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Giants Place Alex Cobb, Keaton Winn On Injured List

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The Giants have placed right-hander Alex Cobb on the 15-day injured list, formally ending his season. Cobb has been dealing with a left hip impingement that will now end his regular season. Fellow righty Keaton Winn has also been placed on the injured list, and manager Gabe Kapler confirmed to reporters that Winn has Covid-19 (via Maria Guardado of MLB.com). Left-hander Kyle Harrison and righty Sean Hjelle are up from Triple-A Sacramento in their place.

The 35-year-old Cobb — 36 next month — has started 28 games and pitched to a 3.87 ERA in 151 1/3 innings for the Giants in 2023. He’s playing out the second season of a two-year, $20MM contract that has proven to be a bargain thus far. The Giants hold a $10MM option for the 2024 season, which comes with a $2MM buyout. Given that it’s a net $8MM decision, that ought to be a veritable lock to be exercised, provided there’s no concern about a long-term injury at play.

The Giants haven’t formally been eliminated from the postseason yet, and Kapler wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Cobb returning if the Giants can defy their slim playoff odds and overcome the three-game deficit they face in the NL’s Wild Card race (via Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle).

Cobb started 28 games in both guaranteed years of the contract and will finish that portion of the deal with a 3.80 ERA, 22.1% strikeout rate, 6.3% walk rate and 59.4% ground-ball rate in 301 innings. Though these have been the 11th and 12th seasons of Cobb’s big league career, he’s throwing harder than ever before in his mid-30s, averaging 95.2 mph on his heater after previously averaging 91.7 mph in his career between the Rays, Orioles and Angels.

Winn, 25, made his big league debut this year and appeared in eight games — four of them starts — pitching a total of 37 innings with a 3.89 ERA, 20% strikeout rate, 5.3% walk rate and 56.9% ground-ball rate. The 2018 fifth-rounder averaged 96 mph on his fastball and draws high praise for his splitter as well. He’s likely put himself into the mix for a rotation spot next year, depending on the outcome of Cobb’s option and the extent to which the Giants address the starting staff over the winter.

Orioles Place Ryan Mountcastle On Injured List

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The Orioles have placed first baseman Ryan Mountcastle on the injured list and recalled outfielder Ryan McKenna from Triple-A Norfolk in a corresponding move, manager Brandon Hyde announced to reporters (via Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner). The team’s formal announcement on the injury specifies Mountcastle’s injury as inflammation in the AC joint of his left shoulder.

Mountcastle has missed the past seven games due to discomfort in that shoulder, though stints on the injured list can only be backdated to a maximum of three days. As such, he’ll miss at least the next week. Hyde added that the O’s are hopeful Mountcastle will be able to return when first eligible, though that’ll obviously depend on how his ailing shoulder progresses.

Mountcastle, 26, has been a productive member of a stacked Baltimore lineup in 2023, hitting at a .269/.327/.453 clip with 18 home runs, 20 doubles and a triple in 459 trips to the plate. This will be his second IL stint of the season, as he also missed nearly a month earlier in the summer due to a bout with vertigo symptoms. Mountcastle had looked lost at the plate for a spell heading into that stint on the IL, but he’s been one of the Orioles’ top hitters since returning. In 198 plate appearances between the two IL stints, he’s posted a huge .327/.409/.497 with seven home runs, eight doubles, a 12.1% walk rate and a manageable 21.1% strikeout rate.

With Mountcastle shelved at least a week, the O’s will likely lean on Ryan O’Hearn at first base and outfielder Anthony Santander at designated hitter. Newly recalled top prospect Heston Kjerstad, the No. 2 pick in the 2020 draft, could see time in right field, at first base or at designated hitter as well.

