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Rockies Promote Ezequiel Tovar, Place Brendan Rodgers on Injured List

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Sep. 22: The Rockies have officially announced Tovar’s promotion. In a corresponding move, infielder Brendan Rodgers will be placed on the 10-day IL with a left hamstring strain, retroactive to September 19. With only 13 games left in Colorado’s schedule, Rodgers may be sidelined for the rest of 2022.

Sep. 21: The Rockies are going to promote shortstop prospect Ezequiel Tovar, according to Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. Tovar is already on the club’s 40-man roster, though the Rockies will need to open a spot for him on the active roster.

Tovar, 21, signed with the Rockies as an international amateur in 2017. He was certainly a notable signing at the time, agreeing to a bonus of $800K, the highest given out by the club that year. But the youngster has increased his stock tremendously in recent years.

Through the end of the 2019 season, he had shown some decent plate discipline but little power. He hit only two long balls over 118 games in rookie ball and A-ball in 2018 and 2019. However, as Baseball America notes in their scouting report on Tovar, he bulked up during the pandemic shutdown in 2020 and has been on a meteoric rise up prospect lists ever since. He began this year in Double-A and played 66 games for the Hartford Yard Goats. In that time, he hit 13 home runs, stole 17 bases and hit .318/.386/.545 for a wRC+ of 153. He was recently promoted to Triple-A but only got into four games before being launched up to the big time.

Tovar already had a strong reputation for his speed, bat-to-ball skills and shortstop defense, which means the development of his power at the plate has the potential to turn him into an all-around superstar. Based on his tremendous breakout, he’s shot up to the #13 slot on Baseball America’s list of top prospects in the league, #28 at MLB Pipeline, #36 at FanGraphs, #25 on Keith Law’s list at The Athletic and #40 at ESPN.

For the Rockies, they have a legitimate opening at shortstop for the first time in a long time. Troy Tulowitzki manned the position from 2006 until his trade in 2015. That was followed by the Trevor Story era, which lasted until he reached free agency just under a year ago. This year, the club signed Jose Iglesias to take over, but only on a one-year deal. He’s been on the IL the past few weeks, with utility player Alan Trejo taking over. Tovar will have the last few weeks of the season to show the Colorado brass how he handles the big leagues, with the possibility of cementing himself as the shortstop of the future. Though the club is well out of contention at this point of the season, the chance to see what Tovar can bring to the table will give Colorado fans something to watch as the season winds down.

If Tovar can indeed earn himself a permanent spot with the big league club, there could be some domino effects. There’s not enough time remaining in the season for Tovar to get to 130 at-bats, meaning he will hang onto rookie/prospect status into the offseason. Under the new collective bargaining agreement, players with less than 60 days of service who appear among two preseason Top 100 lists at Baseball America, ESPN or MLB Pipeline can net their team a bonus amateur draft choice based on their early-career finishes in awards voting, so long as their club carries them on the MLB roster for a full service year. If Tovar can get himself a Rookie of the Year award or some MVP votes during his first couple of full seasons, he could net the club an extra draft pick.

Rays To Select Miles Mastrobuoni

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The Rays appear set to select the contract of infielder/outfielder Miles Mastrobuoni and option catcher Rene Pinto to Triple-A Durham. Former big league outfielder Denard Span, now a special assistant with the Rays’ baseball operations department, tweeted that Mastrobuoni has been informed he’s going to the big leagues. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported that Pinto was likely to be sent back down to Durham. The Rays still need to make a corresponding 40-man roster move.

It’ll be the first call to the big leagues for Mastrobuoni, whom the Rays selected with their 14th-round pick back in 2016. The now-26-year-old Mastrobuoni has never garnered much prospect fanfare despite consistently producing at an above-average level in the minors. Baseball America ranked him 20th among Tampa Bay farmhands on their midseason update of the Rays’ system — the first time he’s ever appeared among their top 30 prospects there. FanGraphs listed him 37th among Rays prospects back in March.

