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Reds Select Evan Kravetz

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The Reds announced today that they have selected the contract of left-hander Evan Kravetz. Right-hander Casey Legumina has been optioned to Triple-A Louisville in a corresponding active roster move. To open a 40-man spot, outfielder Stuart Fairchild has been transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Kravetz, 27, gets the call to the show for the first time. He was selected by the Reds in the fifth round of the 2019 draft and has been climbing the minor league ladder since then. He made his professional debut with one inning in Rookie ball in his draft year, but then the minor leagues were wiped out by the pandemic in 2020.

Since then, as he’s moved towards the higher levels of the minors, he has racked up plenty of strikeouts but also given out plenty of walks. From 2021 to 2024, he has tossed 243 1/3 minor league innings, allowing 3.99 earned runs per nine. He has struck out 28% of batters faced in that time but also given out free passes at an 11.1% rate. That includes 42 1/3 Triple-A innings this year with a 3.40 ERA, 25% strikeout rate and 11.7% walk rate.

The Cincinnati pitching staff has been fairly snakebit of late. Each of Andrew Abbott, Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo and Christian Roa have hit the injured list this month. Jakob Junis made an emergency start yesterday and he was followed by five relievers, including Legumina. Thanks to a double-header coming up on Friday, the club is in the midst of a stretch wherein they play eight games in seven days.

The club needs all the help it can get to survive the coming week, so Kravetz has been summoned to be a part of the solution. The Reds are also reportedly calling up prospect Rhett Lowder to handle one of the two games on Friday. Both pitchers will be making their respective MLB debuts as soon as they take the mound.

Fairchild was placed on the 10-day IL yesterday due to a left thumb sprain. Evidently, the Reds don’t expect him back this year, based on this transfer. He’ll spend the rest of the season on the 60-day IL but will need to be added back onto the 40-man in the offseason, as there is no IL from five days after the World Series until the start of Spring Training.

Orioles Claim Forrest Wall, Designate Dillon Tate For Assignment

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The Orioles announced that they have claimed outfielder Forrest Wall off waivers and optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk. He had been designated for assignment by the Marlins earlier this week. To open a 40-man roster spot for him, right-hander Dillon Tate has been designated for assignment.

Wall, 28, fits the classic speed-and-defense mold that contending clubs tend to acquire this time of season. He gives the Orioles a bench option down the stretch in September and perhaps into the postseason, if they’re willing to dedicate a roster spot to what’s effectively a pinch-running specialist and potential late-game defensive replacement.

Selected 35th overall by the Rockies in 2014, Wall has played in a pair of big league seasons, suiting up for the Braves last year and for Atlanta and Miami this season. He has only 50 MLB plate appearances under his belt, with a .311/.380/.432 slash to show for it. That’s strong production, of course, but it bears mentioning that Wall is only a .269/.355/.380 hitter in parts of five Triple-A seasons; he’s not likely to sustain that small-sample big league production over a lengthier period.

Be that as it may, the Orioles won’t be counting on him to do so. Baltimore has a stout lineup as is, but Wall offers 93rd percentile sprint speed. That’ll be his carrying trait for the Orioles for however long they carry him on the roster down the stretch. We’ve seen plenty of clubs successfully employ this tactic with expanded September rosters and into the postseason in the past — the 2015 Royals and Terrance Gore come to mind. Baltimore, for all its offensive prowess, lacks this type of premium speed at the moment. Jorge Mateo is even faster than Wall, but he’s on the 60-day IL due to a subluxation in his shoulder. Cedric Mullins leads the club with 23 steals but isn’t nearly as fast as Wall.

Baltimore’s claim of Wall will bring to an end a lengthy Orioles tenure for Tate. The 30-year-old righty and former No. 4 overall draft pick came to the O’s back in 2018 as the former front office regime kicked off the rebuild that led to the development of the Orioles’ current impressive core. For several seasons, Tate was a staple in the Baltimore ’pen, but injuries have set him back.

