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Blue Jays To Select Jacob Barnes, Alan Roden, Myles Straw

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The Blue Jays have all but officially set their Opening Day roster, as manager John Schneider told reporters (including Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi and MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson) that right-hander Jacob Barnes, and outfielders Alan Roden, Myles Straw, and Nathan Lukes will all break camp with the team.  The first three of those names aren’t on Toronto’s 40-man roster, so some 40-man space will have to be carved out so the Jays can officially select their contracts.

Barnes and Richard Lovelady (whose minor league contract was selected earlier this week) will fill two bullpen spots left open by injuries, as right-handers Erik Swanson, Zach Pop, and Ryan Burr will all start the season on the injured list.  Swanson’s recovery from a median nerve entrapment in his throwing arm might not take too much longer, as Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling writes that Swanson has started some baseball-related activities and should start throwing off a mound in another 1-2 weeks.  Pop is dealing with discomfort in his throwing elbow and Burr has shoulder fatigue, and it remains unclear if either of these injuries might require a 60-day IL stint, which would open up room on the 40-man.

Barnes is an Article XX(b) free agent, so yesterday was the first of three opt-out dates that Barnes had baked into his minor league contract.  The Blue Jays will avoid that issue entirely by placing Barnes on the Opening Day roster, putting the righty on the verge of appearing in his 10th Major League season.  The veteran will now lock in a $1.4MM salary for the 2025 campaign.

Barnes has pitched for nine different teams during his journeyman career, including a brief stint with the Jays back in 2021.  Last year with the Nationals, Barnes posted a 4.36 ERA, 19.9% strikeout rate, and 7.2% walk rate over 66 innings.

Since Daulton Varsho is starting the season on the injured list, some level of outfield depth was required to handle center field while Varsho is on the shelf.  The Blue Jays’ lack of a set DH also created extra room for more players to find their way into the lineup, so the outfield trio of Lukes, Straw, and Roden will all be heading north after competing for what seemed to be perhaps just one bench spot heading into camp.

Lukes has appeared in 51 games for the Jays over the last two seasons, and Straw is looking to revive his career after being outrighted off the Guardians’ roster.  Acquired in a controversial salary dump of a trade seemingly tied to the Blue Jays’ unsuccessful pursuit of Roki Sasaki, Toronto took on $11MM of the remaining salary owed to Straw through the 2026 season, as per the terms of the five-year, $25MM extension he signed with Cleveland in 2022.  While that money didn’t guarantee Straw a roster spot, his strong defense makes him a worthy fill-in for Varsho’s elite center field glove, so it seems like Straw and Lukes could form a platoon until Varsho is healthy.

Roden will also see some time in center field, with Schneider telling Matheson and company that Roden will be deployed in the other two outfield slots and at DH to give him a good dose of regular playing time.  Anthony Santander or George Springer could be subsequently given DH days when Roden is in the field, in order to keep the two veterans fresh.

A third-round pick for the Blue Jays in the 2022 draft, Roden will be making his Major League whenever he appears in his first game.  The outfielder hit .314/.406/.510 with nine homers over 286 plate appearances with Triple-A Buffalo last season, in the latest step of what has been something of a two-year tear through minor league pitching.  Roden then posted huge numbers in Spring Training, putting himself squarely in the picture for a roster spot.

MLB Pipeline ranks Roden as the fifth-best prospect in Toronto’s farm system, citing him as a possible leadoff hitter for the Jays as early as this season due to his advanced on-base and baserunning skills.  Roden also has some power, and has increased his exit velocity over the last two minor league seasons.  Roden is a left-handed hitter, which also helps his case to earn playing time in a Jays lineup that tilts to the right side.

Red Sox To Include Kristian Campbell On Opening Day Roster

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Kristian Campbell will break camp with the Red Sox, as KPRC 2’s Ari Alexander reports that the star prospect has been told he will be part of Boston’s Opening Day roster.  A corresponding move will be made in the coming days to create room for Campbell on the 40-man roster.

Though Campbell’s Grapefruit League performance hasn’t been stellar, it was becoming increasingly obvious in recent days that the Sox were eager to see what the 22-year-old can do at the big league level.  Vaughn Grissom was optioned to Triple-A a few days ago, leaving Campbell and David Hamilton as the remaining contenders for the second base job.  While the left-handed hitting Hamilton will get some action against right-handed pitching, the Red Sox surely aim for Campbell to get regular playing time in his first run of action in the Show.

