Chris Davis Out For Season
SEPTEMBER 19: Davis is out for the rest of the season, manager Brandon Hyde tells reporters (including Roch Kubtako of MASNsports.com).
SEPTEMBER 14: The Orioles have placed first baseman Chris Davis on the 10-day injured list with left knee patellar tendinitis, per a team announcement. They also released utility player Stevie Wilkerson, activated outfielder Austin Hays and outrighted outfielder Mason Williams to their alternate site after he cleared waivers.
This is the second IL stint in the past few weeks for Davis, who was previously out from Aug. 19-Sept. 11 with the same injury. Davis appeared in one game since coming off the IL the first time, and now it seems that his season could be over. If so, it will go down as the fourth straight dreadful campaign for the former star, who has batted .115/.164/.173 with no home runs in 55 plate appearances in 2020.
Wilkerson hasn’t played at all this season after suffering a broken finger in late July. The 29-year-old was a regular for the Orioles last season, but he struggled to a .225/.286/.383 line with 10 home runs in 361 plate appearances in 2019.
Williams will stay in the organization just a few days after the Orioles designated him for assignment. They’ve designated and outrighted Williams twice in the past couple weeks.
Rockies To Promote AJ Ramos
6:17 pm: Ramos’ promotion has been made official. Roster space was opened by the designation of right-hander Wade Davis for assignment.
1:02 pm: The Rockies are preparing to call right-hander AJ Ramos up to their active roster, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link). An additional move will need to be made to create a space for Ramos on the team’s 40-man roster.
After a couple of false starts, it looks like Ramos is finally set to make his return to the majors after almost 28 months. The righty underwent shoulder surgery in 2018 after a rough 19 2/3 innings with the Mets that season, and was off the radar until this summer, when he inked minor league deals with both the Dodgers and Cubs. Neither of those contracts led to a Major League call-up, however, and the Rockies signed Ramos to yet another minors deal after the Cubs released him in early September.
Ramos turns 34 tomorrow, so the promotion is a nice birthday present for the former All-Star. Ramos posted some strong numbers with the Marlins from 2012-17 (including a 2.78 ERA, 2.19 K/BB rate, and 10.4 K/9), though his productivity dipped in 2017, particularly after a July trade to the Mets. The 22-28 Rockies are on the verge of being eliminated from postseason contention, so there’s nothing to be lost in seeing whether or not Ramos could potentially be a candidate for their 2021 bullpen.
Rockies Designate Wade Davis For Assignment
The Rockies are designating reliever Wade Davis for assignment, per Nick Groke of the Athletic (via Twitter). This brings to an end a three-year tenure in Denver that was an overwhelming disappointment.
Davis entered free agency on the heels of a four-year run as one of the sport’s most dominant late-inning arms. Between 2014-17, he combined for 241.1 innings of 1.45 ERA/2.23 FIP ball for the Royals and Cubs. He was a vital piece of Kansas City’s 2015 World Series winner.
The Rockies surely envisioned much of the same when they embarked on a bullpen-focused spending spree in the 2017-18 offseason. Colorado brought in Bryan Shaw and Jake McGee on three-year, $27MM deals before finishing with a flourish, inking Davis to a $52MM guarantee over the same term.
There were some warning signs the 32-year-old Davis wasn’t going to be able to sustain his prior levels of production. His walk rate spiked to a lofty 11.6% in his platform season, while his 94.4MPH fastball that year was down a tick from his unhittable peak with the Royals.
That said, it would’ve been impossible to predict Davis’ career going off the rails to the extent it has. His first season as a Rockie was actually solid, as he managed a 4.13 ERA in 65.1 innings. That was a far cry from his prime years, although it was still solidly better than average when adjusting for the hitter-friendly environs of Coors Field.
Last season, though, proved to be an unmitigated disaster. Davis pitched to an 8.65 ERA in 42.2 innings, with a massive spike in walk rate (to 14.1%) and a precipitous drop in strikeout rate (to 20.4%). His attempt at a 2020 bounceback never really got off the ground. He only got into five games, with a shoulder strain knocking him out of action for more than a month. Davis’ fate was sealed after he got tagged for four runs on four hits in just two-thirds of an inning in yesterday’s loss to the Dodgers.
Davis will surely clear waivers, since any claiming team would be on the hook for the remainder of his contract. It’s possible he tries to latch on with another club for the season’s final week, but he’d be ineligible for another team’s postseason roster at this point. To that end, Davis will probably turn his attention to 2021. After back-to-back lost seasons, the 35-year-old may have to settle for minor-league opportunities this offseason.
White Sox Activate Dallas Keuchel From 10-Day IL
The White Sox announced that southpaw Dallas Keuchel has been activated off the 10-day injured list in advance of his scheduled start tonight against the Reds. Right-hander Jonathan Stiever was optioned to the club’s alternate training site to create roster space.
