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The latest minor league moves from around the sport…
By Mark Polishuk | at
The Rockies have agreed to a deal with right-hander Ivan Nova, FanSided’s Robert Murray reports (Twitter link). It is presumably a minor league contract, which would be the second minors deal of the last three months for the veteran hurler. Nova previously inked a minors pact with the Phillies last January but was granted a release at the end of March when he didn’t make Philadelphia’s Opening Day roster.
Nova signed a one-year, $1.5MM Major League deal with the Tigers prior to the 2020 season but ended up pitching only 19 innings (with an 8.53 ERA) due to right triceps tendinitis. With the very notable exception of the Tommy John surgery that cut short both his 2014 and 2015 seasons, Nova has otherwise been a pretty durable pitcher throughout his 11-year career, averaging 174 innings per year from 2016-19 and also banking 335 2/3 frames with the Yankees in 2012-13.
Colorado doesn’t have much rotation depth in the minors, so Nova is by far the most experienced option available at the alternate training site. How Nova might fare at Coors Field is an open question, as he has a 15.2% homer rate since the start of the 2012 season, though he does generate his share of ground balls (career 48.9% grounder rate) to make up for a lack of strikeouts.
By TC Zencka | at
11:37AM: The Rays officially announced the move, with right-hander Trevor Richards called up to take Honeywell’s roster spot.
8:08AM: Brent Honeywell Jr. checked his Major League debut off his bucket list on Sunday: two perfect innings with a pair of strikeouts against the Yankees. The Rays would ultimately lose the game, but it was a strong showing from the 26-year-old Georgian.
Regardless, the plan was never for Honeywell to claim a rotation spot at this time. In classic Rays fashion, this was a spot start for Honeywell, a strategic call-up to share the innings load and progress a young arm in baby steps. He has been optioned back the minors, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). For Honeywell in particular, there may be added benefit to the short-stint call-up in that he gets to overcome the mental and physical hurdle of making his debut after so many setbacks.
This was Honeywell’s first game action since 2017 when he tossed 123 2/3 innings with a 3.64 ERA at the Triple-A level. At that point, Honeywell appeared on the verge of stardom. Instead of making his debut in 2018, however, Honeywell was set on a Sisyphean cycle of surgery and rehab that included three surgeries.
He was added to the roster at this time because of an injury to Chris Archer. Archer suffered right lateral forearm tightness, but the Rays expect Archer to return after only a short time off. Given that Archer went on the 10-day injured list on April 11th, however, the Rays will need to bring in another arm when Archer’s rotation spot comes back around on Thursday against the Rangers.
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3:50 pm: Bradley’s IL placement is now official, with the team announcing it’s a left oblique strain. The Phillies recalled southpaw JoJo Romero in a corresponding move.
1:51 pm: The Phillies will be placing right-hander Archie Bradley on the 10-day injured list due to an oblique injury, The Athletic’s Matt Gelb reports (Twitter links). Bradley just pitched yesterday, allowing two hits and recording one out against the three batters he faced, and he was charged with the loss as Philadelphia dropped a 5-4 result to Atlanta.
IL visits are rare for Bradley, who hasn’t officially missed any time since the 2015 season. The severity of the oblique problem isn’t yet known, as more severe strains can lead to months-long absences. Even a 10-day stint for Bradley would represent a blow to the Phillies’ bullpen, which has posted some solid results this year following a thoroughly disastrous performance in 2020.
Bradley was one of several new faces added to the rebuilt bullpen over the offseason, as he signed a one-year, $6MM deal with Philadelphia after being non-tendered by the Reds earlier in the winter. The Reds’ decision was seemingly more based around saving money on Bradley’ arbitration salary (projected to fall between $4.3MM and $5.7MM) than on Bradley’s performance, as he posted a 2.95 ERA/3.44 SIERA over 18 1/3 combined innings with the Diamondbacks and Reds in 2020. Bradley has worked as a closer in the past, but seemed slated for set-up duty or general high-leverage usage thus far with the Phillies.
