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Ryan Tepera

Angels Select Gerardo Reyes, Ryan Aguilar

By Anthony Franco | August 26, 2022 at 5:16pm CDT

The Angels announced a host of roster moves before tonight’s series in Toronto. Relievers Aaron Loup and Ryan Tepera and outfielder Taylor Ward were all placed on the restricted list. That’s standard procedure for players who haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19 and are thus prohibited from traveling into Canada. In order to replace them on the roster, the Halos recalled righty José Marte and selected the contracts of reliever Gerardo Reyes and outfielder Ryan Aguilar. All three players have been designated as “substitutes,” meaning they can later be taken off the roster and returned to the minor leagues without passing through waivers.

It’s likely to be a temporary promotion for that trio, but Reyes and Aguilar have long-awaited opportunities to make an impact at the major league level. Reyes has a bit of big league experience, having come out of the bullpen 27 times for the 2019 Padres. The right-hander posted a 7.62 ERA over 26 innings. He spent 2020 at the alternate training site and was dealt from San Diego to Anaheim that deadline in exchange for veteran catcher Jason Castro.

Reyes was outrighted off the 40-man roster last March and underwent Tommy John surgery not long after, but he’s returned to action in Salt Lake this season. Through 39 innings with the Bees, the 29-year-old has a 3.69 ERA. He’s punched out an above-average 29.2% of opposing hitters but issued walks at an elevated 15.7% clip.

Aguilar, meanwhile, could get a chance to make his MLB debut. A 31st round pick of the Brewers out of the University of Arizona in 2016, he remained in the Milwaukee farm system through the end of last season. The 27-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Halos over the offseason and has spent the year at Double-A Rocket City. He’s posted an excellent .280/.427/.517 line with a massive 19% walk rate (albeit against generally younger competition) to earn a big league call. A left-handed hitter, he’s played primarily right field with the Trash Pandas.

Loup, Tepera and Ward will miss the weekend series. They’ll presumably rejoin the club on Monday, when they return home to host the Yankees. Sam Blum of the Athletic tweets that hitting coach Jeremy Reed also did not make the trip to Toronto.

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Los Angeles Angels Transactions Aaron Loup Gerardo Reyes Jeremy Reed Ryan Aguilar Ryan Tepera Taylor Ward

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Major League Baseball Issues 12 Suspensions For Angels – Mariners Brawl

By Anthony Franco | June 27, 2022 at 10:30pm CDT

Major League Baseball has handed down 12 suspensions arising from yesterday’s bench-clearing brawl between the Angels and Mariners. The league also handed out undisclosed fines. Nine of the individuals disciplined are from the Angels, while the Mariners lose a trio of players. The discipline is as follows:

Angels

  • Interim manager Phil Nevin: Ten games
  • Third baseman Anthony Rendon: Five games
  • Assistant pitching coach Dom Chiti: Five games
  • Right-hander Andrew Wantz: Three games
  • Right-hander Ryan Tepera: Two games
  • Right-hander Raisel Iglesias: Two games
  • Bench coach Ray Montgomery: Two games
  • Interpreter Manny del Campo: Two games
  • Catching coach Bill Haselman: One game

Mariners

  • Outfielder Jesse Winker: Seven games
  • Shortstop J.P. Crawford: Five games
  • Outfielder Julio Rodríguez: Two games

The fight occurred during yesterday afternoon’s contest (video link). Wantz, who opened the game for the Halos, threw a pitch behind Rodríguez in the first inning. That came on the heels of the Angels taking umbrage to an up-and-in offering from Erik Swanson to Mike Trout the night before, and it resulted in warnings from the umpiring crew. Wantz nevertheless hit Winker with the first pitch of the following inning. The Seattle left fielder initially seemed as if he’d simply take first base, but he wound up making his way towards the Angels’ dugout. That kicked off a few minutes of fighting that eventually resulted in the ejections of Wantz, Winker, Crawford, Rodríguez, Nevin, Tepera, Iglesias and Seattle manager Scott Servais.