From 2020-22, Tate pitched 158 innings with a 3.65 ERA, 19.1% strikeout rate, 6.8% walk rate and huge 57.9% grounder rate. He looked to have solidified himself as a quality late-inning piece for manager Brandon Hyde, but a flexor strain wiped out Tate’s entire 2023 season. Since returning, he’s shown diminished velocity with lesser strikeout and grounder rates: 15.5% and 50.9%, respectively. He’s been tagged for a 4.59 ERA in 33 1/3 innings this season, although Tate sports a 2.16 ERA, 21.7% strikeout rate, 4.3% walk rate and 40.4% grounder rate in 16 2/3 Triple-A innings as well.

With the trade deadline behind us, the Orioles will have no choice but to place Tate on waivers. Given his track record, modest $1.5MM salary and additional club control, it’s possible Tate will be picked up by another club. The new team would only owe Tate the prorated portion of that salary — just $250K through season’s end. A new club could also retain him for another two seasons via arbitration. While Tate entered the season with 4.048 years of MLB service, he won’t spend enough time on the big league roster this season to cross five years. As such, he’ll be controllable through the 2026 campaign if another team wishes to claim him.

In the event that Tate goes unclaimed, he’d have enough service time to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency. However, since he doesn’t yet have five years of service, doing so would require forfeiting the remainder of this year’s $1.5MM salary. As such, he’s likely to accept a minor league assignment if he’s not claimed. In that scenario, Tate would be eligible to become a free agent at season’s end unless he’s added back to the 40-man roster prior to that point.

Cubs Expected To Pursue Catching Upgrade In Offseason

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There are multiple driving factors behind the Cubs’ disappointing 2024 season, but one of the most prominent flaws has been a catching corps that ranks near the bottom of the league in terms of offensive production. By measure of wRC+, only the last-place White Sox and Marlins have received lesser contributions than the Cubs’ collective .221/.265/.352 from their backstops.

The quartet of Yan Gomes, Miguel Amaya, Tomas Nido and Christian Bethancourt have accounted for all of the Cubs’ plate appearances at catcher this season. And while Amaya has turned things around of late — he’s hitting .358/.402/.589 over his past 105 plate appearances — adding some catching help remains a “priority” for the Cubs in the forthcoming offseason, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.

As Sharma explains at greater length, Amaya’s turnaround isn’t necessarily a small-sample fluke. He changed his setup in the batter’s box and ditched his leg kick for a toe-tap back in early July, and his results have taken off since. At the same time, it’s only 105 plate appearances (during which he has a .372 BABIP), and the Cubs understandably aren’t ready to put all their eggs in that one basket just yet.

Adding catching help is a natural goal for the Cubs, not only because of the 2024 group’s overall dearth of production but also because the lineup generally needs more offense but lacks clear areas for potential change. In the outfield, Ian Happ, Cody Bellinger, Seiya Suzuki and Pete Crow-Armstrong are locked into a rotation. It’s possible Bellinger triggers an opt-out in his contract at season’s end, but he’s no lock to do so when he’s hitting .269/.328/.423 on the season.

Around the infield, things are mostly set with deadline pickup Isaac Paredes at third base, Dansby Swanson at shortstop, Nico Hoerner at second and Michael Busch at first. The Cubs don’t have a set designated hitter, but with four outfielders all meriting regular playing time, one of that quartet can line up as the DH on any given day.

It’s at least possible the Cubs could look to shake up the current group on the offseason trade market, but their options there are limited. Swanson, Happ and Suzuki all have no-trade clauses. Paredes was only just acquired and isn’t going to be moved so quickly. Busch has had a productive rookie season and has five additional seasons of club control. Crow-Armstrong started slow at the plate but has picked up steam of late — and he’s an elite defender who’s gone 26-for-27 in stolen base attempts. Like Busch, he has five seasons of club control remaining.

