Marlins Place Brian Anderson On Injured List
The Marlins announced to reporters, including Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald, that Brian Anderson has been placed on the injured list. No designation for Anderson’s placement was given, suggesting he’s likely on the Covid-related injured list. Bryan De La Cruz has been recalled to take his place on the roster.
With no further information coming from the club, it’s unclear if Anderson tested positive or if he’s been placed on the IL due to experiencing symptoms or because of contact tracing. Under the league’s 2022 health-and-safety protocols, players who test positive are subject to a 10-day absence from the club, though it’s possible to be reinstated in less time if the player has gone 24 or more hours without a fever, received a pair of negative PCR tests, and been given approval from a team physician and the MLB/MLBPA joint committee (a panel of one league-appointed and one union-appointed physician). Players who are experiencing symptoms but do not test positive can return in shorter order if their symptoms abate.
Anderson had an excellent three-year run with the Marlins from 2018 to 2020, hitting .266/.350/.436 for a 115 wRC+ in that time. Last year, injuries limited his playing time and his production, as he only got into 67 games and hit just .249/.337/.378, 99 wRC+. This year, however, has been a tremendous bounceback thus far. 20 games into the campaign, he’s walked at an incredible 14.7% rate and produced a batting line of .258/.387/.387, 135 wRC+. That progress will have to be put on hold for the time being.
Although primarily a third baseman in recent years, Anderson is also capable of playing the outfield corners. With the acquisition of Joey Wendle, he’s been spending a bit more time on the grass this year. In his absence, De La Cruz will join an outfield mix that consists of Jorge Soler, Jesus Sanchez and Avisail Garcia. De La Cruz has largely been coming off the bench as a late-game replacement this year but has been making the most of his time. In 25 plate appearances across 16 games, he’s hit .316/.440/.474, 168 wRC+. Despite those excellent numbers, he was optioned to Triple-A yesterday when the club needed a fresh arm for the bullpen. However, players are allowed to return after a stay less than the 10-day minimum option length if they are replacing a player going on the IL, as is the case here.
Giants Promote Sean Hjelle, Activate LaMonte Wade Jr.
The Giants announced a series of roster moves to reporters today, including Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com. Right-hander Sean Hjelle has been recalled from Triple-A Sacramento, while outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. has been activated off the injured list. Sam Long and Mauricio Llovera were both sent to Triple-A to create roster space.
Hjelle was a second round selection of the Giants in the 2018 draft and has been working his way up the minor league ladder since then. His promotion is something of an early birthday present, as he turns 25 years old tomorrow. The 6’11” right-hander was ranked #5 in the club’s system by Baseball America back in 2019, though he has slid a bit in those rankings as he has struggled with higher levels of competition.
In 2019, he reached Double-A for the first time, throwing 25 1/3 innings with a 6.04 ERA. After the minor leagues were canceled in 2020, Hjelle returned to Double-A in 2021 and fared much better, putting up an ERA of 3.15 in 14 starts, along with a 25.2% strikeout rate, 6.9% walk rate and 54.6% ground ball rate. In Triple-A last year, however, his ERA shot up to 5.74. He was still getting grounders at a 54.1% clip, but saw the strikeouts dip down to 14.1% and the walks bump up to 11.7%. This year, he’s made five Triple-A starts and has improved those results somewhat, getting his ERA to 4.37 and his walks down to 5.1%, along with a 54.8% grounder rate. He’s still not racking up Ks though, with a 14.3% rate on the year. Whenever he gets into a game, it will be his major league debut.
Wade is coming off an excellent breakout campaign in 2021, where he hit 18 home runs and slashed .253/.326/.482, 117 wRC+. This year, he’s yet to make his season debut due to inflammation and a bone bruise in his left knee. After a seven-game rehab assignment, he’s now back on the roster and should slot into regular action in the outfield next to Mike Yastrzemski, with Luis Gonzalez, Joc Pederson, Austin Slater, Darin Ruf and Mauricio Dubon also in the mix.
