Braves Claim Mike Ford, Designate Joe Dunand
June 12: Dunand cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Gwinnett, per David O’Brien of The Athletic.
June 10: The Braves announced they’ve claimed first baseman Mike Ford off waivers from the Mariners and optioned him to Triple-A Gwinnett. Infielder Joe Dunand has been designated for assignment to clear 40-man roster space.
It has been a roller-coaster of a season for Ford, who’s now on his third different organization of the year. He signed a minor league deal with Seattle, then was selected onto the big league roster in April. Seattle designated him for assignment and traded him to the Giants fairly quickly, then acquired him back from San Francisco two weeks later once the Giants DFA him themselves. Ford held his second 40-man roster spot in Seattle for a few weeks, but the M’s again took him off the roster this past weekend.
Through it all, Ford has appeared in 17 MLB games. He’s compiled a rather bizarre .182/.357/.212 slash line, the product of eight walks but 12 strikeouts in only 42 plate appearances. It’s the fourth consecutive year in which he’s logged some big league time, with all of his pre-2022 MLB work coming in a Yankees uniform. The left-handed hitter broke in with an excellent .259/.350/.559 showing with 12 home runs in 50 games as a rookie, but he owns a .144/.273/.263 line in just shy of 200 plate appearances since the start of the 2020 camapign.
The 29-year-old adds a left-handed hitting depth option to the organization. Matt Olson obviously has first base accounted for, but the Braves have gotten subpar work (.252/.328/.360) out of their designated hitters. Ford is in his final minor league option year, meaning the Braves can keep him in Gwinnett for the rest of the season if they’re willing to carry him on the 40-man roster. He’s hit .271/.417/.417 in 14 Triple-A games this year.
Dunand was a recent waiver claim himself, coming over from the division-rival Marlins last week. His time in the organization may now be coming to close without a big league game, as the 26-year-old has just appeared in five games with Gwinnett. He did make a brief cameo in Miami earlier in the year, logging three appearances.
A former second-round pick, the right-handed hitting Dunand has a .209/.295/.376 line in 328 Triple-A plate appearances. He’s struggled with strikeouts throughout his minor league tenure, but the 6’2″ infielder has drawn praise in the past for his raw power potential. Dunand has played mostly on the left side of the infield in the minors, with a bit more work at shortstop than at third base. The Braves will have a week to trade him or look to run through waivers themselves.
Royals Transfer Jake Brentz To 60-Day IL
The Royals announced some roster moves today, reinstating lefty Amir Garrett from the COVID-related injured list. To make room for him on the active roster, fellow southpaw Angel Zerpa was optioned to Triple-A. Yet another lefty, Jake Brentz, was transferred to the 60-day IL in order to create room for Garrett on the 40-man roster.
Brent made it to the major leagues for the first time last year and had a strong debut season. He threw 64 innings with a 3.66 ERA, 49% ground ball rate and 27.3% strikeout rate, though his walks were on the high side at 13.3%. This year, however, things got off to a disastrous start, with Brentz allowing 14 earned runs in 5 1/3 innings, which included an awful 28.9% walk rate. He landed on the injured list in late April due to a left flexor strain. At the time, manager Mike Matheny said that Brentz had been ailing for some time, which perhaps explains those struggles.
Today’s transfer means he won’t be eligible to return until 60 days from the initial IL placement, which would be late June. Matheny tells Anne Rogers of MLB.com that this doesn’t affect the timeline for Brentz, who wasn’t going to be ready to return at that point anyway. The club could use the roster spot because of their COVID situation. Garrett was one of three players on the COVID list, meaning he wasn’t occupying a spot on the 40-man roster. Moving Brentz to the 60-day cleared up a spot for him, though the club still has Matt Peacock and Gabe Speier on the COVID-IL, meaning further roster maneuvering will be required down the line.
