A’s Select Michel Otañez
5:18PM: Wood had a setback during his throwing program, as the team told MLB.com and other media. Wood has subsequently been shut down and no timeline has been given about when he might get back to the rehab process.
11:25AM: The A’s announced a series of roster moves this afternoon led by the club selecting the contract of right-hander Michel Otañez. Making room for Otañez on the 40-man roster is Alex Wood, who the club transferred to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move, while lefty Jack O’Loughlin was optioned to the minor leagues to create space on the active roster.
Otañez, 27 next month, made his professional debut in the Mets organization back in 2018. Initially a starting pitcher, the right-hander converted to relief following the cancelled minor league season in 2020 and reached the upper levels of the minors in 2022. While he dominated Double-A hitters to the tune of a 1.80 ERA in 15 innings of work, he quickly met his match in a promotion to Triple-A, where he struggled to a 6.37 ERA in 29 2/3 frames. Otañez then elected minor league free agency and landed with the Diamondbacks, though his struggles continued with a brutal 6.08 ERA in 37 innings of work split between the Double- and Triple-A levels that year. While Otañez struck out an excellent 35.3% of batters faced with Arizona, a ghastly 16.2% walk rate held him back from being a major league caliber relief arm.
Otañez returned to minor league free agency last offseason and latched on with the A’s on a minor league pact. The club assigned him to Triple-A Las Vegas and he finally found success at the level with his third organization. In 29 1/3 innings of work, Otañez has managed to cut his walk rate to a more manageable 11.8% while maintaining a strong 35.4% strikeout rate that’s nearly identical to last year. His work to cut down on free passes paid dividends in the results department as he’s posted a 3.99 ERA despite the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League.
That performance was enough to convince the A’s to offer Otañez a chance at the big league level. The 26-year-old will make his major league debut the first time he gets into a game and figures to act as a middle relief option for the club from the right-hand side alongside Vinny Nittoli, behind late-inning arms Mason Miller, Austin Adams, and Dany Jimenez. He’ll replace O’Loughlin in an Oakland bullpen stacked with left-handed pitching options after the Australia native threw 3 1/3 scoreless relief frames against Toronto last night.
As for Wood, the lefty’s placement on the 60-day IL is ominous news given that Wood was set to begin a throwing program in his rehab from rotator cuff tendinitis on June 1. That seemingly could have put the veteran lefty on track to return sometime later this month, but now he’ll be out until at least after the All Star break. The 2024 campaign had been a struggle for Wood prior to his placement on the IL, as he pitched to a lackluster 5.26 ERA with a matching 5.27 FIP through nine starts with Oakland.
Tigers Sign Miguel Diaz To Minor League Contract
Miguel Diaz is heading back to Motown as the Tigers announced that the right-hander has been signed to a minor league contract. Diaz pitched for the Tigers in 2022-23 before being claimed off waivers from the Astros in early April.
That stint in Houston resulted in just a single Major League appearance, as Diaz threw a perfect inning of mop-up relief work in an 10-2 Astros loss to the Rangers on April 5. He otherwise pitched at Triple-A Sugar Land and didn’t have much success, struggling to a 9.64 ERA across 14 innings (13 appearances). While Diaz didn’t help himself with a 15.2% strikeout rate, he also had the misfortune of a .392 BABIP and a 40% strand rate, explaining the big gap between his ERA and his much more favorable 3.63 FIP.
The Astros designated Diaz soon after his lone big league appearance, and he elected free agency but re-signed quickly on a new minor league deal. The lack of results in the minors led Houston to release Diaz last week, and now the circle has been completed with his return to the Tigers organization. Since Diaz is out of minor league options, the Tigers would have to designate him for assignment him again in the event that he is called up to the MLB roster and then the team wished to send him back down again to Triple-A Toledo.
The 29-year-old Diaz is a veteran of seven Major League seasons, with a 4.81 ERA over 127 1/3 career innings with San Diego, Detroit, and Houston. His 41 2/3 innings in his 2017 rookie season with the Padres and his 42 innings with the 2022 Tigers represent the bulk of that resume, and Diaz has a respectable 24% career strikeout rate, albeit with some large year-to-year variance. Diaz will give the Tigers some extra bullpen depth in the minors in the event of an injury in the big league relief corps, or if Detroit simply needs to cycle in a fresh arm.
