Dodgers Claim Evan Phillips
The Dodgers have claimed right-hander Evan Phillips off waivers from the Rays, tweets Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Tampa Bay designated Phillips for assignment over the weekend. The Dodgers later formally announced the claim.
Phillips, 26, came up with a big three-inning save for Tampa Bay over the weekend, helping to spare the bullpen and give some of the rest of the relief corps some needed rest. Baseball is often a numbers game for players on the fringes of 40-man rosters, however, and Phillips was reminded of that when he was designated for assignment the very next day. He’ll now join the Dodgers, who’ll be his third organization of the season in addition to the Rays and the Orioles.
Phillips has shown considerable strikeout potential in past MLB stints with the O’s but has also given up far too many walks to remain effective. From 2019-20, Phillips pitched 42 1/3 frames with the O’s and fanned 28.7 percent of his opponents but also walked about 14.4 percent of them. Between that and a sky-high .398 average on balls in play, he was knocked around for a 5.95 ERA in that time.
This season in Triple-A, Phillips worked to a 5.04 ERA with the Orioles’ top affiliate, but he also whiffed 35 hitters in 25 frames. He was sharp in 3 1/3 Triple-A frames with the Rays and was clearly impressive in his lone MLB appearance of the season so far. He averaged 96 mph on his heater in that brief look with the Rays and has a track record of generating whiffs with a slider that possesses above-average spin rates, too.
Phillips is out of minor league options, so it could potentially be a quick run for him with the Dodgers, too, given their own penchant for frequent turnover on the fringes of the MLB roster, but he’ll first hope for a chance to make any such decisions more difficult for the organization.
Pirates Sign Yoshi Tsutsugo
The Pirates will sign Yoshi Tsutsugo, according to Yuki Yamada of Sankei Sports. Tsutsugo had been designated by the Dodgers in July and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Oklahoma, but was released yesterday. The Pirates have a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move of some kind.
Pittsburgh will be Tsutsugo’s third big league team this season. He started off the year with the Rays for the second season of the two-year contract he signed in December of 2019. In the first half of the deal, he put up a line of .197/.314/.395, production just slightly below average, evidenced by wRC+ of 98. However, his 2021 season got off to a miserable start, slashing .167/.244/.218 with Tampa, a wRC+ of 36 and enough for them to cut him loose, designating him for assignment in May.
The Dodgers were intrigued enough to send cash considerations to the Rays and give him a shot. Unfortunately, his stint in Hollywood wasn’t much better, as he produced a line of .120/.290/.120, a wRC+ of 38.
However, since accepted that Triple-A assignment, he has shown much better form, hitting .257/.361/.507, a wRC+ of 108 over 180 plate appearances in Oklahoma City. This bounceback appears to have intrigued the Pirates enough to give him a roster spot. There will be no financial risk for the team, as the Rays are on the hook for the majority of his remaining salary, as was agreed upon in their trade with the Dodgers.
Dodgers Place Mookie Betts On 10-Day Injured List
TODAY: Betts has a bone spur in his right hip, Roberts told ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez and other reporters. It’s possible surgery could be required to fully correct the injury, though Betts and the team are looking to hold off until the offseason. Betts recently received an injection, and “hopefully this shot has a longer-lasting effect,” Roberts said, “but we won’t know until we look up seven, 10 days, a month from now, and once he starts ramping up more with the physical activity.” There still isn’t any real timetable for when Betts could return, as Roberts said “my assumption is we’re gonna keep managing it day by day.”
AUGUST 11, 5:25 pm: The Dodgers officially placed Betts on the 10-day IL, retroactive to August 8, with right hip inflammation. He’s first eligible for reinstatement a week from today.
4:16 pm: Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts is going on the 10-day injured list with a right hip injury, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times). Reliever Edwin Uceta will be reinstated from the 10-day IL to take his place on the active roster. Betts is being sent back to L.A. for further examination.
This was the generally expected outcome after Betts was scratched from last night’s lineup with hip soreness. Roberts didn’t specify any sort of timetable, although it stands to reason that’ll become clearer after he’s examined by doctors tomorrow. It’s an unfortunate time to lose one of the sport’s best players, as the Dodgers trail the Giants by four games in the National League West with 49 contests remaining on the season. There’s little doubt L.A. will make the playoffs, but losing Betts makes their effort to avoid the single-elimination Wild Card game all the more difficult.
