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Scott Effross

Post-Tommy John Players That Could Impact 2023

By Darragh McDonald | January 17, 2023 at 11:59pm CDT

News items about Tommy John surgeries are fairly commonplace in baseball circles, but there’s no doubting it’s a significant event for the impacted player. It usually takes over a year to return to form, with a multi-stage rehabilitation process required to regain functionality.

Once a player gets back into game shape, there’s no guarantee the results will be the same. Justin Verlander looked just as good as ever in 2022, but Mike Clevinger didn’t get his velocity all the way back and saw his strikeout rate dip. He could still take another step forward in 2023 now that he’s another year removed from the procedure, but it goes to show that there are no guarantees about what happens in the aftermath.

Here are some players who went under the knife over the past year or so and who will be looking for good progress in 2023, both for their teams and themselves. Huge shoutout to the Tommy John Surgery list for having these details and so much more.

Forrest Whitley, Astros — Surgery Date: March 2021

Whitley, 25, was once considered one of the best pitching prospects in baseball, but his progress has been stalled by various factors. He missed 50 games in 2018 due to a drug suspension, and injuries have hampered him in the years since. He returned from his layoff late last year and tossed 40 innings in the minors but walked 14.5% of batters faced. The Astros already have a great rotation without him, but if Whitley could get back to the form that made him such a hyped prospect, they would be even more loaded.

Kirby Yates, Braves — March 2021

Yates, 36 in March, was one of the best relievers in the league in 2018 and 2019, arguably the best. He posted a 1.67 ERA over 125 games, striking out 38.7% of batters faced, walking just 6.1% of them and getting grounders on 45.2% of balls in play. Since then, however, he’s thrown just 11 1/3 innings. Seven of those came late in the 2022  season, though Yates gave up four runs on six hits and five walks in seven innings. This will be his first full season back. The Braves have a strong bullpen even if Yates can’t get back to peak form, but they’ll likely be in a tight division race and that kind of elite stuff would provide a nice boost.

José Leclerc and Jonathan Hernández, Rangers — March and April 2021, respectively

Leclerc, 29, seemed to be establishing himself as an excellent reliever in 2018. He got into 59 games for the Rangers and posted a 1.56 ERA, getting 12 saves and 15 holds in the process. A .211 BABIP surely helped, but there was a lot to like. He took a step back in 2019 with a 4.33 ERA and then missed most of the following two years. Leclerc returned in June of last year and struggled at first before posting a 2.01 ERA from July onwards. Hernández had a 2.90 ERA in 2020 before missing the 2021 campaign. He returned last year and posted a 2.97 ERA, but with concerning peripherals. His 6.4% walk rate from the former campaign jumped to 13% while his strikeout rate fell from 24.8% to 20.6%. On the more encouraging side, his ground ball rate went from 45.7% to 62.4%. The Rangers totally overhauled their rotation without doing much to the bullpen, but they could potentially get a boost from within if Leclerc and/or Hernández look good this year.

Adrián Morejón, Padres — April 2021

Once considered a top pitching prospect, Morejón, 24 next month, has been slowed by various injuries. He returned in 2022 but worked only in relief, tossing 34 innings in the majors and 13 1/3 in the minors. The Padres have some uncertainty in the back of their rotation that Morejón could help with if he stays healthy, but he’ll likely have workload concerns after so much missed time.

James Paxton, Red Sox — April 2021

Paxton, 34, had a great four-year run with the Mariners and Yankees from 2016 to 2019. However, he’s hardly pitched over the last three years due to various arm issues. He got back on the mound last summer while attempting to come back from Tommy John but then suffered a lat tear that halted his comeback effort. The Red Sox then had the choice to trigger a two-year option on the lefty worth $26MM, which they turned down based on his uncertain health outlook. He then had a $4MM player option that he triggered and will be with the Sox for 2023. He and Chris Sale would have made for a formidable one-two punch at the top of a rotation a few years ago, but neither has been healthy and effective for quite some time. Their status this year figures to have a huge impact on the fortunes of the Sox for the upcoming campaign.

