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Royals Place Zack Greinke On Injured List

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The Royals have placed right-hander Zack Greinke on the 15-day injured list, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com, with right posterior elbow soreness. The move is retroactive to yesterday. Left-hander Taylor Hearn was recalled in a corresponding move.

Greinke, 39, has an extensive track record of major league success but is struggling through one of the worst seasons of his career. He’s allowing 5.53 earned runs per nine innings, striking out just 15.8% of batters faced. He hasn’t had huge strikeout totals for a few years now, relying more on limiting hard contact, but that’s proved to be more challenging this year. His 8.6% barrel rate is the worst of his career, as is the 89.5 mph average exit velocity he’s allowed. 17.2% of fly balls he’s allowed are leaving the yard, one of the worst such rates of his career.

It’s unclear how long Greinke is expected to be out, but the club will have to operate without him for at least the next two weeks. That will leave them with a rotation of Brady Singer, Cole Ragans, Jordan Lyles and Alec Marsh. They are currently in a stretch of 12 straight games, with their next off-day not until Sunday. That means they will need a fifth starter, or a bullpen game, at some point between now and then. Max Castillo and Jonathan Bowlan are each on the 40-man roster though they both have ERAs above 5.00 in Triple-A this year.

Greinke is currently sitting on 2,995 career strikeouts. Just five more will allow him to hit the 3,000 milestone, something that only 19 other pitchers have ever done in history. Royals fans, and baseball fans in general, will hope that he returns to health in time to hit that incredible marker.

Hearn will be making his Royals debut whenever he gets into a game, as he was just acquired from Atlanta prior to the deadline. He has a 3.37 ERA in the minors this year, tossing 42 2/3 innings between the two organizations. He’s struck out 30.1% of opponents in that time but walked 12.8%.

Blue Jays Place Kevin Kiermaier On Injured List

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The Blue Jays announced that outfielder Kevin Kiermaier has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to August 7, due to a right elbow laceration. Fellow outfielder Nathan Lukes was recalled in a corresponding move.

Kiermaier collided with the center field wall in Fenway Park on Sunday while making a catch. He required eight stitches, per Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet, though manager John Schneider said there were no structural concerns and that Kiermaier was considered day-to-day. Now it seems the club will give him an extra week-plus to rest his arm and get into game shape.

He’s having yet another excellent defensive season, having earned 13 Defensive Runs Saved and eight Outs Above Average on the year, as well as a mark of 4.1 from Ultimate Zone Rating. His bat is also above average, as he’s slashing .274/.336/.415 on the year for a 109 wRC+. That’s been a bit frontloaded, as he hit .319/.365/.521 through the end of May but just .222/.303/.294 since the start of June. Nonetheless, it’s been a strong season overall for the 33-year-old.

With Kiermaier out, the club will likely rely on Daulton Varsho as the everyday center fielder. He’s hitting just .218/.280/.367 this season though has shown some recent signs of life. He’s hit .320/.370/.600 since July 30, though in a small sample of just nine games. Even with the tepid offense, he’s provided 19 DRS, 6.1 UZR and 5 OAA, along with 12 steals, though the Jays would surely love for his bat to stay hot for an extended stretch.

With Varsho in center and George Springer in right, left field could be covered by some combination of Lukes, Whit Merrifield, Davis Schneider and Cavan Biggio. Lukes has hit just .190/.280/.333 through his first 25 major league plate appearances but has a strong .333/.414/.564 line in Triple-A this year. He’s mostly played the corners but has seen some time in center in the minors, allowing him to serve as Varsho’s backup, though Merrifield and Biggio also have some experience there.

Red Sox Designate Yu Chang For Assignment, Activate Trevor Story

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The Red Sox have designated infielder Yu Chang for assignment, with manager Alex Cora confirming the move to reporters (including Chris Cotillo of MassLive). His roster spot will go to Trevor Story, who has now been activated from the 60-day injured list.

