Rays Select Dusten Knight, Place Andrew Kittredge On IL
The Rays announced that they have selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Dusten Knight, with fellow righty Andrew Kittredge landing on the 15-day injured list due to low back tightness. In order to open a spot for Knight on the 40-man roster, righty J.T. Chargois was transferred to the 60-day IL.
This will be Knight’s second stint on the Rays’ roster this year, as he had his contract selected in the middle of April but was designated for assignment after just a single appearance. After being outrighted, he’s thrown 16 2/3 innings in Triple-A, putting up an ERA of 3.24 along with a strong 30.6% strikeout rate but elevated 13.9% walk rate.
The loss of Kittredge is an unfortunate one for the Tampa bullpen, as he’s emerged as a key cog in the relief corps. Last year, he threw 71 2/3 innings with a 1.88 ERA, 27.3% strikeout rate, 5.3% walk rate and 53.5% ground ball rate. He racked up eight saves and seven holds on the year as he increasingly earned higher-leverage assignments. This year, however, things have gone in the wrong direction, perhaps due to this back injury. Over 18 innings, his ERA is an even 3.00, with a 19.7% strikeout rate and 44.2% grounder rate, though he’s limited walks to just 1.5% of batters faced. The club will surely hope that a few weeks of downtime can help him recuperate and regain the form he showed last year.
As for Chargois, he was only able to make a single appearance this year before being placed on the injured list with left oblique tightness. He recently made an attempt to start a rehab assignment, appearing for the Triple-A Durham Bulls on Friday. However, he left after throwing just a single pitch, with Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times relaying that he suffered a strain of that same oblique. He’ll now be ineligible to return until 60 days from his initial April 12 IL placement, though it doesn’t seem like he’s close to a return given this unfortunate setback.
Mariners Designate Steven Souza Jr., Select Sam Haggerty
The Mariners are making a series of roster moves today, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Infielder Abraham Toro is heading to the 10-day injured list. He had hurt himself in a collision with Adam Frazier during last night’s game. The club’s announcement of the moves describes his injury as a left shoulder sprain. Also leaving the roster is outfield Steven Souza Jr., who has been designated for assignment. To fill those two holes on the active roster, the club has recalled utility player Sam Haggerty and outfielder Taylor Trammell.
With the recent demotion of Jarred Kelenic and injury of Mitch Haniger, the Mariners turned to the veteran Souza as another outfield option. He had been off to a great start to the year in Triple-A, hitting .267/.417/.533 for a wRC+ of 140. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to carry that production into the big leagues, as he’s hit .158/.158/.158 over six games since his promotion. The club will now have a week to trade the 33-year-old or put him on waivers.
Taking his spot on the 40-man roster is the 27-year-old Haggerty. Over 59 career games between the Mets and Mariners, he has a batting line of .207/.265/.321, wRC+ of 66. Last year, he went on the IL in May with a shoulder injury and never returned. He was outrighted by the M’s at the end of the season after clearing waivers. He seems to have recuperated and gotten things back on track this year, as he’s hitting .304/.378/.512, 123 wRC+ through 32 Triple-A games so far. The club will now see if he can sustain that in the big leagues. He’s played exclusively at second base so far this year, though he’s previously spent time at third base, shortstop and all three outfield positions. He’ll likely fill the utility role that was previously filled by Toro, who had spent time at first, second and third base this year.
As for Trammell, he will be the club’s latest attempt to get some kind of production out of its corner outfielders. Julio Rodriguez has played well in center but hasn’t gotten much help from those on his flanks. Kelenic and Souza struggled enough to get demoted and designated for assignment, respectively, with Haniger only able to play nine games on the year so far. Jesse Winker has slumped to a line of .216/.310/.304, 89 wRC+ on the campaign. Dylan Moore has technically been above average with a wRC+ of 104, though in a very uneven fashion. He’s popped a couple homers and walked in 14.6% of his plate appearances, though he’s also struck out 27.1% of the time and is hitting .154.
Trammell suffered a hamstring strain in April and has been gradually working his way back to health, though he hasn’t even begun a rehab assignment before today’s recall, having been in extended Spring Training until now. He played 51 games last year and hit just .160/.256/.359, 73 wRC+, though his Triple-A numbers were much better.
Cubs Select P.J. Higgins, Designate Ildemaro Vargas
The Cubs have selected the contract of catcher P.J. Higgins, per Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. In a corresponding move, utility player Ildemaro Vargas has been designated for assignment.
