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Tigers Activate Michael Fulmer, Designate Ian Krol For Assignment

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The Tigers announced Tuesday that right-hander Michael Fulmer has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list. Lefty Ian Krol was designated for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster.

Fulmer hit the injured list late last month with what the team termed a cervical spine strain. His return comes just days before the trade deadline, so it’s possible he won’t have enough time to convince other clubs of his health, but prior to his injury Fulmer looked like one of the more obvious trade candidates around the league.

The now-28-year-old righty was acquired from the Mets in the 2015 Yoenis Cespedes blockbuster and promptly won American League Rookie of the Year honors as a member of the Tigers’ rotation in 2016. That season saw the righty pitch 159 innings of 3.06 ERA ball over the life of 26 starts. He struck out 20.4 percent of opponents along the way, posted a very strong 6.5 percent walk rate and an above-average 48.9 percent grounder rate.

Fulmer looked like the next in a long line of quality arms that had helped the Tigers to perennial contender status earlier in the decade, but injuries have largely derailed that outlook. He’s undergone ulnar nerve transposition surgery and Tommy John surgery since that Rookie of the Year campaign and has pitched a total of just 200 innings since Opening Day 2018 — including 40 frames this year.

After seeing diminished output as a starting pitcher, Fulmer reinvented himself in the bullpen this season. He’s been hammered for a 4.97 ERA in his handful of starts this season but had pitched to a 3.62 ERA with a sizable 29.7 percent strikeout rate and just a 5.1 percent walk rate out of the ’pen. That bullpen ERA was sitting at 2.73 prior to his final outing prior to landing on the IL, when he served up three runs in an inning of work before alerting the team of the injury.

Fulmer is earning a reasonable $3.1MM salary this year and is controlled into the 2022 season via arbitration. That could pique the interest of contending clubs, but the extra year of control also means the Tigers needn’t simply accept the best offer that comes their way after he’s had maybe one or two innings to showcase his health. Fulmer could reestablish himself in the season’s final months and be shopped this winter, and it’s also possible that the Tigers could decide to hang onto him into next year as they look to field a more competitive club.

Krol, 30, returned to the Majors for his first look since 2018. He tossed 4 2/3 innings out of the Detroit bullpen and held opponents to a pair of runs on four hits and a pair of walks with four strikeouts in that time. He’d been on a nice run in Triple-A prior to his call-up and has a pair of quality big league seasons under his belt, but consistency has been hard for him to come by; he carries a 4.48 ERA in 194 2/3 Major League innings and has on three occasions posted single-season ERAs of 4.96 or higher. The Tigers can trade him in the next couple days if they find a suitor — otherwise Krol will be placed on outright waivers or released.

Marlins Designate Luis Madero For Assignment

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The Marlins have designated righty Luis Madero for assignment, as The Miami Herald’s David Wilson was among to report.  First baseman Lewin Diaz has been called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.

This is already the third time Miami has DFA’ed Madero since the start of May, though amidst the roster maneuvering, the right-hander did make his Major League debut.  Madero has tossed four innings over three games for the Marlins, with one disastrous outing (five runs in one inning against the Diamondbacks on May 11) accounting for his 11.25 ERA.

Beginning his career as a 17-year-old in Arizona’s farm system in 2014, Madero pitched for the D’Backs, Angels, and was briefly in the Giants organization before joining the Marlins on a minor league deal last winter.  Starting 92 of his 110 career games in the minors, Madero has a 4.34 ERA and 20.73% strikeout rate over an even 500 minor league innings.

Brewers Place Christian Yelich, Jace Peterson On COVID List

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The Brewers have placed Christian Yelich and Jace Peterson on the COVID-related injury list, president of baseball operations David Stearns told MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy (Twitter links).  Yelich has tested positive for COVID-19 while Peterson is on the list due to contact tracing.  Stearns noted that Yelich had already been fully vaccinated and is exhibiting mild symptoms, though the outfielder is expected to be back after the mandatory 10-day quarantine period.

To fill the two open roster spots, Lorenzo Cain is being activated off the 10-day injured list and Pablo Reyes was called up from Triple-A.  Cain was expected to return from the IL today, following an absence of almost two months while recovering from a hamstring strain.

The most important news is that Yelich is feeling relatively good following his positive test, though the former NL MVP will now be sidelined for the third time this season.  Yelich had two earlier IL placements due to back problems, costing him close to five weeks’ worth of action.  This nagging back issue has bothered Yelich for a few years, contributing to his below-average performance since the start of the 2020 season.  After his last 522 plate appearances, Yelich has hit .221/.370/.397 — a far cry from his .327/.415/.631 slash line over 1231 PA in 2018-19.

