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Mike Zunino Placed On DL With Oblique Strain

By Jeff Todd | March 30, 2018 at 9:22pm CDT

The Mariners have elected to place catcher Mike Zunino on the 10-day DL with a left oblique strain, per a club announcement. David Freitas was recalled to take his spot on the active roster.

Per the club, the injury occurred during a workout on Wednesday. The initial hope, though, had been that the it wouldn’t require a DL stint. It’s still unclear how long Zunino will be down.

Clearly, the M’s were not anticipating opening the year without their top backstop. Zunino turned in a big 2017 season — .251/.331/.509 with 25 home runs — and is expected to be a key component of Seattle’s hopes in 2018. Hopefully this muscle injury will not prove to be a major obstacle.

Remaining Free Agents Of Note

By Steve Adams and Jeff Todd | March 30, 2018 at 8:54pm CDT

Greg Holland’s reported agreement with the Cardinals took the remaining top-tier free agent off the market, somewhat fittingly prolonging the most drawn-out free agent market in recent history to a wire-to-wire affair. With the season now underway, and all of our top fifty free agents under contract, we thought it’d be interesting to look at the most notable names still remaining. It’s not certain that all of the below-listed players are still intent on continuing their playing careers, but surely many of them hope to do so — or, at least, did when the offseason got underway.

Catchers

Ryan Hanigan, Chris Herrmann, Derek Norris, Carlos Ruiz, Cameron Rupp, Geovany Soto

Rupp is probably the most notable name on the list, as he’s just 29 years of age and is coming off of a three-year run over which he compiled a .236/.301/.417 batting line with 39 home runs in 1,049 plate appearances. Herrmann opened eyes in 2016 but came back to earth last year; he and the others mostly look to be depth options at this point.

Utility Infielders

Erick Aybar, Darwin Barney, Stephen Drew, Yunel Escobar, J.J. Hardy, Brandon Phillips

There are some notable players here, many of whom have enjoyed lengthy runs as regulars. Both Escobar and Phillips have maintained solid offensive output over the past several years, though neither is capable of playing shortstop. J.J. Hardy certainly still is capable of handling the glove at short, but his bat has collapsed.

Fourth Outfielders

Ben Revere, Melvin Upton Jr.

Both of these veterans are capable of playing center, so they could find themselves in some demand if a need for a versatile bench outfielder arises. Of course, neither has distinguished himself offensively in recent seasons.

Corner Bats

Jose Bautista, Melky Cabrera, Andre Ethier, Franklin Gutierrez, Matt Holliday, Adam Lind, Brandon Moss, Jhonny Peralta, Ryan Raburn, Mark Reynolds, Michael Saunders, Seth Smith

It’s rather remarkable to see such a long list of recognizable sluggers out of work, though that certainly dovetails with the widely observed recent market developments. There’s good reason to believe that many of these players can still handle the bat at the game’s highest level, but at this point it seems some of them may end up moving on to other pursuits.

Starting Pitchers

R.A. Dickey, Scott Feldman, Yovani Gallardo, Matt Garza, Ubaldo Jimenez, Scott Kazmir, John Lackey, Jeff Locke, Ricky Nolasco, Jake Peavy, Chris Young

Many teams are also betting on young starters rather than handing off rotation spots to innings eaters. In some seasons in the past, we’d have expected to see a few make-good, low-guarantee MLB deals — or minors pacts with real shots at making the majors — given out to some of these hurlers. Instead, there’s a lot of experience waiting by the telephone. (It’s worth noting that Dickey rather clearly would have commanded a solid guarantee after his productive 2017 season, but has a strict geographic interest area and may not have been interested in pursuing contracts at all.)

Relievers

Antonio Bastardo*, Joe Blanton, Josh Collmenter, Gallardo, Jason Grilli, Daniel Hudson, Eric O’Flaherty*, Dustin McGowan, Jason Motte, Chad Qualls, Young

This list is short on lefties (*), proving yet again that it pays to be a southpaw. Hudson, a hard-throwing 31-year-old released at the tail end of camp, is sure to draw plenty of interest. The outlook is decidedly less optimistic for the others, though in most cases minor-league deals ought to be available.

Giants Release Jarrett Parker

By Jeff Todd | March 30, 2018 at 7:56pm CDT

The Giants have released outfielder Jarrett Parker after he cleared waivers, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports tweets. He had been designated for assignment recently.

It’s somewhat surprising to hear that the San Francisco organization is parting with Parker entirely after deciding not to keep him in the majors. The 29-year-old has at times been seen as a potentially useful MLB asset, but it seems the club just didn’t have the space available at Triple-A and decided to allow Parker to explore other possibilities.

Parker did go down on strikes twenty times in his 48 plate appearances this spring, but also ended up posting a healthy .561 slugging percentage. He’s a .274/.368/.503 hitter at Triple-A and has hit at better than a league-average rate in his 382 career MLB plate appearances, so there’s little question that Parker will draw some interest from other organizations.

