Cardinals Place Alex Reyes On DL With “Significant” Lat Strain
3:07pm: It’s a “significant” lat strain for Reyes, GM Mike Girsch tells reporters (Twitter link via Mark Saxon of The Athletic). There won’t be an exact timetable on his recovery until he receives a second opinion, per Saxon, though certainly that update from Girsch is far from promising. An MRI taken this morning revealed the injury, tweets Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
2:09pm: The Cardinals announced today that they’ve placed top prospect Alex Reyes back on the disabled list with a strained right lat muscle. St. Louis also optioned struggling outfielder Tyler O’Neill and right-hander John Gant to Triple-A Memphis. Filling those spots on the roster will be lefty Austin Gomber, righty Mike Mayers and first baseman Luke Voit, each of whom has been recalled from Memphis.
Reyes had Cardinals fans salivating as he tore through minor league batters in a rehab assignment, and he looked dominant in the first inning of yesterday’s return affair before slowly experiencing a dip in his velocity over the subsequent three innings. President of baseball ops John Mozeliak told The Athletic’s Jim Bowden last night that Reyes’ elbow was “fine,” and that appears to be the case, though the lat muscle presents a new issue for the vaunted young right-hander to overcome. While any injury to Reyes’ throwing arm is of course a cause for concern for the organization, it’s likely a silver lining that the issue is not specific to his surgically repaired right elbow.
With Reyes back on the shelf, the Cards will once again deploy a rotation consisting of Miles Mikolas, Luke Weaver, Michael Wacha and Jack Flaherty as they await the return of ace Carlos Martinez from a lat strain of his own. Martinez did go out on a minor league rehab assignment today, per the team’s transactions page, but while he’s nearing a return, it seems that fans will have to wait for the a highly anticipated 1-2 punch of Martinez and Reyes atop the staff.
[Related: St. Louis Cardinals depth chart]
As for O’Neill, he’ll head back to Triple-A and look to make continued strides on his approach at the plate and his bat-to-ball skills. While the 22-year-old flashed the power that has made him such an intriguing prospect, early proclamations of a new star’s arrival were proven premature. O’Neill struggled enormously to make consistent contact, whiffing in 43.9 percent of his trips to the plate and in 13 of his final 19 plate appearances before being optioned out.
None of that is to suggest that O’Neill doesn’t have the potential to develop into a regular middle-of-the-order threat for the Cards, of course. While contact issues had plagued him earlier in his minor league tenure, he whittled his strikeout rate down to a more respectable 23.3 percent in Memphis this season before being called to the Majors. His approach still needs some refinement, though, as was evidenced by a 2.5 percent walk rate in Triple-A and a near-identical mark in his brief MLB tenure this season. O’Neill has mashed 13 homers in 120 PAs with Memphis and three in the bigs, though, so there’s little doubting the legitimacy of his power.
With O’Neill in the minors, it’ll be Marcell Ozuna, Tommy Pham, Dexter Fowler and Harrison Bader splitting up the bulk of the outfield duties. Meanwhile, in the rotation, it’s possible that Gomber could step up and make a spot start as the team awaits the return of Martinez. If not, he’ll give the ‘pen a fresh lefty at a time when both Brett Cecil and Tyler Lyons have endured some considerable struggles. Gomber has made nine start in Memphis and logged a solid 3.60 ERA with a 63-to-17 K/BB ratio in 55 innings of work.
Mayers, meanwhile, will return for another stint to give the bullpen some depth. The 26-year-old has already been optioned to Memphis and incredible five times in the season’s first two months, and that seems likely to be the role he fills in St. Louis this season unless further injuries in the Majors carve out a more permanent spot for him.
The 27-year-old Voit is hitting just .243/.351/.348 in Triple-A so far in 2018, but he had a monster season there in 2017 and also hit .246/.306/.430 with four homers in 128 plate appearances at the Major League level. This’ll be his first appearance on the 2018 roster for the Cards.
Braves Select Peter Bourjos, Release Aaron Blair
The Braves announced on Thursday that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Peter Bourjos, who’ll return for a second stint with the big league club this season. To create room on the 40-man roster, Atlanta released right-hander Aaron Blair, who’d previously undergone season-ending shoulder surgery. Meanwhile, Dustin Peterson was optioned to Triple-A to create a spot on the 25-man roster for Bourjos’ return.
