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Jesus Luzardo Hires MVP Sports Group

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Athletics pitching prospect Jesus Luzardo has hired MVP Sports Group to represent him, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). The move comes less than a year since Luzardo’s previous agency change.

Luzardo is nursing back to health after suffering a rotator cuff strain this spring. He has been throwing for several weeks but has yet to embark upon a rehab assignment.

He’d likely be in the majors had it not been for the unfortunate injury, which broke a string of positive developments for the 21-year-old hurler. Seen as a rising young hurler when he was dealt to the A’s in the summer of 2017, Luzardo soared up prospect ranking lists with a superlative 2018 campaign.

Entering the current campaign, he was seen as a consensus top-twenty leaguewide prospect and was graded seventh overall by Baseball America.  Luzardo seemed poised for the big leagues after netting 15 strikeouts in 9 2/3 spring innings.

Luzardo should represent an option for the A’s once he’s able to get back to full health and ramp back up, but the delayed start to the year has obviously slowed his ascent. In addition to the missed chances (and missed service time) early this season, Luzardo will not have an opportunity to build upon his single-season innings tally (109 1/3 last year). That could lead to some workload restrictions next year.

As always, you can find the latest representation information in MLBTR’s Agency Database.

Ben Zobrist Remains On Leave From Cubs Indefinitely

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Veteran utilityman Ben Zobrist has been away from the Cubs since May 8th owing to a previously undisclosed personal matter. It emerged today that the indefinite absence relates to marital troubles that have resulted in divorce proceedings, as ESPNChicago.com’s Jesse Rogers reports.

Details of the matter are really not of interest from a baseball perspective, but Zobrist’s absence does have an obvious impact on the Cubs’ roster situation. It is not known whether he is receiving his salary — $12MM this season, his final under contract in Chicago — during his absence. By placing Zobrist on the restricted list, the Cubs have been able to avoid playing a man down.

Manager Joe Maddon says there’s still “no indication” as to when Zobrist will return to the club. The Cubs informed the 14-year veteran, who’ll soon turn 38 years of age, that he’s free to take as much time away as he needs.

Zobrist has appeared primarily in the corner outfield and at second base this year. In his absence, the club will likely continue to spread playing time at those positions among a deep and versatile assortment of other players.

Blue Jays Claim Jimmy Cordero

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The Blue Jays have claimed righty Jimmy Cordero off waivers from the Nationals, as Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca was among those to cover on Twitter. Cordero was sent to Triple-A on optional assignment.

Despite the Nats’ bullpen malaise, other teams are interested in their relievers that have failed to receive MLB looks this year. Cordero follows Austin Adams (traded to the Mariners) in landing on another 40-man roster after being dropped from the D.C. list. Even as it deals with a struggling pitching staff, the Nationals have been forced to make some tough choices to address injuries to its position-player group.

Cordero will also hope also to follow Adams in getting a promotion with his new organization. He wasn’t able to capitalize on a chance last year, recording as many earned runs and walks as strikeouts (a dozen apiece) in 19 frames. No doubt the Jays also noticed that he pumped 98 mph heat and managed an 11.8% swinging-strike rate. Through 12 innings at Triple-A thus far in 2019, Cordero carries a 6.00 ERA with a 17:9 K/BB mix.

Pirates Activate Chris Archer From Injured List

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TODAY: Archer has been officially activated, as per a team announcement.  Right-hander Clay Holmes was optioned to Triple-A to create room on the 25-man roster.

SUNDAY: Pirates right-hander Chris Archer is slated to come off the injured list Wednesday for a start against the Diamondbacks, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was among those to tweet.

Archer has been been on the IL with right thumb inflammation since April 27, the day after he turned in his lone horrid start of the season in a loss to the Dodgers. In all, the 30-year-old has notched 27 innings of 4.33 ERA/4.80 FIP ball with four walks per nine, a 32.4 percent groundball rate and a 15.2 percent home run-to-fly ball rate.

Nearly all of Archer’s 2019 numbers rank as personal worsts, and despite an impressive ability to fan hitters (9.67 K/9 this season, 9.73 career), he has fallen somewhat short in the run prevention department in recent years. Archer hasn’t managed a sub-4.00 ERA since 2015, the last season of an excellent three-year stretch, though he was still worth between 2.6 and 5.1 fWAR in each of the previous five campaigns.

Although Archer has looked more like a mid-rotation starter than an ace of late, the Pirates still surrendered a boatload to acquire him and his team-friendly contract from the Rays last July. Pittsburgh gave up a young tandem consisting of righty Tyler Glasnow and outfielder Austin Meadows, both of whom failed to live up to their high-end prospect billing with the team but now look like blossoming stars in Tampa Bay. Meanwhile, the gamble didn’t pay off in the form of a playoff berth for the Pirates last year, and though the Bucs are off to a 19-17 start this season, they’ll have trouble overtaking the Cubs, Brewers and Cardinals in the National League Central.

