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Dodgers Release Josh Smoker, Ezequiel Carrera

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The Dodgers released lefty Josh Smoker and outfielder Ezequiel Carrera from their Triple-A club, as first indicated on the Pacific Coast League’s transactions log.

Neither has performed well to start the season in Oklahoma City, as Smoker has been tagged for 14 runs on 20 hits and nine walks with 11 strikeouts in 14 innings of work thus far. Carrera, meanwhile, is hitting .172/.250/.207 — albeit through just 32 plate appearances over the course of 10 games.

Smoker, 30, spent the 2018 campaign with the Pirates and Tigers, pitching to a strong 3.38 ERA in with a 50-to-16 K/BB ratio in 45 1/3 innings of Triple-A ball. He allowed seven runs in 7 1/3 innings at the MLB level, however. Smoker averaged 95 mph on his fastball in 71 2/3 big league innings from 2016-17 with the Mets, but his heater dipped a couple miles per hour in last year’s brief stint.

Carrera, 31, has tallied more than four years of MLB service time across parts of seven big league seasons but hasn’t been in the Majors since 2017 with the Blue Jays. He’s a career .262/.324/.365 hitter with 19 homers, 45 doubles, nine triples and 44 steals through 508 games and just over 1300 MLB plate appearances. He’s logged at least 740 innings at all three outfield positions over the course of his Major League career.

Giants Select Contract Of Mac Williamson

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7:54pm: It seems that Williamson’s promotion will come with the expectation of regular at-bats. Giants president of baseball operations said prior to tonight’s game that the Giants are “committed” to giving Williamson an opportunity to play every day this time around (Twitter link via Pavlovic).

The San Francisco organization has cycled through seven left fielders already. Gerardo Parra, Yangervis Solarte, Tyler Austin, Mike Gerber, Connor Joe, Michael Reed and Brandon Belt have all seen action at the position. Parra, Solarte, Joe and Reed have all been designated for assignment (with Solarte being the most recent of the bunch, earlier this afternoon). On the whole, Giants left fielders have put together an astonishingly bad .162/.225/.223 batting line through 142 plate appearances.

9:13am: The Giants are slated to bring outfielder Mac Williamson back onto the MLB roster, according to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. He’ll join the club in Colorado today after launching three long balls last night in Sacramento.

Williamson was bumped from the 40-man roster late in spring as the Giants reorganized their outfield. He landed at Triple-A after clearing waivers. It was hard to argue with that decision at the time. Williamson had struggled last year after dealing with concussion issues and had never really run with his chances in the big leagues. At 28 years of age and out of options, Williamson ran out of time.

Circumstances have changed in the intervening month. There has been turnover already at the MLB level, in recognition of the fact that the Giants have one of the least-productive outfield units in the game. Williamson, meanwhile, has mashed at Triple-A. We’ve seen this act before, including a torrid stretch last year at the highest level of the minors (and, quite briefly, in the majors). But that doesn’t mean it isn’t intriguing. Through 98 plate appearances, he’s slashing .378/.459/.756 with nine home runs and a 13.3% walk rate.

This move likely would’ve been made sooner but for the fact that Williamson did not have a 40-man roster spot. But there’s not much to lose at this point, given the uninspiring output of several current players and the Giants’ cellar-dwelling status in the NL West.

Outrighted: Butera, Hanson

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Here are Tuesday’s minor moves from around the game…

  • Veteran backstop Drew Butera cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Albuquerque, per a club announcement from the Rockies. While Butera could have rejected the assignment in favor of free agency, The Athletic’s Nick Groke tweets that the 35-year-old will accept the assignment and remain in the organization. Butera went 3-for-17 in his brief run with the Rox this season and has never hit much in the Majors aside from an outlier 2016 campaign with the Royals. In 1364 trips to the plate at the MLB level, Butera owns a .201/.258/.299 slash with 19 home runs. However, he’s long been regarded as a quality defender behind the plate and has carved out a decade-long career at the big league level as a result of his glovework. Should the Rockies incur an injury to either Chris Iannetta or Tony Wolters later this season, Butera will quite likely get a call back to the big leagues.
  • The Blue Jays announced that infielder/outfielder Alen Hanson has cleared waivers and been assigned to Triple-A Buffalo. Hanson, 26, came over from the Giants in the trade that sent Kevin Pillar to San Francisco, though that trade was driven in large part by salary and Hanson wasn’t necessarily viewed as a long-term piece by the Jays. In 48 plate appearance with Toronto, Hanson hit .163/.229/.163, and while it’s a tiny sample, he’s never hit much a total of 625 MLB plate appearances. Dating back to his debut with Pittsburgh in 2016, Hanson is a .232/.266/.368 hitter. The former top prospect is a .273/.327/.406 hitter in parts of three Triple-A seasons, and it appears he’ll stay on hand as a depth piece for the Toronto organization.

