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Brewers Outright Ray Black

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The Brewers have outrighted right-hander Ray Black off their 40-man roster, the team announced.  Black has cleared waivers and will report to the team’s alternate training site.

Black has been bothered by elbow inflammation for much of the spring, which cost him a chance at winning a job in Milwaukee’s Opening Day bullpen.  Since Black is out of minor league options, a trip through the waiver wire was necessary for the Brewers to remove him from the 40-man.

Injuries have been a recurring problem for Black, beginning with a shoulder surgery that delayed the start of his pro career for almost two years after being drafted by the Giants as a seventh-rounder in 2011.  A strained right rotator cuff kept Black on the injured list for much of 2020, and he appeared in only three games for the Brew Crew last season.

The hard-throwing righty has a strong 30.2% strikeout rate over his 42 1/3 career MLB innings, but also a 5.53 ERA and a very subpar 12.3% walk rate.  Milwaukee acquired Black as part of the Drew Pomeranz/Mauricio Dubon trade with the Giants in 2019.

Brewers Notes: Shaw, Fisher, Houser, Cain, Black

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Travis Shaw can opt out of his minor league contract with the Brewers tomorrow but it seems very likely that the team will include Shaw on its Opening Day roster, according to Tom Haudricourt and Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.  Officially selecting Shaw’s contract would guarantee the veteran a $1.5MM salary for the coming season, and the Brewers would have to make another corresponding move to open up a 40-man roster spot.  The left-handed hitting Shaw is expected to get the bulk of playing time at third base when a right-hander is on the mound, with Orlando Arcia, Daniel Robertson, and (if not at shortstop) Luis Urias all getting at-bats against southpaws.

More from the city of Giannis, Liberace, Laverne and Shirley…

  • Today’s Cactus League game with the Mariners saw both Derek Fisher and Adrian Houser leave early due to injury. According to the Brewers’ official announcement, “left hamstring discomfort” forced Fisher from the game after he scored from first base on a double, and manager Craig Counsell told Haudricourt and other reporters that Fisher will be out of action for a while.  The out-of-options Fisher was already facing some tough competition to win a roster job, and this injury setback could further hamper if not ruin his chances.  As for Houser, he left the game with right thumb discomfort, but both the hurler and Counsell felt it was a minor issue that shouldn’t much interrupt Houser’s preseason preparations.
  • In other injury news, Lorenzo Cain is expected to make his Spring Training debut by the weekend, Counsell told The Athletic’s Will Sammon and other reporters.  After opting out of much of the 2020 season, Cain’s return to the field has been slowed by a quad injury.  It remains to be seen how much time Cain will need to ramp up for the season, so an injured list placement probably still isn’t out of the question for at least the first week of the schedule.
  • Right-hander Ray Black will begin throwing off a mound by the end of the week, Counsell said, as Black will return to work after being shut down due to elbow inflammation.  The hard-throwing Black tossed only three innings over three games in 2020, missing much of the season due to a strain in his right rotator cuff.  Given his recent injury history, Black could very well be an IL candidate for Opening Day.

Brewers Claim Billy McKinney; Trey Supak, Ronny Rodriguez Designated For Assignment

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The Brewers announced Monday that they’ve claimed outfielder Billy McKinney off waivers from the Blue Jays, who had designated him for assignment on Friday. He’s been optioned to the Brewers’ alternate training site. Milwaukee also added righty Justin Topa as the 29th man for their doubleheader today and reinstated right-hander Ray Black from the 45-day injured list.

In order to make room on the 40-man roster for McKinney and Black, the Brewers designated right-hander Trey Supak and infielder Ronny Rodriguez for assignment.

The 26-year-old McKinney was a first-round pick (No. 24 overall) by the Athletics back in 2013 and has since bounced around the league in a series of high-profile swaps. Oakland initially sent him to the Cubs as part of the Jeff Samardzija/Jason Hammel trade, but McKinney never made it to the big leagues in Chicago. Instead, the Cubs shipped him to the Yankees alongside Gleyber Torres in 2016’s Aroldis Chapman deadline swap. Nearly two years to the day later, the Yankees flipped McKinney to Toronto as part of their return for lefty J.A. Happ.

