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East Injury Notes: Kiermaier, Harper, Suero, Biggio

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The Rays activated Kevin Kiermaier off the 10-day injured list today, and he played two innings as defensive sub in Tampa Bay’s 6-3 victory over the Yankees.  It was Kiermaier’s first appearance since April 5, as a left quad strain sent the three-time Gold Glover to the IL only four games into the new season.  While still one of the sport’s best defenders when he is able to play, Kiermaier has been a frequent IL visitor over the years due to a wide variety of injuries, which is why the Rays have fortified their center field depth in the form of Manuel Margot and Brett Phillips.

More injury-related notes from around the AL East and NL East…

  • Bryce Harper is day-to-day with lower back soreness, the Phillies announced.  Harper isn’t in today’s lineup against the Cardinals, and manager Joe Girardi suggested to reporters (including MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki) that the problem may have occurred when Harper slid into second base after hitting a double in Friday’s game.  It’s something of a precautionary measure for the Phillies since Harper was bothered by back issues last season, though Zolecki noted that Harper still hit .230/.392/.467 over 158 plate appearances after August 21, when Harper’s back problems developed.  This year, of course, the Phils don’t have the luxury of periodically using Harper as a designated hitter to give him a partial rest day.
  • Wander Suero will undergo an MRI after leaving today’s game after one batter, Nationals manager Davey Martinez told The Washington Post’s Jesse Dougherty and other reporters.  Suero was removed from the game while facing his second batter, after initially walking Eduardo Escobar.  Now in his fourth season, Suero has been a solid member of the Nats’ bullpen, with a career 3.99 ERA and 25.9% strikeout rate over 149 career innings heading into today’s action.  The D.C. relief corps has already been thinned by injuries to Luis Avilan and Will Harris.
  • Cavan Biggio could potentially return to the Blue Jays’ lineup on Sunday, manager Charlie Montoyo told MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson and other reporters.  Biggio left Thursday’s game after being hit in the right hand by a line drive, though x-rays were negative and Biggio was slated to participate in batting practice and a game of catch today.

White Sox Outright Nick Williams

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TODAY: Williams cleared waivers and was outrighted to the alternate training site, the team announced.  Williams will remain as part of the White Sox taxi squad for their series against the Red Sox this weekend.

APRIL 15: The White Sox have reinstated shortstop Tim Anderson from the 10-day injured list and opened a roster spot by designating outfielder Nick Williams for assignment, per a club announcement. Anderson hit the injured list with a strained left hamstring last week, but his IL stint wound up lasting the minimum 10 days.

Williams, 27, had a big spring showing with the ChiSox, hitting .300/.364/.475 in 46 trips to the plate, but he’s opened the year hitless through 13 regular-season plate appearances. Williams has seen action in four games, including three starts in left field that have come at the expense of top prospect Andrew Vaughn, who is learning the outfield on the fly. At least on the surface, it would seem that Williams’ DFA could open the door for more regular playing time for Vaughn, who has somewhat puzzlingly started just half of the White Sox’ games thus far.

Williams himself once rated as one of the game’s top 30 overall prospects, per Baseball America, but that was five years ago. The former second-round pick has tallied 916 plate appearances in the Majors but carries a rather tepid .251/.312/.415 batting line in that time. The majority of his production came in a solid rookie effort back in 2017, however, and Williams has mustered just a .229/.297/.380 output in his past 573 MLB plate appearances.

The White Sox will have a week to trade Williams to another club, attempt to pass him through outright waivers or simply release him.

Brewers To Place Christian Yelich On Injured List

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4:34 PM: Eric Yardley has been recalled to take Yelich’s roster spot, per the team. As expected, Yelich’s placement on the injured list is retroactive to April 14th, which should make him available to return next weekend.

3:34 PM: After holding Christian Yelich out of game action for the past week with an ailing back, the Brewers will now place their star outfielder on the injured list, per the Athletic’s Will Sammon and others (via Twitter). The corresponding roster move is yet to come.

Yelich has dealt with a back issue throughout his time in Milwaukee, but it’s usually been the type of injury that improves with a few days rest. At this point, if Yelich still isn’t quite ready for action, they may as well use his roster spot to add another potential contributor. Because he hasn’t appeared in a game since April 11th, Yelich will be able to return from the injured list in just a couple of days. Still, in the meantime, the Brewers can bring in another body for the rest of the weekend series. The Brewers head west for a three-game series in San Diego on Monday.

