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White Sox Acquire Corey Julks From Astros

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The Astros have traded outfielder Corey Julks to the White Sox, per announcements from both clubs. The Astros, who designated Julks for assignment last week, will receive minor league right-hander Luis Rodriguez in return. Julks has been optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. To open a 40-man spot for Julks, the Sox designated outfielder Rafael Ortega for assignment and recalled outfielder Dominic Fletcher to take Ortega’s spot on the active roster.

Julks, 28, was an eighth-round pick of the Astros back in 2017 and wasn’t really considered a very noteworthy prospect in the years following that selection. He put himself on the radar with a strong 2022 season, hitting 31 home runs and stealing 22 bases in 130 Triple-A games. In the hitter-friendly environment of the Pacific Coast League, his .270/.351/.503 batting line led to a 108 wRC+.

That got him to the big leagues in 2023 but he didn’t immediately hit the ground running in the majors. He stepped to the plate 323 times for the Astros last year and hit .245/.297/.352 for a wRC+ of 80, though he also stole 15 bases and got solid grades for his outfield defense.

He’s been back at Triple-A this year and has another five home runs and six more steals in 31 games. His 12.8% walk rate is a few points higher than the 9.5% rate he had in 2022. His overall production this year is considered to be around league average for the PCL, but it’s an intriguing combination of skills.

Despite the interesting stats, Julks is 28 years old now and was blocked by a crowded outfield mix in Houston, so they nudged him off their roster. The White Sox have far more of a need and more of an ability to take a chance on a player like Julks, given their status as a rebuilding club.

Giving playing time to a veteran can yield to a positive result, as the Sox just recently traded Robbie Grossman to the Rangers for Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa. A similar path with a player like Ortega would have been ideal but he hit .071/.176/.071 in his 17 plate appearances for the Sox in recent weeks and wasn’t trending towards any kind of Grossman-like return. The Sox decided it was a better use of a roster spot to grab Julks and see how things go with him, while giving Ortega’s spot on the active roster to Fletcher.

Julks still has two options, meaning he could potentially be sent to Triple-A for the rest of this year and one more. He also has less than a year of service time, meaning he can be cheaply retained for the foreseeable future.

For now, Fletcher will share the big league playing time with guys like Andrew Benintendi, Tommy Pham and Gavin Sheets. Pham is on a one-year deal and will be a trade candidate this summer. Sheets could perhaps be on the block as well since he’ll reach arbitration for the first time this winter and has been in good form this year. That could perhaps open some playing time for Julks later in the year, though the eventual return of Luis Robert Jr. from the injured list will also be a factor. Oscar Colás and Zach DeLoach are also on the 40-man but neither is performing especially well on optional assignment right now.

For the Astros, they have  Kyle Tucker, Yordan Alvarez, Chas McCormick, Jake Meyers, Mauricio Dubon, Joey Loperfido and Trey Cabbage in their outfield mix, with prospect Pedro León banging on the door as well. Since pitching depth is a greater concern for them, they recently grabbed Alex Speas off waivers and let go of Julks.

By doing so, they were at least able to add a pitching prospect to their system. The 20-year-old Rodriguez tossed 33 innings over 15 appearances in the Dominican Summer League last year with a 3.55 earned run average, 32.6% strikeout rate and 4.3% walk rate. In January, he got a brief mention on the FanGraphs list of top White Sox prospect from Eric Longenhagen and Tess Taruskin. They noted that Rodriguez has a fastball in the 88-90 miles per hour range and a strong curveball.

The Sox will now have a week to trade Ortega or pass him through waivers. He was signed to a minor league deal this winter and added to the roster in late April. He has received sporadic playing time which hasn’t gone well for him, as mentioned. He has enough service time that he can reject an outright assignment and elect free agency. He had a strong season with the Cubs in 2021, hitting .291/.360/.463 while stealing 12 bases and spending a lot of time in center field. But he hit .241/.331/.358 the next year and got non-tendered, with only limited big league looks since then.

Orioles Release Andrew Suarez

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The Orioles announced they’ve released left-hander Andrew Suárez from his minor league deal. The 31-year-old had been pitching for Triple-A Norfolk.

