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Players Avoiding Arbitration: 12/2/20

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With the non-tender deadline coming today at 7pm CT, expect quite a few players to agree to contracts for the 2021 season, avoiding arbitration in advance.  In many (but not all) cases, these deals — referred to as “pre-tender” deals because they fall prior to the deadline — will fall shy of expectations and projections.  Teams will sometimes present borderline non-tender candidates with a “take it or leave it” style offer which will be accepted for fear of being non-tendered and sent out into an uncertain market.  Speculatively, such deals could increase in 2020 due to the economic uncertainty sweeping through the game, although there are also widespread expectations of record non-tender numbers.

You can track all of the arbitration and non-tender activity here, and we’ll also run through today’s smaller-scale pre-tender deals in this post.  You can also check out Matt Swartz’s arbitration salary projections here.

Latest Agreements

Earlier Agreements

  • Twins righty Jose Berrios will earn $6.1MM with a $500K signing bonus in 2021, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports. Catcher Mitch Garver will rake in $1.875MM, per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Center fielder Byron Buxton ($5.125MM) and reliever Taylor Rogers (terms not released) also agreed to deals, according to Phil Miller of the Star Tribune.
  • The Phillies have deals with starter Zach Eflin ($4.45MM) and relievers Hector Neris ($5MM), David Hale ($850K) and Seranthony Dominguez ($727,500), Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia, Heyman and Todd Zolecki of MLB.com relay.
  • The Marlins and first baseman Garrett Cooper have a $1.8MM agreement that could max out at $2.05MM with performance bonuses, Craig Mish of Sportsgrid tweets.
  • The Brewers are keeping catcher Manny Pina in the fold for $1.65MM, according to Heyman. They’re also retaining first baseman Daniel Vogelbach for $1.4MM, Nightengale reports.
  • The Giants and outfielder Austin Slater have a one-year, $1.15MM deal, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.The club also reached a $925K agreement with lefty Wandy Peralta and a $700K pact with righty Trevor Gott, Heyman tweets.
  • The Cubs are bringing back hurlers Dan Winkler ($900K), Colin Rea ($702,500) and Kyle Ryan ($800K), Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Ryan’s agreement is a split contract that features a $250K minor league salary.
  • The Mets are retaining lefty Steven Matz for $5.2MM, Nightengale tweets. Matz had a brutal campaign in 2020 with a 9.68 ERA/7.76 FIP over 30 2/3 innings in 2020, but the Mets will give him a chance to rebound.
  • The Padres and lefty Matt Strahm have a one-year, $2MM deal, Nightengale reports. Strahm gave the Padres a 2.61 ERA/4.93 FIP in 20 2/3 innings in 2020.
  • Outfielder Guillermo Heredia, whom the Mets claimed from Pittsburgh in August, will earn $1MM in 2021, according to Nightengale.
  • The Astros and reliever Austin Pruitt have settled for $617, 500, per Heyman. The right-hander missed the season with elbow issues.
  • The Royals and outfielder Jorge Soler have agreed to a one-year, $8.05MM deal with $250K in incentives, Nightengale reports. Soler was a 48-home run hitter in 2019, but his production went backward this past season, in which he slashed .228/.326/.443 with eight HRs in 174 trips to the plate.
  • The Red Sox have kept relievers Matt Barnes ($4.4MM) and Ryan Brasier ($1.25MM) and catcher Kevin Plawecki ($1.6MM), per tweets from Nightengale, Robert Murray of FanSided and Heyman. Barnes has been a solid reliever as a member of the Red Sox, though he yielded more than five walks per nine and upward of four runs per nine in 2020. Brasier was more successful this past season, as he tossed 25 frames of 3.96 ERA/3.15 FIP ball and averaged better than 10 strikeouts per nine. Plawecki had a nice year as the backup to Christian Vazquez, as he batted .341/.393/.463 in 89 PA.
  • The Giants and southpaw Jarlin Garcia have settled for $950K, according to Heyman. Garcia is coming off an 18 1/3-inning effort in which he posted a near-perfect 0.49 (with an impressive 3.14 FIP) and 6.87 K/9 against 3.44 BB/9.
  • The Marlins have agreed to a one-year, $4.3MM deal with first baseman Jesus Aguilar, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets. The 30-year-old slugger put up strong numbers in his first year with the Fish, slashing .277/.352/.457 with eight long balls in 216 plate appearances.
  • The Giants and outfielder Alex Dickerson settled at a year and $2MM, tweets Nightengale. The 30-year-old slugger has a lengthy injury history but has been excellent in limited work with the Giants, including a .298/.371/.576 slash in 170 plate appearances this past season.
  • Luis Cessa will be back with the Yankees on a one-year deal, tweets Nightengale. He’ll earn $1.05MM. The righty notched a 3.32 ERA and 3.79 FIP with a 17-to-7 K/BB ratio in 21 2/3 innings this past season. Fellow righty Ben Heller will also return, the team announced, though it didn’t disclose financial details.