The increased attention on the lefty-swinging utilityman is understandable, given his output in recent seasons. Mastrobuoni split the 2021 season between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting at a combined .298/.376/.424 clip in 434 plate appearances. This year in Triple-A, he’s continued to hit for average and draw walks at a high clip but has also lowered his strikeout rate and displayed previously unseen power. In 573 plate appearances, Mastrobuoni has slashed .300/.377/.469 with more home runs (16) than he’d hit in his entire career prior to the 2022 season (13). He’s also turned in a career-high 32 doubles and swiped a career-best 23 stolen bases (in 26 attempts).

As with so many players who come up through the Rays’ system, Mastrobuoni is accustomed to playing multiple positions. He’s logged 463 innings at second base this season but also seen action in right field (201 innings), left field (147 innings), center field (123 innings), at shortstop (96 innings) and at third base (17 innings). That defensive versatility isn’t a newfound trait, either; Mastrobuoni has at least 42 career games at all six of those positions, though second base has been his most frequent spot on the diamond.

Now that he’s on the 40-man roster, Mastrobuoni can serve as a flexible depth piece in Tampa Bay for the foreseeable future. He’ll be under club control through at least the 2028 season and will be optionable for the next three years.

Royals Fire President Of Baseball Operations Dayton Moore

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The Royals have fired president of baseball operations Dayton Moore, according to a report from Andy McCullough and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Royals chairman and CEO John Sherman then confirmed the move in a press conference and announced that general manager J.J. Picollo is now in charge of baseball operations, per Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star.

“Dayton’s 16 years of leadership here will always mark the transformation into a World Series championship club,” Sherman says in a press release announcing the move. “Our fans, our region, and our community will never forget the excitement we shared in back-to-back pennants and the World Series Championship in 2015. He always put the Kansas City Royals first, and we’re stronger today because of it.”

Moving onto Picollo, Sherman says: “J.J.’s experience in baseball has prepared him for the challenges ahead. He has played a key role in evaluating and developing many of our franchise’s most talented players, including the core that won the 2015 World Series and the young core on the major league team today. He will brings a new lens and approach to leading our baseball operations. I look forward to working with J.J. as we continue to build and develop our team to compete at a high level.”

Moore, 55, was hired by the Braves as a scout in 1994, eventually working his way up to assistant general manager. The Royals hired him to be their general manager in 2006. As mentioned, Moore eventually led the Royals to a title in 2015, but it wasn’t a smooth ride. The Royals were one of the worst teams in baseball for an extended stretch that started before Moore joined the club, posting a losing record in nine straight seasons from 2004 to 2012.

However, the upside of all that losing was that the club was able to stockpile young talent through drafting and trading, eventually slingshotting itself to success. They used the second overall pick of the 2005 draft to grab Alex Gordon, the second overall pick of the 2007 draft to grab Mike Moustakas and the third overall pick in the 2008 draft on Eric Hosmer. Moore traded Zack Greinke in 2010, then one of the best pitchers in baseball, for a four-player return that included Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar. That trade also netted Jake Odorizzi, who was later part of a trade that netted the Royals James Shields and Wade Davis from the Rays. Those players, along with international signees like Salvador Perez and Yordano Ventura, formed a core that allowed the club to return to contention. The Royals got above the .500 mark in 2013, then won the AL Pennant in 2014 and won the World Series in 2015.

It’s been a rough tumble from those heights, though, with the club posting an even 81-81 record in 2016 and falling below it in each season since. The franchise was hoping to use the same playbook of building a strong stable of young players around which to build a winning ballclub, but it’s yet to be as successful this time around. Some of the club’s most recent first round draft picks have reached the majors, including Brady Singer, Bobby Witt Jr., Jackson Kowar and Daniel Lynch. The team was hoping that 2022 would be a season where they returned to contention but they are currently sporting a record of 59-89, better than just five other clubs around the league and guaranteed a sixth-straight losing campaign.

Moore can’t entirely be blamed for the team’s recent failures, of course, just as he can’t claim all of the credit for its previous successes. The Royals, like all MLB teams, employ dozens of analysts, scouts and other executives to make their baseball decisions. But the organization has decided that it was time for change and set their sights on the person at the top of the pyramid.