The Orioles have already clinched a postseason spot — their first since 2016 — so there’s little reason to rush Mountcastle back. That said, the team would surely prefer to get a look at him in a game setting, if possible, before determining its postseason roster. The obvious hope is that the downtime for Mountcastle will allow him to recover enough to reclaim his spot in the heart of the team’s batting order. Baltimore’s lineup is one of the deepest in the league, but potentially losing a bat of Mountcastle’s caliber would be a notable blow to any team’s offense. Mountcastle is also the team’s top performer against left-handed pitching; he’s torched southpaws with an absolutely mammoth .340/.396/.660 slash line in 2023.

Athletics Select Joey Estes

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Sept. 20: The A’s have formally announced Estes’ promotion to the big leagues. Righty Devin Sweet was optioned to Triple-A in order to open a spot on the active roster, while lefty Sean Newcomb has been transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Newcomb was placed on the 15-day IL earlier this week with a left knee strain, and that injury will formally end his season.

Sept. 18: The A’s are poised to select the contract of right-hander Joey Estes, according to Martin Gallegos of MLB.com. The club will need to clear space on both the 40-man and active rosters in order to make room for Estes.

Estes, 21, was a piece of the package that Oakland acquired from the Braves in exchange for first baseman Matt Olson alongside Cristian Pache, Shea Langeliers, and Ryan Cusick. Estes ranks as the club’s #13 prospect per MLB Pipeline, and #21 over at Fangraphs. Though prospect evaluators seem to generally agree that he’ll have a chance to stick in the rotation, a lack of clearly above-average secondary pitches is expected to hold Estes back from becoming more than a back-end rotation option, though his fastball does have impressive movement.

Estes was impressive in 104 1/3 innings of work at the Double-A level this year, posting a 3.28 ERA in 20 appearances (17 starts) with a 23.3% strikeout rate against a 7.2% walk rate. Those results have fallen off since his promotion to Triple-A as Estes has posted a less inspiring 5.23 ERA with a 21.5% strikeout rate in his first 32 2/3 innings at the level, though it’s worth noting that inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League.

Now, Estes figures to get a taste of big league action before the 2023 season comes to a close, setting him up as a potential rotation option for the A’s headed into Spring Training next year. Estes follows right-hand Joe Boyle in being called up for a late-season cup of coffee, as Boyle tossed three scoreless innings on four strikeouts, one hit, and two walks in his big league debut after being selected to the roster himself yesterday.

Twins Place Carlos Correa On Injured List

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10:17am: Bench coach/interim manager Jayce Tingler (Rocco Baldelli is away from the club after his wife recently gave birth — to twins, no less) and head trainer Nick Paparesta told reporters that they’re confident Correa will be ready for the beginning of the postseason (via Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune). Lewis, meanwhile, will undergo an MRI on his hamstring when the team returns to Minnesota this weekend (via Dan Hayes of The Athletic).

9:47am: The Twins announced Wednesday that they’ve placed shortstop Carlos Correa on the 10-day injured list. Correa was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis in his left foot back in May and has been playing through the injury throughout the 2023 season. It flared up earlier this week and forced him from Monday’s game in Cincinnati. He’ll be sidelined through at least next Friday now. Outfielder Trevor Larnach is up from Triple-A St. Paul to take his spot on the active roster.

Correa, 28, hit .291/.366/.467 in his first season with the Twins last year but has seen his production dip to .230/.312/.399 in 2023 while playing through that ailment. He’s still played strong defense at shortstop, and that batting line is “only” about four percent shy of league average, by measure of wRC+, but Minnesota clearly had higher hopes for the former Platinum Glove winner and two-time All-Star when signing him to a six-year, $200MM contract over the winter. Notably, the plantar fasciitis is in Correa’s left foot, which is not the same foot/leg that sparked the considerable offseason drama, led to multiple failed physicals, and eventually paved the way for his return to the Twins.

The timing of the injury is clearly unfortunate for the Twins, who are closing in on formally securing the American League Central title and punching their postseason ticket. There’s still time for Correa to be back with the club several days prior to the beginning of the playoffs, and that’ll be the team’s hope — particularly since Correa had been trending up at the dish. Correa had perhaps his worst month of the season in August but is batting .296/.377/.463 (136 wRC+) since the calendar flipped to September.

