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Pirates Designate Will Craig For Assignment

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The Pirates announced Friday that they’ve reinstated right-hander JT Brubaker from the Covid-19-related injured list and, in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster, designated first baseman Will Craig for assignment. Brubaker was placed on the Covid list earlier this week when he went through intake testing after spending a few days on the bereavement list.

It’s been a tough week for Craig, who’ll unfortunately have a tough time living down last week’s defensive gaffe that saw Javier Baez dupe him into a rundown between first base and home plate when Erik Gonzalez sailed a throw from third base. The ensuing play was one of the more bizarre sequences in recent memory, resulting in a run for the Cubs and, somehow, Baez standing on second base after hitting a grounder to third that was both fielded cleanly and at least caught by the first baseman.

Of course, there’s far more to Craig than that one play. The 26-year-old was the 22nd overall pick of the 2016 draft and for several years rated as one of the Buccos’ more promising farmhands. He’s batted just .203/.261/.281 in a small sample of 20 Major League contests, but Craig clocked three homers and a pair of doubles in 29 Triple-A plate appearances before getting the call to the big leagues this year.

Craig has spent parts of two seasons in Triple-A and another in Double-A, producing eerily similar slash lines: .248/.321/.448 in a pitcher-friendly Double-A setting and .248/.323/.446 in a much more hitter-friendly Triple-A environment. It’s not the production the Pirates hoped for after he mashed at a .347/.461/.623 clip while starring for Wake Forest, but scouting reports on Craig as he was making his way through the Pittsburgh system credited him with a potentially average hit tool, above-average power and a plus throwing arm.

The Pirates have designated Craig once in the past, and he went unclaimed on waivers at that point. Because he’s already cleared waivers once, he’d have the ability to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency if he wants a fresh start in a new organization. The Bucs will have a week to either trade Craig or attempt to pass him through waivers a second time.

Rays Trade Yacksel Rios To Mariners

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The Mariners announced Friday that they have acquired right-hander Yacksel Rios from the Rays in exchange for cash. He’s not currently on the 40-man roster, having inked a minor league pact with Tampa Bay over the winter.

Of course, that lack of a 40-man roster spot may change quickly. The Mariners have a pair of open spots on their roster, and Rios has been lights-out in Triple-A Durham thus far in 2021. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that Rios had a June 1 opt-out date in his contract, so this trade quite likely boils down to a matter of the Rays not feeling there’s a spot for him in their current bullpen and helping him land in a situation with a quick and straightforward path to the big leagues.

Rios, who’ll turn 28 later this month, doesn’t have much of a track record in the Majors but has ripped through Triple-A lineups so far in 2021. He’s tossed 13 2/3 innings with Tampa Bay’s top affiliate and yielded just one run on eight hits and two walks with 17 strikeouts, complementing those numbers with a terrific 56.7 percent grounder rate.

Rios has just a 6.36 ERA in 69 1/3 big league innings, so those eye-popping numbers in Triple-A should be taken with a grain of salt. But the hard-throwing righty averages just shy of 96 mph on his heater and has generated a solid 11.9 percent swinging-strike rate during his 66 big league appearances, so it’s certainly possible he has more in the tank. The Mariners entered the season with a fluid bullpen mix in the first place and are currently without Kendall Graveman, Erik Swanson, Casey Sadler, Andres Munoz and Drew Steckenrider, so there should be opportunity for Rios in the near future.

Rangers Activate Kyle Gibson From 10-Day Injured List

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The Rangers announced that Kyle Gibson has been activated off the 10-day injured list, and the right-hander will start tonight’s game against the Rays.  The corresponding roster move happened yesterday, when left-hander Wes Benjamin was optioned to Triple-A.  Gibson’s IL placement (due to a right groin strain) took place on May 25 and was backdated to May 22, so he’ll end up missing only slightly beyond the 10-day minimum.

The Rangers will surely welcome the quick return of a pitcher who has somewhat unexpectedly become the ace of their rotation.  After a lackluster 2020 season, Gibson has posted a 2.24 ERA over 60 1/3 innings this season, aided by a 52.7% grounder rate and perhaps some batted-ball luck in the form of a .234 BABIP.  Gibson’s SIERA is two runs higher at a still-respectable 4.24.

Should Gibson maintain this performance, he’ll draw a lot of attention at the trade deadline.  MLBTR’s Steve Adams ranked Gibson eighth on the most recent listing of the top 40 trade deadline candidates, noting that Gibson’s contract (he is owed roughly $5.88MM for the rest of this season and owed $7MM in 2022) makes him a pretty inexpensive pickup for most contenders.

