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Mike Zunino Close To Return

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The Rays have been without injured catcher Mike Zunino for three weeks, but he could return as early as Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Zunino went to the 10-day IL on May 9 with a left quad strain.

Injuries, not just to Zunino, have victimized Rays catchers this year. Zunino headed to the shelf just four days after an oblique strain sent fellow backstop Michael Perez to the IL. When the club lost Zunino, it promoted Anthony Bemboom as his replacement, but the latter wound up on the IL on May 15 with a knee sprain.

With only struggling minor league Nick Ciuffo to turn to as a healthy 40-man option, the banged-up Rays had to scour the trade market for help earlier this month. They acquired former Mets starter Travis d’Arnaud from the Dodgers on the 10th and landed journeyman Erik Kratz in a deal with the Giants on the 16th. Unfortunately for Tampa Bay, those two haven’t offered much help so far. D’Arnaud and Kratz have combined for seven hits (five singles, two doubles), 17 strikes and three walks in 52 plate appearances, essentially making them automatic outs.

Aside from Perez – who’s still dealing with “discomfort,” per Topkin – no Rays backstop has done much at the plate this season. That includes Zunino, though the ex-Mariner’s .220/.260/.407 line in 96 PA would be welcome for the Rays compared to what they’ve gotten from d’Arnaud and Kratz.

It seems likely the return of Zunino will lead to the end of Kratz’s time on the Rays’ 40-man roster. The 38-year-old’s out of minor league options and has been behind d’Arnaud in Tampa Bay’s pecking order.

Rays Select Oliver Drake, Transfer Tyler Glasnow To 60-Day IL

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10:10am: The Rays have transferred righty Tyler Glasnow from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL to make room for Drake, per Topkin. Glasnow has not suffered a setback to his injured forearm, manager Kevin Cash announced. However, the burgeoning ace, 25, now won’t return until sometime in July (the 12th at the earliest). When Glasnow went to the IL on May 11, he was only supposed to sit out four to six weeks, making Sunday’s news an unfortunate blow for a Tampa Bay club that is firmly in the AL playoff hunt.

8:51am: The Rays have selected right-hander Oliver Drake’s contract from Triple-A Durham, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. In a corresponding 25-man move, the team optioned righty Casey Sadler. Drake’s not on the Rays’ 40-man roster, which is full, so they’ll need to create a spot for him.

Drake’s in his first year with the Rays, who acquired him from the Blue Jays in January. Tampa Bay designated Drake for assignment two weeks later to make room for the signing of outfielder Avisail Garcia, but the hurler remained in the organization. Since then, the 32-year-old has only managed a 4.94 ERA in 23 2/3 Triple-A innings, though he has paired eye-opening strikeout and walk rates (15.21 K/9, 2.66 BB/9) with a 50 percent groundball mark.

For the most part, Drake has toyed with his competition at the minors’ highest level, where he owns a 2.36 ERA with 13.1 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 133 2/3 innings. Drake’s success at Triple-A has led a slew of organizations to take chances on him, including five last year alone. However, Drake wasn’t able to hold down a major league spot with any of the Angels, Indians, Brewers, Twins or Blue Jays in 2018, nor could he distinguish himself with the Orioles or Brew Crew from 2015-17. In his MLB stints with those franchises, Drake pitched to a 4.59 ERA in 137 1/3 innings, but he did post a 3.48 FIP with 9.9 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and a 47.3 percent grounder rate.

Rays In Contact With Keuchel, Kimbrel

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Free agent hurlers Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel are both expected to sign somewhere shortly after midnight EST on June 2 when they will no longer be tied to draft pick compensation, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Josh Tolentino. Craig Edwards from Fangraphs recently put together a valuation of the compensation cost every team would face were they to sign either Keuchel or Kimbrel before the June 2nd expiration date. At this stage, however, even if there were a team willing to stomach the loss of a draft pick, it behooves these free agents to wait out this final week and see if their “lightened load” helps spark a bidding war – “war” being a relative term here.

