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Orioles, Dodgers Have Discussed Tarik Skubal With Tigers

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The Orioles and Dodgers are “engaged in talks” with the Tigers regarding a trade for All-Star left-hander Tarik Skubal, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. This comes after a previous report from Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated, which suggested that Baltimore and L.A. were interested in Skubal but did not confirm the Tigers were entertaining offers for the Cy Young contender.

Both the Orioles and Dodgers have already made it crystal clear they are seeking to add starting pitching ahead of the July 30 trade deadline. Before the All-Star break, Orioles GM Mike Elias expressed interest in adding a starter with multiple years of club control. Meanwhile, the Dodgers have reportedly already made an offer to the White Sox for Garrett Crochet, and Alden Gonzalez of ESPN suggests that adding “a front-of-the-rotation starter” remains their top priority. Crochet is still their number one target, per Gonzalez, though Skubal would be far more than just a consolation prize.

Baltimore and L.A. have been two of the top teams in the league this season, but both clubs have been hit hard by injuries to their starting rotations. The Orioles have lost Kyle Bradish, Tyler Wells, and John Means for the season. Thus, their rotation has its fair share of question marks after Corbin Burnes and Grayson Rodriguez. Meanwhile, the Dodgers currently have names like Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Walker Buehler, and Dustin May on the IL. Glasnow and Kershaw are set to return this week, but given their injury histories, L.A. could use another top-of-the-rotation arm for the playoffs. Skubal certainly fits the description.

While it is noteworthy that the Tigers are engaged in discussions about trading Skubal, president of baseball operations Scott Harris might just be doing his due diligence. In other words, the fact that these teams are talking does not mean Harris is seriously considering any offers. Indeed, several sources seem to think it is still highly doubtful Detroit will trade Skubal this season. According to Nightengale, Detroit will only move Skubal if the front office is “overwhelmed” by an offer. Gonzalez reports that sources familiar with the Tigers’ thinking believe a trade is unlikely. Verducci’s source offered similar information, though added that “everything has a price.” Evidently, the Dodgers and Orioles are trying to find the price that will convince Scott Harris to trade away his best player.

The Yankees might also be trying to find that price, as Nightengale reports they would be willing to part with top prospect Spencer Jones to land a young ace like Skubal or Crochet. Previously, Jones was thought to be all but untouchable, but the Yankees might be getting more desperate for upgrades. They have gone 10-20 over their last 30 games, falling out of first place in the AL East. Their starting rotation has a league-worst 6.02 ERA in that time.

Jones, a towering, power-hitting outfielder, is widely considered a top-100 prospect in the game. It’s easy to understand why the Yankees would be hesitant to trade him, but it’s equally clear why the Tigers would command a prospect of that caliber in a package for a 27-year-old ace with two and a half years of club control remaining.

Skubal claimed the final spot on MLBTR’s ranking of the top 50 trade candidates for the deadline. His low ranking has nothing to do with his talent but rather reflects how unlikely he is to be dealt. Still, there is a good reason he was included on the list at all. Several contenders are sure to make a push to acquire Skubal, and if he is dealt, it could be the biggest blockbuster of the summer.

Notable Draft Signings: 7/21/24

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Sunday was a relatively quiet day for notable draft signings, although one deal of note did come together today:

  • The Rockies have agreed to terms with supplemental first-rounder Brody Brecht on a $2.7MM bonus, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis. The deal comes in slightly above the $2,452,200 slot value of the 38th overall pick. Prospect evaluators were universal in their agreement that Brecht, a right-hander out of Iowa, is a top-30 talent in this year’s draft class. Baseball America was at the low end of the spectrum, placing him 28th in the class, while Fangraphs (13th) and The Athletic’s Keith Law (16th) both placed him in the top 20. Brecht, who stands a massive 6’4”, 235 lbs, receives praise from evaluators for his mid-to-upper 90s fastball that touches triple digits and a double-plus slider, though control issues and his lack of a strong third pitch have left some evaluators to suggest that he carries substantial relief risk in his profile. In 15 starts with Iowa this year, Brecht showed off his tantalizing upside with a 3.33 ERA and a 37.2% strikeout rate in 78 1/3 frames.

