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Royals To Select Rich Hill

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Rich Hill is headed back to the majors for a 21st season. The Royals plan to select Hill’s contract from Triple-A Omaha, Robert Murray of FanSided reports, and he could pitch for them as soon as tomorrow. Hill signed a minor league contract with Kansas City back in May, and he’s been pitching with their Triple-A club all summer.

The Royals currently have Cole Ragans, Alec Marsh and Michael Lorenzen on the injured list. Marsh hasn’t pitched all season due to a shoulder impingement. Ragans has been out over a month due to a strained rotator cuff. Left-handed reliever Daniel Lynch IV is also on the 15-day injured list due to a nerve issue in his elbow. Hill has been working in Omaha’s rotation and could make a spot start, or he could give manager Matt Quatraro another left-handed relief option while Lynch is on the shelf.

Hill, 45, has had mixed results while pitching for the Storm Chasers. He’s posted a 5.36 ERA in 42 innings, though the bulk of the damage against him came in two rough outings. He’s had a pair of quality starts and another pair of solid five-inning efforts. Hill has allowed one run over his past seven innings and fanned 11 opponents in that time. Hill unsurprisingly isn’t throwing hard, but the 88.4 mph average on his four-seamer is up from last year’s 87.6 mph average during his Triple-A stint with the Red Sox.

Time will tell whether this latest promotion comes with any staying power, but it’s remarkable that Hill continues to pitch at a competitive enough level to get major league looks in his mid-40s. He made a brief return to the Red Sox last August, and once he toes the rubber for Kansas City, he’ll have appeared in 21 consecutive MLB seasons. Hill from 2010-14, totaling just 75 2/3 MLB frames in that five-year period, but he’s hung around to pitch at least 3 2/3 major league innings each season dating back to 2005.

Since Hill’s improbable resurgence with the 2015 Red Sox and 2016 A’s, he’s tacked another 938 innings of 3.66 ERA ball onto his unique career. Notably, the Royals will be the 14th team for which Hill has suited up at the MLB level. That ties him with right-hander Edwin Jackson for the most teams in major league history.

Mets Recall Francisco Alvarez, Outright Richard Lovelady

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The Mets announced a series of roster moves today, including the previously-reported claimed of right-hander Rico Garcia off waivers from the Yankees. Righty Dedniel Núñez was transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man roster spot for Garcia. It was recently reported that Núñez will require Tommy John surgery. The Mets will need to open an active roster spot for Garcia once he reports to the club. The Mets also recalled catcher Francisco Alvarez and optioned fellow backstop Hayden Senger. Additionally, left-hander Richard Lovelady has been sent outright to Triple-A Syracuse. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. He has the right to elect free agency though it’s not yet clear if he has done so.

Alvarez got out to a bit of a slow start this year. The Mets optioned him to Triple-A about a month ago, as he was sitting on a .236/.319/.333 slash line at that time. He had hit just three home runs, after having missed the first month of the season due to a hamate fracture.

The optional assignment has seemingly lit a fire under him. He has 12 home runs in 29 games since being sent down, leading to a gargantuan .255/.352/.623 batting line for Syracuse. Now that he’s in a groove, the Mets have called him up and will see if he can carry that over at the major league level.

While the optional assignment ended up being relatively brief, it will be costly for Alvarez. He came into this year with two years and six days of service time, putting him on track for free agency after 2028. By spending a month in the minors, he won’t be able to push his service clock to the three-year line in 2025. That means the Mets have gained an extra year of club control over Alvarez, pushing his path to free agency until after 2029. He was going to reach free agency after his age-26 season but that will now be pushed until after his age-27 season. He is on track to qualify for arbitration this winter as a Super Two player, giving him four passes through arb instead of the usual three, but the delayed free agency is a hit to his career earning power.

As for Lovelady, he’s a veteran lefty who is out of options, which has led to him being on the fringes of a few rosters this year. He started the year with the Blue Jays but was designated for assignment after two appearances. He elected free agency and signed a minor league deal with the Twins, pitched well at Triple-A for a couple of months and then opted out of that deal. He has bounced on and off the Mets roster since then, twice getting added and then cut after a brief stint in both cases.

For the whole season, Lovelady has a 10.80 earned run average in 8 1/3 innings, though mostly due to allowing four earned runs in his second outing of the year. During his time in the Twins’ system, he tossed 20 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 1.31 ERA, 26.5% strikeout rate, 8.4% walk rate and 60.4% ground ball rate. Every other time he has cleared waivers this year, he has elected free agency, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he does so again in the coming days.

Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images

Mets Claim Rico Garcia

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The Mets have claimed right-hander Rico Garcia off waivers from the Yankees, reports Ari Alexander of KPRC 2. The Yanks designated him for assignment last week. Garcia is out of options, so the Mets will need to open space for him on the active and 40-man rosters.

Garcia, 31, signed a minor league deal with the Mets in the offseason. He reported to Triple-A Syracuse and missed a bunch of bats but also missed the plate a lot. In 30 1/3 innings, he had a 27.4% strikeout rate and 14.8% walk rate. That led to a 4.45 earned run average in that time.

It wasn’t an overwhelming performance but the Mets’ bullpen has been hit hard by injuries this year. They currently have A.J. Minter, Danny Young, Drew Smith, Dedniel Núñez, Max Kranick and José Buttó on the shelf. The mounting injuries have prompted the club to frequently cycle arms on and off their roster.

Garcia was selected to the big league roster in early July as one of those arms. Due to his aforementioned out-of-options status, he was designated for assignment about a week later. The Yankees claimed him off waivers but he lasted just a few days before another DFA. The Mets have claimed him to once again bring a fresh arm into the relief mix. Around those transactions, Garcia has pitched 7 1/3 innings over three appearances, having allowed three earned runs on four hits and two walks while striking out five.

It’s likely that Garcia has a tenuous grip on a roster spot again. The trade deadline is next week and the Mets will surely be adding bullpen reinforcements between now and then. For now, they’ll grab Garcia and plug him into the mix.

Photo courtesy of Dale Zanine, Imagn Images

Braves Designate Stuart Fairchild, Select Sandy Leon

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The Braves announced Monday that they’ve designated outfielder Stuart Fairchild for assignment in order to open a spot for veteran catcher Sandy Leon, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Gwinnett.

Fairchild, 29, has held a very limited role as a fourth outfielder with Atlanta this season. He’s appeared in 28 games and tallied only 55 plate appearances, during which he’s slashed .216/.273/.333. Manager Brian Snitker has typically used Fairchild as a late defensive replacement or pinch-runner. He’s tallied two or fewer plate appearances in 20 of his 28 games.

It’s a familiar role for the fleet-footed Fairchild. The former second-round pick has appeared in 277 big league games between the D-backs, Reds, Mariners, Giants and Braves, but he’s tallied only 670 plate appearances (about 2.4 per game) during that time. He’s capable of playing all three outfield spots at an average or better clip, sits in the 87th percentile of big leaguers in sprint speed, and offers slightly better-than-average production against left-handed pitching in his career. He’s a viable fourth outfielder, but he’s out of minor league options and the Braves have a comparable skill set on the roster in Eli White.

Leon joins Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy as a third catcher on Atlanta’s roster. His promotion to the majors will prompt immediate trade speculation about both Murphy and designated hitter Marcell Ozuna. The Braves reportedly aren’t planning to trade Murphy — at least not during the season — but have been open to offers on Ozuna. Leon’s addition to the roster more freely allows Atlanta to start both Baldwin and Murphy in the same game (one at catcher, the other at designated hitter) without fear of losing the DH in the event of an injury.

The 36-year-old Leon has played for seven different clubs in the majors, primarily as a backup. The Braves will be his eighth. He has a long track record of quality defense and (with the exception of an outlier 2016 season) well below-average production with the bat. That’s not likely to change at age 36, particularly given Leon’s bleak .183/.250/.379 batting line in 169 Triple-A plate appearances this season.

Phillies Sign David Robertson

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July 21: The Phillies announced that they’ve signed Robertson to a one-year deal. He’s consented to be optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he’ll ramp up in preparation for his 2025 debut.

July 20: The Phillies and free agent reliever David Robertson are in agreement on a major league contract, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The self-represented Robertson did not sign with a team over the winter but has stayed in shape and has been throwing for interested clubs recently. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports that Robertson will be paid a prorated $16MM salary for the remainder of the season. That comes out to just over $6MM through season’s end ($6.021MM — assuming it becomes official tomorrow).

This is Robertson’s second free-agent deal with the Phillies and the third time overall that the Phils have acquired him. He inked a two-year, $23MM deal in the 2018-19 offseason that didn’t wind up paying off for the team, as the typically durable reliever wound up requiring Tommy John surgery and pitching only 6 2/3 total innings during the life of that contract. Philadelphia reacquired the righty in a 2022 trade that sent young righty Ben Brown back to the Cubs, and Robertson was excellent as the Phillies mounted a charge all the way to the World Series.

