Braves Activate Max Fried From Injured List
TODAY: The Braves officially announced Fried’s activation and optioned lefty Dylan Lee to Triple-A to make room on the active roster. Lee, 30, has a 2.00 ERA in 35 appearances with the Braves this year but is the only player with options remaining in Atlanta’s bullpen after the club acquired right-hander Luke Jackson from the Giants ahead of the trade deadline last week.
AUGUST 3: The Braves are planning to activate left-hander Max Fried from the 15-day injured list in order to start the club’s game against the Marlins tomorrow afternoon, as manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including Gabriel Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution). The southpaw has been on the shelf since late last month due to forearm neuritis. Atlanta will need to make room for Fried on the active roster prior to the start of tomorrow’s game.
Fried, 30, had an uncertain timetable for return when he was first placed on the shelf but fortunately will enjoy a near-minimum stay on the IL when all is said and done. It’s surely a relief for Braves fans that Fried was able to return so quickly given the club’s recent struggles; the club is just 14-13 since July 1 and 7-7 since the All Star break. Other clubs in the NL Wild Card race have caught up to the Braves while they’ve been spinning their wheels, as the Diamondbacks are currently just 1.5 games back of Atlanta for the top Wild Card spot, while the Mets and Padres are both tied for the third and final spot just half a game behind Arizona.
With so much crowding in the Wild Card picture, the Braves must be eager to welcome back Fried, who has been one of the league’s steadiest pitchers ever since breaking out during the shortened 2020 season. Since the start of that year, Fried has posted a dominant 2.73 ERA and 3.12 FIP in 101 starts despite a relatively pedestrian 23.3% strikeout rate. It’s been more of the same for the lefty this year as he’s posted a 3.08 ERA and 3.55 FIP in 18 starts for the Braves this year even after a brutal start to the season where he allowed 15 runs (14 earned) in his first 16 1/3 frames this year. He’s been nothing short of dominant since then, however, helping to form a three-headed monster at the front of Atlanta’s rotation alongside Chris Sale and Reynaldo Lopez that has helped the club overcome its lackluster performance on offense.
In welcoming Fried back to the rotation, the Braves figure to buy themselves a little bit more time in figuring out how to deal with Lopez’s own injury woes. The righty left his most recent start for the club on Sunday after just three innings due to forearm tightness. While an MRI ultimately revealed no structural damage, Lopez has nonetheless been day-to-day ever since. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman relayed earlier today that the right-hander still has yet to throw a bullpen since leaving his start at the beginning of the week, though he added that it “seems like” the club believes he could return to the mound within the next week. That would seemingly make it unlikely that Fried is set to replace Lopez in the rotation, as an IL stint can only be backdated a maximum of three days, meaning a trip to the 15-day IL for Lopez would still keep him out of action for nearly two weeks after he’s removed from the active roster.
With rookie Spencer Schwellenbach having generally impressed with a 4.03 ERA and 3.46 FIP through 11 starts, it seems possible that righty Grant Holmes could be the odd man out in the rotation mix upon Fried’s return. A former first-round pick by the Dodgers back in 2014, Holmes made his big league debut with Atlanta back in June and has pitched well for the club to this point with a 2.54 ERA and 2.22 FIP in 28 1/3 frames. Fried’s return doesn’t necessarily mean the end of Holmes’s time on the roster, however. With Lopez out of commission for the time being, the club could certainly benefit from moving Holmes back into his previous role as a multi-inning reliever or perhaps even keeping him available as a spot starter in the event that Lopez does wind up requiring a trip to the injured list.
Twins Release Josh Staumont
The Twins have released right-hander Josh Staumont, as noted by The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman. Staumont was designated for assignment amid a league-wide flurry of transactions on the day of the trade deadline. Staumont is now free to sign with any major league club.
Staumont, 30, was a second-round pick by the Royals back in 2015 and made his big league debut for Kansas City back in 2019. He enjoyed a great deal of success out of the bullpen with the club early in his career with a sterling 2.93 ERA (159 ERA+) and a solid 3.95 FIP in 110 2/3 innings of work through the end of the 2021 season. He struck out a solid 26.7% of batters faced, though he struggled somewhat with throwing strikes as he walked 11.4% of batters faced. That lackluster command came back to bite him over his final two years with Kansas City, as he posted a brutal 6.09 ERA in 57 2/3 innings despite a 4.08 FIP that was largely similar to his previous efforts.
