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Blue Jays Promote Anthony Alford, Remove Jake Petricka From Active Roster

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2:15pm: The move is now official; Petricka has indeed been optioned.

2:05pm: The Blue Jays are promoting outfield prospect Anthony Alford, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Toronto has removed reliever Jake Petricka from the active roster, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter), though the precise mechanism is not yet clear.

Alford had previously received an exceedingly brief promotion in the 2017 season. But he suffered a fractured hamate bone almost immediately upon reaching the bigs. He ended up recording 68 days of MLB service on the year, but very little of it came on the active roster.

The 23-year-old has long been regarded as a high-end prospect. He has received consensus top-100 leaguewide billing entering each of the past three seasons (including the present one). Alford has drawn praise for his broad and fairly well-developed skillset despite limited time as a professional.

Thus far in 2018, however, Alford has struggled. He has recorded just six hits (one for extra bases) in his 42 plate appearances at Triple-A. Of course, he also was still working back to health after opening the year on the DL owing to a hamstring strain.

Given the struggles out of the gate, it’s a bit surprising at first glance to see this move. That said, the Jays may simply be looking to buttress their position-player unit temporarily while dealing with the absences of Steve Pearce and Randal Grichuk. With Curtis Granderson exiting yesterday’s contest with a tight hamstring, the club may simply have taken the easiest path to adding another outfielder for a few days.

As things stand, then, it’s not at all clear that Alford is set to receive a full run at the MLB level. If he does, though, he could finish the current season with over one full year of service. (In addition to the time he had already, Alford added another twenty days due to the DL stint.) Should that come to pass, he’d reach arbitration eligibility in 2021 and free agency in 2024. If not, those milestones would occur one year further (at the soonest).

For Petricka, the departure comes the day after his contract was purchased and he made it onto the active roster. He gave up one earned run on three hits, while recording two strikeouts, in 1 1/3 innings yesterday. Petricka does have options remaining, so it’s possible he’ll remain on the 40-man while heading back to Buffalo.

Cardinals Notes: Leone, Mikolas, Wainwright

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The Cardinals will place setup man Dominic Leone on the 10-day disabled list with what the team is calling a nerve issue in his right biceps, per Joe Trezza of MLB.com (Twitter links). The team didn’t have enough time following today’s diagnosis to call up a replacement for him, however, so a formal move won’t be made until tomorrow. The St. Louis ’pen already had nine relievers in tow, so the pitching staff won’t be especially short handed even if Leone is unavailable.

As Stu Durando of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch explains, Leone was called upon for a relief appearance last night but felt something unnatural in his biceps while throwing his warmup pitches. After immediately calling for a trainer, he exited without throwing a pitch. “It was something I hadn’t felt before and I was concerned,” said Leone. “I didn’t want to put a bad product on the field. I didn’t want to mess with it and potentially hurt myself worse or be ineffective.” It’s not yet clear how long Leone will be out of action at this time, though the Cards figure to have further updates before the weekend is up.

Here’s more out of St. Louis…

  • While many Cards fans were skeptical of the team’s two-year, $15.5MM deal with righty Miles Mikolas this offseason, but the 29-year-old has gone a long way toward proving his doubters wrong with a 2.70 ERA and a 31-to-2 K/BB ratio through his first 40 innings back in the Majors. Mikolas chatted with the Post-Dispatch’s Derrick Goold about the Cardinals’ offseason pursuit of him, revealing that the division-rival Cubs were also in pursuit of his services before they “cooled of” and eventually struck up a deal with Tyler Chatwood. “I guess they didn’t want me that bad,” said Mikolas of the Cubs. “I guess they thought it would be more fun facing me than having me on their staff. They figured they’d take their chances.”
  • Adam Wainwright tells reporters that he’s lined up to make a rehab start with the Cardinals’ Double-A affiliate on Monday (Twitter link via Trezza). The veteran has been out since April 22 with inflammation in his right elbow but could seemingly return to the club in the near future if all goes well in Springfield. The 36-year-old posted a 3.45 ERA in 15 2/3 innings to open the season but also turned in an ugly 12-to-8 K/BB ratio and hit a pair of batters in that time, demonstrating questionable control. That said, with both Wainwright and top prospect Alex Reyes nearing returns from the disabled list, the Cardinals are on the verge of adding some significant depth to the pitching staff.

