Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Pirates Designate Michael Chavis, Greg Allen For Assignment

By | at

The Pirates have announced a handful of roster moves prior to tonight’s game, with infielder/outfielder Miguel Andujar, who was claimed off waivers from the Yankees yesterday, reporting to the team to take his place on the active roster. Additionally, catcher Jose Godoy has had his contract selected. In corresponding moves, infielder Michael Chavis and outfielder Greg Allen have been designated for assignment.

Chavis, 27, was drafted by the Red Sox and spent the first few years of his MLB career there as a highly-touted prospect, cracking Baseball America’s top 100 in 2018. After a tepid showing in his first tastes of the majors, he came to Pittsburgh in a July 2021 trade that sent Austin Davis the other way. Chavis’s tenure in Pittsburgh got off to a good start as he hit .357/.357/.500 after the trade last year, though an elbow strain limited him to just 12 games. He’s had a much larger sample here in 2022, making 426 plate appearances over 129 games, but hasn’t been able to do much with it. Despite launching 14 long balls on the year, he’s struck out in 29.6% of his plate appearances while walking in only 4.5% of them. On the whole, his batting line for the year is .229/.265/.389, production that’s 21% below league average according to wRC+.

Despite that lackluster output at the plate, Chavis has at least provided defensive versatility, spending time at first, second and third base this year. He passed three years of MLB service time this year and was going to be eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason. It seems the Bucs weren’t planning on keeping him around with a higher salary next year and have effectively given him an early non-tender. With the trade deadline long gone, the Bucs will have no options except to put Chavis on outright waivers or release waivers. If any team believed Chavis could take his bat to another level, they could put in a claim. As mentioned, Chavis would be due an arbitration raise for next year if he finds another roster spot, though he also has an option year remaining.

Allen, 29, is in his sixth MLB season, having donned a few jerseys in that time. He began his career with Cleveland before bouncing to the Padres and Yankees. The Pirates claimed him off waivers from the Yanks in November but placed Allen on the 60-day injured list on Opening Day with a left hamstring injury. He was activated in July but has hit just .186/.260/.271 in 46 games since, striking out in 31.3% of his plate appearances. Like Chavis, he crossed three years of MLB service time this year and was headed into the arbitration process for the first time. He’ll be placed on waivers in the coming days to see if any team is intrigued enough to give him a roster spot and pay bump. Despite the poor showing at the plate this year, he stole eight bases and provided above-average outfield defense. Neither player would be eligible for postseason play with a new club, as players must be in a team’s system prior to September 1 in order to qualify.

Godoy, 27, began the year with the Mariners before going to the Giants, Twins and Pirates on a series of waiver claims. He’s a well-regarded defender behind the plate but hasn’t shown much with the bat at the major league level. His career batting line is .128/.212/.149, though in a small sample of just 52 plate appearances. The Bucs have been using Jason Delay as their primary catcher with Zack Collins as the backup, though Collins has also been spending some time at first base. Godoy’s promotion will give them a more traditional backup catcher for the final stretch of the schedule.

Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported the moves before the official announcement.

Read The Transcript Of Today’s Fantasy Baseball Chat With Brad Johnson

By | at

Brad Johnson has been writing about fantasy baseball for more than a decade and has considerable 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.

We’ll be hosting fantasy baseball-focused chats with Brad regularly, and feel free to drop him some questions on Twitter @BaseballATeam as well.

Click here to read the transcript/a>.

Poll: National League Rookie Of The Year

By | at

This year’s National League Rookie of the Year voting will be a particularly fun one because the two front-runners happen to be teammates. Braves right-hander Spencer Strider and center fielder Michael Harris II both burst onto the scene in 2022 and both cemented themselves as building blocks in Atlanta. Wins above replacement is far, far from the be-all and end-all in ascertaining player value, but it’s still telling that Strider and Harris are both north of four WAR on the season (per both Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs), while no other NL rookie has even three wins above replacement per either version of the metric.