Dustin May, Dodgers — May 2021

May, 25, returned late last year and was able to make six starts for the Dodgers. He posted a 4.50 ERA in that time and struck out 22.8% of batters faced, with both of those numbers paling in comparison to his pre-surgery form. The Dodgers let Tyler Anderson and Andrew Heaney depart from their 2022 rotation, while bringing in Noah Syndergaard. The quiet offseason will be easier to accept if May can post results like he did over 2019-2021: 2.93 ERA, 24.2% strikeout rate, 5.9% walk rate, 51.6% ground ball rate.

Joey Lucchesi, Mets — June 2021

Lucchesi, 30 in June, made 56 starts for the Padres in 2018 and 2019 with a 4.14 ERA. He didn’t get much of an opportunity in 2020 and was flipped to the Mets as part of the Joe Musgrove trade. He isn’t one of the club’s five best starters right now, but their rotation features four veterans who are 34 or older in Verlander, Max Scherzer, Carlos Carrasco and José Quintana. Also, Kodai Senga is making the transition from Japan, where starters frequently only pitch once a week. The club will surely need to rely on its depth this year at some point, making Lucchesi a key part of the equation.

Spencer Turnbull, Tigers — July 2021

Turnbull, 30, was seeming to make progress towards being a quality starter for the Tigers. He posted a 4.61 ERA in 2019 but got that down to 3.97 in 2020. He pushed it down even more in 2021, registering a 2.88 ERA over nine starts before getting shut down and requiring surgery. The Tigers seem likely to be without Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal to start the year as those pitchers deal with their own injuries. That could leave a path for Turnbull to get back on track.

Tyler Glasnow, Rays — August 2021

Glasnow, 29, didn’t live up to expectations with the Pirates but made good on his prospect pedigree after getting traded to the Rays. From 2019 to 2021, he had a 2.80 ERA while striking out 35.9% of batters faced and walking just 7.8% of them. Tommy John surgery put him out of action for a while but he was able to return late last year, making two starts in the regular season and one in the postseason. Glasnow has looked like an ace at times but still hasn’t maintained it over an extended stretch, still never reaching 115 innings in a major league season. The Rays have been fairly quiet this winter, but a healthy Glasnow is arguably a bigger upgrade to their roster than any move they could have made.

Tejay Antone, Reds — August 2021

Antone, 29, debuted in 2020 and was excellent out of the Reds’ bullpen. Over that year and 2021, he tossed 69 innings with a 2.48 ERA, 32.3% strikeout rate and 48% ground ball rate. The walks were a little high at 10.8% but he was still able to be incredibly effective regardless. He isn’t slated to reach free agency until after 2025, but the rebuilding Reds might have to consider a deadline deal if Antone is healthy and pitching well this summer.

Garrett Crochet, White Sox — April 2022

Crochet, 24 in June, was selected 11th overall in the 2020 draft and made his MLB debut later that year. Between his five appearances in 2020 and 54 more the following year, he has a 2.54 ERA and 29% strikeout rate. He’ll likely miss at least part of the upcoming campaign but the club is planning on keeping him in a relief role, which could help him return quicker.

Luke Jackson, Giants — April 2022

Jackson, 31, had a huge breakout with the Braves in 2021. He tossed 63 2/3 innings with a 1.98 ERA, striking out 26.8% of batters faced while getting grounders at a healthy 52.5% clip. He wasn’t as effective in the playoffs but nonetheless was part of the club’s World Series victory that year. He reached free agency and signed with the Giants, who are taking a shot on a return to form, though Jackson might miss the first couple of months of the 2023 season.

John Means, Orioles — April 2022

Means, 30 in April, was one of the few highlights for the Orioles during their leanest rebuilding years. He has a 3.81 ERA in 356 2/3 career innings, keeping his walks down to an excellent 5% rate. The Orioles took a huge step forward last year, graduating many of their top prospects and actually flirting with postseason contention. They’ll be looking to make more progress this year, but the rotation is still lacking in proven options. Getting Means back into the mix would be a big help if some of the younger guys struggle.

