Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Giants Release Dominic Leone

By | at

The Giants have placed right-hander Dominic Leone on release waivers, per Evan Webeck of the San Jose Mercury News.

Leone, 30, has had some good seasons and some not-so-good seasons in his career, spending time with Seattle, Arizona, Toronto, St. Louis and Cleveland, prior to signing a minor league deal with the Giants in December of 2020. Leone got called up to the big leagues in June of 2021 and was very strong the rest of the way. He registered a 1.51 ERA over 53 2/3 innings with a 22.8% strikeout rate, 10% walk rate and 47.5% ground ball rate.

Based on that strong campaign, the Giants retained Leone via arbitration, agreeing to a $2.25MM salary. Everything seemed to be going fine for a while, with Leone sitting on a 2.45 ERA in early July. However, he put up a 6.30 ERA since July 5, pushing his season-long mark to 4.01.

Leone was placed on the 15-day injured list yesterday due to elbow inflammation, which perhaps explains his diminished results in recent weeks. With just over three weeks remaining in the season, he wasn’t likely to make a meaningful contribution down the stretch, even if he returned after a minimum stay on the IL. It seems the Giants will nudge him off the roster and give him a headstart on free agency, which he was bound for this winter anyway. By doing so, the club will clear a spot on their 40-man roster. Given Leone’s injury and salary, he’s sure to clear release waivers. At that point, he would be free to sign with any team, though he wouldn’t be able to pitch in the postseason, even if he is healthy. Teams can only brings players that were in their organization prior to September 1 onto their playoff rosters.

Orioles Notes: Ownership, Elias, Rutschman, Offseason

By | at

Back in June, it was reported by Tim Prudente and Justin Fenton of The Baltimore Banner that the Angelos family was battling over the Orioles franchise. Peter Angelos, now 93, was the lead investor of a group that purchased the club in 1993 and has been at the helm since. However, he collapsed in October of 2017 due to the failure of his aortic valve and then established a trust with his wife and two sons as trustees.

The reporting in June provided details of a lawsuit coming from Louis Angelos, one of Peter’s two sons, alleging that John, the other son, had seized control of the team with the intention of selling and perhaps relocating the team to Tennessee. Shortly after those allegations came to light, John released a statement refuting them.

Prudente has released a new piece at the Baltimore Banner this week with further reporting on the matter, looking at court documents from the ongoing legal dispute. According to the attorneys of Georgia Angelos, the wife of Peter and mother of John and Louis, she wanted to create some space between the family and the team. Peter had a reputation as a very hands-on owner, which led to attention that the family wanted to move away from. “After years of bad press that Peter micromanaged baseball operations at the Orioles, Georgia wanted to create distance between her family and the ‘baseball side’ of the organization,” Georgia’s attorneys wrote in court documents. “John similarly abhorred any management structure other than an organizational pyramid with full delegation of authority to a staff of trained professionals and executives, headed by a General Manager responsible for all day-to-day decision making.”

Her attorneys go on to argue that general manager Mike Elias, hired in late 2018, was aggressively pursued by the Giants but instead agreed to come to Baltimore on the condition that he would report to John only because John would give Elias the freedom to handle the baseball decision without interference. “This understanding was crucial to Elias’s decision to come to the Orioles — a club long plagued by anti-organizational culture — so much so that John, with Georgia’s approval, codified these delegated rights in Elias’s employment contract,” Georgia’s attorneys wrote.

The documents go on to allege that Louis was not happy with this turn of events and demanded to be in charge of baseball operations, repeatedly contacting Elias about which baseball players the team might sign. The behaviour of Louis caused him to be excluded from a new board for the team that his mother created in August of 2020, which featured John as chairman and CEO.

