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Rays Rumors

Injury Notes: Murphy, Archer, T. Frazier, Graveman

By Connor Byrne | June 3, 2018 at 11:53am CDT

Unfortunately for the Nationals, second baseman Daniel Murphy doesn’t seem close to making his 2018 debut. Manager Dave Martinez told Jamal Collier of MLB.com and other reporters Sunday that Murphy remains “a ways” away from coming off the disabled list. What’s more, Murphy – who underwent microfracture surgery in his right knee last October – has not looked healthy during his Double-A rehab assignment, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post hears. A scout informed Janes that Murphy has been “gimpy,” “struggling to move laterally” and lacking “straight-ahead speed” during action this weekend. Not only is that bad news for the Nats, with whom Murphy starred from 2016-17, but also for the impending free agent. While Murphy did all he could to set himself up for another nice payday over the previous couple seasons, the 33-year-old is now amid a less-than-ideal platform campaign.

  • Rays right-hander Chris Archer dealt with groin tightness during his start Saturday, helping lead to his exit after five innings of two-run ball, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. It doesn’t seem to be a major concern, but “he’ll probably get checked out here in the next day or two and see how it is,” manager Kevin Cash said. Thanks in part to Saturday’s performance, Archer has seen his ERA plummet from a season-worst 7.84 on April 14 to 4.24 over his past nine starts. That should help the hard-throwing 29-year-old’s stock if the Rays make him available in advance of the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, as some expect them to do.
  • Mets third baseman Todd Frazier is primed to come off the DL in time for the team’s series against Baltimore, which begins Tuesday, Matt Ehalt of The Record suggests. Indeed, Frazier tweeted Sunday that he’s on his way back to New York, thus wrapping up a Triple-A rehab assignment. His return will be a rare positive development for the free-falling Mets, who placed Frazier on the DL with a hamstring strain on May 8. Prior to suffering the injury, the offseason free-agent signing opened 2018 with a helpful .237/.357/.412 line and five home runs in 140 plate appearances.
  • The Athletics’ Triple-A affiliate in Nashville has placed righty Kendall Graveman on the DL with a forearm strain, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Fortunately, Graveman doesn’t have any structural damage and should only miss 10 days, Slusser reports. Nevertheless, the injury continues a difficult year for Graveman, who entered 2018 off three straight respectable campaigns but has spent a large portion of the season in the minors. The 27-year-old worked to a 7.60 ERA in 34 1/3 innings prior to his demotion and also hasn’t been great in Nashville, where he has posted a 4.50 ERA in 24 frames.
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Athletics New York Mets Tampa Bay Rays Washington Nationals Chris Archer Daniel Murphy Kendall Graveman Todd Frazier

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Reds Acquire Curt Casali

By Jeff Todd | May 31, 2018 at 4:20pm CDT

4:34pm: Casali has not been placed on the MLB roster to this point, per C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic (via Twitter). Presumably, though, the team will select Casali’s contract or otherwise bring another catcher up before its next game, which is tomorrow evening.

4:20pm: The Reds have acquired catcher Curt Casali from the Rays, per a club announcement. Cash considerations are heading to Tampa Bay in return.

Casali, 29, has seen action in four MLB campaigns. He’s a .199/.285/.385 hitter with 19 home runs in 466 career plate appearances. This season, Casali is off to a solid start to the year at Triple-A, where he’s slashing .283/.330/.467 in one hundred trips to the plate. He has also typically graded as a solid performer at framing pitches, blocking balls in the dirt, and handling the running game.

It seems that the Reds will be adding Casali to the MLB roster, as the club announced that fellow backstop Tony Cruz has been optioned down to Triple-A. The 31-year-old Cruz has struggled in limited action this year at the MLB level, with 11 strikeouts in his 26 plate appearances.