Story underwent elbow surgery in January, an internal brace procedure that was clearly going to put him out of action for a long time. The club didn’t put a specific timeline on it then, saying that Story could return late in the 2023 campaign, though chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said at the time it was “not something at this stage we want to bank on.”

The Sox have been spinning plates at the shortstop position even since that news, with Chang, Enrique Hernández, Pablo Reyes, David Hamilton, Christian Arroyo, Bobby Dalbec and Enmanuel Valdéz all having seen some time there, while Adalberto Mondesí was acquired in the offseason but has spent all year on the IL thus far. None of those players have proven to be a standout, with Hernández having since been traded to the Dodgers, Arroyo outrighted off the roster, while Hamilton, Dalbec and Valdéz are in the minors on optional assignment.

In the case of Chang, he got some fairly regular playing time early on but suffered a fractured hamate in late April and didn’t return until early July. In 39 games around that IL stint, he’s hit just .162/.200/.352 this year. He’s played all four infield positions and has been graded well at each of them but the offense is clearly lacking. He’s out of options and so the club had little choice but to remove him from the roster.

That’s generally been the narrative around Chang in his career, as he is capable of providing strong defense at various positions but hasn’t found a way to contribute much with the bat. His career batting line is now .204/.265/.359 through 650 plate appearances.

Despite that tepid offensive performance and his out-of-options status, he’s generally drawn interest from clubs around the league. Last year, he bounced from the Guardians to the Pirates, Rays and Red Sox but didn’t carve out a lasting role with any of the four. With the trade deadline now behind us, the Sox will have to put Chang on waivers, either the outright or the release variety. It’s possible that he garners interest yet again, perhaps on a club outside contention that can give him regular playing time to try to get into a groove. He can be retained via arbitration for two seasons beyond this one.

Story will now step back onto the roster, though Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reported yesterday that he will play every other day for now, as he continues ramping back up to regular action. With Chang now off the roster, Reyes will likely share some of the shortstop duties as Story continues to build up to a full-time role.

Athletics Claim Spenser Watkins

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The A’s have claimed right-hander Spenser Watkins off waivers from the Astros, as first reported by Jessica Kleinschmidt (Twitter link). He’ll been assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas for the time being. Houston designated Watkins for assignment over the weekend when Jose Urquidy was reinstated from the 60-day injured list.

Watkins, 30, has a bit of major league experience but has been stuck in the minors all year. He tossed 160 innings for the Orioles over 2021 and 2022, allowing 5.85 earned runs per nine innings in that time. He only struck out 13.7% of batters faced but his 6.9% walk rate was quite strong.

This year, the O’s optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk at the end of Spring Training. He spent about a month on the minor league injured list and had only tossed 26 innings for the Tides with a 7.27 ERA by mid-June. He was designated for assignment and flipped to the Astros for cash. He tossed 20 1/3 innings for Triple-A Sugar Land with a 9.74 ERA, before getting his second DFA of the year this past weekend.

The results this year haven’t been great, but it’s likely not quite as bad as his combined 8.35 ERA would indicate. His .386 batting average on balls in play and 55.4% strand rate are both on the unlucky side of average, leading to a 5.27 FIP that’s much more palatable. The most recent chunk of his season was also spent in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, which likely didn’t do him any favors.

The A’s are the worst team in baseball, with a 32-81 record and .283 winning percentage. Their pitching staff has a collective 5.82 ERA that’s easily the worst in the majors. Watkins can provide them with a depth arm that has a bit of major league experience under his belt. He’s in his final option year and will be out of options next season, though he’s yet to reach arbitration and can potentially be controlled for five seasons beyond this one.

Diamondbacks, Tyler Chatwood Agree To Minor League Deal

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The D-backs and veteran righty Tyler Chatwood are in agreement on a minor league contract, per team’s transaction log at MLB.com. Chatwood, an Excel Sports client, signed his deal yesterday and got right to work, tossing an inning for the organization’s Rookie-level affiliate in the Arizona Complex League.