Betts got off to a slow start to the year, by his lofty standards. After a good but unspectacular April, the 28-year-old kicked his game back into peak form. He’s been blistering hot lately, hitting .373/.422/.720 since the start of July. That scorching streak has brought his season line back to a fantastic .277/.378/.521 (143 wRC+) over 397 plate appearances.
No team is better suited to withstand the loss of an MVP-caliber player than the Dodgers, who still boast a star-studded collection of talent. That said, there’s no way to truly replace someone like Betts, and his time on the shelf coincides with a difficult stretch on the schedule. Twelve of Los Angeles’ next fifteen games come against teams — Phillies, Mets and Padres — in the playoff hunt, although New York has been struggling of late.
Dodgers Place Julio Urias On 10-Day Injured List
The Dodgers have placed left-hander Julio Urias on the 10-day injured list due to a left calf contusion. The open roster spot will be filled by utilityman Zach McKinstry, who has been recalled from Triple-A.
Urias was hit by a pitch in his left calf during last night’s 6-5 Dodgers win over the Mets, though the southpaw went on to pitch two more innings after sustaining the injury. Assuming that this IL placement is only related to that incident, this could be a pretty minimal absence for Urias, who could end up missing only one start due to an August 23 off-day on the Dodgers’ schedule. It would leave Los Angeles even more short-handed in the rotation, but the team could conceivably cover Urias’ one missed outing with a bullpen game.
Amidst all of the Dodgers’ pitching injuries, Urias (whose 25th birthday was two days ago) has been a source of stability, tossing 139 2/3 innings over 24 starts. He has also has an above-average 26.4% strikeout rate and an outstanding 5.3% walk rate while posting a 3.29 ERA. After playing a huge role in the Dodgers’ championship run last October, Urias looks poised to deliver more important innings for the team this postseason.
Trevor Bauer Was Subject Of Previous Protection Order
Trevor Bauer was the subject of an ex parte temporary civil stalking protection order sought by and granted to an Ohio woman in June of 2020, according to a report by Gus Garcia-Roberts and Molly Hensley-Clancy of The Washington Post. The order was in effect until dismissed by the petitioner that July 23. According to the Post’s report:
“An Ohio woman sought the order in June 2020 after repeated threats from the then-Cincinnati Reds pitcher, according to her lawyer and records separately obtained by The Post. Photographs independently obtained by The Post also show bruises on the woman’s face and blood in her eyes, which her attorney said was caused by Bauer punching and choking her during sex without consent. Those allegations are similar to ones made by a woman in Los Angeles this summer when she applied for a temporary restraining order.”
The Post report details an alleged incident from 2017, when Bauer was with the Indians. The authors elaborate:
“A police report obtained by The Post shows that in 2017, during an incident at Bauer’s apartment, the Ohio woman attempted to show officers photos of injuries to her eyes that she said were caused by Bauer, who played for Cleveland at the time.” The woman’s attorney tells the Post she specified to police at the time that those injuries were the alleged result of Bauer choking her without consent during sex. According to the Post, Bauer was the one who initially called police that night, telling officers the woman had assaulted him — an allegation she denied. Additionally:
“The Post also obtained copies of messages Bauer allegedly sent the woman, which her lawyers said prompted her to seek an order of protection. ‘I don’t feel like spending time in jail for killing someone,’ reads one. ‘And that’s what would happen if I saw you again.'” The Post also obtained photos of injuries the woman sustained, which her lawyer tells The Post she says “were from Bauer striking her without her consent during sex in 2018,” in the words of the Post writers.
The ex parte nature of the order indicates it was granted without hearing from Bauer’s side. (That’s also true of the temporary restraining order granted against Bauer in California to which the Post alluded). Ohio law allows petitioners to obtain a restraining order against individuals who have caused the petitioner to believe they “will cause physical harm to the other person or a family or household member of the other person or cause mental distress to the other person or a family or household member of the other person,” so long as the petitioner can demonstrate good cause — including, but not limited to, a threat of bodily harm. Court records don’t specify any allegations made against Bauer at that hearing.
MLB placed Bauer on paid administrative leave in July 2021 after the Pasadena Police Department began investigating the assault allegations made by the woman in California. Bauer’s administrative leave period was extended through August 20 this week, an agreement between MLB and the MLB Players Association. The parties are set for a multi-day hearing (during which Bauer will have an opportunity to respond to the woman’s allegations) next week on the status of the California TRO.