McKinney appeared in only two games for the Yankees and has spent the other 122 games of his big league career with the Toronto organization. He’s shown some pop, evidenced by a .209 ISO, 18 homers, 21 doubles and a triple in 407 plate appearances with the Jays, but McKinney has also been prone to strikeouts and infield flies without drawing much in the walk department.

Overall, McKinney is a .231/.291/.437 hitter with a 25.8 percent strikeout rate and a 7.3 percent walk rate in the Majors. He’s drawn average reviews for his glovework in right field and below-average marks in left. McKinney has never played center in the Majors but does have a handful of innings at first base. He’s out of minor league options after this season, so there will be increased pressure for him to make the club in 2021 — if he survives on the 40-man roster until next year’s Spring Training, that is.

The decision to designate Supak is somewhat of a surprise, given that he’s long been regarded among the organization’s better pitching prospects and put together a nice season in Double-A last year. True, the Milwaukee farm has been regarded as one of the lower-ranking systems in the game for several seasons, but Supak looked to have an opportunity to make it to the Majors this year.

Supak spent most of last year in Double-A, where he pitched 122 2/3 frames of 2.20 ERA ball with 6.9 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, 0.44 HR/9 and a 44.8 percent grounder rate. It’s a very pitcher-friendly setting, and the right-hander’s fielding-independent metrics weren’t as bullish as that rudimentary ERA — 3.14 FIP, 3.59 xFIP — but it was still a promising season all around. Supak was hit hard in a brief seven-game Triple-A stint, but that was true of most pitchers, given the offensive eruption throughout Triple-A that coincided with changes to the composition of the ball itself.

Milwaukee can’t trade Supak at this point, so he’ll now surely be run through outright waivers. He has a minor league option remaining beyond this season and a relatively strong minor league track record, so it wouldn’t all be a surprise to see another club place a claim. Perhaps of note, the club that originally drafted Supak, the Pirates, has the top waiver priority at present. (They’ve since turned over the top of their front office, however.) If Supak goes unclaimed, Milwaukee will be able to outright him to its alternate site and keep him both in the organization and in the 60-man player pool.

As for the 28-year-old Rodriguez, he never got into a game with the Brewers after coming over from the Tigers in a December waiver claim. He’s a versatile utility piece with a bit of pop but overwhelming on-base issues, as can be seen in his career .221/.254/.396 batting line. Rodriguez did swat 14 big flies in 294 MLB plate appearances last year, but he also carries a career 24.8 percent strikeout rate and has seen a dismal 18.2 percent of his fly-balls register as infield pop-ups. Thirty percent of Rodriguez’s plate appearances have resulted in either a punchout or a pop-up, and he’s walked at just a 4.6 percent pace in the Majors.

Brewers Announce Series Of Roster Moves

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

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

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

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

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

Brewers Place Ray Black On IL Due To Strained Rotator Cuff

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The Brewers announced Tuesday that they’ve placed right-hander Ray Black on the 10-day injured list due to a strained right rotator cuff. Milwaukee also formally announced the previously reported additions of Logan Morrison and Justin Grimm to its 40-man roster. There’s no word from the club on Black’s timeline for recovery, although any shoulder issues are of extra concern in a shortened, 60-game season.

Black, 30, has long been an intriguing arm given his triple-digit fastball and gaudy minor league strikeout totals (career 16.7 K/9), but injuries have hobbled him throughout his career. Milwaukee acquired him alongside Drew Pomeranz in the trade that sent Mauricio Dubon to San Francisco last summer, and he went on to pitch 14 innings of relief out of the Brewers’ pen (eight runs on 10 hits and eight walks with 13 strikeouts).

Black has just 39 1/3 innings under his belt at the MLB level and hasn’t yet found consistent success. That said, he’s also out of minor league options, which made him quite likely to land on the club’s big league roster to open the season. A pitcher who averages better than 98 mph on his heater and has a 98th percentile spin rate on the pitch was never likely to make it through waivers, after all, even if he doesn’t have a track record of success in the Majors. Now, there’s no telling exactly when he’ll be a realistic option for manager Craig Counsell.