It has been quite a rise for Campbell, who was a fourth-round pick out of Georgia Tech in the 2023 draft and flew somewhat under the radar in prospect rankings.  He started to attract attention with some big numbers in his first year of pro ball, and then gained even greater notice by being promoted all the way up the ladder to Triple-A Worcester by the end of 2024.  Campbell hit .330/.439/.558 with 20 homers and 24 steals (in 32 attempts) over 517 combined plate appearances at the high-A, Double-A, and Triple-A levels, including a .898 OPS over his 85 PA with Worcester.

This spring, Campbell was ranked by Baseball America as the fourth-best prospect in the sport, and MLB Pipeline (7th) and The Athletic’s Keith Law (9th) had similarly high praise.  After his college days, Campbell made some changes to his approach at the plate that transformed his hitting ability, so this make-up and maturity has impressed evaluators along with his obvious physical skills.  Campbell has something of an unusual swing that still generate lots of hard contact to all fields, plus more power could still be unlocked.  Campbell is a plus runner and he can play all over the diamond, as he has seen time at second base, third base, shortstop, and all three outfield positions over his minor league career.

He’ll check in as Boston’s second baseman in his first trip to the majors, thus perhaps filling a position that has been a revolving door at Fenway Park for the last few seasons.  Alex Bregman was initially tapped as the next second baseman when he signed his three-year, $120MM deal with the Sox this winter, but it now looks like Bregman will play in his usual third base spot now that Rafael Devers (at least publicly) has okayed the idea of becoming a designated hitter.  As MassLive’s Chris Cotillo put it, “ the Red Sox weren’t moving Rafael Devers to DH for no reason,” so the writing was on the wall that the team viewed Campbell as part of its optimal lineup.

With Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer also knocking on the door to the majors, the Red Sox have an enviable group of star prospects on the way up.  It remains to be seen if Campbell will stick at second base over the long time, or if the Sox might take advantage of his versatility by trying him out at a few different positions.

Because Campbell made at least two of the top-100 prospect lists compiled by Baseball America, ESPN, and MLB Pipeline, he qualifies as a candidate for the Prospect Promotion Incentive.  By starting on the Opening Day roster and spending the entire season in Boston, Campbell would earn the Sox a bonus draft pick if he wins the Rookie of the Year Award, or if he finishes in the top three in MVP voting in his first three seasons.

Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images

Mariners Release Drew Pomeranz, Jesse Hahn

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The Mariners announced that right-hander Jesse Hahn and left-hander Drew Pomeranz were both released from their minor league contracts.  Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times notes that both pitchers had enough service time to request releases if they weren’t going to make the Mariners’ Opening Day roster.

Pomeranz and Hahn have a combined 18 years of MLB experience between them, but the two veterans haven’t appeared in a big league game since the 2021 season.  Hahn didn’t pitch whatsoever in 2022 or 2023 while apparently recovering from a shoulder injury, but he resurfaced to toss 50 1/3 minor league innings with the Triple-A affiliates of the Dodgers and Mariners in 2024.  Hahn’s combined 4.29 ERA and 25.1% strikeout rate were respectable enough, but he also had an outsized 17.2% walk rate.

Injuries have dominated Pomeranz’s career narrative, and a variety of health issues (most notably a flexor tendon surgery) limited him to 19 1/3 minor league innings over the last three seasons.  He did sign a Major League deal with the Giants last May but didn’t see any action at the MLB level, as he was designated for assignment and then outrighted off the 40-man within a few days of joining the team.  An All-Star starter back in 2016, Pomeranz seemed to be on the verge of re-inventing himself as an elite relief arm, leading to a four-year, $34MM deal from the Padres in the 2019-20 offseason.  Unfortunately, continued health problems kept Pomeranz from living up that salary, even though he had a 1.62 ERA over the 44 1/3 innings he was able to pitch in 2020-21.