Presumably, that’ll be a short stay at that level for Chatwood as he builds up arm strength. The right-hander was with the Pirates organization earlier this year but was released in mid-June and hasn’t pitched since. Once he has a few innings under his belt, he’ll likely move up to Triple-A Reno.

Chatwood, 33, pitched ten minor league innings with Pittsburgh earlier this season but walked more batters (eight) than he struck out in that short time. A veteran with a decade-long big league career under his belt, he’s pitched to a 4.45 ERA in 878 2/3 innings at the MLB level, punching out 17.2% of his opponents against a 12% walk rate and 53.9% ground-ball rate. He hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2021, however, and he’s posted an ERA north of 5.00 in three of his past four big league seasons. From 2018-21, Chatwood worked to a combined 4.83 ERA and walked a massive 15.6% of his opponents.

While the recent track record is shaky, Chatwood averaged 96 mph on his heater from 2019-21, has a long history of inducing grounders at a high rate and upped his strikeout rate considerably in his last two big league seasons (27.3%). The D-backs shuffled their bullpen mix at the deadline, acquiring Paul Sewald but also sending veteran Andrew Chafin to the Brewers in a trade for younger righty Peter Strzelecki. Chatwood will add another fresh face to the depth chart, though there’s obviously no guarantee of him ever pitching with the big league club. He’ll need to pitch his way up to the Majors, but there’s little harm in the Diamondbacks taking a chance on a hard-throwing veteran in this manner.

Marlins Outright Devin Smeltzer

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Marlins left-hander Devin Smeltzer cleared waivers following last week’s DFA and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Jacksonville, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald tweets.

This was the third time in 2023 that the Marlins have designated Smeltzer for assignment, and it’s now the third time he’s passed through waivers and been outrighted. His prior outright assignments give him the right to reject an assignment in favor of free agency, but Smeltzer accepted an outright assignment following each of his two prior DFAs in Miami.

The 27-year-old Smeltzer’s most recent stint with the Fish was his most successful of the season. He appeared in two games and fired three shutout innings with five strikeouts and no walks. Overall, he’s pitched to a 5.79 ERA with an 18.1% strikeout rate and 4.8% walk rate through 18 1/3 innings since signing with Miami on a minor league contract over the winter. He’s spent the bulk of the season in Jacksonville, where he’s worked out of the rotation but turned in a shaky 5.95 ERA with an 18.4% strikeout rate and an uncharacteristically high 12.6% walk rate.

Smeltzer spent the four prior season in Minnesota, pitching to a 3.99 ERA in 140 innings between the Twins’ rotation and bullpen, fanning a well below-average 16.6% of his opponents against a strong 6.4% walk rate.

White Sox Acquire Tyler Naquin

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The White Sox acquired veteran outfielder Tyler Naquin from the Brewers in exchange for cash, the teams announced. Naquin will head to the White Sox’ Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte and is expected to be in the Knights’ lineup tomorrow, tweets Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times.

[Related: How to acquire players after the trade deadline]

Naquin, 32, was eligible to be traded by virtue of the fact that he hasn’t been on a 40-man roster or major league injured list at any point this season. He signed a minor league pact with Milwaukee back in March and has spent the entire season to date with their Triple-A affiliate in Nashville. The seven-year big league veteran has slashed .284/.333/.432 with six homers in 160 plate appearances this season. He’s been on and off the active roster a few times due to injury — most recently some minor shoulder troubles.

A first-round pick back in 2012, Naquin made his big league debut in 2016 with Cleveland. He’s logged Major League time each season since, also making stops in Cincinnati and Queens, hitting at a .264/.318/.444 clip in 1811 MLB plate appearances. Naquin has experience in center field but is better suited to play a corner. He’s a left-handed hitter who’s been held to a meager .210/.272/.339 slash against lefties but has tagged righties for a much heartier .274/.326/.468 slash in his career.

