrett, 25, is a former seventh overall pick and top prospect in his own right. His stock had dimmed a bit in recent years thanks to inconsistent minor league performances. Garrett had a quietly strong 2022 campaign, though, posting a 3.15 ERA in seven Triple-A starts. More impressively, he worked to a 3.58 ERA with better than average strikeout (24.1%), walk (6.4%) and ground-ball (47.8%) numbers in 17 big league outings. Garrett’s 11.8% swinging strike percentage was solid despite a pedestrian 91.4 MPH average fastball.

Both Cabrera and Garrett figure to get into the Miami rotation throughout the season, as virtually no team goes through a 162-game schedule without any injuries. It’d seem Cabrera is trending towards first crack, with Jackson suggesting that Miami is likelier to option Garrett to Triple-A Jacksonville than have him start the season in long relief at the MLB level. The Alabama native has one minor league option year remaining, as does Cabrera.

Dylan Moore Diagnosed With Grade One Oblique Strain

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Mariners utility player Dylan Moore was diagnosed with a Grade One strain in his oblique, he informed reporters this afternoon (relayed by Daniel Kramer of MLB.com). While that’s the lowest degree, any oblique strain typically comes with a recovery time of multiple weeks.

Moore indeed indicated he’ll be shut down from baseball activity for between two and four weeks. While the earlier end of that timeline could have him beginning to ramp back up around Opening Day, he certainly won’t jump right into game action as soon as he’s cleared to start working out. It seems a lock he’ll open the season on the injured list and, considering he didn’t play in a single Spring Training game, likely head out on a minor league rehab assignment to get some game action before his 2023 debut at the MLB level.

This will be Moore’s fifth big league campaign. He has posted alternate below-average and above-average showings at the plate, typically in a part-time capacity. He’s coming off a strong 2022 campaign. Moore hit only .224 but worked walks at a 13.3% rate, resulting in a .368 on-base percentage that was well better than the .312 league average. He also swiped 21 bases in 104 contests, his second consecutive season topping 20 steals.

The Mariners signed Moore to a three-year, $8.875MM deal over the offseason to buy out his final two arbitration seasons and a would-be free agent year. He’d been set to reprise his role as one of Scott Servais’ top options off the bench. Moore has played everywhere aside from catcher in his career, with the majority of his work coming in the middle infield and corner outfield spots.

Seattle has Kolten Wong and J.P. Crawford lined up for middle infield work. The lefty-hitting Wong and right-handed Moore were expected to platoon at second base and while that could eventually still be the case, that’ll be put on hold for the time being. Tommy La Stella offers some insurance at second base but, like Wong, hits from the left side.

Sam Haggerty is a switch-hitter who has been far better against left-handed pitching, though he’s worked far more in the outfield than at second base as a big leaguer. Drew Ellis and Mason McCoy are right-handed hitting infielders in camp as non-roster players. Ellis has struck out in 10 of 17 at-bats this spring, while McCoy is 9-25 with four strikeouts and a walk.

Tony Gonsolin Expected To Open Season On Injured List

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Dodgers right-hander Tony Gonsolin won’t be ready for the beginning of the season due to his current ankle injury, manager Dave Roberts announced Friday (Twitter link via Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times). He’s expected to open the season on the 15-day injured list. Righties Ryan Pepiot and Michael Grove are the favorites to break camp as the Dodgers’ fifth starter with Gonsolin on the IL.

The Dodgers are hoping for a relatively minimal absence for the 28-year-old Gonsolin, who improbably injured his ankle walking off the field following pitchers’ fielding practice earlier in camp. He’s only just recently resumed a throwing program, and there’s simply not enough time for him to get built back up enough to break camp in the rotation 13 days from now.

