Fantasy Baseball Chat With Brad Johnson
Brad Johnson is a veteran of the fantasy baseball industry with a decade of experience in Roto, H2H, dynasty, DFS, and experimental formats. As an expert in the field, Brad participates in the Tout Wars Draft and Hold format and was crowned the league’s winner in 2020. Brad’s writing experience includes RotoGraphs, NBC SportsEDGE, and right here at MLB Trade Rumors. He’s also presented at the First Pitch Arizona fantasy baseball conference.
Click here to read the transcript of today’s fantasy baseball chat with Brad!
Brad will also be holding fantasy baseball chats exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers, where he’ll be able to answer a much larger percentage of questions asked. Click here to learn more about Front Office.
Yankees Sign Zach McAllister To Minor League Deal
The Yankees signed veteran right-hander Zach McAllister to a minor league deal over the weekend, per an announcement from their Triple-A affiliate. McAllister, a WME client, is already active in the organization, having pitched a scoreless inning for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday.
McAllister, 35, opted out of a minor league deal with the D-backs last week. He hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2018 but was a steady presence on Cleveland’s pitching staff for six years, logging a combined 3.84 ERA with roughly average strikeout/walk rates in 529 innings between the rotation and bullpen from 2012-17.
The deal with the Yankees is something of a homecoming for McAllister. New York selected him in the third round of the 2006 draft but traded him to Cleveland in 2010 as a player to be named later in return for outfielder Austin Kearns. He never appeared in a big league game with the Yankees before being shipped out. This reunion will give him another opportunity to do so in the season’s final couple months.
McAllister has pitched to a 4.81 ERA in 39 1/3 Triple-A frames this year, fanning 30.4% of his opponents against an 11% walk rate. The Yankees are the veteran right-hander’s fifth Triple-A stop since his last big league appearance in 2018. He’s also spent time with the Dodgers, Phillies, Cardinals and D-backs. McAllister logged a 3.99 ERA with the Cardinals’ top affiliate last year, punching out 30% of his opponents with Memphis. He’s maintained that strikeout rate this year, and if the Yankees need a depth arm in the bullpen at some point between now and season’s end, he’ll give them a veteran option.
Submit Your Questions For The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast!
On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we’ll often answer questions submitted by our readers. With the next episode due Wednesday morning, we’re looking for MLBTR readers to submit their questions and we’ll pick a few to answer.
The trade deadline is officially in the rearview mirror, but there’s still nearly two months of play left as the MLB season progresses into its final stages. Whether it’s a deadline retrospective, a question surrounding postseason races, or a forward-looking question to the offseason trade/free agent markets — if there’s anything you’d like to get our thoughts on, then please send your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
The Opener: Incoming Suspensions, Rodon, Perez
With MLB’s schedule roughly 70% complete, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. White Sox, Guardians await suspensions:
The White Sox and Guardians got into one of the more memorable benches-clearing fights in recent memory on Saturday, with Chicago shortstop Tim Anderson and Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez at the center of the chaos. Unlike the majority of MLB skirmishes, actual punches were thrown between Anderson and Ramirez before the pair were pulled away from each other. The fracas lasted for several minutes, and each of Anderson, Ramirez, Guardians manager Terry Francona, White Sox manager Pedro Grifol, Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase, and Guardians third base coach Mike Sarbaugh were ultimately ejected. While Anderson was out of the lineup during yesterday’s series finale, the league has yet to hand down any suspensions in the aftermath of the scuffle. Tom Withers of the Associated Press writes that the clubs expect to hear from MLB as soon as today regarding likely multi-game suspensions for both Anderson and Ramirez.
2. Rodon to undergo MRI:
Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodon exited yesterday’s start against the Astros with left hamstring tightness. He’s scheduled to undergo an MRI today, though in comments to reporters (including the folks at YES Network) Rodon indicated that he did not anticipate the MRI revealing anything overly concerning.
