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NL Central Notes: Cardinals, Girardi, Cubs, Darvish, Cervelli, Villar

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The Cardinals’ players are now “on notice” after the team fired manager Mike Matheny on Saturday, Mark Saxon of The Athletic tweets. If the Cardinals (47-46) don’t turn things around during the coming weeks under interim manager Mike Shildt, there may be “sweeping changes” to their roster, per Saxon. St. Louis’ front office, for its part, “has pined for years to be a seller and stock up for the future,” Saxon writes. With the All-Star break on the doorstep and the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline soon to follow, the Cardinals won’t have a lot of time to reverse course on the field in the next couple weeks, though they’re only four games out of a wild-card spot.

  • Since Matheny’s ouster, former Yankees and Marlins skipper Joe Girardi has come up frequently as a speculative fit for St. Louis. The Cardinals will indeed consider Girardi, who already has a “good rapport” with president John Mozeliak and is thought of highly by the organization, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. It’s unknown whether Girardi will want to get back into managing after a long, successful run in New York, however. Girardi was unwilling to comment on St. Louis’ managerial situation when Joel Sherman of the New York Post contacted him.
  • Cubs right-hander Yu Darvish, out since late May with triceps tendinitis, told Carrie Muskat of MLB.com and other reporters Saturday that he’s hopeful he’ll be able resume throwing off a mound next weekend. However, there’s still no timetable for Darvish’s return to the Cubs’ rotation. With Darvish unavailable (and having struggled before his injury) and Tyler Chatwood in the throes of a rough year, the Cubs are looking for pitching as July 31 nears, according to general manager Jed Hoyer. “No matter what happens [with Darvish], we’re going to be trying to acquire pitching and try to acquire depth,” Hoyer said. “That’s our focus no matter what.”
  • Head injuries have been an all-too-common occurrence for Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli, whom concussion issues forced to the disabled list on Saturday for the fourth time since last June. It doesn’t appear his playing days are in peril right now, though. Asked Saturday if Cervelli’s career could be in jeopardy, Pirates director of sports medicine Tom Tomczyk said (via Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic): “A good question. We have the head of neurology (at Allegheny Health System) leading the direction and advising our internal team of doctors … and that recommendation hasn’t been relayed to him as of yet.” One way the Pirates could make Cervelli’s life easier is by giving him some playing time elsewhere on the field, and they are considering using him at first base on occasion, Elizabeth Bloom of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette relays.
  • The Brewers announced that they’ve placed second baseman Jonathan Villar on the 10-day DL with a right thumb injury and recalled outfielder Brett Phillips from Triple-A. It’s not known how much time Villar will miss, but it’s the latest disappointing development for a player who has experienced a marked drop-off since a great 2016. Villar has bounced back since a disastrous 2017 to some extent, though he has still batted a subpar .261/.315/.377 with six home runs and 14 steals in 279 plate appearances. The 27-year-old has been a key part of a generally weak middle infield, an area Milwaukee may bolster with a trade for Orioles shortstop Manny Machado. [UPDATE: An MRI revealed that Villar had just a sprained thumb and no structural damage, Brewers manager Craig Counsell told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other reporters.]

NL Injury Notes: D-backs, Cards, Cervelli, Mets, Cespedes

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Diamondbacks right-hander Shelby Miller went on the disabled list Friday with elbow inflammation, though the club’s hopeful he dodged a major injury. The D-backs don’t believe Miller re-injured his ulnar collateral ligament, manager Torey Lovullo told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic and other reporters. Miller previously missed most of 2017 and some of this year after tearing his UCL and requiring Tommy John surgery. Arizona won’t know more on Miller’s status until next week when renowned orthopedist Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who performed Miller’s surgery, looks at the results of his MRI. If Miller’s able to return to the mound this season, he’ll try to shake off a dreadful four-start, 15-inning stretch in which he yielded 19 earned runs on 24 hits.

