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Athletics Designate Ka’ai Tom For Assignment

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April 20: The A’s have formally announced Tom’s DFA. The move clears roster space for Stephen Piscotty to be reinstated from the paternity list. Oakland also announced that lefty Reymin Guduan has been reinstated from the 10-day IL and will serve as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader against the Twins.

April 19: The Athletics have designated outfielder Ka’ai Tom for assignment, per the MLB transactions page (h/t: Martin Gallegos of MLB.com). Tom was a Rule 5 pick from Cleveland, and he’ll be offered back to the Indians if he clears waivers.

The 26-year-old Tom earned a roster spot in Oakland thanks to a strong spring, during which he slashed .310/.412/.552 with four extra-base hits (two doubles, a home run and a triple) in 34 plate appearances. But Tom was unable to carry that performance into the regular season, as he collected just one hit (a single) and six strikeouts in 16 PA before the A’s designated him.

Tom hasn’t produced in the majors yet, but he has done well in the minors since the Indians used a fifth-round pick on him in 2015. During the most recent minors season in 2019, Tom put together a .290/.380/.532 line with 23 homers in 554 plate trips between the Double-A and Triple-A levels.

Braves, Jesse Chavez Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Braves have agreed to a minor league deal with free-agent righty Jesse Chavez, as first noted on the transactions log on at Braves.com. Presumably, he’ll head to their alternate site once he clears intake testing.

Chavez, 37, spent Spring Training with the Angels, who cut him loose late in Spring Training rather than pay him a $100K retention bonus (as would’ve been his right as a six-year veteran who qualified as an Article XXB free agent). Chavez struggled through 4 1/3 innings with the Halos during Cactus League play, yielding seven runs on nine hits and three walks with just a pair of strikeouts (25 batters faced).

Chavez had a solid run with the Rangers and Cubs from 2018-19, pitching to a combined 3.58 ERA with a 23 percent strikeout rate and an excellent 5.5 percent walk rate through 173 1/3 innings (101 relief appearances, nine starts). But the wheels came off for the veteran righty last summer in the second season of a two-year deal with Texas, as he was clobbered for a 6.88 ERA in 17 innings of work.

This will be the second stint with the Braves for Chavez, who tossed 36 2/3 innings for Atlanta more than a decade ago in 2010. The results weren’t pretty at the time, but Chavez broke out not long after and solidified himself as a solid swingman over a seven-year stretch during which he pitched for six different teams. All told, he carries a career 4.52 ERA, a 20.8 percent strikeout rate, a 7.4 percent walk rate and a 41.6 percent ground-ball rate through 933 innings spread across 13 seasons and nine different big league clubs.

The Braves currently have five pitchers — Mike Soroka, Max Fried, Drew Smyly, Touki Toussaint and Sean Newcomb — on the injured list. Bringing Chavez into the mix afford them some veteran depth both in the bullpen and the rotation, though it’s been more than three weeks since the Angels cut him loose, so he may need some time to ramp up before he’s even considered for a look with the big league club.

Mariners Activate Kyle Lewis From Injured List

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April 20: The Mariners announced that Lewis has been reinstated from the injured list. Braden Bishop was optioned to their alternate site in a corresponding move.

April 19: The Mariners will activate center fielder Kyle Lewis from the 10-day injured list prior to their game against the Dodgers on Tuesday, manager Scott Servais told Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times and other reporters.

Lewis hasn’t made his 2021 debut yet as a result of a deep bone bruise he suffered in his right knee toward the end of spring training. The injury has so far prevented Lewis from building on a terrific 2020 season in which he won American League Rookie of the Year honors. Lewis took home the award after slashing .262/.364/.437 (126 wRC+) with 11 home runs in 242 plate appearances and succeeding on five of his six stolen base attempts. He was also quite durable last year, missing just two of the Mariners’ 60 games.

Even without Lewis, the Mariners have come racing out of the gates this year with the AL West’s leading record (10-6). They’ve done so in spite of below-average offensive production from Taylor Trammell, who has filled in for Lewis in center. Trammell has hit .152/.278/.304 (77 wRC+) with 23 strikeouts in 54 trips to the plate. Trammell has swung a better bat since a rough 1-for-13 start to the season and is regarded as one of the club’s top prospects, however, so he could still factor into the equation in left field even with Lewis back in the fold.

AL Notes: Yankees, Rendon, Mondesi, Rays

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The Yankees were supposed to be one of baseball’s premier teams this year, but they haven’t looked the part so far. The club is currently in a tailspin, having lost five in a row to fall to an American League-worst 5-10. Nevertheless, general manager Brian Cashman isn’t panicking. The longtime executive gave votes of confidence to the Yankees’ roster and manager Aaron Boone on Monday, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. Cashman indicated the Yankees aren’t going to make any knee-jerk decisions with their roster or in their dugout as a result of their poor start. “That’s the message to our players: ‘We do believe in you,” he said. “We know what you’re capable of. This is a bad stretch, and we’re going to get through this together.” Cashman did admit that owner Hal Steinbrenner is “disappointed” with how the team has performed, but it doesn’t seem as if that will lead to any kind of drastic changes. “I’ve got a lot of trust in the people we have,” Cashman declared.

  • Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon began baseball activities Monday, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. Rendon landed on the 10-day injured list April 12 (retroactive to April 11) with a left groin strain, though he won’t return when he’s first eligible on Wednesday. The Angels have used Jose Rojas, Jack Mayfield and Luis Rengifo at third over the past week, but all three have failed to produce. Rojas, who leads the Angels in playing time at the hot corner since Rendon went down, has gotten one hit in 19 plate appearances. Mayfield and Rengifo are a combined 1-for-8.
  • Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi has already missed three weeks with a right oblique strain, and a return doesn’t appear imminent. Manager Mike Matheny said Monday that Mondesi is “doing limited control movement” and hasn’t begun taking swings since he went on the IL on March 30. The Royals have gotten off to a surprising 9-5 start without Mondesi, in part because fill-in Nicky Lopez has put up respectable production in his stead, but they surely want last year’s stolen base champ back sooner than later.
  • The Rays placed left-hander Ryan Sherriff on the restricted list April 3 when he decided to take time off from the game, but he has returned to the organization, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Sherriff will head to minor league camp in order to get himself back into pitching shape. The 30-year-old has only thrown one-third of an inning for the Rays this season, but he held opposing offenses scoreless over 9 2/3 innings in 2020. Sherriff added another two scoreless frames against the Dodgers in a pair of World Series appearances.

Commenter Mute Button Now Available

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Twins To Resume Play Tuesday

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APRIL 19, 8:54pm: The A’s announced that they’ll play a doubleheader against the Twins on Tuesday.

7:56pm: The Twins’ latest tests came back negative, tweets Rosenthal, who adds that they’re on track to resume play Tuesday.

APRIL 18, 7:34PM: The Twins’ latest round of COVID-19 testing came back negative, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (via Twitter).  If tomorrow’s tests are also negative, the team will depart for Oakland with the intention of playing the Tuesday doubleheader.

1:37PM: Major League Baseball has confirmed the postponement of tomorrow’s game. A Tuesday doubleheader has been tentatively scheduled.

1:29PM: Athletics manager Bob Melvin told reporters this afternoon it is his understanding tomorrow’s game between the Twins and Athletics will be postponed (via Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press). The hope is the two teams will be able to return to action on Tuesday, with a doubleheader to make up Monday’s game a possibility.

The Twins’ past two games against the Angels were postponed due to the spread of a COVID-19 variant among the Minnesota clubhouse. To date, three Minnesota players (including Andrelton Simmons and Kyle Garlick) and a staff member have tested positive. The Twins are continuing to monitor for further viral spread.

Minnesota and Oakland were originally scheduled for a three-game series from April 19-21. Both teams have a scheduled off day on Thursday.

MLBTR Poll: Boston’s Hot Start

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After ending the shortened 2020 season with a 24-36 record and a last-place finish in the American League East, the Red Sox were not a popular playoff pick entering the current campaign. Sure, the team reunited with World Series-winning manager Alex Cora, but its offseason was otherwise a fairly low-key one. The big-market Red Sox’s largest free-agent guarantee went to utility player Enrique Hernandez, who signed a two-year, $14MM guarantee, and they didn’t make any blockbuster acquisitions on the trade market. They also knew they would spend a sizable chunk of 2021 without left-handed ace Chris Sale, who isn’t quite 13 full months removed from Tommy John surgery.

With a forgettable 2020 and an understated winter in their rear-view mirror, the Red Sox began this season poorly with a three-game sweep at the hands of the lowly Orioles. At that very early point, it looked as if Boston might be in for another lean year, though the team has since done a 180. The Red Sox climbed out of their hole with a stunning nine straight victories, and while they have lost three of five since then, they’re still an impressive 11-6, atop the American League and 2 1/2 games up in the AL East. They earned their latest victory Monday in an 11-4 drubbing of the White Sox and ace Lucas Giolito, whom they chased in the second inning after pummeling him for eight runs over one-plus frame.

The Red Sox have been a well-rounded outfit during their sizzling start, as their offense and pitching have combined to give the club the AL’s top run differential (plus-28). As of this writing, the Red Sox are second in the majors in wRC+ and third in runs scored, owing largely to their three best hitters (J.D. Martinez, Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts) and solid complementary performances from Alex Verdugo, Christian Vazquez and Christian Arroyo. Meanwhile, Nathan Eovaldi has carried their Sale-less rotation, and their bullpen has received great work from the likes of Matt Barnes, Matt Andriese, Phillips Valdez and Rule 5 pick Garrett Whitlock, among others. Between its starters and relievers, Boston owns a respectable 3.70 ERA/3.89 SIERA.

