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Players Avoiding Arbitration: 11/18/22

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The deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players is tonight at 7:00pm Central. There will be a frenzy of non-tenders and trades today, but also some signings.

For many players, there’s little pressure to agree to terms this week. The deadline for exchanging figures isn’t until January 13, with the hearings taking place in March. However, players that are borderline non-tender candidates might get a low-ball offer at this time, with the team hoping that the looming possibility of a non-tender compels the player to accept. As such, deals at this part of the baseball calendar have a higher likelihood of coming in under projections.

One new wrinkle from the new collective bargaining agreement is that all of these deals will be guaranteed. Previously, teams could cut a player during Spring Training and only pay a portion of the agreed-upon figure. However, the new CBA stipulates that any player who settles on a salary without going to a hearing will be subject to full termination pay, even if released prior to the beginning of the season.

MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected salaries for each team’s arbitration-eligible players last month but, as mentioned, it’s not uncommon for the deals agreed to at this time to come in below projections. This post may be updated later as more agreements come in…

Latest

  • The Tigers announced agreement on a deal with outfielder Austin Meadows. Financial terms are undisclosed. Meadows was projected for a $4MM salary. He’s coming off an injury-plagued first season in Detroit but is arbitration eligible twice more. [UPDATE: Meadows signed for $4.3MM, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.]
  • The Braves avoided arbitration with Mike Soroka on a $2.8MM contract, the club announced. It’s the same salary he’s made in each of the past two seasons, which is typical for an arbitration-eligible player who didn’t see any MLB action but was nevertheless tendered a contract. Soroka hasn’t pitched since 2020 on account of a pair of Achilles ruptures and some late-season elbow soreness, but he’s expected to compete for a rotation spot in Spring Training. He’s arbitration eligible once more next winter.

Earlier Deals

  • The Pirates and infielder/outfielder Miguel Andujar agreed at $1.525MM, per Murray. Andujar was claimed off waivers from the Yankees in September.
  • The Padres announced that they have agreed to a one-year contract with left-hander Jose Castillo. The terms have not been disclosed.
  • The Diamondbacks announced they’ve agreed to a deal with reliever Cole Sulser. Financial terms haven’t been disclosed, but Sulser has been projected at $1MM. Arizona recently claimed him off waivers from the Marlins.
  • The Cubs and right-hander Adrian Sampson agreed to a $1.9MM salary, while fellow right-hander Rowan Wick will take home a $1.55MM salary in 2023, according to Jordan Bastion of MLB.com. Sampson broke out in 2022, finishing with a 3.11 ERA across 104 1/3 innings. Wick tossed 64 innings of relief, finishing up with a 4.22 ERA.
  • The Yankees and right-hander Lou Trivino agreed to a salary of $4.1MM, per Feinsand. Trivino had been a solid reliever for Oakland over the past couple of years but struggled to a 6.47 ERA with them in 2022. He was dealt to the Yankees and then righted the ship with a 1.66 ERA the rest of the way.
  • The Rockies and Brent Suter avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $3MM salary, per Murray. Suter was claimed off waivers from the Brewers earlier today.
  • The Brewers and righty Matt Bush have agreed at $1.85MM, per Murray. Bush came over from the Rangers in a deadline deal. He posted a 2.95 ERA prior to the deal and a 4.30 after.
  • The Marlins and Dylan Floro are in agreement on a contract for 2023, reports Craig Mish of the Miami Herald. He’ll make $3.9MM, Mish reports. Floro tossed 53 2/3 innings in 2022 with a 3.02 ERA.
  • The Brewers and right-hander Adrian Houser agreed on a $3.6MM salary, per Robert Murray of FanSided. The ground ball specialist saw his ERA jump from 3.22 in 2021 to 4.73 this year as his ground ball rate dropped from 59% to 46.7%. He’s likely the club’s sixth starter going into the winter and could jump into the rotation if someone gets injured.
  • The Phillies and right-hander Sam Coonrod have agreed on a salary of $775K, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. He posted a 4.04 ERA in 2021 but was limited to just 12 2/3 innings this year due to a shoulder strain.
  • The Tigers and left-hander Tyler Alexander agreed on a salary of $1.875MM, per Murray. Alexander got into 27 games in 2022, 17 of those being starts. His 4.81 ERA was certainly on the high side, but he had a 3.81 in 2021.
  • The Yankees and shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $6M salary. You can read more about that here.
  • The Braves and left-hander Tyler Matzek avoided arbitration by agreeing to a two-year deal. You can read more about that here.
  • The Giants and outfielder Mike Yastrzemski avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $6.1MM deal, per Jeff Passan of ESPN. He first qualified for arbitration a year ago as a Super Two player and earned $3.7MM in 2022. He took a step back at the plate this year with a line of .214/.305/.392 but still provided value with his glovework.

