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Latest On Danny Salazar

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The Indians are still searching for answers on Danny Salazar’s ailing right shoulder, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Salazar, 28, has been out all season due to a right shoulder impingement that is causing tendinitis, and he’s currently not throwing after receiving a pair of injections in his shoulder this month. He will be re-evaluated by team medical officials in the coming days.

FanRag’s Jon Heyman, though, paints an even more ominous picture when it comes to Salazar, reporting in this week’s notes column that the Indians don’t expect Salazar to return until September, if he returns at all this season. For a club that has seen considerable struggles both at the fifth spot in the rotation and in the bullpen, that’s a most unwelcome timeline for a clearly talented arm that, if healthy, would give Cleveland one of the top rotations in all of baseball.

Fans of the team, clearly, will hope that there’s still some possibility of a more optimistic prognosis. The recent track record, though, does not inspire much confidence. Shoulder troubles slowed Salazar in 2017 as well, when the right-hander was limited to just 103 innings. More generally, durability concerns have plagued him throughout his MLB tenure, as he’s topped 25 appearances and 140 innings in just one season — his 185-inning 2015 campaign.

If Salazar is indeed out of the picture for the foreseeable future, the Indians will  have to determine whether Shane Bieber or Adam Plutko will occupy the fifth spot in the rotation behind Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer and Mike Clevinger now that Josh Tomlin has been dropped to the bullpen. They’ll also need to plan for ways in which they can upgrade their bullpen without relying on the possibility of a healthy Salazar returning to supplement a group that has struggled through multiple DL stints to Andrew Miller. Clearly, the team has missed the reliable innings it got last year from setup men Bryan Shaw and Joe Smith (though Shaw has struggled considerably in his own right in his first season with the Rockies).

A prolonged absence for Salazar would not only be a blow to the Indians but would also potentially impact his future standing with the organization. Salazar entered the 2018 season with three years, 162 days of Major League service time and will be arbitration-eligible for the third time as a Super Two player this offseason. He’s earning $5MM this year and would likely command that same figure in arbitration were he to miss the whole year, while he’d probably receive a small bump if he returns to contribute in any capacity this September. While that’s hardly an exorbitant amount to pay for a pitcher of Salazar’s considerable upside, the Indians don’t generally have ample cash reserves to work with and could end up facing a tough call.

Edwin Jackson Exercises Opt-Out Clause

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Veteran righty Edwin Jackson has exercised his opt-out clause with the Nationals, per Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post (via Twitter). He is expected to be released by the organization tomorrow.

Jackson, 34, spent the 2012 season in D.C. and returned to D.C. last year to help fill a rotation void. He re-joined the club on a minors deal that deal would have paid him at a $1.5MM rate in the majors, with up to $1.4MM in incentives.

Most opt-out provisions allow a player to decide whether to exercise the clause. If triggered, the team then has a period of time within which to decide whether to add the player to the MLB roster. In this case, it appears from the report that the team has already made up its mind to grant Jackson his release, though in theory the Nats could presumably decide to elevate him to the majors.

Jackson certainly has produced solid results thus far at Triple-A Syracuse. Through ten starts, he owns a 3.40 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9. Of course, there’s also no evidence of any particular changes that would allow Jackson to produce better numbers than he has of late in the majors. Since the start of the 2013 season, he has thrown 531 2/3 innings of 5.32 ERA ball at the game’s highest level.

In any event, the Nationals are evidently disinclined to make a 40-man move in order to hang onto Jackson. There’s no room in the rotation at present, though presumably he could have been utilized in a relief capacity, as he has with some frequency in recent seasons. Jackson will head back onto the open market in hopes of finding a more promising path back to the big leagues.

Angels Claim Oliver Drake

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The Angels have claimed reliever Oliver Drake off waivers from the Indians, per a club announcement. He had been designated recently by the Cleveland organization.

Meanwhile, the Halos also announced that southpaw Ian Krol cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A. It is not yet clear if he accepted the assignment to the club’s top affiliate.

The 31-year-old Drake has had a rough go of things this year. He opened the season with the Brewers and then landed with the Indians. Despite recording 19 strikeouts and a 46.0% groundball rate in his 17 frames, he has coughed up 15 earned runs on 21 hits and nine walks on the year.

For the Halos, Drake will provide a fresh arm that still holds its share of intrigue. He has, after all, managed a 13.1% swinging-strike rate this season and has surely been unlucky to carry only a 51.6% strand rate and .412 batting average on balls put in play against him. Indeed, Statcast credits him with an appealing .311 xwOBA that significantly lags the actual .353 wOBA that has been produced by opposing hitters.

