Tigers Place Austin Meadows On 10-Day Injured List
The Tigers placed outfielder Austin Meadows on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to April 7) due to anxiety. Akil Baddoo was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.
President of baseball operations Scott Harris released a statement in regards to the transaction, saying that “the Tigers fully support Austin’s decision to step away from the team and prioritize his mental health. As an organization, we have taken many steps to provide and destigmatize mental health resources, and we will do more to help our players tackle the mental and physical challenges they face on a daily basis. We commend Austin for confronting these challenges head-on and ask for our fans in supporting him through every step of his journey back to the field.”
Meadows dealt with similar issues at the end of last season, saying in September that “I hope in sharing my experience I can touch at least one person who might be going through their own struggles and encourage them to reach out to someone for help.” Just prior to the start of Spring Training, Meadows gave a positive update about both his mental and physical health, yet that battle is obviously still ongoing. As Harris’ statement indicated, the Tigers will surely give Meadows all the time he needs to get himself to a better place with his anxiety. We at MLB Trade Rumors wish Meadows all the best in his recovery.
The Rays traded Meadows to Detroit for Isaac Paredes just prior to the start of the 2022 season, and Meadows appeared in only 36 games in his first year with the Tigers. Beyond his mental health struggles, Meadows also spent on the injured list with strains in both of his Achilles tendons, vertigo-like symptoms, and a bout of COVID-19. The result was a .250/.347/.328 slash line over 147 plate appearances, but among all Detroit players with at least 140 PA, Meadows’ 101 wRC+ still ranked second on the team in an overall disastrous offensive year for Tigers hitters.
Rays Place Jose Siri On 10-Day Injured List
The Rays have placed outfielder Jose Siri on the 10-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain. Utilityman Vidal Brujan has been called up from Triple-A to take Siri’s place on the active roster.
Siri is one of several players off to a great start for the unbeaten Rays. The 24-year-old Siri has blasted out of the gates with a .318/.333/.682 slash line and two home runs in his first 24 plate appearances of the season, while starting six of seven games as Tampa Bay’s apparent top choice in center field. There wasn’t much doubt that Siri’s glovework was worthy of a regular lineup spot, though his breakout (albeit in a small sample size) is extremely promising to his overall ceiling.
Siri had shown some intriguing hitting potential in his minor league days with the Reds and Astros, but after an impressive 49-PA stretch in his 2021 MLB debut season, Siri hit a far more modest .213/.268/.339 over 325 combined PA with Houston and Tampa in 2022. The Rays acquired Siri as part of the three-team swap last trade deadline that saw Trey Mancini head from the Orioles to the Astros.
Not much has gone wrong for the Rays in amassing their 7-0 record, but the club is certainly hope that Siri can be back on the field sooner rather than later. As usual, Tampa Bay has depth options in place to fill in for injured players, as any of Manuel Margot, Josh Lowe, or Brujan are likely to see time in center field until Siri returns. Brujan isn’t far removed from being a regular on top-100 prospect lists, though he has batted only .150/.207/.231 in 188 PA since making his big league debut in 2021.
Braves Select Danny Young, Designate Seth Elledge
The Braves selected the contract of left-hander Danny Young from Triple-A, and designated right-hander Seth Elledge for assignment to open up a 40-man roster space. A spot on the 26-man active roster was already open since Atlanta optioned Jared Shuster to Triple-A after yesterday’s game.
Young made his Major League debut last season as a member of the Mariners, and then came to Atlanta on a waiver claim in August. All in all, Young’s first taste of big league action consisted of 6 1/3 total innings over three games (two with Seattle, one with Atlanta), and the Braves then DFA’ed and outrighted Young soon after they added him on waivers. Originally an eighth-round draft pick for the Blue Jays in 2015, Young has a 3.78 ERA over 309 2/3 career innings in the minors, almost entirely as a relief pitcher.
It might be another cup of coffee for Young in the Show, since Kyle Wright is projected to be activated from the 15-day injured list for a start on Tuesday. Since Wright and Max Fried are both on the IL, the Braves have turned to Shuster, Dylan Dodd, and Bryce Elder to make starts thus far in the season, with Shuster being optioned back and forth from Triple-A Gwinnett after each of his two starts. As the Braves don’t need that fifth spot in the rotation until Wright returns, they’ll add Young to give the club more bullpen depth in the interim.
The Braves selected Elledge’s contract to the 40-man roster back in November, as the righty had the option to become a minor league free agent. Elledge signed a minors deal with Atlanta in March 2022 and spent all of last season at Triple-A, delivering a 3.88 ERA and an impressive 33.7% strikeout rate over 46 1/3 innings. His past MLB experience consists of 23 1/3 total innings with the Cardinals over the 2020-21 seasons.
