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Reds, Stephen Piscotty Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Reds have agreed to a minor league contract with Stephen Piscotty, according to his transactions log at MLB.com. The veteran outfielder was released by the A’s last week. He’s headed to Triple-A Louisville.

Cincinnati is the third career organization for the 31-year-old Piscotty. A Cardinals draftee, he spent the first three seasons of his big league career in St. Louis. Piscotty was a well above-average hitter for the first couple years of that stretch, earning a long-term contract extension heading into the 2017 campaign. He had his first below-average season that year, though. After the season, the Cardinals dealt the Bay Area native to the A’s — a move partly motivated by a desire to allow Piscotty to be closer to home while his mother battled ALS.

During his first season in green and gold, Piscotty posted arguably the best season of his career. He hit a personal-high 27 home runs and put up a .267/.331/.491 showing across 605 plate appearances. At age 27, he looked to have gotten back on track offensively, but he’s seen a marked dip in performance over the past four years. Going back to the start of 2019, Piscotty owns a .229/.287/.378 line in just shy of 900 plate appearances. He’s hitting .190/.252/.341 with a 34.5% strikeout rate over 42 games this year.

Those struggles led the A’s to move on from Piscotty last week. Oakland will remain on the hook for the rest of this season’s $7.25MM salary, and they’ll also have to pay a $1MM buyout on a 2023 club option. Cincinnati will only owe Piscotty the prorated portion of the $700K league minimum (which would be subtracted from the A’s obligations) should Piscotty play his way back to Great American Ball Park.

There’s no financial downside for the Reds in adding some extra outfield depth, as they’ve been platooning in both corners of late. The lefty-hitting TJ Friedl and Jake Fraley have gotten the stronger side of that arrangement, while Aristides Aquino and Stuart Fairchild are on hand as righty options. Aquino is hitting only .176/.236/.235 in 55 plate appearances this month, so Piscotty could be an option to supplant him in relatively short order if he gets on track with Louisville.

Padres Promote Jose Castillo

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The Padres announced this evening that reliever José Castillo has been called up from Triple-A El Paso. Starter Yu Darvish is going on paternity leave in a corresponding transaction. While the club hadn’t made an announcement at the time, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported last week that San Diego had added Castillo to the 40-man roster to keep him from opting out of his minor league contract.

Now that he’s back in the big leagues, the southpaw is nearing his first MLB appearance in three years. Castillo broke in with the Friars in 2018 and immediately impressed. Over 38 1/3 frames as a rookie, he worked to a 3.29 ERA with an elite 34.7% strikeout rate and an average 8% walk percentage. Castillo’s fastball sat in the 95 MPH range, and he held opposing left-handers to a pitiful .133/.220/.133 line in 50 plate appearances.

Castillo looked like a long-term bullpen piece, but his career has been thrown off track by a brutal series of injuries. He missed a good chunk of the 2019 campaign after suffering a flexor strain in his forearm. Castillo returned, made one appearance, then torn a ligament in his throwing hand. That ended his season, but it was far from the end of his injury troubles. The Venezuela native suffered a teres major strain in his shoulder in July 2020 and spent the entire shortened season on the IL. He tried to return last year, but he blew out in Spring Training and underwent Tommy John surgery in March.

In light of all the injuries, San Diego outrighted Castillo off the 40-man roster last offseason. They brought him back on a non-roster deal to give him another chance at getting back on track. Castillo finally returned to health in early May and reported to El Paso, and he’s picked up right where he’d left off in 2018 from a performance standpoint. Over 34 2/3 Triple-A frames, he owns a 2.08 ERA with a 32.6% strikeout rate, although his walk percentage has jumped to a somewhat alarming 10.1% clip. The free passes have shown up in a .359 on-base percentage allowed to lefty batters this season, but same-handed hitters are hitting only .227 and have collected a lone extra-base hit (a double) in 44 at-bats against him in Triple-A.

Castillo is still only 26 years old, and his upper minors dominance makes him an intriguing addition to the Friars bullpen for the stretch run. It’s certainly not out of the question he reestablishes himself as a key late-game option for manager Bob Melvin. Castillo collected big league service from 2019-21 while on the major league injured list, but he’s still set to finish this season with between three and four years of service time. He’ll be arbitration-eligible through at least 2025 as a result, making him a potential long-term option for San Diego if he again handles big league hitters. Regardless of how well he fares moving forward, Castillo can take no small amount of pride in working his way back to the highest level after such a horrific stretch of injury luck.

