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Diamondbacks To Promote Dominic Fletcher

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The Diamondbacks are planning to recall outfield prospect Dominic Fletcher, according to The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan. Fletcher is already on the 40-man roster, though a corresponding move will be necessary to clear space for Fletcher on the active roster nonetheless. Per a team announcement, that move will come in the form of left-hander Anthony Misiewicz being optioned to Triple-A. Fletcher’s first appearance with the club will be his big league debut.

Fletcher, 25, is rated 15th in a loaded Diamondbacks system by MLB Pipeline. Known primarily for his quality defense in center field, Fletcher has also posted big numbers at the plate in the minors to this point in his career, with a .305/.378/.472 slash line in 558 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. That includes an absolutely torrid start to the 2023 campaign for Fletcher, who has dominated Triple-A pitching in his first 109 plate appearances this season. During that time, Fletcher has slashed .323/.417/.559 with three home runs, four triples, and five doubles in just 22 games.

Buchanan notes that Fletcher’s call up could be related to budding star Corbin Carroll leaving last night’s game against the Rockies with a left knee contusion. Carroll is not headed for the injured list, but it’s possible that Fletcher will fill in for Carroll in the outfield in the event he misses a game or two due to the injury. Carroll is off to a torrid start this season, slashing .309/.374/.536 in 107 plate appearances that have put him toward the front of the NL Rookie of the Year race.

As for Misiewicz, the 28-year-old has a career 4.40 ERA in 108 1/3 innings of work since he debuted with the Mariners in 2020. That being said, he sports a far more palatable career FIP of 3.70 and has pitched solidly for Arizona so far this season, posting a 3.86 ERA in four appearances. The left-hander figures to act as bullpen depth for the Diamondbacks going forward.

Cubs Select Ryan Borucki

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The Cubs have selected the contract of left-hander Ryan Borucki, according to the Chicago Tribune’s Meghan Montemurro. In a corresponding move, right-hander Caleb Kilian has been optioned to Triple-A. The club had an open spot on the 40-man roster following their decision to designate catcher Luis Torrens for assignment, so no 40-man roster move was needed to add Borucki.

Borucki, 29, made his major league debut as a starter with the Blue Jays back in 2018. He pitched to a solid 3.87 ERA in 97 2/3 innings of work across 18 starts. Unfortunately, injuries limited Borucki to just 6 2/3 innings in 2019, leaving him to convert to relief ahead of the 2020 season. Since his move to the bullpen, Borucki has struggled, posting a 4.66 ERA and 5.30 FIP over 65 2/3 innings across the past three seasons. He joined the Cubs on a minor league deal this past offseason, and gives the club a left-handed option out of the bullpen while Brandon Hughes is on the 15-day injured list with left knee inflammation.

Kilian, 26 in June, heads back to Triple-A after a brutal spot start yesterday where he surrendered seven runs on 10 hits, two walks and two hit batsmen in just 3 1/3 innings against the Marlins. Acquired from the Giants alongside Alexander Canario in the deal that sent Kris Bryant to San Francisco, Kilian was considered one of Chicago’s top prospects headed into last season. Things started to unravel for Kilian when he made his big league debut last summer. The right-hander posted a 10.32 ERA across three starts in the majors before heading back to the Triple-A, where he posted a 6.54 ERA in 63 1/3 innings for the remainder of the 2022 campaign.

Things haven’t gone much better for Kilian in 2023, as he had posted a 7.15 ERA in three starts at Triple-A prior to yesterday’s disastrous call up. Kilian was needed yesterday as both Jameson Taillon and Kyle Hendricks are on the shelf, though Taillon threw a bullpen yesterday per Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun Times and Hendricks is currently rehabbing at Triple-A, leaving room to return Kilian to Triple-A in hopes he can return to his 2021 form.

