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Marlins Place Adeiny Hechavarria On DL, Designate Joe Gunkel For Assignment

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The Marlins announced that they’ve placed shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria on the 10-day disabled list due to a left oblique strain. In his place, they’ve selected the contract of Stephen Lombardozzi from Triple-A New Orleans. Right-hander Joe Gunkel has been designated for assignment in order to clear a roster spot for Lombardozzi.

It’s been a rough week for the Marlins’ infield, as they’ve now lost both of the starters on the left side of the infield and their primary utility option to the DL. A hamstring strain sent Martin Prado to the 10-day DL on Monday, while a fractured thumb will cost Miguel Rojas several months of the season.

With Hechavarria, Prado and Rojas all sidelined, it seems that the Marlins will utilize Derek Dietrich at third base, J.T. Riddle at shortstop and Lombardozzi in a utility role. Though Hechavarria doesn’t offer much with the bat, his stellar glovework at shortstop will be missed during his absence. Miami hasn’t provided any type of timeline for Hechavarria to return to action, but oblique injuries can often keep players out of action for a month or more.

[Related: Updated Miami Marlins Depth Chart]

For Lombardozzi, this will mark his first big league action since a brief 12-game stretch with the 2015 Pirates. The former Nationals farmhand was once regarded as one of the better prospects in Washington’s minor league ranks, though he’s never cemented himself as a regular bench option in the Majors. A second-generation big leaguer — his father, also named Steve, spent parts of six seasons in the Majors — Lombardozzi is a career .263/.294/.336 hitter in 840 plate appearances. He can play second base, third base, shortstop and in the outfield corners.

Gunkel has bounced around the league quite a bit in the past month or so, going from the Orioles to the Dodgers to the Marlins in a series of minor transactions. Miami will hope that he’s able to clear waivers, but given that Gunkel is an upper-level starter with minor league options remaining, he could certainly be appealing to a team in need of rotation depth.

The 25-year-old Gunkel has not yet made his Major League debut but has a solid minor league track record. He’s posted a 2.99 ERA in 150 1/3 career innings at the Double-A level and a 4.07 ERA in the exact same number of Triple-A innings. While he doesn’t miss many bats (6.0 K/9 in Triple-A), Gunkel has excellent control (1.1 BB/9) and keeps the ball on the ground at a roughly 40 percent clip.

Padres Claim Jose Valdez From Angels

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The Padres announced that they have claimed right-hander Jose Valdez off waivers from the Angels and optioned him to Triple-A El Paso. In order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster, San Diego transferred left-hander Christian Friedrich from the 10-day disabled list to the 60-day DL.

The 27-year-old Valdez threw just one inning with the Halos this season but logged 23 1/3 frames out of their bullpen in 2016. In 33 Major League innings between Detroit and Anaheim, Valdez has a 4.59 ERA with an unsightly 27-to-21 K/BB ratio and a 37.5 percent ground-ball rate. However, Valdez does boast a fastball that has averaged 95.5 mph in his big league career, and he’s logged an even 3.00 ERA in 105 Triple-A innings (albeit with similar control issues).

Royals To Select Contract Of Seth Maness

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Right-hander Seth Maness is on his way to St. Petersburg to join the Royals prior to tonight’s game against the Rays, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link). The Royals have a full 40-man roster, so in order to formally select Maness’ contract, they’ll need to either designate someone for assignment or move a player from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL.

The promotion of Maness, 28, comes with a fair bit of intrigue. The longtime Cardinals reliever tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow last summer, but rather than electing the typical Tommy John surgery as treatment, Maness instead underwent a newer “primary repair” surgery that comes with a shorter recovery. (Goold chronicled the details of that operation earlier this year in a must-read column for those who aren’t familiar with the surgery.) Maness will now return to the Majors less than nine months after going under the knife, and he’s already tossed six innings in Triple-A as well.

A healthy Maness would be a boon to a Royals bullpen that ranks 23rd in baseball with a 4.60 ERA (though their 4.00 FIP, 3.91 xFIP and 3.77 SIERA all suggest the current unit could turn things around). From 2013-15, Maness averaged 72 appearances per season for the Cardinals, serving as one of their most durable and most dependable bullpen arms. To this point in his career, he’s compiled 237 1/3 innings with a strong 3.19 ERA. Maness doesn’t miss many bats (5.8 K/9), but he offsets that lack of whiffs with pristine control (1.7 BB/9) and an excellent 59.4 percent ground-ball rate.