[Related: The Dodgers’ Rotation Options if Tony Gonsolin Misses Time]

Gonsolin started a career-high 24 games during the 2022 regular-season, pitching to a sensational 2.14 ERA with a quality 23.9% strikeout rate against a strong 7.0% walk rate over the life of 130 1/3 innings. He undoubtedly benefited from a .207 batting average on balls in play that he won’t sustain over a larger sample, but even with some expected regression he’s still a well above-average big league pitcher. The 132 1/3 innings he pitched between Triple-A and the Majors last year was the highest total he’s reached in any pro season since being drafted in 2016, however, so there are some durability concerns with the talented righty.

Both Pepiot and Grove are well-regarded prospects, though the former has drawn more national fanfare than the latter. Pepiot, 25, ranked among Baseball America’s top-100 prospects both last offseason (No. 99) and this offseason (No. 55). He pitched to a 3.47 ERA in his first MLB cup of coffee last season and a 2.56 mark in Triple-A, combining for a total of 127 2/3 innings. Pepiot’s command has never been his strong point but was particularly troubling in his brief debut last year, when he walked 27 of 160 batters (16.9%). He’ll obviously need to improve upon that mark to have success over the long run.

As for the 26-year-old Grove, he also made his big league debut in 2022, tossing 29 1/3 innings of 4.60 ERA ball. Grove’s 18% strikeout rate was well below average, but he recorded a solid 7.5% walk rate in his first big league audition. He also logged a 3.79 ERA in 76 innings between Double-A and Triple-A, displaying strong strikeout and walk rates along the way as he rose to the Majors.

Either Pepiot or Grove seems capable of filling what’s likely to be a short-term absence for Gonsolin behind a projected top four of Julio Urias, Clayton Kershaw, Noah Syndergaard and Dustin May. There’s plenty of injury concern amid that group, and May’s workload will likely be monitored in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery, so it stands to reason that Pepiot and Grove could both be called upon multiple times over the course of the season. Further down the depth chart, top prospects Bobby Miller and Gavin Stone are joined by veterans Robbie Erlin and Dylan Covey. None are on the 40-man roster, but both Miller and Stone are top-100 prospects themselves and viewed as potential long-term options in the Los Angeles rotation.

Mets Claim Dennis Santana

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The Mets have claimed right-hander Dennis Santana off waivers from the Twins, tweets Dan Hayes of The Athletic. Santana is out of minor league options, and the Twins apparently attempted to pass him through waivers after deciding he wouldn’t break camp with the club. Minnesota claimed Santana off waivers from the Braves earlier in spring training.

Santana, 27 next month, once ranked as one of the top pitching prospects in a stacked Dodgers system but has begun to bounce around the waiver circuit after tough stints both in Los Angeles and Texas. He’s appeared in parts of five big league seasons but logged a 5.12 ERA (4.43 SIERA) in 139 innings.

Last season with the Rangers, Santana averaged a blistering 97.7 mph on his four seamer and 96.7 mph on his sinker. However, he still posted a below-average 21.2% strikeout rate with a bloated 11% walk rate en route to a 5.22 earned run average. Command has been an issue throughout his big league career, evidenced by his penchant for free passes (career 11.8% walk rate). That said, he’s consistently generated swinging strikes at an above-average rate (11.4% in 2022, 11.7% career) and induced chases on pitches off the plate at a high level as well (34.3% in 2022, 33.3% career).

Since Opening Day 2021, Santana has gone from the Dodgers to the Rangers (by way of a small trade), to the Braves (in exchange for cash), to the Twins (via waivers) and now to the Mets. This latest claim certainly doesn’t mean he’s a lock to win a bullpen spot with the Mets over the next two weeks, although the injuries to Edwin Diaz and Sam Coonrod have thinned out the Mets’ relief corps and opened up some competition.