Diamondbacks Designate Drew Ellis For Assignment
The Diamondbacks announced a series of roster moves today, with right-hander Luke Weaver being activated from the 60-day injured list. To create space for Weaver on the active roster, right-hander Edwin Uceta was optioned to Triple-A. To open a spot on the 40-man roster, infielder Drew Ellis was designated for assignment.
Acquired from the Cardinals in the Paul Goldschmidt trade, Weaver had an excellent start to his Diamondbacks tenure, although it was limited by a forearm strain. In 12 starts that year, he put up a 2.94 ERA in 64 1/3 innings. But over the subsequent two seasons, injuries and underperformance dimmed his outlook. In April, manager Terry Lovullo announced that the club planned to use Weaver out of the bullpen to start the year. Regardless, Weaver landed on the IL with elbow inflammation after throwing just 2/3 of an inning, only now making his way back to the majors. It’s possible that Weaver could get back into the rotation soon, as his last rehab outing was a four-inning start where he threw 60 pitches. Caleb Smith took Weaver’s rotation spot at the start of the year but was himself bumped into the bullpen after just one start. Humberto Castellanos took over a rotation spot in April but landed on the IL recently.
As for Ellis, 26, he was a second round pick of the D-Backs in 2017. He had his contract selected in July of last year and made his major league debut. In 34 MLB games so far, he has a tepid batting line of .134/.268/.207, 37 wRC+. He has an incredible 18.4% walk rate in 42 Triple-A games this year, helping him produce a line of .217/.369/.399, 100 wRC+. Ellis has garnered praise from prospect evaluators for his defense, where he’s capable of playing first, second or third base. Given that versatility and patient approach at the plate, he could be of interest to other clubs, especially since he still has options and can be stashed in the minors. Arizona will have a week to trade him or put him on waivers.
White Sox Select Seby Zavala, Designate Yermin Mercedes
The White Sox announced a series of roster moves today, selecting the contract of catcher Seby Zavala and designating first baseman Yermin Mercedes for assignment. They also recalled lefty Tanner Banks. To make room on the active roster for Zavala and Banks, lefty Aaron Bummer was placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to June 9, due to a lat strain, while righty Davis Martin was optioned to Triple-A.
Zavala appeared in the majors with the White Sox in 2019 and 2021, getting into 42 games and hitting .171/.223/.343. He was outrighted off the roster in April and has been in Triple-A Charlotte, having a much better showing. He’s hit .282/.396/.535 through 41 games with the Knights, amounting to a wRC+ of 147, though with a 35.5% strikeout rate. He’s actually played more first base than catcher this year, though he’s likely needed on the big league club for extra depth behind the plate. Yasmani Grandal left yesterday’s game with hamstring tightness and will be unavailable for a while, even though he hasn’t been placed on the IL. Zavala and Reese McGuire will handle the catching duties until Grandal recovers enough to rejoin them.
As for Mercedes, this has the potential to conclude his tenure with the White Sox, a relationship that has not always gone smoothly. Last year, the Twins sent utility player Willians Astudillo to the mound in a game they were losing 15-4 to the Sox. Mercedes drew the ire of some unwritten rules fetishists by swinging at a 3-0 pitch from Astudillo and depositing over the fence for a home run. The Twins responded by throwing behind Mercedes in a subsequent game, which garnered suspensions for reliever Tyler Duffey and manager Rocco Baldelli. In the media dustup that followed, many White Sox players defended Mercedes, but White Sox manager Tony La Russa publicly spoke out against his own player and those who defended him.
Later in the season, Mercedes was optioned to the minors, which was followed by him announcing that he planned on stepping away from baseball, apparently posting his decision on Instagram before telling the team about it. However, it turned out to be a false alarm, as Mercedes quickly returned to the team in short order.