The first year of Rodon’s six-year, $162MM contract hasn’t gone the way the sides had hoped as Rodon missed the entire first half due to a strain in his left forearm. In six starts since since returning from the injured list, Rodon has looked nothing like the ace who made consecutive All-Star appearances while finishing in the top six of Cy Young award voting in both 2021 and 2022. He’s posted a 7.33 ERA while failing to make it out of the sixth inning in any of his appearances. In the event Rodon requires another trip to the injured list, right-handers Jhony Brito and Randy Vasquez could be among the club’s options to take over in the rotation.
3. Perez returns to the majors:
Marlins phenom Eury Perez was shut down in the midst of a sensational rookie season (2.36 ERA across 11 starts) last month as Miami keeps a close eye on the 20-year-old hurler’s innings. With the team currently dealing with a losing streak that has extended to four games and half a game out of the final Wild Card spot, club brass have made the decision to bring Perez back into the fold of the major league rotation. He’s slated to start this evening’s game against the Reds in Cincinnati and figures to help anchor the Marlins’ rotation throughout the remainder of the 2023 campaign alongside Sandy Alcantara and Jesus Luzardo.
Rangers’ Josh Jung Suffers Left Thumb Fracture
Rangers third baseman Josh Jung suffered a fracture in his left thumb during today’s game with the Marlins, manager Bruce Bochy told MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry and other reporters. The injury occurred in the sixth inning when Jorge Soler hit a 109.4mph liner off of Jung’s glove hand at third base, and while Jung recovered to start an unlikely double play, he left the game after the next batter.
The fracture was apparent on initial x-rays, and a clearer timeline will be known in a day or so. If surgery is required, the usual six-to-eight week timeframe for thumb procedures threatens to possibly end Jung’s 2023 season entirely, though much depends on the nature and severity of the fracture. Since the Rangers are on pace to reach the postseason and receive a first-round bye if they win the division, Jung could rejoin the team before the start of its first playoff series.
Of course, winning the AL West and holding off the Astros and Mariners will be more difficult for the Rangers without their star rookie in the lineup. Considered one of baseball’s top prospects during his time in the Texas farm system, Jung made his big league debut with 26 games in 2022, and then headed into this season as the everyday third baseman. Jung has more than delivered on that regular role, hitting .274/.323/.489 with 22 homers over 461 plate appearances and becoming one of the favorites in the AL Rookie of the Year race.
Not that there’s a good time to ever lose a key player, but Jung’s injury occurring after the trade deadline makes it more difficult for the Rangers to find any sort of depth or replacement. It was a little over a week ago that the Rangers also lost catcher Jonah Heim to a wrist sprain, and with Heim’s return in question this year, Texas quickly pivoted to acquire Austin Hedges and Kevin Plawecki in separate trades with the Pirates and Padres. While there are still several ways to obtain players after the deadline, it’s easy to imagine the aggressive Rangers getting into the hunt for a bigger-name third baseman like Jeimer Candelario if Jung had gotten hurt even a week earlier.
Between Jung, Heim, Brad Miller out with a hamstring strain, and Corey Seager still battling a nagging thumb problem, the powerful Rangers lineup has started to spring some holes. Jung has played almost every inning at third base this season, but Josh H. Smith or Ezequiel Duran figure to platoon at the position while Jung is sidelined. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News figures that outfielder Bubba Thompson is the likeliest call-up from Triple-A, unless Seager’s status makes the Rangers call up another infielder (perhaps Jonathan Ornelas, also on the 40-man roster) to provide more depth on the dirt.
Like pretty much everyone on the Rangers, Smith and Duran are having good offensive seasons in their own rights, with Duran in particular delivering a .281/.326/.482 slash line over 325 PA. However, Duran has been in a slump since the start of July, and has started to lose playing time at his regular left field or DH spots. Perhaps getting more regular infield work would help spark Duran, since a return to that earlier-season form would go a long way towards helping the Rangers thrive without Jung. Duran and Smith make for a natural righty/lefty platoon, and Smith has an above-average (101 wRC+) offensive profile this year, hitting .214/.344/.349 over 153 PA.