Higgins, 29, was a 12th round selection of the Cubs in the 2015 draft, who worked his way up to make his big league debut last year. Unfortunately, after just nine games in the majors, he landed on the injured list with a forearm strain which ultimately required surgery and finished his season. He was outrighted in the offseason and became a free agent, but quickly re-signed with the Cubs on a minor league deal. He’s evidently put the injury behind him, as he’s off to a scorching hot start this year. In 22 Triple-A games so far, he’s hitting .417/.500/.569, 193 wRC+.
The Cubs needed to add a catcher to the roster due to Willson Contreras suffering a hamstring injury yesterday. That injury doesn’t seem to be serious enough for a stint on the injured list, though Higgins will combine with Yan Gomes as the club’s catching duo until Contreras is ready to return to game action.
As for Vargas, he’s never hit much in the big leagues, as evidenced by his batting line of .227/.265/.354, 60 wRC+ over 186 career games. However, he’s often proved alluring to teams due to his extreme versatility, seeing time with the Diamondbacks, Twins, Pirates and Cubs. In addition to being a switch-hitter, he’s also slotted into the defensive alignment at every spot on the diamond outside of center field and the battery. In ten games with the Cubs this year, he’s hit .130/.231/.348 for a wRC+ of 64 while playing second base and shortstop. The Cubs will have a week to trade him or put him on waivers. If he were to clear, he would have the ability to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency, as he’s been previously outrighted in his career.
Twins Reinstate Trevor Larnach, Place Cody Stashak On IL
The Twins have made a one-for-one swap from their active roster to the injured list, per a team announcement. Outfielder Trevor Larnach has been reinstated after two weeks on the shelf with a groin strain. Heading in the other direction is right-handed reliever Cody Stashak, being placed on the IL with a right shoulder impingement.
The return of Larnach gives the Twins an embarrassment of riches in terms of their outfield mix. Prior to his injury, Larnach was hitting .313/.365/.448 for a wRC+ of 139. His absence has led to more playing time for Gilberto Celestino, who has stepped up admirably. Through 27 games on the season, he’s hitting .355/.420/.419, 154 wRC+. Byron Buxton, Max Kepler and Kyle Garlick are also all playing well, with each having a wRC+ above 130.
One way to spread at-bats around to all of that crew would be to use the DH slot, though that would lead to less playing time for either Gary Sanchez or Ryan Jeffers, as Sanchez has been taking the bulk of DH time of late, with Jeffers behind the dish. Thanks in large part to this abundance of strong bats, the club is off to a 24-16 start to the year, with a 4 1/2-game lead over the White Sox in the AL Central.
For Stashak, this is his second IL stint of the year, as he began the season on the injured list due to right biceps tendinitis. Since returning, he’s thrown 16 1/3 innings for the Twins with a 3.86 ERA and 23.1% strikeout rate. His 26% ground ball rate is below average, but he’s yet to issue a single walk on the year. No timeline was provided for his injury, though shoulder issues for a pitcher are always at least somewhat concerning.
Tigers Place Eduardo Rodriguez On IL With Ribcage Sprain
The Tigers have announced that left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a left ribcage sprain. The move is retroactive to May 19. Another E-Rod is joining the team in a corresponding move, as righty Elvin Rodriguez has been recalled from Triple-A Toledo.
Eduardo was removed from his start on May 18 after recording just one out due to discomfort in his side. An MRI performed in the subsequent days didn’t find anything concerning about his oblique or intercostal muscles, making his ailment a bit of a mystery. It seems the team’s personnel have settled on a diagnosis, though no timeline was provided for his absence.
Regardless of how long he’s out of action, it’s a serious problem for the Tigers. After an aggressive offseason, it was expected that they could contend for a postseason berth this year, with their rotation standing out as a potential strength. Unfortunately, a slow start has been compounded by a truly staggering numbers of injuries to their starting pitchers. E-Rod joins Matt Manning, Casey Mize, Tyler Alexander, Michael Pineda and Spencer Turnbull on the IL. Eduardo and Tarik Skubal are the only Tigers to have made more than five starts this season, with Skubal now the last man standing in terms of rotation mainstays on the year.
Due to that rash of injuries, the club has had to lean on its depth, giving MLB debuts to Alex Faedo, Beau Brieske and Joey Wentz already this year. Elvin Rodriguez also made his big league debut, though in relief, throwing 2 2/3 innings back on April 10. He’ll make his first start in the show tomorrow. Since that lone MLB outing, he’s made six appearances in Triple-A, five starts, throwing 22 2/3 innings with a 3.57 ERA. In that time, he’s got a 21.6% strikeout rate, 13.4% walk rate and 37.7% ground ball rate. That walk rate is certainly high but is actually uncharacteristic for him, as he’s never had a rate above 8.8% before, perhaps suggesting small sample noise.