Gerardo Parra Elects Free Agency

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The Giants announced today that veteran outfielder Gerardo Parra elected free agency after clearing waivers. He’s now free to sign with any club.

San Francisco picked up Parra, 32, on a minor league contract this offseason after he’d finished up a three-year contract with the Rockies. Parra did manage a .283 average and a .320 on-base percentage in his three years with Colorado, but he didn’t display much power in that time. He once rated as one of baseball’s premier defenders in the outfield corners and was still above-average over the past couple of seasons, though not to the extent of his peak levels.

The 2019 season has been a miserable one for Parra to this point. Through 97 plate appearances with the Giants, he’s mustered only a .197/.278/.267 batting line with a homer, three doubles and a pair of steals. Parra has never struck out at a 20 percent clip in any single season and has kept his strikeout rate below that threshold once again in 2019, but he also had one of the game’s worst hard-contact rates in 2018 and has seen that dip even further in 2019.

Angels Activate Ohtani, Designate Bourjos, Stratton For Assignment

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The Angels have designated outfielder Peter Bourjos and righty Chris Stratton for assignment, per a club announcement. They’ll make way for a trio of newly activated players: designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, infielder Zack Cozart, and reliever Cody Allen. Infielder Luis Rengifo was optioned out for active roster space.

Notably, it sounds as though Ohtani will step in as the Angels’ everyday designated hitter, regardless of whether the team is facing a right- or left-handed starter (Twitter link via Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times), which will cut into the playing time of both Justin Bour and Albert Pujols. Ohtani is in the lineup hitting third tonight, and if he can come anywhere near last season’s .285/.361/.64 slash line, he’ll provide a massive boost.

Bourjos, 32, had a homecoming of sorts when he signed a minor league pact with the Angels this offseason. The Halos selected him in the 10th round of the 2005 draft, and he made his big league debut with the club a half decade later when he emerged in 2010. His playing time in his second stint with his original organization was sparse, however, and Bourjos ultimately hit just .091/.109/.144 in 46 trips to the plate.

Stratton, meanwhile, was acquired in Spring Training in the hopes of providing another arm in a perennially injured rotation mix, but the former Giants first-rounder has struggled enormously in his brief tenure with the Angels. In 29 1/3 innings, Stratton has been tattooed for 28 runs on 43 hits (six home runs) and 18 walks with 22 strikeouts. He’s out of minor league options, so the Angels didn’t have the choice of simply sending him to Triple-A.

The Angels will have a week to trade, release or outright Bourjos and Stratton, though the former isn’t likely to generate much trade interest. If the Angels hope to keep him in the organization in Triple-A, they can send Bourjos through outright waivers, though a veteran with his service time has the right to reject any such assignment. That’s not the case with Stratton, so if the Angels don’t find a trade partner, they could run him through outright waivers and retain him if he clears.

Rehab Updates: Ohtani, Gennett, Reed, Sano, Martinez

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The Angels are slated to welcome back reigning Rookie of the Year Shohei Ohtani, an exciting development for a team that could use a jolt. He’s not going anywhere near the pitching mound this season, which limits his value, but it’s intriguing to wonder whether that’ll actually open the door to even greater offensive output from the two-way performer. You might anticipate just that if you peruse Fabian Ardaya’s profile of Ohtani at The Athletic (subscription link), which paints a picture of a player with immense physical abilities, learning capacity, and competitiveness.

  • The progress has been steady for Reds second baseman Scooter Gennett, as MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon reports. He’s still at least a week or two away from on-field activities; there’s good reason not to rush his return from a significant groin strain. Gennett indicates that he’s doing well with walking and jogging, but feels weakness and is still avoiding quick directional changes to avoid aggravating the injury.
  • Righty Addison Reed is launching a rehab assignment as he returns from a left thumb strain, as LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune was among those to report. Given the nature of the injury it would stand to reason that Reed could work back quickly, but it doesn’t sound as if the team is in a particular rush. GM Thad Levine explained that the club assigned Reed straight to Triple-A in order to give him a long look at advanced competition. Beyond the injury, the veteran reliever is looking to regain his form after a subpar 2018 season.
  • In another update from the Twins organization, it doesn’t sound as if there’s a huge rush to move slugger Miguel Sano back up the ladder. He’s currently working at Double-A. In that case, though, there’s a May 20th deadline to wrap up the rehab assignment.
  • Cardinals righty Carlos Martinez is moving his rehab assignment up to Triple-A, as MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch tweeted. It seems promising that he’s heading right to Memphis after one game at the class A level. Martinez could be a MLB option rather soon; given that he’s returning in a relief capacity, he won’t need to build up his pitch count.