The Brewers once-deep outfield has suffered a couple of injuries this week. Lorenzo Cain was placed on the injured list a couple of days ago, as was second baseman Kolten Wong. Without Cain or Yelich, Jackie Bradley Jr. is the man in center, Avisail Garcia is back in right, with Billy McKinney, Tyrone Taylor, Jace Peterson, and Daniel Robertson capable of piecing together the action in left.

Diamondbacks To Place Tim Locastro On Injured List

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The Diamondbacks will place speedster Tim Locastro on the injured list after today’s ballgame, per Steve Gilbert of MLB.com (via Twitter). Locastro jammed his finger at second base while getting caught stealing for the first time in his big league career, notes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter). He had been successful in his first 29 stole base attempts, a Major League record to start a career.

The former Dodger has hit .260/.339/.320 through 56 plate appearanes this season, though he only recently had the benefit of everyday reps in center. Locastro does a nice job getting the bat on the ball (18.4 percent career strikeout rate), but he has yet to hit for much power (.102 career ISO) or take his walks at the big-league level (6.9 percent career walk rate).

The Diamondbacks will be down to their third-string centerfielder when Locastro joins Ketel Marte on the shelf. Rookie first baseman Pavin Smith took over in center for the remainder of today’s game in Washington. The Diamondbacks are flush with versatile defenders, from Josh Rojas to Andrew Young to Wyatt Mathisen, Smith, and Asdrubal Cabrera. Unfortunately, none are particularly suited to centerfield. Catcher/outfielder Daulton Varsho could be a consideration, as could the newly-acquired Nick Heath.

Rangers Activate Willie Calhoun, Brock Holt

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The Rangers have activated Willie Calhoun and Brock Holt from the injured list, the team announced. Wes Benjamin and Anderson Tejada have been optioned to the Rangers’ alternate site.

Calhoun will make his first appearance of the season as the Rangers’ designated hitter tonight. He’s looking for a breakout season after struggling to establish himself as an impact bat since his arrival in Texas via the Yu Darvish trade of 2017. The 26-year-old stumbled to more dramatic effect in 2020, slashing just .190/.231/.260 in 108 plate appearances. Holt, for his part, was off to a strong start through four games after making the team on a minor league contract. He’ll take back the role of utility infielder from Tejada.

Benjamin has thrown 5 2/3 innings this season, allowing 3 earned runs on four hits and six walks while striking out five. The 27-year-old Illinois native made his ML debut last season for the Rangers, tossing 22 1/3 innings of 4.84 ERA baseball.

Indians Option Ben Gamel, Recall Sam Hentges

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The Indians have optioned outfielder Ben Gamel to Triple-A. Cleveland signed Gamel in early February to be a potential cog in their attempts to piece together replacement-level play in centerfield, but the 29-year-old has struggled at the dish so far this season. Through 11 games, Gamel has hit just .071/.235/.143 across a minimal 17 plate appearances. He has largely served as a late-game replacement in center to starter Amed Rosario.

Without Gamel, the Indians are down to a three-man bench. Jordan Luplow is the only backup in center to Rosario, who himself is learning to play the position for the first time this season. Luplow has limited experience in center, though he has yet to appear there this season.

Southpaw Sam Hentges has been recalled from Cleveland’s alternate site to take Gamel’s roster spot, per MLB.com’s Mandy Bell (via Twitter). The slender 6’6″ lefty will make his Major League debut the first time he gets into a game. When he last saw competitive game action, Hentges tossed 128 2/3 innings in Double-A with a 5.11 ERA. He is the Indians 13th-ranked prospect via Fangraphs, while Baseball America has him as the 23rd-ranked prospect in Cleveland’s system.

Latest On Tyler Flowers, Braves

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There was very little reported interest in free agent Tyler Flowers over the winter. The Mets were linked to the veteran backstop last month, but his market has otherwise been quiet.

David O’Brien of the Athletic sheds some light on the situation, reporting that the 35-year-old has taken a non-playing position with the Braves, integrating analytics into in-game preparation. Flowers, however, has not retired as a player and continues to work out independently in case he decides to return to the field at some point, either in 2021 or in future seasons, O’Brien adds. It’s unclear if the Roswell, Georgia native remains open to all potential playing opportunities, or if his return to an MLB diamond would be contingent on doing so with the Braves. Given that Flowers lives with his wife and kids near the Braves stadium, this feels like a unique opportunity to keep a contingency plan in place for both Flowers and the Braves.

