Angels Outright Chad Wallach
The Angels announced this evening that they have assigned catcher Chad Wallach outright to Triple-A Salt Lake. The club designated Wallach for assignment on Friday, clearing the way for top prospect Logan O’Hoppe to make his return from injury. Wallach has enough service time to reject that assignment, if he so chooses, though he would forgo the remainder of his 2023 salary in doing so.
Wallach, 31, shared time behind the plate with Matt Thaiss for the Angels throughout much of the season thanks to injuries to both O’Hoppe and Max Stassi, the club’s initially planned tandem. Wallach performed admirably in the role, with a wRC+ of 84 in 149 trips to the plate that leaves him roughly middle of the pack among catchers with that many plate appearances this season. Wallach paired that decent offensive production with a solid glove and had the look of an above-average backup catcher throughout his time in Anaheim this year.
That being said, Wallach cooled significantly over his last two months with the club. In 67 trips to the plate since June 17, Wallach hit an anemic .119/.200/.220 with a massive 38.9% strikeout rate. That significant decline with the bat combined with Wallach’s lack of options remaining likely contributed to the journeyman catcher going unclaimed on waivers. Now that he’s been outrighted to Triple-A, Wallach will have to decide whether to remain with the Angels in the minor leagues or test the waters of free agency.
Free agency might be an attractive route for Wallach, given the constant need for catching depth around the big leagues and his solid performance as a back-up this year. That being said, Wallach is likely the Angels’ first choice to join the roster in the event of an injury to O’Hoppe or Thaiss, a reality that could lead the veteran to decide he’s best off remaining in the organization as he searches for his next big league opportunity.
Tigers To Promote Parker Meadows
The Tigers announced this evening that they are planning to recall outfielder Parker Meadows from Triple-A tomorrow. The 23-year-old outfielder’s first appearance will be his major league debut. Since Meadows in on the 40-man roster already, a corresponding move will only be necessary to make room for him on the active roster.
Meadows, the brother of fellow Tiger Austin Meadows, was selected by Detroit out of high school in the second round of the 2018 draft. Meadows had something of a breakout season last year that saw him promoted from High-A to Double-A after just 14 games. From there, Meadows would go on to slash an impressive .275/.354/.466 in 113 games with a solid 10.6% walk rate and a strikeout rate of just 18.4%. That strong season left Meadows as one of the club’s better prospects entering the 2023 season, with Fangraphs considering him Detroit’s sixth-best prospect while MLB.com’s midseason ranking places him tenth in the Tigers’ system.
That discrepancy, of course, can partially be explained by the additions of Max Clark and Kevin McGonigle, both of whom were drafted by the Tigers last month. In addition to that, however, Meadows simply hasn’t replicated his impressive season last year at the Triple-A level in 2023, posting a more pedestrian slash line of .256/.337/.474 in 517 trips to the plate this year. While Meadows’ walk rate has actually ticked up to 11% and he’s hitting for more power with a .218 ISO in 2023, his reduced strikeout rate from last year has ticked back up to 23.8%, not far off from his 24.7% career average. The additional punchouts leave Meadows with a wRC+ of 97 that’s a bit below league average.
Despite something of a step back with the bat this year, there’s still reason for optimism regarding his impact on the Tigers. If Meadows can provide the late-season spark that youngster Kerry Carpenter provided in 2022 (126 wRC+ in 113 at-bats last year), the club would have a solid trio of young outfielders headed into the 2024 campaign next season between Meadows, Carpenter, and Riley Greene. Even if Meadows doesn’t reach those same heights, he seems certain to provide quality defense and baserunning as a speedy center fielder who has swiped 19 bags at Triple-A this year in 21 attempts.
Going forward, Meadows seems likely to cut into the playing time of Akil Baddoo in the outfield as the 24-year-old has struggled to a .221/.311/.370 slash line this season with a wRC+ of just 89. Matt Vierling, Zach McKinstry, and Nick Maton have gotten reps in the outfield as well, though each of that trio has primarily played the infield for the Tigers this season.
West Notes: Kinley, Hancock, Hudson
Rockies right-hander Tyler Kinley was placed on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation earlier today, as noted by Luke Zahlmann of the Denver Gazette. While additional details of Kinley’s injury and his timetable for return are currently unclear, it’s a devastating blow for the 32-year-old righty, who made just seven appearances this season after working his way back from elbow surgery, which he underwent last June. Prior to his surgery, Kinley appeared to be something of a revelation out of the Rockies’ bullpen last year, with a dazzling 0.75 ERA, 1.74 FIP, and a 27% strikeout rate in 25 appearances with Colorado in 2022.