Twins Place Max Kepler On 10-Day Injured List
The Twins have placed outfielder Max Kepler on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to April 5), with outfielder Matt Wallner called up from Triple-A to take Kepler’s spot on the active roster. Kepler is suffering from right patellar tendinitis, and hasn’t played in any of Minnesota’s last three games after being forced out of Monday’s contest while running the bases.
It’s a disappointing setback for Kepler, especially after a big Spring Training raised some expectations that a nice season could be on the horizon. Kepler hit only .219/.312/.382 over 936 plate appearances (96 wRC+) in 2021-22, but with the new rules limiting defensive shifts, there was a sense that Kepler’s extreme pull-hitting tendencies might result in more batted balls becoming hits rather than outs. Obviously there’s still plenty of time left in the 2023 season for Kepler to produce, but he’ll first have to get his knee back to full health.
There is some added incentive for Kepler since 2023 is the last guaranteed season of the five-year, $35MM extension he signed with Minnesota prior to the 2019 season. Kepler is earning $8.5MM this season and the Twins hold a $1MM buyout of a $10MM club option on the outfielder’s services for 2024. Since the Twins discussed Kepler in trade talks this offseason and the team has a number of young outfielders on the way up, it might take a real offensive breakout for Kepler to keep himself in the Twins’ plans going forward.
Wallner is one of those other outfielders looking for a shot at the MLB level, and the 25-year-old made his big league debut with 18 games for Minnesota last season. The 39th overall pick of the 2019 draft, Wallner is something of a classic three-true-outcomes slugger, with lots of power (51 homers, .511 slugging percentage), strikeouts (30.32 K%), and free passes (12.75% walk rate) over his 1184 career PA in the minors.
Heading into Spring Training with an apparent surplus of outfield talent, the Twins now have Kepler, Alex Kirilloff, and Gilberto Celestino all on the IL, and Byron Buxton has been limited to DH duty while the club has been easing him back into action after knee surgery. Joey Gallo also left yesterday’s game due to soreness in his right side, though manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters (including The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman) that Gallo is just day-to-day, as “[MRI] results were something we were hoping for.” Michael A. Taylor will remain the starting center fielder with Trevor Larnach in everyday duty in one of the other corner spots, and the Twins will now turn to Wallner, Willie Castro, or Nick Gordon to fill in for Kepler.
Giants Place Roberto Perez On 60-Day Injured List
The Giants placed catcher Roberto Perez on the 60-day injured list due to a right rotator cuff strain. Austin Wynns‘ contract was selected from Triple-A to take the vacancy behind the plate, and Perez’s placement on the 60-day IL automatically created an open 40-man roster spot for Wynns. San Francisco also officially announced the signing of first baseman/outfielder Darin Ruf to a minor league deal, after news broke earlier today of Ruf’s return to the organization.
It’s another tough injury setback for Perez, who played only 21 games with Pittsburgh last season due to hamstring surgery, and 44 games with Cleveland in 2021 due to right shoulder inflammation and a fractured right ring finger (the latter injury also resulted in a 60-day IL stint). Perez had to make an early exit from yesterday’s game with what was initially described by the Giants as a shoulder strain, and now the 34-year-old backstop is facing another significant absence.
Perez’s abbreviated 2022 season meant he had to settle for a minor league deal this winter, but there wasn’t much doubt that San Francisco would select his contract (and lock in a $2.5MM guaranteed salary) sooner rather than later. As it happened, Perez made the Opening Day roster, but his injury now adds more uncertainty to what has already been an unsettled catching situation for the Giants.
Wynns and Rule 5 pick Blake Sabol are currently the only catchers on the active roster, though Sabol has also been used as an outfielder to help fill in for other injured players (such as Mitch Haniger and Austin Slater). With Ruf now in the picture, Sabol might return to more of a strict catching role for the time being, though the mix might get shuffled again when Joey Bart is activated from the 10-day IL. The Giants announced today that Bart was starting a Triple-A rehab assignment, so he could be returning from his back strain in relatively short order. San Francisco also recently signed Gary Sanchez to a minor league contract, and the former All-Star also figures to factor into the MLB roster at some point.
Wynns came to San Francisco in a trade from the Phillies last June, and hit .259/.313/.358 over 177 plate appearances in a Giants uniform. This respectable offensive performance didn’t stop the Giants from designating Wynns for assignment during the offseason, but Wynns chose to accept his outright assignment off the 40-man roster rather than test free agency.
