Pirates Place Trevor Williams On IL, Outright Jacob Stallings
The Pirates announced a series of roster moves this evening. Starter Trevor Williams is going on the 10-day injured list with a right side strain, creating a need for pitching reinforcements.
Righty Clay Holmes was recalled. He’ll join Geoff Hartlieb in ascending to the active roster. With a need for one additional active roster spot and one additional 40-man spot, the Bucs optioned righty Richard Rodriguez and outrighted catcher Jacob Stallings (who had been on the IL with a neck injury).
There’s no clear indication yet as to the timeline for Williams. It’s unfortunate timing for both player and team; he was off to a strong start after an excellent 2018 campaign. Through 54 innings this year, Williams carries a 3.33 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9.
Mariners Select Ryan Garton, Designate Zac Rosscup
The Mariners announced a group of moves that will change up their bullpen mix. Righty Ryan Garton‘s contract was selected; he’ll be joined by fellow righty Matt Festa, who was recalled.
To make 40-man space for Garton, the M’s have designated southpaw Zac Rosscup for assignment. Active roster space for Festa comes at the expense of Erik Swanson, who was optioned out.
The 29-year-old Garton earned his way back to the bigs for the first time since 2017 after showing well in a swingman capacity at Triple-A. In 26 innings over a dozen appearances, including one start (just the second of his professional career), Garton posted a 3.46 ERA with 9.7 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9.
Rosscup, 30, had an outwardly appealing 3.21 ERA but had allowed 14 walks to go with twenty strikeouts in 14 innings. He was posting yawning platoon splits, dominating those left-handed hitters he didn’t walk (.087/.323/.087) while being tuned up by righties (.344/.447/.500).
Cardinals Designate Luke Gregerson, Option Dominic Leone
The Cardinals have designated veteran reliever Luke Gregerson for assignment, per a club announcement. Fellow right-hander Dominic Leone was optioned down to create another active roster spot.
Those moves will clear the way for two other hurlers. The club has activated righty Carlos Martinez, who was expected to be brought back in a relief capacity this weekend after opening the year on the injured list due to shoulder issues. It has also called up righty Ryan Helsley.
Gregerson, who recently turned 35, is one of several recent free-agent bullpen additions that hasn’t worked out for the Cards. He has allowed 7.36 earned runs per nine in his 18 1/3 innings with the club since the start of 2018, a disappointing turn for a long-excellent hurler.
Injuries have taken a toll, with Gregerson’s stuff suffering. Since returning this year after undergoing knee surgery in 2018, he has shown a notable velocity decline and managed only a 4.8% swinging-strike rate — less than a third his career average of 15.0%.
The Cards will eat the remainder of the money owed to Gregerson, including the balance of his $5MM salary this season and a $1MM buyout. The deal included a club/vesting option for 2020.
Leone has also been a frustrating piece for the Cards since coming over via trade in advance of the ’18 campaign. He’s carrying 11.4 K/9 in the early going but has also dished out 4.6 free passes and surrendered 2.1 home runs per nine innings. Through 21 1/3 frames, Leone has been tagged for 19 earned runs.
The Cardinals will continue to pay Leon’s $1.26MM salary. He only just tallied enough MLB service to push into the 4+ service class, so the timing of his (hopeful) return to the majors won’t impact his arb status. But it certainly will play a significant role in what he can command via arbitration and whether he’s tendered a contract this fall.
Pirates To Select Geoff Hartlieb
The Pirates will select the contract of righty Geoff Hartlieb, according to Stephen Nesbitt of The Athletic (via Twitter). Corresponding roster moves aren’t yet known.
Hartlieb, 25, has turned in a dozen solid appearances this year at Triple-A. Through 19 innings, he carries a 3.32 ERA with 10.9 K/9 and 5.2 BB/9.
The numbers don’t jump off the page for Hartlieb, but he’s capable of reaching triple digits with his fastball. He has worked exclusively as a reliever in the minors but does have quite a lot of multi-inning appearances throughout his four seasons as a professional.
Mets Designate Keon Broxton
The Mets have designated outfielder Keon Broxton for assignment, Tim Healey of Newsday reports on Twitter. That opens the door for Carlos Gomez to join the club’s MLB roster for the first time since his debut season with the club way back in 2007.
Gomez’s ascension was reported previously, so it comes as no surprise. Of course, something came up the last time we thought it was inevitable we’d again see him in a Mets uniform. (He instead landed with the Astros; it’s fascinating to consider the alternate universe.)
