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Rangers Make Series Of Moves

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The Rangers have made a series of moves, per a team announcement. The club reinstated shortstop Elvis Andrus and reliever Brett Martin from the 10-day injured list, placed second baseman Rougned Odor on the 10-day IL with an eye infection, selected outfielder Eli White and recalled infielder Anderson Tejeda.

Andrus is returning after landing on the IL on Aug. 20 with a lower back strain. The 31-year-old hit an ugly .184/.244/.250 in 82 plate appearances before then, and he won’t have his double-play partner, Odor, around upon his return. Odor, like Andrus, has gotten off to a difficult start this year. His IL placement is retroactive to Aug. 28.

White, 26, looks to be in line for his major league debut four years after the Athletics chose him in the 11th round of the 2016 draft. He joined the Rangers in the division rivals’ pre-2019 trade that Jurickson Profar and Emilio Pagan headlined. White reached the Triple-A level for the first time in his initial season in the Texas organization, but he only managed a .253/.337/.418 line with 14 home runs and 14 stolen bases across 499 plate appearances. He ranked as FanGraphs’ 37th-best Rangers prospect before the current campaign.

Mets Designate Hunter Strickland

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The Mets have designated reliever Hunter Strickland and transferred infielder Eduardo Nunez to the 45-day injured list, Tim Healey of Newsday was among those to report. Those moves help make room for righty Ariel Jurado, whom the team recalled.

This is the second time this year the Mets have designated Strickland, whom they brought back to their roster Monday four weeks after his previous DFA. Strickland wound up throwing a scoreless inning with two strikeouts and a walk last night, but it wasn’t enough to keep him in the fray. The 31-year-old has now tossed 3 1/3 innings this season and yielded four runs (three earned) on five hits and four strikeouts against one walk.

Nunez, 33, has been even less of a factor for the Mets than Strickland. He totaled two at-bats on the opening weekend of the season, but Nunez has been dealing with left knee problems since then. It’s unclear whether he’ll return this year.

Cubs Activate Kris Bryant, Steven Souza Jr.

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The Cubs have activated Kris Bryant and Steven Souza Jr. off the 10-day injured list amidst a flurry of roster moves this afternoon.  To make room for Bryant, Souza, and their trade deadline acquisitions, the Cubs also placed right-hander Tyler Chatwood on the 10-day IL with a right forearm strain, optioned outfielder Albert Almora to their alternate training site, and designated righty Casey Sadler for assignment.

Bryant hasn’t played since August 17, as he suffered a sprained left ring finger (the official cause for his IL stint) and a wrist injury while trying to make a diving catch five days prior.  This was the latest in rather a long list of minor health problems for Bryant this season, as he had also previously dealt with some stomach issues as well as back and elbow soreness.  Given all of these problems, it probably isn’t surprising that Bryant hasn’t been himself at the plate, hitting only .177/.271/.323 over his first 70 plate appearances.

The Cubs are in first place in the NL Central even without much of a contribution from Bryant, and they’re also hoping to finally get some kind of extended look at Souza, as injuries (a right hamstring strain) and his part-timer status have limited him to just 24 PA this season.  Injuries have plagued Souza throughout his career, most notably a major knee operation that sidelined him for the entire 2019 season.  The right-handed hitting Souza and new acquisition Cameron Maybin are likely to get some playing time when a left-handed starter is on the mound, spelling the lefty-swinging Kyle Schwarber and Jason Heyward in the outfield.

Chatwood’s placement is retroactive to August 31, and he left his start on the previous day in the third inning due to elbow discomfort.  While any forearm problem will be closely monitored, the Cubs do have some expectation that Chatwood will be back before the end of the season, though manager David Ross described Chatwood’s situation as “a long wait-and-see” in a chat with reporters (including Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune) today.  The righty has a 5.30 ERA over five starts and 18 2/3 innings for Chicago this season.

Sadler appeared in 10 games for the Cubs in 2020, posting a 5.79 ERA and almost matching his walk total (8) with his strikeout total (9) over 9 1/3 innings of work.  The 30-year-old was acquired in a trade with the Dodgers over the winter, and hasn’t been able to replicate in Chicago what he achieved over 46 1/3 innings with Los Angeles and Tampa Bay in 2019 — a 2.14 ERA, 6.0 K/9, and only a 2.5 BB/9, though advanced metrics were less impressed by Sadler’s overall performance.