Staumont’s command was the clear culprit of these struggles as he saw his walk rate spike to 15.8% from 2022 to 2023 while his strikeout rate fell a tick to 25.3%. Those additional control woes may have been brought on by injury, however, as Staumont was limited to just 20 innings of work last year after undergoing surgery to correct Thoracic Outlet Syndrome in July of last year. The combination of injury and under-performance concerns led the Royals to non-tender Staumont last November, but he didn’t last long on the open market as the Twins snapped him up on a major league deal just before the new year.
The right-hander’s tenure in Minnesota was a fairly solid one. He posted a respectable 3.70 ERA with a 3.54 FIP in 24 1/3 innings of work for the Twins, though those overall numbers are somewhat inflated by a blow-up appearance against the Mets on July 29 where he surrendered five runs while recording just one out. Prior to that disastrous outing, Staumont boasted a sterling 1.88 ERA with a higher but still strong 3.17 FIP. That being said, Staumont’s peripheral numbers leave some room for concern about the sustainability of his success going forward. While he’s generating an impressive 47.7% groundball rate this year, his 13.7% walk rate is still quite high while no longer being balanced out by strong strikeout numbers as he’s struck out just 17.6% of opponents this year.
Even so, Staumont’s solid results and previous track record of success make it easy to imagine a club overlooking his shaky peripherals to offer him an opportunity in their organization, especially on a no-risk minor league deal. With the trade deadline now in the past, clubs are limited in their ability to make moves that bolster their depth and protect against injuries, and adding an accomplished veteran like Staumont who’s been squeezed off another club’s roster is often the best way to do that in the run-up to the end of the season.
Angels Place Luis Rengifo On 10-Day IL, Select Charles Leblanc
The Angels announced prior to tonight’s game against the Mets that the club has selected the contract of infielder Charles Leblanc. The Angels already had space on the 40-man roster available in the aftermath of this week’s trade deadline, meaning no corresponding move was necessary to make room for Leblanc on the 40-man roster. Leblanc will take the place of infielder Luis Rengifo on the active roster as Rengifo was placed on the 10-day IL due to wrist inflammation.
Rengifo, 27, received plenty of trade interest in the run-up to the deadline himself but ultimately remained in Anaheim, perhaps in part due to concerns surrounding his wrist. The switch-hitter was placed on the IL with right wrist inflammation just under a month ago and was ultimately sidelined for around three weeks before being activated a week prior to the deadline. Rengifo has struggled badly since his return, however, slashing just .188/.257/.219 in nine games. A week-long slump isn’t necessarily indicative of anything serious, but manager Ron Washington told reporters (including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register) earlier this week that Rengifo had experienced a bit of a “flare-up” of his previous wrist injury and would be re-evaluated in the coming days.
The infielder took the next day off but appeared in yesterday’s contest, ultimately taking two at-bats before exiting in the fifth inning. Evidently, the continued problems with Rengifo’s wrist have now risen to the point where the club feels a second stint on the shelf is necessary. It’s not yet clear what the 27-year-old’s timetable for return looks like at this point, but it’s certainly a disappointing turn of events for a youngster who was enjoying a breakout season prior to the injury. Through July 2, Rengifo posted an excellent .319/.362/.448 slash line in 266 trips to the plate while splitting time between second and third base alongside cameos at shortstop and in right field. His switch-hitting bat, defensive versatility, and youth all figure to once again make him an attractive trade candidate this offseason, when he’ll go through his final trip through arbitration before free agency.
As for Leblanc, the 28-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Angels back in November and will now get his first opportunity in the majors since 2022. A fourth-round pick by the Rangers in the 2016 draft, Leblanc’s big league debut came six years later as a member of the Marlins. He ultimately played 48 games in Miami, slashing a respectable .263/.320/.404 with ten doubles, four homers, and four stolen bases in 169 trips to the plate for the club while splitting time between first base, second base, and third base. Leblanc spent the 2023 season in the minors with Miami and slashed a strong .253/.384/.423 but did not manage to crack the big league club. In 91 games at Triple-A with the Halos this year, Leblanc has shown similar on-base ability with a little more pop as he’s hit .262/.382/.472 in the offense-friendly environment of the Pacific Coast League. He’ll offer the Angels some depth for their infield mix for the time being amid injuries to both Rengifo and Anthony Rendon.
Lucas Luetge Opts Out Of Minors Deal With Red Sox
Veteran left-hander Lucas Luetge has opted out of his minor league deal with the Red Sox and become a free agent, according to Katie Morrison-O’Day of MassLive. The lefty first signed with the Red Sox back in February but will now return to free agency in search of a better deal elsewhere.