Nationals Activate Anthony Rendon

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After nearly a month on the disabled list, Anthony Rendon has been activated and is hitting second in today’s lineup, the Nationals announced. He’s been out since mid-April after sustaining a hairline fracture in his toe when he fouled a ball into his foot. To make room on the active roster, the Nats optioned infielder Adrian Sanchez to Triple-A Syracuse.

The 27-year-old Rendon turned in a relatively quiet MVP-caliber season in 2017 when he hit .301/.403/.533 with 25 homers and 41 doubles in addition to terrific defense at third base. He’ll be the first of several key bats to return to a Nationals lineup that is still missing second baseman Daniel Murphy and outfielder Adam Eaton.

Prior to his injury, Rendon had gotten off to a solid .286/.355/.411 start with a homer and four doubles in 62 trips to the plate. He’ll rejoin the Nationals’ lineup at a time when the team is righting the ship after a slow start (in no small part due to the absence of those three aforementioned bats). The Nats have snapped off six straight wins to pull their record above the .500 mark, putting them right back in the mix in a perhaps surprisingly competitive NL East.

AL Central Notes: Farquhar, Romero, Goody, Soler

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Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports shares details of the long road ahead for White Sox reliever Danny Farquhar after the right-hander suffered a recent brain aneurysm. The incident occurred in the Sox dugout just under two weeks ago following an outing against Houston, and caused Farquhar to be hospitalized in what was a scary few hours. As Passan notes, 40% of people who suffer a brain aneurysm don’t survive them, while half of those who survive end up with resulting disabilities. He adds that success in the early stages afterwards is measured in small improvements. Farquhar’s agent says he’s been progressing and has a positive outlook. It’s fair to think it’ll be a significant amount of time before Farquhar is able to pick up a baseball again, but the early signs are encouraging for the right-hander’s health. Passan’s lengthy piece also details some historical precedents for aneurysms in baseball players, as well as the adversity Farquhar has already overcome in his seven-year MLB career. We at MLBTR are relieved to hear that Farquhar is stable, and wish him the best of fortunes in the road to recovery.

Other items from around the AL Central…

  • Speaking of close calls, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press has a story from Twins rookie Fernando Romero’s past, when the right-hander almost drowned in a hotel pool. It took a while for Romero to gradually overcome his fear of swimming, but he now uses it as a conditioning method to strengthen his shoulder for pitching purposes. Berardino also tells the tale of how Romero nearly went unsigned for an entire international period, failing to receive an offer from any of the 50 scouts in attendance at a showcase. The main knock on him was lack of a “major league body”, and a perceived likelihood that he’d get hurt. Ultimately Romero found his way to the Perfect Game Tournament, where several more scouts were in attendance, and while the Astros made a strong run at him, he ultimately went to the Twins for a signing bonus of $260K.
  • According to Terry Francona (via a tweet from Jordan Bastian of MLB.com), it’s best-case scenario outcome for Indians reliever Nick Goody, who left the first game of Thursday’s doubleheader with an elbow injury. Tests have revealed no structural damage; it’s thought that Goody’s pain was the result of hyperextending his elbow. He’ll reportedly be shut down for a week and then re-evaluated. It’s a sigh of relief when considering the worst-case scenarios in an elbow-fearing pitching climate; it’s well-known that ligament injuries can result in 12-18 month absences. Goody’s a vital part of a Tribe bullpen that’s recently shuffled through a few low-upside relievers; they’ve designated both Matt Belisle and Jeff Beliveau for assignment in the past week and before that lost Andrew Miller to the DL with a hamstring injury.
  • Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com tells readers about the plate discipline improvements made by Royals outfielder Jorge Soler. In stark contrast to last season, he’s already drawn 18 walks and has seen 4.46 pitches per plate appearance. His .309/.429/.526 slash line on the season is exactly what Kansas City envisioned when they acquired him from the Cubs prior to last season in exchange for closer Wade Davis. Manager Ned Yost credits the improvements to the fact that Soler is “not chasing much of anything”, though it’s certainly worth noting that his chase rate this year is in line with his typically low figures the past few seasons and therefore not indicative of any major changes. I’d add, though, that Soler is certainly seeing more pitches per plate appearance than he did during his injury-riddled 2017 campaign; he’s seen 4.26 PPPA so far, up from 3.99 last season.

