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Dodgers Release Cavan Biggio

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Aug. 9: The Dodgers have released Biggio, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com.

Aug. 5: The Dodgers have reinstated Freddie Freeman from the restricted list and designated Cavan Biggio for assignment, reports Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Biggio joined the Dodgers organization in a June trade with the Blue Jays. Over 3o games with L.A., he hit .192/.306/.329 with a paltry .635 OPS and 88 wRC+. The 29-year-old logged most of his playing time at third base, but he took over duties at first base while Freeman was away from the team.

Freeman went on the family emergency list when his son was hospitalized in late July. The first baseman was later transferred to the restricted list as a formality; players can only stay on the family emergency list for a maximum of seven days. Thankfully, his son has been discharged from the hospital and returned home (per Chelsea Freeman on Instagram). Freeman will make his return to the Dodgers lineup in tonight’s game against the Phillies.

The Dodgers already had an open spot on their 40-man roster, but they needed to free up a spot on the active roster to reinstate Freeman. Given Biggio’s poor performance with L.A. and the team’s recent acquisition of another utility player (Amed Rosario) and another left-handed hitter (Kevin Kiermaier) for the bench, it was little surprise that Biggio was the odd man out. Moreover, Ardaya notes that the Dodgers are also hoping to activate shortstop Miguel Rojas from the 10-day IL at some point in the coming days. He, too, will require a spot on the active roster.

If another team claims Biggio off of waivers, they will take responsibility for the small portion of his 2024 salary that is still on the Dodgers’ books; the Blue Jays took on a significant amount of his remaining salary as part of their trade with the Dodgers in June. He is making $4.21MM this season in his second year of arbitration eligibility. If he goes unclaimed, the Dodgers can attempt to send him outright to the minor leagues, but as a player with more than five years of MLB service time, Biggio would have the right to reject the assignment without forfeiting any salary.

In additional Dodgers news, Ardaya reports that the team is planning to activate one of Brusdar Graterol or Michael Grove from the IL “as soon as tonight.” Grove, 27, has been on the 15-day IL since mid-June with an intercostal strain. He has a 5.06 ERA (but a 2.97 SIERA) in 37 1/3 innings pitched this season. Graterol, 25, has been out all season with a shoulder injury. He is on the 60-day IL, so he is not currently taking up a spot on the 40-man roster. However, the Dodgers already had an open 40-man spot before they activated Freeman and DFA’d Biggio, so they would only need to free up a spot on the 26-man roster to activate Graterol.

Pirates To Select Domingo German

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The Pirates will select the contract of right-hander Domingo German from Triple-A Indianapolis prior to tomorrow’s game with the Dodgers, according to reporter Mike Rodriguez (X link).  The move comes a day before German’s opt-out date in his most recent minor league contract with Pittsburgh.

It was just over a year ago that German began treatment for alcohol abuse, following a reported incident of an intoxicated German entering the Yankees’ clubhouse and arguing with teammates.  The Yankees placed German on the restricted list and outrighted him off the roster following the season, with German opting to become a free agent.  The trip to the open market led to his first minor league deal with the Pirates, and after his exercised an opt-out clause in mid-July, he re-signed with the Bucs a few days later.

German’s results in Indianapolis have been mixed, as he has a 5.29 ERA, 21.9% strikeout rate, and 10.3% walk rate in 68 Triple-A innings.  Some of the heavier damage did occur earlier in his Triple-A tenure, though it could be that the Pirates’ hand is being somewhat forced by the pending opt-out date.  It isn’t clear if German will start tomorrow’s game against Los Angeles, or if the Pirates might view him as something of a piggyback starter or long man behind an opener.

Mitch Keller, Paul Skenes, and Bailey Falter are lined up to start during the three-game series, so if German does get the start, he could push everyone back a day just to provide the regular rotation members with some extra rest.  Pittsburgh doesn’t play on August 15 and then embarks on a string of 13 games in as many days, so a de facto six-man rotation could help keep everyone fresh for that stretch.  Skenes’ workload has been a big subplot of his incredible rookie season and Jared Jones just started a rehab assignment and could be back from the IL in a couple of weeks, further shaking up the Pirates’ pitching plans as the club also tries to contend for a wild card berth.

