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White Sox Select Contract Of Chris Volstad

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The White Sox announced this morning that they’ve selected the contract of veteran righty Chris Volstad from Triple-A Charlotte. He’ll join the pitching staff tonight, with left-hander Carlos Rodon shifting from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL to create a spot on the 40-man roster. Chicago already announced after yesterday’s game that right-handed reliever Gregory Infante had been optioned to Charlotte, so Volstad will take his place in the bullpen for now.

This’ll be Volstad’s second run in the Majors with the South Siders, as he logged 19 1/3 innings for the Sox last season and recorded a 4.66 ERA with a 10-to-5 K/BB ratio. The 2018 season actually represents Volstad’s third consecutive year with the White Sox organization, as he also spent the entirety of the 2016 season pitching for Triple-A Charlotte.

Now 31 years of age, Volstad debuted as a 21-year-old with the 2008 Marlins and impressed with a 2.88 ERA across his first 84 1/3 innings, though his 5.5 K/9 rate and 3.8 BB/9 mark prompted metrics like FIP, xFIP and SIERA to forecast a more pessimistic outlook. Volstad would go on to tally 584 innings for the then-Florida Marlins from 2008-11, working to a collective 4.59 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 before being traded to the Cubs in the 2012 deal that sent Carlos Zambrano to Miami.

Volstad’s one season with the Cubs was a disaster, and he’s since bounced around the game, seeing MLB time with the Rockies and Pirates, Triple-A time with the Angels and spending a season with the Doosan Bears of the Korea Baseball Organization.

As for Rodon, the move to the 60-day DL looks to be largely a formality. He opened the season on the 10-day DL while recovering from shoulder surgery that he underwent late last September and has been working his way back toward a big league return. At last check, GM Rick Hahn suggested that a late-May return could be a best-case scenario for Rodon, so he wasn’t expected to be activated in the near future anyhow. Rodon’s initial placement on the DL was retroactive to March 26, meaning the earliest he can now be activated would be May 25.

Tigers Notes: Mahtook, Zimmermann, Draft

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The Tigers made the somewhat surprising move to option left fielder Mikie Mahtook to Triple-A Toledo following last night’s game, per a club announcement. Mahtook, a former first-rounder on whom the Tigers bought low late in the 2016-17 offseason, turned in a solid 2017 campaign in Detroit and opened the year as the Tigers’ primary left fielder. However, the 28-year-old got off to a brutal .129/.200/.161 start to the year through his first 35 plate appearances, prompting a move to be made. Manager Ron Gardenhire told reporters after the game that it was a “tough night” for the organization and called delivering this type of news the “worst part of being a manager” (link via MLive.com’s Evan Woodbery). “Tough decision. Not fun at all,” said Gardenhire. “I really like Mikie. He’s kind of scuffling a little bit. I told him he needs to go down and get his swing together and get his confidence back and he’ll be right back up here.” Mahtook, who hit .276/.330/.457 last season, took the demotion in stride, voicing confidence that he can turn things around in Toledo and return in the near future.

More out of the Motor City…

  • Wednesday was a frightening day for right-hander Jordan Zimmermann, who exited his start after being struck in the face by a line-drive off the bat of Jason Kipnis. Remarkably, however, it seems as though Zimmermann not only avoided major injury but will be able to make his next start, as MLB.com’s Jason Beck writes. Statcast measured the exit velocity of the comebacker that hit Zimmermann at a blistering 105.6 mph, but Zimmermann passed MLB’s concussion protocols, and X-rays came back negative. Zimmermann noted that it wasn’t the first time he’s endured that type of injury, as a comebacker in college broke his jaw. Beck’s column has quotes from Zimmermann, Gardenhire and Kipnis on the incident.
  • The Tigers will face a pivotal decision in their rebuilding effort this June when they have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft. Per Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs (all Twitter links), Auburn right-hander Casey Mize is favored to come off the board first overall at the moment, but the Tigers are also looking at Jarred Kelenic — a high school outfielder out of Waukesha, Wis., as a possibility with the top pick. The interest in Kelenic, McDaniel adds, isn’t a smokescreen designed to lower the price on other players and seems to be quite legitimate. Kelenic saw the Tigers’ Spring Training facility back in early March, and McDaniel notes that he’s been hearing talk about the two sides since that time, though those rumors have increased recently.

MLB Daily Roster Roundup: Eaton, Margot, Wheeler, Wieters

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ROSTER MOVES BY TEAM
(April 11th)

NATIONAL LEAGUE

  • ST. LOUIS CARDINALS | Depth Chart
    • Suspended: C Yadier Molina (1-game suspension)
      • Molina served the suspension on Wednesday.