Suárez, not to be confused with Baltimore righty Albert Suaáez, had been working out of the bullpen in Triple-A. He surrendered 11 runs (nine earned) through 13 2/3 innings. He fanned 12 against five walks with a roughly average 44.2% ground-ball percentage.

A former second-round pick of the Giants, Súarez started 29 games for San Francisco back in 2018. He turned in a 4.49 ERA over 160 1/3 innings in what has been his most productive MLB work. The Miami product saw scattered action over the next two seasons before making the jump to Korea in 2021. He parlayed a strong year with the KBO’s LG Twins into an opportunity in Japan, but Suárez didn’t find the same level of success for the Yakult Swallows of NPB.

The Cardinals brought Suárez back to the affiliated ranks on a minor league deal a year ago. St. Louis selected his contract shortly after the All-Star Break and used him in low-leverage relief during the season’s second half. He tossed 27 2/3 innings across 13 appearances, struggling to a 7.16 ERA. Suárez’s 13.1% strikeout rate and 11.5% walk percentage were each well worse than average. His ability to work multiple innings and career 4.35 ERA at the Triple-A level could nevertheless get him another minor league opportunity as a free agent.

Giants Sign Curt Casali To Major League Deal

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The Giants announced they’ve signed catcher Curt Casali to a big league contract. San Francisco optioned Jakson Reetz to Triple-A Sacramento in a corresponding move. To create a 40-man roster spot, they moved Tom Murphy from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list. Casali, a Beverly Hills Sports Council client, is guaranteed a $1MM base salary, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (on X).

It’s the second stint in San Francisco for the 35-year-old backstop. Casali signed a major league free agent deal back in 2021 after being non-tendered by the Reds. He spent a year and a half in the organization, combining for a .218/.317/.357 slash line over 357 plate appearances. San Francisco packaged him alongside Matthew Boyd to the Mariners at the 2022 deadline for a pair of minor leaguers.

Casali hasn’t produced much at the MLB level since that trade. He hit .125/.300/.225 in 16 games with Seattle. Cincinnati brought him back on a $3.25MM free agent deal that winter, but his return stint with the Reds didn’t go as hoped. Casali lost a good portion of the season to a foot injury. He played sparingly as the third catcher even when healthy, hitting .175/.290/.200 over 96 plate appearances.

The Reds made the easy call to decline their end of a $4MM mutual option last winter. Casali spent Spring Training with the Marlins after inking an offseason minor league contract. He didn’t hit at all during camp and was released before Opening Day. Casali has spent the past six weeks in Triple-A with the Cubs, where he was out to a fantastic start to the season.

In 23 games, he mashed at a .362/.489/.551 clip for Chicago’s top affiliate. He connected on a pair of homers and drew 15 walks against 16 strikeouts. While he’s certainly not going to continue hitting at that level in the majors, it was a strong enough showing to get back to Oracle Park. Casali’s familiarity with the San Francisco front office and much of the clubhouse no doubt helped matters.

That said, the Giants surely didn’t envision looking for MLB catching help this early in the season. San Francisco entered the year with a surplus behind the plate. Patrick Bailey had emerged as their clear #1 option. They inked Murphy to a two-year deal over the offseason to add a power-hitting backup. That pushed Blake Sabol to Triple-A and former #2 overall draftee Joey Bart, who is out of options, off the roster entirely. San Francisco traded Bart to the Pirates during the first week of the season.

They’ve been hit with a brutal stretch of injury luck at the position since then. Bailey landed on the seven-day concussion injured list on May 4. He was reinstated over the weekend but went back on the concussion list last night as he dealt with renewed virus-like symptoms. San Francisco lost Murphy to a significant left knee sprain one day after Bailey’s first IL placement. Today’s transfer rules him out of action into early July.

Casali and Sabol will work as the MLB catching duo for the time being. Reetz heads back to Triple-A as the top depth option. Sabol still has options remaining, so the Giants could send him back to Sacramento once Bailey returns from the IL.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Dodgers Select Elieser Hernandez

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The Dodgers announced they’ve selected right-hander Elieser Hernández onto the MLB roster. Los Angeles also recalled righty Eduardo Salazar from Triple-A Oklahoma City. In corresponding moves, the Dodgers optioned Gus Varland and designated reliever Nabil Crismatt for assignment.