Reds Acquire Curt Casali

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4:34pm: Casali has not been placed on the MLB roster to this point, per C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic (via Twitter). Presumably, though, the team will select Casali’s contract or otherwise bring another catcher up before its next game, which is tomorrow evening.

4:20pm: The Reds have acquired catcher Curt Casali from the Rays, per a club announcement. Cash considerations are heading to Tampa Bay in return.

Casali, 29, has seen action in four MLB campaigns. He’s a .199/.285/.385 hitter with 19 home runs in 466 career plate appearances. This season, Casali is off to a solid start to the year at Triple-A, where he’s slashing .283/.330/.467 in one hundred trips to the plate. He has also typically graded as a solid performer at framing pitches, blocking balls in the dirt, and handling the running game.

It seems that the Reds will be adding Casali to the MLB roster, as the club announced that fellow backstop Tony Cruz has been optioned down to Triple-A. The 31-year-old Cruz has struggled in limited action this year at the MLB level, with 11 strikeouts in his 26 plate appearances.

Indians Promote Shane Bieber

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MAY 31: The move is official. Righty Ben Taylor was optioned to open an active roster spot, while fellow righty Nick Goody was moved from the 10-day to the 60-day DL for a 40-man opening.

MAY 28: The Indians are set to promote top pitching prospect Shane Bieber for his first MLB action, skipper Terry Francona announced (via Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal, on Twitter). Bieber is slated to receive a start on Thursday, which is also his 23rd birthday.For the time being, it’s expected only to be a spot start.

Since he was taken in the fourth-round of the 2016 draft out of UCSB, Bieber has zipped up the ladder in the Cleveland farm system.In 2017, his first full season as a pro, Bieber threw 173 1/3 innings of 2.86 ERA ball with a shiny 162:10 K/BB ratio.

The results have been even better thus far in 2018. In ten starts — five apiece between Double-A and Triple-A — he has allowed just eight earned runs on 43 hits over 65 1/3 innings, while racking up a ridiculous mix of 61 strikeouts against just three free passes.

Prospect evaluators have increasingly taken notice of Bieber’s sustained output. MLB.com just bumped him onto its top-100 list, crediting him with four useful pitches that he (obviously) commands with aplomb. Clearly, there’s some question whether Bieber’s pure stuff is all that compelling, but it seems his off-the-charts ability to spot the ball will likely make him a useful major-league hurler.

The Indians obviously believe that Bieber is ready now to begin contributing at the game’s highest level. Though he’s only scheduled to get the ball once before being demoted, the move will put Bieber on the 40-man roster. He could well be the top available arm if a future need arises, whether that’s in the rotation or a bullpen unit that has struggled mightily thus far.

Phillies Place Rhys Hoskins On DL, Promote Dylan Cozens, Designate Drew Hutchison

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3:51pm: The injury will not require surgery and is considered “weeks thing, not a months thing,” Matt Gelb of The Athletic was among those to tweet.

2:14pm: The Phillies announced on Thursday that they’ve placed Rhys Hoskins on the DL with a fractured jaw and recalled outfield prospect Dylan Cozens from Triple-A Lehigh Valley in his place. Additionally, the Phils recalled right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. and cleared a spot on the roster by designating fellow righty Drew Hutchison for assignment.

Hoskins incurred the fracture on Monday this week when he fouled a ball into his jaw and was forced to exit the game. Initial x-rays proved to be negative, it seems, as Hoskins somewhat remarkably hit a pinch-hit double a day later on Tuesday. However, a CT scan revealed the fracture last night. At the time, he was reportedly set to return to Philadelphia for further evaluation by an oral surgeon. The Phillies have yet to announce the findings of that exam, though surgery was at least mentioned as a possible option.

Until the Phils make that announcement, there’s no way of knowing just how long Hoskins will be sidelined. In his absence, though, the organization will turn to former Cozens, the former second-rounder who has long held intrigue due to his light-tower power but has also displayed considerable struggles making contact in Triple-A.