If Maness is indeed healthy from this point forth, it’s easy to envision other pitchers that suffer partial UCL tears during the season electing the primary repair surgery as a means of treatment, assuming they meet the requirements for the procedure. (As Goold explains in the aforementioned story, the surgery is only an option for those with partial tears and is dependent on both the location and severity of the tear.) And beyond that, the Royals could reap the benefits for several years. Maness is returning to the Majors with three years and 154 days of Major League service time, meaning the Royals can control him via arbitration through the 2019 season.

NL Central Notes: Davis, Pirates, Shaw

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The Reds announced this morning that right-hander Rookie Davis has been optioned to Triple-A Louisville. The 24-year-old Davis, acquired in the trade that sent Aroldis Chapman to the Yankees, had a nice season in Double-A last year and performed well in Spring Training, but he’s been hit hard through five starts in the Majors. Davis has worked a total of 19 innings, yielding 16 earned runs (7.58 ERA) on 29 hits and 13 walks with 15 strikeouts. A corresponding move hasn’t been announced, though Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets that a Triple-A arm is likely to be recalled to join the rotation rather than turning to Robert Stephenson for a spot start.

A couple more notes from the NL Central…

  • The Pirates have, incredibly, deployed 30 different lineups and 29 different defensive alignments (not including the starting pitcher) thus far in 2017, per Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. A large portion of the shuffles have been borne out of necessity, as Nesbitt also points out that the Bucs are currently carrying nine rookies on their roster. “There’s not always experienced guys to go get,” said manager Clint Hurdle of the team’s youthful composition. “With what’s happened to us, this wasn’t the plan coming in. This is an adapt, improvise and overcome situation.” While many Pirates fans have clamored for the team to pursue outside help, Hurdle suggested that improvements aren’t available at this time. “We don’t feel there have been better options outside,” said the manager.
  • Nesbitt also writes that the Pirates now seem to have entirely scrapped their offseason outfield realignment, as Gregory Polanco has been shifted back to right field. The suspension of Starling Marte led Pittsburgh to move Andrew McCutchen back to center field, and Polanco’s shift back to right field is tied to the revolving door that the Bucs have had at that spot. “He’s done fine. Pretty average metrics in left,” said Hurdle of Polanco. “But we keep shuffling guys into right, and we’ve already got a guy who has played right pretty well.” Of course, Polanco’s move across the outfield could lead to similar issues in left field. Asked if he’ll keep Polanco in right field once Marte returns from his suspension, Hurdle said the team hasn’t yet made that decision.
  • Brewers third baseman Travis Shaw and Red Sox right-hander Tyler Thornburg were swapped for one another this offseason but are in very different places as Milwaukee takes on Boston in interleague play, notes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Shaw has settled in as the Brewers’ cleanup hitter, and his seven homers, 24 RBIs and .544 slugging percentage would all lead the Red Sox. Thornburg, meanwhile, has yet to pitch in a game for the Sox due to a shoulder impingement that has him on the disabled list. Thornburg expressed frustration about his injury and his subsequent inability to face his former team, while Shaw admitted that the games against his former team mean a bit more. “Everybody is a competitor,” Shaw told Haudricourt. “You want to kind of show your old team up.” The trade looks to be a good one for the Brewers at present, though a healthy Thornburg could certainly balance out the scales. The 28-year-old logged a 2.15 ERA and averaged better than 12 strikeouts per nine innings pitched with Milwaukee last year.

Central Notes: Moncada, K-Rod/Wilson, Garrett, Kirby, Lynn

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White Sox GM Rick Hahn shot down the idea that top prospect Yoan Moncada will push his way onto the MLB roster early this year, as Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago reports. All signs are pointing up for Moncada, who has tamped down on the strikeouts while showing signs of polishing up his defensive game. But that doesn’t mean the club is prepared to make an aggressive promotion. “He’s shown a fair amount of progress in each of those areas that we’ve asked of him,” said GM Rick Hahn. “That said, we want to see that over an extended period of time. It’s awfully important to not lose sight of the fact this is a 21-year-old player, one who was not playing two years ago as of right now. It’s a guy who has fewer than 325 or so plate appearances above A-ball.” Given that, says Hahn, the club won’t “rush” Moncada’s ascension.