As for Long and Llovera, Guardado’s tweet says that Long was optioned and Llovera was returned to Triple-A. The language different could be significant. Under the 2022 health and safety protocols, the commissioner’s office has the sole discretion to determine whether a team has been sufficiently impacted by COVID to call up “substitute” players. If granted permission, the team can then return those substitutes back to Triple-A (and, if he was not previously on the 40-man, off the roster entirely) without utilizing a minor league option or passing the player through waivers. Llovera was selected to the club’s 40-man roster a week ago amid a run of positive tests among Giants’ players. The fact that he has been “returned” to Triple-A, suggests that he is no longer on the roster. However, Llovera’s transactions tracker at MLB.com says he was optioned, meaning it’s possible he still has that roster spot.
A’s Place Cole Irvin On Injured List
6:35pm: Irvin has shoulder tendinitis, manager Mark Kotsay told reporters (including Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle). Kotsay isn’t ruling out the possibility of Irvin returning when first eligible on May 17.
12:55pm: The Athletics announced this afternoon that starting pitcher Cole Irvin has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 2, due to soreness in his throwing shoulder. Fellow southpaw Zach Logue has been recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas to take his spot on the active roster. Martín Gallegos of MLB.com tweets that Logue is expected to start this evening’s game in Minnesota.
Irvin’s shoulder soreness cropped up between starts during the week. The still-nebulous diagnosis and lack of a timetable provided by the team leave it unclear how long he’ll be sidelined. Irvin will miss at least a couple starts, though, as the return of the 15-day IL for pitchers is now in effect after being suspended for the first month of the season.
Acquired from the Phillies over the 2020-21 offseason for cash considerations, Irvin has stepped directly into the A’s rotation and proven a nice find. He made 32 starts and tossed 178 1/3 innings last year, posting a reasonable 4.24 ERA in spite of a lack of velocity or swing-and-miss stuff. Throughout his minor league career, he’d demonstrated excellent control. That strike-throwing prowess has carried over to the majors, as Irvin walked a meager 5.5% of batters faced. His pitch-to-contact style played better in front of an excellent A’s defense and in Oakland’s cavernous home ballpark than it had in Philadelphia, where he’d gotten terrible results in limited action between 2019-20.
The 28-year-old Irvin got off to another solid beginning this year. Through five starts, he owns a 2.93 ERA in 27 2/3 innings despite a subpar 15.9% strikeout rate. He’s again thrown plenty of strikes and seen an early uptick in ground-balls relative to last year. While he’s sidelined, the A’s will need to plug a rotation spot behind Frankie Montas, James Kaprielian, Daulton Jefferies and Paul Blackburn.
Adam Oller, acquired from the Mets in the Chris Bassitt trade this past offseason, has been the top rotation depth candidate in the early going. He’s not fared well in his first three MLB appearances, though, and he tossed three innings with Las Vegas on Tuesday after being optioned out.
Like Oller, Logue was acquired as part of the A’s Spring Training sell-off. The 26-year-old was one of four players sent from the Jays in the Matt Chapman deal. He made his MLB debut in relief last month but will now get his first big league start. Over four starts with the Aviators, he has a 5.63 ERA in 16 innings.
Twins Activate Alex Kirilloff
The Twins have activated corner outfielder Alex Kirilloff from the 10-day injured list, the team announced. They’ve also confirmed the previously-reported promotion of top prospect Royce Lewis to make his big league debut and recalled rookie right-hander Cole Sands. In corresponding moves, Minnesota placed Dylan Bundy and Luis Arraez on the COVID-19 injured list and optioned left-hander Jovani Moran to Triple-A St. Paul.
Kirilloff has been out of action for around three weeks after experiencing some inflammation in his right wrist. That was a worrisome development considering he’d had a surgery that ended his 2021 season on that joint last July. This latest injury didn’t turn out to be too problematic, however, and Kirilloff figures to step back into the everyday lineup.
A former first-round pick and top hitting prospect, Kirilloff tallied his first 231 big league plate appearances last season. He hit a slightly below-average .251/.299/.423, showcasing an intriguing combination of power and bat-to-ball skills but something of an overaggressive approach at the plate. Kirilloff has always been a bit of a free swinger, but the Twins are no doubt bullish on his ability to overcome a fairly low walk rate based on his excellent track record in the minors. He’s been limited to five games this season, with another recent top prospect Trevor Larnach getting the bulk of the work in left field while he’s been on the shelf.