With Miller out for now, Arizona is set to reinstall righty Clay Buchholz into its rotation after the All-Star break, per Piecoro. Buchholz has been out since June 25, the day the Diamondbacks activated Miller, on account of a strained left oblique. The minor league signing looked like an excellent buy-low pickup before he went on the shelf, having pitched to a 2.56 ERA in his first 38 2/3 innings and seven starts as a D-back.

  • Righty Michael Wacha likely won’t return to the Cardinals for at least another month, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch suggests. Wacha has already missed nearly a month with a left oblique strain, depriving the Cardinals of someone who had thrown 84 1/3 innings of 3.20 ERA ball before going on the DL. Meanwhile, righty Adam Wainwright will also be out into August, Hummel adds. Wainwright, who’s currently on the 60-day DL, has sat out just over two months with elbow problems, making this the second straight injury-shortened year for the former ace.
  • Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli is headed to the seven-day concussion DL for the second time in less than a month, the team announced. Pittsburgh recalled backstop Jacob Stallings to take the place of Cervelli, who’s dealing with post-concussive symptoms. This continues a long history of head injuries for Cervelli and marks the fourth time since June 2017 that he has gone on the concussion DL. Although good health has been all too rare for Cervelli, the 32-year-old has been one of the majors’ best catchers in 2018 when he has taken the field.
  • Rehabbing Mets infielder T.J. Rivera suffered a setback in the minors on Friday, Betsy Helfand of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. Rivera, who’s working back from September 2017 Tommy John surgery, exited Triple-A Las Vegas’ game early on account of “discomfort” in his right arm, Helfand writes. “His arm was not feeling the way it should have so we’re going to reevaluate him tomorrow, see what the plan is,” manager Tony DeFrancesco said. Rivera hasn’t appeared in a major league game in nearly a year (July 26, 2017).
  • In better news for the Mets, manager Mickey Callaway told reporters (including Tim Britton of The Athletic) on Saturday that left fielder Yoenis Cespedes could make his long-awaited return as early as next weekend. Cespedes, who has been out with a hip strain since mid-May, “could ramp up his rehab in the coming days,” Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweets.

Injury Notes: Paxton, Kuhl, Urias, Adolfo

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Mariners fans are holding their collective breath after James Paxton exited last night’s start in the first inning with an apparent injury. Per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times, Paxton was lifted due to some discomfort in his lower back. Clearly, this would’ve been Paxton’s last start before the All-Star break anyhow, so the plus for the team is that he’ll have an extended period of time to rest up and hopefully return in healthier form. If the Mariners want to truly be cautious with their ace, they could slot him into the back of the rotation coming out of the break, giving him extra time in an effort to ensure that his back issue is cleared up. The injury doesn’t appear to be serious, though there’ll understandably be at least some apprehension around the situation until Paxton can make it through a start or two without further incident. Seattle can ill-afford to lose Paxton, who heads into the break with a 3.70 ERA, 11.7 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 through 119 1/3 innings.

Some more injury updates from around the league…

  • Pirates righty Chad Kuhl will be shut down from throwing entirely until Aug. 8, writes Elizabeth Bloom of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. At that point, he’ll be reevaluated and, if all goes well, begin throwing from flat ground. There’s no definite timetable on Kuhl’s return from the current forearm injury that has him on the shelf, though Bloom notes that Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk doesn’t expect that Kuhl will ultimately require any type of surgical procedure to correct the issue. The 25-year-old Kuhl had pitched to a 3.76 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 36.2 percent ground-ball rate through 14 starts before he was rocked for 10 runs across two starts (six innings). He exited that final start early due to the forearm issue and was subsequently placed on the DL.
  • Julio Urias faced live hitters this week for the first time since undergoing major shoulder surgery last June, tweets Pedro Moura of The Athletic. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters that the left-hander’s fastball reached as high as 92 mph in that session, and while that’s not quite as high as the 93.1 mph he averaged last season before surgery, it’s an encouraging sign in the early stages of his return to throwing. At the time of Urias’ procedure, Dodgers president of baseball ops Andrew Friedman suggested that the prized young lefty’s rehab could be as long as 14 months. It still seems possible that Urias could return before season’s end, though the team will undoubtedly exercise caution with a player of his upside. Urias had one of the most meteoric rises through the minors of any pitcher in recent history, debuting in the Majors as a 19-year-old in 2016.
  • The White Sox received some more tough news on a promising young prospect, as the team announced to reporters this week that outfielder Micker Adolfo will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the remainder of the season (Twitter link via WGN’s Adam Hoge). The silver lining, if there’s any, is that the procedure comes with a quicker recovery time for position players than for pitchers, and Adolfo is expected to be recovered in eight to 10 months. That would put him on track to be back up to speed anywhere from early Spring Training to early May Adolfo, 21, had turned in a quality .283/.368/.466 slash with 11 homers but a more concerning 27.2 percent strikeout rate through 78 games against older competition in Class-A Advanced. Fangraphs ranked him ninth among ChiSox farmhands earlier this year, while he currently ranks 10th in their system over at MLB.com.

