Mariners Select Mike Ford
June 2: Ford’s selection is now official with the Mariners announcing the move today.
June 1: The Mariners are selecting the contract of first baseman Mike Ford, reports Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter links). He adds that the move won’t be official until tomorrow but outfielder Taylor Trammell has already been optioned as the corresponding move. The club already had a 40-man roster vacancy and won’t require another move to open a spot there. Ford had triggered an opt-out in his minor league deal earlier today, giving the club 48 hours to add him to the roster or else lose him to free agency, though they’ve quickly taken the former route.
Ford, 30, gets back to the majors thanks to a torrid stretch on the farm to start this year. He signed a minor league deal with the Mariners in the winter and has 13 home runs through 49 Triple-A games so far. He’s been playing in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League but his .302/.427/.605 batting line still amounts to a 143 wRC+, indicating he’s been 43% better than league average at the plate overall. He has a 16.1% walk rate and a strikeout rate of just 14.2%.
The lefty-swinger has posted strong results in the minors before, having hit .263/.363/.493 over 365 Triple-A games for his career. But his attempts to handle major league pitching haven’t gone as well, as he’s hit .201/.301/.387 in 468 plate appearances dating back to 2019. He’s never really been given a lengthy chance, however, as he’s yet to get into more than 50 games in a big league season.
The Mariners will see if he can provided a needed jolt to their offense. The club is collectively hitting .228/.308/.381 for a wRC+ of 97. The designated hitter slot has been especially disappointing, with the club getting a collective .148/.248/.295 line out of that position. That translates to a wRC+ of 56, the worst such mark in the majors. There hasn’t been any set player in that role, as the club has largely used it to give more at-bats to their many outfielders, with Julio Rodríguez, Jarred Kelenic, Teoscar Hernández, AJ Pollock and Taylor Trammell all getting some time there. Since Ford is only really capable of playing first base and the M’s have Ty France there, Ford could take some plate appearances away from that outfield group.
Of course, the one who is most obviously squeezed out of playing time is Trammell, as he’s now headed down to the farm. He’s somewhat similar to Ford in the sense that he’s always struggled in the majors despite crushing in the minors. He’s hitting .133/.278/.333 for Seattle this year and has a .168/.269/.370 line in his big league career, striking out in 37% of his plate appearances. In Triple-A, however, he’s hit .285/.377/.495 across three different seasons. He’ll now head back there to try to get into a good groove.
The transaction is potentially significant for Trammell as he has just one option season remaining. Once he spends 20 days in the minors, that means he will officially burn that final option here in 2023 and will be out of options in 2024.
Cardinals Place Lars Nootbaar On IL With Back Injury
The Cardinals announced that outfielder Lars Nootbaar has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 30, with a lower back contusion. His roster spot will go to fellow outfielder Jordan Walker, whose recall was reported yesterday.
Nootbaar, 25, goes to the IL for the second time this season. He landed on the shelf in early April due to a left thumb contusion. He returned in the middle of April but has sat out the past few days with back spasms, which allowed the club to backdate today’s IL stint. That means he could potentially return in a week but it will leave the club noticeably short-handed in center field in the meantime.
The Cards traded away Harrison Bader last year, seemingly confident in finding an internal replacement in center field from either Tyler O’Neill, Dylan Carlson or Nootbaar. All three of them had previous experience at the position and have been given some more time there this year, but now all three of them are on the injured list at the same time. O’Neill has been out close to a month due to a lower back strain and doesn’t seem to have made much progress in getting healthy again. Carlson has been out of action about two weeks due to an ankle injury and has yet to begin a rehab assignment.
The club is coming off unusual back-to-back off-days, meaning their most recent contest was on Tuesday. In that game, Tommy Edman went out to play center field and could perhaps continue in that role for the next week. After Tuesday’s game, he’s now up to 13 major league innings at the position. He was the club’s shortstop earlier in the year but Paul DeJong has since taken over while bouncing back from a few miserable seasons at the plate. Óscar Mercado is another option for center field work and is hitting .333/.357/.444 this year. But that’s in a small sample of 28 plate appearances and his career batting line is a far more modest .238/.291/.389.