There’s still a path for Larnach to get playing time at first base or designated hitter — or perhaps to kick Kirilloff to first and keep Larnach in left — with Miguel Sanó suffering a meniscus tear that required surgery. Arraez had been playing a fair bit at first, but he and Bundy tested positive for the virus yesterday. Minnesota had already called up top infield prospect José Miranda when Sanó landed on the IL, and Lewis became the next highly-regarded youngster to join the team.
Lewis’ reported promotion was spurred by fear that Carlos Correa would miss time after injuring his finger in last night’s game. Initial x-rays indicated the star shortstop might’ve suffered a fracture, but further testing today revealed only bruising and inflammation. Correa isn’t going on the injured list at the moment, but he’s not in tonight’s lineup. Lewis gets the nod at shortstop against the A’s.
D-Backs Activate Josh Rojas, Designate Sergio Alcantara
The Diamondbacks announced a handful of roster moves before tonight’s game against the Rockies. Closer Mark Melancon is back from the COVID-19 injured list, while utilityman Josh Rojas has been reinstated from the 10-day IL. To create active roster space, Arizona optioned right-hander Corbin Martin to Triple-A Reno and designated infielder Sergio Alcántara for assignment. The team’s 40-man roster tally remains at 38.
Rojas opened the year on the shelf after suffering an oblique strain in Spring Training. That cost him the first month of the year, a disappointing development after the left-handed hitter showed pretty well last season. Over 550 plate appearances, Rojas hit .264/.341/.411 with 11 home runs and nine stolen bases. He drew walks at a solid 10.5% clip while striking out a hair more often than the average batter.
It was a decent performance for the 27-year-old in his first full MLB season. Acquired from the Astros as part of the four-player return for Zack Greinke, Rojas has overcome a modest 26th-round draft status to develop into a capable hitter. He’s a versatile defender — he suited up at each of second base, third base, shortstop and in both corner outfield spots — but he’s a bat-first player who hasn’t rated particularly well with the glove anywhere on the infield.
Now that he’s back to full strength, Rojas figures to take over as the Snakes’ primary third baseman. Arizona has gotten league-worst production out of the hot corner in the early going, with a group of five players combining for a woeful .160/.209/.247 slash line. The switch-hitting Alcántara has taken 45 of the 88 plate appearances there, but he’s limped to a .189/.200/.321 start overall.
Arizona acquired Alcántara from the Cubs for cash considerations during Spring Training. It was the second stint in the D-Backs organization for the slick-fielding shortstop. Alcántara hasn’t offered much at the plate during his MLB career, however, as he’s coming off a .205/.303/.327 showing in 255 trips for the North Siders. He’s out of minor league option years, so the D-Backs had to designate him for assignment if they’d determined not to continue carrying him on the active roster as he scuffled offensively. They’ll now have a week to trade him or try to to run him through waivers.
Melancon, meanwhile, went on the IL last Friday after contracting the virus. Signed to a two-year deal over the offseason, the veteran closer has collected four saves and tossed eight innings of three-run ball in his new environs. He’ll step back into the ninth inning for skipper Torey Lovullo.
Cardinals Place Adam Wainwright On COVID List
The Cardinals announced this afternoon that starter Adam Wainwright has been placed on the COVID-19 injured list. Steven Matz, who had been on bereavement leave, has been reinstated to take his spot on the active roster.
Wainwright has tested positive for the virus, reports John Denton of MLB.com (Twitter link). The veteran righty took to Twitter to announce that he feels “100% with zero symptoms.” Nevertheless, because he tested positive, he’ll have to go through the standard isolation procedure before he’s cleared to return to the team. Wainwright becomes the second Cardinal in recent days to land on the virus-related IL, joining infielder Edmundo Sosa.
Under the league’s 2022 health-and-safety protocols, players who test positive are subject to a 10-day absence from the club. It’s possible to be reinstated in less time if the player has gone 24 or more hours without a fever, received a pair of negative PCR tests, and been given approval from a team physician and the MLB/MLBPA joint committee (a panel of one league-appointed and one union-appointed physician).
Even in his age-40 season, Wainwright is still a highly valuable contributor for the Cards. He owns a 3.18 ERA over 34 innings, compensating for an early dip in swinging strikes by inducing plenty of ground-balls. St. Louis has an off day on Monday, the day before what would’ve been Wainwright’s next scheduled start. It’s possible they keep their other starters on regular rest and only need to fill in once for Wainwright late next week.
