Brewers Place Wade Miley On Injured List
The Brewers placed left-hander Wade Miley on the 15-day injured list due to elbow discomfort and recalled righty Trevor Megill from Triple-A Nashville, per a team announcement. Miley tells Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that he’s not dealing with a ligament issue (Twitter links). Rather, he’s been pitching through bone spurs in his elbow. Miley has already received a platelet-rich plasma injection to help combat the pain, and manager Craig Counsell told Hogg and others today that the team is hopeful it’ll just be a minimal absence.
It’s the second IL stint of the season for Miley, who went on the injured list back on May 17 due to a lat strain. He was out until June 17 with that injury and will now be shelved again for a yet-to-be-determined period of time.
Miley, 36, has pitched to an excellent 3.06 ERA in 67 2/3 innings this season and was particularly sharp in between IL stints, logging a 2.08 ERA with a 22-to-10 K/BB ratio and 45.1% ground-ball rate in 26 innings across five starts. Overall, he’s fanned a well below-average 16.7% of his opponents in 2023 but also sports a strong 6.9% walk rate. He’s done a good job limiting hard contact (87.6 mph average exit velocity) and keeping the ball in the yard (1.06 HR/9) despite a homer-friendly home venue.
Miley joins righty Brandon Woodruff and fellow lefty Aaron Ashby on the injured list. Milwaukee figures to deploy Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta, Julio Teheran, Adrian Houser and Colin Rea in the rotation for the time being.
That could be a short arrangement, however. Woodruff is headed out on a minor league rehab assignment on Saturday, according to Counsell (Twitter link via Sophia Minnert of Bally Sports Wisconsin). Ashby is also trending toward a rehab assignment, Hogg tweets, though the plan for right now is to bring him back to the big leagues as a reliever rather than a starter.
If both Miley and Woodruff remain on track for returns sooner than later, the Brewers could well feel they have sufficient rotation depth. But there’s minimal depth beyond the current group — hence the earlier signing of Teheran, who’s been a staff savior in eight starts — so if either incurs any kind of setback it could prompt Milwaukee to look for additions between now and the Aug. 1 deadline.
Twins Acquire Taylor Floyd From Brewers
The Twins have acquired minor league right-hander Taylor Floyd from the Brewers. The move completes the late-April deal that sent Trevor Megill to Milwaukee, as Floyd will act the player to be named later that was owed to Minnesota.
Floyd was a 10th-round pick for the Brew Crew in the 2019 draft, and the Texas Tech product has spent his entire pro career in Milwaukee’s farm system. Working exclusively as a reliever, Floyd has missed a lot of bats (30.68% strikeout rate) over his 147 1/3 innings in the minors, but his walk rate rose drastically when pitching at high-A and Double-A ball in 2022. As Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen explains, an unusual offseason training quirk altered Floyd’s normal submarine delivery heading into the 2022 season, which probably accounted for his lack of control.
Longenhagen still ranked Floyd as the 39th-best prospect in the Brewers’ system even in the wake of that shaky 2022 campaign, and it seems like Floyd has stabilized things in 2023. In 23 2/3 innings at high-A, Floyd has a 3.04 ERA, 34.8% strikeout rate, and a much more palatable 7.6% walk rate. The right-hander also has a 49.1% grounder rate, continuing his career-long trend of keeping the ball on the ground roughly around half the time.
Brewers Sign Darin Ruf, Place Luke Voit On IL
The Brewers announced they have signed first baseman/outfielder Darin Ruf to a one-year contract. Right-hander Brandon Woodruff was transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster while first baseman Luke Voit was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained neck to get Ruf onto the active roster. Additionally, the club optioned righty Colin Rea and recalled fellow righty Trevor Megill.
Ruf, 36, has had some success as a lefty-mashing specialist in his career, though he’s been struggling a bit over the past year. After a successful stint in the KBO League from 2017 to 2019, he returned to North America by signing with the Giants prior to 2020. In that shortened season and the subsequent campaign, he hit .272/.381/.519 in 412 plate appearances for a 142 wRC+, including a .275/.390/.579 line and 156 wRC+ against southpaws.