Wantz’s suspension is for “intentionally throwing at Winker while warnings were in place,” according to MLB. Nevin has been suspended for Wantz’s pitches, while everyone else involved was banned for their roles in the melee itself.

Players are afforded an appellate right for on-field discipline. MLB announced that Wantz has already foregone his appeal and will begin serving his suspension today. The league didn’t indicate that any other players had done that, so they’ll remain on the roster while their suspensions are being heard. Rendon is on the injured list after undergoing season-ending wrist surgery two weeks ago. His suspension won’t take effect until he’s back on the active roster — meaning he’ll presumably miss the first five games of the 2023 season.

Coaches do not have the right to appeal their suspensions. Nevin, Chiti and del Campo will begin serving their bans tonight; Montgomery and Haselman will be out once Chiti returns five games from now.

Notably, players suspended for on-field rules violations cannot be replaced on the active roster. Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets that the Mariners will be permitted to stagger any bans for their suspended players so as not to have the position player group decimated at the same time — it’s unclear if a similar setup will be in place for the Halos’ bullpen — but the teams will both be playing short-handed for a while once the appeals process is sorted out. While the Angels were dealt significantly more suspensions in terms of quantity, Seattle will feel the bigger hit in on-field production (assuming the suspensions aren’t overturned on appeal) with the subtraction of a trio of regulars from the lineup.

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Los Angeles Angels Newsstand Seattle Mariners Andrew Wantz Anthony Rendon J.P. Crawford Jesse Winker Julio Rodriguez Phil Nevin Raisel Iglesias Ray Montgomery Ryan Tepera

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Angels To Sign Ryan Tepera

By Anthony Franco | March 19, 2022 at 12:10pm CDT

March 19: The Angels have officially announced Tepera’s signing. As a result of the signing, however, Kyle Tyler has been designated for assignment. Tyler, 25, tossed 12 1/3 innings for the Angels in 2021 over five games with a 2.92 ERA. The former 20th-round draft pick logged a 3.66 ERA over 86 innings in Triple-A, mostly pitching out of the rotation.

March 17: The Angels continue to bolster the relief unit, agreeing to terms with Ryan Tepera on a two-year, $14MM deal. It’s the second notable free agent pickup of the day for the Halos, who agreed to terms with Archie Bradley this morning. Tepera is a client of All Bases Covered Sports Management.

Tepera was one of the top relievers remaining on the market. He’d been a capable but mostly nondescript middle innings option for a few seasons in Toronto, but the right-hander has taken his game to new heights since signing with the Cubs in advance of the 2020 season. Tepera worked 20 2/3 innings over 21 appearances during the shortened campaign, posting a 3.92 ERA. That run prevention was mostly in line with his career track record, but he saw a massive uptick in swinging strikes and punchouts.

The Sam Houston State product struck out 34.8% of batters faced in 2020, nearly ten points higher than his previous career-best mark. Among the 141 relievers with 20+ frames that season, Tepera ranked 15th in strikeout percentage, but he was even more effective on a pitch-by-pitch basis. He generated whiffs on an incredible 19.5% of his offerings, a mark that trailed only those of Devin Williams, Tanner Rainey and Edwin Díaz among that same group. Tepera’s results were overshadowed a bit by the accidental MVP vote he received at the end of the year, but he legitimately had an excellent showing for Chicago.

That improvement came in a small sample, however, and it didn’t seem teams around the league completely bought into his new form. Tepera’s fastball continued to sit in its customary 93 MPH range, and while he did lean more liberally on his excellent cutter-slider, the market didn’t reflect that he’d made significant strides. Tepera re-signed with the Cubs on a one-year, $800K guarantee in February.