Harris and Strider have both played at an All-Star level this season, though neither actually made the All-Star team this summer. That’s due largely to the fact that Strider began the season in the bullpen and Harris didn’t make his debut until late May. Given their play in 2022, that could change as early as next summer.

There’s still a bit of time for the bottom line to change, although with Strider on the 15-day injured list due to an oblique strain, his regular season is likely over. Harris will have another nine games to build his case, pending any off-days or an untimely injury of his own. Let’s take a quick look at each player’s candidacy.

A Quick Case for Strider

Dominant this season as both a reliever (2.22 ERA in 24 1/3 innings) and a starter (2.77 ERA, 107 1/3 innings), Strider leads all National League rookies with 131 2/3 innings pitched. Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene, a popular ROY pick prior to the season, is a distant second place at 113 2/3 innings. Strider’s gaudy 38.3% strikeout rate isn’t just the best among rookie pitchers in 2022 — it’s the best among all Major League pitchers who have thrown at least 100 innings. Shane McClanahan is the only pitcher in Major League Baseball (again, min. 100 innings pitched) who has induced swinging strikes at a higher clip than Strider’s 15.5%.

Strider’s overall numbers — 131 2/3 innings, 2.67 ERA, 38.3% strikeout rate, 8.5% walk rate — are so dominant that if he had a few more innings on his resume, he’d be in the mix for some down-ballot Cy Young votes. (He may still get a handful, but he’s not going to stack up alongside the current leaders.)

A common argument against Strider is that he shouldn’t be favored because he plays less often than an everyday player (e.g. Harris). Firstly, unlike most of even the fringe ROY candidates, Strider broke camp with the Braves this year. He’s been on the roster since Opening Day, which Harris and others can’t claim.

Secondly, Strider has faced 528 batters this season and, were it not for the oblique injury, would’ve pushed that number close to 600. Even that 528 mark is greater than the total number of plate appearances for any National League rookie hitter. Strider (and pitchers in general) may appear in a fewer number of their team’s overall games, but as a pitcher, he has more direct influence on the outcome of every single plate appearance than any of the defenders behind him. On average, he faced 21.7 hitters per start. That’s nearly a week’s worth of plate appearances for a position player.

Put more succinctly, the counter-argument to that common knock on Strider is that hitters play a smaller role in determining the outcome of a large number of their team’s games; pitchers play a larger role in determining the outcome of a small number of their team’s games.

A Quick Case for Harris

In terms of wins above replacement, Harris trails only Julio Rodriguez for the rookie lead, per FanGraphs (4.8), and only Rodriguez and Cleveland’ Steven Kwan, per Baseball-Reference (5.1). He’s a dynamic player in all facets of the game, hitting .305/.346/.535 with 19 home runs and 19 steals apiece. Harris doesn’t walk much (4.7%) and strikes out a bit more than average (23.8%), but that hasn’t stopped him from being 43% better than the average hitter, by measure of wRC+ (or 42%, per OPS+).

Defensively, Harris looks like a future Gold Glover. He might not win one this season, as his cumulative defensive contributions are impacted by the fact that he spent nearly two months in the minors, but every publicly available metric is in agreement that he’s a plus, if not elite defender. In 949 innings of center field work, Harris has received standout marks from Defensive Runs Saved (7), Ultimate Zone Rating (3.9) and Statcast (6 Outs Above Average, 5 Runs Above Average), to name a few. Harris ranks in the 92nd percentile of Statcast’s Outs Above Average, the 87th percentile for his jumps on balls hit to the outfield, and in 94th percentile for pure sprint speed.

It’s true that Strider has more batters faced than Harris has plate appearances, but Harris has fielded far more balls in play in center field than Strider has on the mound. His value as a defensive player is far superior, particularly given his elite results in 2022. Harris also provides baserunning value that Strider doesn’t have the ability (or even the opportunity) to match. Despite appearing in just 106 games so far, Harris ranks 17th among all big leaguers in baserunning runs above average, per FanGraphs’ — a cumulative stat that incorporates more than just his impressive 19-for-21 showing in stolen bases.