Bourjos, 31, was on the Braves’ Opening Day roster after signing a Major League deal late in Spring Training, but he received sparse playing time in Atlanta before being designated for assignment, electing free agency and returning to the organization on a new minor league contract. He enjoyed a productive 24-game run in Triple-A Gwinnett between stints with the big league club, slashing .277/.352/.511 with a pair of homers, six doubles and five triples through 105 plate appearances.
The fleet-footed Bourjos will give the Braves a backup option in center field behind Ender Inciarte — something they presently lack with Ronald Acuna on the 10-day disabled list. Preston Tucker and Charlie Culberson have been handling left field with Inciarte in center and Nick Markakis in right, and it’s not entirely clear how the Braves will adjust that mix once Acuna is able to return. Bourjos could be sent out again, but Culberson is only just now showing signs of life at the plate after a poor start, while Tucker hasn’t hit much at all since a hot first week of the season.
As for Blair, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that the Braves will continue to pay for the right-hander’s rehab from shoulder surgery. It stands to reason that there’s a fair chance he’ll re-sign with the club on a new minor league deal where he can serve as a depth option in 2019 without occupying a spot on the big league 40-man roster.
Tigers Select Ronny Rodriguez
The Tigers announced after Wednesday evening’s game that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Ronny Rodriguez from Triple-A Toledo and optioned catcher Grayson Greiner back to Triple-A in his place. The move gives the Tigers a full 40-man roster.
It’ll be the first call to the Majors for the 26-year-old Rodriguez, who signed a minor league deal with Detroit this offseason after previously spending his entire professional career with the Indians organization. The versatile Rodriguez posted a sound .291/.324/.454 slash in 483 plate appearances with Triple-A Columbus last year in his final season with the Cleveland organization, and he’s off to an even better start in his new environs, batting .302/.327/.484 with six homers, 13 doubles, a pair of triples and eight stolen bases (albeit in 13 attempts).
Rodriguez has been primarily a shortstop and third baseman this season with the MudHens, but he’ll bring at least 585 innings of experience at all four infield positions to the Tigers’ roster. He’s also spent more than 300 innings in the outfield over the past three seasons, including 139 innings of work in center field. The right-handed hitter won’t walk much but also hasn’t had much of an issue with strikeouts during his time in Triple-A.
Dodgers Release Danny Espinosa
The Dodgers have released veteran infielder Danny Espinosa from their Triple-A club, tweets Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. He’d signed with the organization on a minor league pact back in early May.
Espinosa, who turned 31 last month, has bounced all over the league since opening the 2017 season with the Angels. The longtime Nationals infielder was released by the Halos last July, and has since had brief stints with five other organizations: the Rays, Mariners, Yankees, Blue Jays and Dodgers (though he only appeared in the Majors with Tampa Bay and Seattle).
Espinosa’s time with the Dodgers organization will prove to be brief, as he appeared in just 19 games with their Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City and batted .150/.203/.267 with a pair of homers but a 36.9 percent strikeout rate. Espinosa has long carried a strong defensive reputation and did slug 24 homers for the Nationals as recently as 2016, but he’s struggled mightily at the plate both in 2017 and again so far in 2018.
Dodgers Promote Dennis Santana, Place Kenta Maeda On Disabled List
6:55pm: Maeda has been placed on the 10-day disabled list after an MRI confirmed that he has a mild hip strain, per a club announcement, which also confirmed Santana’s promotion. The Dodgers did not provide a timeline for Maeda’s return from the DL.
2:05pm: The Dodgers are slated to promote young righty Dennis Santana, as the pitching prospect announced on his own Twitter account. He was already on the 40-man roster but has never previously appeared at the MLB level.
Santana, 22, originally signed out of the Dominican Republic as an infielder but has long since worked exclusively as a pitcher. He was placed on the MLB roster over the winter to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
Already an increasingly intriguing name to prospect hounds before the start of the current season, Santana has increased his stock with a good showing in 2018. Through ten starts — eight at Double-A and a pair at Triple-A — he carries a 2.54 ERA with 11.8 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9.