Under the terms of the joint MLB-MLBPA Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy, Major League Baseball has the authority to issue discipline regardless of whether criminal charges are ultimately filed. An MLB spokesperson is quoted in the piece as saying that “MLB takes these and all allegations very seriously,” but that they can’t comment because of the ongoing investigation. The Post reports that an MLB investigator was seeking information related to the 2017 incident in early July.
Chelsea Janes, also of The Washington Post, says that the Dodgers declined to comment on whether or not they were aware of this previous allegation before signing Bauer in February of 2021. A spokesman for the Indians told the Post the team didn’t have any knowledge of the incident in 2017.
Bauer, on his own Twitter account, addressed the allegations with a statement from himself as well as one from his representatives. Additionally, “In a statement to The Post, Bauer’s lawyer and agent, Jon Fetterolf, and agent Rachel Luba called the allegations of physical abuse against Bauer ‘categorically false.'”
For the full details, read the Washington Post article and Bauer’s response.
Dodgers Designate Kevin Quackenbush For Assignment
The Dodgers have recalled righty Mitch White from Triple-A Oklahoma City and opened a spot on the roster by designating right-hander Kevin Quackenbush for assignment, tweets Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
Quackenbush returned to the big leagues for the for the first time since 2018 recently but appeared in just one game with Los Angeles. The 32-year-old surrendered a run on three hits in one third of an inning.
While it obviously wasn’t a great outing for Quackenbush, the former Reds and Padres righty has been nothing short of dominant in Triple-A this year. He’s tallied 29 1/3 innings and pitched to a pristine 0.61 ERA, striking out 25.7 percent of his opponents against an 11.6 percent walk rate. That success in Triple-A at least creates the possibility that another club in need of bullpen depth will claim Quackenbush. It’s been several years since he was a consistently successful big league reliever, but from 2014-16 he did toss 172 1/3 innings of 3.50 ERA ball out of the Padres’ bullpen.
Dodgers Activate Corey Knebel From 60-Day Injured List; Place Joe Kelly On IL
The Dodgers announced two bullpen moves, activating right-hander Corey Knebel from the 60-day injured list. Knebel will take the place of Joe Kelly, who was placed on the injured list for unspecified reasons.
Knebel hasn’t pitched since April 23 due to a right lat strain, marking yet another significant injury setback for the veteran righty. Tommy John surgery sidelined Knebel for the entire 2019 season, and he was limited to 13 1/3 innings last season due to both a hamstring problem and some struggles on the mound — Knebel had a 6.08 ERA over 13 1/3 frames.
Los Angeles acquired Knebel from the Brewers in the hopes that he could return to his old All-Star form from 2017, and though Knebel only tossed six innings before hitting the IL, there were some positive signs. Knebel struck out nine of 24 batters faced, and his fastball was averaging 96.4mph. This was well above his 94.4mph mark from 2020, and roughly around what Knebel averaged in his heyday in Milwaukee’s bullpen.
Dodgers Make Two Waiver Claims; Kershaw, Duffy Transferred To 60-Day IL
The Dodgers announced Monday that they’ve claimed catcher Anthony Bemboom off waivers from the Angels and right-hander Conner Greene off waivers from the Orioles. In order to open space on the 40-man roster, Los Angeles transferred left-handers Danny Duffy and Clayton Kershaw to the 60-day injured list. The “60-day” minimum on those IL stints for Duffy and Kershaw begin with their initial placement on the IL — July 20 for Duffy and July 7 for Kershaw. Duffy would be eligible to return on Sept. 18 and Kershaw on Sept. 5.
Bemboom, 31, has batted .213/.302/.347 in 88 plate appearances with the Angels over the past two seasons. He’s also logged some very brief big league time with the Rays. While Bemboom hasn’t hit much in the Majors through a small sample’s worth of career games, he’s a .256/.349/.410 hitter in parts of five Triple-A seasons. He also boasts an excellent 35 percent caught-stealing rate behind the dish and has been credited with solid framing marks at Baseball Prospectus, FanGraphs and Statcast.
The Angels designated Bemboom for assignment over the weekend when claiming fellow catcher Chad Wallach off waivers from the Marlins. Bemboom will now head to the Dodgers and provide some experienced depth for a club that just traded away top catching prospect Keibert Ruiz in the Max Scherzer/Trea Turner blockbuster.
