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AL East Notes: Red Sox, Bogaerts, Yankees, Didi

By Connor Byrne | April 8, 2018 at 3:52pm CDT

Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts suffered a left ankle injury Sunday, causing him to leave their game against the Rays, the team announced (via Rob Bradford of WEEI, on Twitter). Boston’s further evaluating Bogaerts, who has been one of the driving forces behind its 8-1 start this season. The 25-year-old’s hitting a red-hot .368/.400/.711 with two home runs through 40 plate appearances. The Red Sox replaced Bogaerts on Sunday with utilityman Brock Holt.

Latest On Kevin Siegrist

By Steve Adams | April 8, 2018 at 2:12pm CDT

April 8: Siegrist doesn’t want to pitch in the minors for the Pirates or anyone else, general manager Neal Huntington told Liz Bloom of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and other reporters Sunday. Conversations between the Pirates and Siegrist’s side have been “very respectful,” per Huntington, but: “His agent was very clear: This is not about the Pirates. This is about minor league baseball. … This is about not wanting to pitch in the minor leagues, period, so I’m not sure how that solves itself without him pitching.”

Huntington added that Siegrist could be part of the solution for the Pirates sometime this year, though that’s probably not going to happen if he doesn’t work his way back via the minors. “He’s a good pitcher, and we wanted him to go to triple-A to build up arm strength, to get back to Kevin Siegrist because that guy can help us,” Huntington said. “We would love to keep that door open and hope that there will be a change of mind at some point in time.”

April 6: The Pirates have issued another statement clarifying Siegrist’s status (Twitter links via Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic). It seems that Siegrist is not a free agent and has instead been placed on the team’s suspended list for failing to report to Triple-A.

As Biertempfel explains, the left-hander’s minor league contract allowed him to opt out at the end of Spring Training if another club was willing to place him on its MLB roster. If not, he’d be assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis. No club offered Siegrist a 25-man roster spot, but the left-hander subsequently chose not to report to Indianapolis and has been suspended by the team. Biertempfel notes that Siegrist does have a full opt-out on June 1, at which point he can become a free agent. It’d be a surprise to see Siegrist ultimately sit out until that point, but it’s not clear at this time if he intends on reporting to Indianapolis at all.

April 5: Left-handed reliever Kevin Siegrist, who was in camp with the Pirates on a minor league contract, has refused an assignment to Triple-A in favor of free agency, the team announced on Thursday (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Adam Berry). Siegrist’s deal came with a clause that allowed him to opt out if he did not make the Opening Day roster, and he’d reportedly been mulling over whether to take the assignment to Indianapolis or pursue other opportunities.

The 28-year-old Siegrist posted sub-3.00 ERAs with the Cardinals in 2015-16 before struggling to a 4.81 ERA last year in season during which he logged DL time for both a forearm issue and a spinal sprain. Siegrist averaged a career-worst 5.03 walks per nine innings pitched last season, and his 92 mph average fastball was down noticeably from his peak, when his heater averaged 93.7 mph.

That said, Siegrist has a fairly long track record of missing bats at the big league level. He’s averaged 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings since debuting with the 2013 Cardinals and has been largely effective against both left- and right-handed hitters — albeit with somewhat curious reverse splits. Lefties have batted .233/.344/.357 in 381 plate appearances against Siegrist, while righties have been stymied to the tune of a .192/.276/.349 slash. And while the five runs he allowed in 5 2/3 spring frames with the Pirates makes for an unappealing ERA, Siegrist also posted a substantially more encouraging 9-to-1 K/BB ratio in that tiny sample of appearances.

Siegrist finished out the 2017 season with four years, 116 days of big league service time, meaning that any club which signs him would have the option of controlling him through at least the 2019 season via arbitration. As we noted late last week, the free agent market is hardly flush with left-handed bullpen options — Antonio Bastardo and Eric O’Flaherty are currently the two most notable names available — so Siegrist should generate some interest elsewhere.

