Twins Select Brandon Waddell, Place Brent Rooker On Injured List
The Twins will place outfielder/first baseman Brent Rooker on the 10-day injured list with a cervical strain in his neck and select the contract of left-hander Brandon Waddell from their alternate training site today, the club announced. Hard-throwing young righty Edwar Colina was transferred from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Waddell. Colina is dealing with inflammation in his right elbow.
Rooker, 26, was the No. 35 overall pick back in the 2017 draft and has had some rough luck early in his big league career. He burst onto the scene with a .316/.381/.579 slash through seven games last summer before sustaining a fractured forearm when he was hit by a pitch. That injury ended his season, and Rooker will now head back to the injured list after just appearing in just three games in 2021.
Rooker is a bat-first prospect who isn’t likely viewed as the team’s long-term answer in left field, but his power bat is still expected to get a legitimate audition when he’s healthy. He can shift between first, left field and DH, and given that his most recent minor league work in 2019 produced a .282/.399/.530 batting line in 67 games between Double-A and Triple-A, it’s not hard to see why the organization is bullish on him. The Twins did not give an immediate indication as to how long the new injury is expected to sideline Rooker.
As for the 26-year-old Waddell, an eventual big league audition with the Twins appeared likely after the former Pirates farmhand turned heads in Spring Training. Waddell yielded five runs in 9 1/3 innings, but he also struck out 15 of the 36 hitters he faced (41.7 percent) and showed what the Twins felt was a demonstrably improved arsenal. Minnesota claimed him off waivers from Pittsburgh at the end of the 2020 season and managed to sneak Waddell through waivers in late February, but his absence from the 40-man roster proved brief.
Waddell has a pair of minor league options remaining, so the Twins will be able to send him down to their alternate site in St. Paul without exposing him to waivers for a second time. For now, he’ll join Taylor Rogers and Caleb Thielbar as a third lefty in manager Rocco Baldelli’s bullpen.
Blue Jays Sign GM Ross Atkins To Five-Year Extension
9:32am: Atkins’ contract begins at the end of this season, so it covers the 2022-26 campaigns, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet tweets. He’s now signed one year longer than Shapiro.
8:37am: The Blue Jays announced Wednesday that they’ve signed general manager Ross Atkins to a five-year extension. The exact length of Atkins’ prior contract wasn’t publicly known, though he last inked an extension in June 2019. This new five-year pact lends some clarity to his contractual status and cements that Atkins and president Mark Shapiro, who was extended through the 2025 season earlier this year, will continue to head up Blue Jays operations for the foreseeable future.
Originally hired as the team’s general manager in Dec. 2015, Atkins has spent the past five years heading up Toronto’s baseball operations department. There were some lean years for the Jays from 2017-19 as Atkins, Shapiro and their front office team turned over the farm system and worked to compile a core upon which they could build. The Jays currently have the game’s third-best farm system, according to both Baseball America and The Athletic. The fruits of those efforts to restock the farm already began to manifest in 2020, when the Jays nabbed a playoff spot in last year’s expanded field.
With the likes of Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Cavan Biggio, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Teoscar Hernandez all coming together at the big league level, the Jays began supplementing that core on the free-agent market heading into the 2020 season. Hyun Jin Ryu inked a four-year, $80MM deal to head up a rotation that had vaunted pitching prospect Nate Pearson on the horizon, and the Jays made a larger splash this past offseason when they inked George Springer to the largest deal in franchise history: a six-year, $150MM contract.
Some of the current roster — Guerrero, Rowdy Tellez, Danny Jansen — was acquired prior to the hiring of Atkins. As is the case with most front-office shuffles, there’s some groundwork laid by the prior group that continues to shape the long-term direction of the club and some continuity from regime to regime. Tony LaCava, for instance, was an assistant GM under Alex Anthopoulos and still holds a key position (senior vice president of player personnel) in the current group.