The dismissal of Brady Anderson, who had been serving as vice president of baseball operations, also comes up in the court documents. Georgia’s attorneys alleged that Louis was friends with Anderson and unilaterally raised Anderson’s salary from $300K  to $900K in 2018. However, when Elias was brought in, he tried to steer the club to a greater analytical approach that didn’t align with Anderson’s style. Louis insisted on keeping Anderson around, with Elias agreeing to a compromise where Anderson was moved to a position as an outside consultant with lower pay. “While Anderson agreed, he felt slighted, a sentiment he could not hide and which eventually led to his termination,” Georgia’s attorneys write. Anderson departed the Orioles organization in 2019.

This is an ongoing legal matter where the allegations haven’t been substantiated in court and an attorney for Louis declined to provide comment for the report. Interested readers are encouraged to read both reports, though more information is likely to be revealed as the legal process plays out.

Regardless of how it came to be in the boardrooms of the front office, the Elias-led Orioles are a reality that is starting to show encouraging signs at the big league level for the first time. After losing at least 108 games in each of the past three full seasons, the O’s are much better here in 2022. Their 73-65 record is the best they’ve had in quite some time and has kept them in the playoff race down the stretch, just four games out of a Wild Card spot with just over three weeks remaining. That big step forward is at least partly due to the club’s 2019 draft, which was Baltimore’s first with Elias at the helm.

Elias recently spoke with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic about that draft, which saw the club scoop up catcher Adley Rutschman, infielder Gunnar Henderson and outfielder Kyle Stowers, all three of whom are already in the majors. Despite the pressure of having the number one overall selection, it seems Elias and the club didn’t have much doubt about using that pick on Rutschman. “He provided for us the best combination of floor and ceiling,” Elias says. “We thought the leadership component would be a separator, which is looking like it could be the case. And I thought it was rare, a once-in-a-decade kind of thing to get an offensive catcher in a draft.”

Even before that draft selection, Rutschman was mentioned as one of the best prospects in the sport. Since then, he continued rocketing up prospect boards, being considered by many to be the top prospect this year. Since ascending to the big leagues, Rutschman has lived up to the hype in a big way. He’s hitting .255/.363/.449 for a wRC+ of 135, production that’s 35% better than the league average hitter but even further beyond the average catcher. He’s also been great on the other side of the ball, with his 16 Defensive Runs Saved second in the league among catchers despite missing the early part of the season, just barely behind Jose Trevino’s 17. Put together, he’s been worth 4.1 wins above replacement on the season, according to FanGraphs. Among all catchers, that trails only J.T. Realmuto and Sean Murphy, who have each played at least 28 more games than Rutschman.

Based on the strong season for the O’s, Elias said last month that the club expects to “significantly escalate the payroll” this winter. It’s hard to know exactly how the club will approach things, given that we don’t have precedent for how Elias will behave under these new conditions. With the team in rebuild mode for his entire tenure up until now, the front office has avoided significant commitments and hasn’t signed a free agent to a multi-year contract since the four-year deal Alex Cobb got in March of 2018, before Elias was hired. That means they have effectively no future commitments on the books and can theoretically go after any free agent they desire. It will be interesting to see how they play their cards, with Rosenthal reporting that their list of targets includes “a top-of-the-rotation starter,” in addition to a backup catcher and an infielder, with the specific position of the infielder depending upon where the multi-positional Henderson settles.

The club will be looking for “quality rather than quantity” on the pitching front, Rosenthal says, which makes sense given that the club already has some intriguing rotation candidates in the fold. Young pitchers like Tyler Wells, Dean Kremer, Austin Voth, Kyle Bradish and Spenser Watkins have all had some promising starts this year, to varying degrees. The club also has reinforcements coming over the horizon, with Grayson Rodriguez considered by many to be one of the top pitching prospects in the sport. John Means could also return to the mix at some point next year, after undergoing Tommy John surgery in April. Given that collection of internal candidates, it would make sense for the O’s to shoot for a single impact starter rather than spreading money around to a handful of less-impactful options. Rosenthal lists Chris Bassitt, Carlos Rodón, Nathan Eovaldi, Jameson Taillon, Corey Kluber and Michael Wacha as some of the available hurlers who would make for logical targets, as the O’s hope to turn the page from perennial basement dwellers to consistent contenders in the AL East.