Minnesota’s injury woes don’t end there, however. The Twins saw breakout rookie Royce Lewis exit yesterday’s game with discomfort in his left hamstring. The 24-year-old former No. 1 overall pick hobbled a bit after trying to beat a grounder, and he exited the game during his next plate appearance after tweaking something on a foul ball swing (link via MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park).

To this point, there’s no indication Lewis will require a trip to the injured list, though the Twins will surely exercise caution. The longtime top prospect returned from his second ACL tear in as many years this season and has been among the best hitters in the American League when healthy, batting .309/.372/.548 with 15 home runs in 239 plate appearances. Lewis has seized the everyday job at third base and shown a flair for the dramatic, recently connecting on his fourth grand slam in a span of just three weeks.

Not coincidentally, a Minnesota lineup that has struggled with inconsistency throughout the season has done its best work in September, with both Lewis and Correa performing at high levels. The Twins are averaging 4.7 runs per game on the year but are tied with the Orioles for the MLB lead with 112 runs in 18 games this month (6.2 runs per game). With Correa sidelined and Lewis banged up, the Twins will likely turn to Kyle Farmer and Willi Castro at shortstop. Both players are options at third base as well, as is veteran Donovan Solano (who’s spent more time at first base this year).

Nationals Place Travis Blankenhorn On IL, Recall Blake Rutherford

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The Nationals have placed outfielder Travis Blankenhorn on the 10-day injured list with plantar fasciitis, the team announced. The move is retroactive to September 16, which means the left-handed hitter could return as soon as next Tuesday. In a corresponding move, Washington recalled Blake Rutherford, another lefty batting outfielder, from Triple-A.

Blankenhorn, a long-time Twins prospect, made his MLB debut with Minnesota in 2020 but was designated for assignment in May 2021. He has since spent time in the Dodgers, Mariners, Mets, and Nationals organizations, mainly at the Triple-A level. The 27-year-old earned his first real shot at regular playing time this September, posting a forgettable .555 OPS but showing off impressive plate discipline, with six walks and only six strikeouts in 37 trips to the plate.

It’s possible to play through plantar fasciitis, as Carlos Correa has demonstrated this season, but with so few games remaining and the Nationals already eliminated from postseason contention, the team has little reason to put an ailing player back on the field. Rest is key for treating plantar heel pain, and an early start to the offseason should do Blankenhorn more good than a brief stint on the IL. Then again, he might prefer to get back in the lineup as soon as possible, in an effort to improve his numbers and increase his chances of sticking on Washington’s 40-man roster throughout the offseason.

The 26-year-old Rutherford made his MLB debut this August, seven years since he was selected by the Yankees in the first round of the 2016 draft. Despite strong numbers at Double and Triple-A, he struggled to make the adjustment to the majors, batting .182 with a .388 OPS in 15 games. Ultimately, he was optioned at the end of the month to make room for catcher Drew Millas on the active roster. Rutherford will now have a second chance to make a good impression over the final 11 games of the season.

Pirates Select Kyle Nicolas

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The Pirates have selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Kyle Nicolas, the team announced. In corresponding moves, fellow right-hander Thomas Hatch has been optioned to Triple-A, while Andrew McCutchen has been transferred to the 60-day injured list.

The 24-year-old Nicolas came to Pittsburgh in 2021 as part of the trade that sent Jacob Stallings to Miami. Primarily a starting pitcher during his first two years in the minors, he transitioned to a relief role this summer. By and large, he has performed much better out of the bullpen, albeit in a limited sample size. From August 1 to September 13, he pitched 21 innings in relief, posting a 2.14 ERA and striking out an incredible 30 batters.

Entering the season, both Baseball America and FanGraphs ranked Nicolas as the no. 14 prospect in the Pirates system. The evaluators at Baseball America praised his powerful fastball, while those at FanGraphs were more impressed with his consistent command. However, it should be said that both sources were assessing his body of work as a starter. Thus far, he has looked more like a power pitcher out of the bullpen, with an impressive 36.8% strikeout rate but a less-than-ideal 11.4% walk rate.