He mostly doubled down on his new form over a larger body of work last year. Tepera made 43 appearances and worked 43 1/3 innings of 2.91 ERA ball with the Cubs, striking out 30.3% of opponents while cutting his walk rate from 13.5% to 7.3%. As part of their trade deadline teardown, the North Siders flipped him to their crosstown rivals for prospect Bailey Horn, and Tepera continued to excel. He pitched to a 2.50 ERA in 18 innings with the White Sox, fanning 32% of batters faced with a 9.3% walk rate. His 16.3% swinging strike rate was again amongst the league’s best, checking in ninth out of 138 relievers to work 50+ innings.

At 34 years old, Tepera was always a long shot to land a deal that exceeded two years. Yet his back-to-back seasons of strong performance earned him a multi-year pact at a $7MM annual rate. If evenly distributed over the two seasons, that’ll push the Angels’ projected payroll to around $186MM, in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. That nudges ahead of last year’s $181MM franchise-record Opening Day expenditure. Their luxury tax ledger will jump to around $202MM — still well shy of this year’s $230MM base threshold.

Los Angeles has invested heavily in the bullpen this winter. They re-signed closer Raisel Iglesias to a four-year contract and have added each of Bradley, Tepera and southpaw Aaron Loup via free agency. They’ll join in-house options like Mike Mayers and Austin Warren as late-game possibilities for manager Joe Maddon.

Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic was first to report the Angels and Tepera were working on a deal. Jon Heyman of the MLB Network reported an agreement had been reached. MLBTR’s Steve Adams was first to report it was a two-year, $14MM pact.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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Los Angeles Angels Newsstand Transactions Kyle Tyler Ryan Tepera

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Cardinals Looking For ‘High-Leverage’ Bullpen Arms

By James Hicks | February 1, 2022 at 11:16am CDT

In a Monday chat with readers, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch addressed the approach of the Cardinals front office to upgrading the team’s bullpen — a known priority for the club. In response to a question regarding potential interest in longtime Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen, Goold suggested that, during the free agent bonanza that preceded the lockout, the Cards had looked less for a closer per se than at other ‘high-leverage’ arms — “ones who could be used as a closer, but not only a closer.”

The 2021 Cardinals bullpen finished roughly middle-of-the-pack in most statistical metrics (11th in ERA, 8th in FIP, 24th in xFIP, 11th in fWAR) and could see some significant improvements without making a move. High-octane righty Jordan Hicks, who new manager Oliver Marmol will stretch out for an expected multi-inning role in Spring Training, is reportedly healthy after missing most of 2021 with elbow inflammation; and Ryan Helsley, who was shut down in mid-August with knee and elbow issues, is expected to regain a primary set-up role alongside Genesis Cabrera. Giovanny Gallegos will likely retain the closer role he inherited from 2021 All-Star Alex Reyes following Reyes’ substantial second-half struggles.

Goold notes former Cardinal Joe Kelly as a likely target and had previously cited interest in former Blue Jays, Cubs, and White Sox reliever Ryan Tepera; both relievers fit the bill of a versatile, high K-rate late-innings arm. Each is likely to seek a multi-year deal with a meaningful financial commitment (MLBTR projects Tepera to sign for two years and $12MM, for instance), though neither is likely to exceed the Cardinals’ budget — particularly if they remain committed to some combination of Paul DeJong and Edmundo Sosa at shortstop. Potential targets Andrew Chafin and Collin McHugh fall in roughly the same market stratum as Tepera and Kelly, while the club could also look for bounce-back candidates on one-year or minor league deals. The list of free agent relievers with a history of big-league success but who won’t command a significant investment includes Brad Hand, Chris Martin, Archie Bradley, Adam Ottavino, Sergio Romo, Yusmeiro Petit, Mychal Givens, Sean Doolittle, Pedro Strop, Richard Rodriguez, and Tyler Clippard.

