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Nationals Release Dee Strange-Gordon

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The Nationals have requested unconditional release waivers for Dee Strange-Gordon, per the team. The infielder/outfielder was designated for the assignment last week. This means two things: no team put a claim in on him, and Strange-Gordon did not want to accept an assignment to the minor leagues.

Given those two facts, it’s not easy to see where Strange-Gordon will find his way back to the Majors. That said, his speed is a truly exceptional talent, and there’s always room in the game for it on a limited basis. We have seen speedsters like Strange-Gordon used as playoff specialists in the past, so that’s a potential role for him down the line. For now, however, it would seem unlikely that he finds a long-term home.

Strange-Gordon was signed by the Nationals this winter on a non-guaranteed minor league deal. He went on to hit .305/.305/.356 in 59 plate appearances with three stolen bases in five attempts. For Strange-Gordon it was more of the same, with low walk rates and minimal power limiting his offensive utility. His speed is dynamic, and if he can get on base enough to utilize it, he has a weapon worth unleasing. Right now, however, the 34-year-old will have to wait and look for a new opportunity.

Dodgers Place Mookie Betts On 10-Day Injured List, Activate Andrew Heaney

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As expected, the Dodgers have placed Mookie Betts on the 10-day injured list and recalled Zach McKinstry. They also activated starter Andrew Heaney, optioning Reyes Moronta.

Betts excellence has become almost commonplace, as he’s again putting together a season that should merit MVP consideration if he’s able to return healthy. The former MVP is hitting .273/.349/.535 for a 148 wRC+. Combining that batting line with his excellent defense and baserunning, Betts has already accrued 3.3 wins above replacement on the year, in the estimation of FanGraphs.

As much as it hurts to lose Betts, Heaney is a big return for the Dodgers. Los Angeles is eager to see what exactly they have in Heaney, who made two scoreless starts at the outset of this season before going on the injured list. The former Angel is coming off a disastrous season, of course, in which he logged an overall 5.83 ERA/4.85 FIP with the Angels and Yankees. He became basically unplayable while in pinstripes, but looks to bounce back in Dodger blue.

Moronta, 29, losing his spot on the big league club for now. Moronta has been consistently good in the Majors, though is mostly limited samples. He has made eight appearances this season with an even 2.00 ERA and 2.47 FIP. It’s likely that he will return to the bigs at some point this season.

Roster Moves: Reds, Red Sox

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The Reds have placed reliever Alexis Diaz on the 15-day injured list, per Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter). Diaz has arguably been the Reds most reliable reliever so far this season, logging 30 innings over 27 appearances with a 2.40 ERA/3.94 FIP. No corresponding roster move has yet been made, but the Reds did make another roster move today…

  • The Reds recalled right-hander Dauri Moreta and optioned TJ Friedl to Triple-A, per the team. Moreta, 25, made 15 appearances but was hit hard to the tune of a 9.88 ERA/9.21 FIP over 13 2/3 innings. He posted better results in Triple-A with a 4.05 ERA in 15 appearances spanning 13 1/3 innings.
  • The Red Sox have officially added James Norwood to the active roster, the team announced. They acquired the right-handed reliever yesterday from the Phillies in exchange for cash considerations. Kutter Crawford was optioned to Triple-A to create the roster spot. Crawford, 26, has started a pair of games and pitched eight times in relief with a 6.41 ERA/5.17 FIP covering 19 2/3 innings of work.

 

Giants Activate Alex Cobb, Option Mauricio Llovera

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The Giants have activated Alex Cobb for his start today, as expected. In a corresponding move, Mauricio Llovera was optioned to Triple-A, per MLB.com’s Maria I. Guardado (via Twitter).

Cobb made eight starts at the start of the campaign but struggled in terms of his bottom-line numbers with a 5.73 ERA. He also, however, posted an impressive 2.73 FIP over that same time span. This tends to balance itself out over the long haul, but the discrepancy is especially apparent over a small 37 2/3 inning total.

Bottom line is that the results when Cobb took the hill haven’t been great thus far, but there are definitely some positive things to take away from Cobb’s start. One potential mitigating factor is the neck strain, and we can certainly speculate about how long Cobb might have been afflicted. After posting a 3.98 ERA/2.20 FIP over his first five starts (a total of 20 1/3 innings), Cobb hit a wall in his final three, where his ERA jumped to 7.79 ERA over those 17 1/3 innings. His FIP remained relatively stable at 3.14, even during those supposed clunkers.