Tigers Release Cameron Rupp

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The Tigers released Cameron Rupp from Triple-A Toledo earlier this week, as per the International League’s transactions page.  According to MLB.com’s Jason Beck (Twitter link), Rupp became expendable after catching prospect Jake Rogers was promoted from Double-A to Toledo, and veteran Bobby Wilson returned from injury.

After receiving regular work behind the plate for the Phillies in 2015-17, Rupp has spent the last 14 months on a whirlwind tour of different organizations as he looks for a path back to the big leagues.  Since being released by Philadelphia in March 2018, Rupp has been a member of five different teams (the Rangers, Twins, Mariners, Giants, and Tigers) on minor league assignments.  Most recently, San Francisco dealt him to Detroit for cash considerations in March as the Tigers looked to add some veteran catching depth in Spring Training.

Rupp’s defense and pitch-framing has never been particularly highly rated, though he does possess some decent power, particularly for a catcher.  The 30-year-old has 39 homers and a career .234/.298/.407 over 1127 Major League plate appearances, all with the Phillies.

Indians Notes: Kemp, Gonzalez, Clevinger

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Here’s the latest from Cleveland…

  • The Indians had “mild” interest in Matt Kemp before the Reds released the veteran outfielder earlier in May, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writes (subscription required).  In fact, Rosenthal notes that Cleveland was the only team who expressed any interest at all in Kemp’s services.  Given the Tribe’s needs in both the outfield and in the run-scoring department whatsoever, it isn’t surprising that the club is checking in on any potential solutions.  Kemp didn’t hit much in his brief time with Cincinnati, however, and was on the injured list recovering from a broken rib at the time of his release.  It stands to reason that the Indians (or other teams) could explore signing Kemp once he’s healthy, since the 34-year-old is just a season removed from a 122 wRC+ and an All-Star appearance for the Dodgers in 2018.
  • Also from Rosenthal’s piece, he reports “the Indians made a run at left-hander Gio Gonzalez” during Gonzalez’s brief sojourn in free agency in April.  After Gonzalez opted out of his minor league deal with the Yankees, the Mets and Brewers were the only known suitors for the southpaw before he agreed to a contract with Milwaukee.  Since Gonzalez hit the market less than two weeks after Mike Clevinger was placed on the IL, it makes sense that the Tribe would be checking around for potential rotation help — not to mention how that pitching need became even more pronounced in the wake of Corey Kluber’s forearm fracture.  Gonzalez has pitched well over three starts for the Brewers, and he could end up being a real “what-if” for not only Cleveland, but every other team that gave Gonzalez so little attention on the open market both in April and over the offseason.
  • In the latest update on Clevinger, he threw off a mound for the first time since hitting the IL with a teres major muscle strain on April 9, tossing a 20-pitch bullpen session on Tuesday.  “It was just 20 fastballs, but everything feels healthy,” Clevinger told reporters, including Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  The righty will play catch on Wednesday and then toss another bullpen on Thursday, before he and the team decide on the next steps in his rehab process.  Clevinger is slightly ahead of his original six-to-eight week projection to begin throwing, though due to his 60-day IL placement, it will still be some time before he can return to the Tribe’s rotation.  Clevinger was off to a fantastic start before his injury, tossing 12 shutout innings over his first two outings of the season.

Giants Select Shaun Anderson’s Contract

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TODAY: Anderson’s contract has been officially selected, with Beede heading down to Triple-A in the corresponding move.  (Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to report the news.)

YESTERDAY: The Giants are set to select the contract of righty Shaun Anderson, as Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group was among those to report on Twitter. He’s expected to start the club’s contest on Wednesday.

It isn’t clear yet what the Giants will do to clear roster space. Neither is it known whether Anderson is likely to receive more than a single start’s worth of MLB action.

Anderson, 24, was a third-round pick out of the University of Florida back in 2016. He came to San Francisco as part of the mid-2017 deal that shipped Eduardo Nunez to Boston. Thus far in 2019, Anderson carries a 4.11 ERA in 35 innings over seven starts at Triple-A, with 9.5 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9. The 6’4″, 225-pound righty is generally regarded as one of the Giants’ best pitching prospects, ranking fourth in the system both at MLB.com and on Baseball America’s preseason rankings. He’s viewed as a potential mid-rotation starter who may not have a true plus offering but possesses average or slightly better stuff across the board.

This move represents the latest change to the makeup of the Giants’ rotation mix. The club has optioned Dereck Rodriguez to Triple-A, bumped Derek Holland to the bullpen, and sent Drew Pomeranz to the injured list. Tyler Beede will absorb some of those innings, perhaps pitching behind opener Nick Vincent today. And now Anderson will get a show to show that he ought to be a part of the team’s long-term plans.

Blue Jays Select Edwin Jackson

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The Blue Jays have selected the contract of righty Edwin Jackson, per a club announcement. Lefty Thomas Pannone was optioned out to create active roster space, with righty Matt Shoemaker moved to the 60-day injured list for a 40-man spot.

