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Austin Pruitt Out For Season After Elbow Surgery

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When the Houston Astros acquired Austin Pruitt from the Rays this past January, they thought they were building on their pitching depth with a veteran swingman who could plug the gaps in the rotation or bullpen as needed in 2020. To no fault of Pruitt or the Astros, things haven’t worked out as planned. The 31-year-old Pruitt hasn’t thrown a pitch for Houston this season, and he’s not going to. Pruitt underwent surgery to fix a hairline fracture in his right elbow on Wednesday. He’ll be out for the remainder of the season, per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. Pruitt may also miss the beginning of 2021 as he recovers.

The Astros’ acquisition of Pruitt came at a funny time in their history, as GM Jeff Luhnow would be fired just four days later. Little more than a month after that, current GM James Click would follow Pruitt to the Astros to take over as general manager. There may be slight pangs of regret surrounding this deal, then, for Click, who would have been part of the team that sent Pruitt to the Astros in exchange for outfielder Cal Stevenson and right-hander Peyton Battenfield. Stevenson originally came to the Astros from the Blue Jays as part of the return for Aaron Sanchez, while Battenfield was a ninth-round pick in the 2019 draft.

In parts of three seasons with the Rays, Pruitt logged 199 2/3 innings across 57 relief appearances and 10 starts. The Houston native owns a 4.87 ERA/4.17 FIP for his career with a modest 6.6 K/9 versus 2.3 BB/9. He was up-and-down between Triple-A and the majors each season since making his debut as a 27-year-old in 2017.

The Astros could have used Pruitt as they’ve struggled at times to piece together the arms necessary to build a rotation. Their staff is middling overall in terms of production, ranking 16th in the majors by fWAR, 9th by ERA, and 15th by FIP. Beyond Pruitt, Jose Urquidy has yet to throw a pitch after landing on the COVID-19 injured list, and ace Justin Verlander made just one start before a strained forearm sent him to the IL. Still, Houston happened to have another ace on hand in Zack Greinke, Framber Valdez has broken out and claimed a rotation spot with a 2.58 ERA/2.59 FIP over 6 starts, and rookie Cristian Javier has more than held his own at the back end. The Astros are firmly in playoff position and just 2 games behind the division-leading Athletics.

Rays Activate Nick Anderson, Move Jose Alvarado To 45-Day IL

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The Rays announced that they’ve reinstated reliever Nick Anderson from the 10-day injured list and outfielder Brett Phillips from the COVID-19 IL. The team also moved left-hander Jose Alvarado to the 45-day IL and optioned fellow southpaw Ryan Sherriff to its alternate site.

The Rays dodged a major injury with Anderson, who went on the IL on Aug. 23 with inflammation in his right forearm. The Rays continued to roll without Anderson, though, and at 26-12, they own a comfortable five-game lead over the Blue Jays and Yankees in the American League East. Still, they’ll be glad to welcome back the valuable Anderson, who broke out a year ago between the Marlins and Rays and has remained among the game’s top relievers this season. Anderson hasn’t allowed a run through 9 1/3 innings in 2020 and has posted 15 strikeouts against a single walk.

While Anderson’s comeback is welcome news for the Rays’ bullpen, it’s unfortunate for the club that it will go without Alvarado through the end of the regular season. The hard-throwing 25-year-old landed on the IL on Aug. 15 with shoulder inflammation, ending a second straight limited season of mediocre production for the reliever. Alvarado was terrific for the Rays from 2017-18 (especially in the second of those seasons), but he has only logged 39 innings of 5.08 ERA/4.55 FIP pitching with 12.0 K/9 and 7.62 BB/9 dating back to 2019.

