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Wander Franco Likely To Return From 10-Day IL On Sunday

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The Rays are hopeful of activating shortstop Wander Franco from the 10-day injured list on Sunday, manager Kevin Cash told reporters (including The Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin).  Franco hasn’t played since May 30 due to a right quad strain, though he did rejoin the Rays today after finishing a five-game minor league rehab assignment.  Cash said that Franco will meet with team trainers before the official go-ahead is given to reinstate him to the active roster.

Quad and hamstring problems bothered Franco even prior to his IL stint, as Cash said that for “maybe a month’s worth of games, he just wasn’t himself.”  This is reflected in Franco’s splits, since the star shortstop posted a .912 OPS in his first 87 plate appearances of the season, but then slumped to a .566 OPS over 103 PA in May.

However, Franco now appears to be healthy, and ready to fully build on his excellent 2021 rookie season.  Considering baseball’s top prospect before his debut last season, the 21-year-old Franco lived up to those high expectations, to the point that the Rays jumped to extend him via the biggest contract in club history.

Getting Franco back into the everyday lineup will be a huge help for a Rays team that hasn’t gotten much consistent hitting.  Tampa’s typically excellent pitching (particularly the rotation) has helped keep the Rays afloat in the tough AL East, as the Rays still have a 39-32 record and are in possession of a wild card berth.  Getting even average hitting would help the Rays solidify that playoff positioning, and perhaps help them cut into the Yankees’ big division lead.

Franco isn’t the only reinforcement on the way, as Drew Rasmussen is tentatively slated to return during the Rays’ upcoming series (June 30-July 3) against the Blue Jays.  Rasmussen was retroactively placed on the 15-day IL due to a hamstring strain on June 12, and more will be known about his status once he completes three innings of live batting practice today at the Rays’ Spring Training facility.

Pete Fairbanks is also on the comeback trail, as the right-hander has yet to pitch this season after suffering a partial lat tear in March.  Fairbanks is scheduled for his own live BP session on Monday and then a Florida Coast League game on Thursday, and may join Triple-A Durham for a rehab assignment afterwards.

Injury Notes: Rays, Cubs, Angels

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The Rays placed starter Drew Rasmussen on the 15-day injured list yesterday (retroactive to June 12) with a left hamstring strain. Ralph Garza Jr. was recalled to take his roster spot. The 26-year-old Rasmussen has been solid for Tampa over 12 starts, posting a 3.41 ERA/3.90 FIP across 58 innings. Garza has been a frequent call-up for Kevin Cash’s club, making 11 appearances with a 3.27 ERA/4.64 FIP over 22 innings. He’ll return to his spot in the bullpen for now. Elsewhere around the game…

  • The Cubs placed second baseman Nick Madrigal on the 10-day injured list yesterday with a left groin strain. The move was retroactive to June 12th. The Cubbies were lauded for their acquisition of the 25-year-old, but he has yet to find his stride in Wrigleyville, hitting just .222/.263/.250 through 115 plate appearances. He’s been solid defensively, however, posting 3 DRS without making an error thus far. Veteran Jonathan Villar has taken over at the keystone in Madrigal’s absence, with Andrelton Simmons and rookie Christopher Morel also seeing some run there.
  • The Angels are nearing a decision point about Anthony Rendon, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Rendon has missed four games because of the same wrist that caused him to miss 12 games earlier this month. If he can’t get back in the lineup soon, the Angels won’t have much choice but to put him back on the shelf. A litany of setbacks has kept Rendon from achieving his Nationals form over his three-year tenure with the Angels. So far this season, he was slashing .228/.324/.383, not a bad mark overall (106 wRC+), though still lacking in the power department.

East Notes: Rasmussen, Girardi, Orioles, Nationals

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The Rays first looked into acquiring Drew Rasmussen from the Brewers last offseason, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writes, well before Tampa finally landed the right-hander as part of the Willy Adames trade in May.  However, Tampa Bay’s interest in Rasmussen really dates back to when the Rays selected him with the 31st pick of the 2017 draft, though a signing never took place because a post-draft physical revealed elbow damage, and led to the second Tommy John surgery of Rasmussen’s young career.

