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Looking Ahead To Club Options: NL East

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MLBTR continues our division by division look at next year’s team/mutual option class with the NL East. Only three teams in the division have such options, though Atlanta’s group of decisions involve some of the more notable players in the class.

Previous installments: player options/opt-outs, NL West, AL West, NL Central, AL Central

Atlanta Braves

This is the final guaranteed season of the $35MM extension which Albies signed early in 2019. The deal was widely considered a massively team-friendly contract the day it happened, and that has proven to be the case. Albies has made a pair of All-Star teams, won two Silver Slugger Awards, and twice found his name on MVP ballots over the course of the deal.

There’s no intrigue to this one. The Braves will exercise the option, which ends up being a $3MM investment after factoring in the $4MM buyout. There will be another $7MM club option (with no buyout) for 2027 that will probably be a similarly easy call. Albies’ offense has declined over the past two seasons, as he’s hitting just .246/.300/.398 in 553 plate appearances since the start of 2024. The $3MM difference between the option price and the buyout is low-end utility player money, though. Even if the Braves start to question whether Albies remains the answer at second base, there’d be surplus trade value.

Atlanta signed Arcia to a three-year, $7.3MM extension on the eve of the 2023 season. It looked like an odd move at the time, an unnecessary multi-year commitment for a likely utility infielder. Then Arcia broke out with an All-Star season while replacing Dansby Swanson as Atlanta’s everyday shortstop. The contract looked like a major coup for the front office.

Things have swung back in the opposite direction over the past year-plus. Arcia’s bat cratered last year, as he turned in a .218/.271/.354 line over 602 plate appearances. While the Braves stuck with him as their starting shortstop, he’s lost that role with a dismal start to the ’25 season. Arcia has hit .200 with eight strikeouts, one walk, and one extra-base hit (a double) through 31 trips. Nick Allen jumped him on the depth chart and has started the past five games. Arcia wouldn’t need to do much to convince the Braves to exercise an option that amounts to a $1MM decision, but he’s no longer a lock to even stick on the roster all season.

Johnson dominated over 24 appearances after being acquired from the Rockies at the 2023 deadline. The righty would have been one of the better setup men in the following free agent class, but the Braves signed him to a two-year extension with a $14.25MM guarantee to keep him off the market. He has made consecutive $7MM salaries and has a matching club option with a $250K buyout for next season.

It has worked out nicely. Johnson fired 56 1/3 innings of 3.67 ERA ball with a strong 28.4% strikeout rate last year. He has punched out 10 while allowing four runs through 9 1/3 frames to begin this season. His whiffs are slightly down, while opponents are making more hard contact than they did a season ago. Those are worth monitoring, but Johnson’s overall body of work in Atlanta consists of a 2.89 earned run average with 109 strikeouts over 89 1/3 innings. As of now, a $6.75MM price point seems like solid value.

Sale’s first season in Atlanta was brilliant. He posted an MLB-best 2.38 ERA while leading the National League with 225 strikeouts. He won his first career Cy Young award after finishing in the top six on seven occasions earlier in his career. He reestablished himself as an ace following some injury-plagued years. The trade in which he was acquired from the Red Sox for struggling second baseman Vaughn Grissom has been a steal.

The left-hander’s uneven start to 2025 has contributed to the Braves’ mediocre April. Sale has allowed 5.40 earned runs per nine through his first six outings. They’ve gone 3-3 in those contests. It’s largely the product of an inflated .400 batting average on balls in play against him. Sale’s 27.3% strikeout rate is down nearly five percentage points relative to last season, but it remains a well above-average mark for a starting pitcher. He’s getting whiffs on 12.9% of his offerings. His slider has been as lethal as ever. Opponents have feasted on his fastball so far, but there’s no dramatic change in velocity or spin. While the poor start has probably tanked his chance of repeating as the Cy Young winner, the $18MM option still seems like an easy “yes” for the front office.

Miami Marlins

  • None

New York Mets

Over the weekend, Raley reportedly agreed to terms with the Mets on a one-year deal with a club option. The signing has not been finalized, nor has the money been reported. Raley is working back from last May’s Tommy John surgery.