—

There’s really no wrong answer; both players have had sensational starts to their career and both have been absolutely vital pieces of a Braves team that trails the Mets by 1.5 games for the National League East lead. Still, only one of the two is going to take home Rookie of the Year honors in November. Who should it be?

Outrighted: Herget, Neuse, Sanchez

By | at

A few updates on some recently DFA’ed players who passed through waivers, per the league’s transactions log at MLB.com…

  • Righty Kevin Herget, designated for for assignment Friday by the Rays, went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Durham. Herget made his big league debut as a 31-year-old rookie this season after grinding through the minor leagues and independent baseball for more than nine years. He tossed just 2 2/3 frames and yielded a pair of runs in that time but also recorded his first big league strikeout. Even if Herget doesn’t get another look with the Rays in 2022, his excellent work in Triple-A this year should generate interest in minor  league free agency this winter. In 93 2/3 frames, he’s pitched to a 2.98 ERA with a strong 24.9% strikeout rate and an outstanding 3.9% walk rate.
  • Athletics infielder Sheldon Neuse cleared outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas. The 27-year-old logged a career-high 293 plate appearances in 2022 but recorded just a .214/.273/.288 slash with four homers, four doubles and a pair of triples in that time. Neuse has consistently produced at the Triple-A level, where he’s slashed .299/.353/.471 in 1559 plate appearances, but he’s only managed a .212/.262/.296 slash in 420 Major League trips to the plate. Neuse has spent the bulk of his pro career playing third base, but he does have just over 750 innings of experience at second base and at shortstop — in addition to brief cameos at first base and in the outfield corners.
  • Veteran right-hander Aaron Sanchez, whom the Twins designated for assignment Friday, remains in the organization after clearing waivers and being assigned outright to Triple-A St. Paul. Injuries, most notably shoulder surgery, have blown up the once-promising career of Sanchez, formerly the No. 34 overall draft pick by the Blue Jays and the 2016 American League ERA leader. Since tossing 192 innings with a flat 3.00 ERA in ’16, Sanchez has thrown just 524 1/3 Major League innings (plus another 103 minor league innings) in a span of six seasons. Still just 30, Sanchez has pitched decently in Minnesota this season, tossing 27 innings with a 4.00 ERA, 25-to-7 K/BB ratio and 53.8% ground-ball rate.

Don Mattingly Won’t Return As Marlins Manager In 2023

By | at

Don Mattingly and the Marlins have mutually agreed that 2022 will be his final season as the club’s manager, according to a press release from the team.

The team released a statement from chairman and principal owner Bruce Sherman as well as Mattingly. Sherman’s portion reads: “We are fortunate to have had Don Mattingly leading our team on the field over the last seven years. He has represented the Marlins, our players, our fans, and the South Florida community with unmatched dignity and pride. Over the course of our recent conversations with Don, we both agreed not to pursue a new contract for the 2023 season and that the time is right for a new voice to lead our clubhouse. He will depart with the most wins and most games managed in franchise history and we are proud of Don’s many accomplishments, including winning National League Manager of the Year in 2022 when he guided the Marlins to the postseason after a 16-year absence.”

Don Mattingly } Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY SportsMattingly’s portion of the press release reads: “Today I am announcing that I will not be seeking a contract extension with the Miami Marlins. After meeting with Mr. Sherman and discussing with Kim Ng, all parties agreed that it was time for a new voice for the organization. I am proud and honored to have served as manager of the Marlins for the past seven years and have enjoyed my experiences and relationships I’ve developed within the organization. I look forward to spending time with my family in Evansville, and to any future endeavors.”

Mattingly, 61, got his first taste of managing with the Dodgers from 2011 to 2015 before coming over to the Marlins prior to the 2016 season. Of course, a lot has changed for the franchise during that time. The Fish were near-ish to .500 in Mattingly’s first two seasons as skipper, finishing 79-82 in 2016 and then 77-85 the following year.