Neither Hahn or Pomeranz posted particularly good Cactus League numbers, leaving the Mariners looking elsewhere for bullpen help.  Right-hander Casey Legumina was also optioned to Triple-A, so Carlos Vargas will break camp as the final member of Seattle’s bullpen.  Divish observes that Vargas’ out-of-options status might’ve helped the team’s decision, as Legumina has options remaining and can be more easily shuttled on and off the roster.

Giants’ Jerar Encarnacion To Undergo Hand Surgery

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TODAY: Encarnacion will undergo surgery on his injured hand tomorrow, according to multiple Giants beat writers.  The team will release a timeline for Encarnacion’s recovery once the procedure is complete, which could hint that there is more damage than just the fractured finger.

MARCH 22, 12:22PM: Contrary to the Giants’ initial report, Encarnacion told the San Jose Mercury News’ Justice delos Santos and other media that the injury was indeed limited to just his left ring finger.  The hairline feature will need roughly 4-6 weeks of recovery time.

11:38AM: Jerar Encarnacion sustained a fractured left hand while diving for a ball in the Giants’ Cactus League game yesterday, the team told reporters (including Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle).  More testing will be done to explore the full extent of the injury, but Encarnacion will certainly be starting the year on the Giants’ injured list.

Encarnacion was removed from the game with what was initially described a jammed left ring finger, though the first round of scans revealed the more serious hand fracture.  As noted by Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, the fact that Encarnacion is getting more tests could hint that surgery might be required, which would mean an even longer stint on the sidelines for the 27-year-old.

It’s a tough setback for a player who was viewed as a strong candidate to earn the bulk of the Giants’ DH at-bats.  Encarnacion was hitting .302/.309/.547 with two homers over 55 Spring Training plate appearances, building on the power he displayed over 119 PA (.248/.277/.425) at the MLB level last season.  As a right-handed hitter, Encarnacion also could’ve found playing time as a complement to the left-handed hitting LaMonte Wade Jr. at first base, or for Mike Yastrzemski in right field.

With Encarnacion now out of action, Slusser figures both Luis Matos and Grant McCray have a path to breaking camp with the Giants.  Matos is a right-handed hitter who can now perhaps slide into the role of spelling Yaz against southpaws, while Wilmer Flores should split time with Wade when Flores isn’t also getting a good chunk of DH time.  Jung Hoo Lee has been bothered by a bad back in the late stages of San Francisco’s camp, and while Lee’s issue isn’t thought to be too serious, his potential absence along with Encarnacion’s injury might leave the Giants with a couple of sudden roster holes to address as Opening Day approaches.

Ryan Yarbrough Opts Out Of Minors Deal With Blue Jays

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TODAY: Yarbrough has now become a free agent, after being told he wasn’t making the Jays’ Opening Day roster, Davidi reports.

MARCH 21: Left-hander Ryan Yarbrough is going to trigger his upcoming opt-out in his minor league deal with the Blue Jays, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. The team has until 1pm Central on Sunday to decide whether or not to add him to the roster. If they don’t give him a spot, he will become a free agent.

Yarbrough is an Article XX(b) free agent, which is any player with at least six years of service who finished the previous season on a major league roster or injured list. Such players have guaranteed opt-out dates on minor league deals signed at least ten days prior to Opening Day. The first of those opt-out dates is five days prior to Opening Day, which will be tomorrow. The others are May 1 and June 1. When a player triggers an opt-out, the club has 48 hours to decide how to respond.

The lefty has carved out a nice career for himself despite a lack of velo or punchouts. He has 768 big league innings under his belt so far, having allowed 4.21 earned runs per nine. His 18.7% strikeout rate is a few ticks below par but his 5.5% walk rate is quite good and his Statcast page shows that his average exit velocity and hard hit rate are regularly among the best in the league. Some of that work has come as a starter, some as a bulk guy behind an opener and some as a more traditional long reliever.

The Jays got a close-up look at him late last year, acquiring him from the Dodgers in a deadline swap for Kevin Kiermaier. Yarbrough tossed 31 1/3 innings over 12 relief appearances with a 2.01 ERA. He lingered on the market unsigned until the middle of February, when the Jays brought him back via a minor league deal. That deal reportedly pays him $2MM if he cracks the big leagues. In Grapefruit League action, he has tossed 6 2/3 innings, allowed three earned runs, with eight strikeouts and one walk.