Here’s more from the game’s central divisions:

  • The Tigers have moved Francisco Rodriguez out of the closer role, as Bob Nightengale of USA Today first reported on Twitter. He’ll be replaced, at least for the time being, by Justin Wilson. While it seems that Rodriguez could yet regain his spot in the ninth, he’ll now need to show he’s a better option than Wilson, who has been lights out thus far. Rodriguez, meanwhile, has been generating plenty of strikeouts but has also allowed 11 earned runs on 19 hits in his 11 2/3 innings.
  • Though the Reds optioned lefty Amir Garrett recently, president of baseball operations Dick Williams says he expects to bring the youngster back soon (in an interview with MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM; audio link). Garrett, who just turned 25, has been rather solid in his six starts, providing 36 innings of 4.25 ERA ball. But the plan heading into the season was never to ride any of the team’s young arms too hard. “We’ve got a lot of young guys that we’re excited to see this year on the roster,” Williams explains. “And the idea was, ’We’re going to get you up, we’re going to get you opportunities. All of you are going to see opportunities in the big leagues, and all of you are going to be back in Triple-A at some point, just for sheer numbers and innings management.'” In Garrett’s case, some upcoming off-days presented an opportunity to slow his accumulation of innings; he has never previously gone past 144 2/3 frames. “Most importantly, it gives Amir the ability to be on pace to pitch into September, which is what we want these guys to learn how to do,” said Williams.
  • Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that Brewers prospect Nathan Kirby, who missed the 2016 season due to Tommy John surgery, had another elbow operation and will miss the next eight to 12 weeks (all links to Twitter). An ulnar nerve transposition was performed after Kirby was diagnosed with ulnar neuritis. That’s obviously a disheartening blow to both Kirby and the organization, as the Brewers selected Kirby with one of their top picks back in 2015. Kirby had been touted as a potential top five pick back in 2015 but slid to the supplemental round due to injury concerns that, clearly, have manifested in his pro career.
  • Cardinals righty Lance Lynn tells Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link) that he has not engaged in any long-term talks with the club. The pending free agent says he would “love to stay” in St. Louis, but it also doesn’t sound as if the organization should expect any discount. Lynn, who’ll soon turn 30, has returned from Tommy John surgery on a hot streak. Over 35 1/3 frames this year, he owns a shiny 2.04 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9. If he can keep up anything approaching that work, and maintain his health, Lynn ought to make for quite an appealing free agent at season’s end.

Giants Place Mark Melancon On 10-Day DL

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9:52pm: The hope is that Melancon will be ready to be activated on May 16th, the earliest he’d be available given his backdated DL placement, as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area was among those to tweet. Manager Bruce Bochy noted that the veteran hurler has been pitching through some discomfort for a few weeks, with the team evidently deciding now was time to try to get him past the issue.

6:21pm: The Giants have placed closer Mark Melancon on the 10-day DL, Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News reports on Twitter. The team is calling his injury a “mild right pronator strain.”

At the moment, it’s not clear how long Melancon is expected to miss. It’s promising, at least, that the team has specified the strain is “mild.” But any forearm issue comes with potential implications for elbow health, so the club will need to exercise care in getting Melancon back to the hill.

The news is yet another blow to a San Francisco team that has drastically underperformed expectations after promising Melancon $62MM over four years to solve the club’s ninth-inning woes of last year. The veteran reliever has held up his end of the bargain — he carries a 2.53 ERA through 10 2/3 innings, with a typically excellent K/BB ratio (10:1) — but not much else has gone right for the Giants thus far.