The Mets also re-signed Smith on a one-year deal with an option after TJS — a July operation, in his case. He’s making $1MM for what will probably be a completely lost season. The Mets get an affordable $2MM option for next season that they’re likely to exercise so long as Smith doesn’t suffer a setback. If they do pick it up, he could earn another $750K based on his appearance total next season. Smith would make $50K apiece at 30, 35, and 40 appearances; $75K for 45 and 50 games; $100K at 55 and 60 appearances; and $125K each for 65 and 70 games. He owns a 3.48 ERA over parts of six seasons as a quality middle reliever for New York.

Philadelphia Phillies

Alvarado signed for two years and $18.55MM in new money on a deal covering the 2024-25 seasons. He has made $9MM salaries in each of the past two years and has a matching option with a $500K buyout. That’s a little below the market rate for high-leverage relievers, which Alvarado has proven himself to be.

Over parts of five seasons with the Phils, the lefty carries a 3.34 earned run average. Bouts of wildness have led to some inconsistency, but he’s shown the ability to miss bats at plus rates while throwing as hard as any left-hander in the sport. Alvarado’s 24.4% strikeout rate last season was oddly pedestrian, but he’s fanned nearly 30% of batters faced in his career.

He has been back at peak form to begin this season. He has punched out 18 of 56 hitters (32.1%) while allowing only three runs through 13 2/3 innings. Alvarado has collected five saves and a pair of holds without blowing a lead, and he’s operating with career-best control (3.6% walk rate). It’s tough to envision him continuing to throw this many strikes — he walked more than 10% of opponents in seven consecutive years leading up to this one — but he’s the Phils’ most trusted reliever right now. This is tending towards an easy pickup.

Shortly before Opening Day last year, Strahm preemptively signed a one-year extension covering the 2025 season. The lefty is making $7.5MM this year and has a club/vesting option for next season. It begins as a $4.5MM team option. The price would jump by $1MM apiece if he reaches 40, 50 and 60 innings pitched this year. If he hits 60 innings and passes a postseason physical, it vests at $7.5MM. It’s a straight vesting option, not one with an opt-out, so Strahm would return on a guaranteed deal if it triggers.

That’s a result with which the Phillies would probably be happy. Strahm turned in an excellent ’24 campaign, working to a 1.87 ERA while striking out a third of opposing hitters over 66 appearances. He has fanned 15 through his first 11 2/3 frames this year. Strahm has surrendered five runs, four earned, on 11 hits and four walks. His 91.8 MPH average four-seam fastball is down from last season’s 93.4 mark, which is a little alarming, but the results have been solid and he remains one of the more reliable setup options for skipper Rob Thomson.

Washington Nationals

  • None

Braves Activate Ozzie Albies

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September 20: Atlanta has officially announced the reinstatement of Albies. Infielder Cavan Biggio was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett in a corresponding move. Biggio has more than five years of major league service time and therefore can’t be optioned to the minors without his consent, so he presumably has agreed to be sent down.

September 19: The Braves will welcome Ozzie Albies back tomorrow. Manager Brian Snitker confirmed after today’s 15-3 drubbing of the Reds that Atlanta will activate Albies from the 10-day injured list (link via Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). They’ve been without their star second baseman for almost two months because of a left wrist fracture. The Braves will need to create an active roster spot tomorrow.

Albies still feels discomfort when he hits from the left side. He’ll limit himself to the right-handed batter’s box as a result. That’s his far stronger side in general. Albies is a career .339/.364/.568 hitter against left-handed pitching. He has a roughly average .247/.309/.437 slash versus righties. His task as a right-handed batter will be more difficult without always having the platoon advantage (to say nothing of the challenge of jumping back to action after an eight-week absence). Still, if Albies had to choose a side of the plate, he’d certainly pick this one.

It’s crunch time for Atlanta. The Braves are 1.5 games behind the Diamondbacks and Mets for the final playoff spot in the National League (pending Arizona’s and New York’s results tonight). Atlanta holds the tiebreaker over Arizona. They’ve split the season series with the Mets and will decide that tiebreaker with a three-game set at home early next week. That looks as if it’ll be the biggest regular season series of the year for any team.