Where these two end up will continue to be one of the stories of the season. Despite their well-catalogued need for a starting pitcher, the Padres do not appear ready to buy on Keuchel. The Rays, meanwhile, remain in touch with both pitchers, per Rosenthal and Tolentino. Common assumptions about “need” would point to Keuchel as the natural fit for the Rays, but Kimbrel may actually be the more likely of the two. The Rays certainly know how to use a good reliever, though Kimbrel would likely have to open his mind to a less-than-traditional closer’s role.

On the other hand, the Rays have to be intrigued by the possibility of rolling into the second half of the season sporting a top-four of Blake Snell, Charlie Morton, Keuchel and Tyler Glasnow. Health and contract negotiations aside, such a traditional powerhouse rotation would be a fun twist for the revolutionizing Rays. Even if they are still Facebook friends with Keuchel and Kimbrel, however, they’ll need to outbid the Yankees at the very least to snag Keuchel. For Kimbrel, if you can name a contender, you can find a potential landing spot.

Of course, this conversation would make a whole lot of sense were this December. Since it’s now late-May, and neither pitcher seems likely to sign before June 3rd at the earliest, conjecture about widespread interest (on my part) in Kimbrel is a tad comical, even if bullpens are languishing left and right throughout the league. Still, there’s widespread interest in winning, even if evidence often points to the contrary. Point being, though they’ve gone unsigned up til now, the Rays will not be alone in courting the services of Kimbrel (or Keuchel) come early June.

Injury Notes: Tatis, Flores, Duffy, Wendle, Volquez

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The Padres were hoping that star prospect Fernando Tatis Jr. would return from the injured list as early as Friday, though manager Andy Green told reporters (including The Athletic’s Dennis Lin) that Tatis won’t play during San Diego’s upcoming six-game road trip.  Tatis has been out of action since April 30 due to a hamstring strain, so he projects to miss a full month of games if he indeed won’t be back until May 31 (when the Padres host the Yankees) at the earliest.

Some updates on other injury situations from around the game…

  • Wilmer Flores was placed on the 10-day IL with a right foot contusion on Tuesday, though Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told media (including Arizona Sports 98.7 radio) that an MRI revealed Flores suffered a fracture.  Ildemaro Vargas was called up from Triple-A to take Flores’ spot on the roster, and he’ll provide utility depth in the middle infield as second baseman/center fielder Ketel Marte now looks like he could receive more time at the keystone.  Flores signed a one-year deal worth $4.25MM in guaranteed money last winter and has hit .281/.326/.398 over 138 PA for the Snakes, with much of that production coming in the last few weeks following an ice-cold start at the plate.
  • While on a minor league rehab assignment, Rays infielder Matt Duffy re-aggravated the hamstring injury that has kept him on the IL all season. (Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times was among those to report the news.)  Duffy will be re-evaluated tomorrow.  The infielder has been solid (.292/.354/.364 over 640 PA) since joining the Rays in August 2016, though he has appeared in just 153 games since that time, largely due to an Achilles injury that cost him the entire 2017 season.
  • In more positive news for the Rays, Joey Wendle told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) that is no longer wearing a cast on his fractured right wrist.  Wendle said he is “free to move forward as I can tolerate” any discomfort while beginning baseball activities, though he said he will be cautious in his process to try and avoid any setbacks.  One can’t fault Wendle for wanting to be entirely ready in the wake of two lost months for the utilityman, as Wendle has played in only eight games this season due to his wrist fracture and an earlier hamstring injury.
  • Veteran righty Edinson Volquez has begun to play catch, Rangers manager Chris Woodward told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Jeff Wilson and other reporters, as Volquez continues to make his way back from an elbow sprain.  Volquez made just two starts for Texas before being placed on the injured list, and he even hinted at retirement should his injury be another UCL tear (Volquez has already undergone two Tommy John surgeries).  Playing catch is a preliminary step, but nevertheless a good sign that Volquez may have avoided a more serious injury.