At present, it is not entirely clear how the Dodgers will utilize the live-armed youngster. He could conceivably make a start or two, fulfill a rotation spot for a lengthier stretch, or step into the bullpen. His performance will obviously help dictate those decisions, as will health developments regarding the rest of the staff.
The Dodgers, of course, have dealt with some rather significant injury issues with their rotation. Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, and Hyun-jin Ryu are already on the DL, and they could soon have additional company.
Veteran righty Kenta Maeda is set for an MRI today on his ailing hip, which forced him out of yesterday’s start early. It’s possible that Maeda will need a trip to the DL, per skipper Dave Roberts. (Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register was among those to tweet the news on Maeda.)
Clearly, the Dodgers will be hoping for a quick bounce back from Maeda, who has recorded 11.7 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9 in his 52 1/3 innings on the year. While his ERA edged north to 3.61 after yesterday’s shortened effort, fielding-independent metrics value him as a rather dominant starter (2.84 FIP / 3.06 xFIP / 3.19 SIERA).
Phillies Select Mitch Walding, Transfer Jerad Eickhoff To 60-Day DL
The Phillies announced that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Mitch Walding from Triple-A Lehigh Valley and created a spot on the 40-man roster by shifting righty Jerad Eickhoff from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL. Walding will step into the spot that had been previously occupied by Pedro Florimon, who has been placed on the 10-day disabled list. Florimon sustained a broken bone last night when he fouled a ball into his foot.
Walding, 25, has played third base almost exclusively in the minors, so he won’t be able to replicate Florimon’s ability to handle shortstop. But he’ll bring a productive Triple-A bat to the table, having slashed .271/.379/.484 through 182 plate appearances so far in his first crack at the Triple-A level. Though Walding’s 29.7 percent strikeout rate and .372 BABIP in Lehigh Valley suggest that his overall line is likely to regress, he’s also walked at a 14.3 percent clip and largely continued the uptick in power he displayed at the Double-A level in 2017, when he smacked a career-high 25 homers.
As for Eickhoff, the move is largely a procedural one. The right-hander was placed on the 10-day disabled list at the beginning of the season due to a strained lat muscle, and the team recently halted his rehab program after he experienced some numbness in his fingertips. Eickhoff wouldn’t have returned by the 60-day mark of the season anyhow, and the move to the 60-day DL doesn’t reset his DL “clock,” so to speak, meaning he’ll still be eligible to be activated whenever the Phillies deem him healthy enough to embark on and complete a new minor league rehab assignment. That said, it’s not clear at all just when Eickhoff might be medically cleared to do so.
Mets Designate P.J. Conlon For Assignment
The Mets announced that they’ve designated left-hander P.J. Conlon for assignment and transferred Juan Lagares to the 60-day disabled list on Wednesday. Their spots on the 40-man roster will go to right-handers Tim Peterson and Scott Copeland, each of whom has been selected to the Major League roster (as was reported earlier today). Furthermore, New York optioned right-hander Jacob Rhame and infielder Phillip Evans to Triple-A Las Vegas and recalled left-hander Buddy Baumann from Triple-A.
Conlon, 24, enjoyed a strong season with the Mets’ Double-A affiliate in 2017, tossing 136 innings of 3.38 ERA ball with 7.2 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9, but he’s endured a disastrous 2018 campaign so far. Though Conlon has had one significant milestone in 2018, making his MLB debut, his results on the mound have been ugly in both the Majors and the minors. The former 13th-round pick (2015) was tagged for seven runs on 12 hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings for the Mets, and he’s limped to a 6.58 ERA with 7.5 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 39 2/3 innings out of the rotation in Las Vegas.
The Mets will have a week to trade Conlon or place him on outright or release waivers. He’s not considered to be an elite prospect, but he entered the year ranked 24th among Mets farmhands, per MLB.com, where Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo suggested that he could ultimately function as a multi-inning bullpen piece capable of setting down both lefties and righties.
Tigers Release Gerson Moreno, Announce Pitching Roster Moves
3:51pm: Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press adds some context to the surprising release of Moreno (Twitter link). The 22-year-old is set to undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, GM Al Avila revealed today.
Avila added that placing Moreno on release waivers was the best way to get him off the 40-man roster while ensuring a chance to retain him via a new minor league deal (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Jason Beck). A player claimed off release waivers can reject the assignment to a new club in favor of free agency, whereas a player claimed from outright waivers would not (unless he had previously been outrighted or has three-plus years of MLB experience — neither of which applies to Moreno). The Tigers are interested in bringing Moreno back to the organization if he reaches the open market, per Avila.