It’s the first call to the Majors for the 23-year-old Cozens, who garnered plenty of attention with a 40-homer campaign as a 22-year-old in Double-A. Cozens posted an overall .276/.350/.591 batting line that season in a year which he and Hoskins were teammates who served as a source of great excitement for Phils fans. However, while Hoskins ascended to the Majors late in 2017 and took the big leagues by storm over the season’s final two months, Cozens struggled with a strikeout rate north of 35 percent in Triple-A. Overall, between 2017 and 2018, he’s batted just .214/.307/.424 with a 36.4 percent strikeout rate in 739 PAs at the Triple-A level.

With Hoskins on the shelf, the Phils could utilize Nick Williams, Odubel Herrera and Aaron Altherr as the primary outfielders, although given Altherr’s struggles against righties, perhaps the makings of a corner-outfield platoon are present at Citizens Bank Park.

As for Hutchison, the 27-year-old made the Opening Day roster after coming to camp on a minor league deal, but he’s scarcely been used by skipper Gabe Kapler in recent weeks. Hutchison posted a 2.76 ERA with a 16-to-8 K/BB ratio in 16 1/3 innings of relief from Opening Day through May 4, but he appeared just two more times over the remainder of the month. The Cardinals tagged him for five runs in a long relief appearance on May 18, and he allowed a run in two innings to the Dodgers yesterday.

In all, Hutchison has a 4.64 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 5.5 BB/9 in 21 1/3 innings this season. He has experience starting in the Majors and is earning a fairly minimal salary, so perhaps a club in need of some rotation depth or a long man in the ’pen would be interested in adding him to its ranks, be it via waivers or a minor trade.

Dodgers Activate Clayton Kershaw

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The Dodgers announced that they’ve reinstated left-hander Clayton Kershaw from the disabled list and created a roster spot by optioning switch-pitcher Pat Venditte to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Kershaw, who’s been out since May 1 due to biceps tendinitis in his left arm, will start tonight’s game against the visiting Phillies.

The three-time NL Cy Young winner and five-time NL ERA leader will return to the Dodgers’ rotation just one day after right-hander Kenta Maeda landed on the disabled list with a right hip strain. It’s been an ongoing struggle for the Dodgers to keep their starting staff healthy so far this season, as Maeda is joined on the disabled list by lefties Rich Hill and Hyun-Jin Ryu. Fortunately for the Dodgers, Kershaw’s absence proved to be shorter than his DL trips for back injuries in each of the past two seasons.

Kershaw will step back into the starting mix alongside Alex Wood, rookie sensation Walker Buehler and the breakout righty Ross Stripling. While that may not be a rotation mix the Dodgers anticipated having to lean upon in 2018, the quality of that group serves as a testament to the depth that the Dodgers seem to have a knack for cultivating on a yearly basis.

While the Dodgers’ early struggles garnered plenty of national media attention, they’ve quieted the narrative that their season was on the brink of being lost by rattling off 10 wins in their past 13 contests. Los Angeles is still three games south of the .500 mark, but the collapse of the former NL West-leading Diamondbacks has opened a door for the Dodgers, who now sit 3.5 games back from the Rockies, who suddenly find themselves in first place.

A healthy Kershaw will go a long way toward continuing their recent success, though there are clearly some longer-term implications here for both Kershaw and the team. Kershaw has the ability to opt out of the remaining two years of his contract at season’s end, and he’s all but certain to do so. While the Dodgers clearly possess the financial firepower to match or top virtually any offer another team can make to Kershaw, the price of a new contract with the Dodgers or another club will be impacted in no small part by his ability to put this injury behind him and return to his status as one of the game’s elite arms.

Cardinals Place Alex Reyes On DL With “Significant” Lat Strain

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3:07pm: It’s a “significant” lat strain for Reyes, GM Mike Girsch tells reporters (Twitter link via Mark Saxon of The Athletic). There won’t be an exact timetable on his recovery until he receives a second opinion, per Saxon, though certainly that update from Girsch is far from promising. An MRI taken this morning revealed the injury, tweets Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

2:09pm: The Cardinals announced today that they’ve placed top prospect Alex Reyes back on the disabled list with a strained right lat muscle. St. Louis also optioned struggling outfielder Tyler O’Neill and right-hander John Gant to Triple-A Memphis. Filling those spots on the roster will be lefty Austin Gomber, righty Mike Mayers and first baseman Luke Voit, each of whom has been recalled from Memphis.