Blue Jays Acquire Tyler Heineman

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As noted by Kevin Gorman of Tribune-Review Sports, the Pirates have traded catcher Tyler Heineman to the Blue Jays in exchange for minor league infielder Vinny Capra. Capra was assigned to Triple-A. Per The Athletic’s Kaitlyn McGrath, Toronto assigned Jordan Luplow outright to Triple-A to make room on the 40-man roster for Heineman, who was optioned to Triple-A. Heineman had been designated for assignment by the Pirates earlier this week.

This moves marks Heineman’s second stint with the Blue Jays. An eighth round pick by the Astros in the 2012 draft, Heineman was on his fourth organization by the time he made his major league debut with the Marlins in 2019. He then appeared in 15 games for the Giants during the shortened 2020 season before signing a minor league deal in Toronto ahead of the 2022 season. Heineman appeared in ten games with the Jays before the Pirates claimed him off waivers from the club last May.

Heineman played in 52 games for the Pirates, by far the longest stint in the majors of his career. During that time, he slashed just .211/.277/.254 over 158 plate appearances. Following the 2023 campaign, Heineman was non-tendered by the Pirates but re-signed with the club on a minor league deal. He was selected to the roster early in the season and appeared in three games for the club before being DFA’d, a move which opened the door for his return to Toronto. Heineman figures to serve as catching depth for the Blue Jays in Triple-A. Prior to the addition of Heineman, the Blue Jays had no catchers on the 40-man roster besides their current tandem of Alejandro Kirk and Danny Jansen.

Going the other way is Capra, a 26-year-old who made his MLB debut one year ago tomorrow. While he slashed just .200/.429/.200 in eight games with the Blue Jays last year, Capra has a solid .263/.347/.393 slash line over five seasons in the minors. Capra also brings versatility to the table, with considerable time in the outfield corners in addition to regular work at shortstop, second base, and third base.  Capra was non-tendered by Toronto back in November, but re-signed with the club on a minor league deal just days later.

As for Luplow, the 29-year-old outfielder is in his seventh season in the big leagues. Toronto claimed him off waivers from the Braves earlier this season, but he struggled in a four game stint with the club, striking out four times and drawing a walk but recording no hits during that time. Luplow has since been optioned to Triple-A, and will now need to be re-added to the 40-man roster before he can return to big leagues with the Blue Jays. Despite his struggles this season, Luplow has been a solid bat in the past, with a career wRC+ of 101 including a 123 mark from 2019-2021.

Nationals Select Andres Machado

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The Nationals have selected the contract of right-hander Andres Machado, per a team announcement. To make room for Machado on the 40-man and active rosters, the club designated left-hander Anthony Banda for assignment.

Machado, 30, made his MLB debut with the Royals during the 2017 season. Machado struggled badly in his first taste of big league action, surrendering nine runs on 10 hits (two home runs) and three walks while striking out just one in 3 2/3 innings of work. After that disastrous debut, Machado wouldn’t return to the big leagues until he joined the Nationals in 2021. Machado has put up solid numbers for Washington since then, with a 3.41 ERA (117 ERA+) in 95 innings of work the past two seasons, though his 4.55 FIP leaves plenty of reason for caution.

Heading out in favor of Machado is Banda, a 29-year-old lefty currently in his seventh season in the majors. The journeyman has a 5.69 ERA in 118 2/3 innings of work during his career, during which he has played for seven different clubs. That includes what has been a very difficult stint in Washington during which Banda has allowed five runs in seven innings of work. Without Banda, the Nationals have no left-handed relievers in their bullpen, though Jose Ferrer and Matt Cronin are both on the 40-man roster as possible options down the road.

Rays Acquire Javy Guerra From Brewers

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April 30: Per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, the Rays have added Guerra to the active roster ahead of today’s game against the White Sox. Right-hander Calvin Faucher was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move.

April 29: The Rays and Brewers have swung a late-April trade, with right hander Javy Guerra heading to Tampa Bay in exchange for a player to be named later or cash, the teams announced. To make room on the roster, the Rays designated right hander Braden Bristo for assignment.