German’s first appearance with the Pirates will mark his first Major League game with a team besides the Yankees, as the righty posted a 4.41 ERA over 522 1/3 innings with New York from 2017-23.  German missed the 2019 postseason and the entire 2020 season due to an 81-game suspension for a violation of the MLB/MLBPA domestic violence policy, and his checkered resume also includes a 10-game suspension in 2023 for using foreign substances on the ball, as well as the aforementioned stint on the restricted list.  In between those two absences last season, German entered the record books by throwing a perfect game against the A’s on June 28, 2023.

Diamondbacks Claim Andrew Knizner

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The Diamondbacks have claimed catcher Andrew Knizner off waivers from the Rangers and optioned him to Triple-A Reno, per announcements from both clubs. The backstop was designated for assignment by Texas earlier this week. Arizona designated right-hander Luis Frías for assignment to open a 40-man spot.

Knizner, 29, was non-tendered by the Cardinals at the end of last year then signed with the Rangers, agreeing to a $1.825MM salary. He’s not considered a strong defender but put up a respectable .241/.288/.424 batting line with St. Louis last year while hitting ten home runs in 241 plate appearances. The resulting 92 wRC+ indicates he was 8% worse than the league average hitter but that’s not bad by backup catcher standards.

The Rangers were likely hoping for something in that ballpark but didn’t get it. They sent him to the plate 93 times this year as backup to Jonah Heim but Knizner slashed .167/.183/.211. He only hit one home run and drew walks at a tiny rate of 1.1%, a far drop from last year’s 5% clip, which was already subpar. Texas acquired Carson Kelly from the Tigers prior to the deadline and nudged Knizner off their roster.

For the Diamondbacks, there’s sense in putting in the claim and hoping for a bounceback. Most of their playing time behind the plate this year has gone to Gabriel Moreno and Tucker Barnhart but neither is on the active roster now. When Moreno was on the injured list earlier in the year due to a sprained left thumb, José Herrera was recalled to pair with Barnhart. When Moreno was ready to return, the club decided to keep Herrera, so Barnhart was designated for assignment and released last month. But Moreno went back on the IL again earlier this week, this time due to a left adductor strain.

Adrian Del Castillo was added to the roster to take Moreno’s place and pair with Herrera. The Snakes evidently feel okay riding with that duo for now, but sending Knizner to Reno gives them some extra depth and gives Knizner a chance for some regular plate appearances in a hitter-friendly setting.

The length of his optional assignment could have impacts for him personally. He came into this season with four years and 21 days of service time. A new year rolls over at 172 days, meaning he needs 151 days in the majors this year to hit the five-year mark. He added 123 days to that before the Rangers optioned him prior to his DFA, so he’s still shy of the line but could get over it if he’s recalled at some point for a few weeks.

Frías, now 26, has spent his entire professional career in the Diamondbacks’ organization. An international signing out of the Dominican Republic in 2015, he climbed his way through the minor league system and was added to the club’s 40-man roster in November of 2020, keeping him out of that year’s Rule 5 draft.

He has spent the past four years providing the Diamondbacks with an optionable relief arm. Players normally only have three option years but are sometimes granted a fourth. As MLBTR covered previously, a club is granted a fourth option on a player who has exhausted the first three but without playing five full seasons, with a “full” season defined as 90 active days either in the majors or minors. The shortened 2020 season reportedly does not count. It appears Frias didn’t play a “full” season until 2019, then 2020 didn’t count, so he only had four “full” seasons after 2023.

Over his four seasons being shuttled between the big leagues and the farm, he has thrown 57 2/3 major league innings with a 6.55 earned run average. His 18.1% strikeout rate, 15.6% walk rate and 41.7% ground ball rate are each a few ticks worse than league average.

In the minors, he’s racked up more strikeouts but with the control still being an issue. From the start of 2021 to the present, he has thrown 215 1/3 innings on the farm with a 4.43 ERA. He has struck out 28.5% of batters faced but given out walks at a 10% clip.

Frías will be out of options next year, so perhaps he was running out of time with the Diamondbacks. Since the trade deadline has passed, they will have to put him on waivers in the coming days. If another club puts in a claim, they could option him for the rest of the year but he would have less roster flexibility starting next year. He has between one and two years of service time and therefore has five extra years of club control still won’t be arbitration eligible this winter.