The club’s record is currently 13-26, the worst in the American League, but it can’t be entirely blamed on pitching injury woes. The team-wide ERA of 3.67 is actually 12th in MLB, though advanced metrics are a bit less bullish. The real culprit has been the lineup, as the team as a whole is hitting .219/.282/.313 for a wRC+ of 77, a figure that places them dead last across the majors.
Orioles Promote Adley Rutschman
The Orioles announced that they have selected the contract of top prospect Adley Rutschman. Anthony Bemboom has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
Of course, this is a day that baseball fans in Baltimore and elsewhere have been looking forward to for quite some time. Even before he was a member of the Orioles organization, Rutschman was tantalizing the baseball world with his performance at Oregon State, shooting up draft boards and considered by many to be the top player available in the 2019 draft. Baseball America, for instance, gave him the #1 slot that year, with their report noting that the switch-hitting catcher had essentially every skill necessary to succeed going forward. Hitting for average, hitting for power, taking walks, strong arm, good receiving and blocking, he had all the tools except speed, which is hardly surprising for a catcher. “He is the best catching prospect since Buster Posey in 2008 and Matt Wieters in 2007,” their report concluded.
Although there were reports that the O’s were considering other players with the first overall selection in the 2019 draft, such as Bobby Witt Jr., Andrew Vaughn and JJ Bleday, it never seemed like there was much chance of anyone usurping Rutschman. When the big day finally rolled around, Rutschman was indeed the first player off the board.
Due to the struggles of the big league club, Rutschman instantly became the light at the end of the tunnel for Baltimore fans. The Orioles finished last in the AL East in both 2017 and 2018, and were in the process of repeating that feat when Rutschman was drafted in 2019. They somehow slipped past the Red Sox and into fourth place in the shortened 2020 season, but were back down in the basement in 2021, and also posted the worst record in baseball again (tied with the Diamondbacks). That means they have the first overall selection in the draft yet again this summer. With nothing inspiring happening at the big league level, all hopes were pinned on the stars in the farm system that would make up the next great Orioles team, with Rutschman being front and center.
Baseball America ranked Rutschman the fifth-best prospect in all of baseball in 2021, then bumping him up to #2 last year and #1 this year. He’s also considered the best prospect in baseball by FanGraphs, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniels, and The Athletic’s Keith Law.
It’s been an atypical rise through the minors for the 24-year-old. It started out normal enough, with Rutschman getting into 37 games in the lower levels of the Orioles’ system in the months after the draft. But the pandemic wiped out the minor leagues in 2020, meaning he wasn’t able to play in any official organized games. But that missed season didn’t slow him down any, as his 2021 proved the hype was for real. In 123 games between Double-A and Triple-A, he hit 23 home runs and produced an overall batting line of .285/.397/.502, walking at a 14.5% rate and striking out only 16.6% of the time. That all adds up to a wRC+ of 144, or 44% better than league average.
The Orioles did little to block his path to the big leagues this offseason. The catchers who got playing time behind the plate in 2021 were all jettisoned from the roster. Pedro Severino, Austin Wynns and Nick Ciuffo were all outrighted at season’s end and Chance Sisco was claimed off waivers by the Mets. There was a time in the offseason that the club actually had no catchers on the 40-man roster, although they eventually signed Robinson Chirinos to be in the mix.
Once the new collective bargaining agreement was agreed to and the lockout ended in March, it seemed there was a chance Rutschman could crack the Opening Day roster. The new CBA featured incentives to try and discourage teams from holding their best prospects down in the minors at the beginning of a season in order to manipulate their service time and gain an extra year of control over their services. Unfortunately, Rutschman suffered a triceps strain in mid-March that put him on the shelf for a few weeks, ending any chance of him being ready for the season opener. After recuperating from that injury, he made his 2022 debut in the minors on April 26 and has spent the past four weeks getting back into game shape. In 19 games this year across three different levels, he’s hitting .309/.427/.515, 159 wRC+, walking in 13.4% of his plate appearances while striking out in just 8.5% of them.