It was towards the end of that 2017 campaign that the club was sold from Jeffrey Loria to a group headed by Derek Jeter and Bruce Sherman. The new ownership group immediately set out to slash the team’s budget, trading away Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna and Christian Yelich that winter and J.T. Realmuto one year later. That unsurprisingly led the team into a stretch of poor results, finishing in the basement of the NL East in 2018 and 2019. They surprised with a 31-29 finish in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, with Mattingly winning Manager of the Year in the process, but then were back to being bad again in the two subsequent campaigns. They went 67-95 last year and currently sport a record of 63-89 here in 2022.

Those trades landed several prospects, including Sandy Alcantara, Zac Gallen, Daniel Castano, Lewis Brinson, Monte Harrison, Isan Diaz, Sixto Sanchez, Jorge Alfaro and others. Very few of those players found success in Miami, however, with many of them having since moved on to other organizations. The club still felt like it had enough young pitching talent to take an aggressive approach this offseason, bringing in Avisail Garcia, Jorge Soler, Jacob Stallings and Joey Wendle for 2022. Unfortunately, all of those players have had disappointing seasons, meaning the post-rebuild era still seems illusive.

Mattingly currently sports a record of 437-583 while at the helm in Miami, though it would be difficult to place the blame squarely on him for all that losing given that the franchise has been intentionally bad for much of that stretch. It’s also probably not what Mattingly had in mind when he first joined the team, as the exciting bunch of young and talented MLB players that were present when he was first hired were sent packing in exchange for even younger prospects. Given that his departure has been reported as a mutual decision, it doesn’t seem like he was particularly enthused about continuing with the ongoing rebuild efforts. His statement indicates that he will go home to his family in Indiana, though it’s unclear if he would be interested in or pursue any other opportunities in baseball.

The Marlins will head into the offseason with much work to do this offseason in order to improve for 2023, but now they will have to add a managerial search to the list. General manager Kim Ng and her staff will be competing with the Blue Jays, Phillies, Angels and Rangers, who all fired their managers this year, though some of them could potentially retain their interim skippers into the future.

Craig Mish and Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reported on Mattingly’s departure prior to the official team announcement.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

NL Notes: Marte, Cardinals, Cruz

By | at

The Mets issued an official statement on Starling Marte’s fractured right middle finger, saying that a recent CT scan “showed improved healing,” and that the center fielder “will continue baseball activities as tolerated.”  This counts as good news, considering that Marte had to halt his first try at baseball activities last week, due to continued discomfort in his finger.  Marte hasn’t played since his finger was hit by a Mitch Keller pitch on September 6.

It remains to be seen if Marte will be able to make it back before the end of the regular season, let alone by his stated target date of Friday, when New York begins a critical three-game series with the Braves that could decide the NL East.  The Mets have continued to play well (a 12-6 record) since Marte was last in the lineup, but obviously having the All-Star center fielder back will boost the Mets’ chances of both capturing the division and potentially winning the World Series.  There hasn’t yet been any indication that Marte could miss any postseason action, but he’ll have less time to heal if the Mets have to settle for a wild card, and don’t receive a first-round bye.

More from the National League…

  • The Cardinals announced that Miles Mikolas and Jose Quintana will start on Tuesday and Wednesday in the team’s two-game series against the Brewers.  A sweep would clinch the NL Central for St. Louis, who have a commanding 6.5-game lead over Milwaukee but naturally want to get the division fully settled before looking ahead to the playoffs.  Since the Cardinals are a virtual lock to be the NL’s third seed, they’ll have to play in the wild card round, thus giving manager Oliver Marmol a lot to consider about how to best line up his postseason rotation.  Basically, everything is still to be decided, Marmol told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other reporters, including the possibility that the Cards might opt with something close to a standard five-man rotation (assuming they advance past the wild card series, of course).  The recent of struggles of Jordan Montgomery and Adam Wainwright — who is also battling a “dead arm” — have also added to the discussion, and St. Louis also has two remaining off-days in the regular season schedule.
  • In other Cardinals updates, Marmol told MLB.com’s John Denton and other reporters that it may be possible for both Jordan Hicks and Tyler O’Neill to be activated from the injured list before the postseason.  Hicks hasn’t pitched since September 14 due to neck spasms and fatigue in his right arm, but he is set to begin a throwing program on Tuesday.  O’Neill will also begin a running program on Wednesday, as he trise to make it back from a hamstring strain that sent him to the 10-day IL on September 17.
  • Oneil Cruz made two errors in the Pirates’ 8-3 loss to the Cubs today, giving the rookie shortstop 15 errors over 73 games this season at the position.  It made for some unfortunate timing for Pirates GM Ben Cherington, who said in his pregame radio interview (hat tip to Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) that “I see no reason why [Cruz] can’t play shortstop at high level at the major-league level.  I believe he can do it.  Time will tell.  And he’ll tell us.”  Evaluators have long been skeptical about whether or not the 6’7″ Cruz will eventually need a position change, though for the rebuilding Pirates, there really isn’t any reason for the team to not give Cruz a long look at shortstop before deciding if a change is necessary.  Cruz has also played in a handful of games in left field in the minors (and one game in left field in the bigs), which seems like it would be his eventual fallback position if he can’t stick at shortstop.

