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AL Central Notes: Twins, Kwan, Olson

By Nick Deeds | September 14, 2024 at 9:34pm CDT

The Twins recently welcomed a pair of key players back from the injured list, returning both center fielder Byron Buxton and shortstop Carlos Correa to the starting lineup. Buxton was activated in advance of yesterday’s game after missing the past month with a hip injury, while Correa has been out for the past two months due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot. The duo’s return to action is surely a relief for Twins fans. After all, only Matt Wallner’s 162 wRC+ surpasses Correa’s 152 and Buxton’s 142 figures among the club’s regulars, and the two stars also play key defensive roles at shortstop and center field respectively.

As important as both Correa and Buxton are to the Twins’ pursuit of an AL Wild Card spot and impending postseason push, however, they won’t be in the lineup every day down the stretch. As noted by Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic, manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters earlier today that both players will be in the lineup on a truly game-to-game basis, with the team’s medical staff evaluating them both after each game to determine whether or not they’ll be available to play in the club’s next game.

That aggressive management of the club’s two top players might seem counter-intuitive for a Twins club that’s clinging to a 2.5-game lead over Detroit for the final AL Wild Card spot, but it’s fairly understandable given the pair’s significant injury woes. After all, Buxton’s injury woes throughout his career have been extreme enough that the next game he takes the field for will mean he’s played more games in 2024 with 93 than he has in any season of his 10-year big league career except 2017. While Correa’s injury woes haven’t been quite that extreme, the shortstop has been limited to just 75 games this year by injury and is now attempting to play through plantar fasciitis for the second consecutive September. For a Twins club that hasn’t made it to the ALCS since 2002, keeping Correa and Buxton as healthy as possible for the playoffs is clearly a top priority.

For his part, Correa seems to be on board. The shortstop told reporters (as relayed by Gleeman) that “Realistically, [he’s] not going to play every game” before adding that he wants to be on the field for the Twins “as much as possible” going forward this season. When Correa and Buxton are unable to play, Brooks Lee appears to be the club’s primary backup at shortstop while Willi Castro is the top option in center field.

More from around the AL Central…

The Guardians are dealing with an injury scare regarding one of their top hitters, as club manager Stephen Vogt told reporters (including Mandy Bell of MLB.com) that outfielder Steven Kwan has been out of the lineup in recent days due to what he described as “back soreness.” While that diagnosis may seem fairly benign, it’s at least somewhat concerning that Vogt added Kwan has been sent for testing to determine the severity of the issue. While it’s nearly impossible for the Guardians to miss the playoffs at this point, the club holds a fairly tenuous three-game lead over the Royals for the AL Central crown, which is likely to come with a bye through the first round of the playoffs. The loss of Kwan, who has excelled as the club’s leadoff hitter with a .291/.364/.419 slash line this year, would surely complicate the club’s hopes of holding onto its present playoff positioning and an lengthy absence could even jeopardize Kwan’s availability in the early rounds of the playoffs. Will Brennan, Angel Martinez, and Daniel Schneemann are among the club’s options in left field while Kwan is unavailable.
The Tigers have been without Reese Olson for virtually the entire second half this year after the right-hander went on the IL back in July due to a shoulder strain. Fortunately, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic) this afternoon that the club hopes to activate Olson from the IL during the club’s upcoming series against the Royals early next week. A healthy and effective return from Olson would be a huge boost for a Detroit club that sits just 2.5 games back of Minnesota for the final AL Wild Card spot, as the 25-year-old righty was in the midst of a breakout season with a 3.23 ERA and 3.13 FIP in 19 starts before being sidelined.

Nori Aoki To Retire At NPB Season’s End

By Nick Deeds | September 14, 2024 at 6:56pm CDT

Former big league outfielder and current member of Nippon Professional Baseball’s Yakult Swallows Nori Aoki is set to retire following the 2024 campaign, per an announcement from the Swallows yesterday (hat tip to The Yomiuri Shimbun). Aoki, 42, spent parts of six seasons in the majors in addition to a lengthy career in Japan.