Red Sox Promote Jarren Duran, John Schreiber
4:16pm: In addition to Duran, reliever John Schreiber is being called up to the majors. Hernández and left-hander Rich Hill are going on the COVID list in corresponding moves. Neither Hernández nor Hill has tested positive, Speier tweets, but both are dealing with viral symptoms. Schreiber rejoins the 40-man roster after a brief stint as a COVID substitute earlier in the year.
9:35 AM: While Duran’s promotion may well still mean a substantial reduction in Jackie Bradley Jr.‘s playing time — and perhaps the end of his time in Boston — it appears that the precipitating factor for Duran’s return to the majors is not Bradley’s poor offensive output but Kiké Hernández potentially contracting a COVID infection. Per an updated version of the same story, Speier reports that Hernández’s initial tests have come back negative but he continues to exhibit symptoms indicating a potential infection.
Hernández is expected to remain away from the team until his symptoms abate and the Red Sox medical staff is confident he is not positive for COVID. Players are allowed to be placed onto the COVID-19 IL without a positive test provided they are exhibiting symptoms or have been exposed to the virus. As the COVID-19 IL has no minimum duration, Hernández could return as soon he feels better and is confirmed not to be positive for the virus.
9:23 AM: After failing to keep pace with the Yankees, Rays, and Blue Jays in the first month-plus of the 2022 season, the Red Sox may be preparing to shake things up. Citing unnamed sources, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports that outfielder Jarren Duran will join the big-league club at Fenway Park for tonight’s series-opening game against the White Sox. The corresponding move is not yet known.
It will be the second taste of the majors for Duran, who logged a meager .215/.241/.336 triple-slash in 112 big-league plate appearances in 2021. He’s off to a blistering .370/.460/.574 start in 63 plate appearances at Triple-A Worcester, however, and Sox brass will hope he can provide a boost to an offense that currently ranks 27th (ahead of only Oakland, Kansas City, and Cincinatti) with a team wRC+ of 82.
Even were they to continue rolling out the same lineup, the Boston faithful could probably expect some offensive improvement simply from reversion of the mean. Four Sox regulars — Trevor Story, Alex Verdugo, Kiké Hernández, and Christian Vázquez — have established track records of meaningful production and are not yet old enough for age to explain significant regression. It’s an ill-timed confluence of slumps to be sure, but there’s no reason to expect Alex Cora, Chaim Bloom, and Brian O’Halloran to do anything but watch and wait four those four to break out of their early-season swoons.
Much less likely to continue to see their names on Cora’s lineup cards are first baseman Bobby Dalbec (who faces from pressure from 22-year-old top prospect Triston Casas) and outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr., whose place Duran may well take as soon as tonight. After eight productive years in Boston (including an ALCS MVP performance and a World Series title in 2018), Bradley’s production cratered after signing a two-year, $24MM deal with the Brewers ahead of the 2021 season. He was traded (along with prospects David Hamilton and Alex Binelas) back to Boston for outfielder Hunter Renfroe just ahead of this offseason’s lockout, but his numbers have hardly rebounded. In 508 plate appearances between Milwaukee and Boston, the 32-year-old Bradley has slashed a measly .166/.239/.261, including just a .181/.253/.264 output this year; he’d slashed a much more palatable .239/.321/.412 across the eight seasons prior. These are, of course, hardly the numbers a team with championship aspirations expects from a regular, even one providing consistently high-quality defense in the wacky Fenway Park outfield.
As the corresponding move is not yet known, it’s unclear whether Duran’s call-up spells the end of Bradley’s time in Boston. Should the Sox choose to part ways with the beloved outfielder, they’ll remain on the hook for the roughly $8MM remaining of his $9.5MM 2022 salary, as well as for the entirety of the $8MM buyout of his 2023 mutual option. The team could also choose to send either seldom-used reserve Franchy Cordero (who has an available option) or one of the fourteen pitchers currently on its active roster to the minors. Regardless of what the move spells for Bradley’s future, though, Sox fans can probably expect at least a slight uptick in outfield production — just without a familiar face in the lineup.