Blue Jays Acquire Tommy Nance From Padres

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The Blue Jays announced that left-hander Génesis Cabrera has been placed on the paternity list with right-hander Tommy Nance selected to take his place on the active roster. The Blue Jays’ 40-man roster count was at 37 after their deadline dealings but now jumps to 38. Nance had been with the Padres on a minor league deal but the Jays acquired him for cash yesterday, per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com on X.

Though the trade deadline has passed, certain swaps are still allowed. MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently explored the different ways teams can still add to their rosters after the deadline and noted that trades are still allowed if the players involved have not been on a 40-man roster this year.

Nance, 33, signed a minor league deal with the Padres in December and had been with their Triple-A club all year until this trade. He has thrown 33 1/3 innings over his 26 appearances in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League with a 4.05 earned run average. He struck out 23.3% of batters faced, limited walks to a 5.3% clip and got batters to hit grounders at a 51% rate.

Despite that decent performance, he wasn’t likely to crack the San Diego bullpen, especially after they bolstered it at the deadline by trading for Jason Adam, Tanner Scott and Bryan Hoeing. The Toronto bullpen, on the other hand, is far more open. They traded Yimi García, Trevor Richards and Nate Pearson prior to the deadline. They also placed Jordan Romano on the injured list and now will be without Cabrera for at least a brief spell.

That will give Nance the opportunity to build upon his career numbers. He pitched for the 2021 Cubs and 2022 Marlins and currently has a 5.47 ERA in 72 1/3 innings. His 10.5% walk rate in that time was a tad high but his 26.9% strikeout rate and 50.5% ground ball rate were both a few ticks better than average. His .324 batting average on balls in play, 68% strand rate and 18.9% home run to fly ball ratio all helped put some more runs on the board. For what it’s worth, his 4.23 FIP and 3.48 SIERA suggest he may have deserved better than the ERA would indicate.

Nance was still with the Marlins last year but missed the first few months of the season with a shoulder strain. He was reinstated from the IL in August but then optioned to Triple-A, exhausting his final option season in the process. He was then returned to the IL due to an oblique strain, making it mostly a lost season for him. He was outrighted by the Marlins at season’s end, elected free agency and then signed his aforementioned deal with the Padres.

The righty is now out of options but has just over two years of major league service time. If he can hang onto his roster spot until the end of the season, he still won’t be arbitration eligible and can be cheaply retained into the future.

Pirates Designate Edward Olivares For Assignment

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The Pirates announced Thursday that they’ve placed right-hander Colin Holderman on the 15-day IL with a right wrist sprain, selected the contract of righty Ben Heller from Triple-A Indianapolis and opened a spot on the 40-man roster by designating outfielder Edward Olivares for assignment.

Olivares, 28, was acquired from the Royals in the offseason when Kansas City needed to open a roster spot after signing right-hander Chris Stratton. Olivares had qualified for arbitration for the first time and he agreed avoid arbitration by accepting a $1.35MM salary from the Pirates.

Unfortunately, his tenure in Pittsburgh was a bit less than what the club was expecting. He had slashed .270/.322/.439 with the Royals over 2022 and 2023 for a combined wRC+ of 106 in that time but he hit .224/.291/.333 with the Pirates this year, with that production leading to a wRC+ of 75. He was optioned to Triple-A about a month ago and is hitting .245/.305/.321 at that level for a wRC+ of just 64.

He is in his final option season and will be out of options next year. Between that and his performance, it seems he was getting pushed out of the club’s plans. They fortified their outfield mix by acquiring Bryan De La Cruz and utility player Isiah Kiner-Falefa prior to the deadline.

With the trade deadline now in the past, the Pirates will have to put Olivares on waivers in the coming days. It’s possible that a club could view this year’s downturn as simply bad luck, as his batting average on balls in play is just .250 this year. That’s a drop from the .306 BABIP he had over the two prior seasons and this year’s .290 league average. His 8.2% walk rate this year was actually a noticeable increase from the 5.7% rate he had in the two preceding campaigns. His exit velocity and hard hit rate are down a bit but not drastically so. His speed and arm strength are above average but he’s received poor defensive grades overall.