Chris Paddack, Twins — May 2022

Paddack, 27, had a great debut with the Padres in 2019, making 26 starts with a 3.33 ERA. His results fell off in the next two seasons, and he dealt with an elbow strain late in the 2021 season, but the Twins still liked him enough to acquire him as part of their return for Taylor Rogers. He was only able to make five starts before landing on the shelf. Their faith doesn’t seem to have wavered, as they recently signed him to a three-year extension. The Twins have a solid rotation on paper, but nearly the entire group landed on the injured list at some point in 2022. Kenta Maeda missed the whole season while rehabbing from an internal brace procedure, a modification of Tommy John surgery. Since injuries were the big story for the Twins in 2022, better health and/or better depth will be important in 2023.

Chad Green, Free Agent — June 2022

Green, 32 in May, spent the past seven seasons pitching for the Yankees. He tossed 383 2/3 innings in that time with a 3.17 ERA, striking out 32.5% of batters faced against a 6.3% walk rate. Unfortunately, he required Tommy John just a few months away from qualifying for free agency. He has yet to sign with a club, but players in this position often sign two-year deals that cover their rehab and give the team an extra year of control. If Green can find himself a deal like that, he could be a wild card down the stretch.

Casey Mize, Tigers — June 2022

Mize, 26 in May, was selected first overall by the Tigers in 2018. He posted a solid 3.71 ERA in 2021, but with disappointing underlying metrics. He only struck out 19.3% of batters faced and had a much higher 4.92 xERA, 4.71 FIP and 4.45 SIERA. After a dreadful 2022 season, the Tigers need to see how Turnbull, Mize, Skubal and Manning look this year before deciding how to proceed for the future.

Hyun Jin Ryu, Blue Jays — June 2022

Ryu, 36 in March, has oscillated between being injured and dominant for much of his career. He signed a four-year deal with the Blue Jays prior to 2020 and posted a 2.69 ERA that year, coming in third in the AL Cy Young voting. His ERA ticked up to 4.37 in 2021, and Ryu struggled even more last year before going under the knife. The Jays have a solid front four in their rotation but uncertainty at the back. Ryu is targeting a July return, and his health at that time could impact how the Jays approach the trade deadline.

Andrew Kittredge, Rays — June 2022

Kittredge, 33 in March, dominated in 2021 by posting a 1.88 ERA over 71 2/3 innings. He struck out 27.3% of batters he faced while walking just 5.3% of them and also got grounders on 53.5% of balls in play. He took a step back last year but made multiple trips to the injured list and likely wasn’t 100%. He’ll surely miss the first several months of the season but could jump into Tampa’s bullpen down the stretch.

Walker Buehler, Dodgers — August 2022

Buehler, 28, has an excellent track record for the Dodgers, having posted a 3.02 ERA in 638 1/3 innings. He’s struck out 27% of opponents while giving out free passes to just 6.3% of them. The Dodgers will have to get by without him for the majority of 2023, though there’s a chance he could be a late addition to the roster if all goes well. His August surgery makes him roughly one year behind Glasnow, who was able to return late in 2022. However, Glasnow’s procedure was August 4th of 2021 while Buehler’s was on the 23rd of last year. Still, if the Dodgers make a deep postseason run, that could give Buehler the runway he needs to make a landing this year.

September 2022 Or Later: Shane Baz, Anthony Gose, Scott Effross, Tyler Matzek, Bryce Harper

These players face longer odds of making an impact since their surgeries were so late in the year. The major exception is Harper, since position players require less recovery time than pitchers. Harper is hoped to be able to return to the Phillies around the All-Star break as a designated hitter, with a chance of returning to the field later in the campaign.

