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Phillies Reinstate Ranger Suarez From 15-Day IL

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The Phillies announced that Ranger Suarez has been reinstated from the 15-day injured list, and the left-hander will be on the mound to start today’s game against the Royals.  Left-hander Tyler Gilbert was optioned to Triple-A yesterday in advance of Suarez’s planned return.

Suarez last pitched just over a month ago, when he allowed three runs over 5 1/3 innings in a 7-2 Phillies loss to the Twins on July 22.  That was the fourth consecutive rough outing for Suarez, as his attempts to pitch through back pain were clearly having an adverse effect on his performance.  Suarez skipped the All-Star Game to get some extra rest for his back problems, but after returning from the break to post that shaky start against Minnesota, the decision was made to place him on the IL for a fuller recovery period.

After emerging as a solid member of Philadelphia’s rotation in 2022-23, Suarez took a step forward as a potential ace by posting a 1.83 ERA over his first 16 starters and 98 1/3 innings of the 2024 campaign.  Even with his last four starts boosting that ERA up to 2.87 over 119 1/3 frames for the season, Suarez’s overall numbers are still excellent, such as a 52.3% grounder rate, a 5.6% walk rate, and very strong soft-contact metrics.  The lefty is more of a contact specialist than a strikeout pitcher, but his 24.1% strikeout rate is above the league average, sitting in the 62nd percentile of all pitchers.

Suarez’s production has been reflective of the Phillies’ season, as the Phils have also had some recent struggles after an outstanding first three months.  Philadelphia is only 19-25 since July 1, and while the Braves have had their own share of struggles, Atlanta now sits only five games behind the Phillies for first place in the NL East.  A five-game lead is still a pretty comfortable position to hold on August 24, and the Phillies can only hope that a healthy and effective Suarez can help get the club back into form during the pennant race and into October.

Twins Designate Steven Okert, Select Scott Blewett

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The Twins announced that left-hander Steven Okert was designated for assignment.  The move was made to create space on the 26-man and 40-man rosters for right-hander Scott Blewett, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A St. Paul.

Acquired from the Marlins for Nick Gordon back in February, Okert’s first (and potentially only) season in Minnesota has been inconsistent.  He had a 3.20 ERA in his first 25 1/3 innings and 29 appearances, but has since stumbled to a 9.90 ERA over his last 10 frames and 15 games.  The lowlight was a four-run implosion over one-third of an inning pitched in the Twins’ 7-5 loss to the Padres last Tuesday, though Okert did bounce back with two scoreless innings two subsequent appearances.

Okert’s 20.6% strikeout rate is the second-worst of his seven-year MLB career, and his longtime issues with control have continued in the form of a 10% walk rate.  While his hard-hit ball rate is one of the league’s best, his barrel rate is below average, resulting in six home runs allowed.  Okert has long been a fly-ball pitcher, and thus problems have arisen whenever he has been unable to keep the ball in the park.

As The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman recently observed, Okert has been hit hard in high-leverage and even medium-leverage situations this season, leaving the Twins in a tough spot whenever they’ve had to call on Okert in any beyond mop-up duty.  Okert had pretty even career splits heading into 2024, but right-handed batters have torched him for a .984 OPS over 95 plate appearances this season (while lefty swingers have only a .564 OPS in 65 PA).

While the three-batter minimum has ended the days of the true lefty specialist, Okert’s splits could be enough for a reliever-needy team to consider a waiver claim, if this team thinks it can either fix his issues against right-handed batters or simply do a better job of shielding him facing righty swingers.  Okert is in his first season of arbitration eligibility is playing on a $1,062,500 salary, so picking up the last five weeks’ worth of that salary represents a pretty minimal hit to a new clubs’s payroll.

Because Okert has previously been outrighted in his career, he has the right to reject an outright assignment from the Twins if he clears waivers, and then opt into free agency.  Okert is out of minor league options so the Twins had to DFA Okert before attempting to move him to Triple-A, and it could be that the two sides have an agreement in place about Okert accepting an assignment (if he clears waivers) and biding his time in St. Paul until a fresh arm is again needed in the big league bullpen.

Blewett faced a somewhat similar scenario when Minnesota designated him for assignment last week, as Blewett rejected an outright after clearing waivers, but then quickly re-signed with the Twins after first testing free agency.  The right-hander first signed a minor league contract with the Twins back in January, and his time on the big league roster consists of a single game — a scoreless inning on August 12 in the Twins’ 8-3 win over the Royals.  At Triple-A this season, Blewett has a 3.79 ERA, 22.7% strikeout rate, and 7.1% walk rate, with a .340 BABIP inflating his bottom-line numbers to some extent.