Jake Woodford Elects Free Agency
TODAY: The White Sox announced that Woodford cleared waivers and chose to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A.
JUNE 7: The White Sox have designated right-hander Jake Woodford for assignment, reports Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. He’ll be replaced on the roster by righty Jonathan Cannon, who’s being recalled from Triple-A Charlotte.
Drafted by St. Louis with the No. 39 overall pick in 2015, Woodford spent his entire career prior to the 2024 season in the Cardinals organization. He signed a minor league contract in Chicago over the winter. The 6’4″ righty has started two games for the South Siders but been tagged for 10 runs on 15 hits and five walks with seven strikeouts in 8 1/3 innings. He had a rough go in Charlotte as well, pitching 49 2/3 innings of 5.26 ERA ball across 10 starts.
Woodford did notch a 3.26 ERA in a swingman role with the Cardinals from 2021-22, although a paltry 15.4% strikeout rate and some very good fortune in terms of homer-to-flyball rate prompted fielding-independent metrics to take that number with a grain of salt. Woodford 3.93 FIP and 4.65 SIERA were both far more bearish.
In parts of six Triple-A seasons, Woodford has pitched to a 4.19 ERA with a 19.5% strikeout rate, 10.2% walk rate and above-average ground-ball tendencies. He’s out of minor league options, so any team that acquires him in a small trade or claims him on waivers will need to add him directly to the MLB roster. If he clears waivers, he’d have the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency. The Sox will either trade him or put him on waivers within the next five days, with waivers themselves representing a 48-hour process. Within a week’s time, Woodford will know the result of his DFA.
Cannon, 23, made his big league debut earlier this season but was hit hard in his first three MLB starts. He’s been hit hard in the minors as well, recording a 5.50 ERA in 37 2/3 frames, but the reeling White Sox will give him another look in the big leagues at a time when Garrett Crochet and Erick Fedde are their only two reliable starting pitchers. Cannon, a third-round pick in 2022, ranks among Chicago’s top pitching prospects and will likely receive ample opportunity to cement himself as a viable big league starter as the Sox navigate their latest rebuilding effort.
Yankees Designate Dennis Santana For Assignment
The Yankees announced this afternoon that they’ve designated right-hander Dennis Santana for assignment. Right-hander Ron Marinaccio was recalled to the majors in a corresponding move.
Santana, 28, signed with the Yankees on a minor league deal over the offseason and quickly broke onto the club’s roster when right-hander Jonathan Loasigia suffered a flexor strain that sent him to the 60-day IL just days into the regular season. The right-hander generally pitched well into early May, with a 3.24 ERA and an even stronger 2.78 FIP despite a lackluster 18.6% strikeout rate. Unfortunately, the wheels came off for Santana from there. Over his last nine outings, the right-hander has been torched to the tune of a 10.97 ERA with a 5.67 FIP. He’s struck out 14% of batters faced, walked 8%, and hit a batter in his last 10 2/3 innings of work.
That brutal stretch ballooned Santana’s ERA to 6.26 on the season, and that left the Yankees to pull the plug on his time in their bullpen. Now, the club will have seven days to either trade Santana or attempt to pass him through waivers, although he’s been outrighted previously in his career and would have the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency even if he were to clear waivers.
What stands out about Santana’s time in the Bronx is how different his peripherals have looked compared to his previous struggles at the big league level. Ever since the right-hander made his big league debut with the Dodgers back in 2018, Santana has struggled with his control despite generally solid strikeout numbers. From 2020 to 2023, Santana pitched to a 4.91 ERA and 4.20 FIP that aren’t entirely dissimilar to the results he got with the Yankees this year, but his strikeout rate of 21.1% and walk rate of 12% were both much higher than the 16.5% and 8.7% figures he posted in the Bronx. If Santana is able to find a way to recoup those lost strikeouts while maintaining his more manageable walk rate from this season, it’s conceivable the 28-year-old could become a valuable relief arm for an interested club.