That strong showing led the club to extend Kinley last November with a contract that guaranteed him $6.25MM over the 2023-25 seasons. Now, it seems likely that the first of those seasons, at least, will bear little fruit. In his seven trips to the mound this season, Kinley struggled badly to a 9.53 ERA with two home runs allowed in 5 1/3 innings, though that of course is a small sample size immediately following a significant layoff from big league action. With the 2023 campaign already essentially lost for the 48-75 Rockies, the club’s top priority regarding Kinley seems likely to be ensuring he’s fully healthy and ready to go for the 2024 campaign.
More from around MLB’s West divisions…
- Mariners right-hander Emerson Hancock exited today’s start against the Astros after just 31 pitches with a right shoulder strain, per a club announcement. While the club has not yet indicated whether Hancock will require a trip to the injured list, that seems to be the most likely outcome. After all, the 24-year-old Hancock is just three starts into his big league career and has already eclipsed his previous career-high for total innings with 110 frames of work between the majors and minors this season. If Hancock does require a trip to the shelf, the Mariners are well-equipped to weather the injury with fellow youngster Bryan Woo expected to be activated from the injured list later this week.
- Dodgers right-hander Daniel Hudson has managed just three innings of work this season thanks to first a torn ACL and then a sprained MCL, but the veteran hurler tells Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register that he’s hopeful he can return to the Dodgers in time to be part of the club’s postseason bullpen. If that comes to pass, Hudson would surely provide a boost to the relief corps in LA. While Dodgers relievers rank 10th in the majors with a solid 3.85 ERA, the club’s bullpen has also handled the third-most innings of work in the NL this year, leaving them potentially vulnerable to losing steam as the season heads toward the stretch run. While Hudson seems focused on a comeback attempt this year, the 36-year-old also acknowledged that he’s contemplating the end of his playing days, noting that he’s “been in pretty consistent pain for about 15 months.” With that being said, Hudson ultimately was noncommittal on his plans post-2023, saying, “…maybe I give it another shot. If not, I’ve had a pretty good run and it is what it is at that point.”
Daniel Norris Elects Free Agency
Left-hander Daniel Norris has cleared waivers and elected free agency, per an announcement by the Guardians. Norris was designated for assignment by Cleveland earlier this week to make room for catcher Zack Collins on the 40-man roster.
Norris, 30, is in his veteran currently in the midst of his tenth major league season. Initially selected in the second round of the 2011 draft by the Blue Jays, Norris spent the first several seasons of his career primarily as a starting pitcher, drawing starts in 82 of his 97 appearances between 2014 and 2019. During that time, Norris was a roughly average arm for the Blue Jays and Tigers. His 4.54 ERA clocked in just 1% below league average by measure of ERA+ and was largely backed up by his 4.47 FIP. That being said, Norris eclipsed 100 innings just twice during this period.
Those low innings counts resulted in Norris moving to a relief role starting with the shortened 2020 season, to fairly mixed results. His debut campaign as a reliever went quite well, with a 3.25 ERA (140 ERA+) and an even better 2.87 FIP. He struck out a solid 24.1% of batters faced, while his 6% walk rate was the lowest of his career. Norris struggled in both 2021 and 2022, however, combining for a 5.68 ERA and 5.01 FIP in 97 appearances for the Cubs, Tigers, and Brewers.
Those struggles led Norris to latch on with the Guardians on a minor league deal prior to the 2023 campaign, to familiarly mixed results. While he’s performed acceptably in limited chances with the big league club this year, notching a 3.38 ERA in 10 2/3 innings of work, he carries an untenable walk rate of 21.2% in the big leagues this year, leaving him with a 5.98 FIP. While he’s posted a more manageable 10.8% walk rate in 53 innings at Triple-A this year, his 5.60 ERA at the level doesn’t provide much reason for confidence as Norris returns to free agency.
Despite those rather glaring concerns, it seems reasonable to expect Norris to find a spot somewhere on a minor league deal. With the trade deadline having come and gone, pitching depth is a constantly sought-after commodity, particularly in the days leading up to September, at which point players added to the organization are no longer eligible to participate in the postseason.
As for the Guardians, the club has plenty of left-handed options available to them for the stretch run, including Sam Hentges, Tim Herrin, and Joey Cantillo all on the 40-man roster. Amir Garrett and Randy Labaut are also upper-level depth options the club has at its disposal, though either one would require a 40-man roster move to make use of at the big league level.