Pirates Claim Miguel Andujar Off Waivers From Yankees

By | at

The Pirates claimed Miguel Andujar off waivers, as announced by the Yankees via Twitter.  New York designated Andujar for assignment earlier this week.

The move officially ends Andujar’s 11-year tenure in the Yankees organization, the last few of which have been marked by trade rumors and a sense that the Yankees had moved on from Andujar as an important piece of their present and future lineups.  An injury-marred 2019 season for Andujar opened the door for Gio Urshela to take over at third base, and Andujar never again received any consistent big league playing time.

Heading into that 2019 season, Andujar looked like the latest of the “Baby Bombers” to make an immediate impact in New York’s lineup.  Andujar hit .297/.328/.527 with 27 home runs over 606 plate appearances in 2018, finishing second (behind Shohei Ohtani) in AL Rookie Of the Year balloting.  Though there was already some question as to whether or not Andujar’s defensive shortcomings would eventually force a move from third base, there seemed little question that his bat could play in the majors.

Since that breakout rookie year, Andujar has played only 105 MLB games over the 2019-22 seasons.  A torn right labrum sidelined him for all but 12 games in 2019, and though the Yankees experimented with using Andujar as a first baseman and left fielder, he still couldn’t find his way back to a regular spot in the lineup.  With Andujar out of favor, the Yankees explored trades and Andujar even renewed his request for a trade earlier this season, but the end result was New York getting no return, as Andujar departed on waivers.

Andujar is still only 27 years old and has two years of arbitration control remaining, and so for the rebuilding Pirates, there isn’t much risk in taking a look at him as a possible piece for 2023.  With only a .229/.250/.281 slash line over 100 PA for New York this season, Andujar has remained potent at the Triple-A level, hitting .285/.330/.487 with 13 homers over 297 PA with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

It remains to be seen whether or not Andujar can become more than a “Quad-A” type of player, but a change of scenery seemed long overdue.  He’ll now join Robert Stephenson, Michael Chavis, Zack Collins, and other former top prospects or highly-touted minor leaguers who are looking for fresh starts in Pittsburgh, as the Bucs continue to look for some late bloomers to add their collection of in-house prospects.  Looking ahead to 2023, Andujar could be a factor at first base, as Chavis has posted subpar offensive numbers.

Clayton Kershaw “Leaning Towards Playing” In 2023

By | at

Some retirement speculation swirled around Clayton Kershaw at the end of last season, when the veteran southpaw was entering free agency and also dealing with forearm/elbow injuries that kept him from pitching during the Dodgers’ postseason run.  However, when he returned to full health, Kershaw ended all thoughts of retirement, and ended up returning to Los Angeles on a one-year contract worth $17MM in guaranteed money.

As Kershaw approaches free agency once again, health again might be the primary factor as to whether or not he’ll return for a 16th Major League season.  For now, Kershaw is feeling good, and told The Los Angeles Times’ Dylan Hernandez that “I do think I’m leaning towards playing over not, for sure….I hold the right to change my mind, but as of today, I think that I’ve got at least one more run.”