The lack of a deal was a disappointment for both Rasmussen and for veteran Rays scout Paul Kirsch, who brought Rasmussen to the team’s attention after evaluating his high school outings.  Kirsch did finally get to see Rasmussen pitch for the Rays in Seattle this past summer, which by that point counted as a rare trip to the ballpark for Kirsch after a three-year battle with ALS.  Kirsch passed away in September, and Rosenthal’s piece serves as a moving tribute to Kirsch, a beloved figure in the Rays organization and around the scouting community.

More from around both the AL and NL East…

  • The Phillies haven’t yet had any talks with manager Joe Girardi about his contract, though president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski admitted to media (including The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber) earlier this week that he “didn’t even know” about the Phillies’ club option on Girardi for 2023 until asked by a reporter.  2022 is the last guaranteed season of Girardi’s original three-year contract with the club, and Dombrowski didn’t believe the manager would be bothered by the lack of longer-term security, and added that “I think Joe did a good job for us.”  Girardi is 110-112 in his first two seasons in Philadelphia, a lack of success that has largely been attributed to the Phillies’ leaky bullpen and flawed roster construction moreso than any specific failings on the manager’s part.  Former Phils GM Matt Klentak hired Girardi after the 2019 season, before Dombrowski replaced Klentak last winter.
  • Cedric Mullins’ tremendous season cemented him as a building block for the Orioles, and Jon Meoli of The Baltimore Sun figures Mullins, Austin Hays, and Anthony Santander have become the team’s top outfield combination heading into 2022, with Ryan McKenna likely the top bench option.  The O’s have enough young outfield depth, however, that the position could be an area of surplus for the offseason.  If the Orioles look to trade from this surplus, Santander’s name has surfaced in trade rumors in the past, but his stock has likely fallen after an injury-shortened season.
  • Nationals president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo has already prioritized some offseason changes in how the Nats scout and develop their players, due to a lack of recent help in the minor league pipeline.  The draft is the most glaring example of this issue, as MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman notes that Anthony Rendon (picked sixth overall in 2011) is the last Washington draft pick taken in any round to generate more than 1.0 WAR for the team.  Of course, the Nationals have lost their share of picks for compensation purposes, and they’ve also traded some prospects (Lucas Giolito, first and foremost) who went on to become established big leaguers for other teams.  While these moves culminated in Washington’s 2019 World Series title, the thinned-out farm system has become more glaring in the wake of the Nationals’ 91-131 record since winning that championship.

AL East Injury Notes: Means, Arroyo, Walls, Borucki

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Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko and other reporters that John Means is slated to return “at some point right after the All-Star break.”  Means hit the 10-day injured list on June 6 due to a shoulder strain, and his timeline wasn’t entirely clear at the time of the placement.  For now, Means is able to play catch, and will gradually work his way up to readiness over the next few weeks.

Though it’s good news that a projected return date is in place, the timing confirms that Means won’t be participating in the All-Star Game, and the left-hander certainly looked like a strong candidate for his second All-Star selection based on his first two months of work.  A return shortly after the July 12-15 All-Star break would allow time for Means to show that he is healthy for any teams interested in a deal prior to the July 30 trade deadline, though since Means is controlled through the 2024 season, there isn’t any immediate pressure on the Orioles to move Means unless a great offer comes along.

