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Grifol: Eloy Jiménez To Miss “Extended Period Of Time”

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7:05pm: On the broadcast of tonight’s game, general manager Chris Getz said Jiménez would miss a month or so, as relayed by Scott Merkin of MLB.com on X.

5:40pm: White Sox manager Pedro Grifol spoke with members of the media today, with Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times relaying video on X. Grifol relayed the latest on slugger Eloy Jiménez, which wasn’t great news. “He beat it up pretty good,” Grifol said of Jiménez’s left hamstring. “Exactly how much time, I mean, who knows? But it will be an extended period of time.”

Jiménez, 27, landed on the injured list yesterday due to a left hamstring strain, the latest in what has become a mounting injury track record. Although this is his sixth season in the big leagues, he has never played more than 122 games in a season. He’s only reached 85 games twice and has only gone beyond 55 games three times. He has gone on the injured list due to a high right ankle sprain, a right ulnar nerve contusion, a left adductor strain, a ruptured left pectoral tendon, an appendectomy, a torn hamstring tendon and multiple left hamstring strains.

When healthy enough to take the field, he has shown himself to possess a potent bat. He has 94 home runs in just under 2,000 plate appearances in his career and has slashed .271/.321/.479 for a wRC+ of 116. But the missed time due to injuries has often prevented him from providing that kind of offense to the Sox on a consistent basis.

Before even making his major league debut, the Sox signed Jiménez to a six-year, $43MM extension for the 2019-24 seasons. That deal also has two options for 2025 and 2026, respectively valued at $16.5MM and $18.5MM, each with a $3MM buyout.

The Sox were rebuilding at the time of that deal and hoped to be opening a new competitive window. They ended up making the postseason in 2020 and 2021, remarkably the first time the franchise made the playoffs in consecutive years, but the window slammed shut after that. The Sox fell to .500 in 2022 and then slid even farther last year, kicking off yet another rebuild.

The club was undoubtedly hoping for a strong season here in 2024 so they could trade him this summer, now that he’s in the final guaranteed season of his contract, but an extended absence will make that even less likely.

As of January, the club was reportedly finding little trade interest in Jiménez, surely on account of his increasing health issues and his diminished performance more recently. He hit .276/.327/.504 from 2019 to 2022 but has hit just .263/.310/.427 since the start of 2023, the latter line translating to a wRC+ of 102. Since Jiménez doesn’t really steal bases nor play the field well, he really needs to hit, especially with his contract.

The timeline on Jiménez is still vague, but with the trade deadline now just over two months away, the Sox may be squeezed out of finding a trade partner. Even if Jiménez is back and healthy a few weeks before the deadline, his ongoing injury problems will tamp down the interest from other clubs.

For the same reasons that the trade interest may be muted, it’s possible that the clock is ticking on his tenure with the White Sox. In the most recent offseason, bat-first players like Justin Turner, Joc Pederson and J.D. Martinez signed one-year deals for less than the value of Jiménez’s 2025 option. Even Teoscar Hernández, whose career offense is roughly comparable to that of Jiménez but with more speed and defensive ability, had to settle for one-year and $23.5MM with a decent chunk deferred.

That may have the Sox leaning towards turning down their 2025 option, since it would appear to be above market value for a defensively-limited slugger, especially one with the recent track record that Jiménez has. That will be a decision for the future. For now, he and the club will be focused on getting him healthy to see how things go in the latter parts of the season.

Mariners Claim Eduardo Salazar, Designate Sammy Peralta

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The Mariners announced that they have claimed right-hander Eduardo Salazar off waivers from the Dodgers and assigned to Triple-A Tacoma. The Dodgers designated him for assignment earlier this week. In a corresponding move, left-hander Sammy Peralta has been designated for assignment.

Salazar, 26, signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers in the offseason and he was added to their roster in mid-April. He only made one appearance for the big league club, tossing two scoreless innings, spending most of his time this year on optional assignment.