Edwin Jackson Announces Retirement

By | at

Former All-Star Edwin Jackson took to Instagram this evening to officially announce his retirement from Major League Baseball. The right-hander pitched parts of 17 seasons in the majors, getting to the highest level every year between 2003-19. Jackson suited up for 14 different MLB teams, setting the all-time record for most uniforms donned.

“19 years ago today I was blessed with an opportunity to tie up my laces and step on the field to make my debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers,” Jackson wrote. “Today I am happily hanging up my cleats and closing a 22-year baseball career.” Jackson went on to thank his wife, parents, sisters, children and the rest of his family before expressing his gratitude to various coaches, trainers and doctors who assisted him. “This game has taught me many life lessons and allowed me to evolve into the person I am today! I will forever have memories that will live within me from the game I love and dedicated my life to. Thank you baseball for an amazing life experience I will never forget,” he concluded.

A sixth-round draftee of the Dodgers out of a Georgia high school in 2001, Jackson emerged as one of the sport’s best pitching prospects not long thereafter. He broke into the big leagues exactly 19 years ago on his 20th birthday, starting three of four appearances down the stretch. He bounced on and off Los Angeles’ active roster for the next couple seasons before being traded to the then-Devil Rays over the 2005-06 offseason.

Jackson worked primarily as a reliever for his first season in Tampa Bay, but he took a full turn of starts by the 2007 campaign. That kicked off a stretch of seven consecutive seasons in which he surpassed 30 starts and 160 innings. Jackson pitched in Tampa Bay through 2008 before being dealt to the Tigers for outfielder Matt Joyce. He tossed a career-best 214 innings the next year, posting a 3.62 ERA. Jackson earned an All-Star nod with a 2.52 mark through that season’s first half.

The next offseason, his nomadic career continued. Detroit flipped Jackson to the Diamondbacks as part of a three-team blockbuster that netted Detroit Max Scherzer and sent Curtis Granderson to the Yankees. His stint in the desert was rather brief — he’d wind up traded again at that summer’s deadline — but it provided one of the more memorable moments of his career. On June 25, 2010, he tossed a no-hitter against his former team at Tropicana Field. He threw a staggering 149 pitches in the outing, striking out six but issuing eight walks. Then-manager A.J. Hinch stuck with Jackson despite his high pitch count, and he completed one of the more remarkable single-game performances by a player in recent memory.

Not long after, the last-place club dealt Jackson to the White Sox in a trade that landed Arizona Daniel Hudson. Jackson pitched well in 11 starts down the stretch, and he got off to another solid start in 2011. The White Sox fell out of contention the latter season, though, and he was on the move again. The Blue Jays acquired Jackson from the White Sox on the morning of July 27, but his stint in Toronto lasted only a few hours. Toronto promptly flipped him to the Cardinals in a deal that sent Colby Rasmus north of the border.

Jackson played in St. Louis for the second half, pitching to a 3.58 ERA through 12 starts. He made four starts in the postseason, and while his playoff numbers weren’t great, the Cardinals secured the World Series title in a dramatic series win over the Rangers. Fresh off winning a title, Jackson signed with the Nationals during his first trip through free agency. He spent the 2012 campaign in the Nats rotation, helping Washington to their first playoff appearance since moving to D.C.

The next winter, Jackson inked a four-year, $52MM pact with the Cubs. He continued to soak up innings but didn’t post especially strong numbers in Chicago. After two and a half seasons, he was released. That kicked off an even more rapid trip around the league, as Jackson suited up with the Braves, Marlins, Padres, Orioles, Nationals (again), A’s, Blue Jays and Tigers (again) over the next four years. He alternated between the rotation and the bullpen throughout that time, generally serving as a depth option.