  • First baseman Matt Olson and the Athletics settled on a one-year deal worth $5MM, tweets Nightengale. The 26-year-old Olson’s .198/.310/.424 slash was an obvious step back from his 2019 campaign, but he’s still viewed as a vital part of the club’s future moving forward.
  • The Braves and righty Luke Jackson agreed to a one-year deal, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. The 29-year-old was rocked for a 6.84 ERA in this year’s shortened slate of games but posted a 3.84 ERA and 3.24 FIP with better than 13 K/9 as one of the team’s steadiest relievers in 2019. The contract is valued at $1.9MM, per a team announcement.
  • The Brewers are bringing back catcher Omar Narvaez for one year and $2.5MM, Heyman tweets. Narvaez was a very good offensive catcher from 2o16-19 with the White Sox and Mariners, but he struggled last season after the M’s traded him to the Brewers. Thanks in part to a career-worst 31 percent strikeout rate, Narvaez could only muster a .176/.294/.269 line and a paltry two HRs in 126 plate appearances. Nevertheless, he’s in line to return to the Brewers for a second season.
  • The Brewers have agreed to a one-year, $2MM contract with shortstop Orlando Arcia, Nightengale relays. Arcia endured serious struggles on offense in prior years, but the 26-year-old managed a respectable .260/.317/.416 line with five home runs over 189 plate appearances this past season.
  • The Phillies and catcher Andrew Knapp have reached a one-year, $1.1MM agreement, per Nightengale. Typically a light-hitting backstop, Knapp batted a career-best .278/.404/.444 in 89 plate appearances in 2020. He’s currently the No. 1 catcher on a Phillies team that could lose J.T. Realmuto in free agency.
  • Pirates infielder Erik Gonzalez agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.225MM, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets. It was the second year of arb eligibility for Gonzalez, whose glovework will earn him a contract despite a brutal .227/.255/.359 batting line in 193 plate appearances in 2020.
  • The Royals and Hunter Dozier agreed to a one-year deal worth $2.72MM in entirely guaranteed money, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports.  More is available to Dozier via contract incentives.  Dozier hit .228/.344/.392 over 186 PA after missing over the first two weeks of the season recovering from a positive COVID-19 diagnosis.
  • The Red Sox agreed to an $870K deal with right-hander Austin Brice for the 2021 season, as per Nightengale.  Brice posted a 5.95 ERA, 11.4 K/9, and 5.9 BB/9 over 19 2/3 innings in his first season in Boston, and was considered a potential non-tender candidate.
  • The Twins and righty Tyler Duffey agreed to a one-year, $2.2MM pact, SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson reports.  According to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney, Duffey’s deal is fully guaranteed.
  • The Braves agreed to a one-year, $900K deal with southpaw Grant Dayton, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets.  Dayton had a 2.30 ERA over 27 1/3 innings in 2020.
  • The Braves announced an agreement with utilityman Johan Camargo on a one-year, $1.36MM deal.  Camargo was thought to be a non-tender candidate after struggling to a .222/.267/.378 slash line in 375 plate appearances over the last two seasons, but he will return for a fifth year in Atlanta.
  • The White Sox and left-hander Jace Fry agreed to a one-year deal worth $862.5K, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link).  Fry posted a 3.66 ERA, 2.00 K/BB rate, and 11.0 K/9 over 19 2/3 innings in 2020, and he has strong overall career numbers against left-handed batters.
  • The Orioles agreed with second baseman Yolmer Sanchez on a one-year deal worth $1MM, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter).  Baltimore claimed Sanchez off waivers from the White Sox at the end of October.  A Gold Glove winner in 2019, Sanchez was non-tendered by Chicago prior to last year’s deadline, though after signing a minors deal with the Giants, he returned to the White Sox on another minors deal and appeared in 11 games on the South Side.
  • The Twins agreed to a one-year deal worth roughly $700K with left-hander Caleb Thielbar, The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman reports (via Twitter).  2020 marked Thielbar’s first taste of MLB action since 2015, as the southpaw worked his way back from independent ball to post a 2.25 ERA, 2.44 K/BB rate, and 9.9 K/9 over 20 innings for Minnesota.
  • The Dodgers and left-hander Scott Alexander have agreed to a one-year, $1MM deal, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (Twitter link).  Alexander posted a 2.92 ERA over 12 1/3 innings out of the Los Angeles bullpen this season, recording an equal number of walks and strikeouts (nine).  The southpaw was thought to be a potential non-tender candidate given his relative lack of usage and his non-inclusion on the Dodgers’ playoff roster, but the team will retain Alexander for his second arb-eligible year.  ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (via Twitter) adds the noteworthy detail that Alexander’s $1MM salary is fully guaranteed, as opposed to the usual contracts for arbitration-eligible players that allow their teams to release them prior to Opening Day and only pay a fraction of the agreed-upon salary.