This year, Mercedes underwent hand surgery in March though was able to return and make his season debut in Triple-A in May. Through 25 games with the Knights, he’s hitting .230/.376/.426 thanks to a whopping 18.3% walk rate. All that amounts to a wRC+ of 120, or 20% above league average. Mercedes has always hit at every level, including the majors, though he doesn’t provide much value with the glove. Although he came up as a catcher, he’s gradually spent less time behind the plate, making 15 starts at DH this year and nine at first base, none behind the dish. The 29-year-old is in his final option year, meaning he could garner interest from any team willing to give him a 40-man roster spot. He could be stashed in Triple-A for the remainder of the year as a bat-first depth option. The White Sox will have one week to trade him or put him on waivers.
Twins Select Tyler Thornburg
The Twins announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Tyler Thornburg. He will take both the active roster spot and 40-man roster spot of Chi Chi Gonzalez, who was designated for assignment yesterday.
Thornburg had a nice run of success pitching for the Brewers in his first five seasons. From 2012 to 2016, he threw 219 2/3 innings in 144 games with a 2.87 ERA, 24.2% strikeout rate, 10% walk rate and 35.8% ground ball rate. However, he’s dealt with injuries and underperformance since then, only throwing 59 MLB frames since the end of the 2016 campaign.
This year, he started the season with Atlanta, throwing 9 1/3 innings with a 3.86 ERA, 21.3% strikeout rate, 10.6% walk rate and 25% ground ball rate. Despite that respectable showing, he got designated for assignment when the club needed a fresh arm. He landed with the Twins on a minor league deal and has had a pair of good outings, logging three innings with five Ks and no walks or earned runs.
He’ll provide a fresh arm to a pitching corps that has been fairly snakebit recently, with Cody Stashak, Danny Coulombe, Sonny Gray, Josh Winder, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober and Chris Paddack all land on the IL in the past month.
Walker Buehler Likely Out Two To Three Months With Flexor Strain
11:58PM: Buehler will be shut down from throwing for 6-8 weeks, Roberts told Jack Harris and other reporters, as the MRI revealed a flexor strain. While Buehler will have to rebuild his arm strength almost from scratch afterwards, Roberts does believe the righty will be able to pitch again in 2022.
4:30PM: After Walker Buehler left yesterday’s game with discomfort in his right elbow, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya and The L.A. Times’ Jack Harris) that Buehler will be placed on the 15-day injured list. The team has officially announced the transaction, listing Buehler’s placement as due to a right forearm strain.
Buehler is currently undergoing an MRI to determine the extent and nature of the injury, but Roberts said that the right-hander will miss “a good bit of time.” Right-hander Michael Grove will be called up to take Buehler’s place on the active roster. Buehler underwent Tommy John surgery in 2015, and though he has avoided any serious elbow/forearm issues since, it is naturally a concern to see Buehler again sidelined with any sort of related injury. More will be known once the MRI results are revealed, as it isn’t yet clear if Buehler’s season (or beyond) could possibly be in jeopardy.
At the very least, the Dodgers will have a big vacancy to fill in the starting rotation, even if Buehler hasn’t been quite his ace-level self in 2022. Buehler has a 4.02 ERA over 65 innings, with a very solid 6.2% walk rate but a below-average 21.2% strikeout rate and underwhelming Statcast numbers. The biggest problem is Buehler’s four-seam fastball, which was at times a dominant plus pitch in 2018-21, but batters have been teeing off on the four-seamer this year. The velocity has dropped off to an average of 95.2mph, though it isn’t that far below Buehler’s career average velo of 96.1mph on his four-seamer.
The Dodgers could have a rotation replacement for Buehler in relatively short order, as Roberts said that Andrew Heaney is set for another rehab start on Tuesday and could be activated from the IL for the Dodgers’ game with the Guardians on June 19. Los Angeles also has off-days on both Monday and Thursday, so a fifth starter won’t be immediately necessary in the short term.
In the bigger picture, of course, losing Buehler for a significant amount of time will certainly increase the Dodgers’ focus on adding starting pitching at the deadline. While L.A. has gotten its typically strong results from its rotation this year, pitching was already expected to be a target area, to add more depth and quality to the starting five. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman hasn’t been shy about adding major names (including such star pitchers as Max Scherzer or Yu Darvish) to the roster at past trade deadlines, so anything from depth additions to blockbuster deals could be on the table for the Dodgers prior to August 2.