This marks the third straight season that Jung has suffered a notable injury, as he surely would’ve been in the majors much earlier than September 2022 if he’d had some better health luck. Jung underwent surgery for a foot fracture in 2021, and then missed over half of the 2022 season recovering from shoulder surgery.
Rangers To Promote Jonathan Ornelas
The Rangers will call up infielder Jonathan Ornelas from Triple-A prior to Monday’s game with the Athletics, FanSided’s Robert Murray reports (Twitter link). Ornelas will take the roster spot of Josh Jung, as the third baseman is headed for the 10-day injured list after suffering a fractured thumb in today’s 6-0 win over the Marlins. It will mark the Major League debut for the 23-year-old Ornelas whenever he makes his first in-game appearance.
Ornelas is already on the Rangers’ 40-man roster, as Texas added him last winter in advance of the Rule 5 Draft. A third-round pick for the Rangers in the 2018 draft, Ornelas has displayed some good on-base numbers over the last two seasons in the minors, though his overall hitting profile has yet to truly develop, given his .250/.360/.348 slash line over 398 plate appearances at Triple-A this season.
This hitting potential ranks as the biggest question for MLB Pipeline (who rank Ornelas as the 14th-best prospect in the Rangers’ farm system) and Baseball America (28th). As BA’s scouting report puts it, Ornelas is “an extremely aggressive hitter who has below-average swing decisions and pitch recognition.” His hard-contact abilities are muted by his inconsistency at keeping those hard-hit balls off the ground, though he has enjoyed some high BABIPs during his minor league career. As for fielding, Baseball America gave Ornelas a modest 45 on the 20-80 scouting scale, while Pipeline was notably higher with a 60-grade for his glovework, describing Ornelas as a good utility infield candidate whose ultimate MLB future will be determined by how well he can fare at the plate.
Ornelas has mostly played shortstop in the minors, also garnering a good amount of time at second base, third base, and center field. This ability to play shortstop might be why Texas opted to promote Ornelas, as beyond Jung’s injury, Corey Seager is not yet entirely recovered from a recent thumb sprain that resulted in an IL trip. Seager didn’t play today and manager Bruce Bochy told the Associated Press and other reporters that Seager may also sit out Monday’s game for additional rest.
Ezequiel Duran is the first-choice substitute at shortstop if Seager isn’t in the lineup, but Duran and Josh H. Smith now also figure to split duties at third base in Jung’s absence. With utilityman Brad Miller also on the IL recovering from a hamstring strain, Ornelas will provide the Rangers with another multi-positional depth option as they figure out how to both fill Jung’s spot and manage Seager’s health.
MLBTR Chat Transcript
Click here to read the transcript of tonight’s live baseball chat
Dodgers Place Michael Grove On 15-Day Injured List
The Dodgers placed right-hander Michael Grove on the 15-day injured list today, as Grove is suffering from right lat tightness. Left-hander Bryan Hudson was called up from Triple-A to take Grove’s spot on the active roster, and manager Dave Roberts told MLB.com and other reporters that Grove should miss only the minimum 15 days.
Grove missed about six weeks earlier this season due to a groin strain, and he has been up and down from Triple-A a few times this season. Working mostly as a traditional starter but also getting some work as a reliever and as a bulk pitcher, Grove has tossed 64 innings over 15 appearances this season, helping out a Dodgers team that has been hit hard by pitching injuries. Unfortunately for Grove and the Dodgers, his results haven’t been great, as he has a 6.61 ERA and has allowed a lot of hard contact.
The ERA doesn’t tell the whole story, as Grove’s 3.96 SIERA indicates some bad luck for the 26-year-old. Grove’s 6.3% walk rate is well above league average and his 23.5% strikeout rate is around mid-range. While batters are getting good wood on Grove’s offerings, he is also seeing an unusual amount of those balls in play fall for hits, as Grove has a hefty .378 BABIP.