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Atlanta Braves Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Chicago White Sox Cincinnati Reds Detroit Tigers Houston Astros Los Angeles Dodgers Minnesota Twins MLBTR Originals New York Mets Philadelphia Phillies San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants Tampa Bay Rays Texas Rangers Toronto Blue Jays Adrian Morejon Andrew Kittredge Anthony Gose Bryce Harper Casey Mize Chad Green Chris Paddack Dustin May Forrest Whitley Garrett Crochet Hyun-Jin Ryu James Paxton Joey Lucchesi John Means Jonathan Hernandez Jose Leclerc Kirby Yates Luke Jackson Scott Effross Shane Baz Spencer Turnbull Tejay Antone Tyler Glasnow Tyler Matzek Walker Buehler

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Scott Effross To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

By Darragh McDonald | October 11, 2022 at 10:35am CDT

Yankees right-hander Scott Effross will require Tommy John surgery, reports Jack Curry of the YES Network. The news is an ill-timed blow to the Yankees, who are just about to begin the ALDS and will be without a key piece of their bullpen.

Effross, 28, made his MLB debut last year, throwing 14 2/3 innings with the Cubs with a 3.68 ERA. Here in 2022, he took his game to another level, throwing 44 more frames with Chicago, registering a 2.66 ERA, 28.1% strikeout rate, 6.2% walk rate and 45.6% ground ball rate. The Yankees were impressed enough by that showing to acquire him at the deadline, sending pitching prospect Hayden Wesneski the other way.

Effross continued to be effective once coming to the Bronx, adding another 12 2/3 innings with a 2.13 ERA, earning three saves and three holds while pitching in high-leverage situations despite missing about a month with a shoulder strain. He would have been in line to be an important member of the club’s relief corps in the postseason but will now miss the remainder of the playoffs and the entirety of the 2023 season as well.

This certainly isn’t the first hit that the Yankee bullpen has taken this year, as Chad Green also required Tommy John back in May. Zack Britton was placed on the 60-day IL earlier this month due to shoulder fatigue. Michael King suffered a season-ending elbow fracture in July. Ron Marinaccio was placed on the 15-day IL a week ago and won’t be an option for the ALDS, though he could potentially return later in the postseason if the Yankees advance. In addition to all of those injury woes, Aroldis Chapman has been struggling this season and then skipped a team workout last week. Due to his truancy, the team fined him and left him off the ALDS roster. The Yanks will now have to try to navigate the remainder of the postseason with a depleted bullpen group.

Going forward, Effross will miss the entirety of his age-29 season. He has just over one year of MLB service time and won’t be arbitration eligible until after the 2024 season. The Yankees can keep him on their 60-day IL all of next season, although there’s no injured list between the end of the season and the start of Spring Training, meaning Effross will be need a roster spot from November to February.

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New York Yankees Newsstand Scott Effross

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Yankees Notes: LeMahieu, Rizzo, Cabrera, Bader, Pitching Staff

By Darragh McDonald | September 11, 2022 at 3:26pm CDT

3:26PM: LeMahieu discussed his toe injury with Rivera and other reporters, saying that he had yet to begin any baseball activities since he isn’t able to rotate his right foot.  LeMahieu is hopeful he might be able to return when the Yankees begin a homestand on September 20, though Boone wasn’t quite as optimistic about that potential return date.

9:25AM: The Yankees were largely able to avoid the injury bug in the early part of the year but it’s caught up with them here in the latter part of the schedule. The club currently has 15 players on the IL, which includes five position players and 10 pitchers. Marly Rivera did a thorough roundup at ESPN, including comments from manager Aaron Boone.

First baseman Anthony Rizzo has been out of action for over a week now but seems to be trending towards a return to baseball activities. A lingering back issue led to him getting an epidural as treatment, but that had the unfortunate side effect of giving Rizzo migraines. Rivera reports that Rizzo received a blood patch to try to alleviate the migraines, which Boone characterized as a success. “Immediately, they had him moving around and walking,” Boone said. “And I think it freed him up right away. Headaches are gone so far.”