Luetge, 37, is a veteran of seven MLB seasons who first made his big league debut back in 2012 as a member of the Mariners. He spent his time with Seattle shuttling between the major and minor leagues, during which time he posted a middling 4.35 ERA with a 4.27 FIP in 89 big league innings with a similar 4.21 ERA across 94 appearances in the minors. While Luetge enjoyed a strong 47.7% groundball rate in the majors during his years in Seattle, a lackluster 19% strikeout rate combined with an elevated 12.1% walk rate seemingly limited his potential, leaving him to be outrighted off the Mariners’ 40-man roster in late 2015.
He elected free agency shortly thereafter but would not return to the majors until 2021, when he joined the Yankees as a member of their bullpen. The lefty enjoyed the best seasons of his career by far when in the Bronx as he posted a sterling 2.71 ERA with a 2.92 FIP in 129 2/3 innings of work for the club across the 2021 and ’22 seasons. His strikeout rate ticked up to a strong 25% while he slashed his walk rate to just 5.8%. While those improvements came at the expense of his groundball rate (39% with the Yankees), the results more than justified his change in approach and made it somewhat surprising when the club designated him for assignment during the 2022-23 offseason.
He was traded to the Braves shortly thereafter and opened the 2023 campaign in their bullpen, though he didn’t last long in Atlanta after allowing eleven runs in 9 2/3 innings of work across his first nine appearances as a Brave. He was outrighted to the minor leagues but remained with the club and returned to the big leagues with them to throw four scoreless innings across three appearances down the stretch, but that improvement and his middling work with the club’s Triple-A affiliate (3.75 ERA in 24 frames) weren’t enough to convince the Braves to retain Luetge for the 2024 campaign.
Back in free agency for the first time since signing with the Yankees, Luetge signed on with the Red Sox. He never broke into the big leagues with the club, though he’s looked quite impressive in 41 2/3 innings of work for Triple-A Worcester with a 3.02 ERA and a solid 26.7% strikeout rate. Given the constant interest around the league in left-handed relief depth, it would hardly be a surprise if a club saw Luetge’s success in the minor leagues with Boston and his previous success with the Yankees and decided to bring him into the organization, whether as a non-roster depth option on a minor league deal or perhaps even as an immediate member of the big league bullpen.
Astros Outright Rafael Montero To Triple-A
The Astros announced that Rafael Montero has been outrighted to Triple-A Sugar Land after clearing waivers. Montero was designated for assignment earlier this week, and since Montero had more than enough MLB service time to reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency, today’s move indicates that the veteran righty voluntarily accepted the move down to the minor leagues.
Montero’s decision is akin to Jose Abreu also agreeing to be optioned to the minors earlier this season, though that transaction was just a straight demotion and not a DFA. Unfortunately for the Astros, there is further similarity in that both Abreu and Montero are well-paid veterans who have struggled badly since Opening Day 2023, leaving the Astros with a big chunk of essentially dead money on their payroll.
Initially coming to Houston in a trade with the Mariners in July 2021, Montero emerged as a force out of the Astros bullpen in 2022. Montero posted a 2.37 ERA in 68 1/3 innings for the World Series champions, serving as an ace setup man for closer Ryan Pressly and picking up some saves himself when Pressly was on the injured list. This big performance came in a contract year for Montero, and it paid off in the form of a three-year, $34.5MM free agent deal to return to the Astros.
Things have gone south for Montero since that deal was signed, as the right-hander has a 4.94 ERA over 105 2/3 since the start of the 2023 campaign. Opposing batters have been making a ton more hard contact against Montero’s offerings, and his strikeout rate has also plummeted even from 2023 to 2024. Montero’s 26.5K% in 2023 was still quite respectable, but his 14K% this year ranks only in the third percentile of all pitchers.
With Montero showing little sign of improvement, the Astros made the decision to finally designate him, and surely no club was going to make a waiver claim and therefore inherit the rest of the struggling reliever’s contract. Montero’s service time would’ve allowed him to retain all of that salary even if he had chosen to become a free agent, but he’ll instead head to Triple-A to see if he can get himself back on track. Since Montero is off the 40-man roster and is getting paid anyway, there’s no downside for the Astros or for the pitcher in taking this sojourn in the minors, as all parties will benefit if Montero can regain some form and re-emerge as a viable option in Houston’s pen. If things don’t turn around for Montero in Sugar Land, the Astros could just release him, as they ultimately did with Abreu.
Marlins Claim Derek Hill
The Marlins announced that they have claimed outfielder Derek Hill off waivers from the Giants. Hill was just designated for assignment yesterday, so he’ll quickly turn around and join his third different organization within the last two weeks.