Mariners Acquire Alberto Rodriguez From Blue Jays

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The Mariners have acquired minor league outfielder Alberto Rodriguez from the Blue Jays to complete the teams’ trade for right-hander Taijuan Walker, Seattle announced.

The two teams swung the deal for Walker on Aug. 27, though Toronto included a player who was not in its 60-man player pool. His identity was unknown until now as a result.

Still just 19 years old, Rodriguez spent the first two professional seasons of his career playing in rookie ball for the Jays organization. He batted .274/.356/.392 with seven home runs and 34 stolen bases on 42 attempts over 458 plate appearances during his time in Toronto’s system.

Yankees Activate Zack Britton, Kyle Higashioka; Designate Jordy Mercer

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The Yankees have activated left-hander Zack Britton and catcher Kyle Higashioka off the 10-day injured list, the team announced.  Right-hander Miguel Yajure was optioned to the team’s alternate training site last night, and another roster spot was opened up when infielder Jordy Mercer was designated for assignment.

Britton’s back after landing on the IL on Aug. 20 with a strained left hamstring. As has been the case for most of his career, Britton pitched well before then, throwing nine innings of two-earned run ball with six hits and four walks allowed (nine strikeouts). He’ll now resume his role as the top setup man for closer Aroldis Chapman on a Yankees team that has been reeling of late.

Mercer had a brief run on the 40-man for the Yankees, who selected him Aug. 28 as they dealt with injured to middle infielders DJ LeMahieu and Gleyber Torres (LeMahieu has since returned).  Previously a regular with the Pirates and Tigers, Mercer went 2-for-11 as a Yankee with a pair of singles before they booted him from their roster.

Orioles Select Dilson Herrera’s Contract, Designate Mason Williams

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The Orioles have selected the contract of infielder Dilson Herrera to their big league roster, the team announced.  In corresponding move, outfielder Mason Williams was designated for assignment to create a 40-man roster spot.  The O’s also called up outfielder DJ Stewart from the alternate site.

Herrera signed a minor league deal with the O’s during the offseason, and he is now set to appear in his fourth Major League season of his decade-long pro career.  Breaking in with the Mets in 2014-15, Herrera’s only MLB action since was a 53-game stint with the Reds in 2018.  Herrera has only a .203/.293/.394 slash line over 266 career plate appearances in the Show, but he can provide the Orioles with multi-positional bench depth all over the infield (particularly at second and third base) and even maybe in the corner outfield slots.

Williams was another of Baltimore’s minor league winter signings, and posted a .545 OPS over seven games and 11 PA this season.  Once a highly-touted prospect while coming up in the Yankees’ farm system, Williams hasn’t been able to translate that promise into production, though he has also received only 245 career Major League plate appearances.  Williams has hit .281/.318/.382 for the Orioles, Reds, and Yankees since the start of the 2015 season.

Rays Place Yandy Diaz On 10-Day Injured List

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The Rays have placed corner infielder Yandy Diaz on the 10-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain, the club announced.  Infielder Nate Lowe has been called up from the alternate training site to take Diaz’s spot on the active roster.

While the Rays have been hit hard by pitching injuries in recent weeks, Diaz is a notable loss on the position player side.  Playing mostly every day at third base for the Rays, Diaz has hit .307/.428/.386 this season, good for a 130 OPS+ and 136 wRC+ over 138 plate appearances.  Diaz’s patience at the plate is obviously the big contributor to his production, as he has shown very little power and not even much hard contact, as Statcast ranks Diaz in the bottom ninth percentile in barrels and in the bottom 19th percentile in hard-hit balls.

Still, losing a player with a .428 OBP is naturally a big loss to any lineup, though the versatile Rays are better equipped than most teams to withstand Diaz’s absence.  Joey Wendle seems likely to get the bulk of third base work with Diaz out, and Yoshi Tsutsugo and Mike Brosseau on hand for further depth.

Lowe could also be in the picture, as he played a handful of games at third base during 50 games with Tampa Bay last season.  Lowe hit .263/.325/.454 with seven home runs over his first 169 PA in the majors, and the well-regarded prospect has an impressive .300/.400/.483 slash line and 54 homes over 1718 career plate appearances at the minor league level.

Mariners Claim Walker Lockett

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The Mariners have claimed righty Walker Lockett off waivers from the Mets, as per a Mariners press release.  New York designated Lockett for assignment earlier this week.

The long ball has plagued Lockett over his brief MLB tenure, as a 2.2 HR/9 over 45 2/3 career innings is largely responsible for the 8.28 ERA he has posted over parts of three seasons with the Mets and Padres.  Lockett consistently posted strong ground-ball rates over his minor league career but has yet to translate that skill at the big league level, with just a modest 44.9% grounder rate in the Show.