The Brewers are known to be looking for hitting help prior to the trade deadline, and losing Yelich will only add to the team’s search.  Peterson has also been a good addition to the roster over 50 games 161 PA this season, hitting .244/.373/.397 (good for a 109 OPS+ and 113 wRC+) after signing a minor league deal with Milwaukee this past winter.

It isn’t known what Cain will be able to provide after his second IL trip of the season, and the veteran has mostly been an offensive non-factor since the start of the 2019 season.  Cain has hit only .256/.327/.369 over his last 762 PA, as he has been hampered by multiple injuries and also elected to sit out much of the 2020 season.

Twins Sign First-Round Pick Chase Petty

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The Twins have announced the signing of first-round pick Chase Petty.  MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis reports a $2.5MM bonus for Petty, slightly below the $2,653,400 assigned slot price for the 26th overall pick.

Pundits were a little split on Petty’s draft stock, with MLB Pipeline (27th), Baseball America (29th) and The Athletic’s Keith Law (33rd) all placing the right-hander roughly around his actual draft spot, while Fangraphs (55th) and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel (65th) weren’t quite as high.

Velocity is the calling card for the New Jersey high schooler, as Petty has cracked the 100mph threshold with his 70-grade fastball.  The issue is that Petty’s control of that big fastball is a little spotty, limiting the pitch’s effectiveness.  Petty also doesn’t have a smooth delivery and is a little undersized, so his eventual future might be in the bullpen.  However, given how Petty combines his fastball with a plus slider and a promising changeup, the Twins will definitely give the 18-year-old every opportunity to stick as a starting pitcher.

Reds Sign First-Rounder Matt McLain

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The Reds have agreed to a deal with first-round draft pick Matt McLain, the team announced.  MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis (via Twitter) reports that the UCLA shortstop will receive a bonus of $4.625MM, well above the $3,609,700 assigned slot price for the 17th overall pick.

This marks the second time that McLain (who turns 22 in August) has been a first-round selection, as the Diamondbacks took him 25th overall back in 2018.  Rather than begin his pro career out of high school, McLain went to play college ball at UCLA and ended up elevating his draft profile, despite a broken thumb that shortened his 2021 season.

The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked McLain as the seventh-best prospect of this year’s draft class, and in fact the pundits (Baseball America ranked him 10th, Fangraphs 11th, MLB Pipeline 12th, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel 15th) all had McLain slightly higher on their boards than the 17th overall selection.  McLain’s throwing arm, hit tool, and running ability are all graded as pluses by BA and Pipeline, though his according to Baseball America’s scouting report, “his fringe-average raw power will likely translate more to doubles with a wood bat and limit him to 10-15 home runs per season.”  Defensively, McLain has improved his stock as a shortstop, though there is some feeling that he might eventually be ideally suited as a second baseman, or perhaps even as a center fielder given his athleticism.

Blue Jays Select Kirby Snead, Designate Jacob Barnes

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The Blue Jays announced Monday that they’ve selected the contract of left-hander Kirby Snead to the Major League roster and opened a spot by designating right-hander Jacob Barnes for assignment.

Snead, 26, was Toronto’s tenth-round pick back in 2016 and has steadily put together an impressive minor league track record. He reached Triple-A for the first time in 2019 and would’ve gotten another look there in 2020 were it not for the minor league season being shut down. He’s made the most of his second go-around there in 2021, however, pitching to a 2.01 ERA and 2.28 FIP with a huge 35.5 percent strikeout rate, a 9.9 percent walk rate and a 57.4 percent ground-ball rate in 31 1/3 frames.

Outside of one lone start earlier this year, when he worked two innings (presumably as an opener), Snead’s entire career has been spent working in relief. He’s a pure bullpen addition for the Jays — one who’s never had an ERA north of 3.88 at any level to this point in his career.

Barnes pitched nine innings for the Jays after coming over from the Mets and whiffed 30 percent of the 43 batters he faced, but he also walked six and hit another (16.3 percent). Now 31 years old, Barnes looked at one point like he might be a long-term piece in the Brewers’ bullpen. From 2016-18, he racked up 147 1/3 innings of 3.54 ERA ball with solid strikeout numbers, but he hasn’t been able to recreate that production. From 2019-21, Barnes has 78 1/3 big league innings split among five different teams, but he’s pitched to just a 6.55 ERA.