Dodgers Looking Into Multiple Potential Infield Targets

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The Dodgers are widely rumored to be a major suitor for Orioles star Manny Machado. But they are also looking at multiple other possibilities for improving their lineup, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).

Per the report, the Los Angeles organization has not only “stepped up” its efforts to boost its infield mix, but has inquired into at least three specific options beyond Machado. Passan links the Dodgers to the Reds’ Scooter Gennett, the Twins’ Brian Dozier, and the Mets’ Asdrubal Cabrera. And Josh Harrison of the Pirates is also of some interest, per Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press (Twitter link). (He also notes that the Dodgers are interested in some of Minnesota’s veteran relievers.)

The precise interest level in each of those players isn’t clear. Needless to say, the Dodgers are not limiting themselves to a single option — or, really, even a single type of player. While Machado has spent his entire career on the left side of the infield, the other players now reportedly in the mix could fit in at second base.

Indeed, both Gennett and Dozier have more or less exclusively played at second in the majors. Though the latter did break in as a shortstop, he hasn’t lined up there since 2012. Cabrera has more extensive time at short and third, while Harrison has also played all over. Gennett swings from the left side, Dozier and Harrison the right. Cabrera is a switch-hitter. Both Dozier and Cabrera will be free agents after the season, while Gennett and Harrison can be controlled for one and two additional years, respectively.

This slate of candidates includes quite a lot of MLB experience, of course. All are relatively low-strikeout, contact-oriented hitters. Gennett and Cabrera have outproduced the others offensively this year, but there are other things for the L.A. brass to consider. Dozier has an excellent track record, a history of second-half productivity, and an explanation (.247 BABIP) for some of his woes. Harrison is surely the least-accomplished hitter of the bunch, but adds more value on the bases and in the field.

All things considered, it’s not strictly evident just what the Dodgers are most interested in finding beyond adding a player they like to their infield mix. The team has not received much from Logan Forsythe and Chase Utley, but those two have combined to take the lion’s share of time at second. Adding Machado might well mean bumping Chris Taylor to the other side of the bag, or to the outfield. If that fails, a different addition intended to address second base more directly could instead be pursued.

Of course, it’s somewhat debatable whether this is even an area the Dodgers really ought to be focused, even with Corey Seager gone for the year. Forsythe and Utley haven’t been great, true, but the entire rest of the lineup (excepting backup catcher Austin Barnes) has been excellent. Ensuring there’s a place for Max Muncy’s bat to play is perhaps the more pressing need. Most recently, he has slotted in at second, though perhaps that’s not the club’s ultimate preference. In any event, it seems the L.A. front office is interested not only in maximizing depth, but also in guarding against any downturns in its potent lineup.