More on other injury situations from around the AL East…

  • The Red Sox placed Christian Arroyo on the 10-day IL due to a right knee contusion, with the placement backdated to June 21.  Michael Chavis was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.  Arroyo left Sunday’s game after a collision with teammate Enrique Hernandez, though x-rays were negative on what the club described as a bone bruise in his right shin.  Arroyo has hit a solid .264/.324/.432 over 138 plate appearances while getting the bulk of playing time at second base this season, though this is his second trip to the IL, after missing two weeks in May with a hand contusion after being hit by a pitch.
  • The Rays placed shortstop Taylor Walls on the 10-day IL (retroactive to June 23) due to right wrist tendinitis, and right-hander Drew Rasmussen has been called up to take Walls’ spot on the active roster.  Walls told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times and other reporters that he received a cortisone shot after trying to play through the injury for around two weeks, and he doesn’t expect to miss time beyond the minimum 10 days.  Walls made his MLB debut just over a month ago, and he has posted a respectable 95 OPS+ while hitting .222/.337/.333 over his first 95 big league plate appearances.  The Rays have used Walls as their starting shortstop since his promotion, though now that star prospect Wander Franco is on the roster, Franco is likely to get the bulk of time at the position while Walls is out.  Given how the Rays mix and match players around the diamond, Walls probably isn’t in danger of getting Wally Pipp’d by Franco, who made his own debut on Tuesday as Tampa’s starting third baseman.
  • Ryan Borucki is slated to throw a bullpen session on Friday, Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo told Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling and other reporters.  Borucki hasn’t pitched since May 7 due to a left flexor strain, and while the southpaw was tentatively scheduled to return sometime before the end of June, Montoyo didn’t commit to any firmer timeline.  “We’ll see how he does….If he throws a good bullpen, then we’ll go from there,” Montoyo said.

Rays Recall Drew Rasmussen

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The Rays have called up right-hander Drew Rasmussen, the team announced. The moves comes as the second part of yesterday’s optioning of infielder Mike Brosseau to Triple-A.

Rasmussen was one of the two arms acquired from the Brewers as part of the Willy Adames trade. Since joining Tampa’s system, Rasmussen posted 11 1/3 scoreless innings over eight outings in Triple-A. The 25-year-old put up a 4.24 ERA/3.88 FIP over 17 innings with the Brewers prior to the deal.

Rammussen has all the makings of another high-leverage, power arm capable of soaking up some high-leverage innings out of the Rays’ bullpen. In his short time with the Brewers, his 91.1 mph four-seamer registered in the 95th percentile for fastball velocity league-wide. His high-spin fastball dominates his arsenal at a 68.1 percent usage rate. He’s flashed a four-pitch arsenal at times, but the Rays have a way of simplifying a pitcher’s approach, so it will be interesting to see if he changes his approach at all after changing uniforms.

Brosseau has moved up and down between Triple-A and the Majors all season. The 27-year-old has batted just .182/.264/.326 in 148 plate appearances in the bigs. He has not yet appeared in a game at Triple-A.

AL Roster Moves: Rays, Mariners, Tigers

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The Rays have officially added Matt Wisler to their active roster, per the team. Wisler was acquired via trade from the Giants yesterday. To make room on the active roster, southpaw Ryan Sherriff was optioned to Triple-A. The Rays continue to adeptly re-work their bullpen, adding Wisler to previous trade acquisitions J.P. Feyereisen and Drew Rasmussen (though the latter is currently in Triple-A). Wisler presents a unique challenge for Tampa, as he is out of options and, therefore, must stay on the active roster, lest they expose him to waivers. In other AL roster moves…

  • The Mariners announced a slew of roster moves ahead of today’s game. Dylan Moore has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list, and Yohan Ramirez has been recalled from Triple-A. On the way out, Dillon Thomas and Donovan Walton were optioned to Triple-A Tacoma. Catcher Jacob Nottingham has also been outrighted to Triple-A.
  • Tigers infielder Jeimer Candelario has been reinstated from the bereavement list, per the team. He has been placed on the injured list as he goes through intake protocols. Candelario has been out since June 6th. He has batted .266/.336/.381 in 241 plate appearances this season.

Rays Promote Taylor Walls, Claim Deivy Grullon From Mets

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The Rays have officially promoted infield prospect Taylor Walls, as was originally reported yesterday in the aftermath of the club’s four-player trade with the Brewers.