Orioles Make Several Roster Moves

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The Orioles announced a flurry of moves this afternoon, including the news that infielder Domingo Leyba has been claimed off waivers from the Diamondbacks and optioned to Triple-A Norfolk.  Infielder Ramon Urias and right-hander Travis Lakins have been called up from Norfolk, and righty Hunter Harvey has been activated off the 60-day injured list.

To create roster space, right-hander Shawn Armstrong and lefty Brandon Waddell were designated for assignment.  (Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reported earlier today that Waddell was being DFA’ed.)  Additionally, infielder Pat Valaika was placed on the bereavement list.

Leyba was designated for assignment just two days ago.  The 25-year-old went hitless (with two walks) in 24 plate appearances for Arizona this season, following a very respectable .807 OPS over his first 30 career big league PA in 2019.  This wide range of production comes on the heels of a solid .290/.347/.434 slash line in 2624 PA in the minors as part of the Diamondbacks’ and Tigers’ farm systems since 2013.  Leyba put up particularly big numbers with Arizona’s Triple-A team in 2018-19, though the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League environment might have played a role considering his more modest career output in previous years.

Harvey suffered a left oblique strain in mid-March, and is now set to finally make his 2021 debut.  Injuries have pretty much been the story of Harvey’s career since being selected 22nd overall in the 2013 draft, as his MLB resume consists of only 15 total innings in 2019-20.  Even that small sample size still hints at some promise, however, as Harvey’s fastball sits in the high 90’s and he has struck out 17 of his 63 batters faced.  Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told The Athletic’s Dan Connelly and other reporters that Harvey will be used in a variety of bullpen roles, with seemingly no concession made to his injury history — he’ll be deployed “like a regular piece in the bullpen,” Hyde said.

Since being claimed off waivers from the Mariners in April 2019, Armstrong has been something of a workhorse out of the Baltimore pen, appearing in 85 games and tossing 89 1/3 innings.  The results weren’t always there, however, as Armstrong had a 5.34 ERA during his stint in the orange and black.  Armstrong is out of minor league options, so the O’s had no choice but to designate him and expose him to a potential waiver claim.

Waddell was a waiver pickup himself, selected by the Orioles off of the Twins’ roster in early May.  He has pitched in only one game for the O’s and two games for Triple-A Norfolk, as Kubatko notes that Waddell was delayed by the intake process required by COVID-19 protocols.  A longtime member of the Pirates’ minor league system, Waddell has seen MLB action with the Bucs, Twins, and Orioles over the last two seasons, with a 6.48 ERA over 8 1/3 total career innings in the big leagues.

Braves Acquire Ty Tice

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The Braves have acquired right-hander Ty Tice from the Blue Jays in exchange for cash considerations, according to ESPN.com’s Kiley McDaniel (Twitter link).

Tice was designated for assignment earlier this week when the Jays selected the contract of the recently-signed Carl Edwards Jr.  In a sense, today’s transaction serves as a Tice-for-Edwards swap, as Edwards and the Braves parted ways after Atlanta DFA’ed him in early May, with Toronto then adding Edwards on another minors contract a few days later.

Tice was a 16th-round pick for the Jays in the 2017 draft, and the Arkansas native made his MLB debut this season with seven innings out of the Toronto bullpen (posting a 5.14 ERA).  Over 143 1/3 career innings in the minors, Tice has an impressive 2.07 ERA and 25.75% strikeout rate, though his 10.96% walk rate is on the high side.  He also has all of his minor league options remaining, giving the Braves some flexibility in shuttling him back and forth from Triple-A if necessary.

Marlins Place Elieser Hernandez On 10-Day IL

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2:15PM: Hernandez has indeed been placed on the 10-day injured list, with outfielder Lewis Brinson called up to take his spot on the active roster.

8:08AM: Marlins right-hander Elieser Hernandez left last night’s game due to a right quad strain suffered while running the bases.  In the sixth inning of Miami’s 5-3 loss to the Pirates yesterday, Hernandez ran home from third base on an RBI grounder from Jesus Aguilar, but Hernandez fell to the ground after crossing the plate and had to be helped off the field.

The injury cut short a strong start (five innings, one ER on three hits, six strikeouts and no walks) for Hernandez, and it was his first outing since a two-month stint on the injured list due to biceps inflammation.  Hernandez will undergo some more tests today, but manager Don Mattingly indicated to MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola and other reporters that the righty is probably headed back to the IL.

In a Miami organization with several intriguing arms, Hernandez has already enjoyed some success at the big league level.  After a lackluster 5.11 ERA over 148 innings in 2018-19, Hernandez posted a 3.16 ERA and an above-average 32.1% strikeout rate and 4.7% walk rate over six starts and 25 2/3 innings in 2020.  Unfortunately, injuries have now curtailed his ability to follow up on that semi-breakout, and Hernandez could now be facing another pretty lengthy absence depending on the severity of his quad strain.