L.A. adds a pair of fresh arms for what’ll be a bullpen game this evening in San Francisco. Neither Hernández nor Salazar has pitched for OKC in at least four days. They’ve each been working from the rotation in Triple-A and should be available for multiple innings. Hernández will take the ball first tonight.

In doing so, he will pitch in a major league game for the first time since 2022. It’ll also be his first appearance for a team other than the Marlins. Hernández spent parts of five seasons with Miami, where he generally worked in a swing role. He typically posted strong strikeout and walk rates and found some success between 2020-21. Hernández always struggled with the home run ball, though, and he was tagged for a 6.35 ERA while allowing nearly three homers per nine over 20 appearances in 2022.

Miami traded Hernández to the Mets over the 2022-23 offseason. He never pitched at the MLB level for New York. A shoulder strain essentially wiped out his ’23 campaign, leading the Mets to waive him at the end of last year. He joined L.A. on an offseason minor league contract and has gotten out to a strong start with Oklahoma City.

Over six appearances in the Pacific Coast League, the Venezuelan-born hurler carries a 2.83 ERA. He has fanned nearly 30% of batters faced against a 7% walk rate. Hernández has only surrendered a pair of homers in 28 2/3 innings this season, although he remains an extreme fly-ball pitcher.

Hernández has more than five years of major league service time. The Dodgers can’t option him back to Triple-A without his consent. It’s not out of the question that he’ll be taken off the 40-man roster again in fairly short order, but his strong work in OKC at least makes it a possibility they’ll keep him in the majors as a long reliever.

Crismatt also can’t be optioned, so the Dodgers had to designate him for assignment to remove him from the MLB roster. The 29-year-old righty has pitched well in limited action for Los Angeles. Crismatt has tossed seven innings of three-run ball, striking out six against one walk. He has pitched in two of the past three days, though, so he may not have been an option for much work tonight.

The Dodgers will have a week to trade or waive Crismatt. He has cleared waivers a few times in his career, once as recently as last month. He’d have the right to decline an outright assignment in favor of free agency if he again goes unclaimed, although he accepted the minor league assignment in April.

Rangers Select Shaun Anderson, Transfer Max Scherzer To 60-Day Injured List

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The Rangers announced they’ve selected right-hander Shaun Anderson onto the MLB roster. Texas optioned Jack Leiter back to Triple-A Round Rock in a corresponding move. To create a 40-man roster spot, the Rangers transferred Max Scherzer from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list in what is essentially a procedural transaction.

Anderson caught on with Texas on a minor league contract last month. It marked his second stint in the organization, as he spent a couple weeks in the system in 2021 when the Rangers claimed him off waivers. They waived him themselves before getting him into a major league game, but Anderson could now get a shot to make his team debut.

If he does, it’ll be the 29-year-old’s first major league action since 2022. He made one appearance for the Blue Jays that season. Anderson opened last season in Korea and finished the year in Triple-A with the Phillies. He has made four starts for Round Rock over the past few weeks, turning in a 2.53 ERA over 21 1/3 innings. The Florida product has punched out 26.2% of opponents against a tidy 4.8% walk rate to earn his way back to the big leagues.

Anderson has pitched in parts of four MLB seasons overall. Most of his experience came with the Giants as a rookie back in 2019. He has seen more limited action divided between San Francisco, Minnesota, San Diego, Baltimore and Toronto since then. Anderson owns a 5.84 ERA over 135 2/3 career innings. His 17.1% strikeout percentage and 9.9% walk rate are each a little worse than the respective league averages. Anderson has a stronger Triple-A track record, totaling a 3.80 ERA in 270 1/3 frames at that level. He still has an option remaining, so the Rangers can move him between Arlington and Round Rock without exposing him to waivers now that he’s on the 40-man roster.