Aoki’s career first began with the Swallows back in 2004 when he debuted at the age of 22. He made it into just ten games with Yakult that year, going 3-for-15 at the plate with a walk, a stolen base, and six strikeouts. That tiny sample size did nothing to suggest what Aoki would go on to do in his first full season with the club, however, as he slashed an excellent .344/.387/.417 in 144 games during the 2005 season, becoming just the second player in NPB history (after Ichiro Suzuki) to collect 200 hits in a single season.

He improved to even greater heights throughout his mid-20s, slashing 15-to-20 homer power to go along with fantastic contact and baserunning skills. As his plate discpline developed, he even began to walk more than he struck out, leading to a dominant stretch of seasons from 2007 to 2010 where he walked at a 10.6% clip against a minuscule 9.8% strikeout rate in addition to his aforementioned solid power and impressive base-stealing abilities, and even crossed the 200-hit barrier for a second time in 2010 to become the only NPB player in history to achieve the feat twice.

Given the excellence he had demonstrated throughout his time with the Swallows, it was hardly a surprise when he was quickly snapped up by the Brewers on a two-year deal after being posted for major league clubs prior to the 2012 season. In Milwaukee, Aoki was a slightly above average hitter with a solid .287/.355/.399 slash line. While he only hit a combined 18 home runs over his two seasons with the Brewers, he swiped 50 bags while hitting 57 doubles and 7 triples in that same period. That was a strong enough performance for Milwaukee brass to pick up Aoki’s club option for the 2014 season, but he did not last the offseason with the club and was swapped to the Royals in a deal that brought lefty Will Smith to the Brewers.

After departing the Brewers, Aoki wouldn’t stick around with an MLB club for more than a season at the time for the rest of his time in stateside ball. After acting as the regular right fielder in Kansas City for the club’s AL pennant-winning 2014 season, Aoki departed in free agency to sign with the Giants but was limited to just 93 games when he suffered a broken leg and a concussion in two separate hit-by-pitch incidents. Aoki then signed a one-year deal with the Mariners in 2016 but began to show some signs of decline, notably stealing only seven bases in sixteen attempts with the worst strikeout and walk numbers of his MLB career, though he did display his best power numbers since his rookie 2012 campaign with the Brewers.

Aoki’s final season in the big leagues came back in 2017 and saw him change uniforms several times. The veteran outfielder was claimed off waivers from the Mariners by the Astros during the 2016-17 offseason. Aoki struggled somewhat through 70 games with Houston, however, and ended up traded to the Blue Jays at the deadline that year alongside Teoscar Hernandez in a deal that brought Francisco Liriano to Houston. Aoki managed to catch fire down the stretch, however, and while his playing time was further split between the Blue Jays and Mets over the final two months of the season he slashed .281/.294/.594 for Toronto in August before slashing .284/.371/.373 in Queens that September.

Following the end of his MLB career, Aoki returned home to the Swallows and has played for the club in each of the past seven seasons. Now 42, the veteran is the league’s oldest active player and has collected more than 7,000 plate appearances with a .313/.392/.445 slash line in 1,713 NPB games. Between NPB and MLB play, Aoki has stepped up to the plate more than 10,000 times with 2,765 hits, 470 doubles, 51 triples, 179 homers and 279 stolen bases. We at MLBTR congratulate Aoki on a fine career and wish him all the best in his post-playing pursuits.

Diamondbacks DFA Andrew Knizner, Place Ryne Nelson On 15-Day IL

By Nick Deeds | September 14, 2024 at 5:01pm CDT

The Diamondbacks announced this afternoon that they’ve placed right-hander Ryne Nelson on the 15-day IL due to shoulder inflammation, retroactive to September 11. Left-hander Brandon Hughes was selected to the roster from Triple-A Reno to replace Nelson, and catcher Andrew Knizner was designated for assignment to make room for Hughes on the 40-man roster.