In other moves, also largely anticipated in advance, the Mets recalled righty Paul Sewald and placed outfielder Michael Conforto on the 7-day concussion injured list. Conforto’s injury is a concerning one for the team; it’s still not clear what kind of absence is anticipated.
Broxton came over from the Brewers in the offseason after failing to fill the center field opening created by Gomez’s departure. The defensively proficient 29-year-old seemed to be somewhat redundant with Juan Lagares already on hand, but the Mets evidently thought his upside was worth a chance.
Things just haven’t worked out at all for Broxton. He saw limited action in New York and struggled badly when he did get in the lineup. In 53 plate appearances this season, he carries a .143/.208/.163 batting line with 22 strikeouts. Though it’s still possible he’ll be snagged on the waiver wire, his appeal is limited by the fact that he is out of options.
Rockies Promote Brendan Rodgers
TODAY: The move is official, with Colorado also activating lefty Jake McGee from the injured list. Righty DJ Johnson and infielder Pat Valaika were optioned down to create active roster space.
YESTERDAY: The Rockies are expected to promote top prospect Brendan Rodgers, according to Thomas Harding of MLB.com. Corresponding moves remain to be seen, but a recent injury to shortstop Trevor Story is said to have played a role in the decision.
The 22-year-old Rodgers has been considered an elite prospect ever since he went to the Colorado organization with the third overall pick in the 2015 draft. He has steadily marched up the club’s farm system, briefly reaching Triple-A late last year. Rodgers entered the current season with consensus top-thirty leaguewide prospect billing; MLB.com was most bullish, grading him the tenth-best prospect in the game.
Rodgers has shown himself more than ready for a MLB opportunity early in the 2019 campaign. He’s slashing .356/.421/.644 with nine home runs over 152 plate appearances thus far at Albuquerque — impressive numbers even in an offensively robust league with a launching pad for a home park.
The Rockies could certainly stand to receive a boost. They enter play today at two games under .500 and 7.5 back of the Dodgers in the NL West. Whether Rodgers can perform at a top-end level out of the gates remains to be seen. But it’s a shot worth taking for a club that has received little with the bat from its other options at second base — where he’ll presumably line up except when he plays short in relief of Story.
There’s no reason to believe that Story’s injury will sideline him for long, or even that he’ll require a trip to the injured list. But the middle-infield duo has lacked punch even with the established slugger at full health. Story has held up his end of the bargain, but Garrett Hampson, Ryan McMahon, and Pat Valaika have not. The Rox offensive output at second base has easily been the worst in baseball this year. Hampson was already optioned down recently; another of those players could be pushed out to make way for Rodgers. (Both can still be optioned.)
Harding indicates that the promotion will likely occur on Friday. If that indeed comes to pass, then Rodgers can record as many as 136 days of MLB service this season. That would set him up for potential Super Two qualification in the future, so long as he’s able to keep his roster spot.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Mariners Claim Andrew Moore, Designate Nick Rumbelow
The Mariners announced that they’ve claimed right-hander Andrew Moore off waivers from the Giants and designated right-hander Nick Rumbelow for assignment in order to open space on the 40-man roster.
Moore, 24, returns to the organization that selected him in the second round of the 2015 draft. He’d been traded to Tampa Bay as part of last season’s Denard Span/Alex Colome deal, but the Rays designated him for assignment last month after some considerable early-season struggles. The Giants claimed him two weeks ago but were apparently hoping to pass him through waivers in order to retain him without committing a 40-man roster spot.
Moore made just one appearance in the Giants organization and was torched for five runs in 1 2/3 innings for the club’s Double-A affiliate — a continuation of a disastrous start to the year in the Rays organization. With Tampa Bay, Moore served up 25 runs on 29 hits (none homers) and 10 walks in just 17 1/3 innings of work. His season ERA at the moment is 14.21, and he’s walked nearly as many batters (11) as he’s managed to strike out.
That said, Moore isn’t far removed from being a reasonably interesting pitching prospect. Prior to his arrival at the MLB level in 2017, he’d been touted as a potential fourth or fifth starter who relied on plus control and an above-average-to-plus changeup to compensate for his rather average fastball velocity. He turned in a 3.04 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in a combined 109 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A with the Mariners during that 2017 season as well.