Dodgers Notes: Yamamoto, Rojas, Graterol, Grove

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In his first public comments to reporters since going on the injured list with a rotator cuff strain, right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto told reporters (including ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez) yesterday that he’s been playing catch as he works his way back toward the mound. He described pitching again this year as his “goal,” noting that he was trying to return as soon as possible. Though Yamamoto did not specify a specific timetable for his return, Gonzalez noted that the Dodgers are “hoping” their star rookie will be back on the mound for them in late August or early September.

At the time of Yamamoto’s injury, manager Dave Roberts suggested that it wasn’t expected to end his season, so it’s not necessarily a surprise that the 25-year-old hurler still hopes to pitch this year. Even so, any source of optimism regarding Yamamoto’s status is surely a welcome one for fans in L.A. given the number of rotation injuries they’ve suffered in recent weeks. Entering the All-Star break, the club was relying on a patchwork rotation of veteran southpaw James Paxton and rookies Gavin Stone, Landon Knack, and Justin Wrobleski. Although both Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw are expected to join the mix later this week, providing the club with a solid front four alongside Stone and Paxton, questions will remain about the club’s lacking rotation depth until either Yamamoto or Walker Buehler returns from the injured list, barring a trade in the days leading up to the deadline.

Even setting aside the Dodgers’ current rotation needs, getting Yamamoto back late in the season figures to provide a huge boost to the club as they look ahead towards the postseason. After all, the $325MM righty was generally regarded as the best pitcher available this winter despite his lack of MLB experience, and in 14 starts with the Dodgers prior to hitting the shelf he flashed that potential. In his 76 innings of work this year, Yamamoto sports an excellent 2.92 ERA (137 ERA+) with an even better 2.68 FIP thanks to a fantastic 27.9% strikeout rate against a measly 5.6% walk rate.

While the club received some positive news about Yamamoto this weekend, they also were dealt something of an injury scare today when veteran shortstop Miguel Rojas exited today’s game due to a bout of tightness in his right forearm. Fortunately, Rojas told reporters following the game (including The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya) that he believes the injury, which he suffered over the All-Star break while doing hitting drills, isn’t a particularly serious one. Roberts echoed that sentiment, noting to reporters (including Ardaya) that the club does not currently plan to send Rojas for an MRI, although he won’t play tomorrow and could ultimately be down for a few days due to the issue.

The loss of Rojas would’ve been a brutal blow for the Dodgers, a somewhat surprisingly reality considering his disappointing 2023 campaign. In 206 trips to the plate for the club this year, Rojas has slashed a respectable .272/.317/.408 that registers as 6% better than league average by wRC+. He’s combined that solid work at the plate with strong defense, initially at second base before sliding over to shortstop to take over for Mookie Betts after he went down with a fractured hand last month. Kiké Hernández took over for Rojas at shortstop after he exited tonight and figures to continuing getting reps at the position in Rojas’s absence, perhaps alongside Gavin Lux.

More positive injury news for Dodgers fans comes out of Triple-A Oklahoma City, where (as noted by OKC Broadcaster Alex Freedman) right-handers Brusdar Graterol and Michael Grove have both been assigned to begin rehab assignments this evening. Each right-hander struck out one while pitching a single inning of work tonight, with Grove working around a walk to produce a scoreless frame while Graterol allowed a hit and an unearned run in his inning of work. That both righties have reached the highest level of the minors in their rehab process is an exciting development for the Dodgers, as it suggests both will soon be available to contribute to a bullpen that has scuffled badly in recent days with a 5.51 ERA and 5.23 FIP since the calendar flipped to July.

Graterol hasn’t appeared in a big league game this year due to shoulder inflammation but has been one of the club’s most trusted relievers in recent years with a sterling 2.08 ERA and a strong 3.00 FIP in 117 innings of work since the start of the 2022 campaign, Grove, meanwhile, pitched to mixed results earlier this year before going down with a lat strain. The righty’s 5.06 ERA left much to be desired, but some of that lackluster run prevention seems to be due to unfortunate sequencing as demonstrated by his unusually low 62.5% strand rate and strong peripherals, including a 3.16 FIP, a strong 28.7% strikeout rate, and a fantastic 2.94 SIERA. Both hurlers should be welcome additions to the club’s bullpen when ready to return, possible sometime before the end of the month if their respective rehabs continue to go well.

Mariners Place Ty France On Outright Waivers

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The Mariners have placed first baseman Ty France on outright waivers, according to Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times. France remains on the club’s 40-man roster and can still play for the Mariners while on waivers until or unless he is claimed.