Yankees Place Josh Donaldson, Jonathan Loaisiga On Injured List; Recall Jhony Brito, Select Willie Calhoun
The Yankees announced five roster moves prior to today’s game with the Orioles. As expected, Josh Donaldson was placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to April 6) due to a right hamstring strain and right-hander Jhony Brito was called up from Triple-A to make his scheduled start against Baltimore. New York also placed righty Jonathan Loaisiga on the 15-day IL with a retroactive April 6 date, as Loaisiga is suffering from right elbow inflammation. In corresponding moves, the Yankees selected Willie Calhoun‘s contract from Triple-A and officially signed him to a big league deal, while Tommy Kahnle was moved to the 60-day IL to create space for Calhoun on the 40-man roster.
Any elbow issue for Loaisiga is of particular concern given that he has a Tommy John surgery in his past, but it doesn’t yet appear as though his current issue is anything more than soreness. Shoulder problems have also hampered Loaisiga over the years, but the 28-year-old has generally been a pretty solid reliever and spot starter over his six MLB seasons (all with the Yankees). Loaisiga has been a full-time reliever for the last three seasons, and he also become much more of a groundball specialist, posting a 60.5% grounder rate since the start of the 2021 campaign.
With an ability to generate grounders and a knack for inducing soft contact, Loaisiga has a 2.95 ERA over his last 122 innings, and he has one of the best chase rates of any pitcher in baseball despite a below-average strikeout rate. This arsenal put Loaisiga in line for more high-leverage innings, and he was seen as perhaps the Yankees’ top set-up option for closer Clay Holmes. Unfortunately, he’ll now be sidelined on the IL along with fellow relievers Lou Trivino and Kahnle, creating another vacancy in New York’s bullpen.
Kahnle was sidelined by biceps tendinitis during Spring Training, and what was initially seen as a pretty minor issue will now keep the veteran right-hander away from the MLB roster until the end of May. Kahnle didn’t start playing catch until earlier this week, indicating that he has quite a ways to go in ramping up his arm strength and making up for the time lost in spring camp.
Calhoun brings a left-handed bat to a New York roster that is loaded with right-handed hitters, and mention of a lefty swinger joining the club merits a mention of the short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium. Calhoun his 21 home runs with the Rangers in 2019, but has otherwise only gone yard 11 times over his five other MLB seasons with Texas and San Francisco. For his career as a whole, Calhoun has hit .240/.299/.404 in 936 plate appearances.
Once a top prospect in the Dodgers’ farm system, Calhoun’s solid 2019 campaign was undone by injury-shortened seasons in 2020 and 2021, and he was openly hoping for a trade away from the Rangers after being sent down to Triple-A early in the 2022 season. He didn’t receive much of a look from the Giants at the MLB level following a June trade, but he’ll now get another chance in the Bronx.
Playing mostly as a left fielder during his MLB career, Calhoun looks to join Oswaldo Cabrera and Aaron Hicks in the corner outfield position. Cabrera might get some infield time with Donaldson on the IL, though New York has third base pretty well covered with DJ LeMahieu getting most of the starting time and Isiah Kiner-Falefa also available to back up. Calhoun’s addition might further reduce Hicks’ playing time, as Hicks already hasn’t seen much action over the Yankees’ first seven games.
Cardinals Notes: O’Neill, Marlins, Naughton, Nootbaar, Wainwright
Tyler O’Neill‘s name was part of trade talks with the Marlins and other teams this winter, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports. Back in January, Rosenthal wrote that St. Louis had shown interest in the Marlins’ pitching, and since Miami was known to be looking for outfield help, it stands to reason that O’Neill was part of those discussions. No trade materialized between the two sides, of course, and it isn’t known if O’Neill was necessarily one of the Marlins’ top targets on the St. Louis roster, or if the Cards were more open to moving O’Neill than any of their outfielders.
Given all of the Cardinals’ outfield depth and the Marlins’ rotation depth, any number of names or potential trades could’ve been floated in negotiations — likewise, any team engaging the Cardinals in outfield-related trade talks might’ve had a few options in mind. While O’Neill was coming off a relative down year in 2022, that doesn’t mean rival clubs wouldn’t have still had trade interest, perhaps hoping to nab the two-time Gold Glover in a buy-low situation.