After four years in the Blue Jays organization, Hatch was designated for assignment this August. The Pirates quickly scooped him up and added the right-handed to the active roster. In 12 appearances for Pittsburgh, the 28-year-old pitched to a 4.03 ERA and a 4.49 SIERA, nothing spectacular, but perfectly serviceable numbers for a long reliever. Still, it’s understandable why the Pirates would be more interested in the potential that Nicolas brings. It’s far more likely that the youngster plays a significant role in next year’s bullpen.

As for McCutchen, his move to the 60-day IL is nothing more than a formality. The veteran tore his left Achilles tendon earlier this month, ending his 2023 campaign. According to Pirates general manager Ben Cherington, the team believes McCutchen will be back on the field in 2024, and the two sides have agreed to discuss a contract for next year during the offseason.

Royals Announce Five Roster Moves

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The Royals announced several roster moves today, including the news that Brady Singer and Brad Keller have both been placed on the 15-day injured list, ending their seasons.  Kansas City recalled right-hander Jonathan Bowlan from Triple-A and selected the contract of left-hander Anthony Veneziano from Triple-A as well.  To create 40-man roster space for Veneziano, Matt Beaty was designated for assignment.

Keller already spent a big chunk of the season on the 60-day IL due to a right shoulder impingement, and his placement today was due to a “return of symptoms associated with thoracic outlet syndrome,” according to the Royals’ official announcement.  That is unwelcome news for the veteran righty, and it implies that a TOS surgery might be required to correct the problem.  The Diamondbacks’ Merrill Kelly is one of the rare examples of a pitcher returning from a TOS procedure and still pitching well in the aftermath, though if Keller does need a surgery, his chances of a recovery and a return to form might hinge on the specific nature of his TOS issue.

In the bigger picture, undergoing a major surgery will also certainly hamper Keller’s chances of landing a new contract in free agency this winter.  With a 5.17 ERA over 318 2/3 innings since Opening Day 2021, Keller was already likely looking at a non-guaranteed deal on the open market, but he might now face a longer wait before landing any kind of contract if he does indeed have to get a TOS procedure.

Singer has a strain in his left lower lumbar area, and the injury will put a coda on an overall disappointing year for the 27-year-old.  After seemingly breaking out in 2022, Singer appeared to be the front-of-the-rotation type of pitcher the Royals were desperately hoping to find from their group of highly-touted (but to date underwhelming) crop of top pitching prospects.  Unfortunately, Singer took a step backwards in 2023, with a 5.52 ERA over 159 2/3 innings and some of the worst hard-contact numbers of any hurler in baseball.  The right-hander’s strikeout rate was also well below average, sharply declining from 24.2% in 2022 to 18.9% in 2023.

One of the many questions the Royals face heading into 2024 is discovering what exactly they have in Singer, and whether or not he can be an effective and consistent starting pitcher.  He did have a few stretches of quality starts amidst his broader struggles in 2023, but that is small consolation for a Kansas City team in dire need of rotation help.

Veneziano has been in the Royals organization since he was selected in the 10th round of the 2019 draft.  After a strong start to the season at Double-A, he earned a promotion to Triple-A Omaha in mid-May.  He has pitched to a 4.22 ERA over 89 2/3 innings with below-average strikeout (20.6%) and walk (11.2%) rates, but it has been enough to earn the 26-year-old his first taste of Major League action.

Baseball America ranks Veneziano as the fourth-best prospect in the Kansas City farm system, while Bowlan is 18th on their list.  MLB Pipeline has Veneziano 16th and Bowlan out of their top 30 altogether, quite possibly owing to the injuries that have plagued Bowlan since he was a second-round pick in the 2018 draft.  He underwent a Tommy John surgery in 2021, and has dealt with some shoulder issues this year.