In the meantime, the Yankees will replace Santana with Marinaccio in their bullpen mix. The righty, 29 on July 1, has enjoyed strong results since he made his big league debut with the club back in 2022. In 104 innings of work, he’s posted a 2.86 ERA despite a more pedestrian FIP of 3.98. That elevated FIP stems from command issues; Marinaccio has struck out an excellent 28.2% of the batters he’s faced in his career, but his 10.9% walk rate in 12 2/3 innings of work this year is currently the lowest of his career. In spite of those shaky peripherals, it’s nonetheless an impressive body of work for the righty, who came from humble beginnings as a 19th-round pick in the 2017 draft. Marinaccio figures to resume his role in the middle of the Yankees bullpen going forward alongside Victor Gonzalez and Michael Tonkin.
Diamondbacks Designate Logan Allen For Assignment
The Diamondbacks announced this morning that they’ve designated left-hander Logan Allen for assignment. Lefty Tommy Henry was recalled to the majors in a corresponding move to replace Allen on the club’s active roster.
Allen, 27, is not to be confused with the 25-year-old Guardians left-hander of the same name despite the fact that he too was once a fairly well-regarded prospect in Cleveland’s farm system. Acquired from the Padres in the three-team blockbuster that sent Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes to Cleveland, Trevor Bauer to Cincinnati, and Taylor Trammell to San Diego, Allen pitched only briefly for Cleveland in the majors prior to the 2021 season, where he struggled badly with a 6.26 ERA in 50 1/3 innings of work across 14 appearances (11 starts).
The peripherals matched that lackluster performance. Allen struck out just 16.7% of batters faced while walking 7.7% and allowing an eye-popping 22.2% of his fly balls to leave the yard for home runs. Even with a solid 45.1% groundball rate, those brutal results and the peripherals that indicated they were largely deserved left the Guardians to part ways with Allen in May of 2022. He was initially claimed off waivers by the Orioles, although he struggled through just three appearances with Baltimore before they too designated him for assignment. This time, he passed through waivers successfully and was assigned outright to the minors.
The lefty spent a few months in the Orioles minor league system before eventually getting released and signing with the Rockies on a minor league deal that August. He remained in Colorado into the 2023 season but was released in mid-July, though he found a job with the Mariners just weeks later. Across four organizations and two seasons, Allen struggled badly at the Triple-A level with a 5.77 ERA in 110 2/3 innings of work and never sniffed the majors after he was outrighted by the Orioles. Nonetheless, Allen was able to find a minor league pact with the Diamondbacks this winter. Unlike his past minor league deals, this time Allen found some success with a 3.00 ERA in 12 innings of work with the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Reno.
That was enough for the Snakes to decide to call Allen up to the majors as a long relief option in mid-April. He’s made 12 appearances for the Diamondbacks since then, often pitching as many as three or four innings at a time, and had generally impressed with a 3.67 ERA and 3.84 FIP through his first 11 outings as a Diamondback. Unfortunately, the lefty was torched for six runs on six hits (including a home run) and a walk in one inning of work against the Padres last night, a disastrous outing that ballooned his ERA to 5.46 and his FIP to 4.31. With Arizona in need of a fresh arm and Allen out of option years, that left Arizona to DFA him in order to get Henry, who has acted as optionable starting pitching depth for the Diamondbacks since his debut in 2022, onto the roster.
Arizona will now have one week to either trade Allen or attempt to pass him through waivers. If Allen clears waivers successfully, the Diamondbacks would be able to outright him to the minor leagues, although he’d have the right to reject such an assignment as a player who has already been outrighted previously in his career. It’s not inconceivable that a pitching-needy team would be willing to look past Allen’s rough outing against San Diego last night and take a chance on him based on his previous 11 appearances, although it’s also possible the lefty’s shake results both at Triple-A and in the majors prior to joining the Diamondbacks could turn otherwise intrigued clubs away.
Mariners Place Ty France On The 10-Day Injured List
The Mariners made a series of roster moves this morning, headlined by the club’s reported promotion of first base prospect Tyler Locklear. Seattle also selected the contract of right-hander Matt Bowman, as first reported by Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times. In corresponding moves, first baseman Ty France was placed on the 10-day injured list with a fractured heel and right-hander Collin Snider was optioned to Triple-A in order to clear space on the active roster. Meanwhile, right-handers Levi Stoudt and Eduardo Salazar were designated for assignment to clear 40-man roster space for Locklear and Bowman.