This is one of multiple transactions for the Rays, as Tampa also claimed catcher Deivy Grullon off waivers from the Mets, then optioned Grullon and the newly-acquired Drew Rasmussen to Triple-A.  Right-hander Chris Mazza was also sent to Triple-A after being activated off the 10-day injured list.  Left-hander Cody Reed was moved to the 60-day injured list to open up a 40-man roster spot.

With Willy Adames off to Milwaukee, the Rays addressed their shortstop vacancy not by calling up uber-prospect Wander Franco, but rather yet another well-regarded Tampa Bay farmhand in Walls.  Defensively, Walls has long been big league-ready, as he is considered a plus defender at shortstop and “widely considered the best defensive player at any position in the Rays’ Minor League system,” as per MLB Pipeline’s scouting report.  Walls has also stolen 66 bases (though in 99 attempts) during his minor league career and hit .327/.468/.490 over 62 Triple-A plate appearances this season.

This is the fifth time Grullon has been claimed off waivers since September 2020, and the second time Tampa Bay has claimed him in as many months.  After initially taking Grullon from the Reds in early April, the catcher was again DFA’ed later in the month and claimed by the Mets.  Through it all, Grullon has yet to appear in any Major League games in 2021, but he’ll now head to Triple-A as a depth option.

Shoulder inflammation cost Mazza just under a month of action.  The righty posted an 8.49 ERA over his first 11 2/3 innings with the Rays, after being acquired from the Red Sox in the February trade that also brought Jeffrey Springs to Tampa.

Reed only went to the 10-day IL on Wednesday, marking the second time this season that Reed has been sidelined by a numbness/weakness issue in his left thumb.  Manager Kevin Cash told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times and other reporters that Reed has yet to see a specialist about the problem, though it’s probably safe to assume that next step is coming soon.  The left-hander has a 3.72 ERA over 9 2/3 relief innings for the Rays this season.

Brewers Acquire Willy Adames In Four-Player Trade With Rays

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In a rare May swap of significance, the Rays have traded shortstop Willy Adames and righty Trevor Richards to the Brewers in exchange for right-handed relievers J.P. Feyereisen and Drew Rasmussen. Both clubs have announced the move.

Willy Adames | Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The immediate speculation in the aftermath of the news naturally surrounded Wander Franco, the sport’s top overall prospect and current shortstop for the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate. The trade of Adames clearly opens a spot for Franco in the long term, but Rays general manager Erik Neander announced to reporters that it’ll be top shortstop prospect Taylor Walls who gets the call to replace Adames for now (Twitter link via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times).

For the Brewers, Adames provides a sound defensive option that they’ve lacked all season. Milwaukee cut bait on Orlando Arcia earlier this season after giving the former top prospect myriad chances in recent years. The trade of Arcia to the Braves was intended to create everyday opportunities for Luis Urias at shortstop, but the 23-year-old wasn’t able to handle the position from a defensive standpoint. Urias has already made nine errors in just 310 innings at shortstop and unsurprisingly has negative ratings in just about every defensive metric. Were Urias hitting up to his capability, perhaps the Brewers could’ve stomached the errors, but he’s managed only a .205/.317/.359 slash in 140 plate appearances.

Adames isn’t hitting much himself in 2021, but he had a huge 2020 season and a strong year in 2018 as well. He’s also a very sound defender at his position, evidenced by above-average marks in Defensive Runs Saved (12), Ultimate Zone Rating per 150 games (1.6) and Outs Above Average (3) over the past three seasons.

So far in 2021, Adames is hitting just .197/.254/.371 through 142 plate appearances, but he entered the season as a career .262/.329/.426 hitter. He also put together a hefty .259/.332/.481 slash with eight home runs last summer and slugged a career-best 20 round-trippers a year prior, in 2019. Adames is far too strikeout-prone, punching out at a 36 percent clip across the past two seasons, but he’s making hard contact and barreling the ball at career-best rates in 2021. He’ll likely continue to hit for a low average if he can’t curb those strikeout tendencies, but the uptick in high-quality contact does suggest that his offensive numbers are still likely in line to improve.