Boone then added that if Rizzo feels good today, they will start ramping up baseball activities. While that sounds like good news, the next steps are still a bit murky. Though Boone is hoping for Rizzo to be back in the lineup within a week, it will depend on how things progress. “It’ll kind of depend on how the ramp-up goes. Hopefully, we’ve gotten through what we need to, and now we can start building that process. We’ll just pay attention to how he’s doing and how long it takes him to get rolling.”

With Rizzo and DJ LeMahieu out of action, the Yanks took a shot on Ronald Guzmán, though he was designated for assignment after just a few days. Marwin Gonzalez is holding down the position for now, with Rivera reporting that rookie Oswaldo Cabrera currently penciled in as the backup. Cabrera definitely has versatility, having played a lot of second base, third base and shortstop in his career, as well as some outfield work. He’s never played first base, however, though that doesn’t seem too concerning to the Yanks. Rivera reports that Cabrera has been practicing his work at first, getting a nod of approval from infield coach Travis Chapman.

There could be reinforcements coming for the outfield as well, with Harrison Bader inching closer to his Yankee debut. Acquired from the Cardinals on deadline day, Bader was on the IL at the time with plantar fasciitis and hasn’t been able to officially don the pinstripes just yet. He is going to start a rehab assignment today, though only serving as designated hitter initially. “It’s really just a matter of getting on a baseball field, checking off boxes in terms of feeling comfortable physically at game speed, and once those are checked, I’m going to go and be a winning player for this team,” Bader said.

Giving more details about the rehab, Boone said that Bader will DH today for the Double-A Somerset Patriots, who then have an off-day on Monday, with Bader building up after that. “It’ll probably be at least a week,” Boone said. “If we get through that week, and the buildup is going fine, he could be in play then when we start the homestand.” The homestand Boone referred to begins on September 20, which would give Bader a chance to contribute over the final two weeks of the regular schedule.

As for the pitching staff, the Yanks could have many options over the horizon, as a whole fleet of arms are rehabbing and nearing a return. Aroldis Chapman, Miguel Castro and Zack Britton are all scheduled to pitch for the Patriots today, with Chapman and Castro potentially returning for the same homestand as Bader. Scott Effross isn’t quite at the rehab stage but is gearing up to it. Additionally, Luis Severino is ready for launch but will make one more rehab start since the big league club has a couple of off-days that negate the need for his services in the short term.

The health of all these players, and the roster in general, will be hugely important for the Yankees in the final few weeks of the season. Not so long ago, it seemed that they were in cruise control, leading the AL East by as much as 15 1/2 games in July. This pile of injuries has helped slow the team down and whittle their lead over the Rays to just 4 1/2 games as of today, with the Jays just half a game behind Tampa. With just over three weeks left in the regular season, the Yanks will be hoping to fend off their competitors and keep the division title, which would be hugely important for their postseason chances. Whoever wins the East will almost certainly get a bye through the first round, whereas those who settle for a Wild Card slot will have to survive a best-of-three series to stay alive.

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New York Yankees Notes Anthony Rizzo Aroldis Chapman DJ LeMahieu Harrison Bader Luis Severino Miguel Castro Oswaldo Cabrera Scott Effross Zach Britton

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Yankees Place Scott Effross On IL With Shoulder Strain

By Darragh McDonald | August 22, 2022 at 3:55pm CDT

Yankees right-hander Scott Effross is going on the 15-day injured list with a shoulder strain, according to manager Aaron Boone, courtesy Lindsey Adler of The Athletic. Boone characterizes the strain as minor but says that Effross will be shut down from throwing for 7-10 days, per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. Fellow righty Clarke Schmidt will take his place on the active roster.

It’s yet another blow to a Yankee relief corps that has seen its fair share of them this year. Earlier in the campaign, they lost Chad Green to Tommy John surgery. In July, Michael King suffered a season-ending elbow fracture. That month also saw Miguel Castro land on the shelf due to a shoulder strain. Here in August, the club has seen Clay Holmes and Albert Abreu go on the IL due to back spasms and elbow inflammation, respectively.