Should France clear waivers, the Mariners would then be able to outright or release him, though it’s worth noting that France has enough service time to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency and that Seattle could also simply opt to retain France on their roster afterwards, as the Blue Jays did with center fielder Kevin Kiermaier earlier this month. As was the case with Kiermaier, the move appears to be motivated by a desire on the part of Seattle to find a taker for France and the remainder of his $6.75MM salary this year, though ESPN’s Jeff Passan suggests that the move is also designed to open up full-time at-bats at the big league level for top first base prospect Tyler Locklear.

France, who celebrated his 30th birthday last week, is in the midst of a difficult season at the plate. The first baseman has slashed just .224/.313/.351 good for a wRC+ of just 97 and is striking out at a career-worst 24.5% clip. It’s the second consecutive down year for France, as he posted a somewhat lackluster 104 wRC+ in 158 games with Seattle last year as well. That down 2023 season led the club to listen to offers for the first baseman last summer, although no deal ultimately came together. Nearly a year later, the club is now evidently open to parting ways with France for nothing but salary relief with Locklear knocking at the door of the majors and France still struggling to produce at a level commensurate with the offensive expectations of his position.

It’s been a somewhat surprising drop off in production for France, who was a well-above average bat as recently as 2022. Acquired from the Padres as part of the seven-player deal that sent Austin Nola to San Diego back in 2020, France did nothing but hit during his first three seasons with the Mariners. From 2020 to 2022, France slashed an excellent .285/.355/.443 while striking out just 16.7% of the time and clubbing 42 homers in 335 games. It’s at least feasible to imagine a club that has a need at first base and believes they can unlock that old form in France would be willing to pay the remainder of his 2024 salary in order to take that chance, although it’s fair to wonder if interested clubs may prefer to see if France clears waivers before trying to acquire him at a lower price in the final week prior to the July 30 trade deadline.

In the meantime, rival clubs will have 48 hours from the time France was first waived to claim him, immediately adding him to their 40-man roster by doing so. Should he pass through waivers unclaimed, the Mariners will then need to decide whether to release France or retain him on their roster. Should France be released, he would then be eligible to be signed by any club for only a prorated portion of the major league minimum salary. If the club retains him on the roster, they would presumably continue to look for a suitor for France’s services in the run-up to the trade deadline. It’s even possible that Seattle could look to put France on waivers a second time after the deadline has passed, similar to how clubs like the Angels and Yankees handled pieces such as Lucas Giolito and Harrison Bader last summer after falling out of contention in August.

Seemingly poised to replace France in the Seattle lineup is Locklear, 23. Seattle’s second-rounder in the 2022 draft, Locklear has just 11 big league games under his belt, having slashed .200/.250/.433 in a brief cup of coffee while France was on the IL earlier this year. In 71 games between the Double- and Triple-A levels this year, Locklear has slashed an excellent .283/.389/.504 while striking out at a 24.5% clip that is, coincidentally, identical to France’s own strikeout rate this season.

Giants Acquire Mike Baumann

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The Giants have acquire right-hander Mike Baumann from the Mariners in exchange for cash considerations, per an announcement from both clubs. San Francisco’s 40-man roster now stands at 39. Baumann was designated for assignment by the Mariners earlier this week.

Baumann, 29 in September, was a third-round pick by the Orioles back in 2017 and made his big league debut for the club in 2021. He spent much of his professional career as a starter before moving to the bullpen full-time following the 2022 season and enjoyed some noteworthy success in Baltimore’s bullpen with a 3.69 ERA in 83 innings since converting to relief full time. He struck out 21.7% of batters faced during that time, but an elevated 11.7% walk rate during that time in conjunction with his lack of minor league options ultimately made him expendable in a relatively deep Orioles bullpen.

That led Baltimore to designate Baumann for assignment back in May, at which point he was promptly acquired by the Mariners alongside veteran minor league catcher Michael Perez in exchange for catching prospect Blake Hunt. Unfortunately, Baumann’s time in Seattle left something to be desired, as he struggled badly to a 5.51 ERA with a 6.04 FIP thanks in part to a massive uptick in hard contact. Baumann’s barrel rate in Seattle soared to an eye-popping 17% after sitting at just 3.6% with the Orioles this year and 8.2% from 2022 to 2023. That led Baumann to surrender a whopping four homers in just 16 1/3 innings of work, or more than two per nine innings. Those struggles left Baumann in a precarious spot in Seattle, and the club ultimately decided to part ways with the 28-year-old earlier this week when lefty Gabe Speier was ready to be activated from the IL.