Hopefully, the week off is enough for Nootbaar to return to action as he’s a strong all-around contributor. In 208 career games, he’s hit 23 home runs and walked in 14.2% of his plate appearances. His .241/.347/.427 batting line amounts to a wRC+ of 118. He’s also stolen 11 bases and has strong grades for his outfield defense.
Rays Designate Ben Heller For Assignment
The Rays announced that they have designated right-hander Ben Heller for assignment. His 40-man roster spot will go to Robert Stephenson, who was acquired in a trade today. The club will also need to open an active roster spot for Stephenson whenever he reports to the team.
Heller, 31, signed a minor league deal with the Rays this winter. He had his contract selected a little over a week ago but was optioned back to Triple-A before getting into a game. He’s tossed 27 1/3 innings over 18 appearances for the Bulls this year with a 3.95 ERA, 26% strikeout rate, 6.1% walk rate and 49.4% ground ball rate.
The right-hander has 31 games of major league experience, all of which came with the Yankees. Those were scattered across the 2016 to 2020 time frame, with Heller never topping 10 appearances in any individual campaign. He has a career 2.59 ERA, though with a .253 batting average on balls in play and 98.4% strand rate, both of which are unsustainably lucky. He was cut loose prior to the 2021 season then signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks but a stress reaction in his elbow cost him that entire season. He was with the Twins on a minor league deal last year but was only able to make seven appearances.
The Rays will now have one week to trade Heller or try to pass him through waivers. He is in his final option season and has been getting decent results in Durham. Given the number of pitching injuries around the league, it wouldn’t be a shock if some clubs were interested in nabbing Heller for some extra bullpen depth. Since he has over three years of major league service time, he would have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency in the event he clears waivers.
Brewers Release Luke Voit
The Brewers have released first baseman Luke Voit, reports Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Voit had been designated for assignment earlier this week.
Voit, 32, has been on a fairly steady downward trajectory in recent years. He led the majors in home runs in 2020, launching 22 of them fo the Yankees in the shortened season. He hit .277/.338/.610 that year for a wRC+ of 153, indicating he was 53% better than league average. However, he made multiple trips to the injured list in 2021 and finished with a diminished line of .239/.328/.437, 112 wRC+.
Since the Yankees had effectively replaced him with Anthony Rizzo, they traded him to the Padres prior to 2022. But after a few months in San Diego, Voit was traded again to Washington, forming part of the Nationals’ return in the Juan Soto trade. Between the two clubs, his batting line fell again last year, ending up at .226/.308/.402, wRC+ of 102. The Nats could have retained him via arbitration but decided to non-tender him instead.
Voit ended up with the Brewers on a minor league deal and opted out late in the spring when he didn’t get a roster spot. But the Brewers circled back and signed him to a one-year, $2MM deal with incentives and a club option. Unfortunately, he hit just .221/.284/.265 through 22 games before landing on the injured list with a neck strain. He began a rehab assignment a couple of weeks ago but the club evidently didn’t want to add him back onto the roster, giving him the DFA treatment earlier this week.
Since Voit is only capable of serving as a first baseman or a designated hitter, his dwindling offense really puts a dent in his appeal. Given his recent struggles and salary commitment, it’s not a surprise that the Brewers didn’t find any club willing to take him on. Since he has over five years of major league service time, he would have been able to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency while retaining that salary, so the club has simply skipped that step and sent him back to the open market.
He will now be free to pursue opportunities with any of the other clubs. The interest will surely be muted based on his recent results, but any club that signs him would only have to pay him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the active roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Brewers are paying.