While Jackson signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks in 2020, he didn’t make it back to the majors. He did appear on the U.S. Olympic team last summer and expressed a desire to get back to the big leagues, but he didn’t get another opportunity with an affiliated organization.

Altogether, Jackson pitched in 412 major league games. He tossed 1960 innings with a 4.78 ERA, striking out a bit more than 1500 batters and winning 107 games. According to Baseball Reference, Jackson banked upwards of $66MM in earnings and incredibly logged some action for almost half the league. MLBTR congratulates Jackson on his lengthy, accomplished career and wishes him all the best in retirement.

Big Hype Prospects: Luciano, Jung, Burleson, Hence, Naylor

By | at

This week on Big Hype Prospects, we bounce between the low and upper minors to check in on a couple handfuls of notable prospects.

Five Big Hype Prospects

Marco Luciano, 20, SS/3B, SFG (A+)
222 PA, 10 HR, .268/.342/.470

Once considered the “next big thing,” Luciano has turned out to be less athletic than originally believed. When he added strength prior to 2021, he lost speed and flexibility. He still has a bright future, but there are a number of questions related to his future position, ability to make contact, and work ethic. Teams can overlook questionable range at shortstop, but Luciano also suffers from an errant arm, making a move down the defensive spectrum more likely. The work ethic concerns seem overblown to me – sometimes players draw negative reviews because they take their failures in stride. Fans, in particular, often equate tantrums with caring and wistful shakes of the head with a lack of care. Scouts too sometimes rush to judgment.

He only has 249 plate appearances this season because he missed over two months with a lower back strain. Since returning on August 4, he’s batting .243/.341/.419 in 85 plate appearances. All told, he’s performed on par with expectations for a 20-year-old top prospect in High-A. His swing is geared for high exit velocity, fly ball contact. He profiles as a future 30-homer threat. Keep an eye on his strikeout rate as he advances into the upper minors next season.

Josh Jung, 24, 3B, TEX (MLB)
(AAA) 106 PA, 6 HR, 1 SB, .273/.321/.525

Listed as a “snub” in last week’s edition of Big Hype Prospects because he wasn’t yet in the Majors, the Rangers have finally called upon their top prospect. Jung was on the cusp of an Opening Day assignment with Texas before an injury held him out until late July. Curiously, he’s actually performed poorly lately. After an initial thrashing of Triple-A pitching, he’s batting just .197/.232/.288 (.300 BABIP) over his last 69 plate appearances. Much of his recent woes can be boiled down to a 1.4 percent walk rate and 36.2 percent strikeout rate, both of which are uncharacteristic.

Jung is a hard contact machine that uses all fields. He generates substantial pull-side power. His overall profile is reminiscent of peak Josh Donaldson – a plus defender who can hit for average and power with a mid-lineup role. Given his ongoing slump, his debut might include a hiccup or two.

Alec Burleson, 23, OF, STL (MLB)
(AAA) 470 PA, 20 HR, 4 SB, .331/.372/.532

With Dylan Carlson on the injured list, the Cardinals get an opportunity to decide if Burleson will be a part of their postseason roster. A 2020 draftee, he raced through the minors without any setbacks. He’s a free-swinger with above-average plate coverage and an ability to use all fields. He’s a below-average runner who might best fit as a designated hitter long term. We might find his aggression is exploited by Major League pitchers. While his swing is often described as uncomplicated or simplistic – a trait usually associated with middling or worse power – Burleson is able to generate plenty of pop. The next step in his development is to improve his swing decisions.

Tink Hence, 20, SP, STL (A)
52.1 IP, 13.93 K/9, 2.58 BB/9, 1.38 ERA

The Cardinals have printed outfielders in recent years, and they’ve historically done well developing pitchers too. Hence has drool-worthy stats in Low-A, though it’s worth noting he’s pitching once every seven days. When he does appear, his outings are brief. He faced 16 batters on September 7 which also happens to be a career-high. He usually sees between 11 and 13 batters. It’s assumed Hence is being handled carefully due to his string-bean frame. He’s listed at 6’1’’ and 175 pounds. The FanGraphs crew compares his appearance to Triston McKenzie (he’s listed 6’5’’ and 165 pounds). For now, we can set workload concerns aside, but he’ll eventually need to work on a five-day schedule and face 20 or more hitters.