The Giants themselves just claimed Hill on a waiver claim on July 23, after the Rangers put the outfielder on DFA waivers. Hill’s brief stint in San Francisco included 13 plate appearances over five games, and for the 2024 season as a whole, Hill has hit .255/.293/.455 with three home runs in 58 plate appearances with the Rangers and Giants. His time in Texas was technically two separate stints, as after he elected free agency after being outrighted off the Rangers’ roster earlier this season, he rejoined the team on another minor league contract.
Hill is out of minor league options, and thus the Marlins would also have to designate him for assignment if the Fish ever want to move Hill off the active roster and try to move him to the minors. This is certainly a possibility given the ever-churning Miami roster, but since the Marlins have plenty of holes to fill in the wake of their trade deadline selloff, Hill might have some opportunity to stick around in a depth role.
Hill has appeared in each of the last five Major League seasons, with a .233/.281/.337 slash line over 362 career PA in the Show. His plus speed and ability to handle all three outfield positions has translated to all levels, and Hill has much more impressive hitting numbers against Triple-A pitching.
Orioles Outright Matt Krook
The Orioles announced yesterday that left-hander Matt Krook was outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk after clearing waivers. Baltimore designated Krook for assignment earlier this week to open up some 40-man roster space in the wake of the team’s slate of trade deadline moves.
Acquired from the Yankees in a cash trade last February, Krook’s time in Baltimore has included a single Major League appearance — one inning pitched in the Orioles’ 11-2 loss to the Rangers on June 30, as Krook was charged with two earned runs in his lone frame of work. The southpaw has otherwise spent the season in Norfolk, posting a 4.11 ERA and a very solid 27% strikeout rate over 35 relief innings, but a big 16.4% walk rate has undermined Krook’s results.
Control problems have long plagued Krook, as he has a 14.6% walk rate in his 569 2/3 career minor league innings. Despite all the free passes, Krook’s ERA in the minors is still a respectable 4.03, since he misses a lot of bats and does an outstanding job of avoiding home runs and keeping the ball on the ground.
The move to full-time relief pitching in New York’s farm system last season only improved Krook’s overall numbers apart from continued issues with walks. Krook’s time with the Yankees did pay off in the form of his big league debut last season, though he was tagged for a 24.75 ERA in four innings over four appearances.
This was the first time Krook has been outrighted off a 40-man roster, and he is obviously far short of five seasons of MLB service time. As a result, Krook had to accept the outright assignment and couldn’t opt for free agency. It wouldn’t have been a surprise if another team had been interested enough for a waiver claim, but for now Krook will remain as a depth option for the Orioles at Triple-A.
Mets Release Jake Diekman
TODAY: As expected, the Mets have released Diekman, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post (X link).
JULY 29: The Mets announced Monday that they’ve designated left-hander Jake Diekman for assignment and selected the contract of fellow lefty Matt Gage from Triple-A Syracuse to take his spot on the roster.
Diekman, a 37-year-old veteran reliever, joined the Mets on a one-year, $4MM deal back in February. In 32 innings for the Mets, Diekman has punched out nearly 28% of batters faced, though his longstanding control issues persisted. Last year, Diekman benefitted from only 6% of his flyballs leaving the yard, a trend which has reversed in ’24 as he’s seen a whopping 29.2% of flies go for homers. As a result, Diekman has allowed seven home runs already this year – four of which came in his last seven appearances. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza used Diekman in high leverage spots in May and June, but as you’d expect, that’s changed in July.
Diekman’s contract includes a $4MM club option for 2025 that becomes guaranteed with 58 games. The lefty currently has 43 appearances. Though someone might want to pick Diekman up, other teams’ desire to avoid that ’25 vesting option means Diekman will likely be released by the Mets and sign a new deal.
Of late, Mendoza and the Mets have been leaning on Edwin Diaz, Jose Butto, and Dedniel Nuñez in the highest-leverage relief situations. The club picked up righty Ryne Stanek in a trade with the Mariners late last week. Gage will join incumbent lefties Alex Young and Danny Young after posting a 3.42 ERA, 30 K%, and and 12.4 BB% in 26 1/3 innings for the Dodgers’ and Mets’ Triple-A affiliates.
Rays Select Kameron Misner, Place Richie Palacios On 10-Day IL
TODAY: The Rays officially selected Misner and placed Palacios on the 10-day IL yesterday with a right knee sprain. Manager Kevin Cash told Topkin and other reporters that Palacios will miss roughly 4-6 weeks in recovery, and there is enough uncertainly this early in the rehab process that Palacios could potentially miss the rest of the regular season.