Atlanta is headed to Miami for a three-game weekend set. They’re off on Monday before closing their season with the Mets and three games against the Royals (who might be fighting for their own playoff lives) at home. The Mets are hosting the Phillies for four this weekend before closing their season with road sets in Atlanta and Milwaukee. Arizona has a four-game series in Milwaukee and will play host to the Giants and Padres for three apiece next week.

The Braves have had a middle-of-the-pack offense for the past couple months. They’re 13th in scoring since the Albies injury, with similarly middling showings in on-base percentage (16th) and slugging (12th). Atlanta second basemen are hitting .220/.319/.296 across 216 plate appearances in that stretch. That’s weighed down by dreadful small-sample performances from Luke Williams and prospect Nacho Alvarez Jr. The Braves have given most of the second base reps to Whit Merrifield, who has reached base at a strong .344 clip but hasn’t provided any kind of power since signing with Atlanta.

Merrifield has plenty of experience bouncing around the diamond. If Snitker wanted to keep him in the lineup, he’d probably kick him to third base and bench Gio Urshela. The veteran corner infielder is hitting .234/.258/.340 over 26 games as a Brave. Urshela signed a big league deal in the wake of Austin Riley’s injury, not long after Urshela was released by the Tigers.

NL East Notes: Albies, Marte, Bohm

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11:01am: The Mets told reporters (including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com) that Marte’s x-rays came back negative, though he’s out of the lineup due to soreness for today’s game. Meanwhile, the Phillies have activated Bohm from the IL ahead of schedule and will bat him fifth in today’s lineup.

9:15am: The Braves have been without second baseman Ozzie Albies for nearly two months now due to a fractured left wrist, and since then the club has had to rely on veterans like Whit Merrifield and Cavan Biggio who were added following his injury to handle the keystone. While Merrifield has performed admirably in Albies’s absence with a .269/.374/.370 slash line with Atlanta, the club is surely anxious to return the three-time All-Star to the lineup as the Braves fight to remain in a playoff spot with just two weeks to go in the regular season.

When manager Brian Snitker and Albies himself spoke to reporters on Friday about the second baseman’s status, the update was somewhat mixed. Snitker (as relayed by David O’Brien of The Athletic) raised some alarms for Braves fans by saying he wasn’t sure if Albies would play again this year before clarifying that because Albies is still feeling discomfort in his injured wrist only when he bats from the left side, the switch-hitter would be able to return if he was willing to bat from the right side exclusively down the stretch. Per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, Albies is willing to drop switch-hitting for the time being in order to return to the lineup and hopes to be back sometime next week.

Albies, 27, has batted much better while hitting right-handed throughout his career, including this year where he’s posted a 151 wRC+ against left-handed pitching for the Braves compared to an 80 wRC+ against righties. It’s a similar but less extreme story over his career as a whole, as he’s posted a 146 wRC+ while batting right-handed and a 96 wRC+ while batting left-handed. It won’t be the first time Albies has faced right-handed pitching while as a right-handed batter in his career, although his experience in that regard has been limited to just 14 plate appearances throughout his MLB career. With that being said, that extremely small sample size has seen him find a great deal of success as he’s gone 3-for-11 with three walks and two homers in those handful of trips to the plate.

More from around the NL East…

  • The Mets suffered a bit of an injury scare last night when outfielder Starling Marte was struck by a pitch on the forearm from right-hander Jeff Hoffman in last night’s loss to Philadelphia. Marte remained in the game to run the bases and play the outfield, but manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters (as relayed by SNY) that the veteran was scheduled to undergo “precautionary” x-rays on his forearm to make sure that the 35-year-old hasn’t suffered a more serious injury. Marte has hit a decent .271/.320/.399 in 83 games with the Mets this year but has struggled a bit at the plate since returning from the IL last month, with a lackluster .241/.286/.328 slash line in 17 games since being activated. If Marte misses time, it seems likely that Jesse Winker will slide into a more regular role with the club down the stretch.
  • The Phillies have been without third baseman Alec Bohm since late August due to a strained hand, but it seems that may change in the coming days as manager Rob Thomson recently told reporters (including The Athletic’s Matt Gelb) that Bohm has “shown progress” in his recovery. He’s currently on a rehab assignment at Triple-A but could be back with the big league club as soon as Monday. The return of Bohm to the starting lineup would provide a huge boost for Philadelphia, as with Edmundo Sosa also on the IL (and, coincidentally, joining Bohm on his Triple-A rehab assignment) the big league club has had to rely on a combination of Kody Clemens, Weston Wilson, and Buddy Kennedy at the hot corner in recent weeks. 2024 has been something of a breakout season for Bohm, who has slashed a strong .290/.343/.462 in 131 games this year.