Hence wields a fastball and curve that fit the current meta. He works up in the zone with the heater and drops in the curve. It’s worth noting that hitters typically adjust to popular pitching strategies within a couple seasons. Hence might find his approach is less effective in 2025 than similar pitchers are experiencing today. He’s still working to develop a third offering. His changeup remains a work in progress per reports, drawing adjectives ranging from nasty to inconsistent.

Bo Naylor, 22, C, CLE (AAA)
(AA/AAA) 461 PA, 17 HR, 20 SB, .259/.397/.480

Naylor was generally well-regarded as of 2019. After the lost COVID year, he played so poorly in 2021 that some evaluators considered him a bust. Case in point, Baseball America ranked him 59th overall in their August update. When FanGraphs profiled Cleveland’s system in mid-April, Naylor ranked 28th – that’s just among Guardian farm hands.

He responded this season by thriving in Double-A and more than holding his own in Triple-A. The brother of fellow Guardian Josh Naylor, Bo has a discipline-forward approach that includes decent pop and a surprising feel for contact. As a left-handed hitter, he can take advantage of the friendlier aspects of Progressive Field’s park factors. The profile offers shades of former Guardians catching prospect Carlos Santana. Naylor happens to be a plus defender behind the dish, making a move down the defensive spectrum unnecessary. Like Santana, Naylor is liable to combine a poor batting average with a plus on base and slugging percentages. He has above-average foot speed for a catcher.

Five More

Shane Baz, TBR (23): Baz has just 40.1 big league innings split across two seasons so he’s still technically a prospect – and debatably the top pitching prospect. He’s eyeing a late-September or early-October return from an elbow sprain. At his best, he has a potent four-pitch repertoire though he still has room to improve his consistency. If he appears again this season, it will likely be as a high-leverage reliever.

Robert Hassell, WSH (20): A contact of mine casually mentioned a lot of the shine has come off Hassell this season. Despite struggling with the Nationals High-A affiliate, Washington opted to promote Hassell to Double-A based on his larger success with the Padres High-A club. Since arriving in Double-A, he’s batting .221/.310/.312 with a homer and a steal in 87 plate appearances. Personally, I’m starting to get Andrew Benintendi vibes. The swing is “sweet” but the quality of contact is not.

Logan O’Hoppe, LAA (22): O’Hoppe was the standout hitting prospect in the Phillies system heading into the trade deadline. However, Double-A Reading is notoriously hitter-friendly. It was unclear if his breakout was a product of the venue. Fast-forward 101 plate appearances, and it sure seems like O’Hoppe is the real deal. Since joining the Angels, he’s batting .297/.475/.689 with nine home runs and more walks than strikeouts.

Zac Veen, COL (20): Veen thrashed High-A pitching to the tune of .269/.368/.439 with 11 home runs in 400 plate appearances. The carrying trait, however, was his 50 steals in 54 attempts. He earned a promotion to Double-A where he’s made another 108 plate appearances. He’s struggling to adjust to the level – possibly due to fatigue. In 108 plate appearances, he’s batting .196/.269/.258 with one home run and four steals in nine attempts. It’s not super common for 20-year-olds to receive 508 plate appearances. The fatigue explanation passes a smell test.

Noelvi Marte, CIN, (20): It’s been a while since we last checked in on the contentious shortstop. He’s continued to perform well with the Reds, making incremental gains to his plate discipline and contact rates. He’s batting .292/.397/.443 in 126 plate appearances with Cincy’s High-A affiliate. Where he’ll eventually fit in a system that includes the inestimable Elly De La Cruz remains to be seen, but he’s certainly trending towards a long Major League career. Across both franchises, he has 520 plate appearances with a .279/.371/.458 triple-slash, 19 home runs, and 23 steals.