Pirates Designate Michael Chavis, Greg Allen For Assignment

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The Pirates have announced a handful of roster moves prior to tonight’s game, with infielder/outfielder Miguel Andujar, who was claimed off waivers from the Yankees yesterday, reporting to the team to take his place on the active roster. Additionally, catcher Jose Godoy has had his contract selected. In corresponding moves, infielder Michael Chavis and outfielder Greg Allen have been designated for assignment.

Chavis, 27, was drafted by the Red Sox and spent the first few years of his MLB career there as a highly-touted prospect, cracking Baseball America’s top 100 in 2018. After a tepid showing in his first tastes of the majors, he came to Pittsburgh in a July 2021 trade that sent Austin Davis the other way. Chavis’s tenure in Pittsburgh got off to a good start as he hit .357/.357/.500 after the trade last year, though an elbow strain limited him to just 12 games. He’s had a much larger sample here in 2022, making 426 plate appearances over 129 games, but hasn’t been able to do much with it. Despite launching 14 long balls on the year, he’s struck out in 29.6% of his plate appearances while walking in only 4.5% of them. On the whole, his batting line for the year is .229/.265/.389, production that’s 21% below league average according to wRC+.

Despite that lackluster output at the plate, Chavis has at least provided defensive versatility, spending time at first, second and third base this year. He passed three years of MLB service time this year and was going to be eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason. It seems the Bucs weren’t planning on keeping him around with a higher salary next year and have effectively given him an early non-tender. With the trade deadline long gone, the Bucs will have no options except to put Chavis on outright waivers or release waivers. If any team believed Chavis could take his bat to another level, they could put in a claim. As mentioned, Chavis would be due an arbitration raise for next year if he finds another roster spot, though he also has an option year remaining.

Allen, 29, is in his sixth MLB season, having donned a few jerseys in that time. He began his career with Cleveland before bouncing to the Padres and Yankees. The Pirates claimed him off waivers from the Yanks in November but placed Allen on the 60-day injured list on Opening Day with a left hamstring injury. He was activated in July but has hit just .186/.260/.271 in 46 games since, striking out in 31.3% of his plate appearances. Like Chavis, he crossed three years of MLB service time this year and was headed into the arbitration process for the first time. He’ll be placed on waivers in the coming days to see if any team is intrigued enough to give him a roster spot and pay bump. Despite the poor showing at the plate this year, he stole eight bases and provided above-average outfield defense. Neither player would be eligible for postseason play with a new club, as players must be in a team’s system prior to September 1 in order to qualify.

Godoy, 27, began the year with the Mariners before going to the Giants, Twins and Pirates on a series of waiver claims. He’s a well-regarded defender behind the plate but hasn’t shown much with the bat at the major league level. His career batting line is .128/.212/.149, though in a small sample of just 52 plate appearances. The Bucs have been using Jason Delay as their primary catcher with Zack Collins as the backup, though Collins has also been spending some time at first base. Godoy’s promotion will give them a more traditional backup catcher for the final stretch of the schedule.

Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported the moves before the official announcement.

Pirates Claim Miguel Andujar Off Waivers From Yankees

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The Pirates claimed Miguel Andujar off waivers, as announced by the Yankees via Twitter.  New York designated Andujar for assignment earlier this week.

The move officially ends Andujar’s 11-year tenure in the Yankees organization, the last few of which have been marked by trade rumors and a sense that the Yankees had moved on from Andujar as an important piece of their present and future lineups.  An injury-marred 2019 season for Andujar opened the door for Gio Urshela to take over at third base, and Andujar never again received any consistent big league playing time.

Heading into that 2019 season, Andujar looked like the latest of the “Baby Bombers” to make an immediate impact in New York’s lineup.  Andujar hit .297/.328/.527 with 27 home runs over 606 plate appearances in 2018, finishing second (behind Shohei Ohtani) in AL Rookie Of the Year balloting.  Though there was already some question as to whether or not Andujar’s defensive shortcomings would eventually force a move from third base, there seemed little question that his bat could play in the majors.

Since that breakout rookie year, Andujar has played only 105 MLB games over the 2019-22 seasons.  A torn right labrum sidelined him for all but 12 games in 2019, and though the Yankees experimented with using Andujar as a first baseman and left fielder, he still couldn’t find his way back to a regular spot in the lineup.  With Andujar out of favor, the Yankees explored trades and Andujar even renewed his request for a trade earlier this season, but the end result was New York getting no return, as Andujar departed on waivers.

Andujar is still only 27 years old and has two years of arbitration control remaining, and so for the rebuilding Pirates, there isn’t much risk in taking a look at him as a possible piece for 2023.  With only a .229/.250/.281 slash line over 100 PA for New York this season, Andujar has remained potent at the Triple-A level, hitting .285/.330/.487 with 13 homers over 297 PA with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

It remains to be seen whether or not Andujar can become more than a “Quad-A” type of player, but a change of scenery seemed long overdue.  He’ll now join Robert Stephenson, Michael Chavis, Zack Collins, and other former top prospects or highly-touted minor leaguers who are looking for fresh starts in Pittsburgh, as the Bucs continue to look for some late bloomers to add their collection of in-house prospects.  Looking ahead to 2023, Andujar could be a factor at first base, as Chavis has posted subpar offensive numbers.

Yankees Designate Miguel Andujar For Assignment

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The Yankees announced they’ve designated Miguel Andújar for assignment. The move clears a spot on the 40-man roster for Zack Britton, who has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. To open a spot for Britton on the active roster, New York placed southpaw Wandy Peralta on the 15-day IL, retroactive to September 19, with thoracic spine tightness.

Andújar’s designation is likely to bring an end to his time as a Yankee. Signed as an amateur free agent back in 2011, he developed into one of the organization’s better prospects a few years later. Andújar hit well on his way up the minor league ladder, earning a cup of coffee late in the 2017 season. The right-handed hitter was widely regarded among the sport’s top prospects heading into 2018, and he very quickly seized the job as New York’s primary third baseman.

During his age-23 rookie season, Andújar hit .297/.328/.527 through 606 plate appearances. He connected on 27 home runs and 47 doubles, tying for third in the majors in the latter category. It wasn’t a flawless season — he didn’t walk much and his defensive marks were subpar — but it was an unquestionably impressive effort that looked as if it’d cement him in the middle of the Yankees order for years to come. He picked up a second place finish in that year’s American League Rookie of the Year balloting, collecting the five first-place votes that didn’t go to Shohei Ohtani.

Impressive as that debut season was, Andújar hasn’t gotten an extended chance to build upon it in the four years since then. That’s in large part due to injury, as he suffered a labrum tear in his right shoulder early in the 2019 campaign. He played in only 12 games before undergoing season-ending surgery. By the time he returned to health for 2020, Gio Urshela had broken out and staked a claim to the hot corner in the Bronx. Andújar was relegated to a depth role, bouncing between Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and New York as needed but never appearing in more than 45 games in a season.