The new face of the front office will now be Picollo, who isn’t a new name for fans of the club. The 51-year-old was also a Braves scout but was brought along by Moore to be the Royals’ director of player development. He will now step into the spotlight and try to steer the franchise forward. Despite the club’s recent struggles, there are reasons to think he might be well-positioned to correct course in short order. The poor results in recent seasons have led to a pile of young talent on the team, though the Royals will have to find better ways of maximizing their skills. Financially, the club has limited commitments, with Salvador Perez and Hunter Dozier the only two players on the books beyond 2023. Of course, the Royals have never been a high-spending club, meaning that they will likely want to see improvements from their player development operations before they decide to start writing big checks. The franchise is clearly looking for change, but Picollo might start by looking inside the house before he looks outside.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

MLBTR Poll: Predicting The NL East Winner

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As the regular season nears its conclusion, the playoff picture has mostly come into focus. Of the 12 teams currently in playoff position, 10 have a cushion of at least 4 1/2 games. The Padres and Phillies are working to hold off the Brewers for the final two Wild Card spots in the National League, but the rest of the teams currently in playoff position have put themselves in a great spot to reach the postseason barring a major collapse. There’s an outside shot the White Sox track down the Guardians in the AL Central or the Orioles get back into the AL Wild Card race, but it’d take a major turn of events over the next two weeks.

There’s a similar lack of intrigue in most of the division races. The Astros and Dodgers have already clinched their respective divisions. The Yankees, Guardians and Cardinals all hold leads of six-plus games in theirs. The only division race that promises plenty of intrigue down the stretch: the battle for the NL East.

Both the Mets and Braves are already guaranteed to make the postseason. They’re each likely to surpass 100 wins. Yet one of those teams will come up just shy of a division title, leaving them as the #4 seed in the National League. That means a three-game series against the #5 seed in a first-round Wild Card set under the playoff format introduced in this spring’s collective bargaining agreement. Obviously, both teams would much prefer to secure the division title (and almost certainly the NL’s #2 seed and accompanying first-round bye). Which one is the frontrunner for the division crown? Let’s take a look at the remaining road for each and their current health outlook.

Mets (95-56 record, +147 run differential)

Remaining schedule: at Oakland (three games), vs. Miami (two games), at Atlanta (three games), vs. Washington (three games)

The Mets have 11 games remaining. Eight of them are against teams 28 games or more below .500. The other three: a crucial series next weekend in Atlanta. New York welcomed back Max Scherzer from a brief injured list stint on Monday. He came out with six perfect innings against the Brewers, striking out nine, before being lifted due to a pitch count limitation. The Mets rotation is at full strength at the right time, pushing players like Tylor Megill and David Peterson into the bullpen.

The biggest current injury for the Mets is on the position player side. Right fielder Starling Marte has yet to return after suffering a non-displaced fracture in his right middle finger two weeks back. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweeted this afternoon that the All-Star outfielder is hopeful he’ll be back in time for next weekend’s series with the Braves. Center fielder Brandon Nimmo, meanwhile, left today’s game with left quad soreness. Mike Puma of the New York Post relays that he’s likely to go for imaging tomorrow but Nimmo downplayed the severity of the issue postgame.

Braves (93-56 record, +171 run differential)

Remaining schedule: at Philadelphia (four games), at Washington (three games), vs. Mets (three games), at Miami (three games)

The defending champions dug themselves an early hole with a mediocre first two months, but they’ve been incredible since the calendar flipped to June. They’re a staggering 70-28 over the past three and a half months, nearly erasing a deficit that was once as high as 10 1/2 games in the process. They’ve pulled even with the Mets in the loss column but have two fewer wins, leaving them with a bit more work to do to get ahead in the standings.

The Braves kick off a four-game set with the Phillies tomorrow. That’s a much more difficult series than any the Mets will play (aside from the Braves themselves), but Atlanta just swept Philly last weekend.

Like the Mets, Atlanta doesn’t have any key starting pitchers currently on the injured list. Rookie star Spencer Strider is battling some oblique soreness and had today’s scheduled start pushed back slightly, but there’s no indication an IL stint is currently under consideration. As with New York, Atlanta is down one star position player thanks to a fractured finger though. The Braves lost Ozzie Albies to a right pinky fracture over the weekend. There’s a chance he returns in the postseason but he’s not expected back before the end of the regular season. Rookie Vaughn Grissom filled in well in recent weeks while Albies was rehabbing a broken foot; he’ll be asked to do the same for the stretch run.