Now, Baumann is headed to his third club of the season to join the San Francisco bullpen. With right-handers Sean Hjelle, Luke Jackson, and Randy Rodriguez all struggling to varying degrees in the club’s bullpen, it’s not necessarily a shock that the Giants, whose cavernous home ballpark is known for its homer-suppressing tendencies, would be interested in taking a shot on the services of a player who has gotten solid results in the past but has developed issues with the long ball. Baumann fits that description perfectly, and he’ll now look to get things back on track going forward with a Giants club that ranks bottom-five in the majors and better than only the Rockies among NL clubs with a 4.42 bullpen ERA.

Pirates Re-Sign Domingo German To Minor League Deal

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The Pirates have re-signed right-hander Domingo German to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf. Stumpf adds that German’s new pact with the club includes an opt-out on August 9. German has spent the entire 2024 season to this point pitching for the Pirates but opted out of his deal with Pittsburgh last week, though now it seems he’ll remain in the organization for at least a few more weeks.

German, 32 next month, made his big league debut with the Yankees back in 2017. While the righty appeared in just seven games as a multi-inning relief arm in his first MLB season, he went on to carve out a much more significant role for himself in the following years. 2018 saw German pitch in 21 games, including 14 starts, as a swing man for the Yankees, and by 2019 he had been promoted to a full-time starter. Off-the-field issues, including an 81-game suspension for violating the MLB-MLBPA joint domestic violence policy, saw him miss the 2019 postseason and the entire 2020 campaign, but upon his return to action in 2021 he spent three more seasons as a semi-regular fixture in New York’s rotation mix.

In all, German posted a 4.22 ERA (102 ERA+) with a 4.56 FIP in 422 1/3 innings of work for the Yankees between 2019 and 2023. German’s Yankees tenure including highs such as his outing against the A’s last June, where he threw the 24th perfect game in MLB history, but also lows such as his aforementioned suspension, a subsequent ten-game suspension for violating the league’s foreign substance policy on the mound, and a trip to the restricted list last September while he underwent treatment for alcohol abuse. Those numerous off-the-field issues help to explain why German, despite a track record as a fairly reliable back-end starter when healthy, settled for a minor league deal with the Pirates back in March.

Upon joining the Pirates, German was placed in the club’s Triple-A rotation, where he has struggled through ten starts. In 50 1/3 innings of work at the level this year, German has posted a lackluster 5.36 ERA with a similar 5.50 FIP. While his 20.6% strikeout rate is respectable enough, he’s walked a bloated 12% of batters faced at the level this year. That 8.6% K-BB% ratio is a far cry from the much more respectable 17.5% ratio he’s posted throughout his career in the major leagues, where he’s punched out 24.9% of batters faced while walking just 7.4%.

With Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller, Martin Perez, Marco Gonzales, Luis Ortiz, and Quinn Preister all seemingly ahead of German on the organizational depth chart among healthy starting options, it was hardly a surprise that German departed the club in hopes of finding a more pitching-hungry team interested in his services. Evidently, however, German was unable to find a deal he liked in free agency with another club, and as a result re-upped with Pittsburgh on a new deal that provides him an opt-out date after the Trade Deadline on July 30. It’s easy to imagine German exercising that opt-out opportunity as well, in hopes that a club that wasn’t able to address its rotation needs before the deadline at the end of the month shows interest in adding him to their mix as an innings-eating depth option. Until then, however, he figures to continue pitching in his current non-roster depth role with Pittsburgh’s Triple-A affiliate as he waits for his next big league opportunity.

Report: Cardinals Have “Strong Interest” In Erick Fedde

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The Cardinals have “strong interest” in White Sox right-hander Erick Fedde, according to a report from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale this morning. Fedde is among a number of controllable pieces that the White Sox have made available this summer, alongside breakout left-hander Garrett Crochet and star center fielder Luis Robert Jr.