That Tommy John procedure came during Robertson’s age-34 season, and he didn’t return to a big league mound until the 2021 campaign. He’s emphatically silenced any concerns about his ability to restore his status as a high-end reliever. He’s now pitched 200 games and logged a 2.92 in 213 regular season innings since undergoing surgery. That includes a terrific 2024 season in Texas, where Robertson pitched 72 innings with a 3.00 ERA, a 33.4% strikeout rate, a 9.1% walk rate, two saves and 34 holds as the primary setup option to Kirby Yates.

Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was candid earlier this month in calling out bullpen help as his primary focus at this year’s trade deadline. Robertson is a potential major addition who helps on multiple levels. He’s obviously a decorated high-leverage arm coming off a strong season, and adding the lone marquee reliever on the free-agent market leaves the Phillies’ farm system intact as they look to pursue other bullpen upgrades. Beyond that, Robertson is a fresh arm who’s no stranger to pitching in the postseason — a key component for a Phillies club who lost lefty Jose Alvarado to an 80-game PED suspension earlier this year that renders him ineligible to pitch in the playoffs.

On the season, Philadelphia relievers rank 23rd with a 4.36 ERA. They’ve been better over the past month (3.89 ERA) but still have a top-heavy unit that’s been anchored by Matt Strahm, Tanner Banks and Orion Kerkering doing a disproportionate level of the heavy lifting. Offseason additions Jordan Romano (7.08 ERA) and Joe Ross (5.31 ERA) haven’t worked out as hoped.

Robertson will likely need a minor league tune-up before he’s ready to join the Phillies’ bullpen. It’s not clear what his precise timeline is, but it stands to reason that both he and Alvarado — eligible to return on Aug. 19 — will both be in the late-inning mix within the next month. The Phillies figure to remain active on the trade market as they look for a second reliever to add to the mix, and they could potentially seek an outfield upgrade as well.

Brewers Place Jake Bauers On 10-Day Injured List

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The Brewers announced that first baseman/outfielder Jake Bauers has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left shoulder impingement.  Infielder Tyler Black has been called up from Triple-A to take Bauers’ spot on the active roster.

With Rhys Hoskins sidelined until roughly mid-August due to a Grade 2 thumb strain and a bone bruise, losing Bauers further depletes Milwaukee’s first base picture.  The Brewers called up Andrew Vaughn to pair with Bauers in a righty-lefty platoon, and on paper, that platoon can be preserved with the left-handed hitting Black now in the majors to join forces with Vaughn.

It helps that Vaughn has been on fire at the plate during his brief time with the Brew Crew, and Black is a former top prospect who might yet break out in his first taste of MLB action in 2025.  Black had a modest .561 OPS over his first 57 career plate appearances in 2024, and his work this season was put on hold when he fractured his right hamate bone at the end of Spring Training.  Black didn’t make his season debut until mid-May, and he has hit only .191/.301/.303 over 103 plate appearances at Triple-A Nashville, perhaps indicating that he isn’t back to 100 percent.

Bauers has been used primarily as a platoon bat over his two seasons in Milwaukee, though he has still hit a modest .198/.306/.359 over 497 PA in a Brewers uniform.  More details on Bauers’ injury and recovery timeline should be known later today, but barring a minimal 10-day absence, he’ll be out of action beyond the July 31st trade deadline.

First base figured to be a target area for the Crew even before Bauers’ injury, even if the club’s preferred goal was probably a player that can play first base amongst other positions, rather than a pure first base-only type.  The Brewers still have plenty of time before the deadline to monitor Hoskins and Bauers’ recoveries, and to see if Vaughn can keep rolling.  Beyond just first base, the Brewers could make more of a move to obtain a left-handed hitting outfielder, with Bauers and Sal Frelick both hitting the IL in the last few days.

Astros Place Isaac Paredes On 10-Day IL Due To Hamstring Strain

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12:37PM: The Astros officially placed Paredes on the 10-day IL due to a right hamstring strain, and also optioned catcher Cesar Salazar to Triple-A.  Whitcomb was called up and Singleton’s contract was selected, and Brendan Rodgers was moved from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL to create a 40-man roster spot for Singleton.