Prior to his lone game with the Twins, Blewett’s MLB resume consisted of eight innings over five appearances with Kansas City during the 2020-21 seasons.  During the 2022-23 seasons, Blewett pitched in the minors with the White Sox and Braves, plus he spent time abroad pitching in the Chinese Professional Baseball League.  It could be that this latest call-up will result in just another “cup of coffee” type of cameo for Blewett, but he’ll get some opportunity to show what he can do for a contending Twins club.

Mariners Place Yimi Garcia On 15-Day Injured List

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Prior to yesterday’s game, the Mariners placed right-hander Yimi Garcia on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his throwing elbow.  The placement is retroactive to August 20.  Left-hander Gabe Speier was called up from Triple-A Tacoma in the corresponding move.

This is the second time Garcia has hit the IL this season due to an elbow-related issue, as ulnar neuritis cost him about a month of action prior to the All-Star break when Garcia was still a member of the Blue Jays.  He made two appearances after that initial activation, and the Mariners were satisfied enough with his health to then acquire the veteran reliever in a trade with Toronto on July 26.  After posting a 2.57 ERA in his first seven innings and appearances out of Seattle’s bullpen, Garcia has allowed four runs over his last three appearances (two IP), and it is safe to guess that his elbow problems contributed to those recent struggles.

The backdated placement has already shortened Garcia’s IL stint from the minimum 15 days, but he’ll still be out until September.  Given that there isn’t much time left in the regular season, there is natural concern about when or if Garcia might pitch again, should his inflammation linger deeper into September.  Even missing “only” a month a la his previous IL placement would still represent a big chunk of the final stretch, leaving the Mariners short one of their key deadline additions as the team tries to get its season back on track.

Beyond just the 2024 campaign, the 34-year-old Garcia is scheduled to hit free agency this winter, so two elbow-related injuries won’t help him in the open market even if his overall numbers have been solid.  Garcia has a 3.46 ERA over 39 combined innings with Seattle and Toronto this season, along with a very impressive 32% strikeout rate.  That K% is a new personal best for Garcia over his 10 MLB seasons, though he has also received some good fortune in the form of a .202 BABIP and his 7.8% walk rate is his highest in the last four years.

Anthony Gose Elects Free Agency

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TODAY: Gose cleared waivers, as per his MLB.com profile page, and chose to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Columbus.

AUGUST 21: The Guardians have designated left-hander Anthony Gose for assignment, per their transactions tracker at MLB.com. Left-hander Joey Cantillo has been recalled to take his spot on the active roster.

This is the second time that Gose has been quickly designated for assignment after being added to Cleveland’s roster. The first stint led to one appearance but he didn’t get sent to the mound at all in the second stint. He is out of options and therefore can’t be sent to the minors unless he’s removed from the 40-man roster entirely and passed through waivers.

The converted outfielder underwent Tommy John surgery in September of 2022, then was non-tendered by the Guards. He re-signed with them on a two-year minor league deal, covering his rehab from that procedure and planned return to the mound this year.

His results both before and after the surgery have featured a lot of strikeouts but also a lot of walks. In 29 major league innings, from 2021 to the present, he has a 4.34 ERA, 30.9% strikeout rate and 13.8% walk rate. In his 39 Triple-A innings this year, he has a 3.46 ERA, 32.9% strikeout rate but a 15% walk rate.

With the trade deadline now passed, the Guardians will have no choice but to place Gose on waivers again. Players with at least three years of service time or a previous outright have the right to reject outright assignments and elect free agency, with Gose meeting both of those criteria. Last week, he passed through waivers unclaimed and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Columbus, so perhaps that sequence of events will take place again in the coming days.

Giants Sign Cavan Biggio To Minor League Contract

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The Giants signed Cavan Biggio to a minor league deal, the team announced (X link via Maria Guardado of MLB.com). The Dodgers released the infielder a couple weeks ago. He’s headed to Triple-A Sacramento.

Biggio has split the season between the Blue Jays and Dodgers. He’s hit .197/.316/.306 across 219 plate appearances. While Biggio has walked at a customarily strong 11% clip, he only has five homers in 74 games. This season’s 32% strikeout rate is a personal high. Biggio had below-average numbers with Toronto and L.A. and was designated for assignment by both clubs. The Dodgers sent minor league pitcher Braydon Fisher to the Jays in mid-June but moved on from Biggio around two months later.

While this has been a rough season, the lefty-hitting Biggio has average offensive numbers for his career. His .225/.341/.379 slash line over 520 games checks in two points better than average by measure of wRC+. That’s almost entirely driven by his very patient plate approach. Biggio works a ton of deep counts and takes plenty of walks, though that also comes with a lot of strikeouts.

Biggio was Toronto’s primary second baseman for a couple seasons early in his career. While the keystone is still his primary position, he has seen increasing work at the infield corners and in right field as he’s moved into a utility capacity. Thairo Estrada has had a poor season and the Giants have a righty-heavy bench group. Biggio offers some balance in a non-roster capacity for the season’s final few weeks.

