Nationals Place Juan Soto On 10-Day IL
Per a team release, the Nationals have placed OF Juan Soto on the 10-Day IL with back spasms. Outfielder Andrew Stevenson was recalled to take his place.
Though the injury isn’t said to be serious, it’s a tough blow for a Nats lineup already down Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner, and Ryan Zimmerman.
Soto, 20, set the league ablaze last season, rocketing in two months from Low-A to the big leagues, where he posted an astounding .292/.406/.517 mark with the league’s third-highest walk rate, arguably the best ever season from a teenage bat. The lefty was off to a slower start this year, though his 15.2% walk rate still ranked among the league’s best.
Phillies Designate Aaron Altherr For Assignment
Per a team release, the Phillies have designated OF Aaron Altherr for assignment after activating OF Odubel Herrera from the 10-Day IL.
Altherr, 28, has shown promise since his 2015 debut, most notably slugging .516 en route to a stellar 121 wRC+ across 418 plate appearances in 2017, but has too often been dogged been inconsistency and a climbing strikeout rate. In 285 PAs for the club last season, Altherr slashed a meager .181/.295/.333 (75 wRC+) and didn’t bring much back on defense, where a -2.6 UZR in 427 right-field innings resulted in an ugly -0.4 fWAR.
Though he accrued just 30 plate appearances in his short time with the Phillies this season, the trajectory wasn’t encouraging: Altherr had already managed to worsen his hideous fWAR mark from the season prior, and hadn’t showed even a glimpse of the career-best plate discipline he’d flashed in ’18.
This’ll likely be the end of the line for Altherr in Philadelphia – 28-year-olds with the ability to play center field and multiple 120 wRC+ or better seasons (albeit in limited action) under their belt aren’t often designated, and he’d seem to represent a clear outfield upgrade for at least a handful of teams. The Indians, with a league-worst 69 wRC+ and a cast of scattered disappointments in the outfield, may already be hot on the trail.
Red Sox Claim Joey Curletta
Per a team announcement, the Red Sox have claimed 1B Joey Curletta off waivers from Seattle.
Curletta, 25, was placed on the Mariner 40-man after a solid (.282/.383/.482) showing for Double-A Arkansas last season. Baseball America, who ranked the 6’4 righty 22nd overall in a poor Seattle system entering the year, noted that the husky first-baseman “draws comparisons” to current Mariner DH Dan Vogelbach.
A poor early-season showing on the bandbox circuit that now serves as the Pacific Coast League, where a staggering 38 players currently boast an OPS north of .900, left Curletta, who’s been old for the level since repeating High-A for the third time in 2017, expendable.
The former sixth-rounder will reportedly be assigned to AA-Portland in the Boston system.
Indians Acquire Adam Rosales From Twins
Per Dan Hayes of the Athletic, the Indians have acquired IF Adam Rosales from Minnesota for cash considerations.
It’s another stop for the well-traveled Rosales, 35, who spent much of last season at Cleveland’s AAA affiliate, where he slashed .239/.313/.445 with 18 homers in 428 plate appearances. With AAA-Rochester this season, and the aid of a juiced-up new ball in play across the Triple-A level, Rosales is off to a slow start, slashing a meager .194/.263/.222 across the season’s first 20 games.
An 11-year MLB vet, the former Red, Diamondback, Athletic, Ranger, Padre and Indian has had occasional success at the MLB level, most recently in 2016 with San Diego, where he slugged 13 homers in a mere 248 PA (good for a .495 slugging percentage), en route to a very solid 113 wRC+/1.7 fWAR season. Much of his success – he owns a career 92 wRC+ mark – has come against southpaws, against whom Rosales boasts a respectable .240/.313/.395 line.
Still, the best of Rosales’ days look to be behind him: he’s struggled mightily at the big-league dish the last two seasons as his walk rate’s taken a nosedive and his chase rate has exploded. Opportunities seems scant at Progressive Field, though the club does continue to scour the landscape for help against left-handed pitching, against whom the team’s posted an AL-worst 58 wRC+.
Red Sox Activate Eduardo Nunez, Tzu-Wei Lin Placed On Injured List
The Boston Red Sox activated infielder Eduardo Nunez from the 10-day IL today, per an official team release. Infielder Tzu-Wei Lin heads to the injured list in the corresponding move.