The FIP likely takes into account a solid 19-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in those three starts. That’s a 25% strikeout rate and 5% walk rate, both of which are better than average for starters in 2022. But he also got clobbered in that time, yielding 24 hits and a pair of home runs as hitters slashed .338/.373/.493 on a .440 BABIP. That’s well above the .247/.315/.346 line on a .365 BABIP he was giving up in the five starts prior. If we just normalize that .440 BABIP down to .365 BABIP for those final three starts, the batting average against drops from .338 BA to .285 BA, and we can begin to see why FIP would think more highly of Cobb’s future.

Llovera, 26, made 11 appearances (one start), with a 4.66 ERA/4.69 FIP over 9 2/3 innings while serving up five hits and three walks against 10 strikeouts. He is in his first season with the Giants after signing as a free agent from the Phillies this past winter.

Blue Jays To Promote Max Castillo, Option Casey Lawrence

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The Blue Jays will promote right-handed pitching prospect Max Castillo today, optioning right-hander Casey Lawrence, per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com (via Twitter). The Blue Jays will need to add Castillo to the 40-man roster, but they have an open spot after outrighting Bowden Francis yesterday.

Castillo will make his Major League debut whenever he first gets in a game. Signed out of Venezuela, the 23-year-old has been with the Blue Jays since the 2016 season. He made it to Triple-A for the first time this season, posting a 0.66 ERA in 27 1/3 innings. This came after putting up a 3.10 ERA over six starts (29 innings) in Double-A. Despite the gaudy numbers, Castillo wasn’t on MLB.com’s, Baseball America’s, or Fangraphs’ list of Blue Jays top 30 prospects. He profiles as a reliever, despite mostly starting games throughout his minor league career.

Lawrence, 34, made just three appearances for the Blue Jays in his first bit of big-league action since 2018 with the Mariners. For his career, he owns a 6.38 ERA/5.10 FIP over 86 career innings with the Jays and Mariners, dating back to his debut in 2017.

NL Notes: Bryant, Marte, Severino

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Kris Bryant is set to begin his rehab assignment on Tuesday, per Danielle Allentuck of the Denver Gazette (via Twitter). The club hopes he’ll be ready to rejoin the team when they head to Minnesota, per MLB.com’s Thomas Harding (via Twitter). Bryant’s first season with the Rockies certainly hasn’t gone as planned. The 30-year-old left fielder has slashed .270/.342/.333 in a mere 73 plate appearances. Needless to say, the former MVP has yet to really make his impact felt on the last-place Rockies.

  • Ketel Marte suffered a grade 1 lateral hamstring strain, per MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert (via Twitter). Marte is day-t0-day for now. The Diamondbacks’ second baseman is hitting .269/.341/.435 over249 plate appearances this season. Unlike in years past, Marte has really been able to settle in at second base this season.
  • Pedro Severino began his rehab assignment playing first base, per The Athletic’s Will Sammon (via Twitter). The Brewers will have a bit of a logjam at catcher when Severino is ready. Victor Caratini and Omar Narvaez have both posted 0.9 rWAR while splitting time behind the dish for the Brewers. It’s not inconceivable that the team could carry three catchers, but doing so wouldn’t necessarily maximize their offense, even if Severino or Caratini spent time at first base.

Brewers Designate Lorenzo Cain For Assignment

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The Brewers have designated Lorenzo Cain for assignment. The move comes on the same day that he reached 10 years of MLB service time. Cain and the club came to a “mutual decision” about today’s roster move, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com (via Twitter). Jonathan Davis was selected from Triple-A to take his roster spot, per the team.

Cain is one of the most respected players in the game, evidenced here by the Brewers’ willingness to wait until he reached 10 years of service time before the DFA. Cain’s second tour of duty with the Brewers was absolutely a success, despite this season’s struggles. The veteran center fielder was in the last year of the five-year contract he signed with the Brewers when he left Kansas City as a free agent. It’s not clear at this time what the future holds for Cain, but from his comments here, it did not sound like he would be quick to find another club.

This 10-year veteran owns a career .283/.343/.407 line through 4,758 career plate appearances with the Brewers and Royals. He was a key figure at the heart of the Royals’ World-Series-winning team back in 2015, a year in which he finished third in MVP voting. He is a two-time All-Star and a Gold Glove award winner. Though the Gold Glove that he won in 2019 was his only such award, he has long been considered a premier defender in center field.