Nelson, 26, entered the season seemingly squeezed out of the club’s rotation mix by the club’s signings of lefties Eduardo Rodriguez and Jordan Montgomery over the offseason. That was hardly surprising after a pedestrian 2023 season where he pitched to a below-average 5.31 ERA and 5.07 FIP across 29 appearances (27 starts) for Arizona last year. That said, injuries throughout the club’s rotation have kept Nelson in the club’s rotation almost all year. He’s made the most of the unexpected opportunity and pitched quite well, with a 4.33 ERA that’s roughly league average (96 ERA+) and a strong 3.77 FIP in 147 2/3 innings of work. While that hasn’t necessarily been enough to give him a leg up over fellow youngster Brandon Pfaadt (4.42 ERA, 3.54 FIP) at the back-of-the-rotation, injuries and ineffectiveness have hampered both Rodriguez and especially Montgomery this year, leading the Diamondbacks to kick the latter to the bullpen late last month.

With Nelson now headed to the IL, Montgomery appears ticketed for a return to the rotation as noted by Alex Weiner of AZ Sports. It’s been a disastrous year for the 31-year-old lefty as he pitched to a 6.44 ERA and 4.57 FIP in 19 starts before getting kicked from the rotation, though he’s looked a bit better with a slightly more palatable 4.85 ERA and 4.40 FIP since moving to a multi-inning relief role. For the time being, the Diamondbacks will have to hope that the brief sojourn to the bullpen has helped Montgomery figure things out enough to pitch effectively as a starter for the time being. Fortunately, manager Torey Lovullo told reporters (including Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic) that the club is optimistic regarding Nelson’s injury and hopes he’ll be able to return after a minimum stay on the shelf, which could allow him to make one more start before the regular season comes to an end.

Montgomery’s impending move back into the rotation leaves the club down a lefty in the bullpen, and that’s a call that Hughes now figures to answer. Drafted as an outfielder by the Cubs in the 16th round of the 2017 draft, Hughes converted to pitching back in 2019 and worked his way through Chicago’s minor league system to make it to Wrigley Field in 2022. The southpaw impressed with a 3.12 ERA and 4.64 FIP with a 28.5% strikeout rate in 57 2/3 innings of work for the rebuilding Cubs and even picked up eight saves after taking over the closer role in Chicago following the departures of David Robertson and Chris Martin at that year’s trade deadline.

Unfortunately, Hughes was hampered by knee surgery that cost him the majority of the 2023 season and found himself non-tendered by the Cubs last fall. That led him to sign with the Snakes on a minor league deal, but he’s struggled badly in limited opportunities in the majors with the club this year as he’s posted a 10.29 ERA and 9.96 FIP in 14 innings of work. That being said, his numbers with Triple-A Reno this year have been nothing short of excellent as he’s posted a 2.03 ERA and struck out 24.9% of opponents in 48 2/3 innings of work. Now he’ll get another opportunity in the Arizona bullpen alongside fellow lefties Joe Mantiply and A.J. Puk.

Hughes will take the 40-man roster spot of Knizner, who the Diamondbacks claimed off waivers from the Rangers just over a month ago. The 29-year-old backstop didn’t make it to the big leagues with Arizona, instead slashing a decent .274/.357/.397 in 20 games with the club’s affiliate in Reno, but appeared in 35 games in the majors with Texas earlier this year after spending half a decade as an up-and-down catcher for the Cardinals. His time with the Rangers did not go particularly well, as he hit just .167/.183/.211 in 93 trips to the plate. That paltry offensive production was particularly disappointing following the best offensive season of Knizner’s career last year, when he pitched to a .241/.288/.424 slash line with ten homers in just 241 trips to the plate. Should Knizner go unclaimed on waivers, the club would have the opportunity to outright him to the minor leagues but he’d be poised to head into minor league free agency this November.

Athletics Outright Jack O’Loughlin

By Nick Deeds | September 14, 2024 at 3:55pm CDT

The A’s announced yesterday that they’ve assigned left-hander Jack O’Loughlin outright to Triple-A. O’Loughlin was designated for assignment by the club earlier this week to make room for the addition of Kyle Muller to the 40-man roster.