Braves Sign Harold Ramirez To Minor League Deal

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The Braves inked Harold Ramírez to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Gwinnett. The news was announced (on X) by Gwinnett broadcaster Dave Lezotte.

It’s the third organization of the season for the right-handed hitting outfielder. Ramírez began the year with the Rays. He struggled over the first couple months and was released in June. He caught on with the Nationals, where he hit .243/.273/.365 in just under a month of play. Washington released him last week.

Between the two teams, Ramírez hit .261/.280/.324 across 246 plate appearances. A dearth of walks or power left him with a fairly empty batting average. Ramírez was a much more productive hitter between 2022-23. He combined for a .306/.348/.432 slash in nearly 900 trips over that two-year stretch in Tampa Bay. He made an extremely aggressive offensive approach work with good bat-t0-ball skills and a willingness to hit all fields. Ramírez feasted on left-handed pitching, teeing off a .374/.412/.509 clip with the platoon advantage.

There’s no downside for Atlanta in sending him to Gwinnett to see if he can recapture some of that form. The Rays are responsible for Ramírez’s $3.8MM salary. If the Braves call him up, they’d only need to pay the prorated portion of the $740K minimum for any time he’s on the MLB roster. Ramírez would technically be eligible for arbitration and controllable through 2025 in that instance, but he’d need a monster finish to the season for Atlanta to consider tendering him a contract that’d likely top $4MM.

Jorge Soler is back in tonight’s starting lineup after missing a few games with a hamstring issue. That should push Ramón Laureano back to the bench. Laureano, who played poorly enough early in the year that the Guardians released him, has rebounded with a .284/.318/.520 slash in 29 games for Atlanta. He has solidified his roster spot in the process. Barring injury, Ramírez’s best path to a job would be to replace Adam Duvall. The Braves have stuck by Duvall, who has mashed lefties (.260/.350/.529) but been unplayable against righty pitching (.146/.184/.224).

Ramírez would be eligible for postseason play if the Braves wanted to give him a look. That’s true regardless of whether he’s on the 40-man roster by September 1. Players who are in an organization on a non-roster deal by the start of the month can participate in the playoffs if the commissioner’s office approves them as injury substitutes. That’s a formality and happens with a couple players around the league in most years.

Giants Sign Andrew Knapp To Major League Deal

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The Giants signed catcher Andrew Knapp to a major league contract. Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic first observed (on X) that the switch-hitting backstop was in tonight’s starting lineup. San Francisco designated Jakson Reetz for assignment to create a 40-man opening. Knapp, an Apex Baseball client, reaches the majors for the first time this season.

Knapp had been in Triple-A with the Rangers. He signed an offseason minor league deal, opted out at the start of July, then returned to Texas on a new non-roster pact around the All-Star Break. The Rangers granted him his release yesterday, presumably in tandem with his agreement with San Francisco. He didn’t get a look in Texas despite a strong .294/.383/.457 slash in 345 Triple-A plate appearances.

While the Rangers haven’t gotten much production out of the catching position, Jonah Heim was an All-Star last season. Texas moved on from struggling backup Andrew Knizner when they acquired Carson Kelly at the deadline. Barring injury, Knapp probably wasn’t going to get a look there. The Giants had more room for a short-term option after losing Patrick Bailey to the injured list this week. Bailey is battling what seems to be a low-severity oblique strain.

Knapp, 32, played in three games for the Giants two seasons ago. That marked his most recent MLB action. He has spent the past couple seasons bouncing around the Triple-A level. A Berkeley product and former second-round pick by the Phillies, Knapp is a career .209/.310/.313 hitter in 873 big league plate appearances. He’ll back up Curt Casali for the time being.

It’s possible his stay on the roster will be brief. Bailey could return right around when he’s first eligible on August 29. That’d give San Francisco three catchers and presumably force them to choose between retaining Casali or Knapp as the backup.

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported earlier in the week that the Giants had some interest in former All-Star Elias Díaz, whom the Rockies released a week ago. Bailey’s presumed forthcoming return apparently took that off the table. Slusser wrote this afternoon that Díaz declined to pursue the opportunity when the Giants indicated they couldn’t commit to keeping him on the roster beyond Bailey’s return date.

That’s understandable on Díaz’s part. The Rockies are on the hook for his $6MM salary while he’s a free agent. He’d need to be in an organization by September 1 to be eligible for postseason play. If he signed with the Giants for a week and was released as the corresponding move for a Bailey reinstatement on August 29, he’d have very little time to find another landing spot that could allow him to play in October. A short-term stint is much more appealing for Knapp, who had been on a minor league salary with Texas and has ties to the Bay Area.