Multiple Marlins Players Reportedly Test Positive For COVID-19

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12:30pm: First baseman Garrett Cooper and outfielder Harold Ramirez are also among the Marlins who have tested positive, according to Robert Murray and Jon Heyman of MLB Network. And since these results were discovered on the road, the Marlins find themselves in an unfortunate position; Cooper and the other players will have to quarantine in their Philadelphia hotel for about two weeks and, for the time being, are unable to travel back to Miami with the rest of their team. From a purely baseball perspective, the news represents a considerable blow to the Marlins’ depth: Between Alfaro, Cooper, and Ramirez, they’re losing three regulars, not to mention a key piece of the rotation in Ureña.

11:32 am: “Multiple” Miami players are dealing with COVID-19 issues, tweets Craig Mish of Sportsgrid. Heyman hears the same, tweeting that two of the club’s starting position players have also tested positive for the coronavirus. Catcher Jorge Alfaro was placed on the injured list for an undisclosed reason Friday, although it remains unclear if he is among those who have tested positive.

11:08 am: Marlins right-hander José Ureña was scratched from today’s scheduled start, as noted by various reporters (including Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald). Ureña tested positive for COIVD-19, tweets Jon Heyman of the MLB Network. Fortunately, Ureña “feels fine,” Heyman adds, but this is simply the latest reminder of the threat the coronavirus continues to pose to players and teams leaguewide.

Even if Ureña remains asymptomatic, he’ll need to twice test negative at least 24 hours apart before he’s permitted to return to the club. Miami has not yet made any roster moves related to the situation, tweets Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. With there being no minimum length for stints on the COVID-19 injured list, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Miami decide to place Ureña on the IL, even if they believe he’ll be ready to return in short order.

Ureña is ticketed for a return to the Miami rotation after splitting last year between the starting staff and the bullpen. Right-hander Robert Dugger, who started seven games for Miami down the stretch last season, will take the ball in Ureña’s stead this afternoon against the Phillies.