Barnes keeps getting chances with other clubs, likely owing to a combination of his fastball velocity, spin, chase rate and a strong minor league track record. There’s clearly some tantalizing aspects of his repertoire — you don’t see five teams take a chance on a 40-man roster spot for a player if there isn’t — but he hasn’t found consistency over the past few years. The Blue Jays will now have until Friday to trade Barnes, otherwise they’ll have to place him on outright waivers or release him.

Pirates Trade Clay Holmes To Yankees

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The Yankees announced Monday that they’ve acquired right-handed reliever Clay Holmes from the Pirates in exchange for minor league infielders Diego Castillo and Hoy Jun Park. Catcher Rob Brantly, who’d been on the roster as a Covid-related replacement player, has been returned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to open a roster spot. Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported about a minute before the announcement that Holmes was being traded to the Yankees for a pair of minor leaguers (via Twitter).

Holmes, 28, has spent the season in the Pittsburgh bullpen and pitched to a 4.93 ERA, a 23.3 percent strikeout rate, a 13.2 percent walk rate and an enormous 72.8 percent ground-ball rate. To offer a bit more context on that percentage, Holmes has pitched 42 innings this season and surrendered just 16 fly-balls (three of which were pop-ups) and 15 line drives. He’s induced 83 grounders.

Control has been an obvious issue for Holmes, who has always hit four batters and thrown five wild pitches, but he’s only allowed 10 home runs in 119 2/3 career innings (0.75 HR/9). He’s also among the game’s best at limiting premium contact so far in 2021 (86th percentile average exit velocity; 91st percentile barrel rate).

Holmes has yet to reach arbitration but will be arb-eligible for the first time this winter. He’s making scarcely more than the league minimum and can be controlled all the way through the 2024 season if he ultimately sticks in the bullpen. He’ll have to prove his mettle with the Yankees at the Major League level, however, as he’s out of minor league options and cannot be sent down without first being exposed to waivers.

For much of his minor league career, Holmes worked as a starting pitcher. He’s made just four starts in the Majors, however, against 87 bullpen appearances. Because he can’t be sent down, it’s unlikely that the Yankees would try to stretch him out at the MLB level. He’ll head into the bullpen for now, where he can give them some length. Holmes has worked several outings of one-plus or two innings at a time and topped 30 pitches in an appearance on a few occasions.

Ground-ball rate looks to be something the Yankees have zeroed in on in recent years, at least with regard to their bullpen. Zack Britton is one of the most prolific ground-ball pitchers in history, and the current Yankee bullpen sports five more pitchers who’ve tossed at least 10 innings of relief this year with a grounder rate of 50 percent or better: Albert Abreu, Luis Cessa, Jonathan Loaisiga, Mike King and Wandy Peralta. At a time when the league is working to curb the use of foreign substances that increase the spin rate on four-seam fastballs and sliders, it’s perhaps not coincidental that the Yankees are seeking out another extreme ground-ball pitcher who relies on a low-spin sinker.

Yankees fans may be surprised to see Park included in this deal after he’s posted a .327/.475/.567 slash with 10 homers, nine doubles, a triple and eight stolen bases in 223 Triple-A plate appearances so far. The 25-year-old was recently called to the big league roster for the first time but only got one appearance before being sent back out.

Notably, however, the Yankees outrighted Park to Triple-A, however, indicating that he went unclaimed on outright waivers at the time of the move. The Pirates (or another club) could’ve had Park for free at that point, were they willing to dedicate a 40-man roster spot to him. The 29 other clubs passed. The Bucs will now pick up his rights (without having to dedicate a 40-man spot) and hope he can continue to build on that breakout showing he’s enjoyed so far in Triple-A this year. FanGraphs’ Eric Lonenhagen ranked Park 31st among Yankees farmhands prior to this deal, noting that his ability to play a viable shortstop an control the strike zone make him a “high-probability utility infield piece.”

Castillo, 23, had a history as a light-hitting middle infielder with premium contact rates before his production exploded in a pitcher-friendly Double-A setting this year. He’s hitting .277/.345/.504 (127 wRC+) with 11 home runs, 18 doubles and eight steals in 249 plate appearances on the year. Castillo has walked at a career-best 8.4 percent against a 13.4 percent strikeout rate. He’s another shortstop-capable infield prospect to add to the middle levels of the Pirates’ system — one whom Longenhagen ranked 21st in the Yankees’ system at the time of the swap.

Indians Claim Alex Young, Transfer Aaron Civale To 60-Day IL

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The Indians on Monday claimed lefty Alex Young off waivers from the Diamondbacks and opened a spot on the 40-man roster by transferring right-hander Aaron Civale from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list, according to a club announcement. Young was optioned to Triple-A Columbus.