The results haven’t been there for Bowlan since returning from his TJ rehab, as he posted a 5.92 ERA over 62 1/3 combined innings (at rookie ball, high-A ball, and Double-A) in 2022, and he has a 5.91 ERA over 102 frames of Double-A and Triple-A work this season.  His first appearance with the Royals will also mark the MLB debut for the right-hander.

Since the Royals have off-days on both Thursday and Monday, it remains to be seen how they’ll line up their rotation over the final two weeks of the season.  However, it stands to reason that both Bowlan and Veneziano will get at least one start as K.C. looks to patch these holes in their rotation and takes a look at two farm system arms that could factor into the club’s 2024 plans.

This is the second time that Beaty has been designated for assignment this season, as the Giants DFA’ed him at the end of May.  Beaty opted for free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, and he landed in Kansas City on a minors deal in June.  This was technically his second stint with the Royals, as Beaty also signed a minor league contract with K.C. during the offseason but was then traded to San Francisco just prior to Opening Day.

Beaty has appeared in 26 big league games with the Royals, hitting .232/.358/.304 over 67 plate appearances.  That gives him only a .518 OPS over 119 PA since the start of the 2022 season, though Beaty was hampered by a shoulder injury for much of last year when he was a member of the Padres.  It seems likely that Beaty will clear waivers and again face an opt-out decision, and he could opt for free agency just to get a head start on the offseason rather than stick it out for the last few games of the Triple-A season.

Marlins Claim Matt Moore From Guardians

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3:09pm: The Marlins have recalled Tommy Nance from Triple-A and placed him on the 60-day injured list, thus opening up a 40-man roster spot for Matt Moore, reports Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. The 32-year-old Nance last appeared for Triple-A Jacksonville on September 6, and he has not appeared in a major league game since last October.

1:35pm: The Marlins have claimed left-hander Matt Moore off waivers from the Guardians, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. It’s the second waiver claim in recent weeks for Moore, who just went from the Angels to the Guardians at the end of August. He won’t be eligible to play in the postseason for the Marlins but will give their bullpen a boost for the final weeks of the regular season.

Moore, 34, has had an up-and-down career as a starting pitching but recently underwent a bullpen renaissance. He posted a 1.95 earned run average with the Rangers last year and parlayed that into a one-year, $7.55MM contract with the Angels. His ERA has ticked up a bit this year, but is still quite good at 2.77. He’s striking out 28.5% of opponents and walking just 7%.

He’s now set to join his third club of the year, which says more about his teams than anything he is doing. The Angels hovered around contention through the summer and decided to go for it at the deadline, holding onto Shohei Ohtani as well as giving up prospects for players like Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López and others. But they then suffered a miserable August, losing both games and players. They fell back in the standings as Mike Trout was unable to get healthy in the wake of his hamate surgery, while Ohtani suffered a tear of his ulnar collateral ligament that kept him from pitching.

Ohtani would also suffer an oblique injury in September that stopped him from hitting as well, but that was after the club had already waved the white flag on the season, putting six players on waivers at the end of August. Since the trade deadline had already passed and each player was an impending free agent, the Angels were hoping other clubs would grab them and take on their contracts, allowing the club to save some money and dip under the luxury tax.

Moore was one of those players and he was claimed by the Guardians along with Giolito and López. It was a bit of a surprising landing spot, as that club has generally shied away from significant spending and were sporting a record of 64-70 at the time. But in the weak American League Central, they were actually only five games back of the division-leading Twins and decided to take a shot. By grabbing those three pitchers, they added roughly $3.727MM to their payroll but hopefully increased their odds of chasing down Minnesota.

But it now seems that they are following the Angels and waving their own white flag, having fallen to seven games back of the Twins with now less than two weeks left to play. It wasn’t known prior to this report that Moore was on waivers, but it seems the Guards put him on the wire with the hope of shaving off some of that money they took on. Moore is still owed about $529K for the remainder of the season.