With this all in mind, Rosenthal wonders if O’Neill could potentially be tangled in trade talks again, perhaps in an outfielder-for-pitching swap similar to the deal that sent Harrison Bader to the Yankees for Jordan Montgomery at last year’s trade deadline. As The Athletic’s Levi Weaver noted, Bader was traded within a couple of months after Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol removed him mid-game for a perceived lack of effort. On Wednesday, O’Neill wasn’t in the Cards’ starting lineup, which Marmol publicly said was due to what the skipper felt was a lack of hustle on O’Neill’s part in running the bases in Tuesday’s game. O’Neill both denied that charge, and also wasn’t pleased that Marmol went public with the criticism.
It should be noted that O’Neill still appeared in Wednesday’s game as a pinch-hitter, and after Thursday’s off-day, O’Neill was back as the starting center fielder in the Cardinals’ 4-0 loss to the Brewers on Friday. Talking to Derrick Gould of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other reporters, Marmol said it was “one hundred percent” important to have O’Neill back in action, calling him “one of the most talented players in that clubhouse. There’s a next step for Tyler in his career, and my job is to get him there.”
The manager also explained his perspective on “holding someone accountable” as it related to his decision to call O’Neill out, saying “it’s your ability to sit down with a player before the lights come on before the stadium is packed and ask them what they want for themselves and what they want for the team. And allowing them to articulate that and then asking for permission to hold them to that. And when it doesn’t look right, you hold them to that.”
Beyond O’Neill’s return and the shutout loss, Friday’s game was also notable for what might be a significant injury to left-hander Packy Naughton. After pitching to three batters in his relief outing, Naughton left the game with what the club later described as forearm tightness. Goold wrote that Naughton was slated to have his left arm examined last night.
It seems like Naughton is headed for the injured list at the very least, and he and the team can only hope that a serious injury has been avoided. Naughton is just a few days shy of his 27th birthday, and he is in his third MLB season. St. Louis claimed Naughton off waivers from the Angels in March 2022, and his first season with the Cardinals saw Naughton post a 4.78 ERA over 32 innings, working mostly as a reliever.
In other injury news, Lars Nootbaar might be activated from the 10-day IL as early as Monday, since Marmol told MLB.com and other reporters that the club will wait to see how Nootbaar’s injured left thumb feels after batting practice. However, Nootbaar said that his thumb is more of an issue when trying to catch a ball or even when wearing a glove, moreso than any pain caused by taking swings.
Adam Wainwright is on the 15-day IL recovering from a groin strain, and is slated for his second 28-pitch bullpen session on Sunday. If all goes well, Wainwright might throw more pitches in another bullpen tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, and a minor league rehab outing could then follow in the coming days.
Giants Sign Darin Ruf To Minor League Deal
The Giants are signing Darin Ruf to a minor league contract, The Athletic’s Jayson Stark reports (Twitter link). The Mets designated Ruf for assignment prior to Opening Day and then released the first baseman/outfielder earlier this week.
Ruf is no stranger to the Bay Area, hitting .248/.358/.455 over 726 plate appearances with the Giants from 2020-22. Much of that production came in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, which led to a two-year, $6.25MM deal that covered Ruf’s last two seasons of arbitration eligibility. Ruf hit a modest .216/.328/.373 over his first 314 PA of the 2022 campaign, but that didn’t stop the Mets from making a play for the veteran at the trade deadline, landing Ruf for a four-player package headlined by J.D. Davis.
Unfortunately for Ruf and the Mets, his brief time in New York was a disaster, as he hit only .152/.216/.197 over 74 PA and then finished the season on the 10-day injured list with a neck sprain. Some wrist problems seemed to contribute to Ruf continuing to struggle during Spring Training, and the Mets finally parted ways with the 36-year-old.
Since Ruf cleared waivers before being released, San Francisco will owe Ruf only the prorated minimum MLB salary, while the Mets will cover the rest of Ruf’s $3.5MM salary. If Ruf can recapture any of his old form, then the entire situation could become a nice mini-coup for the Giants, in obtaining four players for essentially nothing while getting Ruf’s salary off the books.
Ruf had pretty good numbers against right-handed pitching in 2020-21 before tailing off badly in 2022, but the Giants primarily used the right-handed hitter as a lefty-masher. Over his eight MLB seasons, Ruf has a career .272/.367/.523 slash line in 706 PA against southpaws. Between these splits and his ability to play first base and both corner outfield positions, Ruf is a very useful part-time option, especially for a Giants team that has both Mitch Haniger and Austin Slater (both right-handed hitting outfielders) currently on the injured list.