If some team does put in a claim, Olivares can be optioned for the rest of this year and then retained beyond this season via arbitration. But as mentioned, he will be out of options by next year. If he clears waivers in the coming days, he will have the right to elect free agency as a player with more than three years of service time. But since he is below the five-year mark, heading to the open market would mean forfeiting what’s left of this year’s salary. With roughly $375K still to be paid out, he would likely accept an outright assignment and stick with the Bucs in a non-roster capacity.

As for Heller, this is the second time this year the Pirates have selected him to the roster. The last time resulted in him being designated for assignment and outrighted after allowing 11 earned runs in two innings. His time in the minors has gone far better as he has a 3.55 earned run average in 33 Triple-A innings pitched this year while striking out 40.7% of batters faced. He’s out of options but can be retained via arbitration beyond this season if he manages to hold onto his roster spot.

Orioles To Sign J.D. Davis To Minor League Deal

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The Orioles are signing infielder J.D. Davis, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post on X. It’s a minor league deal for Davis, per Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner on X. The veteran was released by the Yankees last week.

Davis 31, came into 2024 on a solid five-year run of being an above-average bat at the major league level. But this season has been an unusual one in a few different ways, which have largely been disappointing for him.

He and the Giants went to an arbitration hearing in the winter, which he won, though it turned out to be a hollow victory. The arbiter sided with him and his reps, opting for their $6.9MM salary as opposed to the $6.5MM figure the team sought. However, under the collective bargaining agreement, arb salaries are only guaranteed if the sides avoid a hearing.

The Giants then took advantage of the weak free agent market, signing both Matt Chapman and Blake Snell after they lingered in free agency into the month of March. The Chapman deal nudged Davis off his perch as the club’s regular third baseman, so they released him. Since his salary wasn’t guaranteed, the Giants only had to pay him 30 days’ termination pay, roughly $1.1MM.

Davis then went out into the aforementioned tepid free agent market and had to settle for a $2.5MM guarantee from the Athletics, far less than what he was slated to earn in San Francisco. With Oakland, he missed a couple of weeks while on the injured list with a right adductor strain and didn’t get into much of a groove around that IL stint. He hit .236/304/.366 for a wRC+ of 96 and was designated for assignment in June.

The Yankees then acquired him but didn’t give him much playing time. He was on the roster for over a month but battled an illness and only got into seven games, hitting .105/.227/.158 in those. He was designated for assignment just prior to the trade deadline but the Yanks couldn’t find a taker. Since he has more than five years of major league service time, he could have rejected an outright assignment while retaining the remainder of his salary. The Yankees skipped that formality by releasing him.

It’s undoubtedly been a rough year but it’s a sensible flier for the O’s to take, especially on a minor league deal. Davis had a robust slash of .268/.352/.443 from 2019 to 2023 for a wRC+ of 120, indicating he was 20% better than the league average hitter in that time period. Since the Yankees released him, they are paying what’s left of his contact. If the O’s select him to the roster at any point, they will only have to pay him the prorated major league minimum salary, with that amount subtracted from what the Yankees pay.

Baltimore recently placed both Jorge Mateo and Jordan Westburg on the injured list, subtracting two pieces of their infield mix. Prospect Coby Mayo is up covering third base now but has six strikeouts and no hits through his first 12 plate appearances. Ramón Urías is there as well but he isn’t having a strong season, hitting .238/.310/.370 for a wRC+ of 96 with -3 Defensive Runs Saved and -6 Outs Above Average.

If Davis can get into good form and Mayo keeps struggling, the veteran could be a low cost fix to the problem for the O’s. Davis will presumably report to Triple-A Norfolk in the coming days and get some regular at-bats, something that he’s had difficulty finding this year.

Reds Sign Casey Kelly To Minor League Deal

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The Reds have signed right-hander Casey Kelly to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Louisville, per an announcement from Louisville. Kelly, the son of Bats manager Pat Kelly, was released by the Korea Baseball Organization’s LG Twins last month.