If he’s able to make it back this season, Black would likely join a relief corps that includes Josh Hader, Corey Knebel, David Phelps, Brent Suter, Alex Claudio and Grimm. Others who could factor in, particularly early in the year when rosters are expanded, include J.P. Feyereisen, Bobby Wahl and non-roster veteran Shelby Miller.

Quick Hits: Diaz, Rays, Prospects, Stanek, Black

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Edwin Diaz’s struggles may finally be loosening his grip on the Mets’ closing job, as manager Mickey Callaway told reporters (including Newsday’s Tim Healey) that “I don’t think we can lock ourselves in to one thing” in terms of who pitches the ninth inning.  “Moving forward, it’s just something that we’re going to do whatever we can to win a game that night,” Callaway said.  After a dominant 2018 season with the Mariners, Diaz’s first season in Queens has been a borderline disaster, with a 5.44 ERA inflated by a 22.2% home run rate and a huge increase in the righty’s hard-hit ball rate.  Just when it seemed like Diaz might have been turning a corner by tossing six scoreless innings over a seven-game stretch in July, he proceeded to allow at least one earned run in each of his last four outings.

This would seem to open the door for Seth Lugo to receive save opportunities, as Callaway said that Lugo also isn’t operating out of an assigned role.  Lugo has been the Mets’ best reliever this season, and could be shifted into closer duties or (if the Mets strayed from the traditional closer role) be saved only for highest-leverage situations, whether those are in the ninth inning or earlier in the game.

Here’s more as we begin a new week…

  • The Rays’ busy trade deadline is explored by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, who includes the detail that the club wasn’t willing to discuss moving many of their top prospects, including Wander Franco, Brendan McKay, Vidal Brujan and Matthew Liberatore.  Jesus Sanchez was the only member of that top tier who seemed to be on the block, and indeed it was Sanchez who was dealt along with Ryne Stanek to the Marlins in exchange for Trevor Richards and Nick Anderson.
  • Meanwhile, Stanek’s erstwhile role as an opener factored into the Rays’ decision to trade the right-hander.  Interestingly, Topkin writes that the Rays “shed the uncertainty of his opener-influenced arbitration case in 2021,” which promises to be a fascinating test case for how an arbiter could put a financial precedent on a new role within the game.  As Topkin notes, Stanek has been much better as an opener (2.71 ERA in 83 innings) than in a normal relief role (4.73 ERA in 59 innings).
  • The Brewers believe they might have a hidden gem in trade deadline acquisition Ray Black, as president of baseball operations David Stearns told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Black has “as good…stuff as any reliever in the game.”  Black had only a 6.04 ERA over 25 1/3 career Major League innings as a member of the Giants, due in part to five homers allowed in that brief stint.  However, he also struck out 38 batters with his blazing fastball, and also posted a 3.70 ERA, 2.83 K/BB rate, and 16.8 K/9 over 153 1/3 career frames in the minors.  Between that live arm and those strikeout totals, Stearns thinks Black can blossom in Milwaukee, and pointed to a relatively healthy season for Black in 2019 as a positive development after multiple years shortened by injuries.  “The most important thing for him is keeping him on the field….He has changed some of his training regimens over the last year, and that seems to have helped. We’re hoping and optimistic that we can help keep him healthy,” Stearns said.

Brewers To Acquire Drew Pomeranz, Ray Black

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1:27pm: ESPN’s Jeff Passan tweets that hard-throwing righty Ray Black will also go to Milwaukee.

1:25pm: Lefty Drew Pomeranz is one player headed to the Brewers in the swap, tweets Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. If the Brewers are parting with a prospect of Dubon’s caliber, there’ll surely be other names in play.

1:23pm: The Brewers ad Giants are in agreement on a “significant” trade, reports Robert Murray of The Athletic (via Twitter). The big league players involved in the swap remain unknown, but well-regarded second base prospect Mauricio Dubon is headed from Milwaukee to San Francisco as part of the exchange. Madison Bumgarner is *not* going to Milwaukee, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.