Nunez went down on April 18th with a mid-back strain after a rough start to the year. The 31-year-old was hitting only .159/.178/.182 at the time of the injury. He was primarily utilized at second base to start the year, but top prospect Michael Chavis has staked a claim to the keystone in the interim. With Nunez, Dustin Pedroia and Brock Holt all on the injured list, Chavis, 23, took full advantage by hitting .310/.442/.619 with four home runs and ten RBIs. Nunez will have to fight to take back playing time coming off a disappointing .265/.289/.388 in 2018, his first full season in Boston. Nunez makes $5MM this season, and he will be a free agent at the end of the year, so it’s not inconceivable to think the Red Sox could cut bait if Nunez doesn’t start producing – though injuries to other Boston infielders and his pedigree as a useful .277/.312/.406 career hitter likely grants Nunez a fairly long leash.
Lin, 25, becomes the latest Boston infielder to occupy the injured list in 2019. He sprained his knee in Chicago on Friday and now heads back to Boston to undergo testing. Lin is primarily a middle infielder, though he has played all over the diamond during his Boston tenure. He was 4-20 so far this season as one of the many Boston infielders to sample second base.
In a related depth move, former Phillie prospect Cody Asche joins Triple-A Pawtucket after having his contract purchased from the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Independent League, per the Skeeters. Asche made good use of his time in Sugar Land, hitting .250/.375/.400 in six games with the Skeeters since signing in mid-April. Last appearing in the majors in 2017 for the White Sox, Asche, 28, spent time with both New York organizations in 2018.
Diamondbacks Recall Tim Locastro, Option Caleb Joseph, Outright Matt Koch
Per a team release, the Diamondbacks optioned catcher Caleb Joseph to Triple A Reno. Tim Locastro has been recalled to take his place on the roster, while right-hander Matt Koch – DFA’ed over the weekend – has been outrighted to Reno.
While playing all three outfield positions, Locastro went 4-11 over nine games (.364 AVG) in his first stint with the big league club this season. He has continued his hot hitting in Reno, going 17-43 (.395 AVG) with a .458 OBP and five home runs. He was sent down just two weeks ago to make room for Taylor Clarke as the team awaited the arrival of Blake Swihart from Boston. While Clarke only stayed long enough to record one scoreless, 3-inning save, the Diamondbacks have cycled through a number of players in their 25th roster spot since Locastro’s demotion, including Jimmie Sherfy, Jon Duplantier, and Koch before activating lefty T.J. McFarland from the 10-day IL for his first action of the season. Despite the rotating clubhouse door, the D-backs have soared in that time, going 7-2 in their last nine games and 12-4 over their last sixteen.
Joseph, 32, returns to Triple-A as Arizona will make due with only two catchers on the 25-man roster for a time. The former Oriole started five games behind the dish this season, hitting only .176/.176/.235. Carson Kelly (.182/.211/.309) and John Ryan Murphy (.222/.317/.500) should benefit from additional playing time in what is already a fairly widespread timeshare. Kelly has started a team-leading 12 times through the season’s first month, with Murphy starting ten times, Joseph five, and injured veteran Alex Avila starting four times. There’s certainly something to be said for avoiding undue pressure on Kelly early on after he was acquired for team icon Paul Goldschmidt, but after starting slowly with the bat, manager Torey Lovullo may be ready to give Kelly a bigger slice of the pie moving into May. Joseph’s demotion aught to at least temporarily afford Kelly opportunity for regularity, though the Diamondbacks generally prefer to carry three catchers and it’s safe to assume Kelly/Murphy have a limited window to take advantage of the two-man game. Swihart, of course, could serve as a third catcher, but the club has been pretty forthright about their plans to use Swihart primarily in the field.
Koch, meanwhile, heads to Triple-A after struggling through nine games out of the Diamondbacks bullpen. He did soak up some volume for the Snakes, spanning 20 2/3 innings with five multi-inning outings and three appearances of at least four innings. All in all, four home runs allowed certainly contributed to a 9.15 ERA, but he also surrendered more than a hit per inning while striking out only 3.5 K/9. Fun fact: the 28-year-old heads to Reno tied with Detroit’s Spencer Turnbull as the current league leader in hit batsmen with five.
Mets Release Travis d’Arnaud
The Mets have released catcher Travis d’Arnaud, according to the MLB.com transactions page. He had been designated for assignment recently.
This goes down as one of the stranger transactional approaches in recent memory. The Mets somewhat surprisingly tendered d’Arnaud a contract, agreeing to a $3.515MM salary. Then the team elected to hang onto him and fully guarantee that amount after watching him in camp. Now, just over a month into the season, d’Arnaud is out the door. He’ll be paid in full by the Mets, though that amount would be offset by any MLB earnings (at the league-minimum rate) with another organization.