Beyond Gallegos, Cabrera, Reyes, Helsley, and Hicks, the Redbirds will return journeyman and 2021 revelation T.J. McFarland (who re-signed on a one-year, $2.5MM deal in November) as well as Kodi Whitley and potential long-man Jake Woodford. Current minor leaguers Andre Pallante (who posted a 3.91 ERA in 99 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A in 2021, his age-22 season) and Jake Walsh (who’ll play at age 26 in 2022 but posted 2.86 ERA in 22 innings across the same levels) could also be asked to contribute at some point in 2022.

Should they add a high-leverage arm to what’s already a talented group, the Cards’ bullpen could prove a substantial strength in 2022, particularly if a starting rotation bolstered by the addition of Steven Matz can continue to eat innings at the pace it did in 2021 (the Cardinals’ bullpen covered 584 1/3 innings in 2021, 9th fewest in the majors). Indeed, St. Louis could showcase one of the National League’s deeper pitching staffs in 2022, particularly if Hicks and starter Jack Flaherty can both stay healthy and return to their respective 2019 forms. And though the Cardinals play in the comparatively soft NL Central, with a roughly league-average offense returning essentially intact from 2021, they’ll likely need their pitching staff to perform at a high level to return to the playoffs in 2022.

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St. Louis Cardinals Joe Kelly Ryan Tepera

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Cardinals Expected To Prioritize Bullpen Help After Lockout

By Anthony Franco | December 17, 2021 at 6:45pm CDT

The Cardinals have made one big addition to the pitching staff this offseason, signing starter Steven Matz to a four-year deal. They’ve not done much to address the bullpen yet, though, with the re-signing of T.J. McFarland the only big league move in the later innings.

Adding to the bullpen figures to be a priority for the St. Louis front office coming out of the lockout. As part of a reader mailbag, Katie Woo of the Athletic writes that the Cardinals are likely to pursue free agent relief help on major league contracts once the transactions freeze is lifted.

As is the case every offseason, there are a decent number of bullpen options in free agency from which to choose. Raisel Iglesias and Kendall Graveman, arguably the top relievers available this winter, have already signed. Each landed a deal of at least three years in length, and Woo suggests the Cardinals are likely to look into one-year or two-year offers.

Kenley Jansen, Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin, Joe Kelly and Collin McHugh are among the top unsigned relievers. The Cardinals are plenty familiar with Kelly, a former Cards’ draftee who spent his first two and a half MLB seasons in St. Louis. Meanwhile, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote last month that the Cardinals were “intrigued” by Tepera, who has been quietly excellent over the past couple seasons with the two Chicago clubs.

Adding some veteran stability to the bullpen could allow the Cards more freedom with in-house options like Alex Reyes, Jordan Hicks and Génesis Cabrera. All three have worked in relief over the past few seasons, but the front office has seemingly left the door open for each to compete for a rotation spot (or at least a hybrid, swingman type role) in 2022. Some or all of that trio will eventually remain in a single-inning role, but bringing in an established veteran capable of working alongside Giovanny Gallegos in high-leverage spots could ease the pressure to have Reyes, Hicks and Cabrera all available in the late innings.

In other potential areas for an upgrade, Woo suggests the front office could look externally for some offensive help if the designated hitter comes to the National League in the upcoming collective bargaining agreement. As things currently stand, Juan Yepez and Lars Nootbaar might be the favorites for DH playing time among the in-house options, at least until top prospect Nolan Gorman is ready for everyday MLB run.

Nelson Cruz is the top bat-only free agent available, but St. Louis could address the position by adding a bat-first utilityman capable of rotating through DH and other positions on the diamond. Speculatively speaking, old friend Brad Miller — or another player of his ilk — could be a viable target. An offensive-minded utilityman could assume a good chunk of the DH at-bats early in the season while retaining enough flexibility to contribute in other ways if Gorman, Nootbaar or Yepez prove worthy of everyday playing time.