He made seven starts for Triple-A Oklahoma City this year, tossing 33 2/3 innings with a 5.61 earned run average. He only struck out 13.7% of batters faced but limited walks to a 7.8% clip and got grounders on 58.6% of balls in play. With a .389 batting average on balls in play, it’s possible that luck played a role in how many runs he allowed to cross the plate.

Keeping the ball on the ground has been a feature of his game in the past as well. He made his major league debut with the Reds last year and had a 51.1% grounder rate in 12 1/3 innings, while also getting opponents to pound the ball into the dirt at a similar rate in the minors.

Salazar has worked both as a starter and a reliever in his career and could perhaps provide the Mariners with depth in both departments. He can be optioned for the rest of this year and for one more season as well. He also has just a handful of service days, meaning the Mariners can hang onto him for the foreseeable future as long as he continues to justify his roster spot.

Peralta, 26, was claimed off waivers from the White Sox in early April. He has made 12 appearances for Triple-A Tacoma but allowed 13 earned runs in 12 1/3 innings. His 20% strikeout rate, 13.3% walk rate and 36.8% ground ball rate are all subpar.

That poor performance has led to him being bumped off Seattle’s roster and they will now have one week to trade him or pass him through waivers. Perhaps some club will be interested based on his previous work. He made his major league debut last year with the White Sox and had a 4.05 ERA in 20 innings. His 5.09 ERA in Triple-A last year wasn’t especially impressive but he did strike out 23.1% of batters faced while walking just 6.4%.

Tigers Option Alex Lange

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The Tigers announced today that right-hander Alex Lange has been optioned to Triple-A Toledo. Fellow right-hander Mason Englert has been recalled from Toledo to take Lange’s spot on the roster for now.

The move highlights what a struggle the season has been for Lange so far this year. In 21 appearances on the season, he has a 4.34 earned run average. That’s obviously not a disastrous figure, but Lange has that mark despite not allowing a home run yet this year. He has struck out 23.3% of opponents but given out walks at a massive 18.9% rate. The lack of home runs has helped him strand baserunners at an unsustainable 54.3% rate.

It’s been a steep drop for a guy who was Detroit’s closer not too long ago. In 2022, he made 71 appearances with a 3.41 ERA, earning 21 holds in the process. His 11.4% walk rate was on the high side but he struck out 30.3% of batter’s faced and got grounders on 55.6% of balls in play.

In 2023, the results were somewhat similar. He racked up 26 saves and six holds, posting a 3.68 ERA in 67 appearances, but with his peripherals moving the wrong way. His strikeout rate dropped a few ticks to 27.4%, his walk rate jumped to 15.6% and his grounder rate fell to 50.6%. As mentioned above, his strikeout and walk rates have continued trending in a concerning direction this year, with his ground ball rate also falling to 45.8%.

The growing control problems have clearly created some concern among Detroit’s decision makers and bumped Lange down the bullpen pecking order. Jason Foley has taken over the closer’s role with ten saves on the year, compared to two for Lange. Each of Andrew Chafin, Shelby Miller, Alex Faedo, Will Vest, Joey Wentz and Tyler Holton have picked up at least a couple of holds this season, while Lange has just one.

On top of being moved down the chart, he’s been bumped off the active roster entirely. He’ll head to Toledo to try to get a better handle on his stuff. “We decided the best place for him to go work on (strike-throwing) is in Toledo,” said manager A.J. Hinch, as relayed by Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic on X. “Could be a short stint. We’ve sketched out his next week to 10 days.”

Getting Lange back on track would obviously be good for the Tigers, with the club currently 23-26 and in fourth place in the American League Central. Despite Lange’s struggles, their relief unit hasn’t been the problem overall. They have a collective 3.58 ERA that’s good enough for ninth in the league, but moving up even further would obviously be a welcome development.

For Lange personally, this isn’t likely to have a huge impact on him financially, assuming Hinch is correct in stating that this will be a short stint. Lange came into the season with his service time count at two years and 112 days. Since a new year rolls over at 172 days, Lange needs 60 here in 2024 to get over the three-year mark. He’s already accrued 56 days to this point, meaning he should easily get over the line as long as he’s recalled at some point, even if it’s for just a week or so.