Injury Notes: McHugh, Davis, Tepera, Zunino, Duke

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The Astros announced today that right-hander Collin McHugh is headed to the 10-day injured list due to discomfort in his right elbow. It’s an ominous-sounding injury but the cause for concern doesn’t appear to be great; McHugh told reporters after the move that an MRI has already been performed and did not reveal any structural damage (link via the Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome). He’ll spend two or three days resting the arm before playing catch, and the 31-year-old (32 next month) believes he’s only in line for a brief stay on the IL. Any injury for a free-agent-to-be is at least somewhat notable, of course, and McHugh’s stock is particularly worth watching now that he’s been dropped from the rotation to the bullpen. Right-hander Brady Rodgers will return to the Majors for the first time since 2016 to replace McHugh in the bullpen. Rodgers, a third-rounder in 2012, has had a long road back from 2017 Tommy John surgery to post a solid 3.22 ERA in 44 2/3 innings in Triple-A so far.

More injury updates of note…

  • Athletics slugger Khris Davis exited tonight’s game after one plate appearance due to what the team announced to be “lingering effects from a left hip contusion suffered earlier this season.” It’s not clear if this’ll be another day-to-day situation for Davis or whether he might finally require a trip to the injured list to allow what has been a long-nagging injury time to heal up. Davis, king of the .247 batting average, is remarkably just a hair off that number, hitting .248/.318/.497 with a dozen homers through 179 plate appearances after making an out in the one at-bat he did have Tuesday.
  • A right elbow impingement has landed Blue Jays righty Ryan Tepera on the 10-day injured list, per an announcement from the team. Right-hander Jimmy Cordero is up from Triple-A Buffalo in his place. The outlook on Tepera is of at least some concern, as Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi tweets that Tepera says he’s been unable to get the proper level of extension on his release of his pitches. He’s headed to see a specialist for further evaluation. The 31-year-old Tepera had quietly emerged as a very solid setup piece for the Jays over the past few seasons but has been torched for a 6.55 ERA with nine strikeouts against six walks (two intentional) through 11 innings this season. His average fastball has dipped from 95 mph in 2017-18 to 93.7 mph this season. A healthy Tepera would make for a nice trade chip for the Jays this summer, given that he’s controlled through 2021, so his diagnosis and recovery timetable are well worth monitoring despite the fact that the Jays are on pace for nearly 100 losses.
  • Rays catcher Mike Zunino feels he’s making good progress on his return from a quad strain, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Zunino, who was given a four- to six-week recovery timeline is optimistic that he can return toward the front end of that projection. That’s welcome news for a Rays organization that has cycled through various combinations of Nick Ciuffo, Anthony Bemboom, Travis d’Arnaud and Erik Kratz since seeing both Zunino and Michael Perez land on the injured list. Both d’Arnaud and Kratz were trade acquisitions prompted by the loss of the organization’s top two catchers. Once Zunino and/or Perez is ready to return, there’ll likely be further roster juggling.
  • Lefty Zach Duke was placed on the injured list by the Reds due to a calf strain earlier today. Cincinnati will operate with a slightly shorter ’pen for at least a day or two, as they recalled infielder Josh VanMeter in his place. The Reds still have a pair of lefties in the bullpen in Amir Garrett and Wandy Peralta. For Duke, who inked a one-year deal worth $2MM this offseason, the trip to the IL could give him an opportunity for a mental breather on the heels of an ugly start to the year. Through 15 2/3 innings, the 36-year-old Duke has a 6.32 ERA with more walks (11) than strikeouts (9). Duke’s ground-ball rate, which sat at a hefty 59.4 percent in 2018, is down to 49 percent to begin the year.

Rays Outright Aaron Slegers

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The Rays announced Tuesday that right-hander Aaron Slegers cleared waivers after being designated for assignment and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Durham. He’ll remain with the organization but won’t occupy a spot on the club’s 40-man roster.