The injury is a tough break for Palacios, who has gotten a nice chunk of playing time as a part of the Rays’ regular rotation of position players. Palacios has a 104 wRC+, from a slash line of .233/.350/.332 and five homers in 301 plate appearances. The 27-year-old has also stolen 19 bases in 20 attempts, while getting a lot of action at second base and in the two corner outfield positions.
AUGUST 1: The Rays are planning to promote outfielder Kameron Misner from Triple-A Durham, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. He’ll join the active roster in place of Richie Palacios, who is headed for the 10-day injured list after tweaking his knee in yesterday’s loss to Miami. Tampa Bay will need to select Misner’s contract but has three vacancies on the 40-man roster after their slate of deadline trades.
Now 26, Misner was once a highly-regarded draft prospect. The Marlins selected him 35th overall in the 2019 draft coming out of the University of Missouri. He’d briefly reached Double-A in the Miami system by the time they sent him to Tampa Bay in an intra-state trade to land veteran infielder Joey Wendle.
The book on Misner has been the same dating back to his college days. He has big power in a 6’4″ frame. He takes plenty of walks and has a surprising amount of athleticism for a player his size. Scouting reports have always questioned his pure hitting ability, though, with some evaluators putting a 30 (well below-average on the 20-80 scouting scale) on his hit tool.
Misner has spent nearly two full seasons in Durham and continued to perform to those expectations. He’s a career .236/.360/.453 hitter in nearly 1000 Triple-A plate appearances. Misner has 36 home runs, a massive 15.7% walk rate, and has stolen 48 bases in 57 attempts over 224 games. The left-handed hitter has also struck out in more than a third of his trips to the plate, the biggest reason he hadn’t gotten a major league call despite the big on-base and power numbers.
The Rays have used Misner mostly in center field in the minors. He’ll probably get more action in the corners on the MLB roster. That’s especially true with the Rays losing Palacios, who has started 40 games in a corner outfield spot this season. Palacios has made a career-high 88 appearances overall, hitting .233/.350/.332 through 301 trips to the plate. He’s on his third team in as many seasons after the Rays swapped him from the Cardinals for reliever Andrew Kittredge over the winter.
Tampa Bay and St. Louis lined up another reliever for outfielder deal this week, as the Rays shipped Shawn Armstrong to the Cards while taking a flier on former top prospect Dylan Carlson. The switch-hitting Carlson could get the majority of left field reps while Misner adds a power bat to Kevin Cash’s bench.
White Sox Release Corey Knebel
The White Sox released right-hander Corey Knebel earlier this week, as reported by Sox Machine’s James Fegan (X link) and other members of the team’s beat. MLB.com’s profile page for Knebel lists the transaction as an “elected free agency,” which implies that Knebel exercised an opt-out clause in the minor league contract he signed last winter.
Knebel suffered a capsule tear in his right shoulder almost two years ago, and after missing the 2023 season entirely, he returned to action in June as part of a rehab assignment with Chicago’s rookie league affiliate. Moving up the ranks to high-A and then to Triple-A once he was officially activated from the IL in July, Knebel ha a 5.91 ERA over 10 2/3 total innings this season, though five of his seven earned runs were surrendered in one rough outing at high-A ball.
At Triple-A, Knebel had a perfect 0.00 ERA across 5 1/3 innings, with a 44.4% strikeout rate and 11.1% walk rate. Despite that impressive work in the small sample size, it doesn’t seem as though the White Sox intended to bring Knebel up to the majors. While it certainly be argued that the 27-85 White Sox (losers of 18 straight games) need all the help they can get, it would appear that the team is prioritizing innings for younger pitchers the rest of the way, and thus Knebel likely chose to go elsewhere.
The 32-year-old Knebel last pitched in the majors in 2022, when he had a 3.43 ERA in 44 2/3 innings out of the Phillies’ bullpen. The shoulder capsule tear is the latest in a series of long-term injuries — he missed all of 2019 due to Tommy John surgery, and a lat strains limited him to 25 2/3 innings as a member of the Dodgers in 2021.
Over 306 2/3 innings over parts of eight seasons in the bigs, Knebel has a 3.26 ERA, highlighted by his 2017 All-Star season as the Brewers’ closer. This track record means that he’ll very likely catch on with another team on a minor league deal, and more good numbers in the minors will give him a shot of getting back to the big leagues before the 2024 season is out.