If Lange gets hurt on optional assignment or the Tigers decide to keep him down due to continued struggles, that would change things. Coming up shy of three years of service would eliminate any chance Lange has of getting to free agency after 2027. It would also prevent him from qualifying for arbitration if he’s under three years. Since he’s just under the three-year line, he would normally be in line for Super Two status, but only players with 86 days of service in the immediately preceding season can qualify for Super Two. Lange is shy of that right now but it would be a moot point if he is recalled and gets over the three-year line at any point, since he would automatically qualify for arbitration at that point.

Rays Reinstate, Option Shane Baz

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The Rays announced that right-hander Shane Baz has been reinstated from the injured list and optioned to Triple-A Durham.

Baz, 25 next month, underwent Tommy John surgery in September of 2022 and missed the entire 2023 season. The club planned to bring him along slowly here in 2024 after that missed season and he also injured his oblique in March.

He started the season on the IL but has been rehabbing in recent weeks. He’s made four starts for Triple-A Durham this month, logging 12 innings. His most recent outing was yesterday, when he threw 76 pitches over four innings, striking out four, walking three while allowing three hits and one earned run.

The Rays could arguably use him in the majors, given the number of injuries they are dealing with in their rotation. Jeffrey Springs, Drew Rasmussen and Shane McClanahan all underwent elbow surgery last year and are on the shelf. They have recently been joined by Zach Eflin and Jacob Waguespack.

The current rotation consists of Aaron Civale, Taj Bradley, Zack Littell, Ryan Pepiot and Tyler Alexander. Both Civale and Alexander are struggling this year, with each having an earned run average over 5.00.

Prior to his surgery, Baz was trending towards making a significant impact for the Rays. He had a 4.02 ERA in his first nine major league starts, striking out 28.9% of batters faced while giving out walks just 7.2% of the time. His work in the minors was even more impressive, as he had a 1.68 ERA at Triple-A in 2021 and 2022, part of the reason why he’s been considered one of the top pitching prospects in the league in recent years.

Given his obvious talent, there’s a case to be made for plugging him into the rotation now. Each of Civale and Alexander have more experience, but they also have options and could be moved to Triple-A, or to a long relief role in the bullpen.

Instead, the Rays have optioned Baz to Triple-A for more work at that level. Perhaps that is a way of monitoring his workload in an environment where wins and losses don’t matter as much, which is a fair consideration. Baz hardly pitched in 2022 either due to elbow issues prior to his Tommy John surgery, so he’s several years removed from a significant innings tally. His career high is the 92 frames he tossed in 2021, which isn’t even that high for a starter and is now a few years in the rear-view mirror. He also hasn’t looked to be in good form on his rehab, with 11 walks to just eight strikeouts and an ERA of 6.00.

Though there’s some logic to keeping him in Durham and monitoring him, it will nonetheless have consequences for Baz. The righty came into this season with two years and 14 days of major league service time. Had he stayed on the active roster or injured list all season, he would have finished this year at 3.014, just enough to automatically qualify for arbitration and to be on track for free agency after 2027. If he ends up spending significant time on optional assignment, he could alter both of those trajectories, though he could still get to arb as a Super Two guy even if he’s shy of the three-year mark.

For now, he’ll continue with whatever plan the Rays have for building him up over the remainder of the season. Perhaps his return to the big leagues will be motivated by an injury to one of his teammates or it could just be based on some sort of workload checklist that Baz has to hit.

Mets Claim Ty Adcock From Tigers

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The Mets announced that right-hander Ty Adcock has been claimed off waivers from the Tigers and been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. The righty had been designated for assignment by Detroit on the weekend. The Mets had a couple of open spots on their 40-man roster after Joey Wendle and Yohan Ramírez were both designated for assignment last week. This move will bring their count up to 39.

Adcock, 27, has been bouncing around the league this year. He started the season with the Mariners but was designated for assignment in early April and claimed by the Tigers, making this his second waiver claim and third organization of the year already.

