Padres Designate Austin Davis For Assignment
The Padres have activated left-handers Martín Pérez and Tanner Scott, as well as right-hander Bryan Hoeing, the pitchers they acquired prior to yesterday’s trade deadline. In order to open roster spots for those three, they placed right-hander Stephen Kolek on the 15-day injured list with right forearm tendonitis, optioned righty Logan Gillaspie to Triple-A El Paso and designated lefty Austin Davis for assignment.
Davis is out of options, so a DFA was the only manner of pulling him from the MLB bullpen. The 31-year-old southpaw made seven low-leverage appearances over the past month. He allowed eight runs (seven earned) across seven innings, walking five with six strikeouts.
That was the first MLB work in two years for Davis, who combined for 56 frames of 5.79 ERA ball between the Red Sox and Twins in 2022. While his recent body of work against big league hitters hasn’t been especially impressive, he had a nice showing for El Paso early this year. Over 29 innings in the Pacific Coast League, he turned in a 3.10 earned run average. Davis fanned nearly 30% of batters faced in Triple-A, albeit with an elevated 12.9% walk rate.
With the trade deadline in the rearview mirror, San Diego’s only option is to put Davis on waivers (though it’s unlikely they’d have found a trade partner regardless). He has a previous career outright that gives him the ability to decline an assignment back to Triple-A, so he’ll likely become a free agent assuming he clears waivers.
Cubs Reinstate, Option Caleb Kilian
The Cubs reinstated right-hander Caleb Kilian from the 60-day injured list and optioned him to Triple-A Iowa. The club had a couple of 40-man roster vacancies after their recent deadline dealings, so their count goes from 38 to 39 with this move. Additionally, catcher Tomás Nido had surgery on his right meniscus and will be out for four to six weeks. Both pieces of news were relayed on X by Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune.
Kilian, 27, was diagnosed with a teres major strain during Spring Training and was slated to miss several months. He landed on the 60-day injured list on Opening Day and has been there until today. He began a rehab assignment at the start of July and has made eight minor league appearances in recent weeks. Rehab assignments for pitchers come with a 30-day maximum, so Kilian was reaching the end of that window.
He’ll now provide the Chicago pitching staff with some depth. He has a 12.42 earned run average in his big league career, but in a small sample of 16 2/3 innings. He pitched 227 Triple-A innings over the previous two seasons with a 4.40 ERA, 22.2% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate.
He came into 2024 with 20 days of majors league service time and added roughly four months’ worth here on the IL, but is still shy of the 172 needed to get to a full year. He also came into 2024 with just one option season remaining and is now likely to be out of options next year. A player needs to spend at least 20 days on optional assignment in a season for that to count as one of his option years, so Kilian will use his final one here in 2024 if he’s not recalled again in the next 20 days.
Nido landed on the 10-day IL last week due to a right knee sprain. It appears it was determined that he needed to go under the knife to get the issue taken care of. The Cubs selected Christian Bethancourt to take Nido’s roster spot and share the catching duties with Miguel Amaya. Given Nido’s timeline, he could be back in the mix in September.
Those are the only three backstops on the 40-man roster at the moment, so the Cubs will have only non-roster depth if someone else gets hurt while Nido is out. Moisés Ballesteros might be next in line, despite his lack of major league experience, as he’s considered one of the top 100 prospects in the league and is currently in Triple-A.
Astros Designate Rafael Montero For Assignment
The Astros announced that they have designated right-hander Rafael Montero for assignment, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic on X. They also optioned righty Seth Martinez, with those two moves opening roster spots for lefties Yusei Kikuchi and Caleb Ferguson, who were acquired prior to the trade deadline yesterday. Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle relayed the full slate of moves on X.
Montero, now 33, is in the second season of a three-year, $34.5MM deal he signed with the Astros after the 2022 season. He had just made 71 appearances for Houston that year with a 2.37 earned run average, 27% strikeout rate, 8.5% walk rate and 52.9% ground ball rate. He recorded 14 saves and 23 holds in the process, then added another ten strong performances in the postseason as the Astros won their second World Series.
But his performance has declined significantly since that contract was signed. He made 68 appearances for the club last year with his ERA ticking up to 5.08. His 26.5% strikeout rate, 9.7% walk rate and 41.2% ground ball rate were all a bit worse than the year prior. There may have been a bit of bad luck in there, as his .358 batting average on balls in play was very high and his 15.3% home run per flyball ratio was almost three times his 5.7% rate from the year prior.