The middle infield has been a letdown for the Cubs in terms of offensive production. Swanson hit .244/.328/.416 with 22 homers in his first season as a Cub last year but has dipped to .229/.303/.369 this season. He’s still playing exceptional defense, however, and as previously noted cannot be traded without his consent. (The remaining five years on his contract wouldn’t generate huge interest on the heels of a down season at the plate anyhow.) Hoerner’s name popped up on the rumor mill prior to this season’s deadline, with the Dodgers reportedly among the interested teams. He’s hitting .257/.326/.351 as of this writing. Like Swanson, it’s sub-par offense that’s paired with premium defense and baserunning. Hoerner is signed through 2026 and was an above-average hitter as recently as 2023.

All told, the Cubs’ lineup is largely set, with the exception of next year’s starting catcher. Amaya has another month to stake his claim to that role, but catcher is a natural spot for president of baseball ops Jed Hoyer to look to inject some life into his lineup. The Cubs reportedly pursued young Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe prior to the deadline, so it’s hardly a surprise to see that they’re gearing up to look for upgrades this winter.

That said, the upcoming class of free agents doesn’t include a clear-cut answer. Danny Jansen is the top option on the open market, but after hitting .237/.317/.487 (121 wRC+ from 2021-23, he’s stumbled with a .214/.303/.363 slash this season (90 wRC+). Gary Sanchez, Elias Diaz and Carson Kelly are among the other options, but none is a clear candidate to serve as a meaningful upgrade.

The Cubs have a strong farm system and could use some of that prospect depth to pursue alternatives. Their interest in O’Hoppe suggests they’ve perhaps already laid the groundwork on some pursuits of this nature. There’s no indication the Angels are open to moving O’Hoppe, but the Cubs could revisit that scenario. There are other clubs with ample catching depth to spare. The Dodgers have Will Smith signed for another decade but prospects Dalton Rushing and Diego Cartaya behind him (though the latter hasn’t hit well in Triple-A and has seen his stock drop considerably). The Mariners have Cal Raleigh locked in at catcher, but 2021 first-rounder and top prospect Harry Ford isn’t far from MLB readiness. Perhaps the A’s would be open to moving Shea Langeliers and his 22 home runs as he gets another step closer to arbitration.

That’s a speculative list of options, to be clear, but the underlying point remains clear. The Cubs have a need to improve the lineup but little flexibility as they strive to do so, with catcher the most straightforward option. But while that’s a straightforward need, the path to achieve it is obscured by a lack of impactful free agents and clear impact trade candidates at a generally thin position.

Astros, Jason Heyward Agree To Deal

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Aug. 28: Heyward is taking his physical today, manager Joe Espada tells the Astros beat (X link via Chandler Rome of The Athletic). Assuming it goes well, he could officially be added to the club tomorrow.

Aug. 27: The Astros are nearing a deal with Jason Heyward, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com on X. Kiley McDaniel of ESPN relays on X that the deal is done, pending a physical. The outfielder was recently released by the Dodgers. The Astros will need to make a corresponding move to open a spot on the 40-man once the deal is official, as well as a move to open an active roster spot once Heyward reports to the team.

Heyward, 35, was able to engineer a nice bounceback season with the Dodgers last year. After struggling for much of his time with the Cubs, he spent 2023 in Los Angeles, hitting 15 home runs while walking in 9% of his plate appearances. His .269/.340/.473 batting line translated to a 120 wRC+, indicating he was 20% better than league average.

Most of that damage came with the platoon advantage, as the lefty swinger only stepped to the plate 28 times against southpaws, compared to 349 times against righties. But it still allowed him to have a productive season. When combined with strong defense, he was considered to be worth 2.2 wins above replacement by FanGraphs.

He and the Dodgers reunited this winter on a one-year, $9MM deal but the Hollywood sequel wasn’t as satisfying as the original. In 197 plate appearances with the Dodgers this year, Heyward slashed .208/.289/.393 for a wRC+ of 91.