Injury Notes: Healy, Sheriff, Rizzo, J.C. Ramirez

By Kyle Downing | April 8, 2018 at 1:49pm CDT

Mariners first baseman Ryon Healy showed up to the team’s clubhouse today in a walking boot; he twisted his ankle in a postgame workout, says Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. It’s been described as a “pretty bad sprain”, and Healy will have an MRI soon. The expectation seems to be that he will require a DL stint, though the severity of the injury is unclear at this time. Healy provided the heroics in last night’s win; it seems likely that Dan Vogelbach will receive everyday at-bats in his absence.

More injury items from around the league…

Cardinals left-hander Ryan Sheriff has been placed on the DL with a toe injury; the team has recalled right-hander John Brebbia from Triple-A Memphis in a related move. Sheriff was added to the roster with the news that Brett Cecil would be out for an extended period of time; he allowed one earned run in his 2 2/3 innings of work this season. Sheriff also managed a 3.14 ERA last season in 14 1/3 innings of work for the Cardinals.
Anthony Rizzo has missed a couple of games for the Cubs due to back tightness, says Carrie Muskat of MLB.com. The first baseman’s back has evidently been bothering him ever since the club’s trip to Cincinnati. Rizzo has just three hits (including one home run) in 32 plate appearances to begin the season.
J.C. Ramirez is officially headed to the DL with forearm issues, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times tweets. We noted earlier that the righty had been experiencing forearm tightness; he now joins fellow Angels starters Matt Shoemaker and Andrew Heaney on the disabled list, leaving the club incredibly thin in the rotation beyond Garrett Richards, Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Skaggs. Parker Bridwell and Nick Tropeano seem to be the likeliest candidates to get rotation attention, but for the time being the club has recalled relievers Felix Pena and Eduardo Paredes (righty reliever Akeel Morris was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake).

Reactions To The Charlie Blackmon Extension

By Kyle Downing | April 8, 2018 at 12:24pm CDT

Is the Charlie Blackmon deal the beginning of a new trend that other free agents could follow in the coming seasons? Mark Feinsand of MLB.com asks this question and examines the subject in depth. The extension takes Blackmon out of a very crowded free agent pool next offseason that’s set to feature Bryce Harper, Josh Donaldson, Manny Machado and Dallas Keuchel, all of whom are widely expected to be the subjects of massive bidding wars. “After the past few markets, there’s no question this is going to become a trend,” one agent said of the pact. “You will see clubs look to sign players very young.” However, another agent believes that Blackmon made a mistake by signing the extension so early, as he’d have been the second-most coveted outfielder beyond Bryce Harper. The trade-off in this case is simple… a soon-to-be free agent in his 30s perhaps gave up some earnings upside, and in exchange doesn’t have to worry about what might or might not happen in a volatile free agent market next season.

A pair of other reactions to the Blackmon-Rockies accord…

Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post views the extension through a different lens; he wonders how this pact will directly affect fellow Rockies star Nolan Arenado. Saunders believes that the Blackmon deal makes it significantly less likely that the Rockies can afford to keep Arenado in the fold for the long term. After all, the All-Star third baseman could command a deal in the $300MM range, which will certainly be difficult for the Rockies to manage in combination with the $94MM in new money they just guaranteed to Blackmon.
Blackmon is just the latest in a line of players to take themselves out of the 2018-2019 free agent class, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The baseball world has been talking about the impending class for years, but Matt Harvey’s poor performance the past few seasons has largely taken the possibility of a nine-figure deal off the table, Jose Fernandez tragically passed away, and now Blackmon has extended his tenure with the Rockies. Others such as Anthony Rizzo, Corey Kluber and Anthony Rizzo could have been free agents this winter as well had they not signed long-term deals earlier in their careers. Though Greg Holland, Mike Moustakas and Jonathan Lucroy are among the unexpected additions to this class, it seems as though a class that once looked like an unprecedented convergence of free agent juggernauts has been watered down a bit.