Rays Acquire Robert Stephenson From Pirates
1:05pm: The Pirates have now announced the deal and that Williams has been assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis. Infielder Mark Mathias has been recalled to take Stephenson’s spot on the active roster.
12:20pm: The Rays have acquired right-hander Robert Stephenson from the Pirates, reports Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic. Minor league shortstop Alika Williams is heading the other way.
Stephenson, 30, came up as a starting pitcher for the Reds but has been converted to relief work over the past few years. The initial results of the bullpen move were positive, as he posted a 3.76 ERA over 57 appearances in 2019. Things took a downturn in the shortened 2020 season, however, with his ERA shooting up to 9.26 in 10 appearances that year. Prior to 2021, the Reds flipped him to the Rockies in exchange for Jeff Hoffman.
He then bounced back with a solid season in Denver, putting up a 3.13 ERA in 2021. He struggled again in 2022, running up a 6.04 ERA through August before he was designated for assignment and landed with the Pirates. He was able to finish on a high note with a 3.38 ERA in ten appearances for the Bucs down the stretch.
Here in 2023, he began the season on the injured list due to elbow inflammation but was able to return in the middle of April. He’s since made 18 appearances but has a 5.14 ERA in those. He’s still getting punchouts at a similar rate but his control seems to have fallen off this year. He struck out 26.8% of opponents from 2019 to 2022 and walked 7.9% but those figures are 27.9% and 13.1% this year.
That’s a small sample size but Stephenson has shown himself to be fairly inconsistent in his career, with notable swings in his effectiveness. Nonetheless, the Rays will take a shot on helping him harness his stuff. Given their track record of helping flawed pitchers get the best of their arsenals, it wouldn’t be a total shock to see Stephenson get back on track in Tampa.
Despite their reputation for producing an endless stream of quality relievers, they have had some bullpen struggles this year. They have five relievers currently on the injured list, which is putting a strain on their depth. The relief group as a whole has a collective 4.32 ERA on the season, a mark that places them 22nd out of the 30 clubs in the league. They have been looking in various places for reinforcements, including calling up several arms from their own system as well signing Jake Diekman after he was released by the White Sox. Now they will add Stephenson as well to see if he can be part of the solution as they try to hold onto the top spot in the cutthroat AL East. He will just be a short-term piece, however, since he’s slated for free agency this winter.
As for Williams, 24, he was the 38th overall selection in the 2020 draft. He has generally been considered one of Tampa’s top 30 prospects in the past few years, with his speed and defense standing out as his best qualities. The key question has been whether or not his bat would allow him to complement those skills. So far, the results there have been somewhat tepid. He hit .267/.312/.375 in 2021 across three different levels, producing a wRC+ of 86. Last year, he got his line up to .249/.353/.377 for a wRC+ of 104, spending most of his time in High-A. He’s been in Double-A this year, hitting .237/.314/.417 for a wRC+ of 101.
Williams isn’t a star prospect but he comes with a solid floor given his athletic abilities. Any offensive development would be a nice bonus for the Bucs, not a bad outcome for a struggling reliever that they grabbed off waivers less than a year ago.
White Sox Designate Hanser Alberto For Assignment
The White Sox announced a series of roster moves today, reinstating right-hander Mike Clevinger and infielder Elvis Andrus from the injured list. In corresponding moves, they optioned right-hander Jesse Scholtens and designated infielder Hanser Alberto for assignment.
The White Sox haven’t had a good solution for second base for most of the year. Andrus was signed with the idea of slotting him next to Tim Anderson but Anderson ended up missing most of April due to a knee sprain. Andrus slid over to short to cover for him but hit just .201/.280/.254 before going on the IL himself due to an oblique strain about three weeks ago.