Quick Hits: Rays, Eovaldi, Ramos, Nats, Pirates, Reds

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Ten teams were reportedly in attendance on Sunday to watch Rays right-hander Nathan Eovaldi pitch in New York, and he didn’t disappoint. Eovaldi delivered seven near-perfect innings against the Mets, striking out nine (against no walks) and allowing one hit. The Yankees, Diamondbacks, Braves, Brewers, Cubs, Giants, Reds and Marlins had scouts on hand to witness the performance, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports, though he notes that all of them aren’t necessarily interested in Eovaldi. The Yanks and Marlins are already familiar with Eovaldi, who has pitched for both teams in the past. Miami’s not going to buy Eovaldi, though, as it’s well out of contention and he’s a pending free agent. But the Yankees are World Series hopefuls who need a starter, so perhaps they’d consider a reunion with Eovaldi. The 28-year-old has returned from 2016 Tommy John surgery to post a 3.35 ERA with 8.19 K/9, 1.12 BB/9 and a 48.8 percent grounder rate over 48 1/3 innings.

  • More on the Rays, who are “closely watching” the Nationals’ farm system as the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline draws closer, Jon Heyman of Fancred reports. The Nationals are interested in Rays catcher Wilson Ramos, per Heyman, which jibes with an earlier report from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. “There’s no sign” the Nationals have made any progress in trying to pry elite catcher J.T. Realmuto from the Marlins, Heyman writes, so Ramos may be the Nats’ best hope to upgrade behind the plate. Ramos spent 2010-16 in Washington and has landed back on the team’s radar amid what may be an All-Star season for the 30-year-old.
  • With the Pirates having fallen to 41-48 since a good start to the season, “the optimism has turned to realism,” general manager Neal Huntington told reporters Sunday (via Jerry Dipaola of the Pittsburgh-Tribune Review). Huntington went on to explain that he projected the Pirates would win 78 to 82 games this year, but he was hopeful they’d exceed expectations. Instead, with the deadline looming and Pittsburgh nine games out of a playoff spot, the team looks like a seller in the making. Huntington will make a decision on the club’s direction in the coming days, it seems, as he noted that “this is one of those weeks where 4-4 doesn’t do us a lot of good. We need to make up some ground in a short period of time and we need to show we can continue to do that.”
  • At 39-50, Cincinnati sits below Pittsburgh in the NL Central. But the two teams have been going in opposite directions in recent months, with the Reds having played respectable ball of late. As a result, they’re not necessarily inclined to sell this summer unless returns are compelling, president Dick Williams told Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. “Really, almost the whole 25-man roster is controlled beyond this year other than (Matt) Harvey,” Williams said. “That puts us in a good position of not feeling like you have to do anything with guys. You can be opportunistic. We want to have a very successful second half. We believe we’ll have the players here to keep this momentum going.” And even though the Reds have turned things around since firing manager Bryan Price on April 19 and replacing him with interim skipper Jim Riggleman, they’re not ready to hand the reins to Riggleman on a full-time basis, per Williams.

Injury Notes: Bryant, Correa, Dyson, Joyce, Feliz

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Here’s the latest on some injury situations from around the league…