Here in 2024, his 4.70 ERA is actually a slight improvement over last year, but things under the hood are bleak. His 14% strikeout rate and 11.6% walk rate are both significantly worse than last year and also subpar compared to league averages. He’s actually been pretty lucky when considering his .243 BABIP and 78.6% strand rate. His 6.39 FIP and 5.23 SIERA suggest he’s actually been worse than his ERA would indicate.
It was reported last week that the Astros were looking to move Montero’s contract as they pursued pitchers with notable salaries such as Zach Eflin and Jameson Taillon. In the end, it seems they were unsuccessful in finding a taker, which isn’t surprising when considering his numbers. Now that the deadline has passed, their only option will be to put him on waivers and they will therefore see Montero depart for nothing.
Given his performance and contract, he will certainly go unclaimed, at which point he has enough service time to elect free agency while retaining all of his salary. Houston will remain on the hook for it while any other club could then sign him and pay him just the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Astros pay.
That’s obviously not the result the club was hoping for when they signed that deal and it’s yet another development that shines an unflattering light on an unusual period in Astros’ history. Despite winning the 2022 World Series, the Astros parted ways with general manager James Click just days after hoisting that trophy. Click was hired somewhat hastily after Jeff Luhnow was fired in the wake of the club’s sign-stealing scandal coming to light. Owner Jim Crane reportedly had a contentious relationship with Click and decided to pivot, despite the club’s continued success while Click was in charge.
Dana Brown was eventually hired to take over as the club’s GM, but not until January of 2023. There was a period of a few months where Crane decided to run the baseball operations department himself, reportedly advised by former big leaguers Jeff Bagwell and Reggie Jackson.
During that window, the club’s two most significant transactions were the Montero deal and the three-year pact for first baseman José Abreu, both of which turned into huge misfires. Like Montero, Abreu grappled with massive struggles before he himself was released last month. Click later took a job in the front office of the Blue Jays, the club that just acquired Kikuchi for Jake Bloss, Joey Loperfido and Will Wagner.
Montero will surely find himself on the open market in the days to come. Some club could perhaps take a shot on him based on his past success and the fact that there will be effectively no cost. Apart from the 2022 season, his track record is pretty spotty, as he currently has a 4.71 ERA in 462 1/3 career innings. He had a solid run with the Rangers in 2019 and 2020, posting a 3.09 ERA over 46 2/3 innings with a 28.6% strikeout rate and 5.9% walk rate. He was traded to the Mariners prior to 2021 and then struggled badly with a 7.27 ERA, before the Astros acquired him at that year’s deadline. As mentioned, he then had the best season of his career in 2022 before his results tailed off.
Brett Phillips Attempting Comeback As Pitcher, Agrees To Minors Deal With Yankees
Longtime MLB outfielder Brett Phillips is attempting to get back to the big leagues as a pitcher. Earlier this week, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times wrote about Phillips and his recent journey, then relayed on X that he had a agreed to a minor league deal with the Yankees.
Phillips, 30, appeared in the majors as an outfielder from 2017 to 2023, not hitting to much but providing value via his speed and defense. He hit .187/.272/.347 over 395 games for the Brewers, Royals, Rays, Orioles and Angels, stealing 39 bases in 45 tries. In just over 2,300 outfield innings, he was considered to be worth 41 Defensive Runs Saved and 32 Outs Above Average.
Most recently, he signed a minor league deal with the White Sox in January but was released in May after hitting .120/.228/.280 in 57 Triple-A plate appearances. It seems he has been focusing on carving out a new career path on the mound with some encouraging signs.
Phillips tells Topkin that he has a fastball that has been clocked at 95 miles per hour as well as a curveball and split-change. In another piece at the Tampa Bay Times, Topkin notes that Phillips recently pitched in a National Baseball Congress game and was hitting 97 miles per hour with his fastball.
“I feel like I’m going to pick it up pretty quickly,” Phillips said. “The whole reason I’m doing this is I feel like I can still compete. I feel like my body can still allow me to compete. And I feel like I could help. I love the game. And I want to continue to play the game, especially at the highest level.”