Walker Buehler Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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Dodgers star hurler Walker Buehler underwent Tommy John surgery and a repair to his flexor tendon this afternoon, according to announcements from the team and Buehler himself (h/t to Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic). The club had already announced that Buehler would undergo an elbow procedure that would end his 2022 season, although it hadn’t been clear whether he’d require a complete UCL reconstruction.

While the team has not yet provided a specific timetable on Buehler’s recovery, the revelation comes as a brutal blow. A Tommy John procedure will obviously cost him far more than the remainder of this season. It’s now hard to envision him returning at any point in 2023. Tommy John recoveries often take upwards of 14 months, and Buehler’s rehab process only figures to take longer considering his personal history.

The righty also underwent Tommy John not long after being selected in the first round of the 2015 draft. He lost the remainder of that season and virtually all of the following year recovering, making just three brief appearances late during his first full pro campaign. He’ll now be faced with a second extended rehab process.

In between the surgeries, Buehler has established himself as one of the sport’s best arms. The Vanderbilt product has a 3.02 ERA in 638 1/3 MLB innings, striking out a quality 27% of batters faced against a meager 6.3% walk percentage. He posted an ERA of 3.44 or lower each season between 2018-21, earning a pair of All-Star nods in the process. Buehler picked up a fourth place finish in NL Cy Young balloting last year — his highest finish to date — after eclipsing 200 innings with a sparkling 2.47 ERA.

The 2022 season hadn’t been Buehler’s best, as he saw his strikeout rate fall to a personal-worst 21.2% rate through 12 starts. Not coincidentally, he allowed more than four earned runs per nine innings for the first time in his big league career, with opponents bizarrely teeing off on a fastball that had previously been one of his better offerings. Buehler’s velocity remained strong, with his fastball checking in at its customary 95 MPH range, and any efforts to get the pitch’s spin and overall effectiveness back on track were put aside when he left an early June outing with elbow discomfort. That was quickly revealed to be a flexor strain, and the team announced last week that he’d need to undergo surgery after rehab efforts proved unsuccessful.

Relative down year notwithstanding, Buehler would certainly have had a key role on next year’s staff had he been healthy. Now that he’s seemingly unlikely to factor into the mix at any point, the Dodgers figure to aggressively target rotation help during the upcoming offseason. Clayton Kershaw will be a free agent after signing a one-year deal last winter. The club would no doubt welcome him back if Kershaw wants to return, but it remains to be seen how the future Hall of Famer will choose to proceed. The Dodgers will also see free agent pickups Andrew Heaney and Tyler Anderson return to the open market.

Julio Urías is one of the sport’s top pitchers, and he’ll be arbitration-eligible for a final time next year. The Dodgers recently welcomed back flamethrowing Dustin May from a Tommy John rehab of his own, while Tony Gonsolin has carried over his smaller-sample excellence through a career-high 22 starts this season. That’s three rotation spots accounted for, and young hurlers like Ryan Pepiot, Gavin Stone and Bobby Miller could be ready for key roles relatively early in the year. There are still plenty of in-house options, but the Dodgers have aggressively stockpiled pitching depth in recent offseasons. Between efforts to re-sign one or more of Kershaw, Anderson and Heaney plus pursuits of external free agents, the Dodgers are likely to be active in adding to their strong collection of young in-house arms.

Buehler will remain on the 60-day injured list during the seasons, although he’ll need to occupy a spot on the 40-man roster over the winter. He’ll finish this season with more than four years of service time and be in line for a salary boost relative to this season’s $4.25MM figure via arbitration. Buehler is arb-eligible twice more, so the Dodgers are likely to tender him a contract and pay next year’s salary with an eye towards getting him back on the mound for the 2024 campaign.

Fernando Tatis Jr. To Undergo Shoulder Surgery

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Fernando Tatis Jr. announced this afternoon that he will undergo surgery on his left shoulder (relayed by Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune and Darnay Tripp of NBC 7 San Diego). The Padres star is already out for the rest of the 2022 season after MLB handed down an 80-game suspension this month once Tatis tested positive for the banned performance-enhancing drug Closetebol. The surgery, which will take place shortly, is not expected to sideline Tatis beyond the length of his suspension, relays via AJ Cassavell of MLB.com.