The Dodgers faced a tough roster decision when Mookie Betts was recently returning from the injured list. He had been serving as the club’s everyday shortstop prior to getting hurt but the decision was made to move him back to his customary right field spot for the stretch run and postseason. The club had Teoscar Hernández in left and was planning to use a mixture of Tommy Edman and Kevin Kiermaier in center, with Andy Pages also around as optionable depth. For bench/utility roles, they decided to keep multi-positional guys like Enrique Hernández and Chris Taylor, which nudged Heyward off the roster.

Given Heyward’s diminished performance and notable salary, he unsurprisingly went unclaimed off waivers, but there’s logic to the Astros picking him up now. With Heyward’s recent release, the Dodgers are on the hook for the majority of what is left to be paid out of that salary. The Astros will only have to pay him the prorated portion of the $740K league minimum, making him more or less a free pickup.

It’s also possible that his results this year are a bit based on luck. His .224 batting average on balls in play is well below the .291 mark he had last year and the league-wide average of .290 this year. His average exit velocity and hard hit rate are actually higher than last year’s, according to Statcast, though his launch angle is less than ideal. His 41.4% ground ball rate last year was a career low, as he has pounded the ball into the dirt at a 48.3% clip in his career. That number is up to 51.4% this year, so perhaps he could have some better results if that normalizes by even a few points, getting closer to his career rate.

The Astros have been without their regular right fielder for a long time. Kyle Tucker put up a monster batting line of .266/.395/.584 for a 174 wRC+ in 60 games before fouling a ball off himself in early June. The club announced his injury as a shin contusion and it didn’t seem like he was going to be away from the club for long, but he’s coming close to a three-month absence at this point. The club is hopeful of Tucker returning in September, but as of a few days ago, he still hasn’t been able to sprint at full speed. That suggests there’s still some hurdles to clear before he’s a candidate to return.

On top of that, Yordan Alvarez missed a few days recently due to some neck stiffness, though he was able to return to the lineup last night. Alex Bregman was also taking up the designated hitter spot for a while due to elbow inflammation, though he’s been back at the hot corner for the past three games.

Jake Meyers is the regular in center field. The corner outfield mix consists of Alvarez, Ben Gamel, Mauricio Dubón and Chas McCormick. Gamel is a 32-year-old journeyman who was just claimed off waivers recently. Dubón is a glove-first utility guy. McCormick has some good results on his track record but is having a brutal year, currently slashing .188/.253/.275.

Heyward isn’t a guarantee but he has a decent shot at being an upgrade over that group, and at no real cost to the Astros. Even if his bat doesn’t turn around, he’s still a solid defender at this point in his career. It’s a solid pickup and one that raises the possibility of Heyward perhaps facing his former club in the World Series, if the Astros and Dodgers end up in a rematch of the scandal-plagued 2017 series.

Athletics Outright Abraham Toro

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Aug. 28: Toro went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Las Vegas, the A’s announced.

Aug. 27: The Athletics announced that they have reinstated infielder Jacob Wilson from the 10-day injured list and recalled infielder Armando Alvarez. They had optioned infielder Darell Hernaiz after last night’s game, opening one roster spot. They opened another by designating infielder Abraham Toro for assignment.

Toro, 27, was acquire from the Brewers in November, just prior to the non-tender deadline. Presumably, the Brewers were considering cutting him loose but the A’s were willing to give him a shot and sent minor league pitcher Chad Patrick the other way.

For a while, it looked like a shrewd pickup for Oakland. Toro and the A’s agreed to a salary of $1.275MM for this year, not far above the $740K league minimum, and he came with two extra years of potential club control as well. Through the end of May, he was hitting .288/.332/.429 for a wRC+ of 118 while bouncing around to all the non-shortstop infield positions as well as the outfield corners.

But things have fallen off dramatically since then, as Toro is hitting .160/.228/.216 since the start of June. Perhaps the A’s had some hope of flipping him in a deadline trade, but that was complicated by the fact that he was on the injured list from June 22 to July 21 due to a strained left hamstring and wasn’t hitting much around that IL stint.

The A’s will give Toro’s playing time to younger players who are looking to get acclimated to the major leagues. Since Toro is out of options, the club couldn’t easily send him down to the minors, which has led to this DFA.