While he was still working as an outfielder in the majors, Phillips was generally beloved within the baseball world for his ebullient personality, perhaps best exemplified by his celebratory run into the outfield after the Rays walked off the Dodgers in Game Four of the 2020 World Series (video from MLB.com). That will undoubtedly mean that many will be in his corner as he attempts to navigate this unusual second act for his career.
Phillips already has 5 1/3 innings of pitching experience, which mostly involved him lobbing the ball over the plate in blowout games. If he manages to get back to the majors now that he’s pursuing pitching in a more serious fashion, he is out of options but has four years and 60 days of service time, meaning he could be retained via arbitration for at least one additional season.
Orioles Outright Levi Stoudt
The Orioles have sent right-handed pitcher Levi Stoudt outright to Double-A Bowie, the team announced this morning. He was designated for assignment last week to open up a spot on the 40-man roster after Baltimore traded for Seranthony Domínguez and Cristian Pache. This is the first time Stoudt has been outrighted in his career, and given his limited MLB service time, he has no choice but to accept the assignment.
The Mariners selected Stoudt in the third round of the 2019 draft, but due to a UCL injury and the canceled minor league season in 2020, he did not make his professional debut until 2021. After parts of two seasons in Seattle’s system, he was sent to Cincinnati ahead of the 2022 trade deadline as part of the package for Luis Castillo. He made his MLB debut with the Reds in 2023, making four appearances (two starts) over four separate stints with the big league club. Across 10 1/3 innings, the righty gave up 11 earned runs on 16 hits. He was once a well-regarded pitching prospect, but given his poor performance in the majors and similarly disappointing minor league numbers (6.23 ERA, 7.40 FIP), it came as little surprise when the Reds DFA’d him over the offseason.
The Mariners claimed Stoudt off of waivers this past February, but his second stint in Seattle was short-lived. After he pitched to a 6.92 ERA in 12 games (11 starts) at Triple-A, Stoudt was DFA’d again in June. This time, the Orioles picked him up and brought him back down to Double-A to work exclusively as a reliever. He has a 4.26 ERA but a much more impressive 3.23 FIP over nine games (12 2/3 innings) with the Bowie Baysox. He has struck out 31.0% of batters he has faced, a huge improvement over his 14.9% strikeout rate as a starter with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers. Presumably, he will continue to work as a multi-inning reliever with Bowie after the outright.
Red Sox Select Nick Sogard, DFA Yohan Ramírez
The Red Sox have promoted infielder Nick Sogard, the team announced to reporters (including Christopher Smith of MassLive). He will make his MLB debut when he first appears in a game. To make room on the 40-man roster, the team designated right-hander Yohan Ramírez for assignment. In additional Red Sox news, the team has activated right-handed reliever Lucas Sims and optioned second baseman Jamie Westbrook.
Sogard, 26, is the cousin of former big league infielder Eric Sogard. He was selected by the Rays in the 12th round of the 2019 draft and traded to Boston in what then looked to be a small swap sending righty Chris Mazza and eventual breakout left-hander Jeffrey Springs to Tampa Bay. The younger Sogard has enjoyed a career-best showing in Triple-A this season — his third stint at that level — slashing .279/.382/.439 with a dozen home runs, 17 doubles, a triple and a 10-for-15 showing in stolen bases. For a third straight season, his walk rate tops 13%, and while his 20.4% strikeout rate is a career-high, it’s still lower than average.
Although he’s played all over the diamond, Sogard has spent the bulk of his time on the left side of the infield. He’s played 1144 innings at shortstop and 1404 innings at third base, in addition to 944 frames at second base and a handful of games across all three outfield spots and at first base. The switch-hitting Sogard will give the Red Sox an option at multiple spots on the diamond and give Boston a right-handed-hitting option in the middle infield that they sought but didn’t secure heading into the trade deadline. He’s posted roughly even splits in 2024 but in the past has handled himself considerably better as a right-handed hitter against lefty opponents.
Ramirez, 29, has remarkably pitched for four different teams this season, spending time with the Mets, Orioles and Dodgers in addition to the Sox. He’s tallied 45 frames — mostly with Los Angeles — and struggled to a 6.20 ERA but more promising rate stats (21.6% strikeout rate, 8.2% walk rate, 43.8% grounder rate). Ramirez has averaged just shy of 95 mph on his heater but had a hard time getting swings and misses or chases off the plate. Opponents have posted a dismal 47.9% contact rate when they do chase (nearly 10 percentage points below average), but Ramirez has the second-worst overall chase rate among big league pitchers (min. 40 innings).