O’Loughlin, 24, is a native of Adelaide, Australia who signed with the Tigers as an amateur back in 2018. O’Loughlin made it to Triple-A with Detroit and went on to pitch for his home country in the World Baseball Classic before eventually landing with the A’s on a minor league pact earlier this year. He was selected to the big league roster back in May but has made just four appearances in the majors with middling results. The lefty posted a 4.66 ERA in 9 2/3 innings of work with nearly as many walks (five) as strikeouts (six).

His work at Triple-A Las Vegas hasn’t been much more impressive, as he’s posted a 6.19 ERA while swinging between the rotation and bullpen. While the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League helps to explain some of O’Loughlin’s struggles, his ERA is still far worse than league average despite a decent 22.9% strikeout rate against a 10% walk rate. If not added back to the club’s 40-man roster before the season ends, O’Loughlin will be eligible for minor league free agency this winter.

That could lead the lefty to a change of scenery that could help him improve. Difficult as his time with the A’s has been, O’Loughlin posted fairly solid numbers during his time with Detroit as he pitched to a 3.99 ERA in 27 appearances (25 starts) in 124 innings of work with the Tigers split between the High-A and Triple-A levels last year. That success suggests the 24-year-old could have another gear to his performance, as is further indicated by a solid 4.22 ERA in parts of four seasons pitching for the Australian Baseball League.

It’s hardly difficult to imagine that a club could have interest in O’Loughlin’s services on a minor league deal this winter, particularly given the scarcity of young, optionable pitchers who throw from the left side. The competition for that sort of depth role is much more competitive in Oakland than many other organizations, as the A’s currently employ T.J. McFarland, Hogan Harris, Scott Alexander, and Muller in their big league bullpen with Francisco Perez still available as non-roster depth at Triple-A.

PBO Nick Krall: Reds Will “Evaluate Everything” After 2024 Letdown

By Mark Polishuk | September 14, 2024 at 3:03pm CDT

A mass influx of young talent led the 2023 Reds to a 82-80 record, and hopes that the club could develop into full-fledged contenders this season. Unfortunately, even a .500 record is a longshot at this point, as the 72-77 Reds have fallen out of playoff contention. Most of Cincinnati’s breakout players from 2023 took steps backwards due to injuries or just flat-out lack of production, and players like Jeimer Candelario or (the since-traded) Frankie Montas meant to bring veteran stability also struggled.

“As of right now, we’re going to evaluate everything at the end of the year and see what we have to do to move forward,” president of baseball operations Nick Krall told reporters, including the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Gordon Wittenmyer. Krall included “myself, everybody” under this purview, though there hasn’t been any indication that ownership is considering firing Krall less than a year after signing him to a contract extension.

Manager David Bell also inked a new extension midway through last season, locking up the skipper on a three-year deal covering the 2024-26 campaigns. “He’s got a contract for next year,” is now Krall described Bell’s status with the organization, which could be read as either a matter-of-fact way of declaring Bell’s job security, or as something less than a full confirmation that Bell will return for what would be his seventh season as the Reds’ manager.

Krall noted that organization-wide evaluations are done every year as a matter of due diligence, so in general, the PBO isn’t breaking any news by saying that the Reds will take a deep look at what went awry. However, such evaluations in the wake of a losing season could potentially lead to larger moves as the team looks for answers. It would seem like some coaching changes will be made at the very minimum, and whether or not Bell’s job atop the dugout depth chart remains to be seen.

Bell takes a 405-452 record into today’s action, with winning records in three of his six full seasons. The Reds have never had better than a .517 winning percentage under Bell, and their only playoff appearance during his tenure came in the shortened 2020 season, when the league expanded the playoff bracket to 16 teams. Cincinnati was a quick out in that year’s postseason, as the Reds didn’t even score a run during a pair of losses to the Braves in a best-of-three wild card series.

As always, it is hard to pinpoint how much a manager does or doesn’t contribute to a team’s success or failure. Bell took over a Reds team that was just coming out of a rebuild, and then quickly entered into another payroll cut and semi-rebuild following the 2021 season, as the team wanted to save money due to revenues lost during the pandemic. Bell has managed the Reds through this tumult, as well as a front office change (with Krall taking over the baseball operations department from Dick Williams after the 2020 season), the completely unexpected circumstance of the pandemic, and then this quick pivot back to a reload of young talent.