By Mark Polishuk | at
The Giants have acquired infielder Thairo Estrada in a trade with the Yankees in exchange for cash considerations, the two teams announced. Estrada will head to the Giants’ alternate training site and be added to the 40-man roster. Outfielder Jaylin Davis (left knee tendinitis) was placed on the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move to open up a 40-man roster space.
New York designated Estrada for assignment earlier this week to free up roster space for the newly-acquired Rougned Odor. Estrada has spent his entire professional career in the Yankees organization, hitting .280/.337/.389 with 26 home runs over 1949 minor league plate appearances from 2013-19 and .214/.267/.348 over 121 PA at the Major League level in 2019-20. Rather than his bat, Estrada’s value came from his defensive versatility, as he logged a lot of playing time at shortstop, second base, and third base in the minors, and also made a few appearances as a corner outfielder in 2019.
Estrada may have a tough time breaking into a Giants depth chart that is already full of multi-positional infielders, but he might be a better depth option behind Brandon Crawford at shortstop than Donovan Solano or Mauricio Dubon, particularly since Dubon has been increasingly deployed as an outfielder.
Davis was already expected to be sidelined for four-to-six weeks due to his knee issue, so the 60-day placement will allow Davis some time to fully ramp up in the minors before the Giants consider finding a spot for him on the active roster. The 26-year-old has seen action with San Francisco in each of the last two seasons, appearing in 21 total games with a .515 OPS over 59 PA.
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The Cardinals have placed outfielder Tyler O’Neill on the 10-day IL due to a right groin strain, the team announced. Since righty Jake Woodford was optioned to the alternate training site after yesterday’s game, the two open roster spots were filled by outfielder Lane Thomas and right-hander Johan Oviedo.
O’Neill suffered the injury during an at-bat in yesterday’s 9-5 loss to the Brewers, coming out of the batter’s box moving slowly after hitting a grounder. He was replaced in the field the next inning. Manager Mike Shildt told reporters (including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) that O’Neill might only be out for the minimum 10 days, saying that the young outfielder received “Favorable news from an imaging standpoint….Probably a three to four day (situation) before he can get in there. We didn’t want to play short for three or four days.”
The IL stint could possibly act as something of a reset for O’Neill, who has hit only .143/.172/.286 with a league-high 14 strikeouts over his first 29 plate appearances of the 2021 season. Strikeouts have been a persistent issue during O’Neill’s four MLB seasons, and his overall production at the plate has trailed off considerably since a promising 2018 rookie season. On the plus side, O’Neill won a Gold Glove for his defensive work as the Cardinals’ regular left fielder in 2020.
O’Neill joins Harrison Bader on the 10-day IL, leaving the Cards even more short-handed in the outfield. A veteran of 52 Major League games, Thomas will join the mix along with Dylan Carlson, Justin Williams, Austin Dean, and utilityman Tommy Edman (when Edman isn’t at second base). Minor league signing Matt Szczur is also on hand at the team’s alternate training site.
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The Tigers have put veteran slugger Miguel Cabrera on the 10-day injured list due to a left biceps strain, the team announced. Renato Nunez’s contract has been selected to take Cabrera’s spot on the active roster, and right-hander Julio Teheran was moved to the 60-day IL to open up room for Nunez on the 40-man roster.
As noted by MLB.com’s Jason Beck and a Twitter follower, the injury looks to have occurred during Cabrera’s plate appearance in the seventh inning of yesterday’s 11-3 Tigers loss to the Indians. Cabrera remained in the game as a first baseman and was replaced for a pinch-hitter during his next at-bat, a substitution that seemed more like a nod to the blowout score than an indication Cabrera was hurt.
This isn’t the first time Cabrera has dealt with a left biceps injury, as a ruptured tendon back in June 2018 prematurely ended his 2018 campaign after just 38 games. There isn’t yet any indication that this current problem is anywhere near as serious, however, and there isn’t yet any timeline on when Cabrera could be back in action.