  • Kris Bryant worked out with the Cubs today and appears to be close to a rehab assignment, MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat writes.  The third baseman felt some soreness in his left shoulder a few days ago, which delayed his hopes of returning to the lineup this weekend.  Bryant shouldn’t need too much time to get back to game readiness, so Chicago seems likely to activate him sometime this week.
  • Carlos Correa tells MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart (Twitter link) that he is hopeful of getting back to action before the All-Star break, though Correa has yet to begin any baseball activities.  The Astros star’s 10-day DL placement due to lower back soreness was backdated to June 26, so is eligible to return at any point.  Manager A.J. Hinch said that the team was going to be cautious with the young star, so it could be that Correa is held out through the break to make sure he is completely recovered.
  • The Diamondbacks are worried that the injury that placed Jarrod Dyson on the DL earlier this week is similar to the core injury that prematurely ended his 2017 season, The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan tweets.  Dyson previously underwent surgery for that core injury in mid-September 2017.  It isn’t clear how long another procedure would keep Dyson sidelined, though the seriousness of Dyson’s current issue has also yet to be determined.   The outfielder has delivered outstanding defense and baserunning this year, making him a useful asset for Arizona despite a severe lack (.189/.282/.257 in 237 PA) of production at the plate.
  • The Athletics announced that outfielder Matt Joyce has hit the 10-day DL due to a lumbar strain, with a placement retroactive to July 5.  Outfielder Nick Martini is up from Triple-A to take Joyce’s roster spot.  This is the second time in almost exactly a month that Martini has replaced Joyce due to the veteran’s ongoing lumbar issues.  It’s safe to say that the back problems have contributed to Joyce’s down numbers, as he is hitting just .203/.311/.359 with seven homers through 226 PA this season.
  • The Pirates reinstated right-hander Michael Feliz from the 10-day DL and also selected the contract of righty Alex McRae from Triple-A Indianapolis, as per a team press release.  Righty Dovydas Neverauskas and southpaw Josh Smoker were demoted to Triple-A in corresponding moves.  Feliz missed about two weeks due to right shoulder inflammation and will try to turn around a season that has seen him post a 5.51 ERA over his first 32 2/3 innings for the Bucs.  McRae, a 10th-round pick for the Pirates in the 2014 draft, will get his first taste of Major League action after posting a 4.61 ERA, 8.6 K/9, and 2.05 K/BB rate over 84 innings for Indianapolis this season.

Pirates Fail To Reach Agreement With 36th Overall Pick Gunnar Hoglund

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The Pirates failed to line up with competitive balance Round A selection Gunnar Hoglund, Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs reported on Twitter. This afternoon (5pm CST) represented the deadline to complete deals with drafted players.

Hoglund, a right-handed pitcher from Florida, didn’t crack the top fifty of any draft prospect rankings, topping out at #55 on the Fangraphs board. While he’s not credited with an electric arsenal of pitches, Hogulund is valued for his pinpoint control and increasingly impressive radar gun readings.

The Pittsburgh organization clearly liked Hoglund quite a bit, as it took him with the 36th overall pick. But the Bucs were not able to convince him to join the organization, meaning they’ll instead receive the 37th selection in next year’s draft. Hoglund, meanwhile, is headed to the University of Mississippi.

Royals Claim Enny Romero

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The Royals announced that they’ve claimed left-hander Enny Romero off waivers from the Pirates. Right-hander Blaine Boyer was transferred from the 10-day disabled list to the 60-day disabled list in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Romero.

The 27-year-old Romero opened the season with the Nationals but was designated for assignment after just two innings of work. The Pirates plucked him off waivers but tried to designate him a second time just weeks later, but it turned out that Romero had an impingement in his left shoulder that resulted in him being placed on the disabled list. Upon sufficiently rehabbing the injury, Romero was activated and subsequently designated for assignment.

Romero was among the harder-throwing lefty relievers in the league for the Nationals last season but saw his average fastball velocity drop from 98 mph in 2017 to 95.1 mph in 2018. That, granted, came in a small sample of six innings, but Romero’s velocity was never at this low of a point throughout the 2017 season. To this point in the year, he’s yielded five runs on a dozen hits and four walks with seven strikeouts in six innings.

The 2017 season was a solid one for Romero, however, as he worked to a 3.56 ERA with 10.5 K/9, 3.7 BB/9, 1.13 HR/9 and a 39 percent ground-ball rate through 55 2/3 innings of relief. In 142 career innings at the MLB level, Romero has a 4.69 ERA with plenty of missed bats (9.7 K/9) but far too many walks (4.6 BB/9). Unlike many lefty relievers, Romero has been more effective against right-handed batters (.240/.325/.379) than he has against left-handed batters (.312/.392/.463).

Romero entered the season with just over two years of Major League service time, so if he can turn things around in Kansas City, he’ll be a controllable bullpen piece for the Royals through the 2021 season. He’d be eligible for arbitration this winter. Romero is out of minor league options, however, so he’ll need to hold down a spot on the big league roster or else clear waivers before he can be sent to Triple-A.