With Andrus out of action of late, the club has tried a couple of different players. Jake Burger had been playing third base, covering for the injured Yoán Moncada, and hit well enough that the club has considered moving him over to second base now that Moncada is back. He has 11 home runs in 40 games this year and an overall batting line of .270/.314/.603, leading to a 145 wRC+. Given that output, it’s unsurprising that the club wants his bat in the lineup, but he’s still only been entrusted with two innings at the keystone so far this year. Another option is Romy González, who had a terrible start to the season but has been on fire lately. He had a dismal .103/.103/.103 line through April 25 but has hit .286/.295/.667 since that time.
Manager Pedro Grifol recently spoke to James Fegan of The Athletic about the situation, essentially saying that the club will try to ride the hot hand. “I don’t think I’m going to be mixing and matching at second base,” Grifol said. “We need to win baseball games so if somebody’s playing as well as Romy (Gonzalez) is playing, then he’s going to play. If Elvis comes in and he does what he can do, then he’s going to play. Those are conversations that I’ll have with whoever’s involved and we’re going to put the best team on the field that’s going to help us win a baseball game every day.”
With the club suddenly juggling multiple options for the second base position, it has squeezed Alberto out of the picture. Signed to a minor league deal in the offseason, he made the club’s Opening Day roster to serve as a bench piece. He has since played in 30 games for the club, around a two-week IL stint due to a quad strain, but has hit just .220/.261/.390. That’s not too far off from his career line of .269/.292/.381, but it seems the Sox will roll with the younger and more exciting players in Burger and González.
The Sox will now have a week to trade Alberto or pass him through waivers. He has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment and retain his $2.3MM salary. Given that financial commitment and his tepid production this season, it seems likely he simply ends up released in the coming days.
Brewers Sign Roman Quinn To Minor League Deal
The Brewers recently signed outfielder Roman Quinn to a minor league deal, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He’s already reported to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds and played in a couple of games for that club.
Quinn, 30, was once a highly-rated prospect with the Phillies as his speed and defense gave him a very high floor. While he also hit well in the minors, he hasn’t yet found success against major league pitching. Going back to his debut in 2016, he has a career batting line of .226/.303/.348 in 599 plate appearances, striking out at a 30.4% rate.
He stayed with the Phillies through the end of 2021 but lost his roster spot at the end of that year and has gone into journeyman mode since then. He jumped to the Marlins and then back to the Phillies on minor league deals in early 2022. He got back to the big leagues with the Phils for a time but wound up back on the free market after a little more than a month. That led to another minor league deal with the Royals and then a major league deal with the Rays, though he landed on the injured list after about a month with Tampa and wasn’t able to return.
He lost his roster spot at the end of last year and signed a minor league deal with the Guardians this winter. Unfortunately, he hit just .176/.391/.235 in 15 Triple-A games before getting released, which is what allowed him to join the Brewers on yet another minors deal.
The Brewers have dealt with some issues in their outfield this year, particularly in center. Garrett Mitchell was expected to be the everyday option up the middle but he required shoulder surgery in April that could potentially keep him out for the remainder of the year. Prospect Sal Frelick also isn’t an option as he’s still rehabbing from April thumb surgery. That’s left the position in the hands of Joey Wiemer, who has provided excellent defense and stolen nine bases but is hitting just .199/.261/.348 on the year.
Quinn will give the club some experienced non-roster depth while trying to get into a good groove at the plate. Should he eventually earn his way back to the big leagues, he is out of options but could be retained for future seasons via arbitration since he has just over four years of major league service time.
Diamondbacks Outright Peter Solomon
The Diamondbacks have sent right-hander Peter Solomon outright to the Triple-A Reno Aces, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week.
Solomon, 26, was once an intriguing prospect in the Astros’ system, having been drafted by that club in the fourth round in 2017. However, he required Tommy John surgery in 2019 and then the minor leagues were canceled by the pandemic in 2020, leading to a significant gap in his development. He seemed to get back on track in 2021, posting a 4.70 ERA for Triple-A Sugar Land in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He also made his major league debut with a 1.29 ERA in six relief appearances.