Slegers, 26, went from the Twins to the Pirates to the Rays in the offseason via a series of DFAs and has started the year slowly in Triple-A. Through seven starts and a total of 33 2/3 innings, the towering 6’10” righty has a 6.15 ERA with 5.4 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, 1.87 HR/9 and a 31.6 percent ground-ball rate. Slegers appeared in eight games with the 2017-18 Twins but, despite a previously strong track record in Triple-A (prior to 2019), he limped to a 5.90 ERA in 29 frames with Minnesota. He entered the year with a career 3.54 ERA at that Triple-A level, so there’s still some hope for a rebound that puts him back on the Rays’ radar for a promotion later in the year.

Rays, Giants Complete Erik Kratz Trade

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The Rays have traded right-hander Matt Seelinger to the Giants as the player to be named later in last week’s Erik Kratz trade, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.

Seelinger, 24, was the Pirates’ 28th-round pick back in the 2017 draft, but he landed with the Rays as part of last summer’s trade that sent Adeiny Hechavarria from Tampa Bay to Pittsburgh. This season, Seelinger opened the 2019 campaign at Class-A Advanced Charlotte, where he’s allowed 10 runs in nine innings of work.

Inauspicious start to the current campaign aside, Seelinger enjoyed a very strong year in 2018 when he posted a combined 2.80 ERA with 13.4 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 1.4 HR/9 and a 33 percent ground-ball rate in 45 innings of relief. He’s been a pure reliever who’s typically been older than the average competition he’s faced, but he does have 111 career strikeouts against 29 walks in 84 innings as a professional. Given that the trade in question sent a veteran backup catcher who’d already been designated for assignment to Tampa Bay, a relief prospect with a history of missing some bats and decent results against younger competition is a fairly reasonable return.

Kratz has seen just four plate appearances since being acquired by the Rays, but he should be in line for a fair bit of playing time with each of Mike Zunino, Michael Perez and Anthony Bemboom on the injured list. For now, Kratz will team with fellow trade acquisition Travis d’Arnaud to handle the bulk of the Rays’ catching duties.

Quick Hits: Clevinger, Rays, Rangers, Kelley, Phillies, Quinn

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In a promising development for the injury-stricken Indians, right-hander Mike Clevinger is steadily progressing towards beginning a rehab assignment, writes Mandy Bell of MLB.com. Clevinger, who was able to make just two starts before landing on the injured list with a strained back, has thrown a couple of bullpen sessions, and will build up his workload in subsequent sessions before embarking on a minor league assignment, which should come in the near future. Expect Clevinger to conduct a few more bullpen sessions to increase his pitch count before returning to game action in the minor leagues. Certainly, the news should inspire some optimism among Cleveland faithful, for whom the presence of the intense Clevinger on the mound will be especially comforting, considering the team’s unfortunate struggles with injuries to Corey Kluber and Danny Salazar. As Bell notes, June 7 marks the earliest date that Clevinger could be activated.

Here are the latest tidbits from the baseball world…

  • The Rays will deploy minor-league infielder Jake Cronenworth as a two-way player moving forward, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Cronenworth was used as the “opener” yesterday for Triple-A Durham, reportedly flashing a fastball at 94-96 miles per hour. The 25-year-old, a 7th-round selection of the Rays in 2015, pitched at the University of Michigan. It bears mentioning that Cronenworth has been plenty successful with the bat in 2019, slashing a cool .367/.460/.511 in 37 Triple-A games this season. This, of course, marks latest experiment for the innovative Rays, who also feature high-profile two-way player Brendan McKay in their farm system.
  • Rangers reliever Shawn Kelley, who Thursday underwent a procedure to remove lumps from his throat, is back throwing live batting practice, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, who further notes that Kelley could even be activated as early as Monday. Kelley last appeared from the Rangers on May 4, and was subsequently placed on the IL with an infection, though it was unclear just what Kelley was dealing with. Of course, the Rangers will breathe a sigh of relief as they hope to welcome back Kelley, who has been one of the club’s most productive relievers.
  • Phillies outfielder Roman Quinn, currently on the injured list recovering from a strained groin, will hit exclusively from the right side when he returns to action, notes Matt Gelb of The Athletic (subscription required). Quinn, a natural righty, began hitting from both sides at the beginning of his professional career per the Phillies’ request, but injuries have stunted his development as a switch-hitter. As a result, he has informed manager Gabe Kapler that he will bat only as a righty, where Quinn has enjoyed considerably stronger platoon splits, upon his return from the injured list.