[Related — GM Trade History: Blue Jays’ Ross Atkins]
Acquiring Hernandez from the Astros in exchange for Francisco Liriano is likely the most notable success on the trade market under Atkins, while key international signings like Gurriel and Alejandro Kirk have begun to provide value at the MLB level as well. Time will tell whether the investment in Springer proves fruitful, but the Ryu investment has paid off so far and it’s hard to fault a one-year pact for a player of Marcus Semien‘s caliber. There have certainly been missteps along the way — the Randal Grichuk trade worked out nicely; his extension did not — but Atkins has clearly commanded the confidence of ownership and is now being rewarded with a lengthy extension for his efforts.
For all of the Jays’ recent spending, the affordable nature of their young core gives them the flexibility to continue being aggressive on the market next winter. There was a clear stopping point this winter, as the Jays cooled their spending despite some a relatively questionable rotation composition. But the Jays only have about $65MM committed to the 2022 roster at present, and the only sizable arbitration raises on the docket figure to be Hernandez (who’ll get a bump from this year’s $4.325MM salary) and Guerrero (who’ll be arb-eligible for the first time).
The Blue Jays aren’t considered division favorites in 2021, but they have one of the game’s top farm systems, a promising core of controllable young big leaguers upon which to build, and considerable payroll flexibility heading into a historically strong class of free agents next winter. The future looks bright.
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Minor MLB Transactions: 4/6/21
Tuesday’s minor moves:
- The Tigers outrighted Christin Stewart to their alternate site after he cleared waivers, per a team announcement. The club designated the 27-year-old outfielder for assignment last week. Stewart appeared in the majors in each of the previous three seasons, during which he combined for a .225/.300/.376 line with 15 home runs in 587 plate appearances.
- The Royals designated catcher Meibrys Viloria and righty Scott Blewett last week, but it appears both players will stay in the organization. They announced that Viloria will head to Double-A, while Blewett will go to their alternate site. The 24-year-old Viloria batted .215/.266/.287 with one homer in 201 trips to the plate with the Royals from 2019-20. Blewett, also 24, was a second-round pick of the Royals in 2014 who made a two-appearance, three-inning major league debut a season ago. He put up a disastrous 8.52 ERA with 56 strikeouts and 46 walks in 81 1/3 Triple-A frames in 2019.
East Notes: Springer, Phillies, E-Rod, Marlins
Here’s the latest from the majors’ East divisions:
- Blue Jays center fielder George Springer took live batting practice Tuesday and seems to be on track to make his season debut Thursday, Scott Mitchell of TSN tweets. The Jays signed the former Astros star to a six-year, $150MM contract in the offseason, but they have been without Springer so far because of a Grade 2 oblique strain. Toronto nonetheless entered Tuesday with a 3-1 record, though, and has received tremendous production from center field fill-in Randal Grichuk in the early going.
- The Phillies re-signed Didi Gregorius to a two-year, $28MM contract in free agency, but he wasn’t the team’s preferred option at the position. Rather, the Phillies were hoping to sign Andrelton Simmons, and they believed in January that they had a legitimate chance to bring him aboard, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. Simmons wound up signing a one-year, $10.5MM pact with the Twins late that month – just a few days before Gregorius agreed to remain in Philadelphia. While Gregorius is the more threatening hitter, the Phillies were interested in switching to Simmons because he’s the better defender, according to Rosenthal.
- Red Sox left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez will make his first start since 2019 on Thursday in a matchup against Baltimore, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com writes. Elbow inflammation forced Rodriguez to the injured list to begin this season, which was especially disappointing after he missed all of last year because of issues relating to COVID-19 and myocarditis. Fortunately, it looks as if Rodriguez dodged a significant injury. This will be an important season for Rodriguez, 27, as he’s due to become a free agent next winter. During his most recent action, he posted a 3.81 ERA with a solid 24.8 percent strikeout rate in 203 1/3 innings.
- Marlins righty Elieser Hernandez will undergo an MRI on Tuesday evening, manager Don Mattingly said (via Christina De Nicola of MLB.com). It seems to be a precautionary measure on the Marlins’ part, as Mattingly suggested Hernandez is making progress since he went on the IL on Monday with right biceps inflammation. Hernandez performed brilliantly during an abbreviated 2020, helping the Marlins to the playoffs with a 3.16 ERA/3.17 SIERA and elite strikeout (32.1) and walk (4.7) percentages across 25 2/3 frames, but had a more difficult time in his first start of this year last Saturday. In a win over the Rays, Hernandez gave up two earned runs in 2 1/3 innings before exiting.