Last year, his overall line dipped to .216/.328/.373, which led to a passable 104 wRC+ but that was obviously not as strong as his previous work. After a trade to the Mets, his production cratered, as he mustered a paltry .152/.216/.197 line the rest of the way. The Mets held onto him through the winter but designated him for assignment at the end of Spring Training. Ruf then returned to the Giants and hit a solid .261/.370/.348 in a tiny sample of nine games before landing on the injured list due to wrist inflammation. He was later reinstated from the IL and designated for assignment when the club selected shortstop prospect Casey Schmitt.
Ruf cleared waivers and elected free agency. Since the Mets initially released him, they are still on the hook for the majority of Ruf’s salary, which is $3MM this year along with a $250K buyout on a 2024 option. The Brewers will only owe him the prorated league minimum for any time Ruf spends on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Mets pay. That makes it a fairly low-risk move, at least from a financial perspective, as the Brewers see if Ruf can get back to the excellent form he showed a few years ago.
He will effectively be replacing Voit on the roster as the club’s right-handed hitting first baseman/designated hitter. Voit was signed to a one-year, $2MM deal for this season but has slumped to a .221/.284/.265 showing so far this year for a wRC+ of just 55. Once one of the most potent power hitters in the league, he led the league in homers in the shortened 2020 season before various injuries seemed to slow him down. He hit an average-ish .230/.314/.412 for a wRC+ of 105 over 2021 and 2022 while bouncing from the Yankees to the Padres and Nationals, going on the injured list for an oblique strain and ongoing knee problems. The Brewers gave him a shot this year but he hasn’t been able to capitalize on it just yet and he might have to battle Ruf for his roster spot whenever his neck strain subsides.
As for Woodruff, his transfer to the 60-day IL doesn’t come as a surprise. He was diagnosed with a Grade 2 subscapular strain in his right shoulder in April and isn’t expected back until late June. He’ll now be ineligible to return until 60 days from his initial IL placement of April 8, which would be early June. Since he wasn’t expected to return until after that point anyway, this transfer was an inevitable formality.
Brewers Acquire Trevor Megill
The Twins have traded right-hander Trevor Megill to Milwaukee, according to a team announcement by the Brewers, who will be sending a player to be named later and cash to Minnesota in exchange for Megill’s services. Megill has been assigned to Triple-A by Milwaukee, and that the club transferred outfielder Garrett Mitchell to the 60-day injured list to make room for Megill on the 40-man roster.
A third round pick by the Cardinals in the 2014 draft, Megill made his MLB debut in 2021 as a member of the Cubs. He struggled badly in 23 2/3 innings, however, posting an 8.37 ERA and 5.61 FIP before being designated for assignment by Chicago at the end of the season. He was claimed off waivers by the Twins and has remained in the organization ever since. In 2022, he posted much better numbers than he had on the north side. His 4.80 ERA in 45 innings of work was still below average by measure of ERA+ (81), but he struck out 25% of batters faced while walking 8.7%, leading to a solid 3.29 FIP.
Megill figures to be bullpen depth for a Brewers club that has gone without Aaron Ashby this season and recently put right-handers Matt Bush and Gus Varland on the 15-day IL. Even in spite of those injuries, however, the Brewers’ bullpen is top 5 in the majors by measure of ERA so far this season, meaning Megill may need to wait until an injury makes a spot available for his first opportunity in Milwaukee.
Twins Designate Trevor Megill For Assignment
The Twins announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Brock Stewart, a move that was reported earlier today. To open a spot for Stewart on the active roster, righty Bailey Ober was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul yesterday. To get Stewart onto the 40-man roster, righty Trevor Megill was designated for assignment.
Megill, 29, made his major league debut with the Cubs in 2021. He posted an 8.37 ERA in 28 appearances, though he struck out 26.1% of batters faced and walked just 7%. He was claimed off waivers by the Twins at season’s end, though they quickly non-tendered him and re-signed him on a minor league deal. He got selected to the roster in May and made 39 appearances for the Twins last year, registering a 4.80 ERA. It’s possible that he deserved even better, given his .368 batting average on balls in play and 62.5% strand rate. Decent peripherals like a 25% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate and 45% ground ball rate led to a 3.29 FIP and 3.38 SIERA.
The righty was optioned to Triple-A to start this season but has gotten out to an atrocious start. He’s tossed 9 2/3 innings over seven outings, walking 25.5% of batters faced, which has contributed to an unsightly 13.03 ERA. He struck out 31.4% of batters faced and got grounders at a 50% clip, but the overall results were clearly not great.