Fedde, 31, lacks the star power of either Crochet or Robert but is nonetheless one of the most attractive pieces expected to be available this summer. The former first-round pick was a consensus top-100 prospect in baseball in the late 2010’s but generally struggled at the big league level after debuting with the Nationals back in 2017. In parts of six season with the club, Fedde posted a lackluster 5.41 ERA in 102 appearances, including 88 starts. Those struggles led Fedde to depart affiliate ball to pitch in the Korea Baseball Organization last year, and the stint overseas hardly could’ve gone better for the righty. In an MVP campaign for the NC Dinos, Fedde posted a sterling 2.00 ERA in 180 1/3 innings of work across 30 starts while striking out 29.5% of batters faced.

The righty’s success overseas earned him renewed stateside interest this past winter, and the White Sox ultimately pounced by offering him a two-year, $15MM guarantee. The deal has gone about as well as anyone could’ve have hoped so far. Through 19 starts this season, Fedde appears to be an entirely different pitcher than he was in his days with the Nationals. His 21.6% strikeout rate is a near-match for his career-best mark from 2021, and his 6.6% walk rate is by far the lowest of his MLB career. After allowing a whopping 18.1% of his fly balls to the leave the yard for home runs during his time with the Nationals, Fedde has greatly improved in that regard this year as well with just 9.2% of his fly balls ending up in the stands so far. In all, that’s left Fedde with an excellent 2.99 ERA (138 ERA+) and a solid 3.53 FIP (82 FIP-) in 111 1/3 innings of work this season.

That sort of production would be welcome in virtually any contender’s rotation, and it’s surely all the more enticing for clubs that Fedde is under control for the 2025 season at a bargain $7.5MM price tag as well. That combination of low financial cost, team control, and production makes Fedde a strong candidate for virtually any pitching-hungry team in the league, so it’s easy to see why the Cardinals would have interest in the right-hander’s services.

Injury woes have kept veteran lefty Steven Matz out of action since late April, forcing the Cardinals to rely on pieces like Andre Pallante and Matthew Liberatore to fill out the rotation behind Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn, Miles Mikolas, and Kyle Gibson. Even that front quartet has yielded mix results, with Gray and Gibson’s solid numbers being offset by the struggles of Lynn and Mikolas. Altogether, Cardinals starters this season have delivered a lackluster 4.43 ERA that ranks in the bottom ten among all major league clubs.

Despite those woes in the rotation, St. Louis has surged since an early-season slump and is currently sitting at a 52-47 record that places them firmly in the NL Wild Card picture and just five games back of the Brewers for the NL Central crown. The addition of a quality, playoff-caliber starter to their rotation would be a huge boost not only for their chances of making it into the postseason, but also for their odds in a potential Wild Card series, where Fedde could pair with Gray to make an impressive front two that could go toe-to-toe with most contenders in the NL. What’s more, Fedde’s additional year of team control could make him a particularly attractive option for a club that currently boasts 33-year-old Matz as the youngest arm in the rotation, and could stand to lose both Gibson and Lynn to free agency this winter if the club declines their club options on the veteran duo.

Ozzie Albies To Miss Eight Weeks With Wrist Fracture; Braves To Select Nacho Alvarez

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4:58pm: The Braves announced this afternoon that X-Rays on Albies’s wrist revealed a fracture in his left wrist. He’s expected to miss approximately eight weeks. Atlanta is “expected” to select Alvarez’s contract tomorrow to replace Albies on the roster, according to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. Bowman suggests that the youngster will play second base despite Alvarez’s lack of experience at the keystone, leaving Arcia as the club’s everyday shortstop.

4:33pm: Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies exited today’s game in the ninth inning due to a left wrist injury. As noted by David O’Brien of The Athletic, Albies’s wrist was bent backwards when he attempted to tag a runner out a second base amid a stolen base attempt. The Braves have not made an official move yet, but manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including O’Brien) after the game that Albies will be placed on the injured list and that while further evaluation necessary, the outlook on the injury is “not good.”

The loss of Albies is another devastating blow to a Braves club that has already seen both reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuna Jr. and right-handed ace Spencer Strider undergo season-ending surgery. With Albies set to join that duo as well as center fielder Michael Harris II and star lefty Max Fried on the shelf, the Braves will limp towards the trade deadline protecting a four-game lead in the NL Wild Card race without five of their biggest stars. While Chris Sale and Reynaldo Lopez have stepped up this season as front-of-the-rotation arms and Jarred Kelenic has performed admirably since being thrust into an everyday role as the club’s center fielder in place of Harris, there are no obvious solutions for replacing Albies on the club’s active roster.