Injuries have thrown off a once-promising career path for the 30-year-old. Most recently, he worked back from Tommy John surgery that wiped out most of his 2018 season. He has had his share of success — in particular, a .268/.340/.485 stretch of hitting over 268 plate appearances in 2015 — but just hasn’t been consistent or consistently available.
The Mets had hopes that d’Arnaud would be able to rebound and at least discover the solid form he showed in 2017. But the club changed its assessment after watching ten games and 25 plate appearances of action over which the backstop recorded two singles and two walks while striking out five times.
To an extent, the move represents a vote of confidence in Tomas Nido, who has come up to become the primary backup to Wilson Ramos. Nido has yet to show that he’s capable of even palatable hitting in the big leagues, though he’s regarded as a quality defender.
It’s a bit of a risk given Ramos’s health issues and the uncertainty that comes with Nido, though there are some alternatives. Veteran Rene Rivera is on hand at Triple-A, which is a nice insurance policy. The Mets still control the rights to Devin Mesoraco, though he’s not active after he and the club failed to see eye to eye over the unwritten terms of their minor-league deal.
Padres Select Alex Dickerson
The Padres announced today that they have selected the contract of Alex Dickerson. He’ll take the active roster spot of righty Luis Perdomo, who was optioned. A 40-man opening was created by moving right-hander Brett Kennedy to the 60-day IL.
Dickerson returns to the majors just before his 29th birthday. He was dropped from the San Diego 40-man roster after the 2018 season but re-signed on a minors pact.
A former third-round pick, Dickerson has more or less always produced when healthy. He consistently drubbed minor-league pitching and turned in a strong .257/.333/.455 slash in his first full look at the majors in 2016.
Unfortunately, that’s the last we had seen of Dickerson in regular-season action. Back and elbow injuries robbed him of two consecutive campaigns.
Dickerson has picked up right where he left off at Triple-A, making this an interesting promotion to watch. Through 104 plate appearances in 2019, he’s slashing .360/.462/.593 with five home runs and a confidence-inspiring 17:13 K/BB ratio.
Blue Jays Select Derek Law, Designate Alen Hanson
The Blue Jays have selected the contract of right-hander Derek Law, per a club announcement. He’ll take the roster spot of utilityman Alen Hanson, who was designated for assignment.
Both of these players came to the Toronto organization in the same early-season swap with the Giants. Law had already been removed from the San Francisco 40-man, while Hanson was in DFA limbo at the time of the deal.
Law, 28, has been off to an impressive start with his new organization. He’s carrying a 1.69 ERA with 17 strikeouts and three walks through 10 2/3 innings in eight outings. He has shown it in the majors before as well, but has yet to repeat his strong 2016 debut season at the game’s highest level.
As for Hanson, the 26-year-old switch-hitter has been one of quite a few players clamoring for opportunities in the Jays’ infield/outfield mix. He received 48 plate appearances over the first month of the season, but managed only a .163/.229/.163 batting line with 17 strikeouts.
Mets Select Adeiny Hechavarria, Option Dominic Smith
4:35pm: Hechavarria recently triggered an opt-out clause in his deal, per Ken Davidoff of the New York Post (via Twitter), thus forcing the Mets to decide between bringing him onto the MLB roster and allowing him to become a free agent.
Notably, he has agreed to an advance consent clause with the Mets, Tim Britton of The Athletic tweets. If the club outrights Hechavarria, and he clears waivers, he will not be able to elect free agency while still receiving his full remaining MLB salary (as players with 5+ years of service are allowed to do by rule).
Righty Drew Smith was shifted to the 60-day IL to create 40-man roster space.
4:13pm: The Mets have selected the contract of veteran infielder Adeiny Hechavarria, the club tells reporters including Tim Britton of The Athletic (Twitter link). He’ll take the active roster spot of first baseman Dominic Smith, who was optioned back to Triple-A.
The 30-year-old Hechavarria is a slick-fielding shortstop who settled for a minor-league pact this winter. He’ll boost the club’s defensive flexibility, though he isn’t historically much with the bat. Hechavarria is off to a strong start at Triple-A (.348/.382/.446 in 102 plate appearances).
Smith, 23, has hit quite well in limited chances this year in the big leagues. Through 37 plate appearances, the former top prospect owns a .333/.459/.400 slash with six walks against just seven strikeouts. Unfortunately, he’s a bit buried on the depth chart. Carrying a lefty bench bat of this sort is something of a luxury for a National League team. It’s certainly possible to imagine Smith reemerging to play an important role if a need arises; he might also become interesting trade bait.