Marlins Notes: Villar, Urena, Outfield, Boxberger

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The Marlins were impressed by Jonathan Villar’s work in center field prior to last week’s abrupt shutdown of Spring Training, writes Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. President of baseball operations Michael Hill tells McPherson that Villar looked “pretty natural” in the outfield, praising the speedster’s reads and his “natural glide to the ball.” The Marlins have “no reservations” about installing Villar as their primary center fielder whenever the season does get underway — a move that’d allow them to slot Brian Anderson in at third base, Miguel Rojas at shortstop and Isan Diaz at second base. Barring an extension, Villar is a short-term addition for the Miami organization. He’ll reach free agency next winter, and a year of even average glovework in center field would substantially bolster his stock, as would an approximation of 2019’s strong .274/.339/.453 slash (with 24 homers and 40 steals).

More notes out of Miami…

  • Jose Urena went from 2019 Opening Day starter to trade candidate to non-tender candidate over the course of a year, but Miami opted to keep him and seems happy to have done so. Craig Mish of SportsGrid tweets that the Marlins were “itching” to see more of the 28-year-old, who revamped his delivery and his slider in the offseason. Urena yielded just two runs on 13 hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in 14 spring frames before exhibition play was halted. If he’s able to carry some of that success into the regular season, he’ll quickly emerge as a trade commodity. The Marlins only control Urena through the 2021 season, so their window to move him is narrowing. And his $3.75MM salary makes him affordable for just about any club that has a need to add to the starting staff. Urena missed nearly three months with a back strain in 2019, posted a 5.21 ERA in 82 1/3 innings when on the active roster and at one point lost his rotation spot. But in the two prior seasons, the righty notched a solid 3.90 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 343 2/3 innings.
  • MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro runs through a number of the position battles that were taking shape in Marlins camp prior to the stoppage of play. Notably, Frisaro writes that veteran outfielder Matt Joyce is in line to start about three times a week in right field, with one of Harold Ramirez, Lewis Brinson, Garrett Cooper or Monte Harrison possibly getting the nod on the other side of a timeshare. Veteran Matt Kemp, in camp on a non-roster deal, is viewed more as a potential bench bat. In the bullpen, Frisaro notes that veteran Brad Boxberger (also on a minor league pact) was “tracking toward” a spot on the roster. Mish heard similar things, tweeting last week that Boxberger was “close to a lock” to make the roster as a setup man to expected closer Brandon Kintzler.

Health Notes: Marwin, Kintzler, Marlins, Rockies

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The latest on a few notable health situations from around the majors…

  • The Twins welcomed utilityman Marwin Gonzalez back from injury Monday in their win over the White Sox. Gonzalez hadn’t played since Aug. 27 because of an abdominal issue. His presence should help make up for the absence of fellow utilityman Ehire Adrianza (down with an oblique strain) and give the Twins the ability to rest first baseman C.J. Cron – who’s dealing with a bruised thumb, per Brian Hall of MLB.com. Gonzalez, the Twins’ highest-paid acquisition of last winter (two years, $21MM), has gotten past a sluggish start to post a useful .262/.322/.418 line with 15 home runs in 441 plate appearances this season.
  • Cubs reliever Brandon Kintzler hasn’t pitched since Sept. 10, when the right-hander allowed two earned runs on three hits in a third of an inning in a loss to San Diego. It turns out that Kintzler has been out with a mild left oblique strain, as Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic was among those to tweet. There’s no word on how much more time Kintzler will miss, but the sooner he returns, the better for the playoff-contending Cubs. The 35-year-old has bounced back from a shaky 2018 to post a 2.82 ERA/3.60 FIP with 7.62 K/9, 2.15 BB/9 and a 56.6 percent groundball rate in 54 1/3 frames.
  • Marlins first baseman/outfielder Garrett Cooper isn’t likely to return this season, Craig Mish of FNTSY Sports Radio reports. The 28-year-old jammed his knee Friday, and though Mish notes it isn’t serious, the bottom-feeding Marlins don’t need to risk running Cooper out again this season. An ice-cold August has driven down Cooper’s numbers this year, but he has nonetheless been one of the hitter-needy Marlins’ top offensive players in 2019, having batted .281/.344/.446 with 15 HRs across 421 trips to the plate.
  • Rockies righty Chad Bettis, who underwent season-ending hip surgery Aug. 27, expects to go through “a normal offseason,” he told Kyle Newman of the Denver Post. That may be true from a health standpoint, but whether the winter will be conventional otherwise for Bettis is up in the air. After all, the Rockies could non-tender Bettis, who’s slated to go through arbitration for the third and final time. He made $3.325MM this season but only pitched to a 6.08 ERA/5.16 FIP in 63 2/3 innings – most of which came out of the Rockies’ bullpen.