Tiebreaker procedure

The final three games between the Mets and Braves obviously loom as the largest remaining on the schedule for both clubs. Not only are they the most directly impactful in the standings, they also carry implications for the tiebreaker. The new CBA did away with the traditional Game 163 in favor of a tiebreaker system. If two clubs finish the season with the same record, the team with the better head-to-head mark gets the nod in the standings. The Mets lead this year’s season series 9-7, meaning Atlanta would need to sweep their final meeting to secure the tiebreaker.

How does the MLBTR readership expect things to play out? Which team will celebrate an NL East crown two weeks from now?

(poll link for app users)

 

Injury Notes: Treinen, Nelson, Severino, Britton

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The Dodgers have been without reliever Blake Treinen for much of the season, as shoulder issues have kept him on the injured list. The right-hander was out of action between mid-April and early September, and his return to the active roster this month lasted just two appearances. Treinen went back on the IL with shoulder tightness on a placement retroactive to September 7. While he’ll be eligible to return from that stint tomorrow, manager Dave Roberts informed reporters Treinen’s shoulder hasn’t responded to a Monday bullpen session as hoped (via David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports and J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group).

Roberts indicated there’s some concern Treinen may not be available in time for the postseason, which kicks off just over two weeks from now. Los Angeles is assuredly going to get a bye past the first-round Wild Card series, which will afford Treinen a bit more time to try to work his way back. If they could get the 34-year-old back in the fold, it’d go a long way towards improving their playoff bullpen. While he’s been limited to just five appearances this year, Treinen was one of the sport’s best late-game weapons a season ago. He worked to a 1.99 ERA with a 29.7% strikeout rate while inducing grounders on over half the batted balls he allowed through 72 1/3 frames in 2021.

Some other injury notes from around the game:

  • The Diamondbacks placed rookie starter Ryne Nelson on the 15-day injured list this afternoon, recalling southpaw Tyler Holton from Triple-A Reno in his place. The right-hander is dealing with scapula inflammation that’ll end his season a few weeks early. Manager Torey Lovullo didn’t sound especially concerned about the issue long-term, telling reporters (including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic) the club was proceeding with an excess of caution with the season winding down. Lovullo indicated Nelson should be in the mix for a spot in next year’s season-opening rotation, hardly a surprise given his prospect pedigree. Baseball America’s #96 overall farmhand entering the 2022 campaign, Nelson struggled with the longball in a hitter-friendly Triple-A environment but impressed in his first three big league starts. He allowed only four runs (three earned) with 16 strikeouts and six walks in 18 1/3 innings to kick off his MLB career.
  • The Yankees reinstated Luis Severino from the 60-day injured list this afternoon, as expected. New York already had a vacancy on the 40-man roster, and they optioned Miguel Andújar to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to open a spot on the active roster. Severino, who missed two months after suffering a lat strain in mid-June, returned with five innings of one-run ball in a win over the Pirates. The righty tossed 64 pitches and figures to progressively build his pitch count with each start in preparation for a potential role in the playoff rotation. New York is also likely to soon welcome back reliever Zack Britton, who hasn’t thrown an MLB pitch since undergoing a UCL repair last September. Joel Sherman of the New York Post was among those to relay that Britton has reported to the major league club after making eight appearances on a rehab stint. While he’s not yet been formally reinstated from the 60-day injured list, that seems likely to occur in the coming days.

Rangers Sign Kevin Plawecki

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The Rangers have now officially signed catcher Kevin Plawecki, a move that was hinted at in recent reporting. The club announced the move, along with Nick Solak heading to the 60-day injured list with a right foot fracture in a corresponding move. The Solak move is a mere formality, as it was previously reported that he suffered a season-ending foot fracture.

Plawecki, 31, spent the past three seasons with the Red Sox, performing quite well in the first two. Over 2020 and 2021, while backing up Christian Vazquez, Plawecki hit .305/.364/.414 for a wRC+ of 112, or 12% above league average. He wasn’t able to sustain it here in 2022, however, dropping to a batting line of .217/.287/.287, 61 wRC+.