It seems likely Derek Law will get the first crack at the closer’s job while Melancon is down, Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area writes. Hunter Strickland would also seem to have a shot at factoring in the mix.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/9/17

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • Angels lefty John Lamb has received a fifty-game suspension for his second positive test for a drug of abuse, as Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times was among those to tweet. The 26-year-old received 24 MLB starts over 2015-16 with the Reds, who acquired him in the Johnny Cueto deal. But he struggled to a 6.17 ERA in that span, striking out 8.7 batters per nine while issuing 3.8 walks per nine and allowing 142 base hits — 22 of them long balls. Lamb caught on with the Halos on a minors deal after he was cut loose by Cincinnati over the winter.
  • The Dodgers have inked lefty Logan Darnell to a minors pact, as Triple-A Oklahoma City broadcaster/media relations director Alex Freedman announced on Twitter. Darnell, 28, has 24 MLB frames under his belt, all of those coming in 2014 with the Twins. Last year, he worked to a 3.53 ERA over 109 2/3 Triple-A frames. He wasn’t exactly generating great results with the indy ball Somerset Patriots, but evidently showed enough to catch the eye of the Dodgers’ brass.
  • Righty Justin De Fratus has signed a minor-league deal with the Mariners, the indy ball Southern Maryland Blue Crabs announced on Twitter. De Fratus, 29, spent parts of five years in the majors with the Phillies. But he struggled in 2015 and then bounced around the minors last season.
  • The Cardinals have released reliever Mitch Harris, as Glenn Sattell of MLB.com reports. The 31-year-old has continued to struggle with elbow issues. He had made a notable big league debut in 2015, making it to the majors after putting his professional career on hold during a stint in the Navy. The Naval Academy grad worked 27 innings of 3.67 ERA ball that year, though he managed only 5.0 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9 in that stretch.

Athletics Designate Jaff Decker

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The Athletics have designated outfielder Jaff Decker for assignment, per a club announcement. Oakland has recalled infielder/outfielder Mark Canha to take his place on the active roster.

Decker, 27, had earned his most extensive MLB opportunity to open the year, receiving 62 plate appearances over 17 games of action. But he has slashed just .200/.322/.260 in that span, continuing a run of rough but brief showings in the majors.

That’s not to say that clubs can’t anticipate somewhat more out of Decker moving forward. The former top-100 prospect is a .269/.370/.410 hitter in five seasons at the Triple-A level.

Rays Acquire International Slot From Mariners

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The Rays have acquired an international signing slot from the Mariners in exchange for minor-league righty Bryan Bonnell, per an announcement from the M’s. While the announcement doesn’t specify, it seems that the international money will be for the current season.

Tampa Bay will pick up the 71st international pool slot, which gives the team $321,100 in added bonus money. The Rays are sitting in the penalty box this year after loading up on the 2014-15 draft class, so the team is capped at $300K in spending on any given player. But the organization has still moved aggressively, as Ben Badler of Baseball America writes (subscription required and recommended), with 36 players already under contract.

As for the Mariners, the club evidently didn’t see the merit in utilizing that cash before the close of the current signing period on June 15th. Instead, they’ll pick up the 23-year-old Bonnell, who came to the Rays as a 36th-round draft pick in 2015. Bonnell has worked as a reliever in the minors, opening the current season at High-A. Through 11 frames this year, he has allowed five earned runs on 11 hits while compiling 10 strikeouts against just one walk.

Zach Britton Expected To Be Out For 6 to 8 Weeks

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5:03pm: Britton will not pick up a ball for at least ten days, Ghiroli tweets. But he says he expects to be ready to return on the early side of the estimated timeline.

4:30pm: Orioles lefty Zach Britton is expected to miss approximately 45 to 60 days of action, as MLB.com’s Britt Ghiroli reports (Twitter links). Britton has already been placed back on the 10-day DL with what the team has described as a forearm strain.

Britton, who established himself last year as one of the game’s truly elite relievers, has been cleared of structural issues. But the fact that his forearm ailment recurred after an initial rest-and-rehab effort obviously suggested a need for more cautious handling.

The estimated timeline seemingly builds in a lengthy period of rest. As Ghiroli reports, the plan is for Britton to be shut down for some time to allow the forearm to “completely calm down.”

Baltimore hopes to get the ace closer back by the All-Star break. Given that timeline, the organization ought to be able to assess his status before making any plans for the trade deadline. Of course, with Brad Brach providing excellent work in Britton’s stead — he has a 2.41 ERA and eight saves through 18 2/3 innings on the year — it’s unlikely the O’s will be in the market for a closer this summer.

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