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Cincinnati Reds Tampa Bay Rays Transactions Curt Casali

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Rosenthal’s Latest: Braves, Machado, Red Sox, Colome, Rays

By Mark Polishuk | May 27, 2018 at 6:36pm CDT

Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal’s weekend news updates FOX Sports (all video links)…

  • Given the Braves’ third base vacancy, Rosenthal believes the team “will at least check in on Manny Machado” prior to the trade deadline.  Machado would seem like a perfect fit for an Atlanta team that is looking to stay in the postseason race, plus his impending free agency wouldn’t make him a long-term block at the hot corner for top prospect Austin Riley.  Acquiring Machado from the Orioles would require a heavy prospect cost, however, and Rosenthal wonders if the Braves might instead use their minor leaguers to acquire a frontline starting pitcher, since they’ll be pursuing such an arm anyway in the offseason.  The Braves’ prospect capital could also be used to try and pry J.T. Realmuto away from the Marlins, as Realmuto would provide a longer-term answer behind the plate than the Braves’ veteran tandem of Kurt Suzuki and Tyler Flowers (who are both free agents this winter).
  • Even after designating Hanley Ramirez for assignment and sidestepping his potential $22MM salary for 2019, Rosenthal notes that next year’s Red Sox could still be approaching the maximum penalty limit for surpassing the luxury tax threshold.  If the Sox were more than $40MM over next year’s $206MM tax threshold, they would face up to a 90 percent tax on the overages and their top pick in the 2019 draft would drop by ten positions.  Boston already has over $137MM committed next season towards seven players, plus Pablo Sandoval and Rusney Castillo.  Beyond that $137MM already on the books, Chris Sale’s $13.5MM club option is a no-brainer to be exercised, Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts are on pace for huge arbitration raises, and key players like Craig Kimbrel and Drew Pomeranz are free agents.
  • “The Rays keep playing for tomorrow and tomorrow never seems to come,” Rosenthal says about Tampa Bay’s constant need to trade high-priced players due to the team’s salary limitations.  This payroll need may be impacting the team’s ability to get the best possible return for their veteran players.  For instance, in the Rays’ recent swap that sent Alex Colome and Denard Span to the Mariners, Rosenthal wonders if the Rays could’ve gotten more for Colome if they hadn’t attached Span’s heftier remaining salary to the deal.  Tampa might have been able to get a bigger return for Colome last offseason given all of the interest he drew from other teams, and the same could potentially be said for Chris Archer, given how the right-hander’s slow start may have dimmed his trade value.
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Atlanta Braves Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Tampa Bay Rays Alex Colome Chris Archer Denard Span Manny Machado

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Trade Notes: Machado, Phils, Cubs, Yanks, Rays, Padres, M’s, Tribe

By Connor Byrne | May 26, 2018 at 11:51pm CDT

Orioles shortstop Manny Machado seems like a good bet to end up on the move this year, though it’s not “anywhere close” to happening, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports. The Orioles aren’t “actively shopping” Machado right now, and they’re content to keep the soon-to-be free agent until closer to the July 31 non-waiver deadline, Kubatko writes. Kubatko goes on to list some potential Machado suitors, including the Phillies, who “left open the possibility of engaging in talks” with the Orioles when they were in Baltimore a couple weeks ago. Meanwhile, according to Kubatko, the Cubs reached out to Orioles general manager Dan Duquette to express interest in Machado, but Chicago – like Baltimore – isn’t prepared to make a major deal yet. Of course, Cubs president Theo Epstein addressed the Machado-Chicago speculation earlier this week, saying it’s “in fantasy land at this point.”

Here are more trade-related items:

  • The Yankees, owners of arguably the majors’ premier offense and its second-best record (32-16), “need pitching more than anything else,” general manager Brian Cashman said Saturday (via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). Cashman made that observation before right-hander Sonny Gray’s latest subpar start – a 3 2/3-frame, five-run performance in a loss to the Angels. Gray has now posted a 5.98 ERA/4.78 FIP with 7.97 K/9 and 5.07 BB/9 in 49 2/3 innings this year, which wasn’t the type of production the Yankees had in mind then they acquired him from the Athletics last July. His 2018 woes – not to mention a general lack of front-end starters behind ace Luis Severino – could force the World Series hopefuls to revisit the trade market for rotation help in the next couple months.
  • Tampa Bay pulled off a surprise trade Friday when it sent reliever Alex Colome and outfielder Denard Span to Seattle, and that won’t be be the end of the Rays’ moves, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times suggests. With Colome and Span gone, Topkin names Chris Archer, Wilson Ramos, C.J. Cron, Carlos Gomez, Adeiny Hechavarria, Brad Miller, Sergio Romo, Matt Duffy, Chaz Roe, Nathan Eovaldi and Jonny Venters as candidates to wind up in other uniforms.
  • Padres outfielder Travis Jankowski has drawn trade interest, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reported before the Mariners-Rays swap. It seems the Mariners tried for Jankowski prior to landing Span, but according to Divish, the Padres didn’t show much interest in the M’s low-ranked farm system. Known mostly for his speed and defense, the 26-year-old Jankowski has gotten off to a .313/.382/.400 start at the plate in 89 attempts this season. He’s controllable through the 2021 season.
  • Thanks to their bullpen’s dreadful start to the season, the Indians have been inquiring about outside help, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com relays. It doesn’t seem as if any trades are close to happening, however, as Hoynes points out that the deadline’s still more than two months away. Cleveland’s bullpen entered Saturday last in the majors in both ERA (6.23) and fWAR (minus-0.8), and it then lost integral lefty Andrew Miller to the disabled list for the second time this season.
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Baltimore Orioles Chicago Cubs New York Yankees Philadelphia Phillies San Diego Padres Seattle Mariners Tampa Bay Rays Manny Machado Travis Jankowski

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Injury Notes: Gomez, Sanchez, Marte, Bird, Prado

By Kyle Downing | May 26, 2018 at 11:35am CDT

Rays outfielder Carlos Gomez has been activated from the 10-day disabled list; he’d been sidelined since May 16th with a strained groin. The injury was thought to be minor at the time, and the fact that Gomez missed only the ten-day minimum leaves little room to doubt his health at this time. That doesn’t mean his performance comes without questions, though, as the veteran is slashing just .200/.252/.345 on the season. No corresponding move was required for Tampa Bay, as their roster was two men short following yesterday’s surprising trade with Seattle.

And now a flurry of other injury-related items from around the league…

  • David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution suggests that Anibal Sanchez could be the Braves’ starter on Tuesday following a successful rehab start on Friday. Mark Bowman of MLB.com takes it a step further by quoting manager Brian Snitker, who reportedly said that Sanchez is indeed penciled in to start Tuesday’s game. Sanchez has a 1.29 ERA in three appearances (two starts) on the season.
  • Adam Berry of MLB.com writes that Starling Marte will be activated from the DL by the Pirates today if he reports to the ballpark feeling ready to play. It’d be a remarkably quick return for the 29-year-old outfielder, who has been sidelined with an oblique injury. Injuries of that type have a reputation for lingering and causing players to miss extended time. One has to wonder what Marte’s potential activation would mean for the red-hot Austin Meadows, who’s managed more homers in the big leagues thus far (3) than strikeouts (2).
  • The Yankees have reinstated first baseman Greg Bird from the disabled list, optioning infielder Ronald Torreyes to Triple-A in a corresponding move. Marc Carig of The Athletic notes that the move makes plenty of sense considering the versatility of Gleyber Torres and the fact that a removal of Neil Walker from the roster isn’t reversible. Bird entered the season with plenty of hype surrounding him, but has yet to make his 2018 debut thanks to right foot surgery.
  • In a move that was widely expected, the Marlins placed Martin Prado (hamstring) on the 10-day DL today, recalling J.T. Riddle from Triple-A to take his place on the roster. It’s the latest in an unfortunate series of injuries for the formerly-durable Prado, who made only 147 trips to the plate last year following eight straight seasons with at least 500 PA.
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Atlanta Braves Miami Marlins New York Yankees Pittsburgh Pirates Tampa Bay Rays Transactions Anibal Sanchez Austin Meadows Brian Snitker Carlos Gomez Gleyber Torres Greg Bird J.T. Riddle Martin Prado Neil Walker Ronald Torreyes Starling Marte

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Injury Notes: Prado, Murphy/Goodwin, DeJong, Casilla, Trumbo, More

By Jeff Todd | May 26, 2018 at 12:08am CDT

It seems that Marlins infielder Martin Prado has suffered a rather significant left hamstring injury, as Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports. The 34-year-old has endured a run of significant problems with his hamstring muscles in the past year or so. Details aren’t yet known, but it certainly sounds as if Prado will be sidelined for a lengthy stretch. He’s owed $13.5MM this year and $15MM for the 2019 campaign. The long-productive infielder has struggled to a .169/.221/.180 batting line in 95 plate appearances on the season.