Grove becomes the 11th pitcher on Los Angeles’ current injured list, with various hurlers still sidelined by both short-term or longer-term or season-ending injuries. Despite pitching depth being a problem for much of the season, the Dodgers are still atop the NL West, holding a three-game lead on the Giants entering Sunday’s play. Lance Lynn was acquired at the trade deadline to provide some rotation help, while Clayton Kershaw is expected to return from his own IL stint at some point this week. Roberts also said that Shelby Miller (on the 60-day IL) has recovered from a nerve issue and has started a rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League, with hopes of returning to the Dodgers before the season is over.
Anthony DeSclafani Shut Down For 6-8 Weeks, Doubtful To Pitch Again In 2023
A grade 1 flexor strain went Anthony DeSclafani to the 15-day injured list last weekend, leading to some speculation that the right-hander’s season might be over. Some new details have added more doubt to DeSclafani’s status, as Giants manager Gabe Kapler told media (including MLB.com and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle) that DeSclafani received a PRP injection today, and will be shut down from throwing for the next 6-8 weeks.
Kapler said “we don’t want to rule anything out” about DeSclafani’s status, but the calendar alone seems to suggest that the righty may have already thrown his last pitch of the season. In the best-case scenario that DeSclafani is able to resume throwing on September 18, he won’t have much time to ramp up, so he would very likely return as a reliever at most. If the recovery takes longer than six weeks or if San Francisco is out of the playoff race by the back half of September, the team might just opt to shut DeSclafani down and look ahead to 2024.
DeSclafani had an excellent year with the Giants in 2021, and he returned to the team in free agency that offseason on a three-year, $36MM contract. Unfortunately, he has been plagued by injuries ever since, most notably an ankle surgery that limited his 2022 campaign to just 19 innings. DeSclafani has a 4.88 ERA over 99 2/3 innings this year, dealing with a nagging toe injury, as well as a minimum 15-day stint on the IL in July due to shoulder fatigue.
Had DeSclafani been healthy, the Giants’ trade deadline might have looked quite different, as the club was getting some calls about its starting rotation depth prior to August 1. However, with DeSclafani’s injury already thinning that depth, San Francisco opted against moving pitching and ended up largely standing pat at the deadline. The Giants are already using an unorthodox rotation of two regular starters (Logan Webb and Alex Cobb) and then several other hurlers as openers and bulk pitchers, depending on circumstances and availability.
It remains to be seen if San Francisco can ride this tactic for the next two months, but the results have been good so far, as the Giants entered today’s play with a 61-50 record and the top NL wild card slot. DeSclafani’s chances of a return would enhance if the Giants can extend their season into October, though a team might not want to use a playoff series roster spot on a pitching coming off an extended layoff.
Pirates Claim Thomas Hatch Off Waivers
The Pirates have claimed right-hander Thomas Hatch off outright waivers from the Blue Jays, as announced by both teams. Toronto designated Hatch for assignment earlier this week.
The move officially ends Hatch’s tenure in the Jays organization after a little over four years, as Toronto initially acquired the righty in a deadline deal with the Cubs on July 30, 2019. He made his MLB debut in 2020 without the benefit of any Triple-A experience (due to the canceled minor league season) and made a good first impression, as Hatch had a 2.73 ERA over 26 1/3 relief innings despite some shaky peripheral numbers.
Hatch ran into struggles after that debut season, posting a 4.45 ERA over 240 2/3 innings at Triple-A Buffalo from 2021-23. This inconsistency as both a starter and a reliever translated into Hatch’s limited big league work, as the Blue Jays have given him a few looks in each of the last three seasons without much success. Hatch has an 8.85 ERA over 20 1/3 Major League innings since the start of the 2021 season, with seven of his 10 appearances coming out of the bullpen.
Pirates GM Ben Cherington was working in Toronto’s front office when Hatch was first acquired in 2019, and that familiarity surely contributed to the Bucs’ claim. Hatch gives Pittsburgh extra depth for the rotation or the pen, and he can still be optioned to the minors through the 2024 season, providing more flexibility. It is possible Hatch (who turns 29 in September) might thrive with a change of scenery, but at the very least, he’ll give the Pirates another arm to perhaps eat some innings over the remaining two months.