Whit Merrifield Suffers Left Foot Fracture

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The Braves’ battered infield mix took another hit last night when second baseman Whit Merrifield fouled a pitch off his foot during last night’s win over Toronto. As manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including MLB.com’s Mark Bowman) this evening, Merrifield was diagnosed with a fractured foot last night that was initially expected to keep him out of action for six to eight weeks. Fortunately, both club and player received great news when Merrifield was examined by a specialist today who told them that Merrifield was not at risk of worsening the injury by continuing to play. That’s made the issue a matter of pain tolerance, and Bowman went on to note that the Braves are hopeful the veteran will be able to return to the lineup next weekend when they face the Dodgers for a four-game set.

That’s great news for a Braves club that has been plagued by injury woes all throughout the year and is currently without both Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley as they nurse injuries of their own. Merrifield himself was brought into the fold after being released by the Phillies in order to help fill the void left by Albies when he suffered a wrist fracture back in July. He’s performed admirably as a fill-in since then, slashing a respectable .243/.359/.342 (103 wRC+) while walking at a 14.2% clip and going five for seven on the basepaths in 34 games with the Braves so far.

Once Merrifield is ready to take the field again, they’ll need him to continue acting as a stopgap option at the keystone at least for the time being. As noted by David O’Brien of The Athletic, Albies has been doing fielding drills and hitting from the right side but still feels discomfort when hitting lefty. Until that subsides, he won’t be cleared to move on to batting practice but could start a rehab assignment not long after being cleared to resume hitting. With Riley out until sometime during the postseason, Albies’s return could free Merrifield up to move to third base, where Gio Urshela’s 85 wRC+ in 15 games since taking over the club’s regular job at third base leaves something to be desired.

While Merrifield is unable to play, it seems likely that reserve infielder Luke Williams will get a look at second, though Snitker told reporters (including Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) that Eli White and Ramon Laureano could also be infield options on a stopgap basis while Merrifield’s foot is too sore for him to play. Williams is the most experienced infielder of the group but sports a career wRC+ of just 56 in the majors, including a paltry .152/.243/.212 line (33 wRC+) in 33 games this year. White has only limited experience at second base in the majors but has hit fairly well in an extremely limited sample this year with a 120 wRC+ in just 26 plate appearances.

While Williams and White being considered as stopgap options at the keystone is hardly a surprise, the fact that Laureano is also being looked at as an option to play the infield for the Braves is something of a shock. An outfielder by trade, Laureano has slashed an excellent .299/.336/.500 (130 wRC+) in 49 games since joining the Braves earlier this year but has virtually no experience on the infield, with a single inning of time at first base in the minor leagues representing all of his experience on the dirt as a pro. The 30-year-old has also become a key part of the club’s outfield mix while platooning with Jarred Kelenic in left field, further complicating the possibility. In all likelihood, the club will probably be best served using some combination of White and Williams at second over the next week while Merrifield rests up and looks to return to the position next weekend.

One possibility that wasn’t mentioned by Snitker was top prospect Nacho Alvarez Jr. The 21-year-old made his big league debut earlier this year with an eight-game cup of coffee but didn’t hit a lick in that brief stint as a big leaguer, going just 3-for-30 with ten strikeouts and no walks or extra base hits before he was sent back down to the minor leagues. Giving that lackluster performance in the big leagues and his relative lack of experience at the Triple-A level, it’s perhaps not a surprise that the club would prefer to avoid using Alvarez in the big leagues again this year as they continue to develop the youngster as their shortstop of the future.

Braves Designate Forrest Wall For Assignment

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The Braves announced Monday morning that they’ve designated outfielder Forrest Wall for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to infield prospect Nacho Alvarez Jr., whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Gwinnett to take the place of second baseman Ozzie Albies.