Keuchel was placed on the IL due to back spasms, and since his placement was retroactive to September 7, he will return having missed only a couple of days past the 10-day minimum. The injury wasn’t thought to be overly serious in the first place, and Keuchel will now get to make at least one tune-up start before the White Sox begin their postseason run.
Signed to a three-year, $55.5MM free agent deal last winter, Keuchel has thus far been a big plus for the White Sox, posting a 2.19 ERA over his first 53 1/3 innings on the South Side. ERA predictors (3.19 FIP, 3.84 xFIP, 4.42 SIERA) are naturally less impressed with Keuchel due to his lack of strikeouts, as he has only a 5.4 K/9. As always, however, Keuchel is generating a ton of grounders (56% grounder rate), and this season has done a better job than ever of keeping the ball in the park. The left-hander has a league-best 0.3 HR/9 this year, a massive improvement over the 1.3 HR/9 he posted over 112 2/3 innings with the Braves in 2019.
Twins Place Jake Odorizzi On 10-Day Injured List
The Twins placed right-hander Jake Odorizzi on the 10-day injured list yesterday due to a blister on his right middle finger. Righty Sean Poppen was called up from the Twins’ alternate training site to take Odorizzi’s spot on the active roster.
The placement is retroactive to September 17, so Odorizzi can be activated on the last day of the regular season. While blisters can be a nagging problem, Odorizzi is expected to miss only the minimum amount of time, though he’ll miss even more time in what has been an injury-plagued season for the veteran righty. Odorizzi has pitched only 13 2/3 innings due to two previous IL stints — the first for a back strain suffered during Summer Camp, and the second for a chest contusion after Odorizzi was hit in the chest with an Alex Gordon line drive.
Unsurprisingly, all the stops and starts have seemingly impacted Odorizzi’s performance, as he has only a 6.59 ERA and has been tagged for four homers over those 13 2/3 frames. As a result, Odorizzi seems ticketed for bullpen action during the Twins’ postseason run, and it certainly isn’t the platform year Odorizzi was looking for as he prepares to head into free agency this offseason. Odorizzi was also scheduled for free agency last offseason but he accepted the Twins’ one-year, $17.8MM qualifying offer rather than test the open market.
Orioles, Rockies Complete Mychal Givens Trade
The Orioles have acquired outfielder Mishael Deson from the Rockies, per announcements from both teams. This completes the teams’ Aug. 30 trade centering on ex-Orioles reliever Mychal Givens.
The 18-year-old Deson made his pro debut with the Orioles in 2019 and combined for a .252/.327/.336 line with one home run and 23 stolen bases on 34 attempts across 286 plate appearances at the rookie level.
Givens, long a successful reliever with the Orioles, joined the Rockies as the owner of a 1.38 ERA in 13 innings this season. But the acquisition hasn’t gone according to plan for the Rockies, with whom Givens has thrown 5 2/3 innings of four-run ball. The Rockies were playoff contenders then, but they’ve sunk to a 22-27 record.
Going forward, the Rockies can at least hang their hat on the fact that Givens is a proven and controllable MLB reliever, as he has recorded a 3.37 ERA/3.48 FIP with 10.6 K/9 and 3.45 BB/9 in 341 2/3 innings since he debuted in 2015. He has another arbitration-eligible season left in 2021.
Rockies, Red Sox Complete Kevin Pillar Trade
The Rockies announced that they have sent right-hander Jacob Wallace to the Red Sox to complete the trade the teams made on Aug. 31 involving outfielder Kevin Pillar.
The 22-year-old Wallace, a third-round pick of the Rockies in 2019, debuted in low-A ball last season and pitched to a stingy 1.29 ERA/2.94 FIP with 12.43 K/9 and 3.86 BB/9 in 21 innings. Since then, Baseball America (No. 19), MLB.com (No. 20) and FanGraphs (No. 21) have placed Wallace among Colorado’s top 25 prospects. BA writes that Wallace is “the prototypical power reliever with a mid-90s fastball and a plus slider” who could quickly make his way to the majors and turn into a back-end reliever.
Wallace seems like a good return for Pillar, a pending free agent who performed decently for a non-contending Boston team before the trade. Pillar has struggled as a member of the Rockies, though, as he has batted just .255/.296/.373 in 54 plate appearances. The Rockies had designs on a playoff berth when they acquired Pillar, but they have floundered since then and now find themselves with a 22-27 record.
Orioles Acquire Isaac De Leon From Marlins
The Orioles announced that they have acquired shortstop Isaac De Leon from the Marlins. De Leon was the player to be named later in the teams’ Aug. 1 trade centering on left-hander Richard Bleier. He’ll join Baltimore’s 60-man player pool.
De Leon, an 18-year-old native of the Dominican Republic, joined the Marlins for $275K as an international free agent in 2018. He made his pro debut last year with 102 plate appearances and a .256/.367/.324 line in 284 plate appearances at the rookie level.