With the Red Sox out of the playoff race and Plawecki approaching free agency, they decided to give more playing time to controllable catchers like Reese McGuire and Connor Wong. That led to Plawecki getting designated for assignment, a move that apparently rankled the Boston clubhouse. Nathan Eovaldi and Rich Hill spoke on the record about Plawecki’s popularity on the club as a veteran leader, which is something it seems the Rangers are interested in.

Levi Weaver of The Athletic relays that he spoke to interim manager Tony Beasley about the move, with Beasley highlighting Plawecki’s reputation as a clubhouse guy and outlining how his presence would allow the club more flexibility in deploying its two other catchers, Jonah Heim and Sam Huff, down the stretch.

Mariners Select Luis Torrens, Designate Jake Lamb

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The Mariners announced a series of roster moves today, recalling outfielder Jarred Kelenic and selecting the contract of catcher Luis Torrens. In corresponding moves, outfielder Taylor Trammell was optioned to Triple-A while infielder/outfielder Jake Lamb was designated for assignment.

Torrens, 26, had a strong season for Seattle last year but struggled to carry that forward into 2022. He was hitting .214/.262/.252 in August, producing a wRC+ of just 53. For a catcher with a bat-first reputation, that was clearly not cutting it, leading the club to designate him for assignment. Torrens cleared waivers and was outrighted but will now return to the club just over a month later to get another crack at things. The M’s already have a couple of catchers in Curt Casali and Cal Raleigh, though Raleigh has missed a few games this week due to thumb soreness. Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times also adds that Casali is expected to go on paternity leave soon, compounding the need for some extra depth behind the plate.

Lamb, 31, began the year with the Dodgers but was traded to Seattle just prior to the deadline. He hit .239/.338/.433 for a wRC+ of 120 in Los Angeles but hasn’t been able to carry that up the coast with him. He’s hit just .167/.265/.300 since joining the Mariners, producing a wRC+ of 70. Due to that tepid showing, he’ll relinquish his roster spot to Torrens.

Of course, outside the 40-man roster implications, today’s moves also carry intrigue for Seattle given that they are swapping out a pair of young outfielders. Kelenic, 23, arrived with much fanfare in May of 2021 as one of the top prospects in the sport, but struggled in his first taste of MLB action. He’s been bounced on and off the club’s major league roster ever since but always scuffling in the bigs. Through 133 major league games so far, he has a batting line of .167/.246/.329 for a wRC+ of 63. He’s been on a heater in Triple-A this year, however, showcasing why he’s always been considered such an exciting young player. In 86 games for Tacoma this season, he’s hit 18 long balls and stolen nine bases, creating a batting line of .295/.365/.557 for a wRC+ of 123. Of course, he’s often hit well but then struggled after a major league promotion, but he’ll now get another chance to break that cycle.

The Mariners have been scuffling a bit lately but are still in good position to break their 21-year postseason drought. They are holding onto the final AL Wild Card spot at the moment, five games ahead of the Orioles with just two weeks left on the schedule. If Kelenic brings his hot bat up to the majors, he could both give the club a boost down the stretch and earn himself a spot on the playoff roster.

Guardians Designate Ernie Clement, Select Will Brennan

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The Guardians announced a series of roster moves prior to today’s game, recalling infielder Gabriel Arias and selecting outfielder Will Brennan. In corresponding moves, outfielder Richie Palacios was optioned while infielder Ernie Clement was designated for assignment.

Clement, 26, was first added to Cleveland’s 40-man roster in November of 2020, prior to that year’s Rule 5 draft. Since that time, he’s bounced between the majors and the minors, not hitting much in either case. In 104 MLB games between last year and this year, he has a career batting line of .214/.273/.274. That production amounts to a wRC+ of 55, or 45% below league average. In 21 games in Triple-A this year, it hasn’t been much better, with Clement hitting .238/.291/.428, wRC+ of 89.