The loss of France is surely a frustrating one for Mariners fans, as the 29-year-old has been one of the club’s hottest hitters dating back to the start of May. In his last 34 games, France has slashed a strong .259/.353/.448 in 133 plate appearances. That strong stretch has lifted his overall season line to a respectable .251/.329/.403, but his hot streak will now be cut short by a trip to the IL after France was hit in the heel by a pitch from Royals lefty Daniel Lynch IV. France was initially considered day-to-day due to the issue but after continued discomfort he underwent imaging that revealed a fracture. A timetable for France’s return is not yet clear, though it seems likely to be a fairly lengthy absence. France’s injury opened the door for Locklear’s promotion, which you can read more about here. As noted by Divish, the Mariners plan for Locklear to be the club’s everyday first baseman going forward, rather than part of a platoon with Luke Raley.
Also joining the club alongside Locklear is Bowman, a veteran of six major league seasons who has already pitched for the Diamondbacks and Twins so far this year. When the Twins dealt Bowman to Arizona, he had been squeezed off of Minnesota’s 40-man roster despite a solid showing in five appearances, where he posted a 2.35 ERA in 7 2/3 innings of work. Unfortunately, the wheels came off for Bowman across his four appearances with Arizona, where he was shelled for six runs on eight hits and two walks in 6 2/3 innings of work that ballooned his ERA to 5.02 on the year. That led the Diamondbacks to designate the righty for assignment in late May, and he later elected free agency rather than remain in the organization as a non-roster depth piece.
Bowman signed with the Mariners on a minor league deal last week and looked good in two scoreless appearances with the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma. Now, he’s set to join a Mariners bullpen that has lost key players like Matt Brash, Gregory Santos, and Gabe Speier to the injured list this season. While the 33-year-old righty hasn’t exactly impressed in the majors in recent years, he nonetheless sports a 3.51 ERA in 66 2/3 innings of work at the Triple-A level over the past two seasons with a solid 23.1% strikeout rate that suggests he could be a solid middle relief option for Seattle going forward. He’ll be replacing Snider in the club’s bullpen after the righty briefly came up from Triple-A last week; the 28-year-old now figures to return to the minors as a depth option for the Mariners moving forward.
Departing the club’s 40-man roster are Stoudt and Salazar, neither of whom have pitched for the Mariners in the majors this year. Salazar was claimed off waivers from the Dodgers just two weeks ago and sports a 6.91 ERA in 14 1/3 innings of work in the majors with L.A. and Cincinnati. He allowed two runs on three hits and three walks while striking out just one in 3 1/3 innings of work with Triple-A Tacoma. As for Stoudt, the righty was claimed off waivers from the Reds back in February as a potential depth starter but has pitched to disastrous results at Triple-A, with a 6.92 ERA in 52 innings of work and a strikeout rate of just 14.9%. The Mariners will have one week to either trade the pair or attempt to pass them through waivers. If either player clears waivers successfully, the Mariners will have the opportunity to outright them to the minor leagues as non-roster depth.
White Sox Designate Shane Drohan For Assignment
The White Sox announced a series of roster moves this morning, including that they’ve activated left-hander Shane Drohan from the 60-day injured list and designated him for assignment. In a separate move, the club selected the contract of left-hander Sammy Peralta. The club optioned right-hander Nick Nastrini to make room on the active roster. Chicago’s 40-man roster stands at 39.
Drohan, 25, joined the White Sox organization over the offseason when he was selected from the Red Sox in the Rule 5 draft. Chicago will have one week to either trade or waive Drohan, and if he clears waivers they must offer him back to Boston for $50K. If he lands with a new organization by trade or on waivers, Drohan’s Rule 5 obligations will carry over to that new club. Drohan underwent shoulder surgery back in February but began a rehab assignment on May 10. The 30-day window for Drohan’s rehab assignment ended today, meaning that he had to be activated from the IL and either placed on Chicago’s active roster in compliance with Rule 5 restrictions or designated for assignment.
The White Sox evidently chose to part ways with Drohan, and given his struggles during his rehab assignment it’s not hard to see why. In 9 1/3 innings of work over ten appearances spread across three levels of the minors, Drohan struggled to an 8.68 ERA with a 17.4% walk rate despite an excellent 32.6% strikeout rate. Those results worsened when he departed complex ball, as he yielded a 9.53 ERA with identical 20.7% strikeout and walk rates in seven appearances split between High-A and Triple-A. Even for a 17-48 club like Chicago, it’s difficult to justify dedicating an active roster spot to a player facing struggles that deep against minor league hitters.