There are about 137 days remaining in the season, meaning he will be unable to accrue the 172 days necessary to count as a full year. There is a provision in the new CBA that grants a full year of service time to the top two finishers in Rookie of the Year voting, though it will be difficult for Rutschman to take that path now, given that his competitors in that race have a six-week headstart on him. Jeremy Pena has already produced 1.8 fWAR, while other prominent rookies like Bobby Witt Jr. and Julio Rodriguez have 0.8 fWAR during their first MLB seasons.
Assuming Rutschman isn’t able to catch up and finishes this season with less than a year of service time, the O’s will control his services through the 2028 season, though he does have a very good shot at qualifying for arbitration after the 2024 season as a Super Two player. (The Super Two cutoff moves from year to year but has only been above 2.137 three times since 2009, with the last instance coming back in 2012.) Now that he’s reached the big time, the club will be hoping that he and the other prospects that are still to come will help the Orioles start turning the page from rebuilding to competing over those coming years.
With Rutschman injured to start the year, the club selected Bemboom’s contract, pairing him with Chirinos as the club’s catching duo. In 22 games on the year, he’s hit a meager .115/.207/.212. Since he’s out of options, the club had little choice but to designate him for assignment in order to make room for their star prospect. Bemboom will likely hit the waiver wire in the coming days and see if there’s another club in the league that’s interested in his services.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Angels Notes: Suzuki, Stassi, Canning, Ward
The Angels have reinstated catcher Kurt Suzuki from the COVID-related injury list. Austin Romine was optioned to Triple-A to make room for Suzuki on the active roster, while fellow catcher Matt Thaiss will also remain with Triple-A Salt Lake on option after being activated from the minor league version of the IL.
With both Suzuki and Max Stassi sidelined on the COVID list, the Halos found themselves quite shorthanded behind the plate, leading to Romine and Chad Wallach each getting plenty of action over the last 10 days. Suzuki is returning after a two-week absence, while Stassi hit the IL on May 10 and could himself be close to a return. Angels athletic trainer Mike Frostad told The Athletic’s Sam Blum (Twitter links), and The Southern California Newsgroup’s J.P. Hoornstra that Stassi will likely play two more minor league rehab games before being activated.
The outlook isn’t as positive for Griffin Canning, as Frostad said the right-hander is considering surgery to address a stress reaction in his lower back. No decision has been made, as Canning is meeting with a specialist on Monday and will then opt to go with a surgery or a less-invasive treatment.
It’s worrisome news for Canning, as these back problems have kept him from pitching from July 8, 2021 (when Canning last took the mound at Triple-A). He had worked his way up to the simulated-game stage of his rehab earlier this month, but he continued to feel discomfort after his latest outing. Depending on the type of procedure or how well Canning responds to rehab, it’s possible the entire 2022 season could now be in jeopardy for the 26-year-old.
A second-round pick in the 2017 draft, Canning has appeared in each of the last three seasons, starting 41 of his 43 MLB games and posting a 4.73 ERA over 209 1/3 innings. Even without surgery, it’s hard to figure on when Canning might make his 2022 debut, leaving the Angels short an important depth arm for their six-man rotation. Long a weak spot, the Anaheim rotation has been quite good thus far, but the club also has less margin for error given their need of an extra hurler. With Canning sidelined and Jose Suarez ineffective, that depth has already been tested, the Halos recently promoted Chase Silseth directly from Double-A to the majors.
The Angels entered today’s action with a strong 24-17 record, despite an ongoing four-game losing streak. Last night’s 4-2 loss to the Athletics also saw Taylor Ward leave the game in the ninth inning after colliding with the outfield wall following a catch. Fortunately, Frostad said Ward didn’t suffer a concussion and only had a stinger in his arm after making the play.
Ward isn’t in tonight’s lineup but is only day-to-day, and seems to have avoided any major injury. It has been a dream start for Ward, who leads the majors in all three slash categories (.370/.481/.713) and has hit nine home runs over his first 131 plate appearances.
Brewers Win Arbitration Hearing Against Adrian Houser
The Brewers won their arbitration hearing over right-hander Adrian Houser, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link). Hauser will earn $2.425MM in 2022, rather than the $3MM salary he was seeking in his first trip through the arb process.
Houser tossed a career-high 142 1/3 innings in 2021, starting 26 of his 28 games for Milwaukee and posting a 3.22 ERA. Despite some unimpressive strikeout (17.5%) and walk (10.7%) rates, Houser found plenty of success with a recipe of soft contact and lots of ground balls. Houser posted a 59% grounder rate and finished in the 89th percentile of all pitchers in barrel rate.