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St. Louis Cardinals Ryan Tepera

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Cubs Trade Ryan Tepera To White Sox

By Steve Adams | July 29, 2021 at 1:52pm CDT

The Cubs announced Thursday that they’ve traded right-handed reliever Ryan Tepera to the White Sox in exchange for minor league left-hander Bailey Horn. The White Sox announced that righty Evan Marshall has been transferred to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man roster spot for Tepera. ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reported (via Twitter) that the two sides had agreed to a Tepera deal just before the formal announcement.

Ryan Tepera | Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Tepera, 33, has been a rock-solid bullpen option for the Cubs over the past two seasons, tallying 64 innings of 3.23 ERA ball with an excellent 31.9 percent strikeout rate, a 9.4 percent walk rate and a 44.8 percent walk rate. He’s playing the season on a one-year, $800K contract that comes with $1MM of very attainable incentives. He’s already unlocked $300K of those incentives and is on the cusp of reaching several other bonuses. He’ll take home $100K for appearing in his 45th game — he’s currently at 43 — and will earn $150K for reaching 50 and 55 games apiece. His 60th game comes with a $200K bonus, and Tepera will also unlock another $50K when he spends his 120th on the active roster.

Even with those incentives, he’s been nothing short of a bargain for the Cubs and will give the White Sox an eminently affordable late-inning arm to help solidify the bullpen. That’s key for the White Sox, who are running away with the American League Central but have had a middle-of-the-pack bullpen for much of the season. White Sox relievers rank 15th in the Majors with a combined 4.10 ERA. Tepera can help lower that mark, and his outstanding strikeout rate is lofty enough that it could be an improvement even over Chicago’s combined 27.6 percent mark, which ranks fourth among MLB bullpens.

Horn, 23, was the White Sox’ third-round pick out of Auburn just last summer. The 6’2″, 210-pound lefty breezed through 27 1/3 innings of Class-A this season, pitching to a 2.63 ERA with a 32-to-7 K/BB ratio and a hefty 56.7 percent grounder rate against younger opponents before being bumped to Class-A Advanced. He’s allowed 16 runs in 11 innings there, due largely to 11 walks issued, but it’s a small sample of innings for a pitcher making his pro debut.

Horn ranked 30th among White Sox farmhands at FanGraphs, 25th at Baseball America and No. 23 over at MLB.com. BA writes that Horn sits 90-94 mph with his heater and has a pair of above-average breaking balls, but his command is a red flag that holds him back. He’ll add a college arm with a bit of draft pedigree to a Cubs system that is currently heavier on positions players than on pitchers.

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Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox Newsstand Transactions Bailey Horn Evan Marshall Ryan Tepera

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Latest On Interest In Cubs’ Trade Chips

By Mark Polishuk | July 27, 2021 at 12:41pm CDT

12:41PM: The White Sox and Red Sox are two of at least seven teams interested in Kimbrel, 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine writes, while the White Sox have also scouted another Cubs reliever in Ryan Tepera.

10:49AM: The Cubs completed another trade last night in sending Andrew Chafin to the Athletics, setting the stage for what should be a very busy week of transactions for Chicago in advance of Friday’s 3pm CT trade deadline.  Many of the biggest names remain, and rumors continue to circulate about where these top names could land.

Closer Craig Kimbrel is drawing much of the buzz, and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports that the Padres are among the teams interested in the veteran reliever.  While many of the Cubs’ most notable trade chips are rental players, Kimbrel is controlled through the 2022 season due to a $16MM club option.  He also has around $5.5MM remaining in salary for this season, so he isn’t an entirely inexpensive proposition for a team looking at the right-hander as just a rental.

This is a particular factor for a team like the Padres, who are facing a luxury tax overage for the first time in franchise history.  Team ownership is willing to make that leap beyond the $210MM payroll threshold, though the Padres are naturally exploring ways (such as unloading Eric Hosmer’s contract) to avoid the tax if at all possible.