Kelly, 34, was once a first-round pick by the Red Sox back in 2008. Included alongside Anthony Rizzo in the trade that brought Adrian Gonzalez to Boston, the righty was a consensus top-30 prospect in the sport prior to his big league debut with the Padres in 2012. Unfortunately, Kelly’s career in stateside ball didn’t take off the way his prospect status might have suggested. He struggled badly in his rookie season with a 6.21 ERA and 4.78 FIP in six starts for the Padres, and wouldn’t resurface in the big leagues until 2015. He struggled in brief cups of coffee for the Padres and Braves before eventually finding some small-sample size success with the Giants in 2018. In San Francisco, the righty pitched to a solid 3.04 ERA with a 4.22 FIP in seven appearances (three starts) that totaled 23 2/3 innings of work.

That performance wasn’t enough to earn him more playing time in the majors, but it did grab attention overseas, and Kelly signed his first contract with the KBO’s LG Twins prior to the 2019 season. Kelly turned in an excellent season in his first year overseas as he posted a sterling 2.55 ERA in 180 1/3 frames across 29 starts despite a strikeout rate of just 16.9%. Kelly remained with the club for more than half a decade and posted excellent numbers as a stalwart of the Twins’ rotation, with a 3.08 ERA in 875 2/3 innings of work entering the 2024 season.

While some reporting indicated that there was stateside interest in Kelly’s services this year, the right-hander remained with the Twins on a one year deal during the offseason. His results took a turn for the worse this year, however, and he surrendered a lackluster 4.51 ERA while striking out just 13.9% of opponents in 19 starts before he was eventually cut loose to make room on the club’s roster for newly-signed righty Elieser Hernandez. That’s opened the door for Kelly to return to stateside ball for the first time since 2018, though he’ll do so with a Reds organization where he faces some stiff competition to make it to the major league level.

Cincinnati is currently deploying a rotation of Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott, Nick Martinez, and Carson Spiers with Jakob Junis in a multi-inning relief role. Of that group, Junis’s 108 ERA+ is the weakest, leaving no obvious weak link to be replaced. An injury or two could open up spots with the big league club, of course, but even then Kelly would have to put himself ahead of not only fellow non-roster veterans like Justus Sheffield but also pieces already on the club’s 40-man roster like Lyon Richardson in order to crack the big league roster. Still, it’s certainly possible to imagine a strong showing from Kelly in the minors down the stretch leading to further interest in his services in affiliated ball headed into the 2025 campaign, even if he doesn’t receive an opportunity in the majors this year.

Red Sox Place Tyler O’Neill On 10-Day IL, Activate Chris Martin

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The Red Sox announced a series of roster moves this evening, headlined by the club placing outfielder Tyler O’Neill on the 10-day injured list due to a left leg infection. The move is retroactive to August 4. Replacing O’Neill on the active roster is infielder Enmanuel Valdez, who has been recalled to the big league roster, and the Red Sox also activated right-hander Chris Martin from the 15-day IL. Lefty Cam Booser was optioned to Triple-A to make room for Martin.

O’Neill, 29, was acquired from the Cardinals over the offseason and has enjoyed an excellent campaign during his first season in Boston. In 342 trips to the plate this season, the 29-year-old has slashed an excellent .268/.357/.544 (142 wRC+) with 16 doubles and 22 homers. While he’s striking out at a hefty 31.9% clip, he’s paired those strong power numbers with a solid 11.1% walk rate that has given him a more well-rounded profile than he flashed in his career-best 2021 campaign when he crushed 34 homers and posted a 143 wRC+ but walked at a clip of just 7.1%.

The slugger’s performance this year seems likely to line the pending free agent up for hefty raise in free agency this winter, although one red flag for O’Neill has been his frequent trips to the shelf. After suffering hamstring, back, foot, and shoulder injuries during his final two seasons with St. Louis, he’s now made three trips to the shelf with the Red Sox this year: once for a concussion in April, once due to knee inflammation in May, and now today’s most recent ailment that manager Alex Cora described to reporters (including Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe) as a worsening infection on his left leg that has caused swelling.

The silver lining in O’Neill’s repeated trips to the IL this year is that they’ve all been fairly short-lived, and Cora indicated that this one should be more of the same as he’s likely to be activated once eligible to return next week. In the meantime, the Red Sox figure to turn to some combination of Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Rob Refsnyder in the outfield. With Rafaela frequenting the outfield in recent days, Valdez should help to shore up the club’s middle infield mix alongside David Hamilton, Nick Sogard, and Romy Gonzalez. The 25-year-old enjoyed a strong rookie season in 2023 but has taken a step back this year with a .226/.282/.402 slash line in 182 trips to the plate at the big league level.