Brewers Place Christian Yelich on 10-Day DL

By Kyle Downing | April 8, 2018 at 11:11am CDT

After letting him sit out a few games with a minor oblique injury, the Brewers have elected to place outfielder Christian Yelich on the 10-day DL. In a corresponding move, the team has recalled right-hander Taylor Williams from Triple-A Colorado Springs.

During Yelich’s absence, it seems likely that Domingo Santana will fill in for him in the outfield. Yelich was off to a hot start for the 2018 season; he’s hit .385/.407/.577 across 27 plate appearances for the Brew Crew with one long ball and five runs driven in. The 26-year-old has played at least 155 games in consecutive seasons, a streak that will now officially come to an end with the news that he’ll miss at least the ten-day minimum.

Yelich, of course, was perhaps the Brewers’ biggest offseason addition. The club sent top prospects Lewis Brinson and Isan Diaz, along with two other minor-leaguers, to Miami in order to bring the young slugger to Milwaukee. He sports a career .291/.366/.433 batting line across his first 2,839 plate appearances, with 60 homers and a 121 wRC+.

Lonnie Chisenhall Out 4-6 Weeks With Calf Strain

By Kyle Downing | April 8, 2018 at 10:52am CDT

Days after getting outfielder Michael Brantley back from the disabled list, the Indians have learned that they’ll be without right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall for four to six weeks. Jordan Bastian of MLB.com first tweeted the timetable, which came from the mouth of Indians manager Terry Francona. Chisenhall left Saturday’s game against the Royals early, and was officially placed on the disabled list early this morning (the club recalled Tyler Naquin to take his place in right field for the time being).

It’s an upsetting development for the Tribe, who saw Chisenhall miss significant time last season with the same issue. The re-aggravation of the injury during a seemingly routine few innings in right field doesn’t bode well for Chisenhall’s 2018 season. The timing is also unfortunate for him financially, as he’s set to become a free agent this winter and would like to erase the injury concerns from the memories of potential suitors.

Chisenhall was a notable beneficiary of the fly ball revolution last season, as he decreased his ground ball rate from 23.9% in 2016 to just 15.8% in 2017, and correspondingly increased his line drive rate and fly ball rate by four percentage points apiece. That adjustment resulted in a career-best .288/.360/.520 batting line. The Indians will certainly be hoping they can get his bat back in the lineup on the shorter end of the injury timetable.

White Sox Select Bruce Rondon’s Contract

By Kyle Downing | April 8, 2018 at 9:58am CDT

The White Sox announced that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Bruce Rondon in advance of today’s game against the Tigers, Rondon’s former team.

One of few players capable of reaching 102 MPH on the radar gun, the Tigers had lofty expectations for Rondon from the outset. A 2013 debut in which he pitched to a 3.45 ERA with 9.42 K/9 was certainly encouraging as well. However, Tommy John surgery prevented him from taking the mound for the entire 2014 season, and though he racked up the strikeouts big time the following year, his 2015 campaign ended with him being sent home due to “effort level“.

The righty’s tumultuous tenure with Detroit came to a close this past December, when the club elected to non-tender him rather than pay him a projected $1.2MM arbitration salary. Rondon sat on the market until February 1st, when the South Siders elected to pick him up on a minors pact. All told, Rondon’s upside lies in his velocity and his strikeout ability, but he’ll have to harness his control in order to be effective with his new team.

Marlins Select Tyler Cloyd’s Contract, Designate Jacob Turner

By Kyle Downing | April 8, 2018 at 9:54am CDT

The Marlins announced (via the team’s media info account on Twitter) that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Tyler Cloyd from Triple-A New Orleans. In a corresponding move, the team has designated right-hander Jacob Turner for assignment.

The 30-year-old Cloyd joined the Marlins this offseason on a minors pact. He made just a single relief appearance for the Mariners in 2017. Prior to that, he hadn’t appeared in the majors since the 2013 season, during which he pitched 60 1/3 innings across 13 appearances (11 stats). Cloyd’s season stats were ugly overall; he gave up more earned runs more often than he struck out hitters, ending the year with a 6.56 ERA. Since then, he’s bounced around with the Triple-A affiliates of the Indians, Yankees and the aforementioned Mariners.

