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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.

Braves To Promote Austin Riley

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The Braves will promote top position-player prospect Austin Riley to the majors, according to David O’Brien of The Athletic (subscription link). Ender Inciarte is expected to be placed on the injured list with back tightness; the corresponding 40-man move isn’t yet known.

With the move, the Braves are adding a player who entered the season graded as a consensus top-fifty prospect. Riley was listed as high as 22nd overall, by Baseball America. He has moved up the boards since with an impressive offensive onslaught.

The 22-year-old Riley has turned in 162 plate appearances of .299/.377/.681 hitting with 15 home runs thus far at Triple-A. He has also drawn 18 walks to go with 31 strikeouts, representing a notable improvement for a player who has shown some swing and miss in the past.

While Riley’s long-term fit is probably at third base, he began seeing time in the corner outfield recently. That clearly set the stage for a call-up, though it came a bit sooner than might have been anticipated.

Joining the majors today will mean that Riley can earn as many as 138 days of MLB service this season. That could set him up for eventual Super Two qualification, if he’s able to hang onto his roster spot permanently.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Braves manage things once they’re at full health. There could be some roster and playing time crunches. If so, the club will no doubt consider it a good problem to have.

Now that he’s in the majors, Riley will have the chance to drive the decisionmaking. Inciarte might return in a reduced role. Matt Joyce could be bumped from the roster, though he’s performing quite well in a limited capacity. Utilityman Johan Camargo can be optioned. Josh Donaldson will remain entrenched at third base this year and remains a qualifying-offer candidate at season’s end, but Riley could spell the veteran at times.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Twins’ Mitch Garver Diagnosed With High Ankle Sprain

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Twins catcher Mitch Garver exited tonight’s game after a play at the plate and has been diagnosed with a high ankle sprain, the team told reporters (Twitter link via Dan Hayes of The Athletic). He’ll be further evaluated tomorrow.

Garver was injured on what ultimately proved to be a game-saving play in the eighth inning; Byron Buxton threw out Shohei Ohtani to end the frame in a 4-3 game, but Ohtani slid into Garver’s planted leg. Garver had to be helped off the field and was unable to place weight on his left leg (video link).

While Garver is hardly a household name, any notable injury for the 28-year-old would be a sizable loss for the Twins. He’s off to a blistering start to the 2019 season, hitting at a .329/.418/.747 clip with nine long balls — including a two-run shot that proved to be the difference tonight — through his first 91 plate appearances. Combined with infielder/catcher Willians Astudillo (.290/.303/.484) and a resurgent Jason Castro (.245/.362/.612), Garver has helped to comprise a highly productive trio of catching options for the first-place Twins.

The presence of both Castro and Astudillo on the roster suggests that the Twins wouldn’t need to call up a catcher in the perhaps likely event that Garver requires a stint on the injured list. Minnesota doesn’t have any other catchers on its 40-man roster anyhow, so it seems likely that they’d continue with the Astudillo/Castro pairing, perhaps with Astudillo working in a slightly more conventional role in a two-catcher setup.

Angels Option Justin Bour, Will Select Jared Walsh

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The Angels announced following tonight’s game that they’ve optioned first baseman Justin Bour to Triple-A Salt Lake. They’ll make a corresponding roster move prior to tomorrow’s game, which, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (Twitter link), will be to select the contract of first baseman/left-handed reliever Jared Walsh.

Though Bour is a veteran of parts of six big league seasons, he’s still a couple of months shy of the five full years of MLB service time. Players with five or more years of MLB service can only be optioned to the minors with their consent, but Bour entered the year at four years, 64 days of MLB service and is now at four years, 111 days.

Bour, 30, was non-tendered by the Phillies in the offseason and inked a one-year deal worth $2.5MM with the Halos. At the time, the hope was that he could help fill in for Shohei Ohtani early in the season and then move into some kind of timeshare at first base and designated hitter. But while he entered the year as a career .260/.344/.466 hitter with 84 home runs in 1563 Major League plate appearances, Bour has batted only .163/.268/.316 through 112 plate appearances with his new club. He’s drawn 13 walks in that time, demonstrating strong knowledge of the strike zone, but has also shown questionable contact skills with a 27.7 percent strikeout rate.

If Bour is able to eventually turn things around, the Angels will be able to control him through the 2020 season as an arbitration-eligible player this winter, but that’s a long way from being a consideration at this point. For now, he’ll simply work to earn another crack at the big league roster.

As for Walsh, the 25-year-old is off to a .302/.398/.604 slash with 10 homers and a dozen doubles on the season so far. He’s also pitched five innings of relief and allowed a pair of runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts. He’s more of a position player than a pitcher — Walsh has just 13 2/3 professional innings under his belt in the minors — but he’s an intriguing player to monitor as he gets his first call to the big leagues.

Rangers Notes: Ragans, Odor, Mazara, Miller

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The Rangers received yet even more terrible news on the prospect front Tuesday, as 2016 first-rounder Cole Ragans will undergo the second Tommy John surgery of his young career, per a team announcement. Ragans underwent Tommy John surgery last March but re-tore the ligament in his right elbow and will now miss a second season of development. The Rangers have already lost 2018 second-round pick Owen White and 2018 fourth-rounder Mason Englert to Tommy John surgery this season, thus wiping out the 2019 campaigns for three intriguing young prospects within the team’s minor league ranks. Ragans ranked as the team’s No. 10 overall prospect, per MLB.com, while White checked in at No. 12 and Englert sat at No. 23.

Some more news and notes out of Arlington…

  • Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News examines the struggles of both Rougned Odor and Nomar Mazara thus far in 2019. It’s been a catastrophic season for Odor, who entered play today with an almost unfathomable .137/.212/.253 batting line through 105 plate appearances. Mazara, meanwhile, is in a substantial funk that has dropped his overall line to .227/.287/.417 through yesterday’s game. Odor’s struggles have gotten to the point where an optional assignment almost has to be considered as a means of getting him back on track. He’s signed through the 2022 season but has yet to consistently produce at the big league level. He had a similar run of poor results in 2018 before snapping out of his slump and catching fire for much of the summer, and some work in the minors could help to clear his head and point him in that direction. Mazara likely has a longer leash given his more consistent track record and the need to evaluate him heading into his next arbitration raise. Even if the organization decides it best to shop Mazara this winter, demoting him would tank his trade value, so it seems best to allow him to continue trying to sort things out at the MLB level. It’s worth noting, of course, that as of this writing both Mazara and Odor have a pair of hits in tonight’s game.
  • Shelby Miller’s hold on a spot in the rotation would appear to be tenuous, at best. Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram wrote yesterday that the organization’s plan was to keep Miller in the rotation but cap him at 70 pitches per start, but he wasn’t even able to last that long in tonight’s outing against the Royals. Kansas City jumped all over Miller on Tuesday, clobbering him for eight runs on seven hits and two walks with one strikeout in just 1 2/3 innings. Grant tweeted shortly thereafter that Miller seemed likely to be moved to the bullpen in favor of the younger Ariel Jurado, who has a 3.57 ERA through 22 2/3 innings in Triple-A and has fired off 9 2/3 scoreless innings out of the big league bullpen. Texas signed the 28-year-old Miller to a one-year deal this offseason in hopes that he could rebuild some stock and perhaps turn himself into a trade chip, but he’s allowed 31 earned runs in 29 1/3 innings with more walks allowed (23) than strikeouts recorded (20).

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