On a Brewers team full of high-strikeout arms, Houser represented a bit of a change of pace for opposing batters, and it earned him a regular spot in the rotation. The righty moved into starting work in the latter half of the 2019 season after working as a multi-inning reliever, and then had only a 5.30 ERA over 56 innings in the shortened 2020 campaign. Those struggles in 2020 spoke to the variance that grounder specialists can face, as Houser had a .325 BABIP in 2020, as opposed to a .259 BABIP last season.
Houser’s $2.425MM salary did beat the $2.3MM projection from MLBTR’s Matt Swartz, and Houser is off to a solid enough start in 2022 that he looks in good shape to earn a nice raise next winter. With Houser’s case now complete, the Brewers can finally close the books on a very busy arbitration class.
Marlins Win Arbitration Hearing Against Pablo Lopez
The Marlins have won their arbitration hearing against right-hander Pablo Lopez, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports (via Twitter). Lopez had been seeking a $3MM salary in his first year of arbitration eligibility, but the arbiter ruled in favor of the $2.45MM salary figure submitted by the club.
One of the many intriguing young arms in Miami’s organization, Lopez could be in the midst of a breakout season, with an outstanding 1.57 ERA, 27% strikeout rate, and 6.2% walk rate over his first 46 innings of the 2022 campaign. Statcast and fielding-independent metrics are also loving his work, though after shoulder problems limited Lopez in both 2019 and 2021, the biggest question down the stretch could be whether or not Lopez can last something close to a full season of work.
It could be that Lopez’s limited track record hampered his arbitration case, as he tossed only 102 2/3 innings last year due to a rotator cuff strain that sidelined him for virtually the entire second half. Needless to say, he’ll be lined up for a big raise in his second arb year if he stays healthy and effective. Since there is still some question about how much the Marlins are able or willing to spend on payroll, it’s possible that Lopez’s rising price tag might make him more of a trade chip, yet Miami didn’t have any interest in moving Lopez last winter despite plenty of interest from opposing teams.
With Lopez’s case completed, the Marlins are still slated for a hearing with Jacob Stallings unless they can reach an agreement to avoid arbitration. You can monitor all of the completed and still-pending arb situations around baseball via MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker.
Mets Avoid Arbitration With Chris Bassitt
The Mets and right-hander Chris Bassitt have avoided an arbitration hearing by agreeing to a one-year, $8.65MM contract for the 2022 season, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link). There is also a mutual option attached to the deal, as if both sides trigger the option, Bassitt will receive $19MM in 2023 (or a $150K buyout if either side declines).
The two sides has been scheduled for an arbitration hearing on May 23. Bassitt was looking for a $9MM salary and the Mets countered with an $8.3MM offer, so the $8.65MM agreement is directly between the two submitted figures, though Bassitt will get a bit closer to his desired salary in the form of the $150K buyout.
As usual with mutual options, it is pretty unlikely that both parties will agree to exercise the 2023 agreement. Bassitt will be a free agent for the first time this winter, and will be lined up for a lucrative multi-year agreement if he keeps pitching as well as he has to date over his first eight starts. Since Bassitt will be 34 on Opening Day, he’ll surely like the opportunity to score the first (and maybe last) big multi-year payday of his career, rather than take just the one year and $19MM from the Mets.
This doesn’t mean that Bassitt isn’t necessarily a long-term fit in Queens, though he’ll be one of several potential free agent pitching decisions facing the Mets this winter. Taijuan Walker (player option), Jacob deGrom (opt-out clause), and Carlos Carrasco (club option) could also be joining Bassitt on the open market, so New York’s rotation could look quite different in 2023. Of course, the Mets have the financial resources to re-sign any of these players, depending on which arms they want to specifically target.
The $8.65MM salary is a nice bump from Bassitt’s $4.9MM salary with the A’s in 2021, and he also earned $2.25MM in his first arb-eligible year in 2020 (in both those previous seasons, Bassitt reached a deal with Oakland to avoid hearings). It’s a pretty nice outcome for a pitcher who didn’t debut in the majors until age 25, missed all over 2017 due to Tommy John surgery, and didn’t really establish himself as a rotation regular until 2019.
Since the start of that 2019 campaign, Bassitt has a 3.20 ERA over 413 innings, and he has earned top-ten Cy Young Award finishes in each of the previous two seasons. With the Athletics looking to cut payroll this past offseason, Bassitt was seen as a prime trade target heading into his final year of team control, and the A’s indeed moved Bassitt as part of a three-player deal with the Mets soon after the lockout ended.