With the deadline now passed, the A’s will have to place Toro on waivers. Perhaps some club will be interested based on his early season results. The numbers have fallen off but the injury perhaps explains some of that. He also has a tiny .188 batting average on balls in play in that rough patch starting at the beginning of June, compared to a .333 BABIP he carried through the end of May. If any club likes him enough to put in a claim, he can be controlled through 2026.

If he passes through waivers unclaimed, he will likely stick with the A’s as non-roster depth. Since he has more than three years of service time, he has the right to elect free agency. But since he has fewer than five years of service, he would have to forfeit his remaining salary to do so. If he ends up sticking with the A’s in a non-roster capacity, he would become a free agent at season’s end, like all outrighted players with at least three years of service.

Marco Gonzales To Undergo Flexor Surgery; Hunter Stratton Undergoes Knee Surgery

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Pirates lefty Marco Gonzales will undergo surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his left elbow, the team announced to reporters Wednesday (X link via Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). Additionally, right-hander Hunter Stratton already underwent knee surgery to repair the ruptured patellar tendon he recently suffered. Gonzales’ procedure will be performed in early September and comes with a recovery timetable of nine months to a year, while Stratton’s procedure was completed today. He’s projected to need seven to ten months to be ready for a return to a big league mound.

Pittsburgh acquired Gonzales in a trade with the Braves this offseason, taking on $3MM of the veteran lefty’s $12MM salary in the process. (Atlanta had taken on Gonzales’ contract as part of their deal to acquire Jarred Kelenic from the Mariners.) A pair of forearm injuries will ultimately limit Gonzales to only seven starts for the Bucs — the first five of which were quite effective. The 32-year-old notched a 2.70 ERA over 26 2/3 frames in that stretch, fanning 17.3% of his opponents against a 5.5% walk rate. In his final two starts with the Pirates, however, Gonzales yielded nine runs on 15 hits and five walks in only seven innings.

The Bucs technically hold a 2025 option on Gonzales, but that’s priced at $15MM and comes with no buyout if the team opts to decline it. Given Gonzales’ recent injury troubles and the now lengthy rehab period he’ll face following surgery, it’s a foregone conclusion that the team will decline the option and make Gonzales a free agent. He’ll likely be ticketed for a minor league deal in free agency.

Injuries have held Gonzales to only 17 starts and 83 2/3 innings over the past two seasons, but prior to that the lefty was a fixture in the Mariners’ rotation. Seattle acquired him from the Cardinals in a straight-up swap for then-prospect Tyler O’Neill, and Gonzales quickly cemented himself in Seattle’s rotation thereafter. From 2018-22, Gonzales started 131 games for the Mariners, tallying 765 2/3 innings of 3.94 ERA ball with a 17.6% strikeout rate and 6% walk rate.

While Gonzales’ injury likely ends his tenure with Pittsburgh, that’s decidedly not the case for Stratton. The 27-year-old will finish the current season with just over one year of big league service time, meaning he’s controllable for five seasons beyond the current campaign. Given the solid nature of his results in 2024, Stratton has likely pitched his way into a future role with the team, so long as he can make a full recovery from his knee injury.

Dating back to last year’s MLB debut, Stratton has pitched 49 2/3 innings for the Pirates, during which he’s turned in a 3.26 ERA with a 21% strikeout rate, 4.9% walk rate and 41% ground-ball rate. He’s averaged 95.6 mph on his heater, done a nice job at dodging hard contact and recorded a hearty 12.6% swinging-strike rate that suggests some growth in his strikeout rate remains possible.

If Stratton is able to return on the short end of the team’s provided timetable, he’d be ready for game action near the end of spring training next year. That might ticket him for an early stint on the injured list, but a return in April would be feasible. If he skews closer to the lengthier end, a summer return would still be in the cards.