Prior to the aforementioned shoulder surgery, Drohan had the look of an interesting pitching prospect in the Red Sox organization. The lefty dominated Double-A pitching to the tune of a 1.32 ERA with a 28.1% strikeout rate across six starts last year before being promoted to the Triple-A level. Drohan hit a wall during his time at Triple-A, however, as he walked 14.9% of batters faced across his 21 appearances (19 starts) while yielding a 6.47 ERA in 89 innings of work.
Those struggles were seemingly enough to convince Boston to leave Drohan off their 40-man roster this winter, although Chicago evidently believed that a move to short relief could help with Drohan’s control problems enough to make him a viable big leaguer. Should he wind up returning to Boston, it’s possible the Red Sox will keep Drohan in his new short relief role or perhaps look to stretch him back out as a potential depth option for the big league club in the event he manages to sort out his control issues.
As for Peralta, the lefty’s contract was first selected to the club’s roster back in May of 2023. He performed decently in a middle relief role for the club last year, with a 4.05 ERA and 4.41 FIP in 20 innings of work. Peralta’s lackluster minor league numbers and worrisome big league peripherals were enough to make him expendable for the White Sox as they sorted through their Opening Day roster crunch, and he was designated for assignment to make room for right-hander Jordan Leasure on the 40-man roster. That led to him being claimed off waivers by the Mariners, who then designated Peralta themselves to make room for righty Eduardo Salazar.
The White Sox then claimed him off waivers from Seattle to return him to the organization, only to designate him for a third time in two months in order to make room for righty Jake Woodford on 40-man roster. Peralta then finally cleared waivers and was outrighted to the minors in late May, but he spent less than two weeks there before being selected back to the roster today. Peralta’s rollercoaster first two months of the season have led him to a familiar role: that of a fill-in relief option who can pitch from the left side. The lefty struggled badly during his time in the Mariners organization but has 3 2/3 scoreless innings of work at the Triple-A level for the White Sox this year. He’ll hope to take that success into the majors with him as he joins the club’s bullpen alongside fellow lefties Tanner Banks, Jared Shuster, and Tim Hill.
As for Nastrini, the right-hander was a key component of the return for right-handers Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly after Chicago traded them to the Dodgers last summer. Nastrini has made six starts at the big league level so far this season and has generally struggled badly, with a 8.39 ERA and 7.92 FIP in just 24 2/3 innings of work. While he held the Red Sox to just one run over 4 1/3 innings last night, he walked five of the 19 batters he faced. That performance at the big league level has clearly indicated to the Sox that the 24-year-old needs more time in the minors before he can contribute on the south side on a more permanent basis.
Braves Select Hurston Waldrep
TODAY: The Braves officially announced the selection of Waldrep’s contract this morning. Right-hander Daysbel Hernandez was optioned to the minors and Acuna was placed on the 60-day injured list in corresponding moves.
June 8: The Braves are calling up top pitching prospect Hurston Waldrep, according to multiple reporters (including MLB.com’s Mark Bowman). Waldrep will make his Major League debut on Sunday in a start against the Nationals, as Atlanta is giving Max Fried extra rest by pushing his next outing to Tuesday. A 40-man roster space will have be opened to accommodate Waldrep, though that could be easily accomplished by moving Ronald Acuna Jr. or Spencer Strider to the 60-day IL.
The move represents another aggressive promotion from the Braves, as it was less than a year ago that Waldrep was selected with the 24th overall pick of the 2023 draft. There was even some speculation that Waldrep was being considered for his MLB debut near the end of last season to give the Braves an extra high-powered bullpen arm for the playoffs, though the club opted against moving quite so quickly with the right-hander’s development. Even still, Waldrep has only 84 2/3 pro innings under his belt, and just two starts at the Triple-A level. Waldrep recorded 11 strikeouts over six innings with Triple-A Gwinnett last Sunday, allowing three earned runs on five hits and a walk in his first Triple-A outing of 2024.