Around those transactions, he has thrown 8 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level but with an 8.64 earned run average. He has struck out 25% of batters faced but some runs have been helped across the plate by a 13.6% walk rate, a .375 batting average on balls in play and a couple of home runs.

The Mets are clearly willing to overlook that ERA and are focusing more on the bigger picture. Adcock was drafted in 2019 but had his debut delayed by the minor leagues being canceled in 2020 and then Tommy John surgery in April of 2021. He made it back to the mound briefly in 2022 but last year was a sort of breakout for him.

Adcock tossed 20 2/3 innings on the farm in 2023 with a 1.74 ERA, 29.3% strikeout rate and 6.7% walk rate. He also had a 3.45 ERA in 15 2/3 big league innings, averaging 96.6 miles per hour on his fastball in the process.

The Mets had a couple of open roster spots, as mentioned, and Adcock has a couple of option years remaining. Despite his shaky results this year, there’s little harm in sending him to Triple-A and seeing if he can get back into his 2023 form going forward.

Cardinals Outright Alfonso Rivas

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May 23: Rivas cleared waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Memphis, the Cardinals announced. He’ll remain with the organization.

May 20: The Cardinals announced Monday that they’ve designated first baseman/outfielder Alfonso Rivas for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to right-hander Ryan Loutos, whose previously reported selection to the MLB roster has now been confirmed by the club. Righty Chris Roycroft was optioned to Triple-A Memphis to open space for Loutos on the active roster.

Rivas was claimed off waivers out of the Angels organization back in January. The 27-year-old has continued to show his typical keen eye at the plate in Memphis this season, walking at a hearty 12.8% rate, but he hasn’t hit for his usual average or power. Overall, he’s batting just .246/.364/.323 in 158 plate appearances with the Redbirds.

The well-traveled Rivas played sparingly in the majors each year from 2021-23, spending time with the Cubs, Pirates and Padres. He’s a .243/.324/.349 hitter in 459 big league plate appearances to this point in his career.

Tepid as his output in Memphis has been, Rivas entered the season with a lifetime .313/.424/.492 batting line in parts of four Triple-A seasons. He’s walked in nearly 15% of his plate appearances across five campaigns at the Triple-A level, and while he’s more of a gap hitter than true slugger — 48 doubles to just 15 homers in nearly 800 Triple-A plate appearances — he’s nevertheless been quite productive there outside this season.

Rivas has primarily been a first baseman in the minors but has a few hundred innings of corner outfield experience as a professional. He’s in the final of three minor league option seasons and is still two seasons shy of even reaching arbitration eligibility. A club looking for a left-handed bat with strong on-base skills could potentially take a look. Rivas has been designated for assignment three prior times in his career but has never made it through waivers, so MLB clubs are clearly intrigued by his bat — even if he hasn’t yet been all that productive in the majors.

The Cardinals will have a week to trade Rivas or attempt to pass him through outright waivers. If they can succeed in getting him through waivers, they can keep him in the organization without needing to dedicate a 40-man roster spot to him. Rivas has neither the MLB service time nor the prior outright assignment required to reject an outright to the minors after going unclaimed on waivers.

A’s Designate Jordan Diaz For Assignment

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The A’s announced a series of roster moves Thursday, placing outfielder Esteury Ruiz on the 10-day injured list with a left wrist strain, selecting the contract of Daz Cameron from Triple-A Las Vegas and designating infielder Jordan Diaz for assignment to open 40-man space for Cameron.

Diaz, 23, was an international signing out of Colombia and eventually jumped onto Baseball America’s list of top 30 prospects in the Oakland system in 2019, the first of five straight years he was featured on that list. He was added to the club’s 40-man roster in November of 2021, keeping him out of the Rule 5 draft. That roster spot came to Diaz after he hit 13 home runs in 90 High-A games that year, slashing .288/.337/.483 overall.

Unfortunately, the results since then haven’t been quite as impressive. He’s hit ten home runs in his 344 major league plate appearances but walked just 5.5% of the time, leading to a line of .227/.276/.358. That production translates to a wRC+ of 79, indicating he’s been 21% worse than league average.