Poll: Who’s Going To Win The NL Central?
With the Cardinals’ surprisingly disappointing season taking them out of contention early, the NL Central has been thrown wide open in 2023. Even the Pirates looked like they might have a breakout in them after an impressive 19-9 start in April, though their subsequent struggles have shown that the Bucs aren’t yet out of the rebuilding woods.
That has left three teams still in the mix, as the Brewers, Reds, and Cubs enter Sunday’s action battling for not only the NL Central title, but playoff berths of any sort via the wild card. Milwaukee holds a three-game lead in the division, while the Cubs are just narrowly ahead of Cincinnati by percentage points, which also puts Chicago into the final NL wild card slot.
In something of a topsy-turvy year in the division, the Brewers have been the constant. Milwaukee has spent the entire season either in first place, or no more than two games behind the NLC lead. This success has come despite a middling Pythagorean record — the Brewers have outscored opponents by just a single run, yet have a 67-57 record. With tiebreakers possibly looming as a factor, the Brewers have already won the season series with the Reds (with a dominant 10-3 record) and have a 4-3 edge in games against the Cubs.
As per usual, the Brew Crew has leaned on their pitching to win games, even their usually strong rotation has been more good than great in 2023. A number of injuries have impacted the pitching mix, most notably a shoulder strain for Brandon Woodruff that cost the former All-Star about four months of action. Milwaukee’s best pitching performances have come at the back of the bullpen, as closer Devin Williams and setup man Joel Payamps have been arguably baseball’s best one-two endgame combination. This ability to hold close leads has been the main factor in the Brewers’ 25-11 record in one-run games, though that kind of anomalous success might hint at some regression.
While Milwaukee’s pitching has helped prop up a lackluster offense, the Reds have something of the opposite problem. The emergence of Cincinnati’s core of top prospects has been one of the top stories of the 2023 season, as rookies Spencer Steer, Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, and Will Benson have all helped carry the Reds out of a rebuild and to a 64-60 record. Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Noelvi Marte have also made their MLB debuts to add to this position player core, not to mention the contributions of Jonathan India, Jake Fraley, TJ Friedl, and the ageless Joey Votto.
With a 29-35 record on June 9, the Reds suddenly shot into relevance and contention with a 12-game winning streak, and they’ve stayed afloat ever since, despite a rough 1-8 start to the month of August. Beyond the question of how the rookies can hold up under pennant race pressure, Cincinnati’s bigger issue is a lack of pitching, as Reds starters rank in the bottom three in the league in both ERA and WHIP. The returns of Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, and Ben Lively from the injured list are being counted on to boost the rotation, as the Reds didn’t acquire any starting pitching at the trade deadline.
Just a month ago, the idea of the Cubs competing for the NL Central title would’ve seemed inconceivable, as the Wrigleyville nine had a 43-50 record. Just when it looked like Chicago might be one of the key sellers at the trade deadline, however, the team caught fire. The Cubs went 18-6 over 24 games between July 18 and August 12, finishing second in baseball in runs (160), RBI (151), average (.291), slugging percentage (.508) and wRC+ (135) in that stretch. Cody Bellinger‘s huge run at the plate fueled a lot of that offensive eruption, but unheralded minor league signing Mike Tauchman wasn’t far behind Bellinger’s numbers. The late success turned the Cubs into deadline buyers, and after coming back to Chicago in a deal with the Nationals, Jeimer Candelario has also been on fire.
Chicago’s rotation has been solid overall, yet it took a big hit with the news that Marcus Stroman will miss the next several weeks recovering from a rib cartilage fracture. Losing one of their two best starters for an extended period (and maybe even the rest of the season) will test the Cubs’ starting depth, and the lineup might have to keep carrying the load to keep the team in the race.
With apologies to the Cardinals and Pirates, we’re going to assume that a miraculous late-season surge isn’t coming, so we’re going to limit the poll choices to the top three contenders. Who do you think will finish atop the NL Central standings? (Link to poll for app users)
Who will win the NL Central?
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Brewers 54% (5,757)
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Cubs 34% (3,597)
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Reds 12% (1,236)
Total votes: 10,590
Orioles Release Mychal Givens
TODAY: The Orioles announced that Givens has been officially released.
AUGUST 19: Givens has cleared DFA waivers, and the Orioles announced that he has been placed on unconditional release waivers.
AUGUST 13: The Orioles announced that right-hander Mychal Givens has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list and designated for assignment.