Reyes had Cardinals fans salivating as he tore through minor league batters in a rehab assignment, and he looked dominant in the first inning of yesterday’s return affair before slowly experiencing a dip in his velocity over the subsequent three innings. President of baseball ops John Mozeliak told The Athletic’s Jim Bowden last night that Reyes’ elbow was “fine,” and that appears to be the case, though the lat muscle presents a new issue for the vaunted young right-hander to overcome. While any injury to Reyes’ throwing arm is of course a cause for concern for the organization, it’s likely a silver lining that the issue is not specific to his surgically repaired right elbow.

With Reyes back on the shelf, the Cards will once again deploy a rotation consisting of Miles Mikolas, Luke Weaver, Michael Wacha and Jack Flaherty as they await the return of ace Carlos Martinez from a lat strain of his own. Martinez did go out on a minor league rehab assignment today, per the team’s transactions page, but while he’s nearing a return, it seems that fans will have to wait for the a highly anticipated 1-2 punch of Martinez and Reyes atop the staff.

[Related: St. Louis Cardinals depth chart]

As for O’Neill, he’ll head back to Triple-A and look to make continued strides on his approach at the plate and his bat-to-ball skills. While the 22-year-old flashed the power that has made him such an intriguing prospect, early proclamations of a new star’s arrival were proven premature. O’Neill struggled enormously to make consistent contact, whiffing in 43.9 percent of his trips to the plate and in 13 of his final 19 plate appearances before being optioned out.

None of that is to suggest that O’Neill doesn’t have the potential to develop into a regular middle-of-the-order threat for the Cards, of course. While contact issues had plagued him earlier in his minor league tenure, he whittled his strikeout rate down to a more respectable 23.3 percent in Memphis this season before being called to the Majors. His approach still needs some refinement, though, as was evidenced by a 2.5 percent walk rate in Triple-A and a near-identical mark in his brief MLB tenure this season. O’Neill has mashed 13 homers in 120 PAs with Memphis and three in the bigs, though, so there’s little doubting the legitimacy of his power.

With O’Neill in the minors, it’ll be Marcell Ozuna, Tommy Pham, Dexter Fowler and Harrison Bader splitting up the bulk of the outfield duties. Meanwhile, in the rotation, it’s possible that Gomber could step up and make a spot start as the team awaits the return of Martinez. If not, he’ll give the ’pen a fresh lefty at a time when both Brett Cecil and Tyler Lyons have endured some considerable struggles. Gomber has made nine start in Memphis and logged a solid 3.60 ERA with a 63-to-17 K/BB ratio in 55 innings of work.

Mayers, meanwhile, will return for another stint to give the bullpen some depth. The 26-year-old has already been optioned to Memphis and incredible five times in the season’s first two months, and that seems likely to be the role he fills in St. Louis this season unless further injuries in the Majors carve out a more permanent spot for him.

The 27-year-old Voit is hitting just .243/.351/.348 in Triple-A so far in 2018, but he had a monster season there in 2017 and also hit .246/.306/.430 with four homers in 128 plate appearances at the Major League level. This’ll be his first appearance on the 2018 roster for the Cards.

Braves Select Peter Bourjos, Release Aaron Blair

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The Braves announced on Thursday that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Peter Bourjos, who’ll return for a second stint with the big league club this season. To create room on the 40-man roster, Atlanta released right-hander Aaron Blair, who’d previously undergone season-ending shoulder surgery. Meanwhile, Dustin Peterson was optioned to Triple-A to create a spot on the 25-man roster for Bourjos’ return.

Bourjos, 31, was on the Braves’ Opening Day roster after signing a Major League deal late in Spring Training, but he received sparse playing time in Atlanta before being designated for assignment, electing free agency and returning to the organization on a new minor league contract. He enjoyed a productive 24-game run in Triple-A Gwinnett between stints with the big league club, slashing .277/.352/.511 with a pair of homers, six doubles and five triples through 105 plate appearances.

The fleet-footed Bourjos will give the Braves a backup option in center field behind Ender Inciarte — something they presently lack with Ronald Acuna on the 10-day disabled list. Preston Tucker and Charlie Culberson have been handling left field with Inciarte in center and Nick Markakis in right, and it’s not entirely clear how the Braves will adjust that mix once Acuna is able to return. Bourjos could be sent out again, but Culberson is only just now showing signs of life at the plate after a poor start, while Tucker hasn’t hit much at all since a hot first week of the season.

As for Blair, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that the Braves will continue to pay for the right-hander’s rehab from shoulder surgery. It stands to reason that there’s a fair chance he’ll re-sign with the club on a new minor league deal where he can serve as a depth option in 2019 without occupying a spot on the big league 40-man roster.

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