His minor league production was still strong in the past two years but has fallen off a cliff here in 2024. He hit .321/.363/.513 on the farm over 2022 and 2023 but his line is just .204/.288/.327 so far this year. His 9.9% walk rate in 2024 is actually an improvement for him but he has just two home runs in 111 trips to the plate and the batting average is clearly not ideal.

He is now in his final option year, so there was a sort of ticking clock in the background for him this year. Since he’s gotten out to such a poor start, the A’s have nudged him off the roster now in order to open up a spot. They will have a week to try to trade Diaz or pass him through waivers. Perhaps a rival club looking for infield depth will be interested based on his previous seasons. Diaz can play the three non-shortstop infield positions and has even received very brief looks at catcher and left field. He can be kept on optional assignment for the rest of the year and has less than a year of service time at the moment.

Bumping Diaz off the 40-man opens a spot for Cameron, who will replace Ruiz in the club’s outfield rotation. The 27-year-old Cameron signed a minor league deal with the A’s in the offseason and been playing very well in Triple-A this year. He has drawn a walk in 16.4% of his 165 plate appearances and also hit six home runs, leading to a .307/.424/.577 batting line. Even in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, that’s still 46% better than league average. He’s also stolen eight bases in ten tries.

Cameron has impressed in the minors before but has struggled in his attempts to carry that kind of production over to the majors. He received 244 plate appearances with the Tigers over the 2020-22 period but hit just .201/.266/.330 in that time, striking out at a 31.6% clip.

He exhausted his option years in that time and has been in the minors since then, with the Orioles last year and with the A’s so far this year. If things click for him in the majors this time, he can be kept around by the A’s since he has less than two years of service time. For now, he’ll join the club’s outfield mix alongside JJ Bleday, Brent Rooker, Seth Brown and Tyler Nevin.

Pirates Option Jack Suwinski

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The Pirates announced Thursday that they’ve optioned struggling outfielder Jack Suwinski to Triple-A Indianapolis. Left-hander Jose Hernandez has been recalled from Indy in his place.

It’s a notable turn of events for the Pirates and Suwinski, who looked to have emerged as a potential core piece for the Bucs just last season. Suwinski mashed his way into an everyday outfield role, clubbing 26 home runs and drawing plenty of walks en route to a .224/.339/.454 slash (112 wRC+). Everything’s gone in the wrong direction for the slugger this season, however. In his first 157 trips to the plate, Suwinski has posted an anemic .174/.268/.297 batting line.

The decline at the plate hasn’t followed the typical pattern. Suwinski has actually greatly improved on last year’s problematic 32.2% strikeout rate, punching out in a more palatable (albeit still higher-than-average) 25.5% of his plate appearances. He’s making contact at a much higher rate both on pitches within the strike zone (88% in ’24, 81.3% in ’23) and off the plate (60.2% in ’24, 52.7% in ’23).

Counter-intuitive as it may seem, that improved plate coverage has resulted in some ugly trends that have tamped down his production. For starters, Suwinski is swinging more in general. His 28.9% chase rate is lower than average but still up considerably from last year’s excellent 22% mark. That’s likely contributed to a dip in walk rate, which sat at a huge 14% a year ago but is down to 11.5% in 2023 (still about three percentage points north of average). It seems there’s been a conscious effort to be more assertive at the plate. Only eight qualified hitters swung less often than Suwinski in 2023, but this year there are 79 qualified bats swinging less often.

Suwinski’s more aggressive approach hasn’t generated quality contact, however. His ground-ball rate has spiked from 27.9% all the way to 44.4%. His line-drive rate is down two percentage points, while his fly-ball rate has plummeted by 14.2% percentage points (from 53.6% to 39.4%). He’s no longer elevating the ball at a strong rate, and when he does make contact, it’s been weaker in nature. He’s lost 2.4 mph off his average exit velocity and seen his hard-hit rate fall from 43.4% to 36.4%. After barreling up 15.7% of his batted balls last year (as measured by Statcast), he’s at just 6.1% in 2024.