Even average offensive production would be an adequate replacement for Albies at the plate, as the 27-year-old has been dealing with a bit of a down season this year. In 89 games this season, the infielder has slashed a roughly league average .255/.308/.403 across 390 trips to the plate. Even so, the club’s dearth of quality infield depth means that the Braves are likely to be scrambling for solutions in Albies’s absence, particularly if it proves to be a lengthy one as Snitker implied.

Earlier this year, infielder Zack Short was tapped to handle third base in place of an injured Austin Riley and rose to the call effectively. While he has experience at second base as well, he’s slumped badly in bench role since Riley’s return to the lineup and sports a slash line of just .077/.250/.077 since the start of June. That could lead the Braves to look toward the minor leagues. The club turned to David Fletcher in a utility role earlier this year, but he is no longer on the 40-man roster and has begun attempting to convert to pitching at the Double-A level, suggesting he’s unlikely to be called up to replace Albies. One option currently on the 40-man would be infielder Luke Williams, although his career .220/.280/.287 slash line in the majors certainly leaves something to be desired.

Perhaps the most exciting moves the Braves could make, barring a trade to improve the club’s overall infield mix, would be the promotion of top infield prospect Nacho Alvarez. Alvarez is ranked as the club’s #5 prospect by MLB Pipeline and has lit up the scoreboards in the minor leagues this year. In 75 games split between the Double- and Triple-A levels this year, the 21-year-old has slashed an eye-opening .295/.398/.420 while going 21-for-24 on the basepaths. One potential hiccup in that plan would be Alvarez’s complete lack of experience at second base, though the club could always plug him in at shortstop and shift veteran Orlando Arcia, who played 50 games for the Braves at the keystone in 2022, over to the right side of the infield alongside first baseman Matt Olson.

It’s possible that a lengthy absence for Albies could prompt the Braves to explore the infield market, particularly if the club feels Alvarez isn’t ready for his big league debut. Pieces such as Amed Rosario of the Rays and Brandon Drury of the Angels are among the veteran rentals who could be made available this summer, although the Rays have gone 6-3 over their last nine games to put themselves back into contention while Drury has suffered through an abysmal season at the plate this year. With clear needs in the starting rotation and outfield as well, it’s possible at Atlanta brass opt instead to rely on their internal options at the keystone while Albies is injured, instead working to add an outfield who can replace Acuna while taking pressure off of Kelenic and Adam Duvall, both of whom have been forced into everyday roles by injuries after starting the season as platoon partners.

Brewers Acquire Tyler Jay From Mets

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The Mets have dealt left-hander Tyler Jay to the Brewers in exchange for minor league right-hander TJ Shook, per a club announcement. Jay had been designated for assignment by New York last week to make room for lefty Alex Young on the club’s 40-man roster. The Brewers had an open spot for Jay on their 40-man roster after designating Joel Kuhnel for assignment earlier today.

Jay, 30, was the sixth overall pick in the 2015 draft by the Twins. Jay struggled to establish himself in the upper levels of the minors, however, and he departed affiliated ball following the canceled 2020 minor league season to pitch the 2022 campaign for the Frontier League’s Joliet Slammers. He pitched well in Indy Ball with a 3.53 ERA with 88 strikeouts in 79 innings of work between the 2022 and ’23 seasons. The lefty returned to affiliated ball on a minor league deal with the Mets partway through last year and after struggling in his Triple-A debut last year, looked solid in 41 1/3 innings of work as a multi-inning reliever at the level this year with a 2.40 ERA despite a relatively lackluster 18.6% strikeout rate.

That performance was strong enough to earn Jay his first taste of big league action with the Mets back in April. He looked good in two appearances with the Mets, allowing one run on five hits and a walk while striking out one in four innings of work, but was designated for assignment after a week in the majors to make room on the club’s roster for Michael Tonkin. Jay remained with the Mets following his outright assignment and continued to put up strong numbers at the Triple-A level, earning him another big league opportunity on July 1. That appearance went poorly, however, as Jay surrendered four runs (three earned) while recording just two outs against two hits, two walks, and two strikeouts. That was Jay’s only appearance of his second stint in New York, and his time with the organization now comes to an end with a career ERA of 7.71 at the big league level.