Andújar hasn’t done much in those brief stints to warrant more regular playing time. Dating back to the start of the 2020 campaign, he owns just a .244/.272/.346 line with eight homers in 327 trips to the plate. That’s obviously not sufficient for a bat-first player, but it’s fair to wonder whether he’d have been able to perform better if the Yankees had more consistent at-bats to give him. Instead, he’s been caught in something of a catch-22 for three seasons: never playing well enough to earn everyday reps on a win-now team and thus not having a window of opportunity to get back on track.

The constant shuffling on and off the roster made Andújar a frequent subject of trade speculation, and the 27-year-old has reportedly requested to be traded on multiple occasions in search of a new opportunity. While the Yankees were open to offers at this summer’s deadline (and quite likely at periods before this August), they didn’t find a deal to their liking. Instead, they’ve kept Andújar around as a depth player while getting him some more experience in the corner outfield in addition to his infield work.

The lack of apparent playing time available has become so glaring the Yankees now decide to take him off the roster entirely. With the trade deadline having passed, they’ll have no choice but to place him on waivers in the next few days. It appears likely another team will put in a claim. Not only has Andújar had some MLB success a few years back, he owns a solid .285/.330/.487 line with 13 longballs in 297 Triple-A plate appearances this season. He’s only gone down on strikes in 11.8% of those trips, showcasing the blend of contact and power that once made him such a promising offensive player.

Andújar is making $1.3MM this season, but less than $100K of that remains to be paid out. He’s likely to finish this season with four-plus years of MLB service, meaning he’ll be eligible for arbitration twice more after this year. This is Andújar’s final minor league option year, so he’d have to break camp with another team next season or again be designated for assignment.

As for the other players involved, it’s a notable return for Britton. The veteran southpaw hasn’t thrown an MLB pitch this season after undergoing UCL replacement surgery last September. That brought a disheartening end to what had already been a rough season, as Britton posted just a 5.89 ERA over 18 1/3 innings while battling multiple injuries in 2021. He has made eight appearances on a minor league rehab stint and now returns to the active roster with a little less than two weeks to try to earn a playoff roster spot.

Britton is making $14MM this season, the final year of a contract he signed in January 2019. The 34-year-old is headed back to free agency at the end of the season. He won’t approach that kind of salary on his next deal, but a strong showing down the stretch and into the playoffs could earn him a few million dollars on the open market.

With Britton stepping in as a left-handed option for manager Aaron Boone, Peralta heads to the shelf. He’s had a quietly excellent 2022 campaign, working to a 2.72 ERA over 56 1/3 frames while holding southpaws to a meager .155/.211/.211 line in 77 plate appearances. He’d be a nice situational weapon for the postseason, and Boone told reporters this afternoon the club anticipates he’ll be back before the end of the regular season (via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com).

Yankees Designate Luke Bard For Assignment

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11:43AM: The Yankees have made their host of moves official, including Rizzo’s IL placement, Bard’s DFA, and Guzman’s selection to the active roster.  In addition, third baseman Josh Donaldson was placed on the paternity list, right-hander Deivi Garcia was called up from Triple-A, and Miguel Andujar was called up as the 29th man for today’s doubleheader.

8:02AM: The Yankees have designated right-hander Luke Bard for assignment, as first indicated on the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. Presumably, his 40-man spot will go to first baseman Ronald Guzman, who was in the clubhouse yesterday and is set to be selected to the big league roster to fill the spot of the injured Anthony Rizzo. However, the Yankees have yet to formally announce the move, so it remains to be seen whether there are additional transactions on the horizon.

Bard, 31, was a waiver claim out of the Rays organization a month ago but has appeared in just one game with the Yankees (during which he tossed a shutout inning). He’s spent the rest of his stint with the organization in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he’s yielded four earned runs on nine hits and four walks with eight punchouts in eight innings of work.