In Dubon, the Giants will acquire a Major League-ready 25-year-old who can step directly onto the roster. Dubon’s 2018 season was cut short by a torn ACL, but he’s returned to bat .297/.333/.475 with 16 home runs, 22 doubles, a triple and nine steals in the hitter-friendly Triple-A Pacific Coast League. He’ll face a much more daunting offensive environment in the big leagues when he plays his home games at the cavernous Oracle Park in San Francisco.

Scouting reports on Dubon peg him as a hit-over-power prospect, and the move to Oracle Park doesn’t figure to do his power numbers any favor. But he’s never batted lower than .274 in a full minor league season, and he’s maintained strikeout rates south of 15 percent on a year-over-year basis. Dubon doesn’t walk much, but his knack for putting the ball in play should help his on-base skills in the big leagues. He’s considered capable of playing an average or better second base even after last year’s knee injury.

The veteran Pomeranz is the more well-known of the two arms being acquired by the Brewers, but he seems like a secondary piece in this swap. Pomeranz had an awful year in the Giants’ rotation but has garnered some attention following a (very) recent shift to the bullpen. In four relief outings, he’s tossed 5 1/3 shutout frames with just one hit and one walk allowed against eight strikeouts. The lefty has ample experience in the rotation and could return to that role if the Brewers feel he’s a mechanical adjustment or pitch-selection alteration away from returning to hi 2017 form, but his recent success in a return to the bullpen is more intriguing.

Black is already 29 years old but is the more appealing piece for Milwaukee. Durability has been an issue for the right-hander, but if he’s healthy he’ll be among the hardest-throwing pitchers in Major League Baseball. Black has averaged 99.1 mph on his heater in a tiny sample this season and regularly hits triple digits with a fastball that draws 80 grades on some scouting reports. Black has averaged nearly 17 strikeouts per nine innings pitched in his minor league career and might not even finish the season with a full year of MLB service, meaning he can be controlled through 2025.

NL West Notes: Padres, Giants, D-backs, Swihart

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Few teams have received worse second base production than the Padres, for whom Ian Kinsler, Luis Urias and Greg Garcia have combined for minus-0.7 fWAR and a dismal .144/.252/.237 line in 111 plate appearances. Now, the Padres find themselves waiting for someone to “take hold of” the job there, manager Andy Green said Saturday (via Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune). Kinsler has had the most opportunities (66 PA), but while he’s a longtime quality starter at the keystone, he has been a detriment to the Padres’ on-field efforts in the first season of a two-year, $8MM contract. Urias, a high-end prospect, may be the Padres’ long-term solution at the position. The 21-year-old has only come to the plate 28 times this season, though, leaving Acee to wonder if the Padres will send him back to the minors for more reps. However, Green believes Urias has gotten “consistent enough” playing time in the bigs this year.

Elsewhere around the division…

  • Giants manager Bruce Bochy says they expect Mark Melancon to close games at some point this season, per Kerry Crowley of The Mercury News. Melancon has been about as good as can be so far this year, scattering seven hits across ten scoreless innings. The 34-year-old has also finished five games for the Giants, though none were save opportunities. He’s no stranger to the ninth inning, having saved 182 games in his career, including a league-leading 51 for the Pirates in 2015. Melancon followed up that campaign by saving 47 games for the Pirates and Nationals before cashing in on his current four-year, $62MM deal, of which he will have one year and $14MM remaining after this season. The bullpen has been an area of strength for the 8-14 Giants, with lefty Will Smith the nominal ninth-inning anchor. Given the number of horror-show bullpens around the league right now, there’s likely to be trade interest in one or more of San Francisco’s high-performing relievers at some point this season. Melancon figures to stick around, however, as his deal is more cumbersome than the contracts belonging to Smith, Tony Watson, Nick Vincent, Sam Dyson et al.
  • If the Giants do part with any of those veterans, it could open up a spot for Triple-A righty Ray Black. For now, however, the team has shut down Black for seven to 10 days on account of a right pronator strain, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to tweet. It’s troubling news in light of Black’s injury-checkered past, and it continues a rough April for the flamethrowing 28-year-old. After posting a 3.16 ERA with 16.13 K/9 and 2.81 BB/9 in 25 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level last year, Black has pitched to a 6.43 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 7.71 BB/9 in seven frames this season. He also had trouble preventing runs in a 23 1/3-inning major league debut in 2018, when he recorded a 6.17 ERA, though he did manage 12.73 K/9 against 3.86 BB/9.
  • The Diamondbacks plan to utilize just-acquired catcher Blake Swihart in the outfield corners on occasion, according to manager Torey Lovullo (via Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic). Lovullo added that the Diamondbacks will use the 27-year-old Swihart there to spell veterans Adam Jones and David Peralta, both of whom are in their 30s. The outfield’s not foreign to Swihart, who played 48 games there as a member of the Red Sox, as Piecoro notes. While it’s rare for any catcher to line up in the grass, Lovullo says Swihart is “a pretty special athlete.”