Central Notes: Twins, Shaw, Cervelli, Kuhl, ChiSox

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The Twins are open to trading their pending free agents, MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi reports, as the team begins to look ahead to the 2019 season.  Minnesota’s loss to the Brewers today drops them to 35-48 on the season, 11.5 games out of first place in the AL Central and 18 games out of a wild card slot.  One NL executive believes the Twins would be willing to hold trade talks for just about every player on the roster, not just the free agents, though Morosi doubts the team’s younger players under long term control would be seriously discussed.

Looking only at the players signed through 2018, the list includes Brian Dozier, Eduardo Escobar, Lance Lynn, Zach Duke, and Joe Mauer, plus Fernando Rodney, Logan Morrison, and Ervin Santana could also be free agents depending on club options.  There are several big names in that group, though only a few (Escobar, Duke, Rodney) are playing well enough to be considered prime trade chips.  Dozier’s disappointing year, in particular, has both hurt the Twins’ hopes of contending and drastically lowered his value at the deadline.  It isn’t known if Mauer would be willing to waive his no-trade clause to go elsewhere, as Mauer’s agent declined to provide any details about how the longtime face of the franchise would respond if a trade offer materialized.

Here’s the latest from around both the AL and NL Central divisions….

  • A recent report from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (subscription required) stated that the Brewers had been working Travis Shaw out at second base, which created speculation about Milwaukee potentially targeting third basemen at the deadline.  Brewers GM David Stearns, however, said in an e-mail to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy that Shaw’s pregame alignment is fairly routine procedure.  “We have guys taking ground balls all over the field during early work and BP….Travis plays on that side of the bag a fair amount in our shift alignments so it makes sense for him to take ground balls over there. Adding to positional versatility is always helpful,” Stearns wrote.  For his part, Shaw said that the team asked him both recently and earlier in the season “if I would be open to playing second if that situation presents itself,” and he said he’d be willing to do so.  Shaw has never played second base during his eight-year professional career, so it would be a bold move if Milwaukee actually shifted him to the keystone midway through the season to accommodate a new acquisition at third base.
  • Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomcyzk updated some of the team’s injury situations in a chat with reporters (including The Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel and MLB.com’s Adam Berry) today.  Francisco Cervelli could begin a rehab assignment this weekend, as the catcher has resumed full baseball activities after being cleared of concussion symptoms.  Cervelli has been on the disabled list since June 22.
  • The outlook is more ominous for right-hander Chad Kuhl, who was diagnosed with a strained right forearm after undergoing an MRI.  “Doctors have recommended a conservative treatment at this time,” Tomcyzk said, so Kuhl won’t be facing a surgical procedure in the near future.  Kuhl has a 4.37 ERA, 7.9 K/9 and 2.21 K/BB rate over 313 career innings and 61 starts for the Pirates.
  • Since the White Sox heavily bolstered their prospect ranks in the Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, and Adam Eaton trades, the team now faces the potentially lengthy and sometimes-frustrating wait to see this young talent develop at the Major League level.  The Sox haven’t shown much this season, and as executive VP Ken Williams tells Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times, “We’re probably ahead of where we have a right to believe we’re supposed to be, but we’re right where we want to be, but not quite where we need to be yet.”  Both Williams and Carlos Rodon stressed the importance of the young team learning how to win and not getting used to losing, though obviously the organization is in for more growing pains during the rebuild process.

Pirates Designate Enny Romero

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The Pirates have designated lefty Enny Romero for assignment after activating him from the disabled list, per a club announcement. In other moves, the club promoted righty Nick Kingham and optioned infielder/outfielder Jose Osuna.

While the club’s maneuvering did not require a 40-man spot, Romero’s return to health forced a decision. He is out of options, meaning he had to be added back to the active roster or cut loose.

Romero was very nearly designated earlier in the year, before his shoulder injury was discovered. The hard-throwing southpaw, who was claimed from the Nationals in April, has thrown only six MLB frames on the season.

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