Brendan McKay To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

By | at

Rays southpaw Brendan McKay will undergo Tommy John surgery next week, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). He’s expected to miss the entire 2023 campaign.

It’s the latest in a staggering series of significant injuries for the former #4 overall pick. McKay hasn’t thrown a single major league pitch since 2019, as he’s been plagued by an almost unfathomable string of bad luck. He missed the shortened 2020 season on account of a shoulder problem that eventually required surgery. The rehab from that procedure kept him out of action until late June 2021. Just a few outings into a minor league rehab stint, McKay suffered a flexor strain in his forearm that again proved to be season-ending. He was then diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome and underwent surgery to correct that issue last November.

McKay spent most of 2022 on the injured list recovering from the TOS procedure. He set out on a rehab assignment in mid-July and spent his allotted 30-day window pitching back to Triple-A. The Rays then formally reinstated McKay from the IL but kept him in Durham on an optional assignment. A few days later, he suffered a UCL injury while pitching with the Bulls.

Before all of the injuries, McKay was one of the sport’s most unique young talents. A two-way superstar at the University of Louisville, he’s continued to dabble in the two-way experiment in pro ball. McKay has performed better on the mound than he has a first baseman, and he had a fairly promising debut showing three years ago. While he only managed a 5.14 ERA through his first 49 big league frames, McKay punched out an above-average 25.9% of batters faced against just a 7.4% walk rate. It seemed as if he’d be a key piece of the rotation for the next few seasons, but the injuries have thrown that off track.

Last offseason, MLB granted the Rays a fourth minor league option year in recognition of McKay’s injury troubles. He’d spent the first few months of the season on the MLB injured list. While he was eventually activated and optioned, McKay only spent 17 days on optional assignment. According to his transactions log at MLB.com, he’s been recalled and placed on the MLB 15-day injured list. Players only exhaust an option year if they spend 20+ days in the minors during a season. It appears the Rays will keep him on the MLB IL — thus paying him a prorated $700K minimum salary and allowing him to accrue service time — to avoid exhausting that final option year. Tampa Bay figures to transfer him to the 60-day IL to free up a spot on the 40-man roster when necessary.

Padres Select Luis Liberato, Designate Cam Gallagher

By | at

The Padres have selected outfielder Luis Liberato onto the MLB roster. Catcher Cam Gallagher was designated for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot, while Austin Nola is headed to the paternity list in an active roster move.

Liberato, 26, is headed to the big leagues for the first time. A native of the Dominican Republic, he joined pro ball back in 2012 on a deal with the Mariners. Liberato spent eight years in the Seattle system, playing his way as high as Triple-A but never reaching the big leagues. He reached minor league free agency at the end of last season and changed organizations for the first time, joining San Diego on a non-roster pact.

The Friars assigned Liberato to Triple-A El Paso, and he’s impressed during his first year in the system. The left-handed hitter owns a .261/.354/.541 line with 20 home runs across 390 trips to the plate. He’s struck out at a slightly above-average 25.4% clip, but he’s compensated by walking in 12.3% of his trips and collecting 50 extra-base hits.

Liberato has played a fair bit of center field in El Paso, so he’ll add some depth at all three outfield positions for manager Bob Melvin. The Friars haven’t gotten much this season out of Trent Grisham or José Azocar in center field, perhaps giving Liberato an opportunity to pick up some starts there down the stretch.

Gallagher just joined the organization five weeks ago. San Diego acquired the backstop from the Royals for outfielder Brent Rooker in the final trade announced at the August 2 deadline. The 29-year-old never appeared in an MLB game as a Padre, as he’s spent his entire tenure in El Paso. Gallagher stumbled to a .255/.317/.382 line over 16 games with the Chihuahuas. With Nola, Luis Campusano, Jorge Alfaro and Brett Sullivan already on the 40-man roster, the Friars have elected to move on from Gallagher rather quickly.