Unless ownership feels a new voice is needed in the dugout to really get the Reds back onto a winning track, Bell might get at least one more year as manager. It seems quite possible the Reds might suddenly have a much more positive outlook if the younger players who struggled or missed time this year (i.e. Matt McLain, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Alexis Diaz, Noelvi Marte, etc.) re-establish themselves in 2025. And, if Bell is being gauged on the development of the team’s young core, then the emergence of Elly De La Cruz, Hunter Greene, and Andrew Abbott could all count as arguments as to why Bell should stick around.

For as much as a managerial change can shake things up, it is also perhaps the easiest way for a team to address a disappointing stretch of play, and not necessarily the correct way. Krall will face an interesting offseason in determining how to build the roster through more additions (while still operating on a somewhat limited payroll), and in figuring which of the younger stars might have played themselves out of Cincinnati’s future, or who just had “sophomore slump” types of seasons.

AL East Notes: Jansen, Yankees, LeMahieu, Webb, Mountcastle

By Mark Polishuk | September 14, 2024 at 1:29pm CDT

Kenley Jansen enjoyed ten straight years of playoff baseball before signing a two-year, $32MM free agent contract with the Red Sox during the 2022-23 offseason, and barring a late surge from Boston in the last two weeks of play, Jansen is now on pace for back-to-back without any postseason action. As he heads into free agency this winter, it therefore isn’t surprising that Jansen is “always gonna look for winning. Contending,” the closer told MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo. “That’s going to be my priority…I want to be in a situation where we can contend for a title. That’s it.” This doesn’t necessarily mean Jansen wouldn’t consider a return to the Sox, as Jansen praised the team’s young talent and said he “had a blast wearing this uniform, playing for these fans.”

Even as he approaches his 37th birthday, Jansen has no plans to retire, suggesting that he’d like to pitch “at least until I’m 40-42.” There isn’t much on-field evidence that Jansen is running out of steam, as he remains an effective late-game weapon with a 3.48 ERA in 51 2/3 innings and 26 saves in 30 chances for Boston in 2024. Jansen figures to get a lot of attention in free agency this winter, and Cotillo suggests that the Yankees could look at Jansen as a potential replacement for Clay Holmes. The Red Sox and Giants were the only teams publicly linked to Jansen’s market in his prior stint as a free agent, but Cotillo writes that New York “made a serious run at Jansen before he” joined the Red Sox.

Royals Place Chris Stratton On 15-Day Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | September 14, 2024 at 11:27am CDT

The Royals placed right-hander Chris Stratton on the 15-day injured list due to a right forearm flexor strain. Left-hander Angel Zerpa was called up from Triple-A Omaha in the corresponding move.

Only 16 days remain in the regular season, so between the calendar and the usually serious nature nature of forearm and flexor-related injuries, it seems likely that Stratton’s 2024 campaign is over. If the strain is mild, Stratton could conceivably return to action if the Royals make a deep playoff run, but the larger concern at this point could be whether or not the 34-year-old could be facing a surgical procedure that could threaten some (or all) of his 2025 season.

Stratton has allowed five runs over his last two appearances and two innings of work, but even if his injury factored into these rough outings, the righty has already been struggling in his first season in Kansas City. Stratton has a 5.55 ERA over 58 1/3 innings, along with a 17.1% strikeout rate and 12.8% walk rate that are both far below the league average. The K% and BB% rates are both career lows for Stratton over a full MLB season, while his ERA is only a touch better than the 5.57 ERA he posted with the Angels and Pirates in 2019.

The right-hander bounced back from that tough 2019 campaign with solid results and a full-time move to relief pitching over the next four years, posting a 3.91 ERA in 255 1/3 frames with the Pirates, Cardinals, and Rangers. That includes a 3.92 ERA and a career-best 7.4% walk rate in 82 2/3 innings with St. Louis and Texas last year, and four more innings in the playoffs as Stratton won a World Series ring on the Rangers’ championship squad.