September Call-Ups: 9/1/18

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A few call-ups were announced yesterday, but we’re likely to see far more prospect promotions and even contract selections take place today as rosters expand. We’ll use this post to keep track of those moves…

  • The Marlins selected the contract of righty starter Jeff Brigham today; he’ll be among those playing in the majors for the first time ever. Brigham’s solid 3.44 ERA in Triple-A this season is muddied a bit by his 4.45 FIP, but he’s maintained solid ratios. Brigham’s 8.25 K/9 and brilliant 2.24 BB/9 give him a solid 3.69 K/BB ratio that probably looks quite nice to a Marlins club that’s hurting for serviceable major league starters. Miami has also recalled right-handers Sandy Alcantara and Nick Wittgren along with catcher Chad Wallach.
  • The Athletics selected several contracts today, including that of catching prospect Beau Taylor. The lefty-hitting backstop has never played in the majors, but he’s done well for himself at the Triple-A level this season by drawing walks in 14% of his plate appearances while hitting .248. He’s even chipped in a pair of stolen bases. The biggest knock on Taylor is his lack of power; the 28-year-old owns a sub-.100 ISO and has never hit more than eight homers in a given season. Other contracts selected by the Astros today include those of lefty Dean Kiekhefer and righties Chris Hatcher and Liam Hendriks. The A’s recalled lefty Daniel Coulombe and shortstop Franklin Barreto as well.  
  • The Indians selected the contract of right-hander Jon Edwards today, who hasn’t pitched in the major leagues since 2015. The 30-year-old Edwards has done well for himself in the Tribe’s minor league system in 2018, though, racking up 56 strikeouts in just 39 1/3 innings while pitching to a 3.64 ERA. Though he’s exhibited extreme control issues in the past, his 2.70 BB/9 in 30 innings with Triple-A Columbus suggests there’s a possibility he’s put those problems behind him. The Tribe promoted catcher Eric Haase to the majors alongside him.