Santana will join a group of candidates including righties Jeff Brigham and Stephen Ridings — both on the 40-man roster — as well as non-roster veterans like Tommy Hunter, T.J. McFarland and Jimmy Yacabonis. If he doesn’t win a spot, the Mets could attempt to pass him through waivers to retain him as organizational depth, just as both the Twins and Braves have unsuccessfully attempted to do this spring It wouldn’t at all be surprising to see GM Billy Eppler add further pieces from outside the organization. The Mets are known to have scouted Zack Britton as recently as yesterday — their third time watching him throw since the calendar flipped to 2023.

As for the Twins, Santana’s departure could re-open the door for hard-throwing righty Trevor Megill — the brother of Mets righty Tylor Megill — to make the Opening Day roster. It’s also possible that a non-roster player like Jeff Hoffman, Danny Coulombe or Jose De Leon could take that spot. Additionally, Minnesota has at least mulled the possibility of a six-man rotation, and there’s now an open roster spot that could be allocated to towering righty Bailey Ober, who looks like the sixth starter behind the projected front five of Pablo Lopez, Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, Tyler Mahle and Kenta Maeda.

Phillies Notes: Strahm, Suarez, Plassmeyer

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The Phillies are stretching lefty Matt Strahm out to handle a multi-inning relief option, tweets Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Manager Rob Thomson said this week that the organization’s goal is for Strahm to be built up to the point that he can handle three-inning stints by the end of camp, Lauber notes. He’s slated to start one of the Phillies’ split-squad games today.

Stretching Strahm out is of particular note given the lefty’s previous work as a starter, his five-pitch repertoire, and his previously vocal stance about wanting to return to that role at some point in his career. As The Athletic’s Matt Gelb further writes, Strahm is open to any and all roles with the Phils this season.

Strahm’s career 3.11 ERA as a reliever trounces his shaky 5.08 mark as a starter, though that’s come in a sample of just 25 starts spread across four seasons. Whether he emerges as a legitimate rotation option for the Phillies at some point over the course of his current two-year, $15MM deal will likely depend greatly on the health of the team’s other options. With that in mind, it’s notable that the move to stretch Strahm out comes in conjunction with Andrew Painter’s month-long shutdown due to a UCL sprain and Ranger Suarez’s delay due to forearm tightness.

Thomson told reporters yesterday that Suarez is back on a throwing program and feeling good (Twitter link via Gelb), but he won’t be fully built up by the time the season gets underway. The Phils aren’t planning to place Suarez on the injured list to begin the season, however. As such, it seems likely his per-start workload would be capped for at least his first few turns through the rotation. Having Strahm stretched out to three or more innings would allow the Phillies to piggyback the two if they choose to go that route, and there’s obvious benefit in having Strahm stretched out in the event that the Philadelphia rotation sustains an injury of note.

For now, the likely plan in the event of another injury in the rotation would be to give 26-year-old southpaw Michael Plassmeyer a chance, Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia writes. The 2018 fourth-rounder, acquired in the trade that sent catcher Austin Wynns to the Giants, made his MLB debut with the Phils last season (three runs in 7 1/3 innings) and posted a 2.41 ERA in 16 starts with their Triple-A affiliate following that swap. Plassmeyer has tossed seven scoreless frames this spring, though he’s issued six walks and punched out just four hitters in that time.

As it stands, the Phillies still project to have one of the NL’s stronger rotations. Each of Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Taijuan Walker and Bailey Falter have been healthy this spring, and it seems the forearm tightness that sent Suarez home from the World Baseball Classic has proven to be minor in nature.

Beyond Strahm and Plassmeyer, top prospects Mick Abel and Griff McGarry will open the season in the upper minors, but both have limited innings above A-ball to this point in their young career (23 for Abel, 40 2/3 for McGarry). Lefty Cristopher Sanchez and righty Nick Nelson are both on the 40-man roster but were both shut down earlier this week due to triceps and hamstring injuries, respectively. The Phils did receive one positive injury update yesterday, as backup catcher Garrett Stubbs told Lauber and others that he’s dealing with only a minor knee sprain and expects to be ready for Opening Day.