While Naquin won’t immediately jump onto Chicago’s big league roster, the uncertain state of the South Siders’ outfield could get him a look at some point. Top prospect Oscar Colas struggled considerably in right field early in the season before being optioned to Triple-A, and he hasn’t improved in a month since his recall. Dating back to July 4, Colas has hit .229/.253/.289 with a 29.9% strikeout rate and 3.4% walk rate in 87 plate appearances. The White Sox do have some outfield alternatives in Triple-A who are already on the 40-man roster — Clint Frazier, Adam Haseley — but both have been in the minors for more than a month now.

If the Sox ultimately feel there’s no spot on the big league roster for Naquin, they could still trade him a second time this month. They’d likely only pick up cash in return, as is common in post-deadline swaps of this nature.

White Sox Sign Chris Muller To Minor League Contract

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The White Sox signed righty Chris Muller to a minor league deal over the weekend, according to an announcement from their Triple-A team. He’s been assigned to their top affiliate in Charlotte.

Muller, 27, has yet to make his big league debut. He received his first major league call from the Rays in May but was optioned back out without making an appearance. After he suffered an injury in Triple-A, Tampa Bay released him. The Rays brought him back on a minor league pact but released him again last week.

A former 17th round pick, Muller is strictly a bullpen option. He’s worked 20 innings across 16 appearances with the Rays’ top minor league club this season, posting a 4.95 ERA. His 24.4% strikeout rate was solid, but he walked a lofty 12.2% of batters faced. It was a similar story the year before, when Muller fanned 28.1% of opponents against a 12.7% walk percentage en route to a 4.91 ERA in 58 2/3 Triple-A frames.

Chicago traded away a number of relievers at the deadline, leading to MLB calls for the likes of Declan Cronin, Bryan Shaw, Edgar Navarro and Lane Ramsey. That thinned the Triple-A depth, making it a fairly sensible landing spot for Muller to look for his initial MLB appearance.

Brewers Reinstate Bennett Sousa

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The Brewers reinstated reliever Bennett Sousa from the 60-day injured list and optioned him to Triple-A Nashville, per the transaction log at MLB.com. Milwaukee transferred Justin Wilson from the 15-day to the 60-day IL to clear the necessary 40-man roster spot.

Sousa missed a couple months with a nerve issue in his throwing shoulder. Acquired from the division-rival Reds in April, the 28-year-old southpaw has made a pair of appearances for the Brew Crew this season. He’s logged 16 innings with Nashville, allowing 10 runs (nine earned). He’s fanned 22 hitters at the top minor league level. Milwaukee acquired Andrew Chafin at the trade deadline to pair with Hoby Milner as left-handed options for Craig Counsell. Now that he’s healthy, Sousa is in the mix behind them.

Wilson’s brutally-timed injury could well have increased Milwaukee’s urgency to trade for Chafin. The veteran lefty strained a lat while warming up for what would’ve been his first appearance after a Tommy John rehab. He’ll miss the remainder of the season and seems quite likely to be bought out next winter, meaning he might never make an appearance as a Brewer.

Guardians Designate Chris Vallimont For Assignment

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The Guardians announced this afternoon they’ve designated minor league right-hander Chris Vallimont for assignment. The move cleared a spot on the 40-man roster for outfielder Ramón Laureano, who was claimed off waivers from Oakland.

Vallimont, 26, landed in Cleveland in a cash trade with Baltimore a month ago. The Mercyhurst product didn’t make an appearance with the Guards. He spent the past month on optional assignment to Triple-A Columbus, working 10 1/3 innings over seven appearances. He allowed nine runs while walking eight and only striking out four.

The former fifth-round draftee had somewhat better numbers while pitching with the O’s top affiliate earlier in the season. He’d started seven of 10 outings there, pitching to a 5.02 ERA over 57 1/3 frames. Vallimont struck out almost 26% of batters faced with Baltimore’s top affiliate but walked over 12% of opponents. He made the lone big league appearance of his career to date for the O’s on July 3.

With the trade deadline in the rearview mirror, Cleveland has to place Vallimont on waivers. He’s gone unclaimed once in his career already. As a result, he’d have the ability to declare minor league free agency if he clears the waiver wire this time around.

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