Texas essentially had an open 40-man spot given Scherzer’s status. The 60-day minimum backdates to Opening Day, so he’ll be eligible for reinstatement in around two weeks time. It doesn’t appear as if he’ll be ready before then. While Scherzer once seemed on track for a mid-May return following his offseason back surgery, his timetable has been delayed by thumb soreness. Scherzer received a cortisone shot over the weekend to address nerve irritation.

The future Hall of Famer told reporters today that he has recently undergone imaging on his triceps, elbow and neck (X link via Jeff Wilson of Rangers Today). That came back clean and he is set to resume throwing. He’ll need to build back for another minor league rehab assignment, though, so he’s unlikely to be ready for MLB action before the start of June.

Athletics Place Alex Wood On 15-Day Injured List; Transfer Darell Hernaiz To 60-Day IL

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The Athletics announced several transactions today, with right-hander Aaron Brooks selected to the roster, a move that was reported on Monday. They also recalled left-hander Hogan Harris from Triple-A Las Vegas. To open spots on the active roster for those two, left-hander Brady Basso was optioned to Vegas and fellow lefty Alex Wood was placed on the 15-day injured list with left rotator cuff tendonitis, retroactive to May 13. To open a 40-man spot for Brooks, infielder Darell Hernaiz was transferred to the 60-day IL.

Wood only lasted two innings in his most recent start on Sunday. After the game, manager Mark Kotsay revealed that the lefty had been battling a shoulder injury. “Alex has been grinding,” Kotsay said, as relayed by Martín Gallegos of MLB.com on X. “He hasn’t felt great. He gave us everything he had.” The club took a few days, perhaps seeing how Wood’s shoulder felt with some space from that outing, but have evidently decided to give him some time on the shelf.

The A’s have had Ken Waldichuk, Luis Medina and Freddy Tarnok on the injured list all year. In the past ten days, Joe Boyle, Paul Blackburn and now Wood have joined them. That leaves Oakland with a rotation core of JP Sears and Ross Stripling. Right-hander Joey Estes was recalled recently and has made one start for the club, with Brooks now joining him in the ad hoc rotation mix.

Wood was scheduled to take the ball again on Friday, so the A’s will need another starter in a couple of days. Harris has been starting in Triple-A this year and could be an option, though he has a 7.56 earned run average at that level. Osvaldo Bido was previously recalled for a spot start but didn’t last through the third inning. Royber Salinas is on the 40-man but has just one Triple-A start to this point in his career. Kyle Muller and Mitch Spence are each in the big league bullpen but both of them have lots of minor league starting experience.

As for Hernaiz, he was placed on the 10-day IL a week ago with a left ankle sprain that was described as “severe,” per Gallegos on X. A further update from Gallegos on X relayed that Hernaiz will not require surgery but he will be in a walking boot. Kotsay said it’s going to “take some time” to heal. It seems the club doesn’t expect Hernaiz back before July, as he’ll be ineligible to return before then.

Brewers Promote Chris Roller For Major League Debut

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The Brewers announced that they have recalled outfielder Chris Roller from Triple-A Nashville. He will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. Infielder Oliver Dunn was optioned to Nashville in a corresponding move. Prior to the official announcement, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relayed that Dunn didn’t have a locker in the Brewers’ clubhouse.

Roller, now 27, was acquired from the Guardians in a cash deal in August. The Brewers then added him to their 40-man roster in October to prevent him from reaching minor league free agency. A 30th-round pick of the Dodgers back in 2017, Roller had gone to the Guardians in the Triple-A portion of the 2020 Rule 5 draft.

He’s never really been a prospect of note but was in good form last year. In 92 games with Triple-A Columbus, he hit 12 home runs and drew walks in 16.8% of his plate appearances. That led to a .222/.373/.412 batting line and 102 wRC+. He also stole 13 bases while playing all three outfield slots. After the trade, he got into 16 more Triple-A games with Nashville and hit .364/.493/.618 while swiping another six bags. Here in 2024, he got out to a slow start and landed on the minor league injured list. He was only recently reinstated, getting into just five games since coming off the IL.