The Jays project to have a rotation of José Berríos, Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt and Bowden Francis. If healthy, Max Scherzer would have a spot as well. He’s been dealing with some thumb soreness lately. That doesn’t sound too serious but thumb soreness seemed to be a symptom of a larger nerve problem in his arm last year.

Earlier today, manager John Schneider relayed to reporters that Scherzer will pitch for the Jays against the Twins in Fort Myers tomorrow. Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet was among those to relay the news. The skipper said that Scherzer wanted to make the two-hour bus ride in order to face real major league hitters. His aim is to throw 60 to 65 pitches and be on the roster to start the season if all goes well.

If Scherzer is healthy, then Yariel Rodríguez is likely in the bullpen as the long reliever. If not, then Rodríguez perhaps jumps into that fifth spot. It’s also possible that the Jays would prefer to have Yarbrough as a long man, but with Rodríguez pitching in a more traditional single-inning relief role. He posted a 1.15 ERA in that kind of role in Japan in 2022 but started for the Jays last year, posting a 4.47 ERA.

Perhaps the Jays will hold off making a decision on Yarbrough until they see how Scherzer pitches tomorrow and how he feels the day after. If they decide to add Yarbrough, they will have to make a corresponding move to get him onto the 40-man.

Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images

Diamondbacks Expected To Select Shelby Miller

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Shelby Miller has exercised an upward mobility clause in his minor league contract with the Diamondbacks, though the right-hander doesn’t appear to be going anywhere, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports that the D’Backs are expected to select his contract to the active roster.  Miller inked his minors deal just at the start of Spring Training camp, and he’ll now officially return for a second stint in a Diamondbacks uniform.

That first stint is something of a painful memory for both Miller and Arizona fans, as he posted a 6.35 ERA over 139 innings with the club from 2016-18.  Miller was acquired a part of a blockbuster five-player trade with the Braves in December 2015 that most prominently saw Dansby Swanson head to Atlanta, and Miller was viewed as an up-and-coming new fixture for the Diamondbacks’ rotation.  However, injuries plagued Miller’s tenure in the desert, as a Tommy John surgery cost him the majority of the 2017-18 campaigns.

Miller has yet to recapture his early-career form in the intervening seasons, despite stops with multiple teams and a move to relief pitching.  He had a very solid year in the Dodgers’ bullpen in 2023, but followed up his 1.71 ERA over 42 innings that year with an underwhelming 4.53 ERA in 55 2/3 frames out of the Tigers’ bullpen last season.

In Cactus League play this spring, however, Miller has a 2.70 ERA over 6 2/3 innings for the D’Backs.  He has also struck out 11 out of his 25 batters faced, with zero walks against that impressive number of whiffs.  Obviously time will tell if this performance can translate at all into the regular season, but it was enough to win Miller a spot in Arizona’s bullpen.  Kendall Graveman has battled back problems this spring and may start the season on the injured list, which could’ve opened the door for Miller to make the team.

A 40-man roster spot for Miller could be opened up if and when Rene Pinto is designated for assignment, as Piecoro writes (multiple links) that Pinto was “saying his goodbyes in the clubhouse” earlier today.  Pinto was claimed off waivers from the Orioles in January to add some depth to Arizona’s catching ranks, but it looks like Jose Herrera will indeed head to Opening Day as Gabriel Moreno’s backup.  Piecoro suggests that the D’Backs could look to trade Pinto as part of the DFA process, if he isn’t claimed away by a team in need of catching help.

In other Diamondbacks roster news, Piecoro reports that minor league signing Ildemaro Vargas won’t be making the team.  Vargas has the ability to opt out of his minor league deal and will first explore his options, though he’ll play with Triple-A Reno if another roster spot can’t be found in another organization.  The veteran utilityman is in his third stint with the D’Backs over his eight MLB seasons, but Garrett Hampson was selected to Arizona’s roster today, giving Hampson the win over Vargas in the competition for a bench job.

Zack Gelof To Undergo Hamate Surgery, Begin Season On IL

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4:14PM: Muncy will indeed break camp with the A’s, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

2:45PM: The Athletics suffered a major blow this afternoon when the club told reporters (including Martin Gallegos of MLB.com) that second baseman Zack Gelof will begin the 2025 season on the injured list. Gelof, who was hit by a pitch on his right hand earlier this week, underwent x-rays to determine the severity of the issue. That testing revealed a hamate fracture, and Gelof is expected to undergo surgery in Los Angeles tomorrow.