8:11AM: Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes left Saturday’s 7-6 loss to the Mariners with what was described as right hamstring discomfort.  The injury occurred in the third inning, when Paredes hit a line drive off the left field wall that resulted in only a single, as he started limping partway down the first base base line.

Paredes is going from Seattle to Houston today to undergo testing, and a trip to the injured list seems inevitable.  MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart reports that infielder/outfielder Shay Whitcomb and first baseman Jon Singleton are joining the Astros from Triple-A Sugar Land prior to today’s game, so the club is already arranging its next set of roster moves.  Singleton isn’t on the 40-man roster, so another transaction is forthcoming apart from the shuffle of Paredes for Whitcomb.

This isn’t the first time Paredes has dealt with hamstring problems this season, as some soreness in his left hamstring forced him to miss three games last month but he was able to return none the worse for wear.  This new injury “hurts more than the other one,” Paredes told the Houston Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara and other reporters, as he said “I just feel like it pulled as I started running and I couldn’t run anymore.”

While the Astros maintain a three-game lead in the AL West, the club has lost seven of its last eight games, as a mountain of injuries may be catching up to the roster.  Assuming Paredes will indeed be sidelined, he’ll become the 16th different player on Houston’s IL, and the ninth position player.  The long list of injuries includes arguably Houston’s three top hitters in Paredes, Yordan Alvarez, and Jeremy Pena.

Acquired from the Cubs as part of last winter’s blockbuster Kyle Tucker trade, Paredes has hit .259/.359/.470 with 19 homers over 409 plate appearances in his first season in Houston.  Since his .362 wOBA significantly outpaces his .332 xwOBA, some good fortune has been involved in Paredes’ performance, and he isn’t making much hard contact.  On the plus side, Paredes is making a lot of contact overall, and posting very strong strikeout and walk rates.  It all added up to Paredes’ second straight All-Star nod, as he also made the Midsummer Classic last year when he was still a member of the Rays.

In short, Paredes is basically just about the last player the Astros could afford to lose, but it now looks like he’ll be out of action for (in a best-case scenario) at least the next 10 days.  Any of Whitcomb, utilityman Mauricio Dubon, or rookie Brice Matthews could get time at third base with Paredes out, and if Dubon ends up getting the bulk of time at third base, Zack Short will probably take over at shortstop until Pena is able to return.  Matthews has primarily played second base since making his MLB debut last week, and the keystone could remain his primary position if Jose Altuve is needed more in left field to help cover the Astros’ long list of outfield absences.

Some good news may be on the horizon, as Alvarez is with the team in Seattle and has started taking swings.  Alvarez hasn’t played since May 2 due to what was initially described as right hand inflammation, though follow-up tests in late May revealed a slight fracture in the slugger’s right ring finger.  He received two injections after a consultation with a hand specialist at the start of July, and while Alvarez’s IL stint has gone on much longer than expected, his return could be on the horizon.

Brewers Re-Sign Bruce Zimmermann To Minors Deal

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TODAY: Zimmermann has re-signed with the Brewers on a new minor league deal, as per his MLB.com profile page.  The southpaw has again been assigned to Triple-A Nashville.

JULY 16: Left-hander Bruce Zimmermann has opted out of his minor league deal with the Brewers, reports Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors. The southpaw is now a free agent and free to sign with any club.

Zimmermann, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Brewers in the winter. Since then, he has been pitching for Triple-A Nashville. His season-long numbers are middling but he’s been in a good groove lately.

On the whole, he has made 13 starts and six relief appearances with a 4.35 earned run average in 89 innings. His 18.1% strikeout rate was a bit subpar but his 5% walk rate and 47.3% ground ball rate were both better than average. Through June 10th, he had a 5.90 ERA, but he has lowered that by putting together a good stretch of outings more recently. In his most recent 31 innings, he has a 1.45 ERA.

The Brewers are loaded with rotation options, so much so that they recently bumped Aaron Civale to the bullpen. He informed the club that he would prefer to be traded, and they obliged by sending him to the White Sox. Even with that trade, the Brewers have solid guys like Chad Patrick and Logan Henderson pitching in Triple-A. Nestor Cortes and Robert Gasser are working back from the injured list and could further crowd the picture.

Given that context, it’s understandable that Zimmermann would choose to pack his bag. He can likely find a greater path to the big leagues in another organization. Given his solid results and the high number of injuries around the league, someone should want him as a depth option. Some teams will also be trading away pitching in the coming weeks and will need to backfill roster spots.