Here’s more on the injury front:

  • The Nationals finally got some promising injury news, as they’ll send both Daniel Murphy and Brian Goodwin on rehab assignments beginning tomorrow. Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweeted the news with regard to the former; Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post tweeted manager Davey Martinez’s announcement on both players. Murphy has yet to appear in the 2018 campaign after offseason microfracture surgery, while Goodwin has been slow to return from a wrist injury.
  • It’s still unclear just how long the Cardinals will go without shortstop Paul DeJong, but he says he has been given a four-to-eight week estimate by the medical professionals, as Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. More than anything, it seems that broad range indicates that there’s not a lot of clarity at this point as to how long it’ll take to heal. All involved will obviously hope that it hues toward the earlier estimate, as the replacement options all have their warts as semi-regular shortstops.
  • It seems the Athletics will go without reliever Santiago Casilla for a stretch. He has been diagnosed with a shoulder strain, as MLB.com’s Jane Lee reports (Twitter links). Details of his anticipated absence are not yet available, but it’s said to be likely that Casilla will end up on the DL. At the same time, he says he does not believe it’s a serious malady. The veteran entered play today with an ugly 14:13 K/BB ratio, but had allowed eight runs on only 11 hits in his 21 innings of action.
  • Though he seemingly avoided a more concerning fate, Orioles slugger Mark Trumbo will likely head to the DL to rest his ailing right knee, as Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com was among those to report (Twitter links). Trumbo was diagnosed with a fairly significant case of arthritis, which won’t necessarily put him on the shelf for long but also probably isn’t the best news for a defensively limited player who’s owed $12.5MM this year and $13.5MM next. He has been productive thus far in 2018, though, with a .309/.317/.469 slash through 82 plate appearances. On the other hand, it’s somewhat worrisome that he has managed only a pair of home runs and a single walk in that span.
  • In other AL East news … so long as there are no surprises in the interim, Nate Eovaldi will finally start for the Rays on Tuesday, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. The Yankees announced that reliever Tommy Kahnle is back from the DL, which represents a promising development given the uncertainty that surrounded him when he went on the shelf. And while the Blue Jays still aren’t planning on a near-term return from Troy Tulowitzki, skipper John Gibbons says the veteran shortstop is at least ready to begin running, as Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca tweets.
  • While the Padres had hoped to welcome back catcher Austin Hedges in relatively short order, he’s now halting his rehab after his problematic right elbow flared up, as MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell writes. It still seems there’s little reason to fear that Hedges is dealing with a real structural problem, though surely it’s frustrating for the organization that he hasn’t yet fully turned the corner.
  • Meanwhile, the Angels provided an update on hurler Matt Shoemaker, though it mostly suggests ongoing uncertainty with regard to the root of his arm issues. As the club announced, and MLB.com’s Maria Guardado tweets, the latest examination “ruled out peripheral nerve involvement” but “showed mild edema in the forearm.” Shoemaker is also said to have undergone a bone scan. The results of that weren’t specifically cited, but it seems to suggest that the organization is looking at quite a lot of possibilities to figure out what’s really causing problems for the starter.
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Athletics Baltimore Orioles Los Angeles Angels Miami Marlins New York Yankees San Diego Padres St. Louis Cardinals Tampa Bay Rays Toronto Blue Jays Washington Nationals Austin Hedges Brian Goodwin Daniel Murphy Mark Trumbo Martin Prado Matt Shoemaker Paul DeJong Santiago Casilla Tommy Kahnle Troy Tulowitzki

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Mariners Acquire Alex Colome, Denard Span

By Jeff Todd | May 25, 2018 at 7:26pm CDT

7:24pm: The Mariners will receive $4.75MM from the Rays, per Tim Booth of the Associated Press (via Twitter), an amount that rather significantly alters the math of the trade.