Gallegos adds that while the A’s did not provide a specific timetable for return, manager Mark Kotsay noted that former Oakland first baseman Matt Olson suffered a similar injury in 2019 and returned to action on May 7, though Kotsay added that Olson’s timeline was “pretty accelerated.” That seems to suggest that the A’s aren’t expecting Gelof back until sometime in May at the earliest, though a more specific timetable for his return could be available once he’s gone under the knife.

Even if Gelof misses only a month, that’s a tough blow for an Athletics club that was surely counting on the 25-year-old as a big part of the club this year. While Gelof struggled in 2024 and slashed just .211/.270/.362 in 138 games while leading the AL in strikeouts, he posted a fantastic rookie season with the club the year prior with a 132 wRC+ in 300 trips to the plate. Even if Gelof’s 2025 season fell somewhere in the middle of 2023’s 132 figure and the 82 wRC+ he posted last year, that would still make Gelof a quality regular on a young, up-and-coming A’s club that needs a lot of things to go right if its going to contend in a crowded AL West this year.

Fortunately for the A’s, however, the club does have a viable replacement for Gelof at second base in Luis Urias. The club signed Urias to a big league deal just before camp opened last month, and he responded by crushing the ball during Spring Training with a sensational .333/.429/.524 slash line in 49 trips to the plate. Still just 27 years old, Urias was a consensus top-30 prospect in the sport during the early days of his career with the Padres, and enjoyed a few seasons as a solidly above average regular with Brewers when he slashed .244/.340/.426 in 269 games with the club from 2021 to ’22.

Urias took a step back in 2023 and had to settle for a bench role with the Mariners last year, but hit quite well in a part-time role with a 107 wRC+ in 41 games despite a worrying 31.2% strikeout rate that was by far the highest of his career. If the infielder can get his strikeouts under control in a return to regular at-bats with the A’s this year, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him return to the form he flashed with Milwaukee that made him an above-average regular. 2024 rookie Max Schuemann also appears likely to make the club’s Opening Day roster in a bench role and could help cover second base on occasion, though he’s struggled to hit much at the big league level and in Spring Training. Darell Hernaiz could be a potential depth option in the middle infield after he struggled through 48 games in his rookie season where he slashed just .192/.261/.242 with a wRC+ of 50 despite solid defense all over the infield.

Another potential option, according to Gallegos, could be top infield prospect Max Muncy breaking camp with the club. Muncy, not to be confused with the former Athletic and current Dodgers third baseman of the same name, was the club’s first-round pick in 2021 and impressed in 50 games at Triple-A last year when he hit .278/.374/.491 in 203 trips to the plate. Muncy’s spent most of his professional career at shortstop but has experience at second base as well, and after an impressive camp where he’s held his own to post a .290/.391/.395 slash line in 23 games it’s not impossible to imagine the club opting to be aggressive with Muncy and include him on the Opening Day roster. Even if the club opts to stick with the plan to start Muncy in Triple-A for the beginning of the season, a strong start there combined with early-season struggles from Urias could theoretically convince the A’s to reverse course.

Orioles Select Matt Bowman

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The Orioles announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Matt Bowman.  Righty Tyler Wells was placed on the 60-day injured list in the corresponding move, as Wells is expected to miss at least the first couple of months of the season as he recovers from a UCL-related surgery last June.

Bowman saw big league action for four different teams in 2024, delivering a 4.40 ERA over 30 2/3 combined innings with the Twins, Diamondbacks, Mariners, and Orioles.  Baltimore was the last stop in that transactional carousel, as Bowman posted a 3.45 ERA in 15 2/3 innings for the O’s after his minors deal was selected to the active roster in August.  The Orioles outrighted Bowman after the season and he elected free agency, only to re-up with the team on another minor league contract in December.

That new minors deal contained an opt-out clause that could’ve been triggered today, Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner writes.  Technically, today’s move just continues the Orioles’ control over the right-hander and doesn’t officially guarantee that he’ll be included on the team’s Opening Day roster.