Adames entered the season with two-plus years of big league service time, so he’s a potential piece for the Brewers not just in 2021 but for several years beyond. The Brewers can control Adames all the way through the 2024 season via the arbitration process, should they see fit. He’ll be installed as their starter immediately, and if he takes well to his new settings, it’s possible the Brewers have found an answer at the position for the foreseeable future. Urias will be downgraded to a utility role, but perhaps playing more familiar positions at second base and third base will help him get his bat back on track.

Milwaukee will also add the 28-year-old Richards as part of the deal. The righty has pitched for both the Marlins and the Rays to this point in his career, working to a 4.42 ERA over the life of 305 2/3 innings. Richards looked to be in the midst of a breakout in 2019 after the Marlins traded him to Tampa Bay alongside Nick Anderson, as he logged a 1.93 ERA with a 24-to-5 K/BB ratio in 23 1/3 frames down the stretch. He’s posted a 5.52 ERA in 44 innings since that time, however.

To his credit, Richards has an immaculate minor league track record that gives continual hope of improved performance at the MLB level. Unsigned out of Drury University, Richards began his professional career with the Gateway Grizzlies of the independent Frontier League. He caught the Marlins’ attention, landing a deal with them in 2016 and going on to excel at every minor league stop. Richards has a career 2.35 ERA in 252 minor league frames, and the highest ERA he’s posted at any individual level is his 2.87 mark in Double-A. He’s worked as both a starter and reliever along the way.

Richards is in his final minor league option year, so the Rays can shuttle him back and forth between Triple-A and Milwaukee as much as they like for the duration of the season. He’ll need to stick on the MLB roster next spring, however, when he’ll have exhausted all of his minor league options.

It was surely a difficult trade for the Rays to make. Manager Kevin Cash told Topkin and others that the trade will be felt in the clubhouse, where Adames was beloved and had emerged as a leader. The GM called it a “tear-jerking” move to make, but with the looming presence of Franco, Walls and top middle-infield prospect Vidal Brujan, an eventual trade involving Adames has felt nearly inevitable.

Fans were surely hoping the trade would push Franco to the big leagues, but Walls is a highly touted farmhand in his own right, ranking as the game’s No. 107 prospect over at FanGraphs. He’s considered one of the better defensive prospects in the game at his position, and he’s posted strong offensive numbers at every stop since 2018. His bat has exploded to new heights so far in 2021, as he’s come out of the gates with a blistering .327/.468/.490 slash with a pair of homers and a couple steals through his first 62 plate appearances. Franco understandably gets more attention, but Walls and Brujan have the potential to be vital cogs in the Tampa Bay infield themselves.

Turning to the Rays’ return in this trade, they’ll add a pair of arms to help a banged-up relief corps. Feyereisen is headed straight to the MLB bullpen, Neander revealed, while Rasmussen is ticketed for Triple-A Durham.

J.P. Feyereisen | Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

There was no way the Rays were going to send the 28-year-old Feyereisen to the minors after the start he’s had in 2021. Through 19 1/3 innings, the righty has pitched to a 3.26 ERA with a 26 percent strikeout rate and a 47.7 percent ground-ball rate.

Walks have been an issue, as Feyereisen has yielded a free pass to 14.3 percent of opponents so far, but his 16.9 percent swinging-strike rate is among the best in the game. Feyereisen’s 59.6 percent opponents’ contact rate is the third-lowest in MLB, trailing only his now-former teammate Josh Hader and surprising Pirates setup man Sam Howard.

Feyereisen sits 93.7 mph with his heater and throws the pitch at a 41 percent clip, pairing that heater with a slider (38 percent) and changeup (21 percent). It’s been an effective mix for the 28-year-old rookie, whom the Rays can now control through at least the 2026 campaign. This marks the second notable trade of Feyereisen’s career, as he was traded from the Indians (alongside Clint Frazier, Justus Sheffield and Ben Heller) to the Yankees in 2016’s Andrew Miller deal. New York eventually traded him to Milwaukee for additional international bonus pool space. Feyereisen has a pair of minor league options remaining.