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AMERICAN LEAGUE

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FUTURE EXPECTED MOVES

Injury Notes: Price, Shoemaker, Ervin, Trumbo, Yankees

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Red Sox left-hander David Price exited tonight’s game after one inning for what the team called “precautionary” reasons due to a “sensation” in his left hand (Twitter link via Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald). It was a night to forget for the lefty, who was hammered for four runs on three hits (one homer) and a pair of walks in his lone inning before being replaced by rookie southpaw Bobby Poyner. Elbow problems cost Price a substantial portion of the 2017 season, but he’d kicked off the 2018 campaign with a pair of scoreless, seven-inning gems against the Rays. Presumably, the Sox will have further updates on his condition after tonight’s game and/or tomorrow morning.

Some more injury news from around baseball…

  • The Angels announced tonight that right-hander Matt Shoemaker has been shut down for “a few weeks.” Shoemaker, on the DL for a forearm strain, underwent an EMG and a “nerve conduction study,” though the tests revealed no nerve irritation, per the announcement. Shoemaker is “treatment only” at this time as he awaits further testing. The Halos’ pitching staff has been hammered by injuries over the past couple of seasons, and they’ve already lost right-hander J.C. Ramirez for the season, as he’s likely to undergo Tommy John surgery to repair ligament damage in his right elbow. The Angels are on the verge of getting Andrew Heaney back, but they’ve already had to turn to 21-year-old prospect Jaime Barria, who is making his big league debut tonight. At present, it seems as if the Angels will deploy Shohei Ohtani, Garrett Richards, Tyler Skaggs and Heaney in their rotation moving forward, with righties Barria, Parker Bridwell and Nick Tropeano on hand as additional options. However, the loss of Ramirez and now an absence of undetermined length for Shoemaker, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Angels keep an eye out for some pitching depth.
  • Right-hander Ervin Santana has been cleared to begin a throwing program, per Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The Twins’ top starter, Santana has yet to pitch in 2018 after undergoing surgery to repair his right middle finger back in February. At last check, skipper Paul Molitor conceded that Santana was “a bit” behind schedule, though the start of a throwing program is a positive step for the 35-year-old. Berardino notes that Santana could require as much as six weeks to get back up to speed, however, so it seems as through the Twins will be without his contributions until at least mid-May.
  • The Orioles have halted Mark Trumbo’s rehab assignment, manager Buck Showalter told reporters, including Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com. While Showalter wouldn’t state that Trumbo had a setback, he did reveal that Trumbo “wasn’t quite comfortable” going full speed in the first game of a rehab stint with Double-A Bowie. The team didn’t provide a new timeline for Trumbo. Pedro Alvarez and Danny Valencia figure to continue platooning at the DH spot in his absence.
  • It appears as though Aaron Hicks has completed his rehab assignment. The outfielder tells reporters that he’s excited to rejoin the Yankees tomorrow (Twitter link Conor Foley of the Scranton Times-Tribune). Hicks walked and doubled in his second Triple-A rehab game tonight. He’s been out for two weeks with an intercostal strain that he suffered in the season opener. Meanwhile, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com tweeted yesterday that Jacoby Ellsbury will be shut down for 72 hours after receiving a cortisone shot in his ailing hip, so it seems the Yankees will likely have an update on him later this week once he attempts to resume baseball activities.

Rays To Select Contract Of Johnny Field

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The Rays announced tonight that they’ve optioned right-hander Ryan Weber to Triple-A Durham and will formally select the contract of minor league outfielder Johnny Field prior to Thursday’s game. Tampa Bay will have to make a corresponding 40-man roster move to accommodate Field, although that announcement won’t be made until tomorrow, per the team.

Field, 26, was the Rays’ fifth-round pick back in the 2013 draft and will be making his Major League debut when he first finds his way into the lineup for Tampa Bay. While he’s not considered to be among the organization’s top prospect at present, Baseball America did rank him 27th among Rays farmhands a couple offseasons ago, praising his feel for hitting and superb work ethic. Field had a lackluster season in 2017, but he’s posted an overall line of .268/.318/.437 in parts of three Triple-A campaigns (including a fast start in 2018).

The 27-year-old Weber pitched just a third of an inning for the Rays yesterday after being brought up to the big league club a day prior. Given that he has options remaining and experience in both the rotation and bullpen, he could be shuttled back and forth between St. Petersburg and Durham for much of the season as the Rays work with an unconventional alignment of their pitching staff that’ll assuredly require the club to frequently tap into its minor league system.

Athletics’ A.J. Puk Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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The A’s announced on Wednesday that top pitching prospect A.J. Puk underwent Tommy John surgery yesterday to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow. Dr. Neal ElAttrache performed the procedure on the highly touted southpaw, who will now be out for the entirety of the 2018 season.

The news isn’t a shock at this point, as Puk was originally recommended for Tommy John surgery back in late March after initially complaining of biceps soreness. Further testing revealed the problem to be ligament-related, and two doctors recommended that he undergo the season-ending procedure.

