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Pirates Acquire Chris Stratton

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The Pirates have acquired righty Chris Stratton from the Angels for cash considerations, per a team release. The 28-year-old was designated for assignment by Los Angeles earlier this week.

Stratton, 28, was acquired earlier in the season from San Francisco for lefty Williams Jerez. The former first-rounder fought through five and a half difficult minor league seasons before cracking the Giant rotation in mid-2017, where he opened eyes with a super-high spin rate on his hammer curve. The fastball, though, has always been a bit light, and the righty’s long struggled to miss bats and command the zone. In five starts with LA this season, Stratton posted a dreadful 142 FIP-/127 xFIP- with six homers allowed in 29 1/3 IP.

Still, he’ll likely get a crack at a decimated Pittsburgh rotation, which’s already lost righties Chris Archer and Jameson Taillon to the IL. Nick Kingham and Steven Brault had attempted to fill the temporary void, to middling-to-disastrous results thus far. Top prospect Mitch Keller, it seems, is not quite ready to make the jump.

Blue Jays Acquire Patrick Kivlehan

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The Blue Jays have acquired outfielder Patrick Kivlehan from the Pirates, per a club announcement. The trade return isn’t known but it’s likely a typical cash payment.

Kivlehan has seen time in each of the past three MLB campaigns but hasn’t received a call yet in 2019. He’s a .208/.302/.401 hitter in 242 plate appearances at the game’s highest level.

The move helps the Jays fill out their upper farm ranks. Kivlehan takes the opening just created by the promotion of Jonathan Davis. The Bucs had the opposite scenario, with JB Shuck being outrighted back to Triple-A Indianapolis.

Pirates Designate Tyler Lyons For Assignment

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The Pirates announced that they’ve designated left-hander Tyler Lyons for assignment. His roster spot will go to right-handed reliever Montana DuRapau, whose previously reported promotion from Triple-A is now official. The Bucs have also recalled righty Clay Holmes, who’ll step into the vacancy created by the placement of Keone Kela on the 10-day injured list (right shoulder inflammation).

Lyons, 31, appeared in just three games for the Pirates, during which time he surrendered five runs on six hits and three walks with five punchouts in four innings of relief. His results dating back to the 2018 campaign are ugly, though they only span a total of 20 2/3 frames.

Prior to that stretch, Lyons enjoyed a three-year stint as a quality bullpen piece with the Cardinals, pitching to a combined 3.33 ERA with 9.7 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and 1.3 HR/9 over the life of 162 innings of bullpen duty. Lyons’ 2017 season was particularly impressive, featuring a career-best 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings pitched as well as a 2.83 ERA and 2.86 FIP to match. The Pirates had hoped he’d be able to round back into that form but apparently didn’t see enough promise in Lyons’ stuff to look past the ugly, small-sample results.

As noted yesterday at the time DuRapau’s promotion was reported, the 27-year-old righty is a former 32nd-round pick who has been lights out in Triple-A to open the season. Through his first 14 1/3 innings, he’s allowed one run on five hits and five walks with 18 strikeouts and a 46.2 percent ground-ball rate that marks a dramatic improvement over his previous ground-ball tendencies.

Pirates To Select Contract Of Montana DuRapau

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The Pirates are set to select the contract of right-handed reliever Montana DuRapau, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports (via Twitter). It’ll be the MLB debut for the former 32nd-round pick when he first takes the mound for the Buccos.

DuRapau, 27, will add a fresh arm to the Pirates’ bullpen for their upcoming series against the division-rival Cardinals (and will also continue the storied lineage of Bucco relievers with 80-grade names, following in the footsteps of Arquimedes Caminero and Dovydas Neverauskas). The righty enjoyed a terrific 2017 season between Double-A and Triple-A in the Pirates organization before stumbling between those same two levels last season when posted a combined ERA north of 5.00.

This year, he’s off to a fantastic start in Triple-A, having yielded just one earned run on five hits and five walks (one intentional) with 18 strikeouts in 14 1/3 innings of work. DuRapau has been a pronounced fly-ball pitcher in each of his first two seasons in the upper minors but has worked to an above-average 46.4 percent ground-ball rate thus far in the 2019 campaign as well. Missing bats has never been much of an issue for DuRapau, as evidenced by his career 9.9 K/9 mark in Double-A and an even more impressive 11.4 K/9 in Triple-A.