San Francisco designates Reetz for the second time this season. He has appeared in six MLB games for them this year and played in two games with the 2021 Nationals. The former third-round pick has hit .254/.368/.431 over 58 games with Triple-A Sacramento. He’ll go on waivers in the next few days and would be able to elect free agency if he goes unclaimed.

Tigers Sign Oscar Mercado To Minor League Deal

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The Tigers inked outfielder Óscar Mercado to a minor league contract, as reflected on the MLB.com transaction log. He’s headed to Triple-A Toledo.

Mercado has spent the last few weeks in free agency. He opted out of a non-roster deal with the Padres at the start of August. Mercado wasn’t having a great season in Triple-A, hitting .226/.307/.425 in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. That unsurprisingly wasn’t enough to convince San Diego to call him up.

A former second-round pick, Mercado appeared in the majors each season between 2019-23. He looked like a potential everyday center fielder as a rookie in Cleveland, though his production dropped off sharply from there. Since the start of 2020, he owns a .206/.262/.334 slash in nearly 500 big league plate appearances.

Mercado is still capable of playing all three outfield positions. He logged a decent amount of action in both center and right field this season. He’s an above-average runner who swiped 12 bases in 16 tries in the minors with San Diego. He’ll provide the Tigers glove-first depth for the season’s final few weeks. Detroit is operating without a traditional fourth outfielder behind Parker Meadows, Riley Greene and Matt Vierling. Kerry Carpenter is mostly a designated hitter who is limited to the corners if he plays the outfield, while the Tigers have rotated infielders Zach McKinstry and Andy Ibáñez on the grass.

Mariners Claim Terrin Vavra, Designate Duke Ellis

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The Mariners announced they’ve claimed infielder Terrin Vavra from the Orioles. Seattle designated outfielder Duke Ellis for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

Vavra is a former Colorado draftee who went to Baltimore as a prospect in a trade that sent reliever Mychal Givens to the Rox. Vavra played briefly at the MLB level in 2022-23. The left-handed hitter combined for a .254/.331/.304 slash in 67 games. He showed decent plate discipline and contact skills with minimal power. That has been Vavra’s profile dating back to his college days at Minnesota.

Baltimore passed him through outright waivers last offseason. They reselected his contract around the trade deadline but didn’t get him into a game before optioning him back to Triple-A. Baltimore designated him for assignment earlier this week as the corresponding move to grab Emmanuel Rivera off waivers from Miami. Vavra has a .243/.350/.368 line in 178 Triple-A plate appearances this year. Primarily a second baseman, he also has a decent amount of experience at shortstop and in both corner outfield positions.

Ellis is a speed and defense outfielder who has bounced around this season. The Mets and Mariners successively claimed him after he was DFA by the White Sox in June. Ellis has barely played in the majors, picking up four at-bats in eight games with Chicago. The 26-year-old is hitting .235/.315/.336 in 273 minor league plate appearances on the year. He’ll land back on waivers in the coming days.

Angels Designate Mike Baumann For Assignment

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The Angels announced that they have selected the contract of righty reliever Ryan Zeferjahn. In a corresponding roster move, fellow reliever Mike Baumann has been designated for assignment.

Baumann has ridden the DFA carousel throughout the season. The righty is out of options, so teams need to continue taking him off the 40-man roster if they nudge him out of the bullpen. No club has successfully gotten Baumann through waivers. He has gone from the Orioles to the Mariners, Giants and Halos via DFA resolutions throughout the year.

The 28-year-old hasn’t pitched especially well at any of those stops. He owns a cumulative 5.24 ERA through 44 2/3 innings. The Jacksonville product’s 19.5% strikeout percentage, 10.2% walk rate and 1.61 home runs per nine are all subpar. A few teams have nevertheless been intrigued by his still above-average velocity (96.4 MPH on the fastball) and last year’s decent results. He’s a season removed from a 3.76 ERA across 64 2/3 innings with Baltimore.

Baumann will land back on waivers in the next couple days. Any claiming team would need to keep him in the MLB bullpen. He surpassed the two-year service threshold this season and will play on a pre-arbitration salary for another year.

Zeferjahn, a University of Kansas product, steps into the vacated bullpen spot. The 6’5″ righty is a former third-round pick of the Red Sox. Command issues quickly pushed him to the bullpen, where Zeferjahn has shown strikeout stuff. He has fanned more than 28% of opponents in his five-year minor league career. That’s up to nearly 31% this season between the top two minor league levels. Zeferjahn carries a 3.33 earned run average across 46 innings on the season.

The Angels acquired him as part of a four-player return for reliever Luis García at the deadline. Three of them — Zeferjahn, outfielder Matthew Lugo and first baseman Niko Kavadas — were in the high minors at the time. Kavadas debuted last week. Los Angeles would have needed to add Zeferjahn to the 40-man this offseason to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. They’ll give him his first big league opportunity a few weeks earlier than that as he tries to carve out a middle relief role going into next season.

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