Ramirez has pitched in parts of five big league seasons, recording a 4.58 ERA, 22.8% strikeout rate and 11.3% walk rate in 169 MLB frames. With the trade deadline now passed, the Red Sox’ only option will be to place him on outright waivers or release him. They still technically have five days to do so, but with no option of trading him he’ll presumably head straight to waivers and be made available to the league’s 29 other clubs.
Cardinals Select Michael McGreevy, Place Lance Lynn On IL, DFA Jacob Bosiokovic
12:04 PM: Speaking to reporters (including John Denton), Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol explained that McGreevy was called up because the team presumed Lynn would need an IL stint for his knee. However, the skipper noted that Pallante, not McGreevy, will remain in the rotation while Lynn is out. The team does not believe the injury is especially serious (per Katie Woo), and it is not expected to require surgery (per Jeff Jones). Instead, Lynn will take a rest and rehab approach to his recovery.
11:02 AM: The Cardinals have formally selected Michael McGreevy‘s contract from Triple-A Memphis, the team announced. To make room on the 40-man roster, Jacob Bosiokovic has been designated for assignment. Bosiokovic, 30, had his contract selected at the end of June, but while he spent four days with the big league club, he did not get into a game to make his MLB debut. In 33 appearances this year for Memphis, he has a 3.95 ERA and a 29.4% strikeout rate, though his 14.1% walk rate is a cause for concern. He will now have a week to pass through waivers. If he clears waivers, the Cardinals will have the option to send him outright back to Triple-A.
In additional Cardinals news, the team placed Lance Lynn on the 15-day injured list with right knee inflammation. Lynn pitched well against the Rangers last night, limiting Texas to one run on three hits over five innings. However, he told reporters after the game (including Woo) that he was nursing pain in his knee. Woo noted that he was walking with “a pretty noticeable limp.” John Denton of MLB.com suggests that Lynn’s injury is “pretty serious,” and that the veteran fears his right knee could be “severely damaged.” However, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reported last night that Lynn and the Cardinals will “monitor” the injury and “see how he recovers.” While Lynn is out, St. Louis could choose to give McGreevy a couple of extra turns in the rotation. Alternatively, they could push back Andre Pallante‘s move to the bullpen.
By placing Lynn on the IL, the Cardinals made room for McGreevy on the active roster. St. Louis also recalled right-handed reliever Ryan Loutos from Triple-A and optioned fellow righty reliever Chris Roycroft.
July 30: The Cardinals are planning to promote pitching prospect Michael McGreevy to start Wednesday’s game against the Rangers (per Katie Woo of The Athletic). It will be the right-hander’s MLB debut. St. Louis will need to make corresponding moves to make room for the rookie on the 26 and 40-man rosters.
McGreevy, who turned 24 earlier this month, was the Cardinals’ first-round pick in the 2021 draft. His prospect stock has fallen significantly since he was drafted 18th overall, but he remains a consensus top-30 prospect in the Cardinals’ system. Keith Law of The Athletic remained particularly high on McGreevy entering the 2024 season, ranking him at No. 8 in the organization. Law made note of his durability and suggested, “He would be an easy No. 4 starter if he could get left-handed batters out.” Unfortunately for McGreevy, he has continued to struggle against opposite-handed opponents during his second season at Triple-A. While he has held righties to a .628 OPS in 207 trips to the plate, lefty batters have torched him for an .839 OPS in 261 plate appearances. Thus, his overall numbers have been lackluster. In 20 starts, he has a 4.45 ERA and a 4.31 FIP, only a slight improvement upon his 4.49 ERA and 4.52 FIP in 24 starts at Triple-A last season. Nevertheless, the Cardinals have decided he’s ready to give it a go in the majors, at least temporarily.