But, Bowman made a solid showing in the Grapefruit League by posting a 2.70 ERA in 6 2/3 innings across six appearances, so it would appear as though he will likely end up breaking camp.  He is also out of minor league options, which might’ve also helped his case in making the roster if the O’s didn’t want to try and sneak him through waivers.  For making the big league roster, Bowman would receive a $1.1MM salary, as well as another $400K in available incentives.

Bowman is a veteran of six MLB seasons, though he didn’t play at all during the 2020-22 seasons while recovering from a Tommy John surgery and other injuries.  Bowman had a 4.02 ERA and a 56.6% grounder rate over 181 1/3 relief innings for the Cardinals and Reds from 2016-19, and a 4.93 ERA in 34 2/3 innings since returning from his injury hiatus in 2023.  His grounder rate over the last two seasons is a more modest 44.4%, and he’ll likely need to bump that number back over the 50 percent mark since Bowman isn’t a big strikeout pitcher.  That said, he has shown a much greater ability to miss bats in the limited sample size of his work this spring, whiffing 10 batters over his 6 2/3 frames of work.

Shane McClanahan To Start Season On Rays’ Injured List

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TODAY: McClanahan will begin the season on the 15-day injured list, Rays manager Kevin Cash told John Romano (multiple links) and other reporters, but tests revealed that the left-hander is suffering only from a nerve problem in his triceps area.  The plan is to “calm the nerve down and then see how he progresses, get a ball back in his hand.  Probably the best news we could have heard,” Cash said.

MARCH 22: The Rays suffered a major injury scare this afternoon when southpaw Shane McClanahan exited his start in the third inning due to what the Rays later announced as triceps tightness. John Romano of the Tampa Bay Times relays that the issue is not thought to be related to his recent elbow surgery and that the lefty will undergo imaging on Sunday to determine the severity of the issue.

It’s a concerning situation for any pitcher, but a serious injury would be particularly devastating for McClanahan given that he missed the final two months of the 2023 campaign and the entirety of the 2024 season while rehabbing his aforementioned Tommy John surgery. When healthy, the soon to be 28-year-old hurler is on the shortlist for the best young arms in the sport, with a career 3.02 ERA (130 ERA+) and 3.36 FIP in 404 2/3 innings of work since he made his big league debut back in 2022. The southpaw’s career 28% strikeout rate and 7.1% walk rate further solidify him as a clear top-of-the-rotation arm, and the Rays currently have him poised to serve as the ace of a loaded rotation that also features arms like Ryan Pepiot and Drew Rasmussen.

Those plans appear to have now been scuttled, however, depending on what’s next for McClanahan. The severity of the issue and a potential timetable for his return won’t be completely clear until McClanahan’s tests come back. Even so, it should surprise no one if the Rays decide to proceed cautiously with their prized left-hander coming off of surgery. Even if the issue proves to be relatively insignificant, it would be understandable if the club decided to play it safe and place McClanahan on the injured list to open the season. They’re reasonably well equipped to do so if they choose, with Rasmussen, Pepiot, Taj Bradley, Zack Littell, and Shane Baz all healthy and ready to contribute to the rotation. Beyond that quintet, the club also has depth options such as Joe Boyle and Joe Rock in the fold as well as non-roster veteran Connor Seabold.

Even with that depth in place to handle an absence from McClanahan, a significant injury would be a gut punch for a Rays club that will already need to exceed expectations to compete in an AL East division that figures to be dominated by the Orioles, Yankees, and Red Sox this year after big offseasons for all three clubs. Comparatively, the Rays’ offseason was somewhat modest as they added only Ha-Seong Kim and Danny Jansen to the fold while shipping out Jeffrey Springs in a deal that brought back Boyle. Strong as the club’s rotation looks on paper, the Rays figure to lean on it heavily this year after losing both Isaac Paredes and Randy Arozarena from the lineup at last year’s trade deadline, leaving extra weight on the shoulders of Yandy Diaz and Brandon Lowe as the only established veterans left in an otherwise young and unproven lineup.

If the injury proves serious enough that the Rays need to consider adding from outside the organization to deepen their rotation mix, a handful of viable options such as Lance Lynn and Spencer Turnbull remain available in free agency. With that being said, any big league signings could be pushing it for the perennially low-budget Rays and they might instead prefer to wait and see if a non-roster invitee like Chris Flexen or Ross Stripling returns to the open market after opting out of a minor league deal.