That performance provided a platform for Stratton to land a two-year, $8MM free agent deal with the Royals this past winter. The deal is technically a one-year contract with a player option for 2025, as Stratton can choose to take either a $500K buyout or remain in the last year of the deal for a $4.5MM salary next season. Between his subpar performance and now this injury, Stratton seems like a lock to pass on his opt-out clause.

While Stratton wasn’t delivering much in the way of results, his absence will leave K.C. short of an innings-eating bullpen arm. Zerpa’s 4.40 ERA over 47 innings could provide a bit of a boost, but Stratton joins Will Smith (back spasms) and Hunter Harvey (mid-back tightness) on the list of injured Royals relievers. In Harvey’s case, MLB.com’s Anne Rogers writes that Harvey has started throwing but the team isn’t yet sure when or if the right-hander might able to return to action.

Mets Promote Luisangel Acuña

By Leo Morgenstern | September 14, 2024 at 10:47am CDT

TODAY: The Mets officially announced Acuna’s call-up, and outfielder DJ Stewart was optioned to Triple-A to create space on the 28-man roster.

SEPT. 13: The Mets are planning to promote top prospect Luisangel Acuña, as confirmed by Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase (first reported by X user Jorge L. Seoud H.). Acuña is already on the 40-man, but the Mets will need to make a corresponding move to open a space for him on the active roster.

Acuña, 22, signed with the Rangers as an international free agent in 2018. He joined the Mets at last year’s trade deadline in the deal that sent Max Scherzer back to Texas. Entering the season, Keith Law of The Athletic ranked him as the No. 2 prospect in the Mets system. Kiley McDaniel of ESPN had him at No. 3, as did MLB Pipeline, while Baseball America ranked him at No. 4. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs wasn’t quite as high on Acuña but still ranked him as the No. 6 prospect in the system.

Unfortunately, Acuña has struggled at Triple-A in 2024, putting up a .654 OPS and 69 wRC+ in 131 games. On the bright side, he has 40 stolen bases and the skills to play plus defense at second base and center field. Still, there is no denying that he has been recalled due to the team’s desperation – not his own merit – given the lack of infield options on the Mets’ major league roster. With Jeff McNeil out for the rest of the regular season – and possibly the playoffs, too – Jose Iglesias has moved into the everyday lineup and Eddy Alvarez is the only infielder left on the bench. However, Alvarez joined the Mets organization after September 1, which means he won’t be eligible for the postseason roster. New York will need a new infielder for the bench once October rolls around.

On top of that, Francisco Lindor exited today’s game against the Phillies with back tightness. He’s day-to-day and isn’t particularly concerned about the injury (per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com), but it’s unclear when he’ll be back in the lineup. He told reporters after the game (including DiComo) that all he can do is wake up tomorrow, see how he feels, and go from there. Even if Lindor is only out for a game or two, it makes sense that the Mets would like to have another infielder on the active roster.

Twins Activate Carlos Correa From 10-Day Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | September 14, 2024 at 10:29am CDT

10:29AM: The Twins have officially announced the moves.

9:14AM: The Twins will activate shortstop Carlos Correa from the 10-day injured list prior to today’s game with the Reds. Outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr. will be optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move.

It has been over two months since Correa last appeared in Minnesota’s lineup, as the three-time All-Star has been sidelined by plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Correa played through a similar injury in his left foot last season and (not coincidentally) struggled through the worst full season of his 10 years in the majors, so both the shortstop and the Twins seemed intent on letting Correa fully heal up before getting back to action.

Though Correa initially stated that this current injury wasn’t as painful as his 2023 plantar fasciitis, the discomfort has continued to linger until this past week, when Correa told MLB.com and other media that a new treatment method had allowed him to walk and run on his right heel. He took part in a live batting practice session on Friday and emerged feeling good enough that the Twins are now comfortable in making a roster move.

After his down year in 2023, Correa rebounded in a big way with one of his best seasons. The shortstop has 13 home runs and a .308/.377/.520 slash line over 317 plate appearances, and had been named to the All-Star team before his plantar fasciitis prevented him from taking part in the Midsummer Classic. Among all players with 300 or more PA, only 11 players have a higher wRC+ than Correa’s 152 mark.