Earlier…

  • The Mariners have selected the contract of Justin Grimm among their September moves, whom they signed to a minor league contract on July 25th. Grimm’s been plagued by shoulder and back issues all season and struggled to a cataclysmic 13.50 ERA in 12 2/3 innings for the Royals earlier this season, which led to his release early on in the summer. With the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate, though, he’s put up a pristine 1.64 ERA and an even more impressive 13.91 K/9 mark. In addition to Grimm, Seattle also selected the contract of Kristopher Negron, and recalled right-handers Chasen Bradford and Ryan Cook, lefty James Pazos, catcher David Freitas.
  • The Nationals have selected the contract of right-hander Austen Williams, who’ll be getting his first MLB cup of coffee this September. He’s been quite impressive in the upper minors this season, including a 0.55 ERA in 16 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level. That’s backed up by excellent peripherals, including 20 strikeouts against just four walks. Williams had pitched exclusively as a starter until this season, and it appears a transition to a relief role has catapulted him to a status as an incredibly intriguing talent. The Nats also recalled catcher Pedro Severino to fill in while Wieters is dealing with a hip/groin injury (per Jamal Collier of MLB.com).
  • The White Sox promoted Caleb Frare to get his first taste of the bigs; as James Fegan of The Athletic points out, he needed to be added to the 40-man roster in order to be protected from the coming winter’s Rule 5 Draft. They’ve good reason to do so, as the lefty reliever has thrived with the organization ever since being acquired from the Yankees a month ago in exchange for $1.5MM in international bonus pool funds. He’s put up fantastic numbers in 12 2/3 innings at Triple-A Charlotte, including a 0.71 ERA and 13.50 K/9. Aaron Bummer will join him as the other White Sox player to receive a September promotion so far.
  • The Royals have selected the contract of catcher Meibrys Viloria to account for the hole left by Drew Butera, who was traded to the Rockies yesterday. Fascinatingly, Kansas City decided to promote the 21-year-old Columbia native even though he’s never played above the High-A level. He’s done just fine there, though, batting .260/.342/.360 in 407 plate appearances over the course of 2018. Viriola is expected to maje his MLB debut as early as this week while mainstay catcher Salvador Perez deals with a sprained thumb.
  • After a short stay in the minors, righty reliever Ray Black is back up with the Giants. He’s had a poor showing in the majors so far, allowing ten earned runs in 15 1/3 innings. He did manage to strike out 22 batters in that span, though, and owns a 2.11 FIP in 25 2/3 innings at Triple-A this season. His blistering 16.13 K/9 at that level perhaps speaks to his potential even more.
  • The Cardinals recalled catcher Carson Kelly today, who’s widely considered to be the club’s catcher of the future once Yadier Molina’s contract is complete. However, he’s yet to prove his worth at the major-league level, as evidenced by his .150/.216/.187 batting line across 118 MLB plate appearances. The Redbirds have also called up lefty Tyler Webb and righty Daniel Poncedeleon.
  • The Phillies have opted to recall outfielder Aaron Altherr, who’d largely been a fixture in the club’s major-league outfield for the past two seasons prior to a late-July demotion. While his 13.3% walk rate so far this season was downright fantastic, that was about the only aspect of Altherr’s performance to be happy about; he was striking out at a 32.7% clip while hitting just .171 and slugging just .305. Philadelphia also added outfielder Dylan Cozens and righty reliever Yacksel Rios to their active roster.
  • The Yankees are set to give right-hander Stephen Tarpley his first taste of major-league action after selecting his contract earlier today. Tarpley is quite an interesting arm-he’s been utilized as a multi-inning reliever at two levels of the minors this year, and to great effect. Most recently, he’s pitched to a 2.65 ERA and 10.06 K/9 across 17 appearances spanning 34 innings at Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre. Infielder Tyler Wade and right-hander Luis Cessa will also join the MLB club as rosters expand.
  • The Mets will give righty Eric Hanhold his first taste of major-league action, MLBTR has learned. Acquired in the 2017 trade that sent Neil Walker to the Brewers, Hanhold has apparently been quite unlucky to own his 7.11 ERA at Triple-A this season. Rather, his 3.43 FIP in 19 innings at that level produces some level of optimism that he can serve as a quality reliever in the majors. A .429 BABIP and 2.86 K/BB ratio further strengthen that case.
  • The Reds are set to give shortstop prospect Blake Trahan a September call-up, as C. Trent Rosencrans of The Athletic was among those to tweet. Trahan came to the Reds by way of the club’s third-round draft pick back in 2015. He did not rank amongst MLB Pipeline’s top 30 Reds prospects in the publication’s most recent rankings, though Fangraphs ranks him 24th in that regard thanks to a 55 speed tool and a 60-grade arm. He’s also likely to be a league-average shortstop. That’s about all there is to like about Trahan at present, as he’s only hit .245/.327/.302 at the minors’ highest level.
  • The Reds have also recalled Lucas Sims, who arrived in Cincinnati just prior to the non-waiver trade deadline as part of the package in exchange for sending Adam Duvall to Atlanta. Sims owns a 5.96 ERA and 7.15 K/9 in a Braves uniform, but his minors track record indicates he might have better days yet to come; the righty has managed to strike out at least ten batters per nine innings at every level of the minors post-Rookie ball, and has a sub-4.00 MiLB ERA in each of the past two seasons.
  • The Twins will promote right-hander Zach Littell, according to Darren Wolfson of KSTP. Littell has but 3 1/3 innings of MLB experience, during which time he allowed seven earned runs with one strikeout en route to a demotion. His 3.57 ERA at Triple-A this season is far more palatable, albeit unspectacular.
  • The Twins also announced that they’ve selected the contract of left-hander Andrew Vasquez, who’ll be receiving his first cup of coffee after pitching to a sub-1.50 ERA out of minor-league bullpens across the past three seasons combined. They’ve also selected catcher Chris Gimenez in addition to recalling outfielder Johnny Field and right-hander Tyler Duffey.
  • The Red Sox have officially recalled five players, including first base/outfield type Sam Travis. After serving as a somewhat serviceable piece in 2017 (.263/.325/.342 batting line), Travis has struggled in limited major-league action this year to the tune of a 45 wRC+ and -0.1 fWAR. Boston has also promoted left-handers Bobby Poyner and Robby Scott, as well as right-hander William Cuevas and infielder Tzu-Wei Lin.
  • The Tigers have recalled right-hander Sandy Baez from Double-A Erie, per a club announcement. Baez made his major-league debut back on June 4th, entering the game in relief during a double-header. He didn’t allow any runs in 4 1/3 innings, though he did walk three batters in that appearance. Aside from that, Baez has never pitched above Double-A, and owns a troublesome 5.64 ERA there on the 2018 season, in part due to command issues.