Padres Place Fernando Tatis Jr. On 10-Day IL
Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. exited their game against the Giants on Monday with what looked like a potentially disastrous left shoulder injury. The Padres found out Tuesday that Tatis suffered a “slight labrum tear” that will require a stint on the 10-day injured list, general manager A.J. Preller announced, though the results of his MRI were “pretty positive,” per Scott Miller of Bleacher Report. The Padres are recalling infielder/outfielder Brian O’Grady to fill Tatis’ roster spot.
It’s still not known how long Tatis will sit out, but the Padres don’t anticipate that he will need surgery. Preller told Bob Nightengale of USA Today and other reporters that there wouldn’t be any long-term risk in letting Tatis play again this year, and the Padres are hopeful he could return from the IL as soon as he’s eligible.
All things considered, it’s very encouraging news for the Padres, who signed Tatis to a 14-year, $340MM contract extension before the season. The 22-year-old burst on the scene with an outstanding performance from 2019-20, and though the Padres will miss him for as long as he’s out, they remain a highly talented team with an interesting shortstop substitute on hand. The team signed former Korea Baseball Organization Ha-Seong Kim to a four-year, $28MM deal in free agency, and he’ll start in Tatis’ place Tuesday.
Fernando Tatis Jr. Being Evaluated Following Shoulder Injury
April 6, 6:04pm: The Padres are “cautiously optimistic” about Tatis right now, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. It’s still not clear how much time he will miss, though.
7:15am: The Padres’ initial diagnosis is a left shoulder subluxation, per a team announcement. Tatis will be further evaluated today.
April 5: Padres superstar shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. departed their game Monday against the Giants with an apparent left elbow injury, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com was among those to report. Tatis struck out in an at-bat against Giants right-hander Anthony DeSclafani and then went down “crumpled in a heap,” per Cassavell. Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area provided video on Twitter.
A serious injury to Tatis would not only be a massive loss for the Padres, who have World Series hopes this year, but the game of baseball as a whole. The 22-year-old was one of the most ballyhooed prospects in the sport before he reached the majors, and he has more than lived up to that status so far in the bigs. Dating back to his 2019 debut, Tatis has slashed .298/.372/.577 (148 wRC+) with 40 home runs, 27 stolen bases and 6.5 fWAR in just 147 games and 648 plate appearances. He’s among the main reasons the Padres look like an elite team on paper, not to mention one of baseball’s greatest talents.
Tatis has been so productive during his short career that the Padres signed him to a jaw-dropping 14-year, $340MM extension near the end of February. The Padres obviously did so with confidence that Tatis would stay healthy, but now they may be dealing with a disastrous scenario just a few games into his contract.
Yankees Acquire Rougned Odor
4:58pm: The Yankees will pay Odor the prorated minimum this year ($570,500) and next, but that money will not count against their luxury tax bill, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.
2:32pm: The teams have announced the trade. The Rangers acquired outfielders Josh Stowers and Antonio Cabello in return for Odor and cash. Notably, Texas announced Cabello as a catcher/outfielder, though he’s played exclusively the outfield in his minor league career to date. Kiley McDaniel of ESPN ranked Cabello as the Yankees’ 18th-best prospect, tweeting that he has the necessary tools for both center field and catcher. Cabello, whom the Yankees signed out of Venezuela for $1.4MM in 2017, hasn’t climbed above rookie ball yet, though he’s still just 20 years old. He owns a .251/.344/.409 line with eight home runs in 443 professional plate appearances.
Stowers, 24, has now been part of two trades during his career. He was originally a second-round pick of the Mariners in 2018, but they dealt him to the Yankees as part of a three-team deal that also included the Reds and centered on righty Sonny Gray. Stowers slashed an impressive .273/.386/.400 with seven homers and 35 steals in Single-A ball in 2019, his lone season in the New York organization. However, FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen wrote over the winter that he doesn’t expect Stowers to max out as more than a fourth outfielder in the bigs.
1:22pm: The Yankees are sending a pair of prospects to the Rangers in the deal, tweets Sherman.