It’s a return to the Rays for Guerra, who the Rays had only traded to Milwaukee in November of last year. The 27-year-old was off to a poor start with the Brewers, pitching to an 8.64 ERA in 8 1/3 innings and had been designated for assignment. The chief culprit was a staggering 20% walk rate. Guerra had enjoyed some success with the Rays last season, working to a 3.38 ERA over 16 innings.

Guerra made his big league debut for the Padres back in 2019, and compiled a combined 8.46 ERA over 27 2/3 innings for the organization over four years. He found his way to the Rays last year and enjoyed his best run of success in the big leagues there. The 12.9% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate he had in Tampa indicated he some outperformance of his peripherals, and the Rays flipped him to Milwaukee at the end of the season for minor leaguer Victor Castaneda. After struggling in Milwaukee, Guerra will now return to Tampa and look to rediscover some success there.

Rangers Place Jacob deGrom On 15-Day IL Due To Elbow Inflammation

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The Rangers announced that right-hander Jacob deGrom has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his throwing elbow.  The move comes a day after deGrom was removed early from his start against the Yankees due to what was initially termed as forearm tightness.  In the corresponding move, Texas called up right-hander Yerry Rodriguez from Triple-A to take deGrom’s spot on the active roster.

Manager Bruce Bochy told reporters yesterday that removing deGrom was “just a precaution,” and GM Chris Young told reporters (including Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News) that an MRI revealed the inflammation.  “Given how important he is to us and our season, we’re going to play this very cautiously and see how he responds over the next several days of treatment, and then 7-10 days we’ll have a pretty good idea of what the next steps are,” Young said.

DeGrom also made an early exit from a start two weeks ago due to wrist soreness, this IL visit might be something more of an overall maintenance pause to let deGrom entirely heal up.  That said, it certainly isn’t good to see deGrom back on the IL, particularly with any sort of elbow/forearm issue.  The right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery over a decade ago, and he missed the second half of the 2021 season recovering from forearm tightness.  Between that abbreviated 2021 season and then a stress reaction in his shoulder blade prior to the start of the 2022 season, deGrom missed almost exactly a full year of action bridged over the 2021-22 campaigns.

Sandwiched around that long injury absence, deGrom still posted a 1.90 ERA over 156 1/3 innings in 2021-22, continuing to show that he is one of baseball’s very best pitchers when healthy.  Even with health concerns clouding his last two seasons, deGrom still opted out of the $30.5MM remaining on his contract with the Mets in order to chase a larger free agent deal this past winter.  The bet paid off handsomely for the 34-year-old, who landed a five-year, $185MM contract from the Rangers.

That deal contains a conditional option for the 2028 season that is relevant given the nature of deGrom’s current IL stint.  The option becomes a club option if deGrom undergoes a TJ surgery or is on the IL for any elbow or shoulder-related injury for either 130 consecutive days in a given season, or for 186 consecutive days bridging multiple season.  (The price of that club option ranges from $20MM to as much as $37MM if deGrom hits certain innings thresholds and finishes in Cy Young Award voting over the life of the contract.)  If deGrom avoids these injury benchmarks, passes a physical after the 2027 season, tossed at least 160 innings that season, and has a top-five finish in Cy Young voting in 2027, the option becomes a $37MM player option.

As noted, there isn’t yet any indication that deGrom’s injury is serious, or anything that might even sideline him beyond the 15-day minimum.  Still, it is a little ominous that an elbow problem that sent deGrom to the IL within his first month in a Rangers uniform, and the club can only hope that this injury is just a bump in the road.

Over his first six games with Texas, deGrom has continued to perform like an ace, posting a 2.67 ERA over 30 1/3 innings with elite Statcast metrics almost across the board.  The Rangers are a perfect 6-0 in deGrom’s starts, which is a big reason why Texas is sitting in first place in the AL West after a 15-11 start.

Texas has off-days on both Monday and Thursday, giving the team some flexibility in how it will reset the rotation with deGrom out.  Young indicated that Dane Dunning is the likeliest candidate to step into the starting five, and Rodriguez’s promotion is perhaps a hint that the Rangers will indeed move Dunning back into the rotation.  Dunning was a regular starter for the Rangers in 2021-22 before the team’s offseason pitching acquisitions pushed him into a relief role.  Despite a very low 13.9% strikeout rate, Dunning has fared well in the bullpen, posting a 1.77 ERA and 50.8% grounder rate over 20 1/3 relief innings.