Byron Buxton also has a 142 wRC+ in 339 PA this season, and the slugger was just activated off Minnesota’s IL on Thursday. Needless to say, the returns of Buxton and Correa are an enormous boost to a struggling Twins club that has lost 16 of its last 24 games. Minnesota still holds a 2.5-game lead over the Tigers for the last AL wild card slot, and the Twins could revive their chances at the AL Central title when they visit the first-place Guardians for a big four-game series that begins on Monday.

Max Kepler might be activated from the injured list for that series in Cleveland, as Kepler (out since September 5 due to patellar tendinitis in his left knee) joined Correa in the live BP session on Friday. Some reinforcements could also be coming later in early October on the pitching side, as Chris Paddack had a 20-pitch bullpen session on Friday as he recovers from a left forearm strain. It has also been two months on the shelf for Paddack, but he told the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Bobby Nightengale Jr. and other reporters that he is aiming to be ready for relief work during the postseason.

Red Sox Select Zach Penrod, Designate Tyler Heineman

By Mark Polishuk | September 14, 2024 at 9:47am CDT

The Red Sox announced five transactions this morning, including the news that left-hander Zach Penrod’s contract has been selected to the big league roster. Catcher Tyler Heineman was designated for assignment to open up a spot on the 40-man roster, and left-hander Cam Booser and right-hander Zack Kelly were both optioned to Triple-A Worcester to create space on the active roster. Boston also called up southpaw Bailey Horn from Triple-A. Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe (X link) was the first to report on the Penrod, Booser, and Horn transactions, while MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo (via X) reported yesterday that Kelly was being optioned.

Kelly and Booser were two of six pitchers used by the Red Sox in Friday’s 5-4 loss to the Yankees, so today’s moves brings some fresh arms into Boston’s relief corps. For Penrod, he is now on the verge of his Major League debut, making quite a culmination of a six-year pro career that began as an undrafted free agent.

Penrod pitched briefly with the Rangers’ rookie league club in 2018 but he then spent two years on the sidelines due to both a Tommy John surgery and the canceled 2020 minor league season. The southpaw returned to pitch in the independent Pioneer League from 2021-23, and this performance caught the eye of Red Sox scouts and led to a minor league deal partway through the 2023 season. This year, Penrod has a 4.16 ERA over 62 2/3 combined innings at Double-A and Triple-A ball, as well as a huge 34.8% strikeout rate.

There is a pretty wide variance in those minor league numbers, as Penrod posted a 2.80 ERA in 35 1/3 Double-A innings and a much heftier 5.93 ERA in 27 1/3 frames in Worcester. Control has been a bit of a question mark for Penrod throughout his career, and his walk rate also spiked up to 16.1% in Triple-A after a more palatable 9.1% number in Double-A action.

Still, the strikeouts are playing at both levels, and Penrod’s upper-90s fastball makes him an interesting bullpen weapon for the Red Sox to explore. Penrod has mostly started throughout his pro career but worked out of the pen for 10 of his 15 appearances in Worcester, so Boston figures to use him in a long relief role here at the tail end of the 2024 season. As Alex Speier of the Boston Globe explored back in May, Penrod’s development of a slider as a third pitch after his fastball and changeup could help him carve out a path as a starter, but the 27-year-old is surely pleased to work in the majors in any capacity.

The Red Sox acquired Heineman in a trade with the Mets back in February, and he has spent almost the entire season in the minors save for two games at the MLB level. Connor Wong and Reese McGuire handled most of the catching duties for the Sox this season, and after Danny Jansen was acquired at the trade deadline, McGuire was outrighed to Triple-A and Heinemen was pushed even further down the depth chart.

With his two appearances in a Red Sox uniform, Heineman has now now suited up for five different teams at the big league level over his five seasons in the Show, and he has also been organizational depth for six other franchises. Heineman has hit .216/.297/.280 over 286 career plate appearances, with 174 of those PA coming as a member of the Pirates and Blue Jays in 2022. Because Heineman has been outrighted before, he has the ability to elect free agency and reject an outright assignment from Boston if he clears DFA waivers.

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