Young, 27, was designated for assignment in Arizona last week after struggling over the past two seasons. The former second-round pick (No. 43 overall) had a solid rookie season back in 2019 when he tossed 83 1/3 innings of 3.56 ERA ball over the life of 17 appearances (15 starts). Young’s 20.3 percent strikeout rate that season wasn’t especially impressive, but he had strong control (7.7 percent walk rate), kept the ball on the ground at an above-average 48.1 percent clip and was generally stingy when it came to allowing hard contact. It was a generally promising debut for a 25-year-old with a strong draft pedigree.

Things haven’t panned out as hoped since that time. Young has pitched 88 innings since that time, mostly out of the bullpen (36 relief appearances, nine starts). His strikeout rate and walk rate have each gone in the wrong direction, but only by about one percent. However, Young has begun yielding hard contact in droves while surrendering more fly balls; as one might expect, he’s been immensely homer-prone since those trends began. Over his past 88 frames, Young has served up 22 home runs en route to a 5.83 ERA.

While Young’s time with the D-backs didn’t go as the organization (or the player himself) hoped, he’ll get a fresh start with a new club that has a reputation for pitching development. Young can be optioned both in 2022 and 2023, so he gives Cleveland a potential depth arm for the foreseeable future — or a potential piece to the big league pitching staff if he can indeed right the ship following his change in environs.

The move to shift Civale from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day now means that he won’t return until at least late August. We’re just over one month past Civale’s initial placement on the 10-day injured list due to a finger sprain. He was initially projected to miss four to five weeks, so the fact that he’s now shelved for a minimum of two months suggests that his rehab from that injury has not been as swift as initially expected.

With Civale and reigning Cy Young winner Shane Bieber on the shelf, the Indians have been relying on Zach Plesac, Triston McKenzie, Cal Quantrill, J.C. Mejia, Eli Morgan and Sam Hentges to start. Despite the team’s aforementioned knack for churning out quality young pitchers, this particular group has struggled for the most part. Plesac only just returned from a broken thumb and hasn’t been as sharp as usual. Quantrill has a solid enough 3.84 ERA on the season, but he has a 5.11 ERA as a starter and a 1.88 mark as a reliever. Young could give Cleveland another option to add to that carousel, depending on how he’s used.

Padres Acquire Adam Frazier

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The Padres have acquired one of the most sought-after players on the trade market, picking up second baseman Adam Frazier in a four-player swap with the Pirates.  Infielder/outfielder Tucupita Marcano, outfielder Jack Suwinski, and right-hander Michell Miliano are the prospects heading to Pittsburgh in the deal, and the Pirates are also sending $1.4MM along with Frazier to San Diego.  The deal became official Monday afternoon.

It’s the first big move of deadline season for Padres general manager A.J. Preller, who is no stranger to splashy moves and is pushing to get his team first to the NL West title and then deeper into October.  While a number of pitching injuries would very well result in some arms being added between now and July 30, Preller recently indicated that a bat was also on his shopping list.

Frazier is enjoying the best season of his seven-year MLB career, hitting .324/.388/.448 with four home runs over 428 plate appearances for the Bucs in 2021.  There is some possibility for regression, as Frazier’s .359 BABIP has helped make up for some very low hard-contact numbers, and his .337 xwOBA is well below his .368 wOBA.  However, even that xwOBA is still above average, and Frazier somewhat makes up for that lack of hard contact by making a lot of contact in general — fitting the Padres’ model as a player who rarely strikes out.

Frazier is a left-handed hitter, and while the Padres generally lean more to the right side of the plate, Frazier might supplant another left-handed hitting regular in Eric Hosmer.  The hot-hitting Jake Cronenworth could slide from second base to take over from Hosmer as the regular first baseman, opening the door for Frazier to become the new everyday second baseman.  Since Frazier also has experience as a corner outfielder, he could move into the grass to spell Tommy Pham or Wil Myers, giving San Diego even more positional flexibility.

Since Frazier also has one more year of arbitration eligibility remaining, he’ll be able to help the Padres for both this year’s playoff race and throughout the 2022 season.  Frazier was earning $4.3MM this season, so the $1.4MM sent from Pittsburgh will cover most of his remaining salary for 2021, which helps the Padres stay under the $210MM luxury tax threshold.