Now, Jay is headed to the Brewers where he figures to join a bullpen full of reclamation relief arms who have managed to put together strong results in Milwaukee. The club is currently relying on Bryan Hudson, Jared Koenig, Hoby Milner, and Rob Zastryzny as lefty relief options, and Jay figures to be the next man up behind that group from the left side while Kevin Herget acts as the top depth option behind the bullpen’s right-handed pitchers.

In exchange for Jay’s services, the Brewers are parting ways with Shook, who they signed as an undrafted free agent back in 2020. The 26-year-old right-hander worked his way through the minor league system fairly quickly in his first few years in the organization but has stalled out a bit at the Double-A level in the years since then, having pitched there since partway through the 2022 season. In 242 career innings at the level, Shook has a 5.06 ERA despite a solid 24.2% strikeout rate thanks to an elevated 10% walk rate and a tendency towards allowing home runs. Things have improved slightly for Shook this year, however, as he’s posted a 4.90 ERA with a 27.4% strikeout rate against a more manageable 8.9% walk rate with just seven home runs allowed in 64 1/3 innings of work.

White Sox Release Martín Maldonado

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Today: Maldonado has cleared waivers, and the White Sox have granted the catcher his unconditional release (per the White Sox via Scott Merkin of MLB.com).

July 17, 7:11pm: Chicago will recall Robinson from Charlotte for his first MLB work since 2022, reports Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times.

July 17, 6:10pm: The White Sox have designated catcher Martín Maldonado for assignment, per Ken Rosenthal and Chandler Rome of The Athletic on X. The Sox don’t play again until Friday, so the corresponding move or moves may not be immediately known.

Maldonado, 37, signed a one-year deal with the Sox in the offseason. The veteran backstop secured a $4.25MM guarantee in the form of a $4MM salary with a $250K buyout on a $4MM club/vesting option for 2025. The option would have vested with Maldonado making 90 appearances at catcher but he’s only at 48 this year.

He’s never been much of a hitter but has long received praise for his defense and his leadership abilities in working with a pitching staff. Teams have generally been willing to take that tradeoff over his career but he has declined on both sides of the ball to the point that it pushed him off his roster spot with the Sox.

Coming into this year, Maldonado had a career batting line of .207/.282/.349. That production translated to a wRC+ of 72, indicating he had been 28% below the league average hitter overall. Catchers tend to be roughly 10% below par, so that kind of hitting isn’t disastrous if there are defensive contributions to go with it. But his bat has been even less effective that unusual this season, as he has a dismal line of .119/.174/.230. His wRC+ of 11 is dead last in the majors among batters with at least 140 plate appearances this year.

On top of that, the marks on his glovework have also declined. He has 58 Defensive Runs Saved in his career but was at -10 last year and is at -8 already here in 2024 despite limited playing time. FanGraphs, Baseball Prospectus and Statcast have considered him to be a positive pitch framer in his career but he’s been in negative territory in 2024. The subpar bat was once palatable with strong defense, but declines in both departments have made him harder to stomach, so the Sox will apparently be moving on.

The Sox will need to call up another catcher to share time with Korey Lee and they have a couple of options. Chuckie Robinson was added to their 40-man about a month ago but kept on optional assignment. He’s hitting .246/.292/.382 in Triple-A this year for a wRC+ of 70 but the Sox presumably like him as they gave him that roster spot to prevent him from triggering an opt-out clause.

There’s also prospect Edgar Quero, who came over in last year’s trade that sent Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López to the Angels. He’s having a great year, with a batting line of .274/.362/.462 and 141 wRC+ between Double-A and Triple-A so far. He’s a consensus top 100 prospect and arguably the club’s catcher of the future. He has just six games above the Double-A level on his track record and isn’t yet on the 40-man roster, but perhaps the Sox want to use the second half to have him get acquainted with some of their staff and/or face major league pitching.

The Sox will technically have a week from when the move becomes official to either trade or pass Maldonado through waivers, though the he’s likely to end up released in the coming days. He has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment and no club will want to take on what’s left of his salary. If any team really believes in his game-calling abilities, he could perhaps garner interest after he’s released, when the Sox will be on the hook for the majority of the money he’s still owed. Another team could sign him at that point and only pay him the prorated version of the $740K league minimum, with that amount subtracted from what the Sox pay.

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