Greene, 26, made his Major League debut with the Orioles this season but was hit hard in 3 2/3 innings. The former Blue Jays, Royals and Cardinals minor leaguer surrendered six runs on seven hits and a walk with five strikeouts in his short time with the O’s and has had a similarly rough go of it in Triple-A this year (7.09 ERA in 20 2/3 frames).
That said, Greene averaged nearly 96 mph with his heater with the Orioles and posted strong swinging-strike and opponents’ chase rates. Greene was a prospect of note for several years, drawing 70 grades on his heater and 55s and 60s on his changeup (on the 20-80 scale). He’s had control problems throughout his minor league tenure (11.2 percent walk rate), but the Dodgers are ostensibly intrigued by his raw stuff and may have their own ideas about how to maximize his potential. Greene can be optioned for the rest of the season but will be out of minor league options in 2022.
The news of Kershaw moving to the 60-day IL shouldn’t be a huge surprise after manager Dave Roberts recently said he expected his left-hander to be out until September. Duffy’s move to the 60-day IL, however, is a bit more surprising. Royals general manager Dayton Moore said not long before trading Duffy to the Dodgers that he expected the southpaw to return sometime in mid-August. The Dodgers were of course able to perform their own assessment of Duffy’s medicals and were aware of the risk of a lengthier absence, but they were still probably hoping to get Duffy back on the mound sooner than this. If the remainder of his rehab from a flexor strain goes well, Duffy can still be an option for the season’s final few weeks and a bullpen candidate in the postseason.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/9/21
The latest minor moves from around the league:
- The Royals announced that left-hander Daniel Tillo has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to Double-A Northwest Arkansas. Kansas City had a pair of vacancies on the 40-man roster, so no additional move was required. Tillo, named the #51 prospect in the Royals system entering the year by Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs, was selected to the 40-man roster in advance of last winter’s Rule 5 draft. The 24-year-old has spent the entire year recovering from a 2020 Tommy John surgery and has thus far topped out at Double-A.
- The Giants signed right-hander Logan Ondrusek to a minor league contract over the weekend. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Sacramento, where he made his first appearance on Saturday. Ondrusek made 288 MLB relief appearances between 2010 and 2016, the bulk of that time coming with the Reds. The 36-year-old hasn’t appeared in the majors in five years, but he’s worked his way back to affiliated ball after beginning the year well with the Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican League. Now working as a starting pitcher, Ondrusek pitched to a 2.38 ERA with an incredible 50:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 45 1/3 innings in Mexico this season.
- Dodgers right-hander Yefry Ramírez has cleared outright waivers, according to the MLB.com transactions tracker. Ramírez, who was designated for assignment last week, had the right to reject an outright assignment because he’d been outrighted in the past. He has apparently chosen to accept an assignment to Triple-A Oklahoma City, though, as he’s listed on OKC’s active roster. The 27-year-old made one appearance with L.A. but has otherwise spent the year with Oklahoma City, working to a 5.49 ERA across 62 1/3 innings.
Justin Turner To Miss “A Few Days” With Groin Injury
Justin Turner left today’s game due to what the Dodgers described as left groin discomfort, and manager Dave Roberts said the third baseman will have to miss at least a brief amount of time. Turner will “be down for a few days and then we’ll re-evaluate,” Roberts told Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register and other reporters.
In the top of the second inning, Turner made an impressive play to get to a grounder and then throw out Jose Iglesias at first base. Turner picked up his injury on this play, though he remained in the game to finish the inning before being replaced by pinch-hitter Albert Pujols (who homered) in the bottom half of the frame.
Los Angeles doesn’t have a game on Monday, though Turner seems set to miss most or all of the team’s upcoming series with the surging Phillies from August 10-12. Since the Dodgers have dropped to four games behind the Giants in the NL West race, L.A. can’t afford to be without its star third baseman for long, as Turner has continued to excel in his age-36 season.
After re-signing with the Dodgers for two years and a guaranteed $34MM in the offseason, Turner has hit .289/.376/.491 with 20 home runs over 439 plate appearances. While Turner has been no stranger to the injured list over his career, he has been the picture of durability this year, ranking second on the Dodgers with 105 games played.
The veteran’s stability has helped carry the Dodgers through a number of other injuries, so the team’s depth will again be tested for what it hopes will be a brief absence for Turner. The Dodgers do have enough versatile players to make do in the short term, as the club could slide Max Muncy or Chris Taylor over to the hot corner and then mix and match other bench options to fill in gaps.