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Bullpen Moves: Marlins, Cubs, Guardians

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Given the way the game is played these days, bullpens are dynamic entities constantly changing shape. Though longer injured list stints and option limits were intended to somewhat slow this ebb-and-flow of arms moving in and out, the game of musical chairs continues. Let’s check in on some of the changes being made in bullpens around the game today…

  • The Marlins have placed Louis Head on the 15-day injured list with a left shoulder impingement, recalling Zach Pop from Triple-A, per Christina De Nicola of MLB.com (via Twitter). Head’s contributions on the year haven’t necessarily been additive, as the 32-year-old reliever owns a 7.23 ERA/5.29 FIP across 23 appearances totaling 23 2/3 innings. The injury is a bit peculiar as well since it’s not his throwing arm. Pop was a Rule 5 pick from the Orioles by the Diamondbacks, whom the Marlins then acquired via trade. He appeared in 50 games for the Fish last season, pitching to a 4.12 ERA/3.77 FIP across 54 2/3 innings.
  • The Cubs have placed veteran southpaw Daniel Norris on the 15-day injured because of a finger strain. To take his roster spot, they have recalled Adrian Sampson from Triple-A, per Meghan Montemurro of The Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). Norris hasn’t had a great season, but if he’s healthy, he made draw some trade interest simply as a veteran southpaw. Currently, however, he owns a 7.24 ERA/5.73 FIP in 24 appearances covering 27 1/3 innings. Sampson has been up and down, designated for assignment, and brought back. Despite his frequent travels, he has tossed just 5 2/3 innings with the Cubs this season without giving up an earned run.
  • The Guardians have optioned Anthony Castro to Triple-A and recalled right-hander Yohan Ramirez, per Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com (via Twitter). Castro, 27, with his third team in three years, has slogged through eight appearances, surrendering eight earned runs in eight innings on 11 hits and seven walks to 10 strikeouts. The Guardians acquired Ramirez from the Mariners via trade for cash and a player to be named later. He made seven appearances with the Mariners, posting a 7.56 ERA across 8 1/3 innings of work.

Marlins Place Joey Wendle, Brian Anderson On Injured List

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The Marlins have placed infielders Joey Wendle and Brian Anderson on the 10-day injured list, tweets Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. Wendle, whose placement is retroactive to yesterday, has a strained right hamstring. Anderson, whose placement is retroactive to May 28, is dealing with back spasms. In their place, Miami recalled righty Edward Cabrera and infielder Luke Williams from Triple-A. The Fish also tabbed right-hander Zach Pop as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader at Coors Field against the Rockies.

The pair of injuries suddenly leaves the Marlins without their top two options at the hot corner. Anderson has appeared in 22 games at third base and logged 77 plate appearances at the position, both of which lead the team. Wendle is second in both respects, appearing in 18 games and tallying 63 plate appearances as a third baseman. Both have spent ample time at other positions — Anderson in the outfield corners, Wendle at both middle-infield slots — and both have been productive hitters on the whole. Anderson is slashing .267/.374/.410 on the year, while Wendle has posted a .284/.340/.420 line.

Suffice it to say, it’s a notable blow for an already-struggling Marlins club that is sitting 19-27 on the season, only avoiding the NL East cellar thanks to a disastrous 18-33 Nationals team. The Marlins haven’t given a timetable on either player’s return just yet, though manager Don Mattingly will presumably provide some more info prior to the first game of today’s twin bill.

With both Wendle and Anderson shelved for at least the short term, the Marlins will likely turn to a combination of Jon Berti, the newly recalled Luke Williams and super-utilityman Willians Astudillo at the hot corner. Berti, 32, has had a productive run in his usual utility role so far this season, hitting .250/.391/.442 in 64 plate appearances. Astudillo is 3-for-11 with no strikeouts or walks (par for the course) through his first 11 turns at bat since being selected from Triple-A. Williams, acquired from the Giants in a trade late last month, has posted huge numbers in 13 Triple-A games this year but struggled there in 2021.

As the Marlins hope to weather the storm of their latest injury, they’ll give the promising young Cabrera his first big league look of the 2022 season. Long considered one of their best minor league arms and currently a consensus top-100 prospect in the sport, the 6’5″ righty struggled through seven starts in 2021 and will make his 2022 debut in an unenviable setting at Coors Field. He’s pitched 27 2/3 innings so far this season and worked to a 3.90 ERA with a sizable 33.6% strikeout rate but a bloated 12.9% walk rate.

With Jesus Luzardo currently sidelined by a forearm strain and fellow top prospects Max Meyer and Sixto Sanchez also battling health troubles in the minors, there’s an opening for Cabrera to stake his claim to a spot in the Miami rotation if he can impress. Even if today is only a one-and-done spot start due to the doubleheader, righty Elieser Hernandez has struggled in the big leagues to the point that his rotation spot shouldn’t be guaranteed moving forward. Cabrera, who averaged 96.9 mph on his heater last year and also draws praise for a potentially plus breaking ball, could figures to get a look at some point, one way or another. Across three minor league levels in 2021, the 24-year-old notched a 2.93 ERA with a gaudy 36.9% strikeout rate and a 10% walk rate.