A Trade That Is Working Out For The Marlins

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The Marlins have been roundly criticized for trades in recent years, deals that have come thanks in part to a desire to cut payroll. Outfielders Christian Yelich, Giancarlo Stanton and Marcell Ozuna, second baseman Dee Gordon and catcher J.T. Realmuto are all prominent players the rebuilding Marlins, stuck in a soon-to-be 16-year playoff drought, have traded away since the end of the 2017 season.

While the Marlins’ decisions since co-owner Derek Jeter took the reins in 2017 haven’t come without protests, at least one of the trades they’ve made under him is paying significant dividends at the MLB level.

In November ’17, a few months after the former Yankees shortstop took the Marlins’ reins, his new team seemingly took advantage of his previous franchise. Miami acquired left-hander Caleb Smith and first baseman/outfielder Garrett Cooper from New York for right-handed pitching prospect Mike King and $250K in international bonus pool money. The Yankees did so in part in an effort to pad their offer to then-free agent Shohei Ohtani, but he ultimately signed with the Angels.

Now, with the World Series-contending Yankees on the hunt for another credible starter, the current version of Smith would fit into their rotation. But Smith, now 27, didn’t get much of a chance with the Bombers. A 14th-round pick of the Yankees in 2013, Smith reached the majors for the first time in 2017 – the season before the trade – and struggled over 18 2/3 innings. Since then, though, Smith has performed like a legitimate major league rotation piece for the Marlins. Dating back to 2018, he has pitched to a 3.83 ERA/4.09 FIP with 10.67 K/9 against 3.33 BB/9, albeit with an awful 28.7 percent groundball rate, in 143 1/3 innings. Among starters who have thrown at least 140 frames since last year, Smith ranks 15th in strikeout rate.

Although Smith has been on the injured list since June 7 with a hip problem, teams still figure to approach the Marlins with interest in him going into the July 31 trade deadline. However, the Marlins don’t seem willing to trade Smith, who won’t be eligible for arbitration until after 2020 or free agency until the conclusion of the 2023 campaign.

The Marlins may have stumbled on a long-term piece in Smith. The same holds true for Cooper, who comes with the same amount of control as Smith. Cooper, a sixth-rounder of the Brewers in 2013, went to the Yankees in July 2017 in a deal for now-Cardinals reliever Tyler Webb. Cooper didn’t look like much more than the potential right-handed side of a first base platoon at the time, and injuries limited him to fewer than 100 plate appearances between the majors and minors last season. This year, though, Cooper’s taking advantage of his chance on a woeful Miami team.

Although the Marlins rank second to last in the majors in runs, their problems haven’t been Cooper’s fault. The 28-year-old has easily been their best hitter, in fact. He’s off to a .317/.383/.488 start (134 wRC+) with seven home runs across 183 plate appearances in his first extensive major league experience. Whether Cooper can keep it up is the question.