The Twins will now have a week to trade Megill or pass him through waivers. Despite his rough start to the year, other clubs may overlook that small sample and take a flier on the righty based on past results, as he still has a couple of options and has yet to qualify for arbitration.
Twins Select Aaron Sanchez
The Twins announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Aaron Sanchez. He will take the active roster spot of fellow righty Trevor Megill, who has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a left oblique strain. To make room on the 40-man roster, outfielder Kyle Garlick was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Sanchez, 30, had a tremendous season for the Blue Jays in 2016, throwing 192 innings with a 3.00 ERA, 20.4% strikeout rate, 8% walk rate and 54.4% ground ball rate. Unfortunately, various injuries have held him back in subsequent years, relegating him to a depth arm.
He began this year on a minor league deal with the Nats, eventually spending just over a month with the big league club. He then signed another minors deal, this time with the Twins. Since then, he’s twice been selected to the big league club before being designated for assignment and outrighted to the minors, with today’s selection being his third selection by the Twins and fourth on the year overall. Between all of those transactions, he’s thrown 58 1/3 innings in the bigs this year with a 6.33 ERA, 16% strikeout rate, 5.8% walk rate and 52.4% grounder rate. He has over six years of MLB service time and will return to free agency at the conclusion of the season.
As for Megill, 28, this IL placement will finish his season. He threw 45 innings for the Twins this year with a 4.80 ERA, though much stronger peripheral stats. His 25% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate and 45% ground ball rate are all a bit better than the league average marks. He might have been held back by some bad luck, as his 62.5% strand rate is well below the mean and his .368 batting average on balls in play is well above. He and the Twins will hope for better results next year and into the future, as he’s yet to reach arbitration eligibility.
As for Garlick, he’s been on the IL since mid-September due to a wrist sprain and this transfer will officially quash any chance of him returning. He finishes the year with a .233/.284/.433 batting line, good enough for a wRC+ of 104.
Twins Place Sonny Gray On IL With Hamstring Strain
The Twins announced that they have placed right-hander Sonny Gray on the 15-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain. His roster spot will go to fellow righty Trevor Megill, who has been reinstated from the COVID IL. Additionally, righty Dereck Rodriguez, who was designated for assignment on the weekend, has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A.
Gray, 32, started yesterday’s game against the Guardians but was pulled after throwing just 44 pitches in two innings. Though Gray could technically return on the last day of the season, October 5, it’s quite likely that this will conclude his 2022 campaign.
Acquired from the Reds in a March trade, Gray was very good when healthy enough to take the mound. He made two other trips to the IL, one for a hamstring strain in April and another for a pectoral strain in June. Around those injuries, he made 24 starts and threw 119 2/3 innings with a 3.08 ERA, 24% strikeout rate, 7.4% walk rate and 44.5% ground ball rate.
That has sort of been the story for the Twins as a whole as well, as they seemed to be the best team in the AL Central for much of the year until mounting injuries dragged them down. They had a lead as big as 5.5 games in late May, but have since slid down to third place, seven games back of the Guardians and three behind the White Sox. Given that their postseason chances are effectively gone at this point, it makes logical sense to let Gray put his feet up for the next little bit as opposed to taking a chance on making his injury worse. Gray joins 17 of his teammates on the IL, bringing the club’s total to 18.
Minnesota’s rotation is now left with Joe Ryan, Dylan Bundy, Bailey Ober and Josh Winder, leaving one spot to be filled. It’s possible that rookie Ronny Henriquez, who threw 73 pitches after Gray’s departure yesterday, could just step in, though that remains to be seen.
Gray is in the final guaranteed season of the extension he signed with the Reds back in 2019, though there’s a $13.1MM club option for 2023. That’s a bargain price for a pitcher of Gray’s caliber, making it a fairly easy decision for the Twins to exercise it and bring him back for 2023.
Twins Place Trevor Megill On COVID-IL, Select Dereck Rodriguez
The Twins placed right-hander Trevor Megill on the COVID-related injury list today, and selected the contract of righty Dereck Rodriguez from Triple-A in the corresponding move.