Cabrera (who turns 38 in a week) has gotten off to a tough start, with only a .514 OPS through his first 27 plate appearances of 2021. After working exclusively as a DH in 2020, Cabrera has more or less split his starts between first base and designated hitter this season. Any time missed will delay Cabrera’s quest for two statistical milestones — he currently stands 131 hits shy of the 3000-hit club, and 12 home runs shy of the 500-homer club. Cabrera’s ticket to Cooperstown is already all but punched, of course, though he would be only the seventh player in baseball history to reach both the 3000-hit and 500-homer plateaus, joining Henry Aaron, Willie Mays, Albert Pujols, Eddie Murray, Alex Rodriguez, and Rafael Palmeiro.
Nunez signed a minor league deal with Detroit back in February, and though he didn’t make the team out of Spring Training, Nunez chose to forego his opt-out clause and remain with the Tigers despite some minor league offers from other clubs. He now might step into regular (and perhaps even everyday) work as the Tigers’ new first baseman with Cabrera on the shelf, though Nunez will also see some action at DH and perhaps at third base if Jeimer Candelario is shifted across the diamond to get some time at first base.
The Orioles released Nunez prior to the non-tender deadline rather than pay the 27-year-old a salary projected to fall somewhere between $2.1MM and $3.9MM. Nunez has been a generally above-average hitter (105 wRC+, 106 OPS+) over the last three seasons, hitting .250/.316/.457 with 51 home runs over 1076 PA with the Rangers and Orioles. Without much to offer in the way of OBP or fielding acumen at third base, however, Nunez was deemed expendable by the cost-cutting O’s.
Teheran was only placed on the 10-day IL yesterday with a right shoulder strain, and manager A.J. Hinch said that the veteran hurler would miss a significant amount of time while recovering, so the 60-day IL assignment isn’t any surprise. Teheran signed a minor league deal with Detroit over the winter and locked in a guaranteed $3MM salary when he made the team. Teheran suffered his shoulder problem just minutes before he was scheduled for his second start in a Tigers uniform.
By TC Zencka | at
The Yankees optioned Domingo German to their alternate site following today’s game, the team announced. A corresponding roster move has not yet been announced.
German’s first start on the season came on April 4th against the Blue Jays. The 28-year-old surrendered three runs in three innings, including a pair of home runs. It was German’s first start since posting 2.0 fWAR during the 2019 season. He went four innings today against the Rays giving up another pair of long balls. His entire line featured eight hits, one walk, four earned runs and five strikeouts.
The Yankees have not been getting much length out of their starters during their current three-game losing streak. As much as this move may very well be about German, the Yankees may also just want to add a fresh arm. Corey Kluber went just 2 1/3 innings on Friday, a game after Jameson Taillon was bumped after 4 2/3 innings in a game that went to extras.
By TC Zencka | at
Alex Rodriguez may finally secure an ownership role in North American sports, but it won’t be with a baseball team. After making an attempt to purchase the Mets last year, Rodriguez has teamed with billionaire Marc Lore. They are finalizing a deal to purchase the Minnesota Timberwolves, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. If completed, Rodriguez and Lore would take over in 2023.
The Timberwolves have struggled to build a consistent contender in the NBA since a successful run with fiery big man Kevin Garnett ended. Even then, functional GM Kevin McHale, coach Flip Saunders, and Garnett lost seven consecutive first round series. They finally broke through in 2003-04 for the franchise’s first playoff series win. They’d fall in the Western Conference Finals in what turned out to be the final playoff run of the Garnett era, however. Minnesota has just one playoff appearance in their history outside of that eight-year run, despite a roster currently built around the first overall pick of the 2015 draft Karl-Anthony Towns. You can find out more by heading to Hoops Rumors where Arthur Hill has the latest details. Now, back to baseball…
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