5:16pm: In a stunning early-season swap, the Mariners have acquired reliever Alex Colome and outfielder Denard Span from the Rays, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times originally reported on Twitter. Righties Andrew Moore and Tommy Romero will go to Tampa Bay in return, as Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter) and Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (via Twitter) first reported.

An as-yet-unknown amount of cash is also going to Seattle in the swap. Reliever David Phelps, who is out for the year after undergoing Tommy John surgery, was moved to the 60-day DL to open a roster spot.

M’s GM Jerry Dipoto has overseen his fair share of surprising swaps since taking the helm in Seattle, and this certainly rates near the top of the list. The club is off to a nice start (29-20), but just lost Robinson Cano for eighty games (and the postseason) due to a suspension and Dee Gordon for a stretch due to a broken toe.

Of course, the Cano suspension also freed up around $11MM in cash for the organization to deploy elsewhere. The new additions are earning $11MM (Span) and $5.3MM (Colome) for the season, so they are owed almost exactly that amount (around $11.2MM) the rest of the way. (There could still be some Cano savings left over, as we don’t yet know how much cash the Rays will send in the deal.)

Colome is surely the headliner of this deal. He has served as the closer in Tampa Bay for the past three seasons, racking up 95 saves in that span. He’ll be eligible for arbitration one final time over the offseason, so there’s some future value here for the M’s.

When he moved to the bullpen full-time in 2016, Colome looked like a star. But he wasn’t quite as exciting last year, when he carried a 3.24 ERA but managed only 7.8 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9 for the year. Of particular note, his swinging-strike rate dropped to a less-than-dominant 11.6% level.

It has been something of the opposite story thus far in 2018. Colome sports only a 4.15 ERA but has struck out 9.6 and walked 3.3 batters per nine while carrying a 54.5% groundball rate. A low strand rate (65.4%) and high BABIP-against (.354) help explain the discord.

With Colome having returned to a healthier 13.9% swinging-strike rate and continuing to deliver his typical 95.5 mph heater and ~89 to 90 mph cutter, the Mariners will bet that he returns to more dominant results in a high-leverage role. Of course, they won’t ask him to handle the ninth, which will likely remain the domain of young fireballer Edwin Diaz.

Span has now been dealt twice in the final year of his contract. The 34-year-old no longer moves as well as he once did, but is still a polished hitter. He is off to an interesting start to the 2018 season, carrying a whopping 16.2% walk rate (well above his career average) and a typically stingy 13.9% strikeout rate. He’s producing at a solid .238/.364/.385 rate despite carrying a meager .259 batting average on balls in play and quality of contact estimates (.359 xwOBA vs. .332 wOBA) that suggest some poor fortune.

On the other side of the agreement, the Rays have again acted to shave a fair bit of salary obligations. It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that the ability to move Span’s contract — which itself was acquired only to offset partially the money the Giants took on in the offseason’s Evan Longoria swap — was a strong motivating factor.

Still, they’ll also recoup some talent here. Moore, 23, has had plenty of success in the minors and reached the big leagues last year. He’s not really regarded as a high-ceiling hurler, but could be a near-term option that fits the Rays’ current model that relies upon multi-inning relievers. Moore owns a 3.04 ERA in 50 1/3 innings this year at Double-A, allowing six home runs on 38 total hits while maintaining a 47:14 K/BB ratio.

Romero, 20, was a 15th-round pick last year. But he has shown well thus far as a professional. In his 44 innings in the current campaign, which have come over nine starts at the Class A level, Romero owns a 2.45 ERA with 11.0 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Newsstand Seattle Mariners Tampa Bay Rays Transactions Alex Colome Denard Span Marc Topkin

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Rays Acquire Wilmer Font

By Jeff Todd | May 25, 2018 at 5:13pm CDT

The Rays have announced the acquisition of righty Wilmer Font from the Athletics. Minor-league righty Peter Bayer will go to Oakland in return.