Givens, 33, signed a one-year deal in the offseason with a $5MM guarantee. Unfortunately, injuries have prevented him from providing much of anything this year. He began the season on the injured list thanks to left knee inflammation. He was activated in May but returned to the IL after just six appearances, this time due to right shoulder inflammation, eventually getting transferred to the 60-day version of the IL.
He seems to be healthy again, as he began a new rehab assignment a couple of weeks ago. But the O’s seem to have decided they don’t have room for him on their roster and have cut him loose instead. As a veteran with more than five years of service time, he can’t be optioned to the minors. He also has the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of electing free agency while retaining all of his salary.
The deal that he signed came with a $3MM salary here in 2023 and then there’s a $6MM mutual option for 2024. If Givens declines his end of the option, he would receive a $1MM buyout. If he triggers his end and the team declines, it’s a $2MM buyout. There’s still about $790K of that salary left to be paid out, as well as the buyout/option. Given his health issues this year and that money, he’ll almost certainly clear waivers, leaving the Orioles responsible for that cash.
That will allow any of the 29 other clubs to sign him and pay him just the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the O’s pay. Although he’s been injured for much of the year, other clubs could still be interested based on his previous track record. Givens has a career ERA of 3.47 over 425 appearances dating back to 2015, striking out 28.2% of hitters while walking 10%.
Mariners Sign Nick Wittgren
The Mariners have agreed to a deal with right-hander Nick Wittgren, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post (via X). The contract is presumably a minor league pact, as Wittgren was previously playing on a minors deal with the Royals before he became a free agent earlier this week. Since Wittgren has over five years of MLB service time, he had the right to choose free agency when the Royals tried to option him to Triple-A.
A veteran of eight MLB seasons, Wittgren was released by the Cardinals in July 2022 and didn’t land with a new club until signing his minor league contract with the Royals in December. K.C. selected him to the 26-man roster in May, and Wittgren had a 4.97 ERA over 29 innings in Royal blue.
It’s not a big improvement over his 5.32 ERA with Cleveland and St. Louis in 2021-22, but while advanced metrics indicate that Wittgren was a little unlucky to post such an ERA in those seasons, his SIERA this year is 5.03. While Wittgren hasn’t really been a big strikeout pitcher throughout his career, his K% has plummeted over the last two seasons. He has done an excellent job of keeping the ball in the park in that same time span, yet batters have been making hard contact.
Wittgren did pitch well at Triple-A Omaha this year, and he was a very reliable bullpen arm in his heyday as recently as the 2020 season. The 32-year-old will give the Mariners some more experienced relief depth as they prepare to try and thread the needle between staying in contention and managing the innings of their several young pitchers. Seattle is already set to go to a six-man rotation to help keep everyone fresh for the pennant race (and, the M’s hope, into October), and more bullpen help will also be required.
Giants Place Brandon Crawford On 10-Day Injured List
The Giants announced that shortstop Brandon Crawford has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left forearm strain. The placement is retroactive to August 19. Outfielder Luis Matos was called up from Triple-A to take Crawford’s place on the active roster.
This is Crawford’s third IL stint of the season, as he missed roughly three weeks total due to a calf strain and left knee inflammation. Giants manager Gabe Kapler told reporters (including Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle) that Crawford’s forearm issue was impacting his swing, which explains why Crawford has only a single hit in his last 31 plate appearances. The club’s initial plan was to give Crawford a couple of days off, but he’ll now get at least 10 days to recover.
In a little over 14 months, Crawford has now made five different trips to the injured list. Recurring knee problems have led to the majority of those placements, and he was also briefly shut down during Spring Training this year due to more knee discomfort. The injuries have short-circuited what looked like a late-career revival for Crawford, who finished fourth in NL MVP voting in 2021 for delivering a huge performance in his age-34 season.
Crawford has hit only .194/.264/.318 over 270 plate appearances in 2023, and while his glovework has still been excellent, it surely isn’t the platform Crawford wanted for the final guaranteed year of his contract. While Crawford was somewhat non-committal last winter about the possibility of playing beyond the 2023 season, a year of injuries and struggles at the plate isn’t how the longtime Giants shortstop would want to wrap up his outstanding 13-year career. The severity of the forearm strain isn’t yet known, so it isn’t clear if Crawford could be in danger of missing the remainder of the 2023 campaign.
Casey Schitt was called up from Triple-A yesterday, and the Giants also recently selected the minor league deal of Johan Camargo. These two players will likely handle shortstop duty while Crawford is out, and Thairo Estrada has also seen some time at the position this season.