The bad: Cooper’s .388 batting average on balls in play is nowhere near sustainable, nor will 35 percent of his fly balls keep leaving the yard. Likewise, it’s concerning that Cooper’s hitting ground balls upward of 55 percent of the time, especially considering he’s hardly a speed demon. His 16.3 percent fly ball rate ranks last among hitters who have totaled 180-plus PA this year. That isn’t necessarily a death knell to his production, granted, as the great Ohtani ranks just two spots better. Cooper’s also having immense difficulty against left-handed pitchers, oddly enough. While he has smacked righties to the tune of a .400 wOBA, southpaws have held him to a .298 mark.

In more encouraging news, Cooper’s strikeout, walk and contact rates are all hovering around average. Better still, Statcast indicates Cooper’s expected slugging percentage (73rd percentile), hard-hit percentage (75th percentile), expected weighted on-base average (83rd percentile) and expected batting average (95th percentile) are all good to exemplary. His .371 xwOBA is essentially right in line with a .376 wOBA that ties him with Max Kepler and Yoan Moncada. All of that suggests Cooper will keep making an impact so long as he continues making contact.

At 32-50, this hasn’t been a victory-laden season for the Marlins, but you take the wins where you can. And it looks as if the team prevailed on its end of this trade with the Yankees, a club so loaded that they can get away with letting go of useful contributors without getting a lot back. The Marlins aren’t as fortunate, but it seems they landed a pair of quality pieces in Smith and Cooper.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NL East Notes: Mets, Rosario, Nats’ Injuries, Marlins, Cooper

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Amed Rosario’s defensive struggles have emerged as a point of concern for the scuffling Mets, who will weigh what to do with the shortstop if he can’t correct his errors soon. Ken Davidoff of the New York Post outlines the problem, writing that general manager Brodie Van Wagenen, who has been aggressive in his first year at the helm, cannot afford to keep Rosario in the lineup for much longer when his lackluster defense could cost the club crucial wins. Rosario, just 23 years of age, is still a developing player and sustained reps could be the best remedy to his early-season challenges. However, a competitive Mets team that finds itself in the thick of a heated division race may run out of patience with Rosario, who is not hitting enough to quell the defensive concerns. To be sure, Davidoff notes that Rosario went eight straight games without an error before Saturday, when his two errors didn’t help the Mets’ cause in a marathon loss to the Brewers. The Mets are not yet considering a demotion—it will take another week or more before that becomes a serious possibility, per Davidoff—but Rosario could get a few days off if he can’t correct things in the next few games. Rosario has already accumulated -11 DRS—last season, he checked in at -16—and the Mets have Adeiny Hechavarria and Luis Guillorme as backup options, if it comes to that.

Here’s the latest news from around the NL East…

  • Nationals right-hander Erick Fedde will be deployed as a reliever moving forward, writes Mark Zuckerman of MASN. After an impressive 4-inning outing against the Padres last week—his first Major League relief appearance—the club has decided that he will continue to work out of the bullpen in Double-A rather than returning to the Harrisburg rotation. The plan is for Fedde to rejoin the Nationals soon, in hopes that he will help remedy a bullpen that has arguably been the worst in the Majors.
  • The Nationals will have to work around yet another injury, as Matt Adams was placed on the 10-day IL with a left shoulder strain on Saturday, recalling infielder Jake Noll. Meanwhile, the team will certainly welcome a piece of good news: Anthony Rendon is expected to rejoin the team on Tuesday, when he is eligible to return from his stint on the injured list, per Todd Dybas of NBC Sports. Rendon had been dealing with an elbow contusion that refused to heal, but he was finally able to take swings, indicating that a return is on the horizon.
  • The Mets’ bullpen took another hit on Saturday, as southpaw Luis Avilan was placed on the 10-day IL with elbow tightness, according to Tim Healey of Newsday. Avilan, who has posted a dismal 9.28 ERA in 2019, joins fellow bullpen arms Jeurys Familia and Justin Wilson on the injured list. Tim Peterson and Tyler Bashlor were promoted to replace Chris Flexen and Ryan O’Rourke, both of whom were optioned to the minors. Flexen took Avilan’s place for Saturday’s game because Peterson and Bashlor were unavailable.
  • In a stroke of bad luck, Marlins OF/1B Garrett Cooper finds himself once again on the injured list, this time with a left hand contusion, writes Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. After a calf strain held him out of action for a month, Cooper returned on April 30, only to be hit in the hand by a pitch, causing the injury. Peter O’Brien has been recalled from Triple-A to replace Cooper, who has been limited to just 4 appearances so far this season.