A right-handed hitter, Gallagher has spent the majority of his career backing up Salvador Pérez in Kansas City. He’s reached the majors in each of the last six years but never played in more than 48 games in any individual season. Gallagher is a career .240/.302/.355 hitter in 469 plate appearances, and he’s a .269/.330/.378 batter through parts of four Triple-A campaigns.

San Diego will have to place Gallagher on outright or release waivers in the next few days. Given the general demand for experienced catching, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him latch on elsewhere. This is his final minor league option year, meaning a claiming team could stash Gallagher in the minors for the rest of the season but would need to carry him on the Opening Day roster or designate him for assignment next year.

White Sox Claim Nicholas Padilla, Designate Anderson Severino

By | at

The White Sox have claimed right-hander Nicholas Padilla off waivers from the Cubs and optioned him to Triple-A Charlotte, tweets Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. Southpaw Anderson Severino was designated for assignments to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Padilla, 25, has one big league game under his belt. He was called up by the Cubs late last month, and he worked 1 2/3 innings of one-run ball during his lone relief appearance. He leaned primarily on a 93 MPH cutter during that outing, per Statcast, and was optioned after the game. The Cubs designated him for assignment earlier this week when the need for a 40-man roster spot arose to bring back Michael Hermosillo from the injured list.

A former Rays draftee, Padilla has spent the past two seasons in the Cubs organization. He’s had a breakout showing across three minor league levels this year, pitching at High-A, Double-A and Triple-A. He owns a cumulative 2.11 ERA in 47 innings over that stretch, striking out a quality 30.5% of batters. Padilla’s 13.7% walk rate is a red flag, but the Sox are intrigued enough by his swing-and-miss capabilities to add him as a depth player. This is the first of three minor league option years, so Chicago can keep him in the minors for the foreseeable future if he holds a spot on the 40-man roster.

Severino, who turns 28 later this month, has made his first six MLB appearances this year. The southpaw has struck out nine batters and averaged 96.6 MPH on his heater, but he’s also walked four opponents. He’s had a dismal season throwing strikes in the minors, walking a staggering 27.3% of batters faced over 22 2/3 innings with Charlotte. The abundance of free passes has translated to a 12.31 ERA that pushes him out of the immediate mix.

The White Sox will place Severino on waivers in the next few days. The Dominican Republic native has never been outrighted and doesn’t have a requisite three years service time to refuse a minor league assignment, so he’d remain in the organization if he goes unclaimed.

Blue Jays Place Lourdes Gurriel Jr. On Injured List

By | at

The Blue Jays announced that Lourdes Gurriel Jr. has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to September 8, after straining his left hamstring. Infielder Otto López has been recalled from Triple-A Buffalo to take the vacated active roster spot.

Gurriel suffered the injury attempting to beat out a throw at first base during Wednesday’s game against the Orioles. The Jays used yesterday’s off day to evaluate Gurriel, and it seems his absence could extend beyond the mandated week and a half. The team informed reporters (including Keegan Matheson of MLB.com and Shi Davidi of Sportsnet) the strain is “moderate” and suggested he could miss more than the minimum amount of time.

The 28-year-old has been the Jays primary left fielder this season. He’s having a decent year, posting a .291/.343/.400 line across 493 plate appearances. Gurriel’s five home runs aren’t the prototypical power numbers of a corner outfielder, but he’s ripped 32 doubles and is putting the ball in play at a strong rate. His 16.3% strikeout rate is around six points below the league average, a key reason Gurriel’s hitting over .290.

The Jays are turning to Raimel Tapia in left field tonight. They’ve got a handful of outfield options on the roster, with Tapia, Jackie Bradley Jr., Cavan Biggio and Bradley Zimmer from the left side and Whit Merrifield and López hitting right-handed. Interim skipper John Schneider figures to play platoon advantages in the corners, while star George Springer has center field accounted for.