Red Sox Likely To Activate Chris Martin From 15-Day IL On Sunday

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Chris Martin looks to be on the verge of a return to the Red Sox bullpen, as manager Alex Cora told reporters (including Alex Speier of the Boston Globe) that the reliever will likely be activated from the 15-day injured list prior to Sunday’s game with the Guardians.  The corresponding move has already been made, as the Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams reports that right-hander Kaleb Ort has been optioned to Triple-A.

The Sox retroactively placed Martin on the 15-day IL back on April 13, so he’ll return to the field in just slightly more than the minimum 15 days.  Right shoulder inflammation sidelined Martin, but an MRI revealed no structure damage, and it seems as though Martin’s discomfort subsided in relatively quick fashion.  It’s possible he might have been back exactly after 15 days, were it not for a stomach bug that delayed his appearance in a Triple-A rehab outing.  Martin finally took the hill on Friday, and assuming that he doesn’t report any setbacks prior to tomorrow’s game, the Red Sox will reinstate the veteran righty.

Martin signed a two-year, $17.5MM free agent deal with the Sox in December, after posting strong numbers with four different teams (the Rangers, Braves, Cubs, and Dodger) from 2019-22.  With a 2.57 ERA over his first seven innings with Boston, Martin looked to be continuing that trend, though he had an uncharacteristically low two strikeouts over those seven frames.

Ort has struggled to a 7.30 ERA over 12 1/3 relief innings this season, including a rough performance on April 25 that saw him allow five runs (four earned) over just one-third of an inning against the Orioles.  Inserting Martin in Ort’s place will certainly help Boston’s relief corps, and Martin’s experience in high-leverage situations will be particularly useful if there’s any uncertainty over Kenley Jansen’s health status.  Jansen battled some back stiffness during today’s game, as the closer blew his first save of the season and labored through 29 pitches during his inning of work.

Mets Place Brooks Raley On 15-Day Injured List, Option David Peterson To Triple-A

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The Mets placed southpaw Brooks Raley on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to April 28) due to left elbow inflammation.  Left-hander David Peterson was also optioned to Triple-A, creating a second spot on New York’s active roster.  Right-handers John Curtiss and Adam Ottavino will fill that void, with Curtis called up from Triple-A and Ottavino activated from the paternity list.

Raley entered today’s action tied for the league lead in appearances (14) and holds (eight), and for the most part, the lefty has been quite sharp despite a somewhat misleading 4.76 ERA.  Twelve of Raley’s 14 outings have been scoreless, except he was tagged for four runs in an inning of work against the Brewers on April, and for two runs in his most recent appearance on Thursday against the Nationals.  His 22.4% strikeout rate is also below average, but Raley’s 2.0% walk rate is among the league’s best, and he is doing a good job of limiting hard contact.

Ottavino has pitched well this season and will likely slide back into his set-up/part-time closer role, with David Robertson still getting the overall bulk of save opportunities.  But, losing Raley is certainly a blow to the Mets bullpen, in part because he was also the team’s only left-handed reliever.  The Mets haven’t been particularly concerned with bullpen balance in recent times (given that Joely Rodriguez was occasionally the only southpaw in the 2022 relief corps), and chose to just recall Curtiss rather than select a left-hander like T.J. McFarland onto the 40-man roster.

Since the Mets optioned Peterson to Triple-A multiple times in 2022, it isn’t necessarily a shock that the left-hander is again headed to Syracuse.  With Justin Verlander set to be activated from the injured list next week and Max Scherzer returning from suspension, Peterson is the odd man out of the rotation mix after making six starts thus far in the 2023 season.