In 2022, the Astros kept him in the minors and his results took a step back. His ERA ticked up to 5.20 and his peripherals went in the wrong direction at Triple-A as well. His 26.3% strikeout rate from 2021 dropped to 20.5% and his walk rate went from 9.9% to 10.2%. He was put on waivers in September and was claimed by the Pirates. He made four appearances for their Triple-A club as the season was winding down but was outrighted at season’s end.
He came to the Diamondbacks this winter via the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft. He was selected to the big league roster in early April but was shelled for a 12.15 ERA in five long relief outings. He got optioned back to Triple-A Reno but has posted a 9.69 ERA for that club. The club needed a roster spot when prospect Kristian Robinson was coming off the restricted list and Solomon was the casualty.
Since Solomon has a previous career outright, he has the right to reject this assignment and elect free agency, though it’s not publicly known if he has chosen to do so.
The Opener: Olson, Sale, Twins
On the heels of an early-morning transaction, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Olson to make MLB debut:
The Tigers are expected to promote right-hander Reese Olson to start this evening’s game against the White Sox, marking Olson’s MLB debut. A former 13th round pick by the Brewers, Olson was traded to the Tigers in 2021. Since then, Olson has pitched primarily at the Double-A level, posting a 4.24 ERA in 144 1/3 innings of work. He opened the 2023 campaign with a promotion to the Triple-A level, but has largely struggled there this season, with a 6.38 ERA in 36 2/3 innings of work. That ugly figure is inflated by a 15.83 ERA in his first four appearances this season, though the 23-year-old owns a worrisome 12.6% walk rate that has stayed consistent even as his results have improved.
Olson, for whom the club will need to open an active roster spot before today’s game, will step into the rotation in the stead of the club’s injured ace, left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez. It certainly seems unlikely that Olson will be able to match Rodriguez’s dominant start to the 2023 season (2.13 ERA and 3.17 FIP in 11 starts), but he’ll nonetheless be relied upon to help stabilize a Tigers rotation that has been a clear weak spot for the club this season. Each of Matthew Boyd, Joey Wentz, and Alex Faedo sport ERAs well above 5.00, with Michael Lorenzen standing as the only active member of the rotation having an above average season by measure of ERA+ with a 122 figure. Olson will take the ball in Chicago at 7:10pm CT tonight.
2. Sale to undergo MRI:
Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale exited yesterday’s start against the Reds with shoulder soreness. He’s scheduled to undergo an MRI today to determine the extent of the issue, as noted by MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo. While Sale has posted a rather pedestrian 4.58 ERA, exactly league average by measure of ERA+, that figure doesn’t tell the whole story of his 2023 campaign to this point. The 34-year-old veteran had a disastrous April, with a 6.75 ERA in 29 1/3 innings over six starts. Since then, however, Sale has turned a corner, posting a 2.43 ERA, 2.89 FIP, and a 31.3% strikeout rate in 29 2/3 innings over five starts that have been far more reminiscent of his ace-level production in previous seasons.
Should Sale miss time, it would not only be a serious blow to the Red Sox rotation, but surely frustrating for Sale himself, as the veteran lefty managed just 48 1/3 innings across the 2020-2022 seasons while battling a myriad of injuries, including Tommy John surgery. Right-handers Corey Kluber and Nick Pivetta were both recently demoted to the bullpen, and could theoretically step back into the rotation should Sale require a trip to the injured list.
3. Buxton, Correa exit game:
A pair of concerning injury situations popped up for the Twins during last night’s game against the Guardians, as both Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa exited the game. Buxton exited yesterday’s game with rib soreness after being struck by a pitch, and is expected to undergo imaging today, per Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com. Meanwhile, Correa exited after re-aggravating the plantar fasciitis that recently kept him out of the lineup for a few days, per Dan Hayes of The Athletic.