Whether the more aggressive approach was intended to take advantage of Suwinski’s clearly plus power, to improve his batting average, some combination of the two or perhaps has simply been borne of frustration at his slow start, the results aren’t there. He’ll head to Indianapolis for now in an effort to get back on track and hopefully recapture some of the form that made him the Bucs’ top power threat just last season.

From a service time vantage point, the demotion won’t alter Suwinski’s path to free agency. He entered the season with 1.118 years of MLB service, meaning he only needed 54 days on the active roster or injured list to reach two years of service and remain on pace for free agency following the 2028 season. He reached that number earlier this week, so even in the unlikely event that he stays in the minors all year, he’d still have stayed on his prior free-agent trajectory. It’s at least possible this could cost him Super Two designation, as he’d have been on the Super Two bubble with 2.118 years of service this coming offseason, but he could remain on that bubble if his optional assignment is short enough. He’ll have to spend at least 10 days in the minors, unless he’s recalled sooner as a replacement for someone who’s being placed on the injured list.

With Suwinski no longer in the outfield fold, the Pirates figure to use a rotation of Bryan Reynolds, Michael A. Taylor, Ji Hwan Bae, Connor Joe and Edward Olivares. Taylor and Bae are likeliest to see time in center. Reynolds has split his time between the two corners this season but will be on the lineup on a near everyday basis. Olivares and Joe can rotate through the free corner spot, with Joe also an option at first base and either a candidate to stand in as the designated hitter (should Andrew McCutchen need a day off).

Rangers Place Jon Gray On 15-Day Injured List

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The Rangers are placing right-hander Jon Gray on the injured list due to a groin strain, manager Bruce Bochy announced this morning (X link via Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News). The team is terming it a “mild” strain, but it’ll nevertheless be enough to sit Gray down for at least the next 15 days. In a corresponding move, Texas will select the contract of right-hander Jesus Tinoco from Triple-A Round Rock. Left-hander Cody Bradford is being transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL to accommodate Tinoco’s addition. Bradford has already missed six weeks with a back strain and stress fracture in his ribs.

Gray joins an an entire rotation’s worth of starters on the injured list in Texas. The Rangers are also without Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Tyler Mahle, Nathan Eovaldi and the aforementioned Bradford at the moment. That’ll leave Texas with a rotation including Andrew Heaney, Dane Dunning, Michael Lorenzen, Jose Ureña and a yet-to-be-determined fifth option. (Tinoco is a reliever and won’t step onto the starting staff.) The top depth options on the 40-man roster include Jack Leiter and Owen White. While Leiter has thrived pitching in Triple-A, both of those once-vaunted prospects has struggled in the big leagues this season.

Subtracting Gray from the roster would be a notable blow even without that litany of other injuries. The former No. 3 overall draft pick is out to perhaps the best start of his career, pitching to a tiny 2.21 ERA through his first 57 frames of the season. Gray’s 23.7% strikeout rate, 7.2% walk rate and 44.4% ground-ball rate are all at or slightly better than the league average. His ERA is being helped out by a microscopic 3.3% homer-to-flyball rate that’s helped him average just 0.32 homers per nine frames this season. But even metrics that normalize home run rate (e.g. his 3.68 SIERA) suggest Gray has still been a decidedly above-average hurler thanks to that strong blend of whiffs, grounders and walks (or lack thereof).

Tinoco, 29, will return for a second stint with the Rangers. He pitched in the Texas organization in 2022, famously giving up Aaron Judge’s record-breaking 62nd home run late in the season. That’s a down note in what was otherwise a strong year. In 20 2/3 frames with the Rangers he logged a 2.18 ERA — albeit with lackluster strikeout and walk rates of 21.4% and 11.9%, respectively.

Tinoco spent the 2023 season with the Seibu Lions in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and handled himself well for the most part, but he returned stateside on a minor league pact with the Rangers over the winter. He’s gotten out to a decent start in Round Rock, pitching to a 3.80 earned run average and fanning just over 30% of his opponents in 21 1/3 innings. Overall, Tinoco has pitched in parts of four MLB seasons and compiled 66 2/3 innings with a 4.05 ERA, 18.1% strikeout rate, 13.9% walk rate and 44% grounder rate. Command has clearly been an issue for him throughout his professional career, and that’s been the case again in 2024, evidenced by an 11.2% walk rate in Round Rock.