Royals Place Michael Lorenzen On Injured List

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The Royals have placed right-hander Michael Lorenzen on the 15-day injured list due to a strained left hamstring, per a team announcement. Righty Steven Cruz has been recalled from Triple-A Omaha in his place. Lorenzen sustained the injury yesterday when covering first base on a grounder.

Acquired in a deadline swap that sent lefty reliever Walter Pennington to the Rangers, Lorenzen has been a boon to the Kansas City rotation. In five starts, he’s pitched 24 1/3 innings of 1.85 ERA ball, striking out 17% of his opponents against a 10% walk rate. Metrics like FIP (4.20) and SIERA (5.11) aren’t nearly as bullish, given the righty’s pedestrian strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates.

Even if Lorenzen can’t be reasonably expected to continue producing a sub-2.00 ERA, the results thus far have been an unequivocal jolt for a team that had been struggling to get production from fifth starter Alec Marsh. Kansas City has won each of Lorenzen’s last three starts, and there’s little blame to be placed on him for the team’s loss in his Royals debut; he tossed 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball in a game the Royals eventually lost by a score of 6-5.

The Royals didn’t provide a timetable for Lorenzen’s return, but he’ll be down for at least two weeks. The aforementioned Marsh is the likeliest candidate to step back into the rotation in his stead. In 20 starts this season (plus one relief appearance), the 26-year-old Marsh has tossed 106 innings with a 4.67 earned run average.

Marsh’s 21.3% strikeout rate and 7.4% walk rate are both better than Lorenzen’s season-long marks between Texas and Kansas City, but he also faded significantly following a strong start to the season. Over his past eight trips to the mound, he’s been rocked for a 6.46 ERA and surrendered seven homers in 39 innings (1.62 HR/9). Marsh was sharp in four Triple-A starts this month after being optioned (1.80 ERA, 19-to-5 K/BB ratio in 15 innings), and the Royals will now need to hope for more of that type of output while Lorenzen mends.

As for the 25-year-old Cruz, this’ll be his first look with the Royals in 2024. He made his big league debut last year, pitching 12 2/3 innings with a 4.97 ERA and a 15-to-11 K/BB ratio in that short time. Kansas City acquired the hard-throwing righty in the 2022-23 offseason trade that sent Michael A. Taylor to the division-rival Twins. He’s pitched exclusively out of the Omaha bullpen this season and recorded a 3.35 ERA with a 26.6% strikeout rate and 11.1% walk rate in 48 1/3 innings. Cruz’s four-seamer has averaged 96.9 mph in Triple-A this season, and he’s primarily paired that pitch with a slider that sits at 89.4 mph.

MLBTR Podcast: Scott Servais, Perry Minasian, The Orioles’ Rotation, And Joey Votto

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • In my opinion, Max Fried’s 2024 has cost him $100MM+ due to injury and some weirdly shaky games/random innings. Do you agree and does this make him more/less likely to re-sign with the Braves? (41:40)
  • Appears Justin Verlander will not hit the 140 innings pitched needed for his $35MM vesting option for 2025, making him a free agent at the end of the season. What kind of market can we expect for Verlander? What teams interested, salary, contract length. (50:20)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Orioles, Nick Anderson Agree To Deal

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Aug. 28: It’s a minor league pact, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports. However, Kubatko adds that the Orioles plan to get Anderson up to the big leagues in short order, so a 40-man roster move to select his contract could be on the horizon in the next few days.

Aug. 27: Reliever Nick Anderson is joining the Orioles after opting out of a minor league deal with the Dodgers, reports Darren Wolfson of SKOR North (X link). It is not clear whether the righty will jump right onto Baltimore’s MLB roster or is signing a minor league pact to report to Triple-A Norfolk.

Anderson, a client of Gaeta Sports Management, spent around five weeks in the Dodger system. He signed with L.A. after being released by the Royals coming out of the All-Star Break. He spent the first couple weeks of his stint with the Dodgers in the team’s Arizona complex. Los Angeles didn’t assign him to Triple-A Oklahoma City until August 10. Anderson pitched three times there, allowing three runs (one of which was earned) through 4 1/3 innings. He struck out five while issuing a trio of walks.