There was little doubt that the rebuilding Pirates were going to move Frazier by the deadline, given that his strong season only enhanced his trade value.  Pittsburgh fans expecting multiple top-100 type prospects may be disappointed by the return, though it’s worth noting that Frazier has been more solid than outstanding during his career, with an even 100 OPS+ and wRC+ over his first six big league seasons.  Nevertheless, the Bucs did add three notable prospects to add to GM Ben Cherington’s overhaul of the farm system.

Marcano is the only member of the prospect trio with any MLB experience, appearing in 25 games for San Diego this season and posting a .485 OPS over 50 plate appearances.  An international signing from Venezuela in 2016, the 21-year-old Marcano is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the fifth-best prospect in the Padres’ deep farm system, while Baseball America has him in the eighth spot.

The Pirates valued Marcano highly enough that they were willing to include the $1.4MM to the Padres, Rosenthal reports, while other Frazier bidders like the Mariners weren’t asking for any money back in a proposed trade.  Heyman adds that the Padres weren’t willing to discuss Marcano back when San Diego and Pittsburgh worked out the Joe Musgrove trade last winter.

There’s plenty to like about the versatile Marcano, who has played mostly second base during his pro career but has also seen a lot of time at third base, shortstop, and both corner outfield slots.  At worst, Marcano seems like he’ll have a future as a utilityman, and he could well become a regular due to his excellent contact skills at the plate.  Marcano does lack some power, and while he possesses plus speed, BA’s scouting report notes that he will need to improve his baserunning instincts.  Marcano skipped Double-A entirely and made his Triple-A debut this year, hitting .272/.367/.444 with six home runs in 199 PA.

Neither Suwinski or Miliano appeared in the top-30 Padres prospect rankings for either Pipeline or Baseball America, but both youngsters have put themselves on the map in 2021.  Suwinski was a 15th-round pick for the Pirates in 2016, and hadn’t hit much in his first pro seasons before exploring for a .269/.398/.551 slash line and 15 home runs over 267 PA at Double-A San Antonio.  As noted by BA’s Matt Eddy, Suwinski has been doing this despite hitting in a pitcher-friendly home ballpark, though he’ll be moving to another pitcher-friendly location in the Pirates’ Double-A affiliate in Altoona.  Suwinski has experience at all three outfield positions, and is just a few days away from his 23rd birthday.

The 21-year-old Miliano has a 6.11 ERA over 94 1/3 innings in San Diego’s farm system, getting to high-A ball this season.  Miliano has given up a lot of hits (84) and, troublingly, almost as many walks (78) over his four seasons, but the Pirates were surely intrigued by his ability to miss bats.  The right-hander has a 31.74% strikeout rate in the minors, and that number includes an absurd 44.44% rate over 25 2/3 innings at A-level Lake Elsinore this year.

ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan (Twitter link) was the first to report that the Padres had acquired Frazier.  FanSided’s Robert Murray reported that the Pirates were getting three prospects, with The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Dennis Lin identifying Marcano and Suwinski and ESPN.com’s Kiley McDaniel identifying Miliano.  Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweeted that the Padres were getting cash back in the trade, with MLB Network’s Jon Heyman specifying the $1.4MM figure.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Draft Signings: 7/25/21

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Today’s most notable signings from Day Two (and beyond) of the amateur draft.  As always, you can get more background on these players via the prospect rankings and scouting reports compiled by Baseball America, Fangraphs, MLB Pipeline, The Athletic’s Keith Law, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.  As well, here is MLB Pipeline’s breakdown of the slot values assigned to each pick in the first 10 rounds, as well as the bonus pool money available to all 30 teams.

All signings reported by MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis, unless otherwise noted…

  • The Marlins signed second-round pick Cody Morrissette, with the Boston College shortstop agreeing to the assigned slot price of $1,403,200 for the 52nd overall pick.
  • The Diamondbacks went slightly above slot to sign Adrian Del Castillo, the draft’s 67th overall selection and Arizona’s pick in Competitive Balance Round B.  Del Castillo, a catcher from the University of Miami, signed for a $1MM bonus, topping the 67th pick’s slot price of $976.7K.
  • The Angels made a very notable signing outside the top 10 rounds, agreeing to a $1.25MM bonus with 12th-round pick Mason Albright.  As Callis notes, this is now the highest bonus given to a player beyond the first 10 rounds since MLB adopted the current draft format.  $1.125MM of Albright’s bonus will count against the Angels’ total $9,295,900 spending pool.  Albright is an 18-year-old southpaw who had received some rankings (107th from McDaniel, 122th from Pipeline, 134th from BA) far above his station as the 351st overall pick, and the Angels clearly had to go above and beyond to get Albright to break his commitment to Virginia Tech.
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