Between Hernandez’s injury and the recent shutdown of Sixto Sanchez’s throwing program, it may yet be a while before the Marlins have their full starting five intact.  Trevor Rogers, Sandy Alcantara, and Pablo Lopez have all pitched well, and rookie right-hander Cody Poteet has recently emerged as a viable option for the back end of the rotation.  Miami has until Tuesday to figure out who could take Hernandez’s next start, and De Nicola notes that Braxton Garrett and Daniel Castano are possibilities since Jordan Holloway and Nick Neidert are still on the injured list.  The Marlins have also used openers on multiple occasions this season, though it remains to be seen if the team would regularly use an opener every fifth day.

Rangers Claim Tyson Miller From Cubs

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The Rangers have claimed right-hander Tyson Miller off waivers from the Cubs.  Miller has been optioned to the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock.  Righty Hunter Wood was shifted from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL to open up a 40-man roster spot for Miller.

Miller was designated for assignment earlier this week.  A fourth-round pick for Chicago in the 2016 draft, Miller made his MLB debut last season, appearing in two games and tossing five innings for the Cubs.  He posted generally solid numbers while working his way up the organizational ladder, though Miller hasn’t fared well at Triple-A Iowa, posting a 7.33 ERA over 54 innings at the top minor league level.  The righty has mostly been used as a starter throughout his career, so Texas could deploy him in a similar capacity, or perhaps use him as a long reliever or swingman out of the bullpen.

After initially going on the 10-day IL due to right elbow discomfort on May 23, Wood’s injury has now been termed as a mild right UCL sprain.  He’ll now be sidelined until well after the All-Star break recovering, with the hope being that the mild sprain doesn’t worsen and lead to a longer-term elbow problem.  Wood signed a minor league contract with Texas this offseason and has a 3.60 ERA in his first five innings in a Rangers uniform.

Giants Activate Scott Kazmir From Restricted List

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TODAY: The Giants will activate Kazmir prior to tonight’s game against the Cubs, and Kazmir will be the starting pitcher.

JUNE 1: The Giants placed lefty Scott Kazmir on the restricted list yesterday, with manager Gabe Kapler explaining to reporters that the southpaw had returned to his Texas home “to attend to a personal matter” (link via Kerry Crowley of the San Jose Mercury News). The team didn’t provide additional details, nor was any specification for how long Kazmir might be away from the club provided. Lefty Conner Menez was called back to the big league roster to take Kazmir’s spot.

Kazmir, 37, made an improbable return to the Majors in May after nearly five years had elapsed since his most recent outing. He tossed four innings of one-run ball in that impressive return before yielding a pair of runs in one frame in his second — and, to date, only other — appearance with the Giants. Kazmir’s 91.9 mph average fastball velocity in that pair of appearances was right in line with the numbers he posted during his last MLB run in 2014-16.

Hopefully, the left-hander will be able to return to the Giants at some point and continue what has already been a rather remarkable comeback story. For the time being, his absence from the club opens up a 40-man roster spot, as players on the restricted list don’t count against the 40-man.

Mets Sign Cheslor Cuthbert To Minor League Contract

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The Mets have signed infielder Cheslor Cuthbert to a minors contract, according to Levi Luna of TN8 Nicaragua (Twitter link).  Cuthbert didn’t last long on the open market, as the Reds just released him from a previous minor league deal on Tuesday.

While the Mets are slowly starting to get some injured personnel back onto the field, Cuthbert will help provide some depth for a club that is still very short-handed.  He has played most of his MLB career as a third baseman, with a good chunk of playing time at first base and a handful of games at second.

Cuthbert hit .250/.300/.378 over 1160 plate appearances with the Royals from 2015-19, coming up through the pipeline as a notable prospect in Kansas City’s farm system and working as the regular third baseman in 2016.  K.C. non-tendered Cuthbert following the 2019 season and he joined the White Sox on a minors deal, ultimately appearing in one big league game in 2020.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/3/21

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The latest minor moves from around the league:

  • The Diamondbacks announced they’ve acquired right-hander Tyler Jones from the Marlins, completing the teams’ December deal that sent Rule 5 draft pick Zach Pop to Miami. The Marlins selected Jones in the 26th round of the 2018 draft. He’d struggled to a 6.83 ERA over three seasons at Wichita State, but he’s been much more productive in pro ball. The 25-year-old has a 2.02 mark in 40 appearances (eight starts) in the low minors, punching out an impressive 27.8% of opposing hitters.
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