2:35pm: The Tigers announced that they have released righty Gerson Moreno. That clears a 40-man roster spot, leaving the team with one opening.
Moreno, 22, was given a roster spot last fall to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. He had struggled at the Double-A level but found some success in the Arizona Fall League.
Entering the current season, Moreno graded among Detroit’s more notable prospects (see, e.g., MLB.com, Fangraphs) owing to his big fastball and reasonably promising (albeit still-inconsistent) secondary offerings. Thus far in 2018, Moreno’s return to the penultimate level of the minors has gone poorly. Through 17 innings, he carries a 5.29 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 7.4 BB/9. Given the promise he showed heading into the season, it registers as at least some degree of surprise that the Tigers would simply cut him loose based on a handful of Double-A innings — no matter how discouraging they may have been.
Detroit also announced, as it had indicated previously, that lefties Francisco Liriano (hamstring strain) and Daniel Stumpf (ulnar nerve irritation) are each headed to the 10-day DL. Two relievers — righty Johnny Barbato and southpaw Ryan Carpenter — have been recalled to replace them on the active roster. At this time, it’s still not known how long Liriano and Stumpf are expected to be sidelined.
Mets To Select Contracts Of Tim Peterson, Scott Copeland
11:55am: Righty Scott Copeland is the other pitcher heading up, per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter). He’ll also need to be added to the 40-man.
Copeland, 30, briefly cracked the majors back in 2015. He has taken five starts this year in the upper minors, working to a 3.81 ERA with 6.7 K/9 against 5.4 BB/9 in 28 1/3 innings.
11:48am: New York will likely also add another arm, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports on Twitter. It’s not yet clear who that will be, but Puma says the mystery hurler may currently be on the Double-A roster.
11:12am: The Mets are set to promote right-hander Tim Peterson to the majors, per Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. Corresponding roster moves have yet to be announced.
Peterson, 27, has pitched in the minors since 2012, when he was taken with a 20th round pick out of the University of Kentucky. He reached the Triple-A level briefly last year after a strong showing at Double-A, then returned to Las Vegas to begin the current campaign.
Over his 22 appearances this year, Peterson has thrown 27 2/3 innings of 3.58 ERA ball. He has held opposing batters to 18 hits and eight walks while racking up forty strikeouts.
While the New York organization surely preferred not to make any 40-man moves, the club’s pitching depth has been pressed to its limits by recent injuries. Noah Syndergaard was supposed to start today but ended up on the DL, leaving Jason Vargas to take the ball on short rest. And Steven Matz left his outing yesterday early, putting further strain on the relief unit. (Rather improbably, both he and Syndergaard were felled in succession by finger injuries.)
Red Sox Sign Adam Lind To Minor League Deal
The Red Sox have agreed to a minor league contract with veteran first baseman Adam Lind, reports Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston (Twitter links). The ISE Baseball client was recently released by the Yankees. Drellich notes that president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has confirmed the agreement to him, though the club has not yet issued a more formal announcement of the signing.
Lind is coming off a strong season with the Nationals, having raked at a.303/.362/.512 clip and clubbed 14 homers in 301 plate appearances. The 34-year-old has posted an OPS+ of 123 or better in four of the past five seasons — an ugly 2016 in Seattle being the lone exception — and batted a combined .282/.348/.473 through 2142 plate appearances in that time. He’s totaled 94 plate appearances between the Yankees’ Class-A and Triple-A affiliates this season, slashing a combined .302/.362/.477 with three homers in that time.
The addition of Lind will give the Red Sox some additional depth at first base and designated hitter following the surprising DFA and seemingly likely release of Hanley Ramirez. He’s a bit redundant with Mitch Moreland — a hitter who comes with similar platoon issues and a much better glove at first base, though. Lind, after all, has a disastrous .217/.263/.329 slash against left-handed pitchers over the course of 12-year MLB career. He’s been mostly limited to first base, though the Nats did trot him out to left field for 197 innings last season. That marked his first work on the outfield grass since 2010, and he unsurprisingly did not rate well there in the estimation of defensive metrics.