It’s a somewhat surprising development, as there was no previous indication that surgery was again under consideration. Tatis twice landed on the IL with shoulder issues last season, missing the minimal ten days in April and another couple of weeks in August. In both instances, he suffered the injury on basic baseball activities — his first occurring on a swing, his second sliding into a base. Both injuries initially seemed to have the potential for extended absences, but Tatis returned in relatively short order each time.

There was some speculation Tatis may need to go under the knife, but he declined to undergo surgery at the end of last season. His plans to play through any discomfort this year were twice dashed — first by an offseason fracture in his left wrist sustained in a motorcycle accident, then by the suspension. Tatis underwent wrist surgery this spring. Initially expected to return around June, his recovery nevertheless lingered into the late summer. He embarked on a minor league rehab assignment at the start of this month, but MLB announced the stunning news of his failed PED test after just four Double-A games.

That suspension will carry over into the start of next season. Tatis will miss the final 48 regular season games of the 2022 campaign, leaving him with 32 more games to serve after this regular season. Any lost postseason contests (should San Diego qualify) will also count against the tally, but Tatis would miss a month or more of the 2023 campaign if the Friars don’t go on an extended playoff run this year. With the lengthy absence already in play, it seems Tatis and the organization decided the time was right for him to correct the shoulder woes.

Twins Place Byron Buxton On Injured List

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The Twins announced they’ve placed center fielder Byron Buxton on the 10-day injured list due to a low-grade right hip strain. Catcher/infielder Caleb Hamilton was recalled from Triple-A St. Paul to take his spot on the active roster. The club also confirmed the previously-reported selection of righty Aaron Sanchez to start tonight’s ballgame against the Astros, with lefty Devin Smeltzer optioned to St. Paul. Corner outfielder Alex Kirilloff, who is out for the season after undergoing wrist surgery this month, was transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man roster spot for Sanchez.

Buxton left last night’s contest with soreness in the hip, and manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters after the game that the issue had nagged at the star outfielder for much of the season (via Aaron Gleeman of the Athletic). The club announced he’d head for an MRI today. Darren Wolfson of SKOR North reports that the MRI didn’t reveal any serious issues, seemingly backed up by the team’s specification of a “low-grade” strain. It’ll nevertheless cost Buxton at least a week and a half of action.

It’s the second consecutive season in which Buxton has landed on the IL due to a right hip strain. His previous hip injury, suffered while running the bases, cost him nearly six weeks between May and June 2021. There’s no indication this issue is expected to be that severe — it seems unlikely given the generally optimistic tenor of the club’s prognosis — but even a couple weeks without the first-time All-Star will be a tough blow for a Minnesota team that is two games back of the Guardians in the AL Central and three games out of the American League’s final Wild Card spot.

In addition to the hip discomfort that has apparently plagued Buxton on and off all season, the club has been cautious with his workload as he nursed some soreness in his right knee. Being more judicious with his playing time had seemingly helped Buxton avoid an IL stint for the knee concerns, but he’ll land on the shelf for the first time all season with the hip issue. He’s spent some time on the IL in every year since 2017, but he’s continued to electrify when physically able to take the field. Buxton earned the first All-Star nod of his career this summer, and he’s blasted 28 home runs in 92 games. He’s hitting just .224 with a .306 on-base percentage, but the combination of his prodigious power and otherworldly center field defense has made him one of the game’s top outfielders.

Dodgers Re-Sign Tony Wolters To Minor League Deal

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The Dodgers are in agreement with backstop Tony Wolters on a new minor league contract, according to an announcement from Triple-A communications director Alex Freedman (Twitter link). He’ll return to their top affiliate in Oklahoma City, where he’s spent virtually all of the 2022 season.

Wolters, 30, originally signed a minor league deal with L.A. last summer. He opened the year in Triple-A and has appeared in 50 games there. Across 193 plate appearances, the lefty-hitting catcher posted a .216/.311/.269 line. He didn’t connect on a home run and struck out at an elevated 26.4% rate, although he did draw free passes at a quality 11.4% clip.

Two weeks back, Wolters made his team debut at the big league level. Selected onto the roster when regular backup Austin Barnes was away from the team to tend to a family matter, Wolters spent a weekend as the #2 behind Will Smith. That always looked like a temporary arrangement until Barnes returned to reassume his customary role, and the Dodgers designated Wolters for assignment and released him a few days later. It’s not uncommon for veterans of his ilk to go unclaimed on waivers after brief stints as a depth option in the majors, then to return to the organization on a new minor league arrangement.