Carlos Correa Diagnosed With Bruised Finger, May Avoid Injured List
3:57pm: In excellent news for the Twins, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey revealed to reporters (including Dan Hayes of the Athletic) that the CT scan revealed no fracture in Correa’s hand. He has been diagnosed with a bruise and is day-to-day. Falvey suggested Correa might even avoid the injured list altogether (via Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com), although he’s dealing with continued soreness and inflammation.
The team is still promoting former first overall pick Royce Lewis to make his major league debut, Falvey said (via Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press). Minnesota was planning to promote Lewis in anticipation of an IL stint for Correa. They’ll follow through on the call-up even as Correa remains on the active roster for now.
8:47am: Preliminary X-rays reveal what appears to be a non-displaced fracture in Carlos Correa‘s right middle finger, the Twins announced following the team’s 5-3 loss to the Orioles on Thursday. The star shortstop, who the Twins signed to a shock 3-year, $105.3MM contract this offseason, will undergo a CT scan today to confirm the nature of the injury.
Correa appears to have sustained the injury in the seventh inning while attempting to check his swing against a Bryan Baker change-up. He had also been hit by a pitch in his previous plate appearance (a Spenser Watkins fastball glanced off his left wrist), but the pitch that appears to have caused the injury actually resulted in a ground-out after trickling into fair territory.
If the CT scan confirms the initial diagnosis, Correa shouldn’t require surgery, though it isn’t yet clear how much time he’ll miss. Utility-man Nick Gordon took over for Correa following the injury, but manager Rocco Baldelli (or, while Baldelli is away from the team after testing positive for COVID, bench coach Jayce Tingler) could also turn to Jorge Polanco, which would likely place Luis Arraez in an everyday role at second base. Third baseman Gio Urshela has also logged some time at short in his big-league career, though it’s unlikely he’d be considered more than a short-term option.
Should Correa miss any significant time, the Twins could also turn to top prospect (and top overall pick in the 2017 draft) Royce Lewis, who’s off to a blistering .310/.427/.560 start at Triple-A St. Paul across 103 plate appearances to open the season. The club may not wish to rush Lewis, though, particularly given that until April he hadn’t seen game action — or played above Double-A — since 2019 after tearing his ACL ahead of the 2021 season.
While the Twins will obviously hope to have Correa back as quickly as possible, he has gotten off to something of a slow start in his new uniform. Even after roaring out of the gate in May (1.036 OPS in a four-game sample), Correa’s 2022 .264/.323/.385 batting line falls well short of his career triple-slash of .276/.355/.478, particularly in the power department. Given the likelihood that he’ll opt out of the final two years of his deal at the end of the season (even after signaling that he’s open to a long-term deal in the Twin Cities), the first-place Twins will hope to see him return to the field — and revert to form — sooner than later.
Brewers Option Keston Hiura, Select Luis Perdomo
The Brewers announced they’ve optioned infielder Keston Hiura to Triple-A Nashville. Right-hander Luis Perdomo was selected onto the major league roster in a corresponding move. Milwaukee already had a pair of vacancies on the 40-man roster, which sits at 39 after Perdomo’s addition.
It’s another setback for Hiura, who has run into a series of struggles over the past couple years. Selected ninth overall in the 2017 draft, Hiura was regarded as a bat-first second baseman who could move quickly through the minor leagues. That proved to be the case, as he’d reached the majors by the middle of the 2019 season. The UC-Irvine product was excellent as a rookie, posting a .303/.368/.570 line with 19 home runs over his first 84 MLB games.
That was stellar production that seemed to cement Hiura’s status as the second baseman of the future, but it came with a surprisingly high 30.7% strikeout rate. Swing-and-miss hadn’t really been a concern for the right-handed hitter either in college or during his first season and a half in the minors, but the punchouts began to mount when he first reached Triple-A in 2019. Hiura showed as a rookie he could still be productive while fanning in three of every ten trips to the dish, but those concerns have become even more pronounced since that season.
Hiura played in 59 of the Brew Crew’s 60 games in 2020, but he hit only .212/.297/.410 with a 34.6% strikeout rate. Milwaukee signed Kolten Wong to take the primary second base job in 2021, leaving Hiura to split time between the keystone and first base. He bounced up and down from Nashville a few times while posting a .168/.256/.301 line and going down on strikes in just under 40% of his plate appearances.