Puk, 23 later this month, was the sixth overall pick in the 2016 draft out of the University of Florida. The former Gators ace quickly ascended through the Athletics’ minor league system, tossing a combined 125 innings between Class-A Advanced and Double-A last season. In that time, he logged a 4.03 ERA with a gaudy 13.2 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 while displaying above-average ground-ball tendencies. Entering the season, Puk was touted as one of the game’s top overall prospects, with Baseball America, Fangraphs and Baseball Prospectus all tabbing him 30th overall, while MLB.com pegged him 32nd. ESPN’s Keith Law was the most bullish on Puk, ranking him 13th overall.

The towering 6’7″, 220-pound lefty showed well in Spring Training, working to a 3.38 ERA in 10 2/3 frames in big league camp and prompting some to speculate upon whether he could be an option for the Opening Day rotation — or at the very least a candidate to join the starting mix early on in the 2018 season. Instead, the A’s will now see their top prospect lose a full year of development, though it’s not difficult to envision him making an impact late in the 2019 season if his rehab goes according to plan.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/11/18

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Here are Wednesday’s minor moves from around the league…

  • Right-hander Jacob Turner has cleared waivers and been assigned to Triple-A New Orleans by the Marlins, tweets Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Turner, 26, was designated for assignment over the weekend after yielding 10 runs on 13 hits and five walks through his first 5 2/3 innings to open the season. The former top prospect has previously been outrighted in his career, so he had the opportunity to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, though it doesn’t seem as though he’s chosen to go that route. He’ll give a thin Marlins pitching staff some depth at the Triple-A level, where has a 4.17 ERA in 336 1/3 career innings to go along with averages of 6.7 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9.

Travis d’Arnaud Diagnosed With Partial UCL Tear

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Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud has been placed on the 10-day DL, the team announced. He has been diagnosed with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, Tim Britton of The Athletic tweets.

Needless to say, that’s not good news for the backstop, who has dealt with a long run of injuries in his relatively short MLB career. Youngster Tomas Nido has been called up to take his spot on the active roster.

At the moment, it isn’t clear just what the course of treatment will be for d’Arnaud. But it is possible he’ll require surgery, per Britton. If it turns out he needs a Tommy John procedure, it would likely cost d’Arnaud the remainder of the season.

UCL injuries are not as devastating for position players as they are for pitchers, of course. But a full replacement would still mean a lengthy rehab timeline. Miguel Sano, for instance, missed the rest of the 2014 season after undergoing a TJ fix at the beginning of March.

At times, d’Arnaud has shown plenty of promise in the majors — especially with a .268/.340/.485 slash in his 268 plate appearances in 2015. But he has never returned to that level of productivity with the bat. In the three seasons since, d’Arnaud carries a .244/.297/.393 slash.

Entering the current season, the plan was for the Mets to share time between d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki. Now, the latter figures to occupy the primary duties behind the dish. He, too, has shown promise at times but hasn’t fully established himself as a regular to this point.

For the time being, at least, Nido will have a shot to show he, too, belongs. The former eighth-round pick, who turns 24 on Thursday, is said to be profile as a quality defender but has a less-than-certain offensive profile. Nido touched the majors last year but spent most of the season at Double-A, where he hit .232/.287/.354 over 404 plate appearances.

It’s possible that the Mets could eventually turn to Jose Lobaton, a veteran of eight MLB campaigns. The switch-hitting career reserve is available at Triple-A after signing a minors deal over the winter. Of course, he is also coming off of a brutal (.170/.248/.277) season at the plate.

The injury certainly casts some doubt on d’Arnaud’s future in the organization — particularly if it spurs a UCL replacement. He is earning $3.475MM this year with one more season of arbitration eligibility remaining.

Giants Promote Andrew Suarez, Move Madison Bumgarner To 60-Day DL

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The Giants announced today that they have promoted lefty Andrew Suarez, as expected. To create space on the 40-man roster, the club moved star hurler Madison Bumgarner to the 60-day DL. An active roster spot was opened by optioning reliever Steven Okert.

Suarez, 25, will follow Tyler Beede in making his debut for a San Francisco organization that has been hit hard by rotation injuries. There is a bit of good news on that front, as Jeff Samardzija is on track to return next week, as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. For now, though the club will see what it has in some young hurlers.

Suarez, 25, was a second-round pick in the 2015 draft. He has been a steady performer while climbing the ladder in the Giants’ farm system, first reaching the top rung last year. In his 155 2/3 total innings in 2017, split between Double-A and Triple-A, he carried a 3.30 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 while generating grounders on nearly half the balls put in play against him.

As for Bumgarner, it is not exactly a surprise to see him put on ice for the full sixty days while he returns from a fractured pinky finger. That injury, which occurred late in camp, was expected to keep him out until early June anyway. Though the veteran had hoped to return sooner than initial projections, he could still conceivably beat the target by a few weeks after today’s placement.

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