Buehler is sidelined just as Clayton Kershaw returns from his own IL stint, leaving the Dodgers still short of their ideal top of the rotation. Kershaw, Julio Urias, Tony Gonsolin, Tyler Anderson, and Heaney now form the current starting five, with Dustin May (TJ surgery) and Danny Duffy (flexor tendon surgery) expected to return at some point later in the season. Pitchers like Grove, Ryan Pepiot, and Mitch White have also gotten some spot starts this season, and could be called upon again for more rotation work or potentially relief roles depending on how the club opts to deploy any of these hurlers.
Injured List Transactions: Urias, Holderman, Mayza
On yet another injury-filled day in baseball, let’s catch up on a few more comings and goings from the IL…
- The Orioles placed infielder Ramon Urias on the 10-day injured list due to a left oblique strain, and selected Richie Martin‘s contract from Triple-A. With a pretty even split of playing time between shortstop, second base, and third base over his three MLB seasons, Urias has handled the majority of third base duty for the O’s this season, though he hasn’t matched his production from the 2021 season. After posting a 115 wRC+ in 296 PA with Baltimore last year, Urias has a more modest 86 wRC+ and a .225/.273/.387 slash line in 188 PA this season. Tyler Nevin figures to get most of the third base playing time with Urias out, and Martin (called up for his first Major League action of 2022) will likely spell Rougned Odor and Jorge Mateo at the two middle infield positions.
- The Mets placed right-hander Colin Holderman on the 15-day injured list due to a right shoulder impingement. The placement is retroactive to June 8, and righty Jake Reed has been called up from Triple-A to take Holderman’s spot in New York’s bullpen. Pitching in his first MLB season, Holderman has an impressive 3.18 ERA, 30.4% strikeout rate, and 8.7% walk rate in his first 11 1/3 innings as a big leaguer.
- Tim Mayza was activated off the Blue Jays‘ 15-day injured list, as the left-hander returned to action after missing a little under four weeks due to forearm inflammation. After throwing a scoreless two-thirds of an inning today against the Tigers, Mayza improved his ERA to 1.98 over 13 2/3 total frames this season.
Rockies Select Jake Bird, Designate Julian Fernandez
The Rockies announced a trio of roster moves before the second game of their doubleheader with the Padres today, including the news that right-hander Julian Fernandez has been designated for assignment. Right-hander Jake Bird had his contract selected from Triple-A to fill the 40-man roster spot, while infielder Elehuris Montero was also optioned to the minors to create space for Bird on the active roster.
With this slate of transactions, the Rox get a fresh arm added to their bullpen for the second game, and Bird is now on the verge of his MLB debut. Colorado selected Bird in the fifth round of the 2018 draft, and the UCLA product has a 2.77 ERA, 8.5% walk rate, and 32.1% strikeout rate over 26 innings for Triple-A Albuquerque this season. That strikeout rate is notably higher than his totals in any of his previous three pro seasons, which could relate to Bird’s transition to a full-time relief role — he started a handful of games in both 2019 and 2021.
Fernandez has had a much rougher year with the Isotopes, posting a 9.47 ERA and allowing eight home runs over only 19 innings. The hard-throwing righty is known for his ability to hit the triple-digit threshold with his fastball, but Fernandez just had to get re-accustomed to pitching after missing all the 2018-20 seasons — the first two years due to Tommy John surgery and rehab, and then the canceled 2020 minor league season. In 2021, Fernandez finally made it back and threw 42 2/3 minor league innings, plus he made his Major League debut with six games for the Rockies.
Angels Make Several Roster Moves
The Angels have made five roster moves, including optioning outfielder Jo Adell and left-hander Jhonathan Diaz to Triple-A. Infielder Luis Rengifo returns from the paternity list, while the Halos also selected the contract of right-hander Davis Daniel. To create room for Daniel on the 40-man roster, Anaheim designated outfielder Dillon Thomas for assignment.