Bleier, 33, has been a useful piece of the bullpen for the surprising Marlins, who hold an NL playoff spot at 25-23. The southpaw has thrown 11 innings and given up four earned runs since he came over from the Orioles. Bleier has only fanned five hitters as a Marlin, but strikeouts have never been his forte, evidenced by a lifetime 4.4 K/9 in 188 1/3 innings.
Rays Place Austin Meadows On 10-Day IL
The Rays announced that they’ve placed outfielder Austin Meadows on the 10-day injured list with a Grade 2 left oblique strain. The club selected left-hander Sean Gilmartin and moved fellow southpaw Cody Reed to the 45-day IL in corresponding moves.
We may have seen the last of Meadows in 2020 because of this injury, as oblique strains have been known to keep players out for several weeks. If so, it will end a disappointing campaign for Meadows, who earned an All-Star berth a year ago but hasn’t been able to continue his momentum in 2020.
Meadows began this season on the COVID-19 injured list and has batted .205/.296/.371 with four home runs and 50 strikeouts in 152 plate appearances since he debuted Aug. 4. Meadows has primarily played left field, but the deep and talented Rays have at least a few other – including Yoshi Tsutsugo, Hunter Renfroe and Manuel Margot – capable of lining up in the corner outfield.
As for Gilmartin and Reed, the former has yo-yoed between the Rays’ roster and their alternate site on multiple occasions this season. Gilmartin has thrown 4 1/3 innings of four-run ball thus far in 2020. Reed, whom the Rays acquired from the Reds on Aug. 28, tossed 2 2/3 scoreless frames for Tampa Bay before it placed him on the 10-day IL on Sept. 10 with a left pinky issue.
White Sox Promote Garrett Crochet
In an eye-opening promotion, the White Sox have selected the contract of left-hander Garrett Crochet, general manager Rick Hahn announced to reporters today (Twitter link via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times). Chicago drafted the 21-year-old lefty out of Tennessee with the 11th overall pick of the 2020 draft. Righty Evan Marshall is going on the 10-day injured list with shoulder inflammation, which opens an active roster spot. Right-hander Ian Hamilton was designated for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster.
It’s obviously of the utmost rarity for a prospect to skip the minor leagues entirely, which Crochet will be doing in the absence of a conventional minor league season. The last player to do so was Mike Leake, although Brandon Finnegan followed a similar arc when he was called by the Royals in September 2014 with just 27 minor league innings under his belt (also a mere three months after being drafted). Of course, the White Sox themselves have done this with a high-profile college lefty as well, rocketing Chris Sale to the big leagues in the same year that he was selected 13th overall (2010).
Crochet might not have the video game-esque numbers that many would expect to see from a top-ranked collegiate pitcher, but he was nevertheless regarded as one of the best prospects in the 2020 draft. Between his sophomore and shortened junior NCAA seasons, Crochet worked to a 3.82 ERA with an 87-to-22 K/BB ratio in 68 1/3 innings. Baseball America was most bullish on Crochet heading into the draft, ranking him as the No. 15 prospect in the class. Kiley McDaniel of ESPN (16th), the team at MLB.com (18th), Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs (22nd) and Keith Law of The Athletic (39th) all had Crochet in their top 40 prospects as well.
There was some risk associated with Crochet after he missed the first three weeks of the 2020 season with what McDaniel tabbed as an issue with a muscle in his shoulder. He returned to make one appearance, punching out six hitters in 3 1/3 frames in what proved to be his only outing prior to the NCAA shutdown. Law calls him one of the best arms in the draft and labeled him a likely first-rounder, attributing the relatively bearish ranking to uncertainty surrounding his early absence. BA notes that there are concerns among some clubs about Crochet’s lack of track record as a starter — he started only 13 games in college while making 23 additional relief appearances — but virtually any scouting report on the 6’6″, 218-pound southpaw will say that he had some of the best pure stuff in the draft.
That arsenal, headlined by a fastball that runs up to 99 mph and a 70-grade slider, will be on full display at the game’s top level in the final week-plus of the season. It’s an aggressive move for a White Sox club that is clearly (forgive the cliche) all-in on pushing for a World Series in its first full, post-rebuild campaign.
The Sox have already clinched a postseason berth, and the Dodgers are the only team in baseball with a better record than their current mark of 33-17. They’ve ridden otherworldly performances from MVP candidates Tim Anderson and Jose Abreu to the top of the AL Central. With a formidable one-two punch of Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel in the rotation, followed by promising young arms like Dane Dunning and Dylan Cease, they look like legitimate contenders for a deep postseason run as well.
Crochet figures to head to the bullpen, where he’ll give skipper Rick Renteria a power arm to mix into the late innings alongside Alex Colome, Matt Foster, Codi Heuer and, if he’s able to return by season’s end, fellow lefty Aaron Bummer. Crochet is no lock to make the postseason bullpen — he’ll need to earn his way into that role — but he makes an already loaded White Sox roster look all the more intriguing in the countdown to the team’s first postseason appearance since way back in 2008.
Photos courtesy of Andrew Ferguson/University of Tennessee Athletics.