Losing either superstar would be a significant blow to the club, let alone both players. That said, the Twins have the remarkable position player depth necessary to weather such a blow, with Donovan Solano and Kyle Farmer both able to come off the bench and step into everyday roles while Matt Wallner and Edouard Julien would both be options to return to the big league club should either Buxton or Correa require a stint on the injured list.
Reds Disinclined To Trade Jonathan India
Reds second baseman Jonathan India is amidst a bounceback season. The 2021 NL Rookie of the Year had a down ’22 campaign. He spent some time on the injured list with hamstring issues and only hit .249/.327/.378 in 103 games.
The first two months of this season have more closely resembled India’s rookie form. He entered play Thursday with a .282/.369/.426 batting line over 244 plate appearances. His 15 doubles are one shy of last year’s mark in a little over half the playing time. He has a modest five home runs but is reliably reaching base at the top of the Cincinnati lineup. He’s avoided the IL and been in the starting lineup for all but one of the Reds’ games thus far.
While he’s not hitting for a ton of over-the-fence power, India has taken a marked step forward in his strike zone coverage. He’s always been a disciplined, high-contact hitter and he’s taken that to career-best heights. India’s walking at a quality 10.7% rate and has cut his strikeouts to a personal-low 18% clip. He’s chasing fewer pitches outside the strike zone than ever and making contact on a career-high 83.7% of his swings. He’s also hitting the ball a fair bit harder than he did last season.
Other clubs have unsurprisingly taken note. Jeff Passan of ESPN reported this morning the Reds are receiving trade interest in India but aren’t anxious to move him. That’s not to say they’re completely opposed to talks — few players around the league are truly “untouchable” in negotiations — but reflects the lack of urgency for Cincinnati to make a deal.
India broke camp in 2021, giving him exactly two years of big league service entering this season. He’ll be eligible for arbitration at the end of the year and isn’t slated to reach free agency until after the 2026 campaign. The Reds have very little money on the books beyond this season and won’t have any issue accommodating India’s arbitration salaries.
There’s a straightforward case for Cincinnati to keep him around. Even in a weak NL Central, the Reds aren’t expected to compete this season. Their 26-29 record is a little better than most outside observers likely anticipated, though they’re still a longshot to hang in the playoff mix all year. Given their post-’23 payroll flexibility and a farm system with plenty of upper minors talent, the Reds could more seriously angle for postseason contention as soon as next year.
As arguably the club’s best position player, India could be a significant part of those efforts. It’s not entirely outlandish for others teams to touch base with general manager Nick Krall and his front office, though. The strength of Cincinnati’s minor league pipeline is the middle infield, leading the Reds to look into trading from that depth to address other areas of the farm system over the offseason.
Former first round pick Matt McLain reached the majors last month after tearing up Triple-A pitching. He’s hit the ground running as the primary shortstop, posting a .361/.426/.541 line over his first 68 plate appearances. Elly De La Cruz, in the conversation for the top prospect in baseball, likely isn’t far behind while carrying a .303/.401/.648 slash as a 21-year-old in his first crack at Triple-A. Noelvi Marte — arguably the next-best prospect in the system — is hitting .295/.369/.500 while playing shortstop in Double-A. Edwin Arroyo isn’t hitting well in High-A but entered the year as a top 100 caliber prospect and is expected to stick at shortstop himself.
India is a productive hitter but has drawn below-average defensive grades from metrics like Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast’s Outs Above Average throughout his career. There’s no reason for the Reds to move him off the keystone imminently. Prospect promotions could alter that calculus in the coming months or next year.
Still, the Reds could see any India trade offers as putting the cart before the horse. They opened the season with Jose Barrero and Kevin Newman as their shortstop tandem. Talented as the upper minors options are, none of them have more than a two-week MLB track record.
It’s also common for middle infield prospects to branch out to other positions as they approach the MLB level. McLain played some center field at UCLA and could eventually be an option in the outfield. De La Cruz and Marte are both larger-framed shortstop prospects, leading some evaluators to question whether either might be a better fit for third base down the line.