In an effort to curb the swing-and-miss issues, Hiura set out to simplify his swing mechanics this past offseason. That hasn’t yet paid off; he has struck out in 20 of his first 42 trips on the season, and his 58.8% rate of contact on swings isn’t too dissimilar from his 2020-21 marks. Hiura hasn’t had a ton of playing time behind Wong and first baseman Rowdy Tellez, who is off to a scorching start to the season. The Brewers will send him back to Nashville — where he had strong results despite a lot of strikeouts last year — for more regular playing time.
Still yet to turn 26, Hiura has a bit of time to figure things out. His service clock could begin to force the issue after this season, though. Hiura entered the year with two years and 30 days of MLB service. Players are credited with a full year for spending 172 days on an MLB roster or injured list, meaning he needs 142 days in the bigs this year to keep his trajectory towards free agency after the 2025 season. There’s also a possibility of Hiura reaching arbitration eligibility as a Super Two qualifier but falling short of the three-year mark depending on how much time he spends in the minors.
Of course, the service time component is only relevant for Milwaukee if Hiura proves worthy of a long-term roster spot. He has one minor league option year remaining. If he spends 20+ days in the minors this season, he’ll exhaust that final option in 2022. That’d mean Milwaukee has to carry Hiura on the active roster out of camp next year if they don’t want to make him available to other teams. Much of how the Brewers proceed will no doubt be determined by whether he gets the strikeouts under control over the next few months.
As for Perdomo, he makes his return to the majors after missing all of last year recovering from Tommy John surgery. A former Rule 5 pick of the Padres, the righty intermittently flashed upside revolving around a mid-90s sinker that regularly induced huge ground-ball totals. Perdomo never missed many bats and occasionally battled control issues, though, and he posted an ERA of 4.00 or higher in all five of his seasons in San Diego.
After Perdomo went under the knife in October 2020, the Friars released him. Milwaukee signed him to a two-year minor-league contract with an eye towards 2022, and he’s earned his way back with a very nice start in Nashville. The 28-year-old (29 next week) has allowed just three runs in 12 innings with the Sounds. He’s fanned 13 and only walked a pair, and he has racked up grounders at a massive 71% clip early in the year. He’ll add a grounder-oriented, multi-inning relief option for manager Craig Counsell — a role that was filled by José Ureña until the latter was designated for assignment on Monday.
Reds Designate Buck Farmer For Assignment
The Reds announced a series of transactions this afternoon. Robert Dugger, recently claimed off waivers from the Rays, has reported to the team and joined the active roster. Reliever Buck Farmer has been designated for assignment to open space. Cincinnati also activated outfielder Tyler Naquin from the COVID-19 injured list and returned “substitute player” Ronnie Dawson to Triple-A Louisville.
Cincinnati signed Farmer to a minor league deal over the offseason, and he made the Opening Day roster. The veteran righty has worked 12 innings over ten appearances, allowing ten runs (nine earned) on 15 hits and seven walks. Farmer has struck out a solid 17 batters with a personal-best 13.2% swinging strike rate, but the Reds have elected to go in a different direction based on the poor results.
Before this season, the 31-year-old Farmer had spent his entire career with the Tigers. He often soaked up multiple innings out of the bullpen and posted a sub-4.00 ERA in both seasons from 2019-20, but his final year in Detroit was disappointing. Farmer posted a 6.37 ERA in 35 1/3 innings last year, walking 12.3% of opponents in the process.
The Reds have a week to trade Farmer or place him on waivers. The latter seems likelier given his rough start to the season. He has more than five years of MLB service, meaning he can refuse an outright assignment in favor of free agency while still collecting his $850K salary. In any event, it seems Farmer’s time in the Cincinnati organization is coming to a close.
Dawson’s return to Louisville removes him from the 40-man roster after one appearance. He was selected as a designated COVID replacement when Naquin hit the injured list (alongside Nick Senzel) on Wednesday. Now that Naquin has been cleared to return, Dawson heads back to the minors. Albert Almora Jr. was selected as a substitute at the same time and remains on the MLB roster with Senzel still out of action.