Braves, Angels Swap Ian Anderson, Jose Suarez

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The Braves are poised to acquire left-hander Jose Suarez from the Angels, according to a report from Ari Alexander of KPRC2. According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, right-hander Ian Anderson is headed to Anaheim in exchange for Suarez.

Suarez, 27, signed with the Angels out of Venezuela and made his pro debut back in 2015. He’s spent his entire career in an Angels uniform to this point and first made it to the majors in 2019. The early days of his big league career weren’t exactly inspiring, as he carried a career 7.99 ERA in 83 1/3 innings through the end of the 2020 season with a 9.5% walk rate against a lackluster 18.6% strikeout rate.

Things turned around in a big way for the southpaw come 2021, however, and settled in to become a quality swing man for Anaheim. He pitched 98 1/3 innings that year in the majors split between 14 starts and nine relief appearances, and he was generally impressive by the results in those outings with a 3.75 ERA (119 ERA+) with a 4.12 FIP. That success carried over into the 2022 campaign, where Suarez was utilized as a more traditional back-of-the-rotation starter. He made 20 starts (and two relief appearances) for the Angels at the big league level that year, and pitched solidly enough with a roughly league average 3.96 ERA and a roughly matching 3.91 FIP. After posting successful seasons in back-to-back years, it seemed likely that the Angels would be relying on Suarez to serve as a back-end starter of swingman for years to come.

That’s not how things have transpired, however, as the lefty has been nothing short of disastrous over the past two seasons. In 86 innings of work since the start of the 2023 campaign, Suarez has struggled to a 6.91 ERA in 33 appearances, ten of which were starts. After striking out 21.5% of opponents and walking 7.9% from 2021 to ’22, the past two seasons have seen Suarez’s walk rate balloon to 11.6% while his strikeout rate has ticked down to 20.7%. He also began to give up increasingly dangerous contact, as his barrel rate ballooned from 7.4% in his successful years to 9.7% over the past two seasons. That’s led him to allow 17 homers in those 86 innings of work, more than he surrendered in either 2021 or ’22 despite pitching more innings in both of those seasons.

Suarez even found himself outrighted to the minors for much of last year, though he was added back to the club’s 40-man roster in September and remained there throughout the offseason. Now, however, he’ll head to Atlanta in hopes that a change of scenery can help get his career back on track. For the Angels, the move to part ways with Suarez comes on the heels of a mixed showing in camp where he struggled to a 6.55 ERA but struck out 25.5% of opponents while walking 9.8%. For Atlanta, he’ll offer another left-handed bullpen option who can be deployed in the middle innings, allowing Dylan Lee and Aaron Bummer to be used more exclusively in high leverage situations.

Going the other way is Anderson, another reclamation project without options remaining. The right-hander, 27 in May, received NL Rookie of the Year votes in both the 2020 and 2021 seasons as he pitched to a combined 3.25 ERA with a 24.5% strikeout rate and 3.80 FIP in 30 starts during the regular season before adding an incredible 1.26 ERA in eight postseason starts to his resume over the course of those two years. That performance appeared likely to make Anderson a likely fixture of the Atlanta rotation going forward, but things took a turn for the worse in 2022 when he struggled to a 5.00 ERA (despite a 4.25 FIP) in 22 starts before he eventually went under the knife early in the 2023 campaign, undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Anderson missed the entire 2023 season while rehabbing and made 15 starts in the minor leagues last year as he got back up to speed, though his 3.44 ERA in 68 minor league innings did not lead to a return to the majors. The right-hander appeared likely to be part of the club’s rotation to start the season with Spencer Strider ticketed for the injured list entering camp, but despite a 2.65 ERA in 17 innings this spring Anderson’s camp raised concerns as he walked an eye-popping 18 opponents, or 24% of his total batters faced. With Anderson no longer in the fold, it seems likely the fifth starter job will instead go to AJ Smith-Shawver to open the season. Meanwhile, the Angels seem likely to utilize Anderson in a long relief role, though it’s at least possible he could get a look in the rotation if Reid Detmers begins the season at Triple-A.

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