Indians Acquire Oliver Drake From Brewers

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Right-hander Oliver Drake, whom the Brewers designated for assignment on Tuesday, has been traded to the Indians for cash considerations. The move was announced by Milwaukee via its Twitter account. The Indians have yet to announce a corresponding move.

On the surface, it’s not difficult to understand why the Brewers designated Drake for assignment; he sports an alarming 6.70 ERA on the season while walking a whopping 8 batters in just 12 2/3 innings on the young season. But while the walk rate is certainly a valid concern, the bloated ERA can be blamed in part on an absurd .400 batting average on balls in play against the righty. That’s been one contributing factor towards a 59.1% strand rate; league average usually sits around 70-72%, while Drake’s career average comes in just under that range at 67.7%. In short, he certainly has nobody to blame but himself for the runners he put on base via free passes, but he’s also suffered from some considerably poor fortune as far as those runners crossing the plate.

The positive signs offer some encouragement for Drake’s outlook with his new club. His 10.66 K/9 so far is a career-high mark, about a batter per nine above his career rate of 10.11. He’s also induced ground balls from 52.9% of opposing hitters this season, which sits just outside the top 25% of qualified relievers in MLB. And while Drake’s 6.70 ERA on the year is an eyesore, his 2.70 FIP is a much more palatable figure and suggests he’s likely to make some improvements in the run-prevention arena.

If he can just improve his control a bit, it’s certainly possible the Indians could end up with another surprise diamond in the rough, as they did last year with both Nick Goody and Tyler Olson. That would be a welcome sigh of relief for a club that’s feeling the pains of losing relief ace Andrew Miller to the DL; their bullpen sports an ERA north of nine in his absence and has shuffled through a small army of relievers in the past four days alone (as MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian recently noted). Regardless of whether Drake can perform at a high level, it’s a low-risk move for a club in desperate need of some stability in its relief corps.

Cubs To Sign Lane Adams

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The Cubs have reached agreement on a minor-league deal with outfielder Lane Adams, according to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). He had recently elected free agency after being removed from the Braves’ 40-man roster.

The 28-year-old Adams will provide some outfield depth to a Chicago organization that has struggled to produce runs of late. But it does not appear as if he’ll be an immediate factor at the MLB level.

Adams has been a productive hitter in limited action since landing with the Braves in advance of the 2017 season. He slashed .270/.345/.460 with six home runs in 143 plate appearances in Atlanta. That’s the most extensive MLB time the former Royals farmhand has received in his career, though clearly he did not receive much time while he was on the active roster.

MLB Daily Roster Roundup: Bautista, Cabrera, Harvey, Swanson

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ROSTER MOVES BY TEAM
(May 4th)

NATIONAL LEAGUE

  • MILWAUKEE BREWERS | Depth Chart
    • Placed on 10-Day DL: SP Zach Davies (rotator cuff inflammation)
      • With two upcoming off days, Davies is expected to miss only one start.
    • Promoted: RP Jorge Lopez

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AMERICAN LEAGUE

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FUTURE EXPECTED MOVES

NL Notes: Harvey, Braves, Rendon, Hedges, Lamb, Reyes

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After deciding to designate Matt Harvey for assignment, the Mets are now sorting out exactly how his tenure with the organization will come to an end. Initial trade discussions seem not to be generating much traction, per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter), who says that the team is offering to “eat a significant amount” of the remainder of Harvey’s salary in hopes of securing something in return. Somewhat unsurprisingly, the response from rival officials has to this point been that they’d prefer simply to pursue Harvey if he passes through waivers. If that occurs, he’ll surely either be released or decline an outright assignment, at which point he’d be a free agent who could sign for a pro-rated version of the league minimum, leaving the Mets on the hook for the balance of the $5.6MM he’s owed.