Rays Add Greg Jones To Player Pool

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  • Outfielder Parker Meadows and right-handers Logan Shore, Jason Foley and Alex Lange have all been added to the Tigers’ pool, the team announced Thursday morning. Meadows, the No. 44 pick in 2018 and the younger brother of Rays star Austin Meadows, is the most highly regarded of the bunch. He posted strong numbers that summer but struggled in his first full season, slashing .221/.296/.312 against older competition in Class-A. He’s ranked 13th among Detroit prospects at MLB.com and at FanGraphs. Lange, 24, was the better of the two pitching prospects acquired from the Cubs in the trade that sent Nick Castellanos to Chicago last year. He’s pitched as a high as Double-A already and could be an option for the Tigers by next year. Foley was an undrafted free agent in ’16 who missed the 2018 season due to injury but returned with solid numbers in Class-A Advanced last year. Shore, a former second-round pick of the A’s, was sent to Detroit as a PTBNL in 2018’s Mike Fiers trade. Shore’s changeup is considered a potentially plus pitch, but the rest of his arsenal isn’t regarded nearly as highly.
  • Infield prospect Greg Jones was added to the Rays’ player pool, per a club announcement. Tampa Bay selected the now-22-year-old Jones with the No. 22 pick out of UNC Wilmington in 2019. He posted a .335/.413/.461 slash in 48 games and 218 plate appearances with the Rays’ short-season Class-A affiliate in the New York-Penn League, although that wasn’t a particularly aggressive initial assignment for a college bat. The success is still notable, of course, and he’ll get some additional simulated game reps and face time with coaches over the season’s final month.

Suspensions Issued To Yankees, Rays

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3:33pm: Chapman will appeal his suspension, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com was among those to report.

3:01pm: Major League Baseball has issued suspensions to Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman and manager Aaron Boone for their conduct during Tuesday’s win over Tampa Bay. Rays manager Kevin Cash also received a short ban. Chapman will sit for three games, while the two managers will be suspended for a game apiece. Boone and Cash will serve those penalties in the clubs’ matchup Wednesday, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

Whether Chapman will actually miss three games remains to be seen, as he could appeal his ban in an effort to reduce it. However, MLB noted in its statement that Chapman “intentionally” threw at the head of the Rays’ Mike Brosseau in the teams’ game Tuesday, which could make it harder to land a reduced ban. Chapman uncorked a 101 mph fastball at Brosseau at a time when the Yankees were nursing a two-run lead with two outs in the ninth inning of an important game. With their victory, the Yankees moved to within 3 1/2 games of Tampa Bay in the American League East.

Chapman went on to strike out Brosseau to finish the game, but it got heated afterward. Both benches cleared, and the two division rivals continued taking shots at one another during postgame interviews. Cash fired back at the Yankees, saying the Rays have “a whole damn stable full of guys that throw 98 mph,” which seemed to suggest they wouldn’t hesitate to retaliate against the Bronx Bombers. Boone called Cash’s comment “pretty scary,” meanwhile, and Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier admitted that neither side likes one another. The two teams’ disdain toward one another could make a September division race and perhaps a playoff series even more interesting.

Rays Activate Charlie Morton

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Sept. 2: The Rays have reinstated Morton from the injured list and optioned first baseman/outfielder Brian O’Grady to their alternate training site, per a team announcement.

Aug. 31: The Rays are planning to activate Charlie Morton from the injured list to start Wednesday’s game against the Yankees, manager Kevin Cash announced to reporters (including Juan Toribio of MLB.com). The right-hander has been out since August 10 with inflammation in his throwing shoulder.

Morton’s two-year, $30MM contract comes with a 2021 club option that could pay him up to $15MM. Initially, the option price was set to decrease if Morton spent more than thirty days on the injured list between 2019-20. The veteran avoided the IL last season. In 2020, vesting options have been prorated due to the shortened season.

However, Morton’s deal has been reworked to remain at the $15MM price point so long as he spends no more than 23 days on the injured list, MLBTR has learned. Wednesday’s activation, not coincidentally, comes 23 days since Morton’s initial injured list placement. Thus, the option continues to be valued at $15MM, so long as he avoids future IL stints. Of course, the option price is only relevant if the 36-year-old wants to play next season, and he’s been noncommital on that question in the past.