Marlins Option Lewis Brinson, Activate Garrett Cooper

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The Marlins have optioned down struggling outfielder Lewis Brinson, as MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro was among those to tweet. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by Garrett Cooper.

It’s quite a disappointing outcome for Brinson as he prepares to celebrate his 25th birthday. The hope was that he’d have translated his obvious abilities into MLB production by this point. At the moment, Brinson has one year and 58 days of MLB service on his odometer, meaning he can only stay in the minors for 39 days if he’s to crack two full years of MLB service by season’s end.

Brinson turned in a disappointing first season in Miami after arriving as a major part of the Christian Yelich swap. Things have gotten even worse in 2019, as Brinson’s already meager power and walk numbers have cratered yet further.

All told, Brinson is sitting on a .190/.240/.321 slash line with a 30.4% strikeout rate and 4.8% walk rate through 543 plate appearances at the game’s highest level. That’s a fair sight shy of what he has produced over a similar stretch at Triple-A: .342/.398/.560 with 18 home runs and 18 steals in 497 plate appearances. And it’s well short of expectations for a player long tabbed as one of the twenty or so best prospects in baseball.

As for the 28-year-old Cooper, he’ll hope to finally get back to full health and stay that way. He was sidelined most recently with a calf strain. The Marlins have hoped for some time to give him an opportunity to prove he’s capable of hitting in the majors, but he has played in only 36 total games at all levels since joining the organization via trade in the 2017-18 offseason. Cooper will likely see time in the corner outfield and at first base.

Injury Notes: Reds, Wood, Rays, Duffy, Jays, Marlins

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Reds left-hander Alex Wood, who’s on the injured list with lower back tightness, isn’t nearing a return. While Wood is progressing in his recovery, it may have been “a little aggressive” on the Reds’ part to expect a mid-April debut, manager David Bell said Sunday (via Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer). Given that Wood has been battling back problems since late February, he’ll need to build up his innings before taking a major league mound again, Nightengale notes. Wood’s situation is undoubtedly a significant disappointment for the Reds. After all, Cincinnati acquired the ex-Dodger’s final year of team control with the hope that he’d slot in near the top of its made-over rotation for the entire season.

More injury updates from around the league…

  • The back and hamstring issues that forced Rays third baseman Matt Duffy to open the season on the injured list will shelve him until at least mid-May, Rodney Page of the Tampa Bay Times writes. This is the latest unfortunate injury-related development for Duffy, who missed 71 games two years ago and sat out another 30 during what was still a productive campaign in 2018. Yandy Diaz and Daniel Robertson have occupied third in Duffy’s absence so far this season.
  • The Blue Jays have shut down lefty Clayton Richard for two weeks on account of a right knee stress reaction, Scott Mitchell of TSN reports. Richard, acquired from the Padres in the offseason, had been slated to make his Blue Jays debut against Baltimore on Monday. That start will instead go to righty Sean Reid-Foley, whom the Jays will need to recall from Triple-A Buffalo. Meanwhile, southpaw Ryan Borucki, who’s on the IL with elbow discomfort, is making progress but will miss at least one more start, manager Charlie Montoyo revealed Sunday (per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet).
  • The Marlins announced that they’ve placed right fielder Garrett Cooper on the IL with a left calf strain. Cooper said he’ll sit out a few weeks, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com tweets. It’s the second consecutive early season injury for Cooper, who began 2018 as the Marlins’ starting right fielder before going down for months with a partially torn wrist tendon sheath. His newest injury led the Marlins to recall power-hitting outfielder Peter O’Brien from Triple-A New Orleans.