Latest On Dodgers’ Plans For Travis d’Arnaud

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It was at least a mite curious when the Dodgers decided to add backstop Travis d’Arnaud over the weekend. There’s additional clarity now to the team’s thinking, as J.P. Hoornstra of the Orange County Register reports.

d’Arnaud joins fellow catchers Austin Barnes and Russell Martin on the active roster in Los Angeles. Some teams go with three receivers, at least for stretches, but it doesn’t appear that the Dodgers anticipate giving him much time behind the plate.

Manager Dave Roberts says that the team envisions utilizing d’Arnaud at first base and in left field. It’s a whole new world for the 30-year-old, who has logged exactly nine MLB innings in the field without a mask on. (He appeared briefly at second and third base in 2017.) d’Arnaud also played two games at first base in the minors, but has yet to line up on the outfield grass.

It’ll be interesting to see how this all shakes out. Having an experienced backstop available will help increase Roberts’s flexibility in making late-game decisions, even if the club doesn’t expect to lean heavily on d’Arnaud while he learns a whole new staff. And it’s quite nice to have him on hand as an added depth piece to help account for any injuries.

If d’Arnaud can rediscover his former form with the bat and learn some new positions along the way, he could end up being a rather interesting asset for the Dodgers. If things don’t shake out as hoped over the next several weeks, the club can reassess the health status of A.J. Pollock and scan the trade market if there’s a need for another right-handed bat.

Giants To Select Contract Of Donovan Solano

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The Giants are preparing to select the contract of utilityman Donovan Solano, according to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area (via Twitter). He joined the organization on a minors deal over the winter.

That’ll force another 40-man move to go with the one needed for outfielder Mac Williamson. With another pitcher also slated to come onto the active roster — Williams Jerez could get the nod — there will be at least three changes to the makeup of the current MLB club.

This has all the makings of a rather significant shake-up for a team in transition. The Giants are in last place in the NL West, with a 15-20 record. That’s hardly surprising given the awkward state of the team’s roster, which includes a group of high-priced veterans and a variety of unestablished younger players.

Solano, 31, will make it up to the majors for the first time since 2016. He hit well at Triple-A last year with the Dodgers organization before following top baseball operations executive Farhan Zaidi to San Francisco. Solano has turned in a nice .322/.392/.437 batting line in 97 plate appearances to open the current season with the Giants’ top affiliate.

Quick Hits: Keuchel, Alvarez, Young

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Yesterday, Mets broadcaster and long-time MLB hurler Ron Darling announced on his personal Twitter account that he has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Thankfully, the outlook seems to be good. Darling says he hopes to be back in the booth in around a month’s time, which is certainly quite promising to hear. I’ll be among the many fans looking forward to Darling’s return to action. He’s an attentive, thoughtful, and honest broadcaster and I always enjoy tuning in. MLBTR extends its very best wishes to Darling and his family for a speedy recovery.

  • Veteran lefty Dallas Keuchel discussed his never-ending free agency with Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports in an interesting interview. Keuchel says he is anxious to sign but won’t just settle for the lowball offers he has received to this point. He acknowledges that he may need to wait until after this summer’s draft, at which time teams will no longer need to give up draft compensation to add him. Keuchel says he wasn’t looking for this sort of standoff and wasn’t unrealistic in his asking price, noting that “it’s not just the front offices who have all these numbers” when it comes to understanding market value. He says he’d rather be pitching; agent Scott Boras has even advised him to settle and get back on the field. So why is Keuchel still available? “I told [Boras] no on numerous deals because it’s about principle. It’s about fair market value. And I wasn’t getting that.”
  • Another Boras client, slugger Pedro Alvarez, is also still on the open market — albeit under quite different circumstances. The left-handed power-hitter opted out of his minor-league deal with the Marlins late in camp and is now nursing an Achilles injury. But the 32-year-old isn’t calling it quits just yet. Alvarez turned in a middling showing at the plate in limited MLB opportunities last year. But he has long been an above-average performer at the plate (when limited to facing right-handed pitching, at least) and had a torrid showing in Cactus League action this spring.
  • Former MLB hurler Chris Young is thriving in his new career in the league offices, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes. It’s an interesting look at the end of an uncommon playing career and the start of what could be an important new run in a management capacity. Young was hired as MLB’s vice president of on-field operations, initiatives and strategy — a new role that deputy commissioner Dan Halem says was “expanded” to match Young’s skillset. The story is particularly interesting because it touches upon the changing labor dynamics in the game. Young says he only took the job after explaining that he “view[s] this as a partnership between the players, owners and fans” and emphasizing that he “want[s] what is best for the game.” Halem says that Young has brought “strong opinions on what is good and what we may have to change” and has been “really good at explaining the players’ viewpoint on things.” It seems that Young is operating more on the rules side at at the moment, but it’ll be interesting to see whether and how his presence ultimately impacts the league’s approach to the thorny collective bargaining issues that have arisen in the past several seasons.

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