The Pirates will need to open a spot on the 40-man roster for DuRapau. Depending on when they feel Lonnie Chisenhall will be ready to go out on a minor league rehab assignment, they could just transfer him to the 60-day injured list, as he’s already been on the 10-day IL for a span of 44 days (and a move to the 60-day would not require resetting him back at one). He’s still not quite ready to run the bases, per MLB.com’s Adam Berry, so he’s a logical candidate for that type of move.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/8/19

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We’ll track the day’s minor moves in this post …

  • The Pirates announced that outfielder JB Shuck cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Indianapolis. He’d been designated for assignment over the weekend. Shuck, 32 next month, cracked Pittsburgh’s Opening Day roster due to a series of injuries elsewhere in the lineup but was cut loose once the Bucco outfield mix largely returned to health. He hit .213/.339/.255 in 57 plate appearances and will remain on-hand as a depth option with some MLB experience. In parts of seven MLB seasons, Shuck is a .243/.296/.314 hitter through 1289 PAs.
  • Right-hander Jay Jackson, whom the Brewers designated for assignment this weekend, cleared outright waivers and will head to Triple-A San Antonio, per an announcement from the Brewers. The 31-year-old was tagged for five runs in 2 1/3 innings in what proved a brief return to the big leagues following a successful three-year stint in Japan (2.13 ERA, 202-to-70 K/BB ratio in 182 innings). It was a short look at the MLB level, but the Brewers have been mixing and matching in the bullpen all season as they try to piece together a pitching staff that has been shuffled by injuries and ineffective performances from expected contributors. Given Jackson’s recent success in NPB, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him back in the Milwaukee bullpen later this year if he gets on a roll in San Antonio.

Earlier Moves

  • The White Sox have added infielder Ivan De Jesus Jr. on a minor-league deal, per an announcement from the Long Island Ducks. De Jesus had opened the season with the indy ball outfit but will now slide back to the affiliated ranks. The 32-year-old is a .242/.303/.327 hitter in 545 plate appearances over parts of four seasons. He’s mostly a middle infielder by trade but has seen action in the corner infield and outfield as well over the years. De Jesus will report to the Sox’ top affiliate.

Nick Burdi Diagnosed With Nerve Injury

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Pirates reliever Nick Burdi has been diagnosed with a nerve injury in his pitching arm, team director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk told reporters including MLB.com’s Adam Berry (Twitter link). He’ll remain shut down until at least early June.

That’s relatively promising news for the 26-year-old righty, who left his most recent appearance in agony after suffering an arm injury. It had emerged already that Burdi had avoided the worst-case scenario of a torn ulnar collateral ligament, though initial indications were that there was some physical damage around the elbow joint.

Now, it seems the primary cause of the pain in Burdi’s biceps was this nerve issue — the details of which are not yet known. Several pitchers have undergone procedures in recent seasons to address nerve ailments in their pitching arms. It is not clear that a surgical approach is a consideration at the moment.

It would be heartening to see Burdi bounce back physically and return to the MLB hill this year. His career trajectory has been hampered to date by injuries, but he was throwing quite well before the game in which he went down. Burdi produced 17 strikeouts against just two walks with a 20.1% swinging-strike rate over his ten prior appearances on the season.

Quick Hits: Paddack, Treinen, Archer, Tulo, L. Gurriel

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Padres rookie righty Chris Paddack has been brilliant across his first six starts and 33 innings in the majors. But Paddack’s already just 57 frames away from the career-high 90 he totaled in the minors last season in his return from 2017 Tommy John surgery. Considering Paddack’s long-term importance to the organization, San Diego has plans to limit his workload, per AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. Indeed, agent Scott Boras told Jon Morosi of MLB.com that the Padres will “manage” his 23-year-old client’s innings. However, Cassavell notes that doesn’t mean the Padres will shut down Paddack – something the Nationals did with Boras client Stephen Strasburg amid a pennant race in his younger days. “It’s mapped out,” manager Andy Green said of the Padres’ plans for Paddack, though he added that “it’s mapped out with the intention for adjustments, as well. So to sit here and walk through exactly what we think is going to happen would be foolish.” Meanwhile, Paddack indicated he’s on board with the Padres’ approach and revealed he’s aiming for a 130- to 150-inning season.