McGreevy’s debut will likely just be a spot start. Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat explains that the Cardinals are looking to get their starting five a little extra rest amid a stretch of 16 games in 16 days. Lance Lynn is starting for St. Louis tonight, and after McGreevy’s turn on Wednesday, the rotation will line up as follows: Sonny Gray, recent trade acquisition Erick Fedde, Kyle Gibson, and Miles Mikolas (per Jones). It is unclear how Andre Pallante, who has been in the Cardinals’ rotation since the end of May, fits into this equation. According to Lynn Worthy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, manager Oli Marmol has “not sat down yet” with Pallante to discuss his role moving forward. However, Marmol did confirm that he plans to return to a five-man rotation after this week (per Worthy). Thus, Pallante will most likely head to the bullpen. While the right-hander will surely bolster the team’s relief corps, it is noteworthy that the Cardinals are presumably choosing to promote McGreevy for a spot start rather than giving Pallante one last look in the rotation.
Orioles Acquire Austin Slater, Livan Soto
Today: Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports that the Reds will receive cash considerations in the deal, not a player to be named later.
July 30: Just before the deadline, the Orioles have picked up Austin Slater and infielder Livan Soto and cash considerations in a trade with the Reds, per announcements from both clubs. The Reds receive cash considerations or a player to be named later.
Slater is on the move for the second time this month, as Cincinnati acquired the outfielder in a deal with the Giants only three weeks ago. But the Reds recently nabbed Ty France from the Mariners, perhaps leading to Slater being squeezed out of their plans.
He has long been a solid defender with a right-handed bat that performs well with the platoon advantage. He’s hit just .226/.316/.334 against righties in his career for an 84 wRC+ but his slash against southpaws is .274/.364/.433, which leads to a 122 wRC+.
On the defensive side of things, Slater has close to 3,000 outfield innings on his ledger, with almost 1,200 of those in center field. Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating consider him subpar in center but good in a corner, while Outs Above Average considers him to be strong in all three spots.
The O’s traded Austin Hays for Cristian Pache and Seranthony Domínguez but were reportedly looking for a right-handed hitting outfielder to take some of the at-bats that were available in the wake of Hays’ departure. It would appear that Slater will be the one to step up for that job.
Soto, 24, is clearly a favorite of the Baltimore front office. They claimed him off waivers from the Angels in February, but the Angels claimed him back later that month. The O’s claimed him a second time back in April but then also quickly put him back on waivers, when the Reds claimed him.
He has a small sample of major league experience, with 23 games scattered over this season and the previous two. He’s hit .280/.378/.376 in Triple-A this year for a 101 wRC+. He’s capable of playing the three infield spots to the left of first base and even has a small amount of center field experience. He can still be optioned for the rest of this year and an additional season as well.
C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic first reported on X that Slater was going to the O’s. Mark Sheldon of MLB.com relayed Soto’s inclusion on X. Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer first relayed the cash on X.
Minor MLB Transactions: 7/30/24
Catching up on some minor transactions from around the league…
- Guardians right-hander Spencer Howard has elected free agency after being designated for assignment last week. The right-hander was acquired by Cleveland in a trade with the Giants earlier this month after he had been DFA’d in San Francisco. A second-round pick by the Phillies in the 2017 draft and a former consensus top-40 prospect in the game, Howard has struggled badly at the big league level throughout his career. In parts of five seasons with the Phillies, Rangers, Giants, and Guardians, the righty sports a 7.00 ERA in 144 innings of work with a 5.63 FIP and a 19.9% strikeout rate. In recent seasons, his struggles in the majors have extended to his time at Triple-A, where he now sports a career 4.83 ERA in 143 1/3 frames.
- Pirates left-hander Josh Fleming elected free agency after being designated for assignment last week. Fleming signed a split contract with the club back in February and was outrighted off the club’s roster in May, though he was selected back to the roster last month. Though he struggled in his first stint with the Pirates, he’s looked quite good in 12 1/3 innings of work since returning to the big leagues with a 1.46 ERA, though he’s only notched four strikeouts in that time. Still, teams on the hunt for lefty bullpen depth could consider turning to Fleming on the back of that solid recent work and his strong 58.4% career groundball rate.
- Red Sox right-hander Alex Speas was outrighted to Triple-A after being designated for assignment to make room for catcher Danny Jansen on the club’s 40-man roster. Speas, 26, never appeared at the big league level for Boston after being claimed off waivers from the Astros late last month. Since making his MLB debut with the Rangers last year, the right-hander has just four big league appearances under his belt over which he owns a 9.00 ERA and matching 30% strikeout and walk rates. He’s struggled badly at the Triple-A level for four different organizations this year with a collective 11.47 ERA in 24 1/3 innings of work between the Astros, A’s, White Sox, and Red Sox affiliates.