Albies, who suffered a fractured wrist this weekend is expected to miss up to eight weeks of action, has been placed on the 10-day IL for now. Alvarez’s promotion to the majors was first reported last night. Atlanta also formally announced its previously reported major league deal with veteran infielder/outfielder Whit Merrifield and optioned outfielder Eli White to Gwinnett. The team’s 40-man roster is now full.

Wall, 28, got into 13 games with the Braves this season and hit .241/.313/.241 in a tiny sample of 32 plate appearances. He’s seen limited action on Atlanta’s big league roster in each of the past two seasons now, due in large part to his plus speed, but he went just 3-for-6 in stolen base attempts this season (after going 5-for-6 in a similar sample of playing time a year ago).

Wall has spent the bulk of the 2024 season in Gwinnett, where he’s put together a solid .279/.380/.411 slash with a big 12.1% walk rate but also a higher-than-average 25.1% strikeout rate. He posted a comparable .280/.372/.427 line with Gwinnett in 2023.

The Braves have used Wall at all three outfield spots in the majors, though the vast majority of his time has come in left field. He has ample experience at all three positions when factoring in his minor league time, and Wall also has more than 2100 innings at second base in his minor league career (though he’s not yet played the position in the majors).

Selected by the Rockies with the No. 35 overall draft pick back in 2014, Wall is a veteran of ten minor league seasons. The past two seasons with Atlanta represent his only MLB playing time to date. The lefty-swinging Wall is a lifetime .268/.354/.387 batter in just shy of 1500 Triple-A plate appearances. He’ll still have two minor league option years remaining beyond the current season. That could make him an intriguing pickup for a postseason contender who wants to utilize his 93rd percentile sprint speed down the stretch. He’s never been outrighted in the past and is well shy of three years of service, so if the Braves succeed in passing him through waivers, they’ll be able to retain him via an outright assignment back to Gwinnett and keep him as a depth option in the outfield.

Ozzie Albies To Miss Eight Weeks With Wrist Fracture; Braves To Select Nacho Alvarez

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4:58pm: The Braves announced this afternoon that X-Rays on Albies’s wrist revealed a fracture in his left wrist. He’s expected to miss approximately eight weeks. Atlanta is “expected” to select Alvarez’s contract tomorrow to replace Albies on the roster, according to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. Bowman suggests that the youngster will play second base despite Alvarez’s lack of experience at the keystone, leaving Arcia as the club’s everyday shortstop.

4:33pm: Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies exited today’s game in the ninth inning due to a left wrist injury. As noted by David O’Brien of The Athletic, Albies’s wrist was bent backwards when he attempted to tag a runner out a second base amid a stolen base attempt. The Braves have not made an official move yet, but manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including O’Brien) after the game that Albies will be placed on the injured list and that while further evaluation necessary, the outlook on the injury is “not good.”

The loss of Albies is another devastating blow to a Braves club that has already seen both reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuna Jr. and right-handed ace Spencer Strider undergo season-ending surgery. With Albies set to join that duo as well as center fielder Michael Harris II and star lefty Max Fried on the shelf, the Braves will limp towards the trade deadline protecting a four-game lead in the NL Wild Card race without five of their biggest stars. While Chris Sale and Reynaldo Lopez have stepped up this season as front-of-the-rotation arms and Jarred Kelenic has performed admirably since being thrust into an everyday role as the club’s center fielder in place of Harris, there are no obvious solutions for replacing Albies on the club’s active roster.

Even average offensive production would be an adequate replacement for Albies at the plate, as the 27-year-old has been dealing with a bit of a down season this year. In 89 games this season, the infielder has slashed a roughly league average .255/.308/.403 across 390 trips to the plate. Even so, the club’s dearth of quality infield depth means that the Braves are likely to be scrambling for solutions in Albies’s absence, particularly if it proves to be a lengthy one as Snitker implied.

Earlier this year, infielder Zack Short was tapped to handle third base in place of an injured Austin Riley and rose to the call effectively. While he has experience at second base as well, he’s slumped badly in bench role since Riley’s return to the lineup and sports a slash line of just .077/.250/.077 since the start of June. That could lead the Braves to look toward the minor leagues. The club turned to David Fletcher in a utility role earlier this year, but he is no longer on the 40-man roster and has begun attempting to convert to pitching at the Double-A level, suggesting he’s unlikely to be called up to replace Albies. One option currently on the 40-man would be infielder Luke Williams, although his career .220/.280/.287 slash line in the majors certainly leaves something to be desired.