Rangers Acquire Austin Jackson, Cory Gearrin; Could Trade Jackson

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12:47pm: Jackson may never even play for the Rangers, per Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News. General manager Jon Daniels told the outfielder “to hold off on reporting,” Fraley writes. It seems they’ll try to trade him.

12:05pm: The Rangers have acquired outfielder Austin Jackson, reliever Cory Gearrin and right-hander Jason Bahr from the Giants in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations, according to Texas’ executive vice president of communications, John Blake. To clear room on their 40-man roster, the Rangers moved relievers Matt Bush and Tony Barnette to the 60-day disabled list. Meanwhile, the Giants will select both outfielder Steven Duggar and righty Ray Black from Triple-A, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets.

This trade amounts to a cost-cutting move for the Giants, who were narrowly under the $197MM competitive-balance tax threshold entering Sunday. Now, with the Rangers taking on the salaries of both Jackson and Gearrin (per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic), the Giants are seemingly in better position to make some moves around the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline as they try to hang in the NL West race.

San Francisco added Jackson on a two-year, $6MM free-agent contract last winter on the heels of a season in which the veteran was a key role player for the Indians. The 31-year-old Jackson has gone backward this season, though, as he took 165 plate appearances with the Giants and hit just .242/.309/.295 with no home runs, 14 unintentional walks and 59 strikeouts. He’ll now attempt to revive his season in his native Texas.

The Giants tried to get rid of Gearrin via outright waivers last month, but no one claimed him. The 32-year-old’s on an affordable $1.675MM salary in his penultimate season of team control, though he has seen his ERA increase from 1.99 in 2017 to 4.20 in 2018. Overall this year, Gearrin has tossed 30 innings and managed 9.3 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9.

Along with helping the Giants get out from under the salaries of Jackson and Gearrin, the out-of-contention Rangers also added Bahr – who ranked as San Francisco’s 27th-best prospect at MLB.com. Bahr, 23, joined the Giants just last year as a fifth-round pick. He has since pitched solely at the Single-A level, including 84 2/3 innings of 2.55 ERA ball this season.

With the Jackson experiment having failed for the Giants, they’ll introduce the well-regarded Duggar to their outfield mix. The 24-year-old Duggar, a 2015 third-round pick and MLB.com’s third-ranked Giants prospect, owns a .272/.354/.421 line in 356 Triple-A plate appearances this season. He’ll join a San Francisco outfield that hasn’t gotten average or better offensive production from anyone but Andrew McCutchen, Gorkys Hernandez and Austin Slater this year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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