As for Martin, the right-hander’s return to action is welcome news for a beleaguered Red Sox bullpen that has been second-worst in the majors since the start of July, ahead of only the White Sox. The 38-year-old veteran sports a solid 3.42 ERA with a matching 3.40 FIP in 26 1/3 innings of work this year and is coming off an even better season in 2023 where he dominated to the tune of an eye-popping 1.05 ERA in 55 appearances. Adding Martin to the late-inning mix to be the primary set-up man for closer Kenley Jansen should further shore up a bullpen that got reinforcements in the form of Lucas Sims and Luis Garcia prior to the trade deadline. He’ll take the roster spot of Booser, who heads to Triple-A to become the club’s top depth option with an excellent 2.77 ERA and 2.99 FIP in 39 innings of work this year.

While the bullpen will hopefully be revitalized by the return of Martin, Cora suggested to reporters today (including Abraham) that the Red Sox intend to skip right-hander Nick Pivetta’s next start. While the veteran righty doesn’t appear to be injured, Cora indicated that he’s “not responding well” coming out of his last start and that the club had some concerns about a dip in his velocity. With a day off scheduled tomorrow, the Red Sox will be able to utilize the rest of their rotation on regular rest without needing to call up another arm to take the spot on Pivetta. The righty has a middling 4.44 ERA through 18 starts this year thanks primarily due to a trio of brutal outings his last three times out that have seen him surrender 13 runs (12 earned) in 14 innings of work while serving up six home runs.

Dodgers Place Brusdar Graterol On IL With Grade 1 Hamstring Strain

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6:57pm: As relayed by MLB.com’s Juan Toribio, Roberts corrected himself this evening about Graterol’s injury, noting that the right-hander had suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain. A Grade 1 hamstring strain is the most mild form of strain, while a Grade 3 strain constitutes a complete tear of the hamstring. This is, of course, excellent news for Dodgers fans and Roberts went on to suggest that the club “remains hopeful” that the righty can return at some point this season.

5:22pm: The Dodgers announced Graterol’s placement on the injured list this evening and activated Grove to take his roster spot as expected. The club also announced that shortstop Miguel Rojas was being activated from the injured list and optioned outfielder James Outman to make room for him on the active roster.

8:40am: Dodgers right-hander Brusdar Graterol was removed from last night’s game in obvious pain and the club announced that he has a right hamstring strain. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters after the game that the strain was the Grade 3 variety, the most severe type. Roberts stopped short of saying that Graterol is officially done for the year but it seems likely that will be the case. Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic and Alden González of ESPN were among those to report on the details.

It’s a brutal blow for Graterol personally, as he has already missed the majority of the season. He was sidelined in the spring due to hip tightness and inflammation in his throwing shoulder and began the season on the injured list due to the shoulder issue. The shoulder inflammation lingered long enough that he stayed on the IL until Monday. Last night was his first major league appearance of the year, which lasted eight pitches before he hurt himself. Now it seems likely that those eight pitches will be the totality of his major league work for the 2024 season.

For a frame of reference, the Royals put outfielder Kyle Isbel on the IL on May 5 of last year with a Grade 2 hamstring strain and estimated his recovery timeline to be about six weeks. He was reinstated on June 27, just over seven weeks later. Every injury is a unique situation but it seems fair to expect a longer timeline than that, given that Graterol’s strain is a higher grade. There’s just over six weeks left in the regular season now, so the circumstances seem to be pointing to Graterol being done for the year. Perhaps he can make a quick recovery and be a factor in October if the Dodgers make a long postseason run, but even in that scenario, he would have to convince the club that he’s healthy enough to be an upgrade over someone else already on the roster.

It’s a loss for the Dodger bullpen, as Graterol has been a mainstay of their relief corps prior to this year. He made 171 appearances for the club over the 2020 to 2023 seasons with a 2.69 earned run average. His 18.9% strikeout rate in that time was subpar but he limited walks to a 5.5% rate and got hitters to pound the ball into the ground at a massive 62.5% clip. He was able to earn enough of Roberts’ trust to rack up 11 saves and 38 holds.