More from around the game…

  • Athletics closer Blake Treinen is dealing with right elbow discomfort that he believes is tendinitis, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Treinen’s unlikely to pitch Sunday as a result, per Slusser, who writes that “he’ll get checked out” on Monday. Treinen hasn’t toed the rubber since April 28, when he took a loss in Toronto after the Blue Jays lit him up for four earned runs on five hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings. The 30-year-old’s 2019 ERA skyrocketed from 0.68 to 3.00 during that uncharacteristically disastrous performance. Treinen told Slusser he’s simply fighting “fluke soreness,” but if the issue forces him to the injured list, Slusser points out it would be his first IL stint in the majors.
  • Pirates righty Chris Archer is eligible to come off the IL on Monday, but that won’t happen, according to Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic. Archer – out since April 27 with right thumb inflammation – is in line for a bullpen session Tuesday, and he’ll need to throw at least one sim game before the Pirates decide whether he’s ready to return. Archer’s absence is all the more troublesome for Pittsburgh now that fellow righty Jameson Taillon could miss upward of a month with a flexor strain in his elbow.
  • Already out since April 3 because of a left calf strain, Yankees shortstop Troy Tulowitzki has suffered a setback and will be shut down for another week, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com tweets. It’s the latest bad break for the once-great Tulowitzki, whom injuries have haunted throughout his career. The 34-year-old wasn’t healthy enough to participate in either of the previous two seasons, which led the Blue Jays to cut him over the winter and eat the remaining $38MM on his contract. Tulowitzki then found a taker in the Yankees on a league-minimum deal, with both parties hoping he’d stay healthy and adeptly fill in for the injured Didi Gregorius. The dice roll hasn’t paid off for the Yankees, who have received a meager 13 plate appearances from Tulowitzki and appear unlikely to get him back anytime soon.
  • Although Lourdes Gurriel Jr. has exclusively been an infielder since debuting with the Blue Jays last year, that’s about to change. Speaking with Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com and other reporters Saturday, general manager Ross Atkins said the Jays plan to turn Gurriel into at least a part-time outfielder. The 25-year-old, whom Toronto demoted to Triple-A Buffalo three weeks ago, has been racking up corner outfield reps in the minors. As Chisholm writes, the outfield isn’t totally new for Gurriel, who played left in his native Cuba for 40 games back in 2015-16. The change figures to open up major league playing time for Gurriel upon his return, given that Randal Grichuk’s the sole Toronto outfielder who has been remotely productive this season. The group entered Saturday as the American League’s least valuable outfield.

Pirates Designate J.B. Shuck For Assignment

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The Pirates have designated outfielder JB Shuck for assignment, the team announced. Shuck’s 25-man roster spot will go to reliever Dovydas Neverauskas, whom the Pirates recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis.

Despite having to settle for a minor league deal over the winter, Shuck cracked the Pirates’ injury-laden outfield to open the season. While the 31-year-old got off to a nice start, evidenced by his season-best .864 OPS on April 14, his numbers have cratered in recent weeks. Shuck did got on base at a .339 clip and walk in 14 percent of his 57 plate appearances before Pittsburgh designated him, but he hit just .213 and showed no power (zero home runs, .043 ISO, .255 slugging percentage) along the way.

Including his stint with the Pirates, the light-hitting Shuck has managed a .243/.296/.314 line in 1,289 major league PA with several teams. Shuck has been a much better Triple-A performer, on the other hand, with a .299/.373/.393 showing in 3,610 attempts.

Pirates Place Jameson Taillon On 10-Day IL, Select Tyler Lyons

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3:03 pm: Per Nubyjas Wilborn of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Taillon will not throw for “at least” four weeks, with the injury apparently far more severe than originally believed. Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic tweets that Taillon’s MRI showed no UCL damage, though the righty will seek a second opinion next week to confirm.

1:55pm: Per a team release, the Pirates have placed righty Jameson Taillon on the 10-Day IL with a flexor strain in his right elbow and selected the contract of lefty Tyler Lyons from AAA-Indianapolis, among other roster moves.