Rasmussen, 25, has pitched 32 1/3 innings for the Brewers since Opening Day 2020, posting a sizable 31.1 percent strikeout rate but a troubling 14.2 percent walk rate that nearly mirrors Feyereisen’s mark. A sixth-round pick by the Brewers in 2018, he ranked as their No. 6 prospect at FanGraphs and No. 14 at Baseball America. He’s already had two Tommy John surgeries, despite his relative youth, but Rasmussen boasts a 97 mph heater and was excellent in the minors when healthy in 2019.

While Feyereisen has two minor league options left, Rasmussen has all three, making him a particularly flexible piece for the Rays in the coming years. Of course, the hope is that he’ll pitch his way into a role where he needn’t be returned to the minors at all. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen notes that Rasmussen has just that type of ceiling — the potential to become a high-leverage option late in games. The pair of surgeries naturally raises injury concern levels, but Rasmussen has the makings of a quality reliever if he can avoid further elbow troubles.

Overall, it’s a notable swap on many levels. It’s rare not only to see a trade of this magnitude in May, but also to see a trade in which two contending clubs are dealing big leaguers from positions of depth to help the other address an immediate, pressing need. The Brewers, after middling results from both Arcia and Urias, surely hope to have found a shortstop for years to come. The Rays, meanwhile, have seen several key relievers go down with injuries, leaving them with a relief corps that has been solid but not as dominant as hoped. The trade clears a path for the Rays to take a look at Walls now, and it puts an even more defined clock on the countdown to Franco’s MLB emergence.

MLB Network’s Jon Heyman first reported that an Adames trade was in the works (Twitter links). MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand first reported that Adames had been traded to Milwaukee. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported the other three players in the deal (Twitter links).

Brewers Announce Series Of Roster Moves

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The Brewers made a host of moves Thursday, perhaps most notably optioning lefty Eric Lauer to their alternate training site. Milwaukee also placed righty Justin Grimm on the 10-day injured list due to a laceration on his right index finger. In a pair of corresponding moves, lefty Angel Perdomo was recalled from the alternate site and righty Drew Rasmussen’s contract was selected to the MLB roster. In order to open space on the 40-man roster for Rasmussen, the Brewers transferred right-hander Ray Black from the 10-day IL to the 45-day IL.

Lauer, 25, was acquired along with Luis Urias in the trade that sent Zach Davies and Trent Grisham to the Padres back in November. He was a constant presence in the Padres’ rotation from 2018-19, but he’s gotten out to a tough start in his first few appearances as a Brewer. Lauer has made a pair of starts and one relief appearance thus far but yielded 13 runs in 9 1/3 frames. Lauer’s 2 2/3-inning relief appearance could hardly have gone better — he whiffed six hitters in a scoreless effort — but he’s been hit hard by the Reds and Twins in two subsequent starts.

The 26-year-old Perdomo has a strong minor league track record but ran into a roadblock in last year’s supercharged offensive atmosphere in Triple-A (5.17 ERA in 54 frames). Despite the bloated ERA, though, Perdomo still punched out 86 hitters in those 54 innings of work. He’ll give skipper Craig Counsell a fourth lefty out of the ’pen, joining Josh Hader, Brent Suter and Alex Claudio. His first appearance in a game will mark his Major League debut.

Rasmussen is also slated to make his first MLB showing. The 25-year-old averaged 11.6 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 while working to a 3.15 ERA through 74 1/3 innings across three minor league levels last year. That marked the lone season of professional experience for the 2018 sixth-rounder, who’ll now jump directly from Double-A to the big leagues after impressing the club both in Summer Camp and at the alternate training site.

As for Black, it seems as though he’s now in danger of another season-ending injury. The flamethrowing righty brings triple-digit heat and outrageous minor league strikeout numbers, but he’s simply been unable to stay healthy enough to establish himself in the Majors. Black went on the injured list due to a rotator cuff strain to begin the season, and today’s move to the 45-day IL suggests that the club doesn’t expect him back anytime soon.

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