The Red Sox “have at least had preliminary conversations ” with the Cubs about first baseman Anthony Rizzo, ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan reports, which seems like a natural fit considering how little production the Sox have received from the first base position this season.  Boston is the first team officially linked to Rizzo on the rumor mill, as Passan writes that Rizzo’s market “is not so robust” since he is a veteran position player who is a free agent after the year.

In fact, there has been more speculation about Rizzo possibly staying with the Cubs rather than leaving, even though extension talks in Spring Training failed to produce a new contract.  Recent reports suggested that the Cubs would look to again discuss extensions with both Rizzo and Javier Baez prior to the deadline, but NBC Sports Chicago’s Gordon Wittenmyer reports that “no extension talks are happening with” either player.

This doesn’t mean that either will be traded, however.  In fact, Wittenmyer hears from sources around baseball that the Cubs will be keeping both Baez and Kyle Hendricks beyond Friday’s deadline.  (MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported last night that the Cubs weren’t looking to move Hendricks and that a trade was unlikely.)  It isn’t quite as firm about whether or not Rizzo could remain or be dealt to Boston or another team, but if the first baseman is kept, Wittenmyer writes that the Cubs will again look into extending both Rizzo and Baez before they reach free agency this winter.

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Boston Red Sox Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox San Diego Padres Anthony Rizzo Craig Kimbrel Javier Baez Kyle Hendricks Ryan Tepera

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Quick Hits: Phillies, Mets, Stroman, Padres, Cruz

By TC Zencka | July 24, 2021 at 1:11pm CDT

The Phillies are interested in Craig Kimbrel, Ryan Tepera, and Andrew Chafin of the Cubs, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). Phillies’ scouts are present at Wrigley Field today. While it may seem counterintuitive, having so many potential trade targets on one team can muddy the trade waters, so we’ll see if the Phillies and Cubs can narrow their focus to get a deal done here in the coming week. Elsewhere…

  • The Mets and Marcus Stroman have not had any discussions about a possible contract extension, per Mike Ruiz of Newsday. Stroman has played a massive role in the Mets’ ascent to the top of the NL East this season, tossing 111 1/3 innings with a 2.59 ERA/3.50 FIP. He has ranked among the top-30 starters in the game by fWAR, innings pitched, ERA, FIP, groundball rate, and walk rate. He’s heading towards free agency without a qualifying offer attached entering his age-31 season.
  • Before the Rays pulled the trigger on the deal for Nelson Cruz, the Padres made a significant push to acquire the slugger, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. Cruz has a history of taking grounders at first and second base, and though it’s certainly hard to imagine a successful plan to convert the 41-year-old DH into an infielder, the Padres were willing to give it a shot in order to have his bat on the bench. What’s more, they weren’t the only National League team in pursuit, per Rosenthal.
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Arizona Diamondbacks Chicago Cubs Discussion New York Mets Philadelphia Phillies San Diego Padres Tampa Bay Rays Andrew Chafin Craig Kimbrel Marcus Stroman Nelson Cruz Ryan Tepera

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Cubs Activate Ryan Tepera, Place Brad Wieck On Injured List

By Anthony Franco | July 9, 2021 at 10:29pm CDT

Prior to this afternoon’s game against the Cardinals, the Cubs reinstated reliever Ryan Tepera from the 10-day injured list. Bullpen mate Brad Wieck was placed on the 10-day IL, retroactive to July 7, with an irregular heartbeat. Additionally, the Cubs recalled southpaw Kyle Ryan from Triple-A Iowa and optioned righty Cory Abbott.

Tepera landed on the IL due to a calf strain in late April, interrupting what has been a quality season. The veteran right-hander has worked to a 3.35 ERA/3.32 SIERA over 37 2/3 innings, holding fourteen leads as a high-leverage option for manager David Ross. Tepera has backed that solid run prevention up with quality peripherals. He’s punched out an above-average 28.3% of batters faced while walking just 8.3% and inducing groundballs at a decent 47.7% clip.