Brewers Sign Dan Jennings, Move Jimmy Nelson To 60-Day DL

By Steve Adams | March 30, 2018 at 6:11pm CDT

FRIDAY: The deal has been announced. Milwaukee opened a 40-man spot by shifting righty Jimmy Nelson to the 60-day DL. That will mean he can’t debut until the end of May, though he was not expected back before then anyway.

First baseman/DH Ji-Man Choi — whose eye-opening spring surprisingly earned him a MLB roster spot — was optioned to create room on the active roster.

WEDNESDAY: The Brewers are in agreement with left-hander Dan Jennings, pending a physical, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). I’m told it’s a Major League pact for the veteran southpaw.

The ACES client was released by the Rays earlier this week, and Tom Haudicourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel suggested earlier tonight that the Brew Crew was pursuing an external pitching addition that could carry 25-man roster implications (Twitter links). Specifically, Haudicourt implied that Ji-Man Choi, who won a spot on the Brewers’ Opening Day roster but has an option remaining, could be sent to Triple-A early in the season once this deal is finalized.

Jennings, 31 next month, was somewhat surprisingly cut loose by the Rays earlier this week. He’d agreed to a $2.375MM salary with Tampa Bay earlier this winter, avoiding arbitration, and the Rays’ decision to cut him loose means they’ll be on the hook for about $584K of that sum (45 days’ termination pay). He’ll pocket that sum in addition to the guarantee to which he agreed on his new deal with the Brewers.

The decision to cut Jennings had been speculated upon but was nonetheless somewhat of an eye-opener, as the veteran southpaw posted a strong 3.45 ERA with 7.3 K/9, 4.5 BB/9 and a 59.8 percent ground-ball rate in 62 2/3 frames between the White Sox and Rays last season. Opposing lefties hit just .213/.323/.306 in 128 plate appearances against Jennings. Moreover, the Rays traded at least a somewhat notable prospect, first baseman Casey Gillaspie, in order to acquire Jennings.

He’ll now join a Brewers bullpen that saw its left-handed depth take a hit with an injury to fellow veteran Boone Logan, who looks likely to miss six or more weeks with a strained triceps muscle.. As an added bonus, Jennings enters the year just a single day shy of five years of MLB service. Because of that, the Brewers will be able to control him through the 2019 season via arbitration as opposed to just the 2018 season.

All told, Jennings will bring to the Brewers a veteran arm with a career 2.90 ERA, 7.3 K/9, 4.1 BB/9 and a 55.2 percent ground-ball rate to a Brewers’ bullpen that also features closer Corey Knebel and setup men Jeremy Jeffress, Josh Hader, Matt Albers and Jacob Barnes.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Phillies Place Pat Neshek On Disabled List

By Steve Adams | March 30, 2018 at 3:45pm CDT

The Phillies have placed right-hander Pat Neshek on the 10-day disabled list with a right shoulder strain, tweets Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Fellow right-hander Yacksel Rios has been recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley in Neshek’s place.

Neshek, 37, will join fellow offseason signee Tommy Hunter on the disabled list, meaning the Phillies will lose a combined $34.25MM in relief help before either of the two recipients of those contracts makes an appearance in the 2018 campaign. There’s no word, at present, of just how long Neshek will be sidelined, though obviously the news still serves as a blow to what now looks to be a largely inexperienced relief corps.

Last season, Neshek opened the year with the Phillies before being traded to the Rockies in July. In 62 1/3 innings between the two clubs, he turned in a 1.59 ERA with 10.0 K/9, 0.9 BB/9, 0.43 HR/9 and a 36.4 percent ground-ball rate.

The 24-year-old Rios, meanwhile, made his MLB debut with the Phils in 2017, working to a 4.41 ERA with a 17-to-9 K/BB ratio in 16 1/3 innings. He split the rest of his season between Double-A and Triple-A, working to a combined 1.92 ERA with 10.2 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and a roughly 38 percent ground-ball rate

Braves Place Tyler Flowers On DL, Select Contract Of Miguel Socolovich

By Steve Adams | March 30, 2018 at 2:06pm CDT

Braves catcher Tyler Flowers has been placed on the 10-day DL with a strained left oblique muscle, the team announced. No timeline for his return was given, but oblique issues tend to sideline a player for a month or more. In a pair of corresponding moves, Atlanta has selected the contract of right-hander Miguel Socolovich and transferred left-hander Jacob Lindgren to the 60-day DL. Lindgren recently underwent Tommy John surgery.

The 32-year-old backstop suffered the injury in his first at-bat of the season in yesterday’s opener. As Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted yesterday after Flowers exited the game, he’d been slowed by a groin issue in Spring Training that created enough concern for the Braves to carry three catchers to begin the season. Veteran Chris Stewart made the Braves’ roster after signing a non-guaranteed big league deal this offseason, and he’ll now likely serve as the backup to Kurt Suzuki for the foreseeable future, as Suzuki steps into the role of manager Brian Snitker’s primary catcher.