Marlins Designate Shawn Morimando, Place Zach Pop On 10-Day Injured List

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The Marlins have designated left-hander Shawn Morimando for assignment and placed righty Zach Pop on the 10-day injured list.  Right-hander Jorge Guzman and left-hander Sean Guenther were called up from Triple-A to take the two spots on the active roster.  (MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola was among those to report the moves.)

Pop has been sidelined with soreness in the middle finger of his throwing hand, interrupting a very respectable rookie season for the 24-year-old.  Over his first 43 1/3 innings in the majors, Pop has a 4.36 ERA/4.05 SIERA, plus a 58.1% grounder rate that has continued his reputation from the minors as a groundball specialist.  The Marlins landed Pop via the Rule 5 Draft (acquiring the right-hander from the Diamondbacks after Arizona drafted him out of the Orioles’ organization), and Pop has certainly pitched well enough to remain on the MLB roster for the entire season, so Miami will retain his rights going forward.

This is the second time the Marlins have DFA’ed Morimando this season, with the first designation resulting in an outright assignment to Triple-A for the southpaw.  After making his big league debut with Cleveland in 2016, Morimando didn’t receive another MLB opportunity until this season, when he posted a 9.58 ERA over 10 1/3 innings for the Marlins.

2020 Rule 5 Draft Update

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An abnormal number of picks from the 2020 Rule 5 Draft survived Spring Training and made the Opening Day rosters with their new clubs. The Orioles and Marlins both broke camp with a pair of Rule 5 picks on the active roster, while the Pirates opened the season with one Rule 5 pick on the roster and one on the injured list. Most clubs that are carrying a Rule 5 pick, unsurprisingly, have little in the way of postseason aspirations. There are a few October hopefuls among those still clinging to Rule 5 picks, however, and it’ll take some uncharacteristically strong Rule 5 showings for those players to survive the season.

We’ll take a look at how the surviving Rule 5 draftees are faring periodically throughout the year. Here’s the first glance…

Currently in the Majors

  • Brett de Geus, RHP, Rangers (via Dodgers): Injuries throughout the Rangers’ bullpen might have helped the 23-year-old de Geus crack the Opening Day roster in Texas. He’s out to a shaky start, having walked three batters and hit another three against just two strikeouts through his first 5 2/3 innings. On the plus side, 13 of the 15 balls put into play against him have been grounders.
  • Akil Baddoo, OF, Tigers (via Twins): Baddoo is one of the best stories (maybe the best) of the young 2021 season. The 22-year-old homered on his first swing in the big leagues as his family rejoiced in the stands, and in less than two weeks’ time he’s added a grand slam, a walk-off single (against his former organization) a 450-foot dinger off Zack Greinke and a fourth homer. Baddoo has a ludicrous 1.342 OPS through his first 29 plate appearances in the Majors, and while he obviously won’t sustain that, he’s forcing a legitimate audition in the Detroit outfield. Baddoo missed nearly all of 2019 due to Tommy John surgery and didn’t play in 2020. Despite that layoff and the fact that he’d never played above A-ball, the Tigers called his name in December. It may have seemed like a stretch at the time, but it doesn’t look that way now.
  • Garrett Whitlock, RHP, Red Sox (via Yankees): The Sox would surely love for Whitlock to stick, having plucked him from their archrivals in New York. So far, so good. Better than good, in fact. Through 6 1/3 scoreless innings, Whitlock has yielded three hits and punched out nine batters without issuing a walk. He’s sitting 95.6 mph with his heater and has posted a hefty 16.9 percent swinging-strike rate. Whitlock also had Tommy John surgery in 2019, so even though he’s previously been a starter, it makes sense to monitor his workload ease him into the mix as the Sox hope to get through the year with him in the ’pen.
  • Tyler Wells, RHP, Orioles (via Twins): Wells has allowed a pair of homers and surrendered three total runs on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts in 5 2/3 frames. The O’s aren’t trying to win in 2021, but their bullpen also has four arms that can’t be optioned (Cesar Valdez, Shawn Armstrong, Adam Plutko, Wade LeBlanc). Keeping both Wells and Mac Sceroler (currently on the IL) brings them  to six and will hamper their flexibility.
  • Zach Pop and Paul Campbell, RHPs, Marlins (via Orioles and Rays): Pop was technically the D-backs’ pick in the Rule 5, but Arizona immediately flipped him to the Marlins for a PTBNL. The 24-year-old didn’t allow an earned run in five spring frames but as I was finishing this post, he served up a three-run homer, bringing his season line to seven runs on three hits, three walks and two hit batters in 3 1/3 innings. Campbell has struggled to a similar extent. He’s surrendered five runs (three earned) and given up four hits and three walks in just 2 2/3 innings. With the Marlins out of tank mode, it’ll be tough to carry both all year.
  • Jordan Sheffield, RHP, Rockies (via Dodgers): Sheffield was the No. 36 overall pick in the 2016 Draft, but control issues prevented him from being protected on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen gives Sheffield three plus pitches in his scouting report (fastball, curveball, changeup) but also pegs his command at a 30 on the 20-80 scale. Sheffield has walked or plunked 15 percent of the hitters he faced in the minors. He’s yet to walk anyone 13 batters he’s faced with the Rockies, but he did hit one and has also tossed a pair of wild pitches. That said, he’s also sitting 95.5 mph with his heater and is unscored upon in 3 2/3 frames.
  • Luis Oviedo, RHP, Pirates (via Indians): Oviedo was the Mets’ pick at No. 10, but they had a deal worked out to flip him to the Pirates in exchange for cash. Oviedo has been hammered for six runs on six hits (two homers) and two walks with five strikeouts through 4 2/3 innings so far. Even pitching for a tanking club, Oviedo will need to show some improvement in order to stick on the roster all season.
  • Will Vest, RHP, Mariners (via Tigers): The Mariners kept last year’s Rule 5 pick Yohan Ramirez for the whole season, but it’ll be tougher to do with a full schedule in 2021. The Mariners’ young core is also beginning to rise to the big leagues, and Vest will need to fend off some intriguing young arms. He’s done a decent job so far, allowing a pair of runs (one unearned) on five hits and four walks with five strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings.
  • Trevor Stephan, RHP, Indians (via Yankees): Stephan whiffed 16 of 44 hitters this spring to earn a spot on the Indians’ Opening Day roster, but he’s allowed four runs in his first four MLB frames. The 25-year-old has surrendered five hits (including a homer), walked a pair and hit a batter so far while facing a total of 21 hitters.
  • Ka’ai Tom, OF, Athletics (via Indians): Tom, 26, raked at a .310/.412/.552 pace with a homer, two doubles and a triple in 34 spring plate appearances. After that strong audition, however, he’s just 1-for-16 with six strikeouts through his first 16 trips to the plate with the A’s.