Effross, 28, was acquired from the Cubs prior to the trade deadline and immediately jumped into the mix for high leverage work in the Bronx. He recorded a hold in his second appearance with the club, later tallying a save as well. Unfortunately, the club will now have to get by without him as an option, at least for a few weeks. He’s thrown 52 1/3 innings this year between Chicago and New York, registering a 2.75 ERA with a 27.5% strikeout rate, 6.2% walk rate and 43.1% ground ball rate.

While the loss of Effross is certainly bad news, the Yankees got good news about their bullpen elsewhere. Holmes has started throwing bullpens without physical issues, per Meredith Marakovits of the YES Network, meaning he’s on track to return soon. Miguel Castro has started throwing as well, per Marly Rivera of ESPN, and could progress to throwing a bullpen by Friday. And in non-bullpen news, Boone tells Rivera that the plan for slugger Giancarlo Stanton is to be activated from his rehab assignment on Thursday.

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New York Yankees Transactions Clay Holmes Giancarlo Stanton Miguel Castro Scott Effross

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Yankees Acquire Scott Effross From Cubs

By Steve Adams | August 1, 2022 at 12:05pm CDT

For the second trade deadline in a row, the Yankees have bolstered their bullpen with an under-the-radar arm from the NL Central. The Yankees announced Monday that they’ve acquired right-hander Scott Effross from the Cubs in exchange for minor league right-hander Hayden Wesneski.

Scott Effross | Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Effross, 28, isn’t a household name but has been outstanding since the Cubs promoted him for his Major League debut in 2021. The sidearming righty has tallied 58 2/3 innings as a big leaguer to date and posted a 2.91 ERA with a 28.8% strikeout rate, a 5.1% walk rate and a 46% ground-ball rate.

While Effross throws right-handed, he’s been far more effective against lefties than right-handers to this point in his big league career, which surely held appeal to the Yankees (and to other teams). That’s not to say that he’s ineffective against fellow righties — far from it — but Effross has held lefties to a putrid .160/.250/.253 batting line through 85 plate appearances. Right-handed hitters have had struggles of their own, hitting Effross at a solid .262 clip but posting a meager .287 OBP and just a .369 slugging percentage.

Because Effross is only in his second big league season and entered the year with less than one full year of Major League service time, he’s controllable for another five years beyond the current campaign. He’ll be arbitration-eligible following the 2024 campaign and won’t reach free agency until the 2027-28 offseason.

The acquisition of Effross is pivotal for a Yankees team that has seen its previously rock-solid bullpen begin to show cracks of late. In recent weeks, the Yankees have lost Michael King to a fractured elbow, seen Chad Green go down with a torn ligament that required Tommy John surgery, and watched former closer Aroldis Chapman struggle badly in his return from the injured list. Even Clay Holmes, the team’s breakout closer and All-Star, has scuffled over the past two weeks after a superhuman start to the 2022 season that catapulted him into the Yankees’ closer role. Effoss will help solidify the group both in 2022 and well beyond — provided he can sustain his own impressive emergence as a viable late-inning arm.

Wesneski, 24, was the Yankees’ sixth-round pick in 2019 and has emerged as one of the organization’s top pitching prospects, ranking fourth among Yankee farmhands at Baseball America. The 6’3″, 210-pound righty reached Triple-A late in the 2021 season and has spent the entire 2022 campaign there. Through 19 starts and 89 2/3 innings so far this season, he’ notched a 3.51 ERA with a 22.4% strikeout rate, a 7.5% walk rate and a 41.6% ground-ball rate.