Jackson’s addition to the MLB roster was a foregone conclusion when he was acquired recently from the A’s. The veteran hurler had joined the Oakland organization on a minors pact that included an opt-out chance later this month. He was shipped to Toronto to help fill a need for innings on the Jays’ roster and will take the ball this evening.

By making it official, the Blue Jays have now become the 14th MLB team Jackson has appeared with in 16 seasons in the majors. He’s closing in on two thousand career innings with a cumulative 4.60 ERA.

Last year, the 35-year-old pitched to a 3.33 ERA in 92 frames for the A’s, though metrics suggested those results were based in no small part upon some batted ball fortune. Jackson ran up 19 strikeouts but also surrendered four home runs in his 14 2/3 minor-league frames to open the present campaign.

Once Jackson takes hill today, he’ll officially surpass righty Octavio Dotel for the all-time lead in number of Major League teams pitched for. The most well-traveled veteran in the game’s history has appeared for the Rays, Cubs, Dodgers, Nationals, White Sox, Diamondbacks, Cardinals, Braves, Athletics, Padres, Orioles, Marlins and Tigers prior to the 2019 season. And while he’ll make his Toronto debut this afternoon, Jackson has technically even been a Blue Jay in the past; he was traded from the White Sox to the Jays on July 27 but immediately flipped to the Cardinals just hours later.

Twins Activate Miguel Sano, Place Mitch Garver On IL

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The Twins announced today that third baseman Miguel Sano is heading back onto the MLB roster. He’ll take the place of backstop Mitch Garver, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list after suffering an ankle sprain last night.

Sano, who just celebrated his 26th birthday, has been working back from a heel injury that cost him much more time than had been anticipated. The AL Central-leading Twins also used the opportunity to allow the slugger plenty of time to see pitching in the minors.

It’ll be fascinating to see how Sano responds to MLB pitching. He entered spring camp with a new physique and showing plenty of promise after a rough 2018 campaign. He has posted a .316/.364/.579 slash in his 44 rehab plate appearances.

The Twins will hope that Sano can get back to the high-level offensive output that he showed earlier in his career. He batted .264/.352/.507 and launched 28 long balls in 483 plate appearances in 2017, so it hasn’t been that long since he was a productive bat.

Unfortunately, the move comes in conjunction with the loss of Garver, who was off to a breakout start to the year. His timeline isn’t yet known. Fortunately, the team can still rely upon Jason Castro and Willians Astudillo behind the dish during Garver’s absence.

Latest On Rays’ Pitching Staff

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Traditionalists may never fully embrace the approach, but it’s hard to argue with the results: through a quarter of the season, the Rays’ pitching staff has been lights out. By design, it’s a fluid and ever-evolving mix of hurlers. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times provides an update on some particularly important arms for the AL East-leading team.

Most notably, prospect Brent Honeywell has encountered another hurdle in his effort to return from Tommy John surgery. He’s only slated for a week-long shutdown for nerve irritation in his right elbow, but this isn’t the first setback. The fact that Honeywell’s road back hasn’t been perfectly smooth doesn’t mean he won’t make it, but it does add to the uncertainty and bump back his timeline.

In Topkin’s assessment, the Tampa Bay front office won’t be able to consider Honeywell as a MLB option until July or August. He’s obviously going to be handled with plenty of caution given his high-ceiling billing and hiccups to this point. Honeywell is going to need a full arm build-up and even then will need to show he’s fully ready for the majors, having never yet pitched in the bigs. No doubt the Rays will keep a close eye on his workload even when he is ready for game action. Honeywell hasn’t yet topped 140 innings in a professional season and already missed all of 2018.

Clearly, then, Honeywell won’t be stepping into the opening in the rotation created when Tyler Glasnow hit the injured list recently. Nobody will, in fact. Skipper Kevin Cash tells Topkin that the club won’t tap a third starter, even on an interim basis. Rather, the club will continue to piece things together on a day-to-day basis behind rotation pieces Blake Snell and Charlie Morton.

Topkin warns not to expect any major acquisitions to plug the openings. Fortunately, Glasnow is said to be looking at an absence of only four to six weeks. That’s about as good an outlook as might have been hoped for when he left with forearm tightness. The injury might knock the 25-year-old out of surprise Cy Young contention, but hopefully won’t spoil his breakout season.

Plus, there are some other hurlers working back. Reliever Hunter Wood is close to being an option again for the MLB roster after hitting the IL with a shoulder issue, though he may take at least one more rehab outing. Wood showed an intriguing 18.0% swinging-strike rate in 6 1/3 innings to open the year. Former top prospect Jose De Leon is ready to move his rehab work to the highest level of the minors after a pair of High-A outings. Given his long and arduous rehab process, the odds are he’ll be given some time to work at Triple-A even when his assignment is up (which must occur on or before June 2nd). There’s no word yet on when Anthony Banda will be ready to begin his own rehab assignment after undergoing Tommy John surgery last June, but he was reportedly throwing from a mound late last month.

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