It’s a tough blow for the Braves, who enjoyed a career year from Flowers in 2017. Long regarded as a quality defensive catcher, Flowers took his offensive game to new heights last season when he slashed .281/.378/.445 with a dozen homers in 370 trips to the plate. That marked a continuation of the improvements he showed in his first season of a two-year deal (plus a 2018 option) with the Braves, as Flowers has followed up seven underwhelming offensive campaigns with the White Sox to hit .276/.368/.433 for the Braves — the team that originally selected him in both the 2004 and 2005 drafts.

With Flowers on the shelf, Atlanta will look to Suzuki to build upon on his own career year from 2017. The 34-year-old Suzuki hit .283/.351/.536 with a career-best 19 homers last year in 309 PAs for the Braves. Rather than test the open market, Suzuki instead agreed to a one-year, $3.5MM extension with Atlanta late last September.

Socolovich, 31, has spent the past three seasons in the Cardinals organization, totaling 66 1/3 innings of relief work and posting a 3.80 ERA with 7.7 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and a 44.1 percent ground-ball rate. Socolovich has averaged just 90.6 mph on his heater in that time but has gotten by thanks to a knack for limiting hard contact (27.8 percent hard-hit rate, 16.4 percent line-drive rate) and inducing pop-ups (14.4 percent infield-fly rate).

MLBTR Chat Transcript

By Steve Adams | March 30, 2018 at 12:55pm CDT

Click here to read a transcript of Friday’s chat with MLBTR’s Steve Adams.

Yankees Place Aaron Hicks On Disabled List

By Steve Adams | March 30, 2018 at 11:37am CDT

The Yankees announced on Friday that they’ve placed outfielder Aaron Hicks on the 10-day disabled list with a strained right intercostal muscle. He’ll join fellow outfielders Jacoby Ellsbury (right oblique strain) and Clint Frazier (concussion) on the disabled list. Outfield prospect Billy McKinney has been recalled from Triple-A in place of Hicks.

Hicks, 28, went 2-for-4 in his season debut yesterday and didn’t appear to suffer an injury over the course of the game, making today’s announcement somewhat of a surprise. The Yankees clearly have plenty of depth from which to draw, though the injuries to Frazier and Ellsbury, combined with the late-spring trade of Jake Cave, have thinned out their outfield ranks to an extent. With Hicks on the shelf, the Yankees can use Brett Gardner in center and play Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton in the corners.

[Related: Updated New York Yankees depth chart]

New York is counting on Hicks for a strong performance in 2018 after breaking out in an injury-shortened 2017 season. Last year, the switch-hitting former first-rounder slashed a hefty .266/.372/.475 with 15 homers and 10 steals in 361 plate appearances over the life of 88 games. Oblique strains on both his right and left sides hampered him, but he nonetheless demonstrated enough for the Yankees to consider him their primary center fielder heading into 2018.

McKinney will join the team in Toronto and make his big league debut if and when he gets into a game. The former first-round pick came to the Yankees alongside Gleyber Torres in the trade that sent Aroldis Chapman to the Cubs at the 2016 non-waiver deadline. Now 23 years of age, McKinney restored some of the prospect status he lost in a poor 2016 season by hitting .277/.338/.483 in the upper minors last season. He has experience at all three outfield spots but has spent more time in the corners recently in addition to getting his feet wet at first base in 2017.

Minor MLB Transactions: 3/30/18

By Steve Adams | March 30, 2018 at 11:33am CDT

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

The Orioles released southpaws David Holmberg and Hunter Cervenka, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. The 28-year-old Cervenka appeared in five games with the Marlins last season and has struggled to the tune of a 4.69 ERA in 48 big league innings between Atlanta and Miami. He’s long shown the ability to miss bats in the minors but has also had an ongoing battle with his control. Holmberg, meanwhile, tossed 57 2/3 frames for the ChiSox in 2017, working to a 4.68 earned run average with averages of 5.2 K/9 and 5.3 BB/9. The former second-rounder hasn’t had much big league success but has been serviceable in 299 2/3 Triple-A innings (4.23 ERA, 5.5 K/9, 2.9 BB/9).

NL West Notes: Lucchesi, Turner, Souza, D-backs

By Steve Adams | March 30, 2018 at 8:53am CDT

The Padres rotation — like other parts of the roster — came with some surprises. As Dennis Lin of the Athletic tweets, Joey Lucchesi is going to take the ball for the team’s second game of the season. And while veteran righty Tyson Ross didn’t open the season on the active roster, he’s expected to be added in short order, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune adds on Twitter. Acee notes that there’ll be some competition early in the season to see who’ll be able to stick as a long-term piece in the unsettled rotation mix, noting that Lucchesi has a chance to stay if he performs well.

Lucchesi, 24, was a fourth-round pick in the 2016 draft and will be the first pitcher taken that season to appear in the Majors. He ranks ninth in a stacked Padres farm system according to both MLB.com and Baseball America, having turned in a combined 2.20 ERA with 9.6 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and 50 percent ground-ball rate in 139 innings between Class-A Advanced and Double-A last season.

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