Turner, 26, has never quite lived up to his pre-2009-draft billing, which prompted the Tigers to select him ninth overall. Fangraphs pegs him as performing below replacement level in each of the past three seasons, while Baseball Reference believes him to have been roughly replacement level last year but worth nearly two wins below replacement in the two seasons prior combined. Though he made Miami’s opening day roster out of spring training, the righty gave up a startling ten earned runs across just 5 2/3 innings spanning four relief appearances to start the year.

Injury Notes: Powell, Ramirez, Blackmon, Rodriguez, Indians

By Kyle Downing | April 8, 2018 at 8:58am CDT

Athletics outfielder Boog Powell is headed to the DL after suffering a knee sprain, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The left-handed-hitting Powell has hit just .167/.200/.292 in the first week of the season, though he did impress with a 135 wRC+ in limited action with the A’s last season. Powell beat out top prospect Dustin Fowler for the starting center field job during spring training, but he’ll now be absent for at least ten days while rehabbing.

Other injury notes from around baseball…

Maria Guardado of MLB.com tweets that Angels righty J.C. Ramirez exited his most recent start with “forearm tightness”. It’s highly disturbing news for the Halos; Ramirez was diagnosed with a partially-torn UCL in his throwing elbow last season, but elected to go with stem cell surgery rather than opt for a Tommy John procedure. Ramirez has thrown 6 2/3 innings this season; he’s struck out four opposing hitters while allowing seven earned runs on seven hits and seven walks.
Rockies star Charlie Blackmon is dealing with some back spasms, but told reporters he is not injured (h/t Nick Groke of the Denver Post). “It was a little bit tight for most of the game and kept getting tighter. I’ve dealt with it before and been all right.” Blackmon, of course, just signed an extension with Colorado and is a key component to their contention plans this season.
The Red Sox have officially activated left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez from the 10-day disabled list. Right-hander Marcus Walden has been optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket in a related move. Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald writes that Hector Velazquez and Brian Johnson are expected to pitch out of the bullpen for the time being, as the Sox have a number of off days coming up; those days will eliminate the need for a fifth starter for the time being. The 25-year-old pitched to a 4.19 ERA last season in 137 1/3 innings last season, and is coming off a winter knee surgery.
Jordan Bastian of MLB.com has the latest updates on a number of Indians injuries. Right-hander Danny Salazar (shoulder) is still unable to throw off a mound with “full intensity”, so he’s still a few weeks away from game activity. Third baseman Giovanny Urshela (hamstring), on the other hand, is just a week away from possibly starting a minor-league rehab assignment. Left-hander Ryan Merritt (knee) has resumed throwing and is scheduled to pitch an extended spring game on Wednesday, while righty Cody Anderson (elbow) is finally back to throwing off a mound following Tommy John surgery in March of 2017; he’s “several week away” from potential game activity. Of these four players, only Anderson has a minor-league option remaining, meaning the Tribe will be facing a significant roster crunch in the near future. In other Tribe injury news, Lonnie Chisenhall has officially been placed on the 10-day DL. Tyler Naquin has been recalled from Triple-A Columbus to take his place (h/t Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal.

Quick Hits: Duffy, Melky, Indians, Brewers, Giants

By Connor Byrne | April 7, 2018 at 10:26pm CDT

Royals left-hander Danny Duffy was a popular name in trade rumors during the offseason, but he ended up staying put. Duffy remains a trade candidate, however, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. It would take “the right package of prospects” to land the 29-year-old Duffy, Cafardo writes. Duffy’s under control through 2021 for a total of $60MM. He’s off to a rough start this year – albeit over two just two appearances – having allowed eight earned runs on 10 hits and five walks (with eight strikeouts) in 9 2/3 innings.

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