The 34-year-old is still a dominant force on the mound, posting a 2.42 ERA over 115 1/3 innings this season.  Still among the league’s best at limiting free passes (4.4% walk rate) and barrels (4.2% barrel rate), Kershaw also has excellent strikeout and hard-hit ball rates, not to mention a 47.7% grounder rate.  Perhaps the only noteworthy number is that innings total, as Kershaw has missed about two months due to hip inflammation and lower-back pain.

“At the end of the day, pitching is tough on my back.  There’s no way around that,” Kershaw told Hernandez.  “I can manage it, definitely, and maybe there’s a time where it can last for eight months of the year and be good.  I still think that’s in there.”

While serious in their own right, back and hip problems aren’t as potentially devastating to Kershaw’s future as an arm injury.  In that sense, Kershaw has fewer concerns than he did last offseason, and he noted that he was “thankful for the lockout” in terms of giving him some extra time to rehab and consider his next step.  Kershaw was known to have only been looking at two teams in free agency, and chose a return to the Dodgers over signing with his hometown Rangers.

Kershaw didn’t give any hints about his plans for the winter, saying that his focus is just on the Dodgers and the playoffs.  While any number of clubs would love to add a pitcher of Kershaw’s caliber to their rotation, it would stand to reason that Los Angles and Texas will be his top two (and probably only) options for another contract.  The Dodgers are certainly closer to perpetual contention than the Rangers, though if L.A. can win another World Series this fall, Kershaw might find it an intriguing challenge to head to Arlington and help the Rangers try to win their first championship.

NL West Notes: Anderson, Gonsolin, May, Almonte, Bumgarner, Gonzalez

By | at

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts spoke with reporters today, and shed some light on the Dodgers’ pitching plans and health situations heading into the postseason.  Tyler Anderson was confirmed as part of the playoff rotation, as since Tony Gonsolin is still recovering from a forearm strain, Roberts said Gonsolin will throw no more than four innings in a game, if that.  Dustin May (who just went went on the injured list yesterday due to back tightness) is slated for a bullpen role if he is healthy enough to participate.

Yency Almonte might be activated from the 10-day injured list during the Dodgers’ series against the Padres that begins on Tuesday, Roberts said.  Almonte hasn’t pitched since August 3 due to elbow tightness, but the right-hander had a rehab outing scheduled for today with Triple-A Oklahoma City.  In his first season in Los Angeles, Almonte has become an underrated piece of the bullpen mix, posting an excellent 1.15 ERA over 31 1/3 innings.

Some more from around the NL West…

  • Madison Bumgarner has thrown his last pitch of the 2022 season, as while he isn’t injured, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert (Twitter links) and other reporters that the D’Backs will use younger starters in Bumgarner’s usual rotation spot.  While Bumgarner avoided injury for the first time in his three Arizona seasons, there wasn’t much to love about the left-hander’s performance, either from a bottom-line (4.88 ERA in 158 2/3 innings) or Statcast perspective — Bumgarner did pitch generally well in the first half of the season before fading after the All-Star break.  The Diamondbacks owe Bumgarner $37MM over the 2023-24 seasons, the two final years of the five-year, $85MM free agent deal that has thus far been a bust for the club.
  • The Giants placed outfielder Luis Gonzalez on the 10-day injured list yesterday, as a lower-back strain has ended Gonzalez’s season.  This is the second time back problems have sent Gonzalez to the IL this season, as Giants manager Gabe Kapler told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle and other reporters that Gonzalez had “been dealing with it ever since he even got off the IL, and I just think he was a more explosive, dynamic player going into that injury….He really has earned the right to be out there, he’s battled less than optimal physical condition to give us everything he’s had.”  In both his first season in San Francisco and in his first season with real Major League playing time, Gonzalez hit a respectable .254/.323/.360 over 350 plate appearances.  As Kapler noted, the back injury certainly impacted Gonzalez’s performance — he had an .808 OPS in 180 PA prior to his first IL stint, and just a .552 OPS in 170 PA after returning to action in early July.

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