Twins Considering Using Byron Buxton In Outfield
Byron Buxton played through knee soreness for much of the 2022 season, eventually resulting in an arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in late September. In the aftermath of that procedure, the Twins took a caution approach in returning Buxton to action, to the point that the former Gold Glove and Fielding Bible award-winning center fielder has played exclusively as a DH for the entirety of the 2023 season. The strategy hasn’t entirely worked in keeping Buxton healthy, as he missed two weeks in June due to a rib contusion and hasn’t played since August 1 due to a hamstring strain.
Buxton has started taking part in baseball activities as he works his way back from the hamstring problem, and this time off might also contribute to getting Buxton back into the outfield. As Twins manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters (including Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press), the club is at least considering the possibility of giving Buxton some limited time in center field.
“His legs are probably going to be in the best position possible for him to be able to play in the outfield after this period of time,” Baldelli said. “If it’s going to happen this season, it’s going to be after recovering and building himself up. And it’s going to be now. This is going to be his best opportunity.”
The plan is by no means set in stone, since as Buxton put it, “my biggest thing right now is just getting back on the field however that’s possible.” This means no setbacks, and getting through some minor league rehab games before returning to Minnesota’s lineup in any capacity. That said, a minor league rehab assignment would provide an avenue for Buxton to maybe log some actual game action as a center fielder, as a way of re-acclimating himself to the grass after not playing in the outfield for almost a full calendar year.
Buxton is naturally looking forward to the idea of perhaps once again playing his regular position, and giving some Minnesota some extra roster flexibility during the pennant race. Buxton’s fate will be determined by “how the body feels, how the knee feels, how everything all together feels. So for me, it’s putting us in the best situation so when we do get to that spot, get to the playoffs, to make sure that I’m in the lineup.”
Despite a modest 64-60 record, the Twins have started to take command of the lackluster AL Central, holding a five-game lead on the second-place Guardians entering Sunday’s action. While there’s plenty of baseball left to be played, Buxton’s return to the outfield could both help the Twins in the playoffs, and ease their path in clinching the division crown.
Michael A. Taylor has handled most of the center field action with Buxton relegated to DH duty. Taylor is a superb defensive player in his own right, but not much of a hitter, with only a .220/.270/.423 slash line over 324 plate appearances for the Twins this season. If Buxton is able to start in center field once or twice per weeks, the Twins can take Taylor out of the lineup and use the open DH spot for any of several better bats vying for playing time.
How this reshuffled lineup might look is still an open question, as beyond Buxton, the Twins are also waiting to see how Willi Castro, Alex Kirilloff, Nick Gordon, and possibly Jose Miranda return from their own stints on the injured list. A revolving door of injuries has kept Minnesota from fielding its first-choice lineup for basically the entire season, though rookie like Edouard Julien and Matt Wallner have also played well enough to earn regular or semi-regular playing time.
Reds Reinstate Hunter Greene From 60-Day Injured List
The Reds have officially activated Hunter Greene from the 60-day injured list, as the right-hander will take the mound to start today’s game with the Blue Jays. Right-hander Alan Busenitz was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding 26-man roster move, and the Reds also added righty Lyon Richardson to the club’s taxi squad.
Greene last pitched in the majors on June 17, before recurring hip pain sidelined him for what became an absence of over two months. Both Greene and the Reds wanted the young hurler to be at full strength before returning, so in theory, Greene should be fully recovered and ready to become a big part of Cincinnati’s push for a playoff berth (whether as a wild card or as the NL Central champions).
The starting rotation has been a weak point for the Reds all season, and the front office at least checked in on some notable trade candidates at the deadline but didn’t add any significant arms besides reliever Sam Moll. Instead, the Reds are hoping to get a boost from their own injured pitchers returning to action, as besides Greene’s activation, Nick Lodolo and Ben Lively are also on minor league rehab assignments.
Greene is the biggest addition of the group, as despite his lengthy IL stint, he is still the Reds’ co-leader in pitching fWAR (1.8). The former second overall pick had a respectable rookie season in 2022 and then pitched well over 73 1/3 innings this year, posting a 3.73 ERA and an excellent 31.4% strikeout rate. However, Greene’s walk rate is below average and he has allowed a lot of hard contact, so he isn’t a surefire ace at this point in his career despite his promising beginning. The Reds’ unexpected rise into contention has put a lot of extra pressure on the team’s young core as they begin their MLB careers, and Greene has more responsibility than most in trying to help stabilize the rotation.