Overall, Bard carries a 1.80 ERA in 15 big league frames and a 4.78 mark in 32 Triple-A innings. The 2022 season as marked Bard’s first game action since 2020, as he missed the entire 2021 campaign while rehabbing from April hip surgery — an injury that ultimately ended a four-year stint in the Angels organization.

Bard has now appeared in parts of four minor league seasons and between the Halos, Rays and Yankees, recording a 4.44 ERA in 81 innings. This year’s 94.1 mph average on his fastball is right in line with previous seasons, as is his top-of-the-charts spin rate on the pitch; Bard led the Majors in four-seam spin in 2018-19 and is in the 99th percentile this season. That trait alone obviously isn’t going to lead to instant success, but it’s been appealing enough to keep Bard on 40-man rosters for the bulk of the past several years.

At this point in the season, the Yankees won’t have any choices with Bard other than to place him on outright waivers or release waivers. Either way, he’ll be made available to the 29 other clubs. He’s been outrighted once in the past, when he cleared waivers last October while still on the mend from that hip procedure. As such, even if he goes unclaimed on waivers, he’d have the ability to reject an outright assignment to Scranton in favor of free agency.

Yankees Place Clay Holmes On 15-Day Injured List

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The Yankees have placed closer Clay Holmes on the 15-day injured list due to back spasms, as one of a series of transactions.  Miguel Andujar and Tim Locastro were optioned to Triple-A, while Ron Marinaccio, Estevan Florial, and Oswaldo Cabrera were all called up from Triple-A.  (Florial and Cabrera’s promotions were reported earlier today.)

Holmes’ placement is retroactive to August 14, and he hasn’t pitched since August 12.  There was increasing expectation that Holmes would need an IL trip to fully recuperate from his back problem, though New York manager Aaron Boone told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand and other reporters that the team is hopeful Holmes only misses the 15-day minimum.

Since being acquired from the Pirates prior to the 2021 trade deadline, Holmes has been outstanding in the pinstripes, posting a 2.10 ERA over his 77 innings in New York.  This outstanding performance elevated Holmes to the closer’s job when Aroldis Chapman went on the IL himself earlier this season, and with Chapman struggling even before he got injured, the Yankees kept Holmes as the top ninth-inning choice even after Chapman’s return.

However, just as the Yankees have looked shaky over the last five weeks of play, Holmes has also come back to earth after his incredible start.  The righty has a 9.00 ERA over his last 12 games and 11 innings pitched, and he has blown four of his last five save chances.  As a result, it now appears quite possible that Chapman (who has pitched better since his return from the IL) will reclaim the closer’s job in Holmes’ absence, and perhaps for the remainder of the season.  The Yankees could also essentially use both pitchers as closers or set-up men depending on the situation, rather than have a strict order to their late-game plans.

Yankees Shopping Miguel Andujar

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Miguel Andujar’s journey from American League Rookie of the Year runner-up to organizational depth in the Bronx has been well-chronicled by now, and the it’s long seemed possible he could find himself with a clean slate and fresh opportunity before next Tuesday’s trade deadline. Jon Heyman of the New York Post writes in his latest notes column that the Yankees are “trying to deal” Andujar, who first requested a trade in early June.

Still just 27 years old, Andujar finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting with a .297/.328/.527 batting line and 27 home runs back in 2018. A shoulder injury ruined his 2019 season, however, and a series of other Yankees acquisitions and/or breakouts (e.g. DJ LeMahieu, Gio Urshela, Josh Donaldson, Joey Gallo) have combined to limit Andujar’s opportunities in the Majors since that time. He’s worked to improve his defensive versatility, learning left field and first base in addition to his customary slot at the hot corner, but it still hasn’t resulted in much in the way of big league playing time.