Though he hasn’t launched out of the gates this year, the Brewers may have called him up for his right-handed bat. Between the two Triple-A clubs he played for last year, he hit .228/.388/.411 against righties but .296/.411/.546 against lefties.

Jake Bauers has played first base regularly against right-handed opponents but has largely been shielded from lefties. Rhys Hoskins had been moving from designated hitter to first base with lefties on the mound but he’s now on the injured list with a hamstring strain. Brice Turang has also been shielded from a few lefties, with Joey Ortiz, Owen Miller and Andruw Monasterio helping to cover second base.

There’s a few lefties in the outfield mix as well, with Christian Yelich and Sal Frelick both hitting from that side. Blake Perkins is a switch-hitter but he’s been better against southpaws in his career thus far.

By swapping out Dunn’s left-handed bat for Roller, the Brewers will give manager Pat Murphy another option for playing the matchups while Hoskins is out of action, while Roller will get a chance to play in a big league game for the first time.

Mets Designate Joey Wendle, Yohan Ramirez For Assignment

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May 15: The Mets made the moves for Wendle, Vientos, Lucchesi and Ramírez official today. They also optioned right-hander José Buttó and recalled right-hander Grant Hartwig. Buttó’s option may be slightly surprising since he has a 3.08 ERA on the year, but that’s despite a 13.5% walk rate. The Mets have both Tylor Megill and David Peterson on rehab assignments and they could be options to rejoin the rotation soon.

May 14: The Mets are designating veteran infielder Joey Wendle for assignment, as first reported (on X) by Ben Yoel. SNY’s Andy Martino reported earlier this evening (on X) that New York was planning to recall Mark Vientos from Triple-A Syracuse before tomorrow night’s matchup with the Phillies.

That’s not the only forthcoming roster move. Dan Martin and Joel Sherman of the New York Post report that New York will recall left-hander Joey Lucchesi to make tomorrow’s start. Righty reliever Yohan Ramírez will be designated for assignment as the corresponding move, according to the Post.

Wendle had a disappointing tenure in Queens. New York signed the former All-Star to a $2MM free agent deal. It was a buy-low move after he slumped to a .212/.248/.306 line in 112 games for the Marlins a year ago. Wendle wasn’t out to a much better start this season. In 18 contests, he hit .222/.243/.250 with one extra-base hit (a double). He punched out nine times and drew one walk in 37 trips to the plate.

New York signed Wendle largely for his defensive flexibility. He has generally rated as an above-average to plus defender throughout the infield in his career. He struggled on that side of the ball during his very brief stint in Queens, committing three errors in 89 innings. The Mets stuck with Wendle over Zack Short two weeks ago, but they’ll now move forward without a clear backup shortstop behind Francisco Lindor.

Swapping Vientos in for Wendle provides more offensive upside to Carlos Mendoza’s infield. The 24-year-old is out to another nice start in Syracuse, hitting .284/.376/.500 with six homers in 31 games. While Vientos is striking out at a lofty 28.6% clip, he has consistently hit for power in parts of four Triple-A seasons. That has yet to translate to MLB success, but he’s clearly a higher-ceiling bat than Wendle at this point.

Brett Baty has been the primary third baseman in Queens. The former top prospect hasn’t hit well, turning in a .236/.299/.325 line through 135 plate appearances. He’ll stick on the roster but could lose some at-bats to Vientos, particularly against left-handed pitching. Philadelphia will turn to southpaw Ranger Suárez tomorrow, so it seems likely Vientos will get the nod at the hot corner.

Lucchesi will take the ball against Suárez in what’ll be his season debut. The southpaw has started seven games for Syracuse, working to a 2.58 ERA over 38 1/3 innings. He also had a 2.89 mark in nine big league starts last season, though he hasn’t missed many bats at either level. Lucchesi fanned 16.4% of MLB opponents last season and has a 17.8% strikeout rate in Triple-A this year.

It’s possible this proves to be a spot start. Adrian Houser was originally supposed to take the ball on Wednesday, but Sherman and Mike Puma write that plans changed when the righty warmed up for possible relief work in today’s game. While Houser didn’t enter the game, he threw enough in the bullpen to take him out of the running to start tomorrow.