Perhaps the most exciting moves the Braves could make, barring a trade to improve the club’s overall infield mix, would be the promotion of top infield prospect Nacho Alvarez. Alvarez is ranked as the club’s #5 prospect by MLB Pipeline and has lit up the scoreboards in the minor leagues this year. In 75 games split between the Double- and Triple-A levels this year, the 21-year-old has slashed an eye-opening .295/.398/.420 while going 21-for-24 on the basepaths. One potential hiccup in that plan would be Alvarez’s complete lack of experience at second base, though the club could always plug him in at shortstop and shift veteran Orlando Arcia, who played 50 games for the Braves at the keystone in 2022, over to the right side of the infield alongside first baseman Matt Olson.

It’s possible that a lengthy absence for Albies could prompt the Braves to explore the infield market, particularly if the club feels Alvarez isn’t ready for his big league debut. Pieces such as Amed Rosario of the Rays and Brandon Drury of the Angels are among the veteran rentals who could be made available this summer, although the Rays have gone 6-3 over their last nine games to put themselves back into contention while Drury has suffered through an abysmal season at the plate this year. With clear needs in the starting rotation and outfield as well, it’s possible at Atlanta brass opt instead to rely on their internal options at the keystone while Albies is injured, instead working to add an outfield who can replace Acuna while taking pressure off of Kelenic and Adam Duvall, both of whom have been forced into everyday roles by injuries after starting the season as platoon partners.

Braves Activate Ozzie Albies

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The Braves announced Friday morning that they’ve reinstated Ozzie Albies from the 10-day injured list. The star second baseman is expected to be back in the lineup for today’s game. It’s a rather remarkable recovery for a player who spent just the 10-day minimum on the injured list after suffering a fractured big toe when he was hit by a pitch on April 15. Albies is returning to the club without a rehab assignment, though he took batting practice throughout the week.

Whether there’ll be any lingering effects remains to be seen, but Albies has gotten out to an excellent start in 2024. Through 15 games and 70 trips to the plate, he’s slashing .317/.386/.492 with a pair of homers, a pair of steals and just a 12.9% strikeout rate. If the foot injury doesn’t provide any more problems for him, he’s laid the foundation for an excellent follow-up effort to a career year at the plate in 2023, which saw Albies pop a personal-best 33 home runs and bat .280/.336/.513 in 660 plate appearances.

Atlanta won’t need to make any corresponding moves to get Albies back onto the roster. The Braves announced yesterday that infielder David Fletcher passed through waivers unclaimed and had been assigned outright to Triple-A Gwinnett. He’d been on the big league roster, so that paved the way for Albies’ reinstatement.

In 787 games since debuting with the Braves as a 20-year-old back in 2017, Albies is a .273/.326/.479 hitter with 133 home runs and 78 stolen bases. The three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger winner is in the sixth season of a seven-year, $35MM contract extension he signed back in April of 2019. He’s earning $7MM this year and next, and the Braves hold a pair of $7MM club options on him for the 2026-27 campaigns.

Injury Notes: Albies, Suzuki, Basabe, Gipson-Long

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The Braves placed Ozzie Albies on the injured list yesterday after the star second baseman fractured a toe on a hit-by-pitch. The Athletic’s David O’Brien writes that the Braves expect Albies’ absence to be closer to one month as opposed to the three months he lost when he broke his foot during the 2022 season. While that’d be well beyond the 10-day minimum, it’s far from a worst case scenario.

Atlanta’s typically excellent offense has been the best in MLB over the season’s first few weeks. The Braves lead the majors in all three triple-slash stats and entered Wednesday third in runs (behind the Padres and Dodgers, each of whom have played more games). Albies has been a big part of that, hitting .317/.386/.492 with a pair of longballs over his first 70 plate appearances. The Braves selected David Fletcher’s contract after Albies’ injury to add a glove-first utility option. Luis Guillorme has gotten the start at the keystone in each of the last two days.