Font had recently been designated for assignment by the A’s. His stop there hasn’t been any better than his opening to the season was with the Dodgers. In 17 innings this year, Font has allowed 24 earned runs on 31 hits.

Optimists will note that Font has managed 16 strikeouts to go with just five walks on the year. Those figures line up more with Font’s promising showing at Triple-A last year, when he worked to 3.42 ERA in 134 1/3 innings with 11.9 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9.

Ultimately, it’s tough to look past the fact that opposing hitters have somehow managed to drive the ball out of the park a dozen times in Font’s first 24 MLB innings. But the Rays certainly have a need for arms and don’t mind taking the risk, so they’ll see if they can get the 28-year-old on track.

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Athletics Tampa Bay Rays Transactions Wilmer Font

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Jake Faria Out At Least Six To Eight Weeks; Rays Select Contract Of Vidal Nuno

By Jeff Todd | May 23, 2018 at 3:10pm CDT

3:10pm: Rays manager Kevin Cash revealed that Faria will be out for a fairly substantial amount of time, with an absence of six to eight weeks likely being on the short end of his realistic timeline to return (Twitter link via Topkin). He could be sidelined into August, Topkin adds.

2:24pm: Nathan Eovaldi is going on the 60-day DL to create 40-man space, Topkin tweets. Since he has been out all year, Eovaldi will still be eligible to come back on May 28th.

11:37am: The Rays will make a pitching change today, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). Righty Jake Faria will hit the 10-day DL after suffering an oblique injury, while the club will select the contract of lefty Vidal Nuno to replace him.

It’s still not known what the Rays will do to create a 40-man roster opening, but one will be needed to accommodate Nuno. The southpaw signed a minor-league deal with Tampa Bay over the winter.

Faria, 24, has struggled a 5.48 ERA over his 47 2/3 innings through ten starts on the year. He’s averaging 7.0 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9, both of which represent steps back from his more promising debut effort in 2017. Faria has also overseen a steep decline in his swinging-strike rate, from 12.0% to 8.6%.

Hopefully, then, his time on the DL will also afford an opportunity to pursue some solutions to his troubles on the mound. It is not yet known how severe the oblique injury is; depending upon the extent of the damage, Faria may require anything from a relatively brief to a rather lengthy stint on the shelf.

As for the 30-year-old Nuno, he has plenty of experience over the past five MLB campaigns, over which he has thrown 344 innings of 4.29 ERA ball. He struggled quite a bit last year with the Orioles, but has been more effective thus far in 2018 at Triple-A. In his 40 1/3 innings at Durham, Nuno owns a 3.57 ERA with 37 strikeouts against just three walks.

It’s not yet clear just how the Rays will deploy their new hurler, but the loss of Faria only deepens the intrigue surrounding the club’s unorthodox pitching strategies. Chris Archer and Blake Snell will presumably continue to be utilized mostly as traditional starters, but beyond that it may largely be a patchwork effort.

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Tampa Bay Rays Transactions Vidal Nuno

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Injury Updates: Hill, Faria, Ramos, Smith, Bumgarner, Candelario, Boyd

By Mark Polishuk | May 22, 2018 at 9:51pm CDT

Rich Hill’s latest blister problem was originally estimated by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to require a four-week DL stint, though the southpaw threw a full bullpen session today.  As Roberts explained to MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick and other media, Hill was keeping his arm in shape while wearing protective tape over the injured middle finger of his pitching hand.  Hill told reporters yesterday (including The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya) that is hopeful of a quicker return from this injury, though he is still looking for a more long-term answer to the blister problems that have plagued his career in recent years.  Hill even raised the idea of petitioning the league to allow him to wear the tape on his finger during a game — MLB rules prohibit a pitcher from wearing an “attachment to his hand, finger or wrist,” though Hill argues that it wouldn’t be any different than a hitter wearing a batting glove.