That proved to be an unfortunate sequence of events for Ramírez, who cedes his roster spot to Lucchesi. This will be the third DFA of the season for the 29-year-old, who can’t be optioned to the minor leagues. It’s the second time the Mets have cut him loose. Ramírez started the year in Queens and was DFA within a few weeks. New York traded him to the Orioles and claimed him back last week after Baltimore waived him.

Around the roster shuffling, Ramírez has tossed 14 1/3 innings over 10 appearances. Despite striking out 17 of 65 opponents (a strong 26.2% rate), he has conceded 11 runs. Ramírez has mid-90s velocity and has missed bats at a roughly average level in the majors, but he has walked more than 12% of batters faced over his career.

The Mets will have a week to trade or waive both Wendle and Ramírez once they officially announce the DFAs. Wendle has more than enough service time to decline a minor league assignment while retaining his salary, so he’d very likely become a free agent if no team swings a trade for him. The moves will drop New York’s 40-man roster tally to 38.

Athletics Promote Brady Basso For MLB Debut

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The Athletics announced a few roster moves today, with left-hander Easton Lucas and outfielder Lawrence Butler optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas. To fill those roster spots, infielder Zack Gelof was reinstated from the 10-day injured list while lefty Brady Basso was recalled from Vegas. Basso will be making his MLB debut as soon as he gets into a game.

The Oakland pitching staff has been pretty beat-up lately, with Paul Blackburn and Joe Boyle each landing on the injured list in the past week-plus. Alex Wood is also battling a shoulder issue and may require an IL stint of his own.

Lucas was added to the club’s roster on May 8, less than a week ago, to provide a fresh arm to the staff. He was optioned three days later when the club promoted Joey Estes. But when Blackburn landed on the IL, Lucas was quickly recalled and proceeded to throw 39 pitches in relief last night. The lefty may have been unavailable for a day or two and the long relief options are limited, as Mitch Spence also threw last night and Kyle Muller tossed four innings in relief of Wood on Sunday.

Amid all of that, the club has decided to call up Basso for the first time. A 16th-round selection of the 2019 draft, he missed 2022 recovering from Tommy John surgery but was back on the mound in 2023. He split his time between High-A and Double-A, tossing 63 1/3 innings with a 2.42 earned run average. He struck out 26.3% of batters faced while walking 6.2%.

The A’s added him to their 40-man roster in November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He was sent back to Double-A and made six starts with a 2.84 ERA. He was recently promoted to Triple-A, with his first start at that level going poorly, allowing nine earned runs in 2 1/3 innings. That one rough outing aside, he’s been in good form this year and will now gets his first call to the majors.

Richard Bleier Opts Out Of Minors Deal With Nationals

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Left-hander Richard Bleier has opted out of his minor league deal with the Nationals, reports Andrew Golden of The Washington Post. He’ll head to the open market and will be free to pursue opportunities with all 30 clubs.

Bleier, 37, signed a minor league deal with the Nationals in February. He joined them in Spring Training as a non-roster invitee and posted 1.69 earned run average over 10 2/3 innings. He didn’t get a roster spot out of camp and reported to Triple-A Rochester.

He threw 16 2/3 innings for that club with a 4.32 ERA. He only struck out 14.7% of batters faced but Bleier has always been a low-strikeout guy who succeeds by keeping the ball on the ground and avoiding free passes. He walked just 2.9% of batters faced for the Red Wings and got grounders on 51.8% of balls in play.

Those numbers are all roughly in line with his career work in the majors as a journeyman grounder specialist. He has 330 1/3 innings of big league experience with the Yankees, Orioles, Marlins and Red Sox. Over that time, he has a 3.27 ERA, 13.6% strikeout rate, 3.9% walk rate and 60.9% ground ball rate.

The Nationals have selected the contracts of other veterans to their bullpen this year, such as Derek Law, Jacob Barnes and Matt Barnes. It seems that Bleier didn’t expect to be next in line, so he will look for opportunities elsewhere. Left-handed relief tends to always be in demand and many clubs around the league are dealing with mounting injuries, which could open opportunities for Bleier elsewhere.

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