On the Major League injured list

  • Jose Soriano, RHP, Pirates (via Angels): It wasn’t a surprise to see Soriano open the year on the injured list. He’s still recovering from Tommy John surgery performed in Feb. 2020 and didn’t pitch in a game with the Pirates this spring. He’ll be sidelined for at least the first two months, as the Bucs put him on the 60-day IL to open a 40-man roster spot when they signed Tyler Anderson. Soriano hasn’t pitched above A-ball, but the Pirates aren’t exactly a win-now club, so they can afford to stash him as a seldom-used bullpen piece in order to secure his rights beyond the 2021 season.
  • Mac Sceroler, RHP, Orioles (via Reds): Sceroler fanned six hitters in 3 2/3 innings early in the season but also yielded three runs on five hits (two homers), three walks and a hit batter. The Orioles recently placed him on the 10-day injured list due to tendinitis in his right shoulder, although it’s not expected to be too lengthy an absence.
  • Dedniel Nunez, RHP, Giants (via Mets): Nunez was hit hard in the Cactus League, surrendering four runs in 3 1/3 innings. He’ll now miss the entire 2021 season after sustaining a UCL tear that required Tommy John surgery this spring. Nunez will spend the season on San Francisco’s 60-day injured list and receive a year of MLB service, but he’ll still be subject to Rule 5 restrictions in 2022 once he’s healthy. He’ll need to spend at least 90 days on the MLB roster before he can be sent to the minors; if he doesn’t last that long, he’ll have to pass through waivers and, if he clears, be offered back to the Mets.

Returned to their original club

  • Jose Alberto Rivera, RHP, Angels (via Astros): The Angels didn’t take much of a look at Rivera, returning him to Houston on March 24 after just one inning of official work in Cactus League play.
  • Kyle Holder, SS, Reds (via Yankees): The Reds weren’t sure who their shortstop was going to be heading into Spring Training, but they ultimately settled on moving Eugenio Suarez back to that spot, sliding Mike Moustakas back to third base and giving prospect Jonathan India the nod at second base. A strong spring from Holder might have at least given him a bench spot behind that trio, but he hit just .219/.359/.250 in 39 plate appearances. The Reds returned him to the Yankees on March 30.
  • Gray Fenter, RHP, Cubs (via Orioles): The Cubs returned Fenter to the Orioles on March 12 after just one spring appearance. He hasn’t pitched above A-ball yet.
  • Dany Jimenez, RHP, Athletics (via Blue Jays): The 27-year-old Jimenez was a Rule 5 pick in consecutive offseasons — once by each Bay Area club. The A’s returned him to the Jays on March 15, however, after he yielded four runs (two earned) in three innings of work this spring.
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