Alex Jackson is the current backup to Travis d’Arnaud, with William Contreras also on the 40-man roster. Veteran defensive specialist Jeff Mathis is also in the organization on the Triple-A roster. Both d’Arnaud and Jackson are off to relatively slow starts at the plate. As recently as last season Flowers made 80 trips to the dish across 22 games, slashing .217/.325/.348 in his fifth season in Atlanta. Flowers is a 12-year veteran who split his career between the Braves and White Sox. He owns a .237/.319/.391 line over 2,776 plate appearances for his career.

Gary Sanchez Leaves Yankees’ Game After Being Struck By Foul Tip

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2:15 pm: Sánchez has been diagnosed with a contusion on his index and middle fingers, but x-rays came back negative (via Hoch). He is currently listed as day-to-day.

2:08 pm: Yankees catcher Gary Sánchez was removed from this afternoon’s game against the Rays before the bottom of the fifth inning, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com was among those to relay (Twitter link). Sánchez was struck in the right hand by a foul tip in the prior inning. While he stayed in the game to take his next plate appearance, Sánchez was replaced by Kyle Higashioka thereafter.

There’s no indication Sánchez’s injury is serious at this point. If it does require he miss time, Higashioka would figure to pick up the bulk of the playing time behind the dish. Those two are the only catchers on the Yankees’ 40-man roster, so another move would be forthcoming if Sánchez isn’t able to make an immediate return to action.

Rob Brantly and Robinson Chirinos are both in the organization on minor-league deals, but the latter remains on the mend from surgery to repair a wrist fracture last month. That seemingly suggests Brantly is next in line should additional catching depth be required in the Bronx.

Mets Activate J.D. Davis From Injured List

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The Mets are reinstating third baseman J.D. Davis from the injured list, Tim Healey of Newsday was among those to note (Twitter link). Infielder José Peraza was optioned to the team’s alternate training site in a corresponding move. Additionally, right-hander Franklyn Kilome has cleared waivers and been sent outright to the alternate site.

Davis returns from a hand injury after the minimum amount of time on the shelf. The 27-year-old figures to resume his role as New York’s top option at the hot corner. Peraza’s contract was selected from the alternate site to add infield depth when Davis went on the shelf, but he’ll ultimately head back without having gotten into a game. Peraza will keep his spot on the 40-man roster, though.

Kilome lost his 40-man spot to accommodate the Mets’ addition of Peraza last week. A former top prospect in the Phillies’ system, Kilome has seen his stock tumble quite a bit in recent years. He’ll remain in the New York organization and hope to pitch his way back onto the roster.

Braves Make Series Of Roster Moves

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The Braves announced a series of roster moves in advance of this afternoon’s game against the Cubs. Atlanta selected the contracts of infielder Sean Kazmar Jr. and left-hander Jesse Biddle, recalled righty Bryse Wilson and placed outfielder Ender Inciarte and southpaw Sean Newcomb on the injured list. Righty Kyle Wright was optioned to the alternate training site last night. (ESPN’s Jeff Passan had previously reported Kazmar’s impending call-up).

Kazmar’s return to the big leagues is nothing short of remarkable. A 36-year-old infielder, his entire MLB experience to date consists of 19 games with the 2008 Padres. Kazmar has since bounced between the San Diego, Seattle, Mets and Atlanta farm systems. He has spent the past eight years in the high minors with the Braves, and his determination to return to the big leagues will now pay off. Andrew Simon of MLB.com provided the starting lineups (via Twitter) of the last MLB game in which Kazmar appeared.

Biddle signed a minor-league deal with Atlanta earlier this month. The 29-year-old southpaw has pitched in the big leagues in each of the past three years, with the bulk of that time coming in 2018 with Atlanta. The former top prospect has a 4.68 ERA with subpar strikeout and walk rates (22.3% and 12.8%, respectively) over 92.1 innings at the highest level. He’ll replace Newcomb, who was placed on the injured list for undisclosed reasons.

Inciarte, meanwhile, went on the 10-day IL as expected. He strained a hamstring in last night’s game. With both Inciarte and Cristian Pache now on the shelf, Atlanta will turn to Guillermo Heredia in center field this afternoon.

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