Prior to this year, Zimmermann had spent most of his time with the Orioles. He got major league time with the O’s in four straight seasons from 2020 to 2023, totaling 158 1/3 innings pitched. He had a 5.57 ERA, 18.1% strikeout rate, 5.7% walk rate and 41.1% ground ball rate in that time. He was outrighted during the 2024 season and elected free agency at the end of that campaign, which led to his deal with the Brewers.

Photo courtesy of Dave Kallmann, Imagn Images

Athletics Designate Jhonny Pereda For Assignment

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The Athletics have designated catcher Jhonny Pereda for assignment, per Jason Burke of A’s on SI. That’s the corresponding 40-man roster move for left-hander Ken Waldichuk’s reinstatement from the 60-day injured list. MLBTR covered Waldichuk earlier today.

Pereda, 29, was acquired from the Marlins in an offseason DFA trade. He opened the season as the backup catcher behind Shea Langeliers. As the season has gone along, the A’s have added Willie MacIver and Austin Wynns to the roster, which bumped Pereda down into a depth role.

In the big leagues this year, Pereda has a batting line of .175/.283/.225. That’s in a small sample size of 46 plate appearances but that subpar performance presumably prompted the A’s to make some changes behind the plate. With Pereda having been knocked down the depth chart, it seems his grip on a 40-man spot became tenuous. Pereda now has a career line of .203/.267/.228 when factoring in his time with the Marlins last year.

He is now in DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the A’s could take as long as five days to talk trades. Though his major league work hasn’t been great so far, that’s in just 86 plate appearances. His minor league work has continued to impress, even this year, which could perhaps lead to some interest.

Dating back to the start of 2022, he has stepped to the plate 811 times at the Triple-A level with a 13.3% walk rate, 19.1% strikeout rate, .302/.394/.427 batting line and 118 wRC+. That includes a .319/.400/.440 line in 105 plate appearances this year. He can still be optioned to the minors for the rest of this year and another season.

Photo courtesy of Ryan Sun, Imagn Images

Phillies Place Alec Bohm On 10-Day IL Due To Fractured Rib

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Third baseman Alec Bohm has been placed on the Phillies’ 10-day injured list due to a fractured left rib.  Utilityman Weston Wilson was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.

The injury dates back to last Saturday, when Bohm was hit by a pitch during the Phillies’ 5-4 loss to the Padres and had to make an early exit from the game.  Bohm didn’t play in Philadelphia’s final game before the All-Star break and then returned to the lineup in yesterday’s 6-5 loss to the Angels, with the idea that the time off during the break allowed him to recover.

Unfortunately, Bohm reaggravated his injury in the game, manager Rob Thomson told reporters (including Lochlahn March of the Philadelphia Inquirer).  Bohm didn’t receive any scans last week but it would appear as though new tests revealed the fracture, forcing an IL stint.  More will be probably be revealed about Bohm’s recovery timeline later today, but a fracture almost certainly means he’ll miss more than the minimum 10 days.

After a brutal opening month, Bohm righted the ship and has quietly been one of the more productive bats in the Phils’ lineup, hitting .309/.362/.455 with eight home runs in 257 trips to the plate since May 3.  As per his career norms, Bohm is making a good deal of hard contact and a lot of contact in general (16.2% strikeout rate), though he isn’t walking much and his slugging percentage is significantly down from the last two seasons.  The other story is Bohm’s continued improvement with the glove, as a player once known for being a defensive liability is in the midst of his second straight year of slightly above-average fielding at third base.

Boho also saw some time at first base when Bryce Harper was on the IL, with Edmundo Sosa and Otto Kemp filling in at third base.  With Bohm now out, the Phillies will likely turn to some combination of Sosa, Kemp, and Wilson at the hot corner, and Kemp will still remain part of the left field platoon with Max Kepler.

Depending on how long Bohm may be out, his injury situation could impact Philadelphia’s plans at the trade deadline.  The Phillies were already known to be looking for outfield help and potentially some more depth at second base since Bryson Stott hasn’t been hitting.  Adding a new outfielder could now conceivably push Kemp into more of a full-time infield role at either second or third base, or the Phils could seek more of a utilityman type that could be toggled around to multiple positions.  Since Bohm himself was linked to several trade rumors during the offseason, his injury might also erase any chance there was of a need-for-need trade, with the Phillies might have moved the controllable Bohm (who has one more arbitration year) for a more high-impact rental player.

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