A few more health situations of note:

  • An approximate month-long absence also seems to be on the table for Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki, who went on the shelf on Monday with an oblique strain. Manager Craig Counsell told reporters last night that the injury is in the “four-week range,” although the team will have a clearer timetable once Suzuki’s symptoms subside (X link via Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune). One of Chicago’s hottest hitters, Suzuki was off to a .305/.368/.525 start to his third MLB campaign. Mike Tauchman has been pushed into right field action against right-handed pitching, with Alexander Canario recalled as a righty complement in the corner opposite Ian Happ.
  • The Rays were dealt a hit to their infield depth this afternoon. Osleivis Basabe landed on the minor league injured list. Patrick Kinas, broadcaster for the team’s Triple-A affiliate, tweets that Basabe fractured his right wrist when he was by a pitch from Naoyuki Uwasawa in yesterday’s game. It’s not clear how long he’ll be out of action, although it stands to reason it’ll be a significant absence. Basabe has spent this year in Triple-A after being optioned during Spring Training. The righty-hitting shortstop got to the majors late last season, appearing in his first 31 MLB contests. He’s on the 40-man roster as a depth option for a middle infield that is already without Brandon Lowe and Taylor Walls.
  • Sawyer Gipson-Long continues to weigh multiple opinions after experiencing forearm tightness, the Tigers informed reporters (including The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen). Detroit hasn’t specified whether surgery is on the table, yet it’s nevertheless worrisome any time a pitcher is dealing with somewhat nebulous forearm soreness. Gipson-Long began the season on the 15-day injured list after suffering a Spring Training groin strain. He had an impressive four-start MLB debut last September, fanning nearly 32% of opponents with a 2.70 ERA in 20 innings. Gipson-Long wasn’t likely to be in contention for an Opening Day rotation spot but projects as one of Detroit’s better depth starters if healthy.

Braves Place Ozzie Albies On Injured List With Toe Fracture

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The Braves announced that infielder Ozzie Albies has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right great toe fracture. Infielder David Fletcher has been selected to take his place on the roster. Atlanta had a couple of vacancies on its 40-man roster and won’t need to make a corresponding move in that regard.

Albies was hit on the toe by a pitch in the second inning of last night’s game against the Astros. He stayed in the game and played the rest of it, but it appears that some post-game testing revealed a fracture. The fact that he didn’t immediately leave the contest perhaps suggests it will be a brief stint on the IL, but the club hasn’t yet provided any estimates of that nature.

For however long he’s out, it will be a blow the club. Albies has been a consistently strong hitter and was out to a hot start this year. He’s hit .273/.326/.479 in his career but currently sits on a robust slash of .317/.386/.492 in 2024.

Losing that kind of production would be unwelcome at any time but it’s compounded by the fact that Atlanta is also without right-hander Spencer Strider and catcher Sean Murphy. Strider required season-ending elbow surgery recently while Murphy still has an uncertain timeline as he works his way back from an oblique strain. Even if Albies is slated for a short stint on the IL, having three key contributors all out at the same time isn’t ideal.

In the meantime, the club has Luis Guillorme on the roster and has now added Fletcher as well, with those two the likeliest to cover the keystone while Albies is out. Fletcher was acquired from the Angels in December in a move that was largely motivated by financial concerns. Atlanta took on the contracts of Fletcher and Max Stassi while shipping out Evan White and Tyler Thomas. Stassi was quickly traded to the White Sox and Fletcher was outrighted off the roster.

Atlanta took on some extra money here in 2024 by making that deal but will be paying slightly less in 2025 and 2026, while it also allowed them to retain some non-roster infield depth in the form of Fletcher. They knew this would be the case thanks to the peculiar specificity of Fletcher’s situation.

Fletcher has long been a strong defender at multiple positions but with a contact-oriented approach at the plate that generally leads to subpar offense. He had a strong performance in the shortened 2020 season, hitting .319/.376/.425 for a wRC+ of 121. The Halos decided to bank on that as a breakout by signing Fletcher to a five-year, $26MM extension going into 2021.

Unfortunately, his production dipped back down and he got nudged out of playing time for the Angels, with that 2020 season looking like a clear outlier. Though his 9.5% career strikeout rate is much stronger than league average, he’s also only walked at a 6.2% clip and hit just 16 home runs in 2,180 plate appearances. He’s hit .277/.323/.359 in his career and just .259/.296/.327 since the 2020 season.