Here’s some more on some other injured players from around baseball…

  • The Rays suffered through a tough third inning tonight, as starter Jake Faria left the game with a strained left oblique and catcher Wilson Ramos departed later in the frame with a left hand contusion after an Austin Pruitt pitch deflected off the ground and hit Ramos in the top of the hand.  The Faria injury seems like the more immediately serious injury of the two, as oblique strains usually require at least a few weeks to recuperate; manager Kevin Cash told reporters (including the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin) that Faria will “miss some time” with the injury.  Faria has struggled to a 5.48 ERA over 47 2/3 frames this season, though his absence would further tax a Rays pitching staff that is already putting a heavy load on its relievers due to the team’s unique usage of relievers.  As for Ramos, he tells Topkin that he doesn’t believe he’ll require a DL stint, though his hand is still swollen.
  • Carson Smith will seek out a third opinion on his injured shoulder to see if he can avoid surgery, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reports (Twitter link).  The Red Sox reliever suffered a subluxation in his right shoulder last week after angrily tossing his glove in frustration over a poor outing.  This would be another brutal injury setback for Smith, who missed most of the 2016 and 2017 seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery.
  • Madison Bumgarner threw 30 pitches in a simulated game today, and is on track to make his first rehab start on Saturday.  (MLB.com’s Richard Dean was one of several reporters with the info.)  The Giants ace will likely make three rehab outings before returning to the 25-man roster in June to make his season debut, after fracturing a finger in Spring Training.
  • Tigers third baseman Jeimer Candelario is slated to begin a minor league rehab assignment tomorrow, manager Ron Gardenhire told the Detroit Free Press’ Anthony Fenech (Twitter link) and other reporters.  The young third baseman was posting some big numbers (five homers, .272/.359/.497 in 167 PA) before being sidelined with tendinitis in his left wrist.  Candelario’s was placed on the DL on May 14, so it seems like he won’t miss much or maybe even any time beyond the 10-day minimum absence.
  • In more troubling injury news for the Tigers, southpaw Matthew Boyd was forced to leave his start after four innings tonight due to what the club described as an oblique spasm.  This is a lesser injury than a strain, though obviously Detroit wasn’t taking any chances with the young left-hander.  Boyd has delivered some good results with a 3.12 ERA over 52 innings, though advanced metrics indicate some batted-ball luck (.248 BABIP) and Boyd isn’t generating many grounders (32.9% ground ball rate) or strikeouts (7.1 K/9).
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Boston Red Sox Detroit Tigers Los Angeles Dodgers San Francisco Giants Tampa Bay Rays Carson Smith Jacob Faria Jeimer Candelario Madison Bumgarner Matt Boyd Rich Hill Wilson Ramos

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    Cubs Sign Hunter Harvey

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    Hazen: Ketel Marte Trade Talks Won’t Last All Offseason

    Angels To Sign Kirby Yates

    Athletics Sign Tyler Soderstrom To Seven-Year Extension

    Orioles Re-Sign Zach Eflin

    Marlins Sign Pete Fairbanks

    Pirates To Sign Ryan O’Hearn

    White Sox Sign Sean Newcomb

    Athletics Acquire Jeff McNeil

    Mets Sign Luke Weaver

    Nationals Sign Foster Griffin

    Padres Sign Sung-Mun Song

    Rangers Re-Sign Chris Martin

    Red Sox Acquire Willson Contreras

    White Sox To Sign Munetaka Murakami

    Blue Jays Interested In Alex Bregman

    Tigers Re-Sign Kyle Finnegan

    Astros, Pirates, Rays Finalize Three-Team Trade Sending Brandon Lowe To Pittsburgh, Mike Burrows To Houston, Jacob Melton To Tampa

    Recent

    The Best Fits For Tatsuya Imai

    Spencer Howard To Sign With NPB’s Yomiuri Giants

    Cubs Sign Hunter Harvey

    Giants To Sign Tyler Mahle

    Blue Jays Sign Nic Enright To Two-Year Minor League Deal

    White Sox, Jarred Kelenic Agree To Minor League Deal

    A’s Have “Ongoing Conversations” On More Potential Extensions

    The Opener: Marte, Angels, Imai

    Angels, Anthony Rendon Restructure Contract; Rendon Will Not Return To Team

    Reds, Yunior Marte Agree To Minor League Deal

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