It’s a concerning injury for Taillon, 27, who joins rotation mate Chris Archer on the injured list for a rotation-thin Pirate club.  A 2014 Tommy John knocked the former 2nd overall pick out of action for two full seasons, though he’s been mostly healthy since.  The 6’5 righty was off to his usual strong start this year, posting a a solid 88 FIP-/91 xFIP- (numbers right in line with his career figures and season projection) in seven starts for Pittsburgh.

It’s unclear who’ll step in to the vacant slots in the Pittsburgh rotation, though righty Nick Kingham and lefty Steven Brault appear to have the inside tracks. Top prospect Mitch Keller, who’d struggled early with command but has been dominant in his previous two Triple-A outings, is also a candidate.

Lyons, 31, spent six years with St. Louis before inking a minor league deal with Pittsburgh this offseason. His strikeout rate has jumped to over ten per nine in the last two seasons since a full-time move to the bullpen, but the lefty was hit hard in ’18 despite predominant left-on-left usage.

NL Notes: Reds, Wood, Mets, Gio, Bucs, Braves

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Reds lefty Alex Wood, who’s dealt with back spasms since he arrived for Spring Training in late February, “didn’t respond well” after his latest bullpen session, reports manager David Bell (via MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon). Wood, who was acquired in an offseason trade that also sent Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp from Los Angeles to Cincinnati, will likely seek a second opinion on the creaky back, placing his eventual Reds debut in even further doubt. Thanks to stellar early-season performances from Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, and Tyler Mahle, among others, Cincy’s starting five leads the NL in nearly every rotation category, doubly impressive when given the puny dimensions of Great American Ballpark. Still, it’s a unit that should both anticipate heavy regression and yearn for the return of Wood, whose recent-year track record stands apart from each of his potential rotation mates.

The latest on a few other NL franchises…

  • The Brewers and Mets were the teams most connected to Gio Gonzalez in the rumor mill before the lefty agreed to sign with Milwaukee on Thursday. Gonzalez confirmed Saturday that the Mets were indeed the other club pursuing him, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “The Mets were in there but they have such a great rotation. The Brewers met my expectations and needs,” Gonzalez said. “Either way, it was a win-win for me. Two great teams were coming at you. It came down to wants and needs with Milwaukee. I played with them last year so I had the feel for what they’re trying to do.” While Gonzalez lauded the Mets’ rotation, he nonetheless may have been an upgrade for New York. The Mets have been running out the much-maligned Jason Vargas as their fifth starter, after all, yet they only viewed Gonzalez as a marginal-at-best upgrade over him, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweeted this week. Their bearishness on Gonzalez helped pave the way for the 33-year-old to rejoin the Brewers, with whom he performed well after they acquired him from Washington last August. Now, Gonzalez will slot back into a Brewers rotation that entered Saturday with the NL’s worst ERA (5.77). His first outing of the year will come Sunday against – you guessed it – the Mets.
  • Banged-up Pirates outfielders Corey Dickerson and Lonnie Chisenhall aren’t recovering as hoped. Dickerson felt tightness in his strained right shoulder while throwing from 110 feet Saturday, and Chisenhall’s now dealing with left calf tightness that has forced the team to stop his rehab assignment, according to Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. It’s a new issue this year for Chisenhall, who started the season on the IL because of a broken hand. However, it’s all the more troubling because Chisenhall – then with the Indians – missed large chunks of the previous two seasons because of calf problems in both legs.
  • The Braves have placed reliever Jesse Biddle on the IL with a right thigh bruise and right calf strain, Mark Bowman of MLB.com writes. Atlanta recalled righty Shane Carle in a corresponding move. The IL placement continues a difficult stretch for Biddle, who, as Bowman notes, has retired just 10 of the last 23 batters he gone against. The southpaw faced four batters in a loss to the Rockies on Friday and failed to retire any of them, though one reached on an error, and yielded four runs (one earned) on three hits. Biddle has still notched a solid 3.18 ERA in 11 1/3 innings this year, but he has also walked upward of seven hitters per nine and seen his swinging-strike rate plummet from 10.4 percent in 2018 to 6.8 this season.
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