The Dodgers already have relievers Ryan Brasier, Connor Brogdon, Blake Treinen and Michael Grove on the injured list. Graterol will be joining that group though Grove is likely to be reinstated to take his roster spot, per Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times on X. The relief corps has a collective 3.61 ERA that places them fifth in the league, so they should be an effective group even without Graterol, but it’s still not ideal when a serviceable arm goes down like this.

Graterol reached Super Two status after the 2022 season and is therefore in his second of four arbitration seasons. He made $1.225MM last year and is making $2.7MM here in 2024. With this season being almost a total wash, he’ll likely be in line for a similar salary in 2025. He would also be eligible for arbitration going into 2026 and is slated for free agency after that season.

Cubs Sign Lucas Luetge To Minor League Deal

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The Cubs have signed left-hander Lucas Luetge to a minor league deal, according to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. Luetge had spent the season in the Red Sox organization to this point but opted out of that arrangement last week.

A veteran of seven MLB seasons, the 37-year-old Luetge made his big league debut with Seattle back in 2012. The lefty spent four seasons shuttling between the majors and the minors with the Mariners, and during that time he posted a 4.35 ERA with a 4.27 FIP in 111 appearances in the majors with a similar 4.21 ERA across 94 appearances in the minors. Luetge’s middling numbers and a subpar 19% strikeout rate that he paired with an elevated 12.1% walk rate led the Mariners to outright him off their 40-man roster in September of 2015.

That outright kicked off a five-year stretch without appearing in the majors for Luetge. During those years, the southpaw bounced between the Reds, Orioles, Diamondbacks, and Angels organizations. He struggled badly with the Reds, Orioles, and Angels but enjoyed a resurgence at the Triple-A level with Arizona in 2019, pitching to a 3.14 ERA in 43 innings of work with a solid 25% strikeout rate at the highest level of the minors. The cancelled minor league season in 2020 prevented Luetge from building on that success, but the lefty finally landed another opportunity in the majors in 2021 when he made the Yankees’ Opening Day roster out of Spring Training.

While in the Bronx, the southpaw enjoyed the best seasons of his career and worked his way into being a preferred left-handed option for manager Aaron Boone while with the club for the 2021 and ’22 seasons. In 129 2/3 frames for the Yankees in those seasons, Luetge dominated to the tune of a 2.71 ERA with a 2.92 FIP while seeing massive improvements in his strikeout and walk rates as compared to his time in Seattle. He struck out 25% of batters faced for New York while walking just 5.8%, making him one of the more valuable relievers in the club’s bullpen during his tenure in the Bronx.

Given that status, it was something of a shock when the Yankees designated him for assignment early in the 2022-23 offseason. He was dealt to the Braves shortly thereafter and began the season in the Atlanta bullpen, although that stint was fairly short-lived as he allowed eleven runs in 9 2/3 innings of work in his first nine appearances as a Brave. The lefty was outrighted off the club’s 40-man roster but remained with the organization at the Triple-A level long enough to return to the majors down the stretch for four scoreless innings. The Braves did not retain him for the 2024 campaign, however, and that led him to a minor league deal with Boston. He pitched very well in his stint at Triple-A Worcester this year with a 3.02 ERA and 26.7% strikeout rate, but was unable to crack a fairly deep Red Sox bullpen that had plenty of left-handed options.

Fortunately for Luetge, it’s not difficult to imagine him finding greener pastures in Chicago. While the Cubs’ bullpen has been the best in baseball by ERA since June 1, the club has only veteran lefty Drew Smyly available as a left-handed option following a lat strain that’s likely to put fireballer Luke Little on the injured list for the remainder of the 2024 campaign. Veteran reliever Mark Leiter Jr. helped to fill in the gaps as a rare right-hander who pitched better against southpaws thanks to his impressive splitter, but Leiter was dealt to the Yankees ahead of the trade deadline. That leaves a fairly clear opening in Chicago’s bullpen for another southpaw, and it’s certainly possible to imagine the Cubs opting to give Luetge a look in the majors at some point during the stretch run.

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