Angels, Evan Marshall Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Angels have agreed to a minor league contract with right-handed reliever Evan Marshall, tweets James Fegan of The Athletic. Marshall himself suggested on Twitter last night that he’d signed with the Halos. He’s represented by ISE Baseball.

Marshall, 33 next month, missed the 2022 season recovering from 2021 Tommy John surgery. He enjoyed an excellent run with the White Sox from 2019-20, logging a combined 2.45 ERA with a 23.5% strikeout rate, 10.3% walk rate and 52.3% ground-ball rate in 73 1/3 frames out of the Chicago bullpen. His numbers took a sharp downturn in 2021, however, as Marshall was tagged for a 5.60 ERA in 27 1/3 frames before landing on the injured list and ultimately undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Marshall’s Tommy John procedure came in November 2021, so he should be largely recovered from the procedure. He’ll still need to build up to game readiness after remaining unsigned through the bulk of spring training. An assignment to Triple-A Salt Lake would make sense, speculatively speaking.

In the short-term, there’s not a lot of immediate opportunity in the Anaheim bullpen. The Halos are slated to carry a trio of out-of-options bullpen arms — Jaime Barria, Jose Quijada, Tucker Davidson — and the bulk of their other options are veterans on guaranteed deals who cannot be optioned (Carlos Estevez, Ryan Tepera, Aaron Loup, Matt Moore). Right-handers Jimmy Herget and Andrew Wantz are the only Angels relievers who can be optioned to the minors without first passing through waivers, but they’re both also coming off strong 2022 seasons at the big league level.

Of course, injuries and rough starts to the season are inevitable for any group of pitchers. Either could create an opportunity for Marshall or another veteran who’s with the Angels on a minor league contract. That’s a group that currently includes names like Chris Devenski, Jonathan Holder, Cesar Valdez and Jacob Webb, among others. If Marshall can successfully get back to his pre-Tommy John 2019-20 form, he’d presumably be among the first names up when an opportunity presents itself.

The Opener: WBC, Relief Market, Voit

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With Opening Day less than two weeks away, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. WBC Update

The World Baseball Classic continues tonight as Puerto Rico takes on Mexico in the quarterfinals. Marcus Stroman will take the mound for Puerto Rico, while Julio Urias will start the game for Mexico. To this point in this series, Mexico has been lead by Randy Arozarena (1.714 OPS) and Joey Meneses (1.263 OPS) while Puerto Rico is lead by Francisco Lindor (1.129 OPS) while also featuring All-Star Javier Baez. Puerto Rico, of course, will be without closer Edwin Diaz, who required surgery on the patellar tendon in his right knee yesterday and will likely miss the entire 2023 season. Tonight’s game, which will begin at 6pm CST, will air on FS1.

2. Relief Market Update

Following Diaz’s injury, all eyes are on the Mets as they decide whether to stick with their internal relief options like David Robertson, Adam Ottavino and Brooks Raley or pursue external additions. Meanwhile, two possible options on the free agent market are holding workouts in attempts to get signed to big league deals: Zack Britton held a showcase yesterday, which the Mets were in attendance for, while Ken Giles will do the same this morning for multiple teams, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman. Both Britton and Giles have worked out for teams already this spring, but as Opening Day approaches are doing so again, perhaps to ease the nerves of teams who are put off by each player’s lengthy recent injury history.

3. Voit Opt-Out Decision Looming

The Brewers signed slugging first baseman Luke Voit to a minor league deal earlier in the offseason, but Voit reportedly has an opt-out of the contract that he intends to exercise if the Brewers do not add him to the 40-man roster. The Brewers had until midnight last night to do so before Voit was able to opt-out, but it’s possible Voit could stay in camp with Milwaukee for a little while longer, as noted by MLB.com’s Adam McCalvey. Should Voit opt out of his contract, he would re-join the free agent market as one of the top remaining bats available, behind only the lingering Jurickson Profar.

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