Wolters’ tepid offensive output in Triple-A is in line with his body of work at the big league level. He’s never been an impactful hitter, compiling a career .235/.321/.314 line over parts of seven MLB seasons (the bulk of which came with the division-rival Rockies). He’s a highly-rated defender, however, having checked in 24 runs better average in just shy of 3000 MLB innings behind the dish, in the estimation of Defensive Runs Saved. Wolters consistently posts strong pitch framing marks and has thrown out an above-average 30.5% of attempted base-stealers in the majors. That defensive prowess makes him a good fit for the upper level depth role to which he’ll return with Los Angeles.

Rays Designate Tommy Romero, Kevin Herget For Assignment

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The Rays announced Tuesday that right-handers Tommy Romero and Kevin Herget have been designated for assignment, thus clearing space on the 40-man roster for right-hander JT Chargois and lefty Brendan McKay to be reinstated from the 60-day injured list. McKay has been optioned to Triple-A Durham, while Chargois will step directly into the big league bullpen. Both Romero and Herget will be placed on waivers within the week, as neither can be traded now that the Aug. 2 deadline has passed.

Romero, 25, figures to be more appealing to other organizations than your typical DFA, given his relative youth, full slate of remaining minor league options and strong performance in Triple-A to this point in the season. Through 66 2/3 innings in Durham thus far, he’s pitched to a 3.51 ERA with a 20.9% strikeout rate, 9% walk rate and 37.7% ground-ball rate. That walk rate is a bit of an abnormality, as Romero turned in lower walk rates in recent years and was credited with plus-plus command in Baseball America’s most recent scouting report, wherein they pointed out that Romero posted one of the highest strike rates in the minors last year (68.8%).

Earlier in the season, Romero was working out of the rotation in Durham, and he got the ball to “start” one game with the big league club as well (albeit as an opener). More recently, the Rays have been deploying Romero in short-relief stints down in Triple-A, perhaps taking a look at him in that role for a late-season add to the bullpen. The progression of other arms on the injured list, however, has squeezed him out of the mix for the time being, even in spite of excellent numbers since sliding to the bullpen (0.59 ERA, 18-to-3 K/BB ratio in 15 1/3 innings).

A former 15th-round pick of the Mariners (2017), Romero landed in the Rays organization by way of the 2018 Denard Span/Alex Colome trade between Tampa Bay and Seattle. He’s never ranked among the Rays’ very top tier of prospects, but Baseball America tabbed him 22nd among Tampa farmhands just a few weeks ago when updating their ranking of the Rays’ system. Every team is going to have its own evaluation of Romero, of course, but it’d be somewhat of a surprise if another team didn’t claim him — particularly with so many non-contenders in need of cost-controlled arms.

It’s unfortunate, to say the least, that Herget didn’t get into a game during his brief time with the big league squad. Selected to the roster on Aug. 19, the 31-year-old, former 39th-round pick’s ascent to the Majors after a nine-year minor league grind was a feel-good story for any baseball fan, regardless of where one’s allegiance may lie. Herget surely relishes the mere call to the big leagues, the few days of service time and the few days of Major League pay he’ll receive, but it’d have been a thrill for both him and for fans to see him get at least an inning in the show.

It’s possible, of course, that he may yet receive that opportunity. Herget’s promotion to the Majors was well earned based on his Triple-A performance this season. In 80 1/3 innings, he’d logged a 2.45 ERA with a 25.2% strikeout rate, a minuscule 3.4% walk rate and a 34.4% ground-ball rate. A 31-year-old journeyman of this nature isn’t typically claimed off waivers, but perhaps a team in need of some immediate rotation depth will be heartened by those gaudy results in Durham and speculate on a more-or-less free look. Failing that, he’ll head back to Durham and continue the grind, hoping for another shot at the Majors that includes an actual appearance on the bump.

Red Sox Place Nathan Eovaldi, Eric Hosmer On Injured List

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The Red Sox have placed right-hander Nathan Eovaldi and first baseman Eric Hosmer on the injured list, with Eovaldi heading to the 15-day IL (retroactive to August 19) and Hosmer to the 10-day IL (retro August 21).  Right-hander Josh Winckowski and first baseman Franchy Cordero were called up from Triple-A in corresponding moves, and Winckowski will start tonight’s game against the Blue Jays.

Eovaldi has been bothered by soreness in his neck and right shoulder, and an IL placement isn’t surprising given that he’d already been scratched from a start against the Pirates last Thursday and tonight’s start against Toronto.  Officially, Eovaldi is now on the 15-day IL due to right shoulder inflammation, and he also missed a month due to back inflammation earlier this season.