Morton was fantastic in his first year in Tampa, pitching to a 3.05 ERA/2.81 FIP in 194.2 innings, garnering some Cy Young support in the process. His first four starts this season haven’t been as impressive, but he’s a big key to the 24-11 Rays’ hopes of postseason success.

Rays Place Yandy Diaz On 10-Day Injured List

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The Rays have placed corner infielder Yandy Diaz on the 10-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain, the club announced.  Infielder Nate Lowe has been called up from the alternate training site to take Diaz’s spot on the active roster.

While the Rays have been hit hard by pitching injuries in recent weeks, Diaz is a notable loss on the position player side.  Playing mostly every day at third base for the Rays, Diaz has hit .307/.428/.386 this season, good for a 130 OPS+ and 136 wRC+ over 138 plate appearances.  Diaz’s patience at the plate is obviously the big contributor to his production, as he has shown very little power and not even much hard contact, as Statcast ranks Diaz in the bottom ninth percentile in barrels and in the bottom 19th percentile in hard-hit balls.

Still, losing a player with a .428 OBP is naturally a big loss to any lineup, though the versatile Rays are better equipped than most teams to withstand Diaz’s absence.  Joey Wendle seems likely to get the bulk of third base work with Diaz out, and Yoshi Tsutsugo and Mike Brosseau on hand for further depth.

Lowe could also be in the picture, as he played a handful of games at third base during 50 games with Tampa Bay last season.  Lowe hit .263/.325/.454 with seven home runs over his first 169 PA in the majors, and the well-regarded prospect has an impressive .300/.400/.483 slash line and 54 homes over 1718 career plate appearances at the minor league level.

AL East Trade Deadline Recap

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With the deadline in the rearview mirror, we’ll look back at each AL East team’s trade activity over the past month.

Baltimore Orioles

Boston Red Sox

New York Yankees

Tampa Bay Rays

Toronto Blue Jays

Player Pool Additions: 8/31/20

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Today’s player pool news:

  • The Rays are adding shortstop prospect Greg Jones to their 60-man player pool, per Juan Toribio of MLB.com (Twitter link). The club’s first-rounder out of UNC-Wilmington in 2019, he’s now the #12 prospect in a stellar Tampa farm system, according to Baseball America. The switch-hitting speedster didn’t advance past the short-season New York-Penn League in his first pro action, so he’s surely not on the radar for an MLB call in 2020. Rather, he’ll get an opportunity for additional instruction in front of Rays’ player development staff.

Giants Acquire Anthony Banda

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The Rays have traded left-hander Anthony Banda to the Giants, Robert Murray reports. The Giants sent cash considerations in return, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to tweet. To make room for Banda, the Giants placed outfielder Joey Rickard on the 60-day injured list with left elbow inflammation.

The 27-year-old Banda spent a short time in limbo, as the Rays designated him for assignment Sunday. Banda’s a former top 100 prospect whom the Rays acquired from the Diamondbacks in a three-way trade entering the 2018 season, though he hasn’t made much of a major league impact so far. Banda wound up throwing just 51 1/3 innings with the Rays, including seven frames this year, and recording a 5.96 ERA (and a far better 3.67 FIP) with 7.19 K/9 against 3.16 BB/9.

Rays Have Interest In Daniel Norris

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  • The Tigers are drawing interest in catcher Austin Romine and left-hander Daniel Norris, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports in both a tweet and a longer notes column.  The Rays are one team linked to Norris, who has impressed by posting a 2.40 ERA, 7.2 K/9, and 4.00 K/BB rate over 15 innings.  The former second-round draft pick has been plagued by injuries throughout his career and missed part of Summer Camp recovering from a positive COVID-19 test, though he has performed well as a multi-inning reliever for the Tigers this year.  Romine has also enjoyed a strong season with a .291/.309/.418 slash line over 81 PA, though his trade chip status could have a late wrinkle — the Tigers scratched him from today’s lineup due to right knee soreness.
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