- Mets right-hander Shintaro Fujinami was outrighted to Triple-A after being designated for assignment to make room for the return of Kodai Senga from the injured list last week. Fujinami boasted impressive strikeout rates in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball but paired that high-octane stuff with control issues. He signed with the A’s during the 2022-23 offseason but struggled badly with them as he pitched to an 8.57 ERA with a 13% walk rate. His 4.85 ERA and 4.13 FIP with the Orioles were more palatable, leading the Mets to sign him to a one-year deal, but he’s struggled to a 10.95 ERA at the Triple-A level this year without pitching in the majors.
Minor 40-Man Moves: Twins, A’s, Blue Jays, Red Sox, White Sox
With the trade deadline behind us, here’s a look at a handful of smaller 40-man transactions from throughout the day that weren’t previously covered:
- The Twins selected the contract of right-hander Randy Dobnak and designated Josh Staumont for assignment. Dobnak, 29, signed a five-year extension with Minnesota prior to the 2021 season following a strong start to his career where he posted a 3.12 ERA (142 ERA+) with a 3.56 FIP in 75 innings of work across 19 appearances (15 starts). Unfortunately, things haven’t gone well since he inked that deal as he struggled to a 7.64 ERA in 14 appearances in 2021 and hasn’t appeared in the majors since. He was outrighted off the club’s 40-man roster in September of 2022 but has put up a decent 3.61 ERA in 99 2/3 innings of work at Triple-A this year. Staumont, meanwhile, signed a big league deal with the club over the winter and has posted decent numbers with a 3.70 ERA and 3.53 FIP this year but has struggled badly in recent weeks with 11 runs (10 earned) surrendered in his last 5 1/3 innings of work.
- The Athletics selected the contract of right-hander Gerardo Reyes. The 31-year-old made his big league debut with the Padres back in 2019 but struggled to a 7.62 ERA in 26 innings of work. More recently, he’s pitched for the Angels in each of the past two seasons with a 6.94 ERA in ten appearances. Despite those lackluster numbers, he’s struck out a solid 27% of batters faced during his big league career and has a solid 3.82 ERA in 33 innings of work at the Triple-A level this year. He’ll step into the Oakland bullpen after the club dealt Lucas Erceg to Kansas City earlier today.
- The Blue Jays selected the contract of infielder Luis De Los Santos today in order to replace Isiah Kiner-Falefa on the active roster following his trade to Pittsburgh. The 26-year-old initially signed with the club out of the Dominican Republic back in 2015. He’s bounced between the Double- and Triple-A levels in recent years with a career .217/.342/.375 slash line at the highest level of the minors, although this year he’s managed to flash a bit more offense with a solid .243/.393/.400 line and 16.7% walk rate in 28 games. The youngster has experience at all four infield spots and figures to step into the club’s bench mix.
- The Red Sox designated right-hander Trey Wingenter for assignment today. Wingenter was acquired by Boston earlier this month in a trade with the Tigers after he triggered an assignment clause in his contract, prompting the club to add him to their 40-man roster. Wingenter made just two appearances for the Red Sox and struggled badly in each of them, allowing a combined seven runs on five hits and two walks while striking out three in 2 1/3 innings of work. Prior to that rough tenure in Boston, Wingenter had a career 5.28 ERA and 3.82 FIP in 90 games with the Padres and Tigers. His career 31.9% strikeout rate stands out from his otherwise lackluster results and could garner him some interest from bullpen-needy clubs on the waiver wire.
- The White Sox selected the contract of left-hander Fraser Ellard today. Ellard, 26, was an 8th-round pick by the club back in 2021 and climbed the minor league ladder to reach the Triple-A level this year. In 40 2/3 innings of work this season, Ellard owns a 3.76 ERA with an eye-popping 33.5% strikeout rate against an elevated 11.6% walk rate. That big-time strikeout stuff should get Ellard plenty of opportunities in a Chicago bullpen that has been brutally bad this year with a collective 4.79 ERA, including a league-worst 6.22 ERA in the month of July. He’ll step into the lefty spot in the bullpen vacated by Tanner Banks earlier today, joining fellow southpaws Jared Shuster and Sammy Peralta.