Rays Notes: Wood, Pruitt, Bemboom

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The Tampa Bay Rays activated righty Hunter Wood from the injured list, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). In a corresponding move, Austin Pruitt was optioned back to Triple-A Durham.

Wood gives the Rays another long option to soak up the innings left behind in the wake of Tyler Glasnow’s injury. Before hitting the injured list with shoulder soreness, Wood had yet to surrender a run in 6 1/3 innings, including a two-inning “start” as an opener. He threw three innings in his first appearance of the season, earning the save in a 5-1 win against the White Sox. Wood’s fastball clocked in at 94.3 mph in 41 innings last season, and the Rays hope to see some of that velocity return after averaging only 92.3 mph over his first four appearances, effective as he was over that span. Wood joins Yonny Chirinos, Jalen Beeks, Casey Sadler, and Ryne Stanek in the long man/opener mix for Tampa.

Pruitt had a rough go of it in a short stint with the big league club this year: 6 earned runs in only 7 1/3 innings with 8 hits and 2 home runs to only 4 strikeouts. Results haven’t been a whole lot better for the 29-year-old in in Triple-A this season either, where he sports a 6.23 ERA in seven appearances. Like Wood, Pruitt has the ability to throw multiple innings in a single go, and his FIP and xFIP numbers have been good the last two seasons, but the results have yet to show in the more public-facing ERA column. Wood provides more upside at this stage, but Pruitt is sure to return to Tampa at some point this season if he can stay healthy.

Meanwhile, the Rays had yet another catcher hit the deck. Rookie Anthony Bemboom will avoid surgery, but not the injured list, per Topkin (via Twitter). Manager Kevin Cash suggests Bemboom will miss 4-6 weeks with a sprained ligament after only 5 plate appearances with Tampa. In his stead, Erik Kratz will become Blake Snell’s fourth different receiver in his last five starts, along with Bemboom, Mike Zunino, and Michael Perez, who is the closest of the three to returning from his oblique injury. Still, it’ll be Kratz and Travis d’Arnaud behind the dish for the next couple of weeks at the least.

Rays Acquire Erik Kratz, Designate Aaron Slegers

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The Rays have acquired catcher Erik Kratz and cash considerations from the Giants in exchange for either a player to be named later or cash, per an announcement from the Giants.  Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times was the first to report that Kratz had been dealt to Tampa, adding that he expected right-hander Aaron Slegers to be designated for assignment to make room for Kratz on the 40-man roster (Twitter links).  MLB.com’s Juan Toribio confirmed that Slegers is indeed headed for DFA limbo.

Kratz was designated himself by the Giants earlier this week, and the veteran will now suit up for the ninth different team in 10 Major League seasons.  Kratz will back up Travis d’Arnaud, himself a recent acquisition, on a Rays team that has seen its catching depth depleted in recent days.  Mike Zunino, Michael Perez, and now rookie Anthony Bemboom have all been sidelined with injuries, with Bemboom hitting the IL earlier today due to a sprained left knee.  It’s probably safe to assume that Kratz’s time with the Rays could be short as players begin to return from injury, though that might still be some weeks away, and d’Arnaud himself is no guarantee to stay healthy.

The money changing hands in the deal should indicate that the Rays won’t be on the hook for much of the approximately $900K that Kratz is still owed for the remainder of the season.

Slegers has a 5.90 ERA over 29 career MLB innings, all with the Twins from 2017-18.  After going to the Pirates on a waiver claim in the offseason, he was acquired by the Rays at the end of Spring Training, and Slegers has managed only a 6.15 ERA over 33 2/3 innings for Triple-A Durham this season.

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