Scouting reports on Wesneski credit him for mid-90s velocity on a pair of heaters — two-seam and four-seam — with the latter able to climb as high as 99 mph. He also works with a slider, changeup and cutter. Baseball America touts him as a potential fourth starter, one who’s not too far off from big league readiness. It’s the type of upper-level arm with decent probability to become a big league starter that the Cubs generally struggled to develop in the prior Theo Epstein/Jed Hoyer regime. MLB.com has already updated its ranking of the Cubs’ top prospects with Wesneski slotting in No. 8, right behind fellow pitching prospects Caleb Kilian and Jordan Wicks.

Jack Curry of the YES Network first reported (via Twitter) that Effross had been traded to the Yankees. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweeted that Wesneski was going to Chicago in return.

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Chicago Cubs New York Yankees Newsstand Transactions Hayden Wesneski Scott Effross

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Cubs Make Five Roster Moves

By Mark Polishuk | August 28, 2021 at 6:10pm CDT

6:10PM: Bote’s ankle injury is “significant,” manager David Ross told reporters (including Tim Stebbins of NBC Sports Chicago), and it isn’t out of the question that Bote’s season could be over.  Ross said Bote hurt his right ankle in rather fluky fashion, as he stepped onto a baseball while participating in a pregame baserunning drill.  “You watch the replay, and it’s pretty nasty, how hard he rolled his ankle,” Ross said.

3:37PM: The Cubs announced a flurry of roster moves today, including the news that David Bote has been placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to August 26) due to a right ankle sprain.  Chicago also designated right-handers Jake Jewell and Ryan Meisinger for assignment, and selected the contracts of right-hander Scott Effross and infielder Alfonso Rivas from Triple-A.

This is Bote’s second IL placement of the season, after a separated shoulder put him out of action for close to two months.  Bote has seen most of the everyday second base at-bats since returning from that first IL trip, though he is still struggling at the plate, with only a .202/.270/.339 slash line over 268 plate appearances.  The severity of the sprain isn’t yet known, and Cubs radio broadcaster Zach Zaidman (Twitter link) said Bote’s injury occurred yesterday during batting practice.

Both Effross and Rivas are now in line to make their Major League debuts, as the rebuilding Cubs continue to look at younger players.  Effross was a 15th-round pick for the team in the 2015 draft, while Rivas was a fourth-round pick for the A’s in the 2018 draft, and was dealt to Chicago in January 2020 in the trade that sent Tony Kemp to Oakland.

On-base skills have been Rivas’ calling card over his brief pro career, as he has hit .288/.393/.411 over 1037 PA across three minor league seasons.  The left-handed hitting Rivas has done much of that damage against right-handed pitching, and he has played some left field and right field to go along with his customary first base spot.

Effross began the season at Double-A and was then promoted to Triple-A for the first time.  Overall, the 27-year-old has a 3.41 ERA and 27.61% strikeout rate over 60 2/3 combined innings this season, working out of the bullpen for 29 of his 31 appearances.  Effross tends to rely more on grounders than missed bats, as he has consistently topped the 50 percent threshold for groundball percentage during his minor league career.

Jewell and Meisinger each signed minor league contracts with the Cubs during the offseason, and both right-handers were selected to the MLB roster within the last month.  Jewell has a 9.90 ERA over 10 innings, while Meisinger has a 12.27 ERA in 7 1/3 innings.

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Chicago Cubs Transactions Alfonso Rivas David Bote Jake Jewell Ryan Meisinger Scott Effross

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    Rangers Sign Danny Duffy, Clint Frazier, Travis Jankowski To Minor League Contracts

    Cardinals Sign Andrew Suarez To Minor League Deal

    Braves Extend Manager Brian Snitker Through 2025

    Mets To Extend Jeff McNeil

    Rays Sign Pete Fairbanks To Extension

    Nationals Sign Alex Colome

    Big Hype Prospects: Baty, Colas, Waters, Grissom, Hernaiz

    Athletics Sign Jesús Aguilar

    Royals Sign Matt Duffy To Minor League Deal

    Dodgers Agree To Minor League Deals With Jordan Yamamoto, Dylan Covey

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