This was enough to convince the Braves that Waldrep is ready for the Show, and the 22-year-old will now get an opportunity in what has become a revolving door of a fifth starter’s position. Atlanta’s top four of Fried, Reynaldo Lopez, Charlie Morton, and Chris Sale has been very solid, but since Strider underwent season-ending elbow surgery, six other pitchers have gotten starts in Strider’s place. None have achieved much success, so Waldrep might well get an extended look if he shows he can hang against big league hitters.
Waldrep was a consensus top-100 pick on preseason prospect rankings, with Baseball Prospectus (30th) and Baseball America (49th) the most bullish about his potential. (He was ranked 77th by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel, 80th by The Athletic’s Keith Law had him 80th, and 90th by MLB Pipeline, though Waldrep is now 72nd on Pipeline’s updated in-season list.) There is universal acclaim for Waldrep’s splitter, which has upper-80s velocity and “completely falls off the table,” in the words of BA’s scouting report, leading to “ugly swings against hitters unable to hold back.” Beyond this signature pitch is a fastball that regularly sits in the mid-90s and can hit as high as 99mph, and he also has a plus slider.
Controlling this arsenal has always been something of an adventure for Waldrep, so perhaps the most intriguing number on his 2024 stat line is his 7.56% walk rate over 55 1/3 total innings at the Double-A and Triple-A levels. That is already a big upgrade from the 13% walk rate he posted in his first 29 1/3 pro innings in 2023, and if this improved command can continue in the majors, Waldrep has front-of-the-rotation potential. At the very least, Waldrep might profile as an elite closer down the road if he can’t stick as a starter, but naturally Atlanta will give him plenty of looks in the rotation before deciding on that step.
The obvious comparison here is with the hard-throwing Strider, and Strider might well have matched Waldrep’s first-round pedigree if he hadn’t undergone a Tommy John surgery in college. Of course, it would be asking an awful lot of Waldrep to match Strider’s meteoric rise to big league stardom, and if Waldrep is “only” a decent rotation arm in his first taste of the majors, that is still a huge achievement for a pitcher just a year removed from the University of Florida.
If Waldrep can stay on the Major League roster for this season and beyond, he’ll be in good position to earn an extra year of arbitration eligibility as a Super Two player. As per the Prospect Promotion Incentive qualification system, Waldrep can earn a full year of MLB service time if he finishes first or second in NL Rookie of the Year voting, though Waldrep would have to be truly exceptional to overtake the likes of Shota Imanaga, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Jared Jones, or others who have excelled in the majors for the entire 2024 campaign.
Mariners To Select Tyler Locklear
The Mariners are set to select first baseman Tyler Locklear prior to tomorrow’s game against the Royals, according to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. The club will have to make corresponding moves to accommodate Locklear’s addition to both the 40-man and active rosters prior to tomorrow’s game.
Locklear, 23, was Seattle’s second-round pick in the 2022 draft. The Virginia Commonwealth product has moved quickly through the minors, reaching the Double-A level in just his first full professional season before reaching Triple-A 41 games into his 2024 campaign. He’s now poised to reach the majors after just ten games at Triple-A and with only 753 minor league plate appearances under his belt. His offensive output during his limited time at the minor league level certainly appears to indicate that he may be in need of a greater challenge, as he sports a career .289/.398/.508 slash line across all levels of the minors, including above average production by measure of wRC+ at every level he’s appeared at since graduating from complex ball.
That fantastic offensive performance has led him to become one of the more well-regarded prospects in the Mariners system. Baseball America rates Locklear as Seattle’s fifth best prospect and as the #83 prospect in all of baseball. BA highlights his “borderline plus-plus” power potential and patience at the plate, both traits that were on display when Locklear hit a fantastic .291/.401/.532 (155 wRC+) in 41 games at the Double-A level this season. Locklear clubbed eight home runs in just 188 plate appearances while walking at a strong 12.2% clip. That performance was good for the fifth-best on-base percentage and third-best wRC+ among all qualified hitters 25 or younger in the Texas League this season.
Locklear’s promotion to the majors comes amid injury concerns regarding first baseman Ty France. The 29-year-old is (as relayed by Divish) expected to undergo imaging on his right heel due to lingering “tenderness” after he was hit by a pitch from Royals left-hander Daniel Lynch IV during yesterday’s game. France indicated that he was hopeful he would only miss a few days of action, so it’s possible that he isn’t headed for the injured list to make room for Locklear on the active roster. While both Locklear and France have experience elsewhere on the infield, each has moved to first base full time in recent seasons and appears unlikely to be a factor at the other infield spots.