Toronto enters play Friday six games back of the Yankees in the AL East, occupying third place in the division. They hold the final AL Wild Card spot, within two games of both the Rays and Mariners while holding a 4 1/2 game cushion over the Orioles. The Jays will have to continue their battle for a playoff spot without their left fielder for at least the next nine days.

A’s Claim Conner Capel, Designate Luis Barrera

By | at

The A’s announced they’ve claimed corner outfielder Conner Capel off waivers from the Cardinals, designating fellow outfielder Luis Barrera for assignment. Oakland also recalled reliever Domingo Tapia from Triple-A Las Vegas, optioning Zach Logue in a corresponding move.

Capel is joining the third organization of his career. Originally an Indians draftee, he was dealt to the Cardinals as a prospect in the deal that sent Oscar Mercado to Cleveland. The left-handed hitter has spent most of the past two seasons at Triple-A Memphis, generally performing at an above-average level. He’s hit .267/.355/.452 through a bit more than 800 plate appearances there, walking at a robust 11.5% clip while only striking out in 18% of his trips. Capel has also connected on 26 home runs, 40 doubles and seven triples, demonstrating a well-rounded offensive skillset.

That earned the 25-year-old his first MLB call in late June, but Capel didn’t receive much of a look at Busch Stadium. He got into nine games and only hit 19 times, collecting three hits (including his first round-tripper). The Cards designated Capel for assignment earlier this week upon calling up top prospect Alec Burleson.

As the team with the second-worst record in the majors, the A’s had the league’s #2 waiver priority. They’ll leverage that to add an outfielder with a solid upper minors track record. Capel is only in his first of three minor league option years, so the A’s can bounce him between Oakland and Las Vegas for the next couple seasons if he holds his spot on the 40-man roster.

Barrera, himself a left-handed outfielder, has gotten brief big league looks in each of the past two years. He’s gotten into 38 games, hitting .235/.290/.329 over 93 trips to the plate. Barrera has played most of the season with the Aviators, compiling a .271/.331/.451 line through 294 plate appearances. That’s actually below-average production in one of the sport’s most hitter-friendly environments, but Barrera is an elite runner who’s capable manning all three outfield positions.

The A’s have already taken Barrera off the 40-man roster once this year, outrighting him in April before re-selecting his contract the next month. They’ll place him on waivers again in the next few days. If he clears outright waivers again, he’ll have the right to refuse the assignment in favor of minor league free agency this time.

Reds Designate Albert Almora For Assignment

By | at

The Reds announced that outfielder Albert Almora Jr. has been designated for assignment. The move opens an active roster spot for infielder Matt Reynolds, who is back from the 10-day injured list.

Almora signed a minor league deal with Cincinnati in Spring Training. He made the big league roster in late May and has spent the past few months in the majors as a depth outfielder. Almora has gotten into 64 games and tallied 235 plate appearances, by far his largest workload since 2019. He’s made plenty of contact and played excellent defense, but he hasn’t drawn many walks or hit for much power. He carries a .223/.282/.349 line with five homers and three stolen bases.

A former sixth overall pick of the Cubs, Almora was a regular earlier in his career on the strength of his glove. After a trio of roughly league average seasons at the dish to begin his career, the right-hander’s production has tailed off. Since the start of 2019, he carries a .219/.265/.344 line between the Cubs, Mets and Reds. He’s settled into a fourth/fifth outfield role as a result.

The Reds could’ve controlled Almora for another season via arbitration, but they were evidently prepared to non-tender him after this season. As they play out the remainder of a non-competitive year, they’ll keep Stuart Fairchild on hand as the fourth outfielder behind TJ Friedl, Nick Senzel and Aristides Aquino.

Cincinnati will place Almora on outright or release waivers within the next couple days. There’s not much of a distinction in his case, as the 28-year-old has more than five years of big league service time. That gives him the right to refuse a minor league assignment in favor of free agency while retaining his salary if he clears waivers. If he goes unclaimed, it’s likely Almora will return to the open market.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top