Clement’s best tool is arguably his ability to avoid punchouts. He’s only gone down on strikes in 14.9% of his plate appearances in the big leagues this year, well below the 22.3% league average. That hasn’t translated into strong results just yet, but that could give him a floor to build on as he looks to create more meaningful contact. He also brings defensive versatility to the table, having played all four infield positions, as well as left field and even mop-up duty on the mound. He can still be optioned for the remainder of this year and one more season after this, meaning a team interested in his skills could grab him off waivers and stash him in the minors. Since the trade deadline has passed, the Guardians will have no choice but to put him on outright or release waivers in the coming days.

Taking his spot on the 40-man roster is the 24-year-old Brennan. He was an eighth-round selection of Cleveland in 2019 and has never really been a top prospect, but just keeps hitting everywhere he goes. This year, he’s split his time between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting .315/.373/.482 for a wRC+ of 128. He’s also struck out in just 11.6% of his plate appearances. Based on his strong season, he jumped onto Baseball America’s list of top Cleveland farmhands for the first time at their midseason update, currently sitting in the #17 spot. The Guards will give him a shot to see if his incredible bat-to-ball skills can play at the major league level. He’ll jump into an outfield mix next to Myles Straw, Oscar Gonzalez, Steven Kwan and Will Benson for the final playoff push and perhaps try to earn a spot on the postseason roster. The Guardians are currently atop the AL Central with a five-game lead over the White Sox and just two weeks remaining in the regular season.

Reds Select Michael Siani

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The Reds announced that they have selected the contract of outfielder Michael Siani. The club already had a vacancy on their 40-man roster. Nick Senzel, who was already reported to be done for the season, will head to the 10-day injured list in a corresponding move to get Siani onto the active roster.

Siani, 23, was selected by the Reds in the fourth round of the 2018 draft. He immediately jumped into rookie ball that year and onto Baseball America’s list of top Cincinnati farmhands. Since that time, Siani has worked his way up the minor league ladder without hitting much but earning tremendous plaudits for his defense. BA’s report from the start of this year highlights Siani’s excellent glove work and says he’s best center fielder the Reds have had since Billy Hamilton.

Siani has spent most of this season in Double-A, hitting 12 home runs in 121 games and slashing .252/.351/.404. That production with the bat was enough for a 102 wRC+, or 2% above league average. He provided excellent value with his wheels, though, stealing 49 bases in that time. He got promoted to Triple-A recently and played eight games there, adding another two long balls and swiping three more bags.

With Senzel’s injury, there’s an opening for Siani to get some work in the final two weeks of the season. With the Reds well out of contention, they can give him a shot at roaming big league outfields and facing big league pitching before the offseason arrives.

Rays Select Dusten Knight, Place Jalen Beeks On IL

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The Rays announced a series of roster moves prior to today’s game, selecting the contract of right-hander Dusten Knight. He will take the active roster spot of left-hander Jalen Beeks, who has been placed on the 15-day IL due to lower leg tightness, retroactive to September 18. To create room on the 40-man roster, right-hander Nick Anderson was recalled and placed on the 60-day IL due to plantar fasciitis.

The loss of Beeks will be a notable one for the Rays, as the southpaw has somewhat quietly been having an excellent season. After missing all of 2021 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, Beeks has thrown 61 innings here in 2022 with a 2.80 ERA, 28% strikeout rate, 8.8% walk rate and 45.8% ground ball rate. This is the second time he’s landed on the IL this year due to his leg and this one will keep him out of action until the final days of the regular season, at least.

Knight, 32, signed a minor league deal with the Rays in the offseason and has bounced on and off the roster since then. This is the third time the club has selected his contract, with the previous two instances resulting in him being designated for assignment before clearing waivers and being outrighted. He’s thrown eight innings in the big leagues with a 4.50 ERA but had a more substantial showing in Triple-A. He’s thrown 54 1/3 innings for the Bulls with a 3.48 ERA, 27.4% strikeout rate and 48.5% ground ball rate, but an unfortunate 13.7% walk rate.

The move for Anderson is a formality, as it had already been reported that he would miss the remainder of the season. By placing him on the 60-day IL, the Rays have freed up a roster spot for Knight but will now pay Anderson a major league salary for the final two weeks of the season, with Anderson also earning service time for that stretch.

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