NL Notes: Harper, Giants, Wacha, Cardinals, Marlins

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The Giants have been long-rumored suitors for Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper, who’s expected to reach free agency in the offseason and sign one of the richest contracts in baseball history. While Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle opines that the deep-pocketed Giants should go after Harper, he casts doubt on the possibility of the soon-to-be 26-year-old superstar signing with them. Giants CEO Larry Baer said this week that the club should “lean more toward the development” side of things in the immediate future, Schulman points out, adding it’s doubtful Harper would select San Francisco over teams in better position to contend immediately. Schulman also suggests that the Giants’ stadium, pitcher-friendly AT&T Park, could work against them during the Harper sweepstakes. It’s worth noting, then, that the Giants’ venue currently ranks 19th among 30 parks in HR factor for left-handed hitters, per Baseball Prospectus.

A couple more notes from the National League…

  • Cardinals right-hander Michael Wacha is slated to rejoin the team’s rotation during the first week of September, manager Mike Shildt told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other reporters Saturday. Wacha will first need to get through a Double-A rehab outing on Tuesday, when he could throw 75 to 80 pitches, per Goold. A left oblique strain has kept Wacha out since June 21, before which he made 15 starts and tossed 84 1/3 innings of 3.20 ERA/4.21 FIP ball. Meanwhile, reliever Dominic Leone is also on track to return to the Cardinals early next month, Joe Trezza of MLB.com tweets. The offseason trade acquisition from Toronto landed on the DL on May 5 with a nerve issue in his right biceps – an injury which has prevented Leone from properly following up the excellent 2017 he had with the Blue Jays.
  • Marlins first baseman Garrett Cooper suffered a setback during a rehab assignment on Wednesday and is “likely” done for the season, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com writes. Cooper has been dealing with right wrist problems since the second game of the season, when the Cubs’ Kyle Hendricks hit him with a pitch, and hasn’t played since July 20. With the Marlins having traded former starting first baseman Justin Bour to the Phillies earlier this month, a healthy Cooper perhaps could have made a case for the job heading into 2019. Instead, it appears the 27-year-old’s season will end with a .212/.316/.242 batting line over just 38 major league plate appearances.

Marlins Designate JB Shuck, Activate Martin Prado

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2:01pm: Miami will actually activate Martin Prado at this time, per an announcement. The club also added righty Ben Meyer and placed fellow right-hander Tayron Guerrero on the 10-day DL. Presumably, Cooper will be brought back in short order.

Prado struggled badly to open the season and has dealt with significant injuries of late, so it’s hard to imagine him as a mid-season trade candidate. Still, he could conceivably turn into an August target if he performs well. The Miami organization would surely like to get out from under some of his hefty salary ($13.5MM this year and $15MM next), though most of it will surely remain on their books regardless.

12:27pm: The Marlins are set to designate outfielder JB Shuck for assignment, according to Craig Mish of Sirius XM (Twitter link). His roster spot will go to Garrett Cooper, who’ll be activated from the disabled list.

Shuck, 31, has struggled at the plate in his action this year in Miami. Through 142 plate appearances, he carries only a .192/.255/.231 batting line. He has hit a bit more in past seasons, but in the aggregate is only a 72 OPS+ hitter in 1,232 trips to the plate in the majors.

As for Cooper, 27, he’s finally ready to return after suffering a fractured wrist on a hit-by-pitch early this season. The Marlins had picked him up from the Yankees over the winter in hopes that he’d make good on the promise he showed in the 2017 season. Cooper ended up posting a .359/.423/.634 slash in 350 total plate appearances in the upper minors last year and also hit well in his first, brief stint in the big leagues.

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