Since returning from that 2019 shoulder surgery, Andujar has received just 279 plate appearances with the Yankees. In the team’s defense, he hasn’t hit well at all in that time, slashing just .249/.280/.358. Then again, the playing time has been sporadic, with Andujar always keenly aware that he could be optioned at any time. The Yankees have optioned Andujar to Triple-A Scranton a whopping nine times since Opening Day 2020, and even during his stints with the big league club, he hasn’t been a regular in the lineup.

There’s no denying that Andujar hasn’t forced the team’s hand, and with stronger big league production he’d likely have found his way back into the fold. We often hear about hitters struggling through inconsistent usage, though, and at least based on his Triple-A output, there’s a case to be made that Andujar’s big league struggles can be at least partially attributed to his lack of a role. The competition in Triple-A is obviously far weaker, but Andujar has nonetheless slashed .304/.355/.516 with 15 home runs, 13 doubles, five stolen bases (in five tries) and just an 11.4% strikeout rate through his past 299 Triple-A plate appearances (2020-21). Despite that production, the Yankees have given him 52 big league plate appearances this season.

Trading Andujar is something of a tricky notion for a few reasons. The Yankees clearly value him as a depth option and don’t simply want to give him away for nothing of value in return. At the same time, his stock isn’t exactly at a high point, given the lack of recent MLB production. A contending club isn’t likely to surrender a prospect pf any note and plug Andujar right into the lineup at third base as they push for a postseason berth. Similarly, a club in the midst of a pure rebuild (the Nationals, for instance) may not relish the idea of surrendering long-term value in order to acquire a player who’s only controlled another two years beyond the current season.

Regardless of the specific fit, a deal involving Andujar seems likely to come together either in the next few days or over the winter. He’s in his final minor league option season, meaning the Yankees will need to carry him on the Major League roster next year or else place him on waivers before being sent down to Triple-A, and he’d surely be claimed by another club at that point. The Andujar dilemma has been ongoing in the Bronx for what seems like forever, but perhaps it’s finally headed toward a resolution.

Miguel Andujar Asks To Be Traded From Yankees

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Miguel Andujar told Yankees manager Aaron Boone yesterday that he wishes to be traded, Z101 Digital’s Hector Gomez reports (Twitter link).  Andujar was optioned to Triple-A after last night’s game, as the Yankees needed to open a roster spot for Giancarlo Stanton’s activation from the 10-day injured list today.

As per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, this isn’t the first time Andujar has asked to be dealt, as the infielder/outfielder has gone from future cornerstone to a seeming afterthought on New York’s roster.  After finishing second in AL Rookie Of The Year voting in 2018, Andujar has played in only 90 Major League games since the start of the 2019 season.  Injuries have been a factor in this lack of playing time, as Andujar missed most of the 2019 season due to shoulder surgery and also missed a notable chunk of the 2021 campaign due to wrist problems.

With Andujar missing so much time, the Yankees simply moved on to other players — most notably Gio Urshela, who enjoyed a big breakout season when replacing Andujar at third base in 2019.  Andujar wasn’t necessarily seen as a long-term defensive fit at third base anyway, but a shift to mostly outfield and first base work over the last couple of the years also hasn’t created a clearer path to a regular lineup spot.

When not on the IL, Andujar has been shuttled back and forth from Triple-A and the majors.  He is still consistently producing at the Triple-A level, which could give other teams some indication that the 27-year-old Andujar can bounce back in a new environment and with steadier playing time at the big league level.  It isn’t surprising that Andujar has become frustrated over his situation, but between his injuries and his .234/.260/.329 slash line over 319 PA from 2019-22, Andujar’s trade value isn’t exactly high.

Andujar has been mentioned in trade rumors in the past for a few years now, and Newsday’s Erik Boland reported just last March that the Yankees were again shopping Andujar to other teams.  While Yankees GM Brian Cashman was undoubtedly not open to buy-low offers in 2019 or 2020, however, Andujar’s stock simply hasn’t rebounded to the point where New York could still score a big return in a deal.