Should the Mariners plan to accommodate both Locklear and France in the starting lineup on a regular basis going forward, that would likely indicate reduced playing time for Mitch Garver, who has served as both the club’s regular DH as well as a backup catcher to Cal Raleigh. The possibility of Garver seeing less playing time going forward is hardly a shocking one given his struggles at the dish this year. While he enjoyed a strong .249/.347/.479 slash line with a 128 wRC+ between the 2021 and 2023 seasons with the Mariners and Rangers, Garver’s first season in Seattle has been difficult as he’s posted a line of just .177/.288/.331 (86 wRC+) in 54 games with the club this year.
Rockies To Promote Adael Amador
6:20pm: As relayed by Harding, club manager Bud Black confirmed to reporters this evening that Rodgers is being placed on the injured list, with Amador to be recalled in a corresponding move.
2:18pm: The Rockies are set to call up infield prospect Adael Amador for his Major League debut, according to reporter Francys Romero (X link). Amador will bypass Triple-A entirely on his way to the big leagues, and the Rox will need to make a corresponding transaction to create room for Amador on both the 26-man roster, although he is already on the club’s 40-man roster.
It’s a surprisingly aggressive move for the Rockies considering that Amador is hitting only .194/.337/.329 over 209 PA with Double-A Hartford, though he does have 22 steals in 25 attempts. However, it isn’t entirely clear whether or not Amador will officially be added to the roster today or if he’ll be on the taxi squad, as MLB.com’s Thomas Harding writes that the Rockies are still determining whether or not Brendan Rodgers will need to visit the 10-day injured list. Rodgers left yesterday’s game with a hamstring injury and is currently day-to-day, so it is possible Amador might not be needed if Rodgers has a very quick recovery.
If Rodgers does hit the IL, or the Rox might give the 21-year-old Amador more or less everyday work at second base if Rodgers will be sidelined for at least the next 10 days. Given the situation, it seems like Colorado prefers using a 40-man spot on Amador rather than create a space for any of their infield options at Triple-A, none of whom have much or any experience in the majors. While Amador’s season-long numbers leave something to be desired, he has recently been on a tear, hitting .309/.400/.655 over his last 66 plate appearances.
While a stop at Triple-A was expected first, Amador was generally seen as an advanced enough prospect to be a candidate for his MLB debut in 2024. Amador is ranked 32nd by MLB Pipeline and 34th by Baseball America on their constantly-updated top 100 prospects lists, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel also had the infielder 33rd on his preseason top-100 ranking. Amador was an international signing for Colorado back in 2019, and due to the pandemic, he didn’t make his proper pro debut until he played in the Arizona Complex League in 2021.
Even if the Double-A numbers haven’t quite reflected it, Amador’s switch-hitting approach at the plate has been widely praised, and he has more walks (186) than strikeouts (172) over his minor league career. This contact has been quality contact as well from both sides of the plate, even though Amador has yet to show much power.
It’s possible more pop could come as he gets older and perhaps gains more size (though Amador isn’t a small man at 6’0″ and 200 pounds), and even if his power numbers stay below average, it’s easy to see him driving double or triples into the big outfield at Coors Field. Amador has stolen 73 bases of an even 100 attempts in the minors, and evaluators feel he could stick at shortstop, though the Rockies have made him pretty much a full-time second baseman since Ezequiel Tovar has the shortstop position locked down for the rest of the decade. Since Rodgers is a free agent after the 2025 season, Amador has been viewed as Colorado’s new second baseman of the future.
Service time probably won’t be a big consideration for the moment since Amador’s first stint in the majors might not last too long (if at all), so it’s too early to speculate about Super Two qualification down the road. Still, the fact that the Rockies are calling up Amador over their Triple-A options and are at least willing to consider starting his MLB service clock indicates that the team might have a longer look in mind for Amador later in the season. Rodgers’ health situation will impact his potential trade value heading into the deadline, but a case can be made that the Rockies could move Rodgers before July 30 and clear the way for Amador at second base for the latter half of the 2024 campaign.