It has been a hard-luck year for Peterson, whose 3.59 ERA is well below his 7.34 ERA.  Peterson has above-average strikeout and walk rates, but he has also allowed eight home runs in only 30 2/3 innings of work.  (For comparison’s sake, Peterson surrendered 11 homers over 105 2/3 frames in 2022.)  The southpaw has allowed a lot of hard contact, but even the softer contact has been finding holes, as per his inflated .357 BABIP.  Peterson will get a chance to get himself on track at Triple-A, while remaining on tap as the Mets’ top depth starter.

Rockies Reinstate Randal Grichuk From 10-Day IL, DFA Ty Blach

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The Rockies announced that outfielder Randal Grichuk has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list. To create room on the active roster, Colorado designated left-hander Ty Blach for assignment.

Grichuk underwent surgery in early February to correct a bilateral sports hernia, and the outfielder’s recovery sidelined him through all of Spring Training. As a result, Grichuk spent the first month of the season in extended spring camp and then an eight-game minor league rehab assignment at Triple-A Albuquerque. Though Grichuk has struggled to a meager .288 OPS over 36 Triple-A plate appearances, he is apparently healthy and the Rockies feel he’s ready to return to the big league lineup.

Acquired in a trade with the Blue Jays in March 2022, Grichuk hit .259/.299/.425 with 19 homers over 538 PA with Colorado last season. Between the lack of offense (88 wRC+) and mixed reviews on his defense in right and center field, Grichuk was below the replacement-level line in 2022, with -0.2 fWAR.

Assuming everyone stays healthy, Grichuk likely won’t be getting regular at-bats this season. Kris Bryant and Jurickson Profar have gotten most of the corner outfield work, and the Rockies are giving Charlie Blackmon the occasional start in the corners when he isn’t a DH. Yonathan Daza is currently dealing with a hand injury, so center field might be an avenue for Grichuk to garner some playing time until Daza is better.

Just like in 2022, Blach signed a minor league deal with the Rockies in the offseason and then earned a spot on the Opening Day roster. While Blach didn’t fare too well (5.89 ERA in 44 1/3 innings) in a long relief role last season, things have been even rougher this year, as Blach has allowed at least one run in five of his six outings en route to an 8.18 ERA over 11 innings.

If Blach clears waivers and is outrighted off Colorado’s 40-man roster, he has the ability to reject that assignment and become a free agent. Should he not want to test the open market again, Blach could accept the outright assignment and remain at Triple-A as bullpen depth.

Cristian Pache Suffers Torn Meniscus In Right Knee

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2:35pm: Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports that Pache will need surgery on his knee.

1:01pm: The Phillies announced that they’ve placed outfielder Cristian Pache on the 10-day IL with a torn meniscus in his right knee and recalled outfielder Dalton Guthrie.

It’s a tough break for a young player who was enjoying a nice run with the Phillies, batting .360/.360/.600 through 26 plate appearances this season. Sure, it’s a small sample size but for a former top prospect who’d struggled to take off in the big leagues it was a promising start on a new team. The Phillies haven’t outlined the next steps for Pache, but Andrew Velazquez required surgery to repair a torn meniscus at the back end of last season and that came with a six-to-eight week recovery.

The Phillies acquired Pache from Oakland in exchange for Billy Sullivan at the end of Spring Training. One of the key pieces in the Matt Olson deal between Atlanta and Oakland, Pache had struggled with the A’s, hitting just .166/.218/.241 with three home runs in 260 plate appearances. That did come with his usual excellent defense in center, as Pache put up seven Outs Above Average for Oakland last year, but clearly it wasn’t enough to make up for the batting line.

Quality defense and poor offense has been the story of Pache’s career to date, as the former top-100 prospect struggled in a handful of games with the Braves prior to his move to Oakland. While it’s far too early to suggest he’d turned a corner in Philadelphia, it was a promising start and given his excellent outfield defense even a small uptick in offense from his previous seasons could make him a valuable player.

With Pache out, the Phillies will add Guthrie to their big league roster. Guthrie was slashing .278/.380/.481 with two home runs this year at Triple-A. The sixth round pick in 2017 made 14 appearances for the Phillies last year, hitting .333/.500/.476.

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