One of the game’s top prospects, Adell was first optioned to Triple-A in early May, and then called up again last week when Taylor Ward was placed on the 10-day IL. Adell posted a .902 OPS over 21 plate appearances during this latest stint, a positive showing considering how overmatched Adell has looked against MLB pitching since debuting back in 2020.
To that end, it is a little surprising to see Adell on the way back to the minors, yet it could simply be a case of roster construction. Ward has been recovering well from his hamstring strain and is aiming to return on Tuesday, while Mike Trout was back in the lineup today after missing three games with a sore groin. With less of a need in the outfield and with Shohei Ohtani monopolizing the DH spot, there isn’t a real everyday spot for Adell, and the Angels would prefer to see him get regular action in Triple-A rather than playing only sparingly in Los Angeles.
Thomas had his contract selected three days ago in another flurry of moves from the Angels, and the outfielder ended up appearing in one game during his cup of coffee on the active roster. The 29-year-old inked a minor league deal with Anaheim during the winter. Thomas has posted some big numbers at the Triple-A level for the Mariners’ and Angels’ affiliates in 2021-22, but that performance has only earned him five MLB games (the first five of his pro career). Primarily a corner outfielder with some experience in center, Thomas could possibly get the attention of another team in greater need of depth on the grass.
Today is Daniel’s 25th birthday, and he’ll receive an unforgettable gift in the form of his first call to the big leagues. A seventh-round pick for the Angels in the 2019 draft, Daniel has a 3.84 ERA over 161 2/3 innings in the minors, starting 31 of his 32 career games. This includes a 3.64 ERA over 47 Triple-A innings this season, though Daniel has a modest 19.3% strikeout rate.
Daniel could now be lined up for a start in the Angels’ six-man rotation, though it remains to be seen exactly how the Angels may reshuffle their pitching order with an off-day coming on Monday. An extra arm will be needed in some fashion, as the Halos have a doubleheader coming up on June 18.
Marlins Place Garrett Cooper On IL, Select Aneurys Zabala
The Marlins have placed first baseman Garrett Cooper on the injured list without a designation, implying that Cooper’s absence is related to COVID-19. Right-hander Aneurys Zabala will take Cooper’s spot on the active roster, as the Marlins selected Zabala’s contract from Double-A.
It isn’t known if Cooper has tested positive for the virus or if he is being held out for precautionary reasons due to symptoms or a close-contact situation. Cooper was removed from yesterday’s game due to body cramping, and Marlins skipper Don Mattingly told reporters (including The Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson) today that Cooper “was not feeling good overnight. We did some testing on him and we’ll see where that goes.”
Cooper did test positive for the virus back in 2020, when the Marlins were hit with a huge COVID outbreak that sidelined several members of the roster. That absence cost Cooper a month of the shortened 2020 season, and it added to the long list of IL absences Cooper has faced in his six-year MLB career. Though he has only 291 games on his resume, Cooper has performed quite well when healthy, and is currently in the midst of what might be his best season. The first baseman is hitting .315/.389/.473 with four home runs over his first 211 plate appearances of the 2022 campaign.
Cooper has split his time between DH and first base this season, and Jesus Aguilar will now likely see more first base time while Jorge Soler is the likeliest candidate for more DH duty. Jon Berti and Willians Astudillo are both utilitymen, and their versatility will be more valuable than ever as the Marlins try to weather this stretch with Cooper, Brian Anderson, and Joey Wendle all on the injured list.
Zabala had already been with the Marlins on their taxi squad, and the 25-year-old is now set to make his Major League debut. Originally an international signing for the Mariners, Zabala began his pro career as a 17-year-old back in 2014, and he has since bounced around to the farm systems of the Dodgers, Reds, and Phillies before landing with Miami this year. Control has been a problem for Zabala throughout his career, contributing to his 5.48 ERA over 286 innings in the minors.