It seems the Marlins consider that to be an acceptable expense for a handful of games from Moore. Since he is being acquired after the September 1 cutoff date, he won’t be able to pitch for them in the postseason, making this a very temporary bullpen upgrade. But unlike the Angels and Guardians, their season is still very much alive. The National League Wild Card race is extremely tight right now, with the Phillies in the top spot but a tangled mess beneath them. The Diamondbacks, Cubs, Reds and Marlins are all within one game of each other, with the Giants just a game and a half back of that pack. While all those clubs want to win, the Marlins are arguably the most motivated. Leaving aside the shortened 2020 season, they haven’t finished above .500 since 2009 and haven’t been in the playoffs since 2003.

Miami’s relievers have a collective ERA of 4.19 on the year, which places them 18th. It’s also been a bit worse of late, with a 4.45 ERA since the start of August. Adding in Moore will hopefully give the group a bit of a boost, though it’s not really about his left-handedness. The club already has four strong southpaw options in the bullpen but the Marlins seem to have decided they are willing to put some cash on the barrel in the hopes of squeezing out any possible upgrade, with the importance of each game magnified down the stretch.

Braves Reinstate Jesse Chavez, Designate Lucas Luetge For Assignment

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The Braves announced that right-hander Jesse Chavez has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list, with left-hander Lucas Luetge designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Chavez, who turned 40 while on the IL, has been out of action since mid-June after being hit by a comebacker on his left leg. The club announced at the time that X-rays did not reveal a fracture, but it nonetheless took him over three months to rejoin the team.

The veteran signed a minor league deal with Atlanta in the offseason and cracked the Opening Day roster. He made 31 appearances prior to his injury with an earned run average of 1.55 in that time. He was helped out a bit by an 85.4% strand rate but still had excellent peripherals with a 30.8% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and 48.5% ground ball rate.  If he can get back into that form now that he’s healthy, he will strengthen the club’s bullpen just in time for the playoffs.

Luetge, 36, was acquired from the Yankees in an offseason trade and has bounced on and off the Atlanta roster this year. He was selected just yesterday and was entered into last night’s game with the club down 7-1 to the Phillies. He threw two scoreless innings to finish the contest and has now been quickly cut from the roster for a fresh arm, his third time being designated for assignment this year.

The lefty has more than three years of major league service time, which means he can reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency. But since he has less than five years of service, doing so would mean forfeiting the remainder of his $1.55MM salary. Twice already this year, he has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment, which could perhaps come to pass again in the coming days. Around those transactions, he’s posted a 7.24 ERA in 13 2/3 innings at the big league level, along with an ERA of 3.91 in 23 Triple-A innings.

Reds Release Chasen Shreve

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The Reds have released Chasen Shreve, according to his transaction page on MLB.com. The lefty reliever was designated for assignment on September 12, just ten days after the Reds selected his contract. He made three appearances for Cincinnati, including scoreless outings against the Mariners and Cardinals, but turned out to be little more than a placeholder for fellow southpaw Brandon Williamson; he was called up when Williamson went on the COVID-19 IL and DFA’d once Williamson returned.

Shreve spent most of the 2023 campaign with the Tigers, making 47 appearances between Opening Day and mid-August. While his 4.79 ERA was uninspiring, his underlying numbers painted a picture of a solid middle reliever: a 46.8% groundball rate, a 6.7% walk rate, and a 3.69 SIERA. Nonetheless, the Tigers eventually chose to prioritize youth and the future, cutting ties with the veteran shortly after the trade deadline.

The 33-year-old quickly latched on with the Reds, signing a minor league deal and reporting to the Louisville Bats. He performed well in six appearances for Cincinnati’s Triple-A affiliate, giving up only one run on two hits while striking out five.

With less than a week remaining in the Triple-A season, it’s unlikely Shreve signs elsewhere before the year is up. However, he should be able to find another minor league deal this winter. As a durable left-handed reliever with ten years of big league experience, teams will undoubtedly be interested in his services.

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