It’s possible Cashman could look to move Andujar for another post-hype prospect type or reclamation project, or perhaps include Andujar as part of a larger trade package.  Of course, the Yankees are also under no obligation to actually trade Andujar, as he is under team control through the 2024 season.  Andujar is earning $1.3MM in 2022, in his first year of arbitration eligibility.

Yankees Reinstate Giancarlo Stanton

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The Yankees have reinstated slugger Giancarlo Stanton from the 10-day injured list, per the team. He is back on the active roster batting cleanup as the designated hitter.

New York weathered the loss of Stanton just fine, having gone 7-2 in his absence. Stanton spent the minimum amount of time away, missing only nine games. Prior to his placement on the injured list, Stanton was hitting .285/.339/.523 in 168 plate appearances with 11 long balls.

The corresponding roster moves were made yesterday after last night’s ballgame. Miguel Andujar was optioned to Triple-A. Andujar appeared in 12 games, slashing .268/.279/.317 through 43 plate appearances while mostly playing left field.

Tim Locastro also completed his rehab assignment. He was reinstated and optioned to Triple-A as well. The speedy Locastro is largely a reserve option for the Yankees. His ability to play all three outfield positions provides some value as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement.

Yankees Notes: Donaldson, Andujar, Chapman, Sears

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The Yankees announced Monday that third baseman Josh Donaldson has been placed on the Covid-19-related injured list. Miguel Andujar has been recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre as a substitute player in his place. Donaldson hasn’t yet tested positive but reported symptoms to the team. He, Joey Gallo and Kyle Higashioka (all on the Covid list) are “more than just not feeling well,” says manager Aaron Boone (Twitter link via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). “They feel sick. … They’re not available to play.”

That, however, isn’t the Donaldson news that’s the primary topic of conversation today. Major League Baseball announced that Donaldson has received a one-game suspension after making a quip to Yankees shortstop Tim Anderson wherein Donaldson called him “Jackie.” Anderson, White Sox skipper Tony La Russa and several of Anderson’s teammates were quick to call the comment racist, while Donaldson after the game sought to play it off as an inside joke through which he meant no harm. Donaldson plans to appeal the suspension, according to the league.

White Sox closer Liam Hendriks didn’t mince words when asked how the Sox clubhouse felt about Donaldson’s explanation, calling it “bullshit” and telling reporters (video link via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times): “Usually you have inside jokes with people you get along with, not people that don’t get along at all.”

Fellow reliever Joe Kelly, who was doing a radio appearance with the Parker & Spiegel Show on 670 The Score at the time the suspension broke, expressed disbelief. “One game?” Kelly asked rhetorically. “I got eight games for making a silly face at Carlos Correa.”

Major League Baseball’s statement on the matter was as follows:

“MLB has completed the process of speaking to the individuals involved in this incident. There is no dispute over what was said on the field. Regardless of Mr. Donaldson’s intent, the comment he directed toward Mr. Anderson was disrespectful and in poor judgment, particularly when viewed in the context of their prior interactions. In addition, Mr. Donaldson’s remark was a contributing factor in a bench-clearing incident between the teams, and warrants discipline.”

In other Yankees-related news on the day, Boone said that an MRI on closer Aroldis Chapman’s ailing Achilles tendon came back clean (Twitter link via Lindsey Adler of The Athletic). A trip to the injured list, however, remains a possibility for Chapman. The team is still weighing its options. The 34-year-old Chapman’s velocity, strikeout rate and walk rate have all gone the wrong direction this year. After opening the season with a dozen scoreless outings, Chapman has yielded at least one in each of his past five appearances, causing his ERA to jump to 3.86.

Meanwhile, it seems as though lefty JP Sears will make the first start of his Major League career tomorrow. Boone further divulged that the 26-year-old, who tossed a pair of scoreless relief innings in the Majors and has a 0.83 ERA and 30-to-2 K/BB ratio in 24 1/3 Triple-A frames this season, will make a spot start during tomorrow’s doubleheader (Twitter link via Hoch).

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