Twice last year, the Angels passed Fletcher through waivers unclaimed, hardly a surprising outcome since any claiming club would have to take on the remainder of the contract. Since Fletcher had over three years of service time, he had the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency. However, since he has less than five years of service time, exercising that right would mean forfeiting what’s left of his deal. He obviously waived that right and stayed with the club, getting added back to the roster at a later date both times.

As mentioned, Atlanta also outrighted him off the roster after acquiring him, since they were undoubtedly aware of Fletcher’s position. But now the injury to Albies has opened the door for him to get back to the majors. His service time count currently sits at four years and 168 days. Since a new year rolls over at 172 days, Fletcher is just four days away from reaching the five-year plateau.

Assuming he sticks on the roster while Albies is out, that will change his status significantly. If he’s bumped off the roster again in a few weeks and clears waivers, then he could elect free agency without sacrificing any of the money on his contract. That would allow him to seek out the best situation for himself while a signing club would only have to pay him the prorated league minimum, with Atlanta staying on the hook for the remainder. He’s making $6MM this year and $6.5MM next year with an $8MM club option for 2026 that comes with a $1.5MM buyout.

For now, Fletcher will provide Atlanta with some depth all over the diamond, as he has played the three infield positions to the left of first base as well as the outfield corners, getting strong marks wherever he’s lined up.

Braves Promote Darius Vines, Activate Ozzie Albies

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The Braves announced a handful of roster moves Monday, optioning infielder Vaughn Grissom and lefty Jared Shuster to Triple-A Gwinnett while recalling righty Darius Vines for his MLB debut and reinstating second baseman Ozzie Albies from the injured list.

Vines, 25, was Atlanta’s seventh-round pick back in 2019 and has pitched well across three minor league levels this season after returning from a lengthy absence brought about by shoulder inflammation. Baseball America currently ranks him fifth among Braves prospects, while MLB.com has him tenth and FanGraphs pegs him 13th.

Since returning from the injured list in June, Vines has made nine starts: two with the team’s Rookie-level affiliate in the Florida Complex League, two in High-A and five with Triple-A Gwinnett once those four rehab appearances were complete. He hadn’t pitched beyond six innings until his most recent outing — a seven-inning start against the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate — but Vines has reached 90 pitches in each of his past three starts. He’ll give the Braves a long option out of the bullpen or a candidate to make a spot start, as needed.

In 43 1/3 innings this year, the Cal State Bakersfield product has posted a 2.70 ERA with a 27.1% strikeout rate, 8.2% walk rate and 44.4% ground-ball rate. Scouting reports at BA, MLB.com and FanGraphs tab Vines as a potential back-of-the-rotation arm thanks to his command of a three-pitch repertoire (fastball, slider, changeup). The changeup draws plus (60 on the 20-80 scale) or better offerings, with BA’s report noting that some scouts have put a plus-plus (70) grade on the pitch.

Vines joins Shuster, Dylan Dodd, Michael Soroka, AJ Smith–Shawver, Allan Winans and (once healthy) Ian Anderson as an in-house option who can compete for a rotation job next year. The Braves are largely set with Max Fried, Charlie Morton, Bryce Elder and a soon-to-return Kyle Wright making up the front four in the rotation both down the stretch and likely in the 2023 postseason. Morton isn’t a lock to return — the Braves have a $20MM option on him for the 2024 season — which will leave at least one and possibly two spots to be sorted out next spring. (The offseason could bring about trades and/or free-agent additions to address the starting staff, of course.)

As for Albies, he’ll return after two weeks on the shelf due to a strained hamstring. The Braves initially expressed optimism that Albies was only dealing with some minor cramping and might not even require an IL stint, but further testing revealed what wound up apparently being a fairly minor strain. Given Atlanta’s overwhelming lead in the NL East, there was every reason to proceed with caution, as they can effectively sleepwalk their way to a division title with a 12.5-game lead and just 33 games left to be played. Albies is in the midst of another terrific season, batting .267/.327/..514 with 28 home runs in 510 plate appearances.

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