Lockett is out of options, so Seattle will have to include him on its active roster or risk exposing him to the DFA wire once more.  There’s little harm for the rebuilding Mariners in seeing if Lockett could fit into their future plans, as he has a solid track record as a starter in the minors and could also be potentially deployed for relief work.

Marlins Promote Jazz Chisholm

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One of the Marlins’ key acquisitions of the 2019 trade deadline is now set to make his Major League debut just after the 2020 trade deadline.  The Marlins have called up star shortstop prospect Jazz Chisholm in time for tonight’s game against the Blue Jays, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports (Twitter link).  The club has officially announced the promotion as well as some other transactions, including outfielder Jesus Sanchez being optioned to the Marlins’ alternate training site and left-hander Josh D. Smith being outrighted to the training site.

Chisholm came to Miami from the Diamondbacks in a one-for-one deal for right-hander Zac Gallen on July 31, 2019.  With Gallen already looking like a very solid starter at the MLB level, there will certainly be some extra expectation placed on Chisholm, though the 22-year-old has shown a lot of promise in his pro career.

Signed out of the Bahamas during the 2015-16 international signing window, Chisholm has gained attention on top-100 prospect lists in recent years, though his pre-2020 rankings covered rather a wide range.  The Athletic’s Keith Law (who ranked Chisholm 15th) and Fangraphs (33rd) were the most bullish, with Baseball Prospectus (52nd), MLB.com (66th), and Baseball America (88th) not quite as enthusiastic.

Law was impressed at how Chisholm’s strikeout rate dropped after some adjustments made once he joined the Marlins’ farm system, and noted Chisholm’s “elite tool package at a premium position right now,” with “the hands, footwork, and arm to” remain at shortstop over the long term.  To provide slight contrast, BA’s scouting report feels Chisholm is too “overly aggressive” at the plate, and won’t be a solid hitter unless he “improves his approach, uses the entire field and puts the ball in play more often.”

Chisholm hasn’t played above the Double-A level, where he combined for 458 plate appearances for the Diamondbacks and Marlins affiliates in 2019.  As noted earlier, Chisholm improved once coming to Miami’s farm system — Chisholm hit .284/.383/.494 with three homers in 94 PA with Double-A Jacksonville, as opposed to .204/.305/.427 over 364 PA for Arizona’s affiliate in Jackson.  While a small sample size in a Marlins uniform, it does show promise that Chisholm has unlocked something in a new environment.

He will now add some infield depth to what is suddenly a revamped Marlins infield in the wake of Jonathan Villar’s trade to the Blue Jays.  Chisholm has played shortstop almost exclusively in his career, though Miami manager Don Mattingly told McPherson and other reporters that Chisholm has been playing second base at the team’s alternate training site.  Chisholm could handle second base until Isan Diaz is fully ready to return to the Fish, and then some combination of Chisholm, Diaz, and utilityman Jon Berti (who is a right-handed hitter, unlike the two youngsters) could conceivably juggle second base duties for the remainder of the season.

Dodgers Acquire Kendall Williams As Part Of Ross Stripling Trade

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The Dodgers have acquired right-hander Kendall Williams as one of the players to be named later in yesterday’s trade that sent Ross Stripling to the Blue Jays.  Williams was Toronto’s second-round pick in the 2019 draft, and the 20-year-old took an above-slot bonus to begin his pro career rather than attend Vanderbilt.

MLB Pipeline ranks Williams as the 13th-best prospect in the Jays’ farm system, calling him “the quintessential projectable high school right-hander” with “potentially huge upside.”  The 6’6″ right-hander has a fastball that is approaching mid-90’s velocity, though his biggest asset could be his overall four-pitch arsenal rather than any one signature offering.  Baseball America’s scouting report cites Williams’ slider, curveball, and changeup “could all be average or better.”

There’s certainly enough potential here to see why the Dodgers would be intrigued in adding such a young arm to their already-deep minor league talent pool, particularly for a solid but non-elite pitcher like Stripling who wasn’t even a full-time rotation member.  From the Jays’ perspective, they naturally see a promising but longer-term asset like Williams (who isn’t one of the upper-tier prospects in their farm system) as a reasonable price for Stripling, who has already shown that he can deliver at the MLB level and can help the Blue Jays win both in 2020 and in 2021-22 before he is scheduled to reach free agency.

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