Over the weekend, Eovaldi told reporters that his soreness was improving and that he hoped to avoid another IL trip altogether.  This at least gives some hope that Eovaldi can return when first eligible, though he’ll now be out of action until September, leaving the Red Sox short a major arm at the front of their rotation.

Multiple injuries within the rotation allowed Winckowski to make 12 starts and pitch 60 2/3 innings in his first Major League season.  The righty has only a 5.19 ERA, as his grounder-heavy, low-strikeout approach hasn’t yet found much consistent success against MLB batters.

Hosmer has been sidelined due to lower back inflammation.  Since being acquired from the Padres at the trade deadline, Hosmer has hit .225/.311/.300 in his first 45 plate appearances with Boston, continuing the prolonged slump that has lasted for the veteran first baseman since he enjoyed a huge April.  Cordero and Bobby Dalbec figure to get most of the first base time in Hosmer’s absence, with the versatile Christian Arroyo also perhaps factoring into the mix.

One name not yet involved is Triston Casas, as the Red Sox continued to hold off giving the top prospect his first taste of big league action.  His development was slowed by a high ankle sprain that cost him two months of the season, but Casas has hit a solid (if not dominant) .258/.367/.458 over 270 PA with Triple-A Worcester.  It seems likely that Casas will make his MLB debut before the season is out, though the question is when exactly the Sox will decide to take their first look at the 22-year-old.

Giants Claim Jonathan Bermudez

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The Giants claimed left-hander Jonathan Bermudez off waivers from the Astros.  Houston designated Bermudez for assignment this past weekend. To clear a 40-man roster spot, San Francisco recalled reliever Gregory Santos and placed him on the major league 60-day injured list, likely ending his season.

The 26-year-old Bermudez is changing organizations for the first time in his career, as he was a 23rd-round draft pick for the Astros back in 2018.  He pitched in both 2019 and 2021, in the latter season returning from the 2020 layoff year to post a 3.24 ERA over 111 combined innings with the Astros’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates.

Between Bermudez’s impressive strikeout and walk totals, it seemed as though Houston was developing another homegrown gem, yet the 2022 season has been a grind for the left-hander.  Bermudez has an 8.96 ERA over 67 1/3 innings at Triple-A, with an increased walk rate and a big dropoff in his missed bats — Bermudez has only a 20% strikeout rate this season, down from 31% in 2021.  A hip injury could be a contributing factor, as Bermudez missed a month of action and struggled both before and after his absence.

The Astros put Bermudez on their 40-man roster during the offseason, but his lack of production in 2022 made him an expendable piece.  The Giants are one of baseball’s most aggressive teams on the waiver wire, so it isn’t surprising that they’ve moved to add a younger pitcher who showed a lot of promise as recently as last season.  Whether due to a healthier hip or perhaps just with a change of scenery, Bermudez might well be able to turn things around in San Francisco, given how the Giants have been successful at revitalizing several struggling pitchers.

Cardinals Re-Sign T.J. McFarland

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After releasing T.J. McFarland last week, the Cardinals announced that the veteran left-hander has been re-signed to a minor league deal.  McFarland will report to the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate in Memphis.

Now in his second season with the Cards, McFarland pitched well in 2021 but has struggled to a 6.61 ERA over 32 2/3 frames this season.  Low-strikeout pitchers who heavily rely on ground balls are perhaps more prone to big swings in performance, and in McFarland’s case, an increase in hard contact, a jump in BABIP (from .261 in 2021 to .333 this year), and a decrease in grounder rate (53% this season, 63.7% in 2021) have all combined to ruin McFarland’s performance.  His strand rate is also an abnormally low 60.4%, and his walk rate is also up from last season.

McFarland’s sinker (his primary pitch) is the best illustration of how his performance has tended to vary over his 10 MLB seasons.  When the southpaw had a 2.00 ERA over 72 innings with the Diamondbacks in 2018, McFarland’s sinker was one of the most effective pitches in all of baseball, and he also had great success with the pitch in 2021.  When the sinker isn’t only an average or below-average pitch, however, batters have feasted.

Retaining McFarland on a minors contract is a low-risk move for the Cardinals, as some time in Triple-A could help the 33-year-old get back on track.  St. Louis has plenty of other left-handed options in their bullpen for the stretch run and potentially into the playoffs, but a McFarland who can rediscover his 2021 form would give the Cardinals another nice depth option.

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