This season, however, has not been Cain’s finest. He slashed just .179/.231/.234 over 156 plate appearances. This comes on the heels of a .257/.329/.401 effort in 2021 spelled the end for Cain in Milwaukee. Nonetheless, he has been a gigantic figure for this team over the Brewers’ run since 2018 when he joined the Brewers as a free agent on the same day that they traded for Christian Yelich. The two outfielders remade the Brewers into an NL Central contender.

Davis, 30, joins the club for this first look this season. The former Blue Jays and Yankees outfielder has hit .297/.408/.426 across 179 plate appearances in Triple-A this season. For his big league career, Davis owns a .171/.272/.248 slash line in 259 plate appearances spread out from 2018 to 2021 in Toronto and New York.

Twins Sign Braden Bishop To Minor League Deal

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The Twins have signed outfielder Braden Bishop to a minor league deal, per Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic. Bishop has been assigned to the Triple-A St. Paul Saints.

Up until recently, Bishop had spent the entirety of his career with the Mariners, who drafted him in the third round in 2015. He reached the majors a few years ago and got into 47 games over 2019-2021. He was only able to muster a .133/.188/.156 batting line in that time, getting designated for assignment in May of last year.

He was claimed by the Giants, who designated him again a few days later. Clearing waivers this time, he spent the remainder of the year in Triple-A Sacramento, which went well for him. He hit .326/.388/.549 in 75 games with the River Cats, which amounted to a wRC+ of 131.

But after signing a minors deal with the Diamondbacks for this season, his fortunes have changed. In 37 games with the Reno Aces, he’s hit just .232/.312/.312, for a wRC+ of 62. Thanks to those uninspiring results, he was released a couple of weeks ago. Bishop will now look to get things back on track in the Twins’ system.

Blue Jays To Select Max Castillo, Outright Bowden Francis

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The Blue Jays are going to select the contract of right-hander Max Castillo, per Alfonso E. Saer Gomez. The Blue Jays have an open spot on their 40-man roster, due to the outright of right-hander Bowden Francis, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. A corresponding move on the active roster has not been announced.

An international signing of the Blue Jays out of Venezuela, Castillo made his professional debut in his age-17 season in 2016. Since then, he’s worked his way up the minor league ladder, working primarily as a starting pitcher. This year, between Double-A and Triple-A, he’s thrown 56 1/3 innings with a 1.92 ERA, 28.8% strikeout rate and 10.8% walk rate. There’s certainly some good fortune in there, as Castillo has a .203 BABIP and 89.8% strand rate on the year. Nonetheless, he’s showed enough to earn a spot on the club’s roster.

It’s not clear what role Castillo, 23, will play for the Jays, though the pitching staff has taken a hit in recent days with the Tommy John surgery of Hyun Jin Ryu. That has bumped Ross Stripling from a long relief role and into a primary rotation slot. Castillo could potentially head to the bullpen and attempt to take over the job of the long man out of the bullpen.

As for Francis, 26, acquired in the Rowdy Tellez trade, he was selected to the club’s 40-man roster in the fall, ahead of the Rule 5 draft that ended up getting canceled by the lockout. He made his MLB debut earlier this year, tossing two-thirds of an inning, but has spent most of his time in Triple-A. In 41 2/3 innings for Buffalo, he has an unfortunate 7.78 ERA. After regularly running strikeout rates of 23% or above in previous years, it’s slipped to 18.8% this year. His 11.7% walk rate is also a personal worst. There was no previous reporting of the team designating him for assignment, but he’s evidently cleared waivers and will now stay in the organization without occupying a roster spot.

Dodgers To Place Mookie Betts On IL With Cracked Rib

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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters, including Juan Toribio of MLB.com, that Mookie Betts is headed to the injured list due to a cracked rib. Roberts said that the corresponding move will likely be the recall of Zach McKinstry, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.

Betts sat out last night’s game due to this issue, though he was back in the lineup today. However, shortly before game time, he was scratched as his soreness lingered. As the club continued testing, an MRI revealed a cracked rib, per Ardaya.

The expected timeline for the absence of Betts isn’t known at this time, but the loss of a talent like his for any amount of time is significant. The former MVP is having yet another excellent campaign, hitting .273/.349/.535 for a 148 wRC+. Combining that batting line with his excellent defense and baserunning, Betts has already accrued 3.3 wins above replacement on the year, in the estimation of FanGraphs.

The Dodgers are having another excellent season, as has come to be the norm for them. However, they appear to be in for a fight this year, as their 40-24 record is just percentage points ahead of the Padres, with the Giants lurking just three games back. That means that every inch will count in the postseason race to come, with the loss of Betts marking a significant blow.

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