Cubs Reinstate Marcus Stroman
The Cubs announced they’ve activated Marcus Stroman from the COVID-19 injured list. He’ll take the ball tonight against the Diamondbacks, with righty Michael Rucker landing on the 15-day injured list because of turf toe. Stroman hadn’t counted against the 40-man roster while on the COVID IL, and the Cubs freed a spot for his reinstatement by transferring starter Alec Mills from the 15-day to the 60-day IL.
Stroman signed a three-year, $71MM guarantee as part of an aggressive Cubs offseason. He has made five starts with his new team, tossing 26 1/3 innings of 5.13 ERA ball. Stroman’s typically excellent ground-ball rate is down to a more ordinary 45.6% in the early going, but that’s likely not much more than a sample blip. The 31-year-old’s velocity, strikeout and walk numbers are all in line with their 2021 marks, although he’s also seen a dip in swinging strikes.
In any event, Stroman returns to again take the ball every fifth day from skipper David Ross. He’ll be joined in the rotation by Kyle Hendricks, offseason signee Drew Smyly, Wade Miley and Justin Steele. That group looked like a concern heading into the season, and the Cubs rank among the league’s bottom ten in rotation ERA (4.45) and strikeout rate (18.5%), although they’ve been a top ten group at generating grounders (46.1%).
Mills was a significant member of the rotation last season, starting 20 of his 32 appearances. He posted a 5.07 ERA but threw strikes and induced grounders on over half the batted balls against him, setting him up as a back-of-the-rotation option. He opened the season on the injured list with a low back strain, and he’s also battled a quad issue.
Today’s transfer is largely a procedural move, as it rules Mills out for 60 days from Opening Day, not today. He can’t return to the big leagues until the first week of June, which didn’t seem likely anyways considering he’s yet to start a minor league rehab assignment. Mills recently threw a live batting practice session, however, the opening stages of a new ramp-up program.
Deadline Day Roster Moves
After what was arguably the wildest trade deadline in years with dozens of deals around the league, multiple teams made follow-up roster moves. Trades end up squeezing some players off of rosters, or creating holes that need to be filled. This post will itemize the many 40-man roster moves that teams made after a dizzying array of blockbuster deals earlier in the day.
AL East
- The Orioles claimed Ryan Hartman off of waivers from the Astros, according to Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com. The 27-year-old lefty was recently designated for assignment when Brooks Raley was reinstated from the COVID-IL.
- The Red Sox designated outfielder Marcus Wilson for assignment. The move was needed to accommodate the acquisition of reliever Hansel Robles from the Twins.
- The Yankees announced that they designated Ryan LaMarre for assignment. The outfielder was recently selected to help the team patch some holes during their COVID outbreak.
- The Rays designated righties Sean Poppen and Jake Reed for assignment, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. This was to create roster space after the acquisition of Jordan Luplow and DJ Johnson from earlier today.
AL Central
- Pablo Sandoval was released by the Indians. This was just hours after he was acquired in the Eddie Rosario trade. Based on his release, it’s clear that he was only included as salary offset.
- The Tigers selected the contract of reliever Ian Krol. The left-hander is back after being designated for assignment earlier in the week.
AL West
- The Mariners outrighted Vinny Nittoli to Triple-A. The righty recently had his contract selected, throwing one inning before being designated for assignment.
- The Rangers announced they were selecting the contracts of right-handers Jharel Cotton and Drew Anderson. Both hurlers signed minor league deals over the winter.
NL East
- The Marlins selected the contracts of outfielders Bryan De La Cruz and Brian Miller. Both players are now in line to make their major league debuts. Miami designated infielder Deven Marrero and outfielder Corey Bird for assignment to create roster space.
- As expected, the Mets officially reinstated starter Carlos Carrasco from the 60-day injured list. The righty made his team debut this evening against the Reds.
- The Phillies designated reliever Brandon Kintzler for assignment and transferred outfielder Matt Joyce to the 60-day injured list. The moves were necessary to create roster space to accommodate Philadelphia’s three deadline acquisitions.
- The Nationals selected the contracts of Gabe Klobosits and Adrian Sanchez, according to Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post. Klobosits, a right-handed pitcher, is a 36th round draft pick from 2017. He has no major league experience. Sanchez had a couple of cups of coffee with Washington from 2017-2019 before being outrighted in 2020 and then re-signing on a minor league deal.
NL Central
- The Cubs selected the contracts of RHP Michael Rucker and utilityman Andrew Romine, according to Jesse Rogers of ESPN. Rucker was picked up by the Orioles in the Rule 5 draft in 2019 but returned to the Cubs before the season started and has yet to make his major league debut. As for Romine, the 35-year-old utility man was signed by the Cubs to a minor league deal earlier this year. The Cubs also selected the contract of righty Jake Jewell prior to yesterday’s game.
- The Brewers announced that they designated RHP Patrick Weigel for assignment. Weigel was acquired as part of the Orlando Arcia trade with Atlanta back in April.
NL West
- The Diamondbacks claimed outfielder Jake Hager off waivers from the Mariners. This will be Hager’s fourth club on the season, having been previously designated for assignment by the Mets, Brewers and Mariners. Arizona also selected the contracts of infielder Drew Ellis and left-hander Miguel Aguilar.
- The Dodgers announced that they claimed catcher Chad Wallach off waivers from the Marlins. Wallach was recently designated for assignment when Brian Anderson was reinstated from the IL.