It’s the second straight season of strong work for Tepera, who joined the Cubs entering 2020 after five years with the Blue Jays. Since signing with Chicago, he’s tossed 58 1/3 frames of 3.55 ERA ball with a very strong 30.8% strikeout percentage. More impressively, Tepera has racked up swings and misses on 17.4% of his pitches over the past two seasons. That’s the eighth-highest swinging strike rate among the 282 hurlers with at least 50 innings pitched (behind only Jacob deGrom, Raisel Iglesias, Devin Williams, Josh Hader, Liam Hendriks, Edwin Díaz and Trevor May).

That kind of bat-missing capability is sure to attract interest from bullpen-needy contenders. The Cubs now look like deadline sellers after a horrible two weeks of play. Tepera’s on a modest $800K guarantee and is scheduled to reach free agency at the end of the year. Few relievers on the trade market can match that combination of productivity and affordability, and his lack of long-term control means he’s likely to wind up on the move in the coming weeks.

It stands to reason that contenders would inquire about Wieck if he were healthy as well. He’s been unscored upon across 17 innings this year while punching batters out at a massive 39.4% clip. Wieck has been prone to walks (14.1%) but it’s still been a strong effort nonetheless.

The Cubs didn’t provide a timetable for his return, but the diagnosis of an abnormal heartbeat is especially concerning given Wieck’s personal history. The left-hander underwent a cardiac ablation procedure in February 2020 after a routine physical turned up an atrial flutter. Given the sensitivity of the diagnosis, Wieck’s personal health is obviously paramount to any on-field concerns. Fortunately, he did return from his surgery to make it back to the mound last year (before suffering an unrelated hamstring injury).

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Chicago Cubs Brad Wieck Ryan Tepera

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Cubs Place Ryan Tepera On Injured List, Select Adam Morgan

By Anthony Franco | June 29, 2021 at 5:53pm CDT

The Cubs announced they’ve placed right-hander Ryan Tepera on the 10-day injured list with a left calf strain and optioned right-hander Trevor Megill to Triple-A Iowa. Righty Tommy Nance was recalled from Iowa, while southpaw Adam Morgan was selected to the big league roster. To create 40-man roster space for Morgan, infielder Matt Duffy was transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Tepera has been quite productive this season. Through 37 2/3 innings, the righty has worked to a 3.35 ERA/3.28 SIERA. He’s punched out a strong 28.3% of opposing hitters- his second consecutive season missing plenty of bats- against a solid 8.3% walk percentage. Tepera has been a key piece of a Cubs bullpen that has surprisingly been one of the game’s best. Chicago relievers have a 2.95 ERA that trails only the Padres’ 2.85 mark, and they’re also near the top of the league in strikeout rate (29%), strikeout/walk rate differential (17 percentage points) and SIERA (3.67).

Morgan will try to emulate that work in his first taste of big league action this year. The 31-year-old pitched in the majors each season between 2015-20 with the Phillies, and he’ll now get an opportunity for a seventh straight campaign. While Morgan was generally underwhelming early in his career as a starting pitcher, he proved fairly effective upon a move to the bullpen. He has a 4.07 ERA/4.22 FIP with decent strikeout and walk numbers (25.5% and 9.1%, respectively) in 150 1/3 career innings as a reliever.

Unfortunately, Morgan was forced to undergo flexor tendon surgery last October. The Phillies outrighted him and he signed a minor league deal with the Cubs in January. He’s been fantastic over 16 1/3 innings with Iowa, working to a 2.20 ERA with a 32.3% strikeout rate and a 4.6% walk percentage.

Duffy went on the IL with a low back strain on May 23. Today’s transfer rules him out for sixty days from the date of his original IL placement, so he won’t return until at least July 22. The 30-year-old infielder has hit a solid .278/.377/.356 through 106 plate appearances this season.

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Chicago Cubs Transactions Adam Morgan Matt Duffy Ryan Tepera

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