The rest of the AL East hasn’t looked nearly as sharp as the Red Sox to this point. The Rays, the defending division champions and pennant winners, are in second at 8-8. The injury-riddled Blue Jays are 7-9, as are the Orioles, though Toronto is far more likely than Baltimore to threaten Boston over a 162-game schedule. And then there’s the last-place Yankees, who have done seemingly nothing right during a surprising 5-10 start.

In most cases, it’s much too soon to crown a club or write one off, but the Red Sox have looked like the class of their division thus far. Do you think they’re good enough to hang in the AL race the rest of the way?

(Poll link for app users)

Phillies Place 3 On Injured List

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5:13pm: No Phillies players are known to have tested positive for COVID, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.

3:27pm: The Phillies announced that they have placed a pair of left-handers – Jose Alvarado and Matt Moore – as well as infielder Ronald Torreyes on the COVID-19 injured list for undisclosed reasons. The club recalled lefties Damon Jones and Cristopher Sanchez to fill in for Alvarado and Moore, while infielder Nick Maton is up for Torreyes. It’s unknown how much time Alvarado, Moore and Torreyes will miss.

Alvarado, an offseason pickup from Tampa Bay, has been a key part of the Phillies’ bullpen so far. Through 5 2/3 innings, the 25-year-old has averaged a career-high 99.5 mph on his fastball and held hitters to one run on four hits and two walks, also adding 10 strikeouts.

Moore hasn’t fared nearly as well as Alvarez. The 31-year-old returned from a one-year stint in Japan in free agency on a $3MM guarantee, and while he did claim a spot in the Phillies’ rotation, his first three starts have been a disaster. Eleven innings into his season, Moore has yielded 12 earned runs on 17 hits, including four homers, and 12 walks (15 strikeouts).

Torreyes has garnered the least playing time of the three, having appeared in three games and totaled five plate appearances so far.

In other Phillies news, the team announced that first base coach Paco Figueroa and and coaching assistant Bobby Meacham have entered COVID protocols. Infield coach Juan Castro will take over for Figueroa during his absence, while Triple-A LeHigh Valley manager Gary Jones will handle third base duties. Meacham had been filling in since third base coach Dusty Wathan went into COVID protocols last week.

Giants Select Trevor Gott

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The Giants have selected the contract of right-hander Trevor Gott, Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group was among those to report. The club also recalled left-hander Sam Selman and optioned outfielder Steven Duggar and catcher Chadwick Tromp. With hurlers Jake McGee and Logan Webb on the COVID list, the Giants won’t have to make a corresponding 40-man move to clear room for Gott.

Gott and Selman will give the Giants’ bullpen a pair of fresh arms after their relievers totaled 11 2/3 innings over the weekend in the team’s three-game series against the Marlins. The 28-year-old Gott was a regular in San Francisco’s bullpen in each of the previous two seasons, but the club designated him for assignment in February and then retained him after he cleared waivers.

In 2019, his first season with the Giants, Gott threw 52 2/3 innings of 4.44 ERA ball, but he finished with a more palatable 3.73 SIERA and posted above-average strikeout and walk percentages of 26.6 and 7.9, respectively. Gott wasn’t able to build on the positives last season, though, as he yielded 13 earned runs on 13 hits (including seven homers) across 11 2/3 frames. He also ended the year with as many walks as strikeouts (eight).

Starling Marte Suffers Fractured Rib

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APRIL 19: Marte suffered a non-displaced fracture in the 12th rib on his left side, the Marlins announced. He’ll go five to seven days without baseball activities, and then the Marlins will re-evaluate him. In the meantime, he’ll head to the IL.

APRIL 18: Marlins outfielder Starling Marte left today’s game in the middle of a ninth-inning plate appearance due to what appeared to be an injury to his side or oblique area.  After the first two pitches of the at-bat, Marte grabbed at his side, and was taken out of the game after being observed by manager Don Mattingly and a team trainer.

Speaking to The Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson and other reporters after the game, Mattingly said that Marte wanted to keep playing, but the skipper opted to be cautious.

“He’s a big part of what we do.  He’s that cog in the offense, defense, on the bases….That’s the reason to pull him out of the game,” Mattingly said.  “You don’t want to lose this guy for six weeks.  It could be a couple weeks.  It could be 10 days.  It could be five days.  We want it to be the minimum.”

While Marte will undergo further testing to determine the extent of the injury, Mattingly comments seem to indicate that the center fielder will miss at least some time, and likely make a trip to the 10-day injured list.  If the injury is indeed oblique-related, it would be the third such injury of Marte’s career, though the first two IL stints (in 2012 and 2018) didn’t keep Marte out of action for too long.

Nonetheless, any setback is an unfortunate interruption to Marte’s superb start, as he had a .310/.414/.483 slash line and two home runs over his first 70 PA of the season.  Magneuris Sierra is the most probable candidate to step into center field duty if Marte does have to miss an extended amount of time, and Miami could also call up Lewis Brinson or Monte Harrison from the alternate training site.

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