The 27-year-old Rumbelow has allowed 16 runs in 15 2/3 Triple-A frames this season and another four runs in 1 1/3 innings at the MLB level. He showed some promise in the Mariners’ minor league ranks last year, notching a 1.83 ERA and a 26-to-8 K/BB ratio in 19 2/3 innings, but he’s yet to find any success in the Majors to this point in his career.
Red Sox Designate Chandler Shepherd For Assignment
The Red Sox announced Friday morning that they’ve designated right-hander Chandler Shepherd for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for catcher Oscar Hernandez, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Pawtucket. Hernandez will join the active roster in place of catcher Sandy Leon as he departs for paternity leave.
Shepherd, 26, has struggled through a brutal start to his 2019 campaign, pitching to a 10.01 ERA through 29 2/3 inning of Triple-A ball. He’s yielded a staggering 53 hits in that time, including 11 home runs, issued 16 walks and also been tagged for another 10 unearned runs. Shepherd, to his credit, has punched out 30 hitters in those 29 2/3 innings and did turn in a solid 2018 season in Pawtucket when he logged a 3.89 ERA in 129 2/3 innings. Despite this season’s alarming home run woes, he allowed just 13 long balls in 2018.
The 25-year-old Hernandez was the top pick in the Rule 5 Draft back in 2014 but saw only minimal time with the D-backs over the next two seasons and hit .167/.239/.262 in a tiny sample of 47 plate appearances in the big leagues. The defensive-minded backstop has thwarted 43 percent of stolen base attempts against him in his minor league career and has consistently drawn above-average framing marks, but he’s just a .190/.2440/.344 hitter in 431 plate appearances at the Double-A level and a .203/.282/.284 hitter in 225 plate appearances at Triple-A. Lack of production in the upper minors notwithstanding, Boston needs a backup catcher with Leon away from the club for a few days, so Hernandez will return to a big league roster for the first time since 2016.
Mets To Select Carlos Gomez
The Mets have informed veteran outfielder Carlos Gomez that they will select his contract from Triple-A Syracuse, per Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitter link). He’ll join the club as Michael Conforto lands on the injured list due to a concussion.
The 33-year-old Gomez was a top prospect with Mets back in 2006-07, was traded as one of the focal points of the Johan Santana blockbuster, and nearly returned to the Mets prior to the 2015 non-waiver trade deadline. He’ll now suit back up for his original organization more than a decade after his MLB debut.
Gomez is a career .253/.313/.412 hitter who slashed .284/.347/.491 with the Brewers during his 2013-14 All-Star peak, but he’s coming off a season in which he managed a mere .634 OPS with the Rays. He’s gotten out to a strong .270/.329/.500 start through 140 plate appearances in Syracuse, where he’s hit six homers, nine doubles and a triple in addition to collecting five stolen bases (albeit in 10 attempts). He’ll join an outfield mix that currently includes Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil, Juan Lagares and Keon Broxton, although the Mets will need to make a 40-man move to accommodate Gomez, and Broxton has struggled mightily so far in 2019.
Dodgers To Place Kenta Maeda On 10-Day Injured List
The Dodgers will place right-hander Kenta Maeda on the 10-day IL before tomorrow’s game, according to Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Maeda’s placement caps off a busy day of roster-shuffling for the Dodgers, as the team also activated lefty Caleb Ferguson from the IL and sent catcher Rocky Gale and right-hander J.T. Chargois to Triple-A. Prior to tomorrow’s game, the Dodgers will also call up utilityman Matt Beaty from Triple-A and select the contract of outfielder Kyle Garlick.
Maeda fouled a ball off his thigh in last night’s game, and the Dodgers are thusly putting him on the IL “as a precaution,” Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets. Since the Dodgers have two off-days next week, it looks like Maeda will miss one start at the most while he recovers from what looks like a minor injury.
Los Angeles has deployed Maeda exclusively as a starting pitcher in 2019, and the righty has delivered his usual strong results. Though nine starts and 51 1/3 innings, Maeda has a 3.51 ERA, 9.1 K/9, and 2.60 K/BB rate, numbers that are largely backed up by advanced metrics. Maeda is inducing soft contact on 27% of his batted balls this season, the second-highest total of any qualified starter in the game.
A 28th-round pick for the Dodgers in the 2015 draft, Garlick will get his first MLB exposure after posting a 1.002 OPS over 136 PA for Triple-A Oklahoma City this season. The 27-year-old Garlick has a .283/.341/.519 slash line through 1678 career minor league plate appearances.