Yankees “Likely” To Place Josh Donaldson On 10-Day Injured List
Josh Donaldson made an early exit from the Yankees’ game on Wednesday due to right hamstring tightness, and still didn’t play in Friday’s 7-6 loss to the Orioles even with the benefit of an extra recovery day due to a rainout on Thursday. Prior to Friday’s game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone told ESPN’s Marly Rivera and other reporters that Donaldson would “likely” require a trip to the 10-day injured list, even if the hamstring issue is minor enough that the third baseman didn’t receive imaging.
“[We] don’t feel like it’s too serious, but enough in there that it would probably knock him down for four or five days,” Boone said. “So, we’re going to likely be cautious in this situation. Looks like it’s probably shorter than [ten days], but probably err on the side of caution in this month of April.”
Since the Yankees are calling right-hander Jhony Brito up from Triple-A to start today’s game in Baltimore, it seems logical that Donaldson’s IL placement will be the corresponding move for Brito’s return to the majors. Brito looked very impressive in his Major League debut, allowing two hits and a walk over five shutout innings in New York’s 6-0 win over the Giants on April 2. In terms of replacing Donaldson at third base, the Yankees have plenty of depth — Boone said DJ LeMahieu “will get the bulk of” work at third base, with Oswaldo Cabrera and Isiah Kiner-Falefa also in the mix.
The IL stint might effectively act as a reset to Donaldson’s season, as he has hit only .125/.176/.313 with one home run in his first 17 plate appearances. While a small sample size, it isn’t an encouraging follow-up to Donaldson’s underwhelming 2022 season. The Yankees naturally have plenty of incentive (i.e. the $29MM owed on Donaldson’s contract) in getting the former AL MVP on track, but since LeMahieu is already an everyday option without a set position, Donaldson won’t find himself part of New York’s first-choice lineup unless he can get going at the plate.
Jake Odorizzi To Miss 2023 Season Due To Shoulder Procedure
Rangers right-hander Jake Odorizzi underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his shoulder and will miss the entire 2023 season, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
Needless to say, this is an awful development for both Odorizzi and the club. The Rangers went into the offseason looking to upgrade a rotation that posted a 4.63 ERA last year, which placed them 25th out of the 30 clubs in the league. They were also set to lose Martín Pérez, their most effective starter last year, to free agency. By the end of the offseason, they had re-signed Pérez, traded for Odorizzi and signed free agents Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney. Those five, along with incumbent Jon Gray, totally overhauled the rotation and allowed them to go into spring with six established big league starters.
Though that’s a strong group on paper, there were also injury concerns sprinkled throughout it, with Odorizzi being no exception. Though he made at least 28 starts in each season from 2014 to 2019, the last few years have seen a few health issues creep in. He only made four starts in 2020, going on the injured list due to an intercostal strain, chest contusion and right middle finger blister. In 2021, a right pronator muscle strain and right foot soreness each resulted in IL stints, limiting him to 104 2/3 innings. Last year, lower left leg discomfort kept him out of action about six weeks and he tallied just 106 1/3 innings.
Nonetheless, Odorizzi seemed like a solid pickup for the Rangers. Amid all those injuries, he still posted ERAs of 4.21 in 2021 and 4.40 last year. He also didn’t cost much, as Atlanta agreed to cover $10MM of his $12.5MM salary as part of the trade. The only piece the Rangers sent the other way was Kolby Allard, who had struggled to a 6.07 ERA in his big league career thus far.
Unfortunately, the Rangers will ultimately get nothing out of the deal, as Odorizzi will become a free agent after this lost season. He was slowed in camp by some arm fatigue and general manager Chris Young recently gave a vaguely ominous update that Odorizzi would likely be out “longer than shorter,” which was followed by the righty getting placed on the 60-day injured list for Opening Day. That ruled him out for the first couple of months of the season but this news now means he will miss his entire age-33 campaign.
Going into 2021, Odorizzi was signed by the Astros to a two-year, $23.5MM deal. That contract came with a $6.5MM player option for 2023 that had a $3.25MM buyout, though those two figures would jump to $12.5MM and $6.25MM if Odorizzi made 30 appearances over 2021 and 2022. He ended up making 46, easily pushing those numbers up. In August of last year, the Astros flipped Odorizzi to Atlanta for left-hander Will Smith. At season’s end, Odorizzi triggered that player option before getting flipped to Texas.
The Rangers still have that strong front five in deGrom, Eovaldi, Heaney, Pérez and Gray, but they will now proceed without their planned #6 starter. Right-hander Dane Dunning and left-hander Cole Ragans are probably the club’s top depth options now, though both are working in the big league bullpen in the early parts of this season.