Mariners Acquire Mike Baumann

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May 23: Baumann reported to the Mariners’ roster today. The team announced that right-hander Cody Bolton has been optioned to Triple-A Tacoma to open a spot on the 26-man roster.

May 22: The Orioles and Mariners announced a trade late Wednesday evening. Seattle acquired reliever Mike Baumann and catcher Michael Pérez in exchange for younger catcher Blake Hunt, whom the O’s have optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. Baltimore had designated Baumann for assignment over the weekend. Hunt and Baumann will each occupy spots on their new teams’ 40-man rosters. Pérez was on a minor league contract and will not assume a 40-man spot. Seattle’s roster is at capacity, while the O’s count is up to 39.

Baumann changes teams for the first time in his career. Baltimore drafted the right-hander in the third round back in 2017. A starting pitcher for most of his minor league tenure, he kicked to the bullpen in 2022. Baumann has turned in solid results over the past couple seasons. He tossed a career-high 64 2/3 innings of 3.76 ERA ball last season and has allowed 3.44 earned runs per nine through 17 appearances this year.

While Baumann’s run prevention marks have been good, his strikeout and walk profile is middling. He had a league average 22.3% strikeout percentage with a lofty 12.1% walk rate in 2023. His strikeout rate is down to 19.5% over 18 1/3 innings this season, while his 11% walk percentage remains higher than average. Baumann’s 9.9% swinging strike rate is a couple points below the league mark for relievers.

That certainly contributed to Baltimore’s decision to DFA him, but the more immediate driver was a lack of roster flexibility. Baumann is out of options, so the O’s couldn’t send him to the minors. He was one of six Baltimore relievers who can’t be optioned, and two who can be sent down (Yennier Cano and Keegan Akin) have been far too valuable to take out of the MLB bullpen.

Seattle has four out-of-options relievers of their own, but they can send down one of Eduard Bazardo or Cody Bolton to plug Baumann into the bullpen. Despite lacking huge swing-and-miss tallies, he should deepen their middle relief group. The Jacksonville product has induced ground-balls at a solid 46.4% clip. He averages north of 96 MPH on his fastball and mixes in a knuckle-curve and slider with regularity. Baumann has between one and two years of major league service. He’s controllable for four seasons beyond the current campaign and won’t be eligible for arbitration until the 2025-26 offseason.

The Mariners liked Baumann enough to part with Hunt, who is a more intriguing player than teams typically land for someone they’d designated for assignment. A former second-round pick of the Padres, he went to the Rays as part of the Blake Snell blockbuster. Hunt topped out at Triple-A in the Tampa Bay farm system. Despite a .256/.331/.484 showing in 2023, the Rays decided not to add him to their 40-man roster last fall. Rather than watch him depart for nothing in minor league free agency, Tampa Bay flipped him to Seattle for recent draftee Tatem Levins.

Seattle added Hunt to the 40-man to keep him in the organization. The 25-year-old has spent the season in Triple-A Tacoma, where he’s out to an excellent .293/.372/.533 start in 86 plate appearances. Hunt has already connected on four homers while striking out in only 11.6% of his trips to the plate. He slots in behind Adley Rutschman and James McCann on the organizational depth chart. There’s a chance Hunt makes his MLB debut at some point this year. Even if he spends the rest of the season in Norfolk, he could compete for next year’s backup catching job if the Orioles let McCann depart in free agency.

Pérez is a 31-year-old journeyman who signed a minor league deal with Baltimore over the offseason. He’s hitting .221/.294/.325 over 21 games in Norfolk. Pérez has appeared in parts of six MLB campaigns and owns a .179/.248/.306 slash at the highest level. Including him in the deal allows Seattle to send an experienced, glove-first veteran to Tacoma after Hunt’s departure. He’s behind Cal Raleigh and Seby Zavala on the organizational depth chart.

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