More from the National League:

  • New Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos has been discussing his team’s promising start with quite a few outlets of late as excitement has mounted. He largely credited the prior regime with “outstanding” work in accumulating and developing talent in a chat with Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Anthopoulos also says he’ll be “open-minded to do things” if the team is in position to push for the postseason at the trade deadline, though he notes there’s still quite a lot of baseball to be played before making any final assessments of where the 2018 roster may be headed. In comments to MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (via Twitter), Anthopoulos did note that payroll constraints and an ongoing focus on the future would continue to weigh significantly in the team’s decisionmaking.
  • Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon acknowledged after his rehab appearance today that he has a hairline fracture in his injured toe, as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post tweets. That explains his somewhat extended absence after fouling a ball off of his foot. The important thing for the Nats, though, is that Rendon seems to be ready to be activated as the club attempts to extend a six-game winning streak.
  • The Padres have a plan in place for assessing the balky elbow of catcher Austin Hedges, as Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports on Twitter. He’ll be given a week or ten days of rest before it’s decided whether he needs to undergo an MRI. Hedges hit the DL recently with a bout of tendinitis. It seems the hope remains that the issue will resolve itself with some down time. Hedges has struggled at the plate in 2018, hitting at a .173/.235/.293 clip to open the season.
  • Diamondbacks third baseman Jake Lamb received an MRI and cortisone shot after reporting continued discomfort in his injured left shoulder, per MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert (Twitter links). That said, the belief is that this will not constitute a significant setback. It’s still disappointing to hear that Lamb is not yet back to health, as the club no doubt hoped he’d already be nearing a return at this point. Given his extended absence, it stands to reason that he’ll require some rehab time once he is cleared for game action. Fortunately for the Snakes, Daniel Descalso has filled in admirably.
  • Prized Cardinals righty Alex Reyes is prepared to begin a rehab assignment next week, as MLB.com’s Joe Trezza writes. As he works back from Tommy John surgery, the high-octane hurler is said to be working in the upper nineties and looking good. That’s great news for the Cards, though the team is expected to handle Reyes with care as he ramps up fully. It’s still not clear how the organization will deploy the 23-year-old, who showed ample promise in his 2016 debut, once he is ready to return. But he’s building up as a starter and figures to be a valuable addition to the MLB roster in any role when he is activated.

Angels Select Juan Graterol

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The Angels have selected the contract of catcher Juan Graterol, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports on Twitter. He had been bumped from the 40-man a month ago.

The move was necessitated by the unavailability of Martin Maldonado, who is on the bereavement list. A 40-man spot was opened by moving J.C. Ramirez to the 60-day DL, which was going to happen at some point anyway since he is down for the rest of the year.

Graterol, 29, has seen limited MLB action over the past two years. He has produced a .214/.218/.276 slash in 102 plate appearances at the game’s highest level. In parts of five seasons at Triple-A, he carries a marginal .286/.313/.346 batting line.

Diamondbacks To Sign Clay Buchholz

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The Diamondbacks have agreed to terms with righty Clay Buchholz, according to Jared Carrabis of Barstool Sports (via Twitter). It’s a minors pact, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link).

The 33-year-old Buchholz was just released from his minor-league deal with the Royals after exercising an opt-out clause. He’ll now head to an Arizona organization that is dealing with some injury issues in the rotation.

D-Backs GM Mike Hazen is certainly well-acquainted with Buchholz from their mutual time with the Red Sox. That helps explain the connection here, though it remains unclear just what the Arizona organization plans to do with Buchholz, who is likely ready to join the MLB staff from a conditioning standpoint but may yet need to earn his way up.

In his 16 minor-league innings this year, Buchholz has limited the opposition to only two earned runs on ten hits. Of course, he has also recorded just nine strikeouts against seven strikeouts and missed almost all of the 2017 season due to injury after an inconsistent showing in the 2016 campaign.

That said, it wasn’t long ago that the Phillies were interested in adding the two-time All-Star at a $13.5MM salary in a swap with the Sox. And Buchholz, despite many ups and downs over the years, has compiled a lifetime 4.01 ERA in 1,175 career inning at the game’s highest level.

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