1:05pm: The Yankees and Rangers are finalizing a trade that will second second baseman Rougned Odor to New York, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan (via Twitter). The Rangers designated Odor, who has two years and $27MM remaining on his contract, for assignment prior to Opening Day. Given that substantial commitment and the Yankees’ general aversion to paying the luxury tax, the Rangers are surely offsetting the majority of Odor’s contract in some capacity. Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the two sides have agreed to a deal.
It’s a bit surprising to see the Yankees taking on Odor, although it’s hard to imagine a park better suited for the 27-year-old lefty hitter’s pull-happy approach than Yankee Stadium. Odor’s strikeout rates have climbed continually since he signed an ill-fated six-year, $49.5MM extension with the Rangers, and generally been a poor all-around performer due to significant on-base deficiencies.
However, Odor’s power has never really been in question. He has three 30-homer seasons in the past five years and swatted 10 long balls in just 148 plate appearances last year. The trade-off for that pop has been a strikeout rate that has soared north of 31 percent in the past two seasons and an overall .215/.279/.418 batting line through 1915 plate appearances dating back to 2017.
Odor figures to join a Yankees bench that currently features catcher Kyle Higashioka, outfielder Mike Tauchman, outfielder Brett Gardner and infielder Tyler Wade. The only one of the bunch who has a minor league option remaining is Wade, and given that he’s also the only infielder of that group, it seems likely that he’ll be bumped to accommodate Odor’s acquisition. That would make Gio Urshela the primary backup to Gleyber Torres at shortstop, with Odor likely handling third base should Urshela be pressed into action at short for any reason.
Yankees Designate Thairo Estrada For Assignment
The Yankees announced that they have designated infielder Thairo Estrada for assignment and optioned right-hander Michael King to their alternate site. They made those moves to clear space for newly acquired infielder Rougned Odor.
This could bring an end to a long run in the Yankees organization for Estrada, who first joined the club as an international free agent from Venezuela in 2012. Estrada eventually became a prospect of note with the Yankees, topping out as Baseball America’s No. 8 farmhand for the team in 2018, but he hasn’t been a particularly productive hitter during his time in the pros. The 25-year-old has put together a .280/.337/.389 line with 26 home runs and 52 steals on 81 attempts in 1,949 plate appearances in the minors, and he batted .214/.267/.348 over 121 PA as a Yankee from 2019-20. Still, with another minor league option remaining, it’s not that far-fetched to think another team could take a chance on him in the next week.
King could return to the Yankees’ pitching staff sometime soon. However, after he threw six shutout innings in relief against the Blue Jays on Sunday, it was logical for the Yankees to send him down on at least a temporary basis and use fresher arms in the meantime.
Diamondbacks Place Joakim Soria On 10-Day Injured List
APRIL 6: The Diamondbacks announced that they have placed Soria on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 5, with a left calf strain. They recalled righty Matt Peacock in a corresponding move.
APRIL 4: Diamondbacks reliever Joakim Soria left Sunday’s game after four batters due to injury, with manager Torey Lovullo telling reporters (including Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic) that the team’s initial thought is a possible calf strain. More will be known once Soria undergoes tests tomorrow.
The injury occurred while Soria was covering first base during the second out of the eighth inning. After retiring the first two batters he faced, a clearly bothered Soria then issued two walks before being removed from the game. Kevin Ginkel came on to record the final out of the frame, and Chris Devenski then pitched the ninth to lock up a 3-1 Arizona victory over the Padres.
It was a sour ending to Soria’s very first appearance in a D’Backs uniform. The right-hander signed a one-year, $3.5MM free agent deal in February, joining fellow veteran reliever Tyler Clippard as the Diamondbacks’ biggest expenditures during an overall pretty quiet offseason for the team. However, Clippard has already been sent to the 60-day IL due to a capsule strain in his shoulder, and now Soria might also miss time if he has indeed suffered at least a moderate calf injury.
Devenski and (by only 11 days of service time) Yoan Lopez are the only other relievers with more than two years of MLB experience within a young D’Backs bullpen. Minor league signings Anthony Swarzak and Ryan Buchter are both available at the alternate training site if the Snakes want to add another veteran arm to replace an injured Soria.