Prior to that abbreviated stint with the Dodgers, Anderson occupied a middle relief role in Kansas City. The 34-year-old worked to a 4.04 ERA across 35 2/3 frames. That tolerable run prevention mark belied less impressive peripherals. Anderson’s strikeout rate fell to a career-low 19% clip while he walked nearly 10% of opponents. He surrendered six home runs, more than 1.5 longballs per nine innings.

Anderson is only one season removed from a strong year with Atlanta. He provided the Braves 35 1/3 innings of 3.04 ERA ball while striking out a quarter of his opponents last season. That solid showing was cut short by a July shoulder strain, but Anderson’s velocity has returned in 2024.

While the O’s are in a good spot overall, their bullpen has been shaky for the better part of two months. The Baltimore relief corps has a 4.85 earned run average since the All-Star Break. Craig Kimbrel has fallen into a significant rut. Deadline pickups Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto have had some home run issues, while setup man Jacob Webb has been out for the last three weeks due to elbow inflammation. Baltimore has Burch Smith and Matt Bowman, each of whom joined the club on midseason minor league deals, in the middle relief group.

The Opener: AL Central, Royals, Yamamoto

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With just over a month to go in the 2024 regular season, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Rubber match for the AL Central:

The Guardians held a comfortable lead in the AL Central for much of the season, but they’ve seen that lead evaporate in recent weeks. Since the calendar has flipped to August, Cleveland has posted a record of just 10-16. Meanwhile, the Royals have surged ahead in the standings with a 15-9 record while their rival has been in free fall, culminating in Kansas City taking the first three games of their current four game set with the Guardians. That’s left them tied with Cleveland for the AL Central crown, leaving today’s fourth game to decide which club will walk away with a lead in the division with the September stretch run just around the corner. Cleveland will send right-hander Tanner Bibee (3.46 ERA) to the mound opposite veteran righty Michael Wacha (3.32 ERA) in a game scheduled for 1:10pm local time.

2. Royals undergoing testing:

While Kansas City duels Cleveland for the AL Central lead, they’ll also be anxiously awaiting the results of testing on a couple of key pieces. The most consequential of those is superstar shortstop and AL MVP contender Bobby Witt Jr., who was hit in the hand by a pitch during yesterday’s game in a moment that sparked concern for Royals fans despite their star remaining in the game. As noted by MLB.com’s Anne Rogers, preliminary strength tests were encouraging, but the Royals were nonetheless sending Witt for an x-ray to make certain he hadn’t sustained a more serious injury. While it seems likely that Witt, who has slashed .346/.399/.614 while swiping 27 bases and playing elite defense at shortstop, will be able to avoid a stint on the IL, the same may not be true for right-hander Michael Lorenzen.

Lorenzen came to the Royals in a trade with the Rangers and has been excellent, posting a 1.80 ERA through five starts on his new team. Unfortunately, Lorenzen’s start yesterday lasted just 1 2/3 innings after he strained his right hamstring on a play at first base. As noted by MLB.com’s Injury Tracker, Lorenzen is headed back to Kansas City today to undergo an MRI that will determine the severity of the issue, but manager Matt Quatraro expressed skepticism that Lorenzen would be ready to make his next start.

3. Yamamoto to begin rehab assignment:

Dodgers phenom Yoshinobu Yamamoto is slated to take a big step forward as he works toward a return from the rotator cuff strain that sidelined him back in June. Yamamoto, who was among the biggest names on the offseason free agent market despite having never thrown a pitch in the big leagues before, impressed with a 2.92 ERA and 2.68 FIP in 14 starts before his season was derailed by injury. Today, he’s set to take the mound for his first official game in more than two months when he joins the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City for a rehab start against the Rangers’ Round Rock affiliate. Yamamoto will be pitching opposite two-time top-10 draft pick Kumar Rocker in what will be his Triple-A debut, giving tonight’s minor league match up some star power on both sides of the field.

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