It isn’t known whether Megill tested positive for the coronavirus or was sidelined for a related reason (i.e. symptoms, or being a close contact to a COVID-positive case). If the latter, Megill can return as early as tomorrow, if he tests negative or his symptoms abate. If he has tested positive, he’ll need to miss a minimum of 10 days, unless he passes three criteria for early return — two negative tests, no fever or visible symptoms, and clearance from three medical professionals, including the team doctors and physicians appointed by both the league and the players’ union.
Minnesota claimed Megill off waivers from the Cubs in late November, then quickly non-tendered the righty and re-signed him to a minor league contract. Selected to the big league roster in May, the hard-throwing Megill has been a solid member of the Twins bullpen, posting a 3.89 ERA and 25.4% strikeout rate over 41 2/3 innings.
Rodriguez has appeared in one MLB game this season, tossing four innings for the Twins on April 13 before being designated for assignment and then outrighted to Triple-A. The righty has decent (22.9% strikeout rate, 7.5% walk rate) secondary numbers with Triple-A St. Paul this season, but also has a 5.02 ERA over 89 2/3 innings. Much of that damage has occurred recently, as Rodriguez has a 10.67 ERA over his last 14 1/3 innings and four outings — prior to these struggles, Rodriguez had a much more respectable 4.16 ERA in 71 1/3 prior Triple-A frames.
His lone appearance on April 13 officially made 2022 Rodriguez’s fourth MLB season, after he pitched with the Rockies’ Triple-A affiliate in 2021 but never saw any action in the bigs. Best known for his impressive 2018 rookie season with the Giants, Rodriguez has struggled just to stay in the majors ever since, with a 5.97 ERA over 107 MLB innings since that seeming breakout year.
Twins Designate Juan Minaya For Assignment
The Twins have designated right-hander Juan Minaya for assignment. The move creates room for Trevor Megill to rejoin the active roster, as Megill was activated from the 15-day injured list.
Since first signing with Minnesota in the 2019-20 offseason, Minaya has now been designated four different times by the club, including another DFA just last month. Minaya was outrighted off the 40-man roster on both occasions, and he again has the option to elect free agency, though there isn’t any indication that he won’t just accept another assignment to Triple-A.
Minaya’s first season with the Twins was a success, as he posted a 2.48 ERA and 53% walk rate over 40 relief innings. Advanced metrics (such as a 4.00 SIERA) wasn’t as impressed with his work, however, and after the Twins non-tendered the righty, he had to settle for a minor league contract to return to Minnesota last winter. Though Minaya has a 3.67 SIERA over 9 2/3 innings this year, his luck has seemingly gone in the other direction, as he has a 5.59 ERA over that short sample size.
Megill is back after being (retroactively) placed on the 15-day IL on June 16 due to a right shoulder impingement. Now in his second big league season, Megill has done well thus far with the Twins, posting a 2.08 ERA over 13 innings out of the bullpen.
Roster Moves: Twins, Angels, Rockies
The Twins have activated Kyle Garlick from the 10-day injured list. In a corresponding move, Trevor Megill was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder impingement. The latter move is retroactive to June 16th. Megill has made just eight appearances, but he’s looked good with a 2.08 ERA/2.99 FIP over 13 innings with a 15-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Garlick had been hitting with some pop before he went down. He owns a .250/.324/.567 line with six home runs in 68 plate appearances. He’ll jump back into the mix against southpaws for the Twins. In other moves…
- The Angels have optioned infielder Jack Mayfield to Triple-A and recalled southpaw Kenny Rosenberg, per the team. Mayfield just joined the club two days ago, and now he’s on his way back to Triple-A. Rosenberg gives them a much-needed fresh arm after yesterday’s doubleheader. The southpaw has made two appearances for the Angles this year, his first two in the bigs, tossing six innings and giving up five earned runs.
- The Rockies made a trio of roster moves today. Garrett Hampson was activated from the COVID Injured List, Alan Trejo was optioned back to Triple-A, and Tyler Kinley was moved to the 60-day injured list, per Danielle Allentuck of the Denver Gazette (via Twitter). Trejo, 26, has appeared in just 11 games for the Rockies, slashing .231/.250/.333 over 40 plate appearances. Hampson, once a highly-touted prospect, has been unable to establish himself as a cornerstone piece, slashing just .236/.321/.375 over 83 plate appearances.