Cubs Activate Jeimer Candelario From 10-Day Injured List
The Cubs announced this afternoon that infielder Jeimer Candelario has been activated from the 10-day injured list. Infielder Jared Young was optioned to Triple-A Iowa in a corresponding move.
The return of Candelario, 29, should provide the Cubs with a boost for the final five games of the 2023 regular season, all of which could prove crucial for Chicago. Entering play today, the Cubs hold just a half-game lead over the Marlins and a 1.5-game lead over the Reds for the final NL Wild Card spot. Candelario was Chicago’s big splash at the trade deadline this year, as they shipped a pair of prospects to the Nationals in lefty D.J. Herz and shortstop Kevin Made to land the infielder’s services.
At the time of the trade, Candelario was slashing an impressive .258/.342/.481 in 419 trips to the plate with 30 doubles and 16 homers. He got off to a hot start in Chicago with a .305/.370/.524 slash line in his first 92 trips to the plate with the club, though he entered a brutal slump for his final 13 games prior to hitting the shelf with a .083/.227/.278 line across 44 trips to the plate. Adding the bat Candelario flashed at the start of his time with the Cubs this year, or even the production from his stint with the Nationals earlier this year, would provide a huge boost to a Cubs lineup that has been forced to rely on depth options like Miles Mastrobuoni, Nick Madrigal, and Patrick Wisdom in his absence.
Making room for Candelario on the active roster is Young, who has looked like a roughly league-average corner bat during his limited time in the big leagues. In 21 games (65 plate appearances) across the 2022 and 2023 campaigns, the 27-year-old rookie owns a .224/.308/.466 slash line with a 29.2% strikeout rate. In addition to those solid small-sample numbers in the big leagues, Young has torn the cover off the ball at the Triple-A level this year with a fantastic .310/.417/.577 slash line in 376 trips to the plate while playing all four corners.
Candelario may not be the only key Cubs piece returning this week, as right-hander Adbert Alzolay told reporters (including Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune) that his live bullpen session today went well and that he’s hopeful he’ll be able to return for the final series of the regular season in Milwaukee, which begins on Friday. The return of Alzolay could have an even bigger impact for Chicago than Candelario, as the club’s fWAR out of the bullpen (-0.2) since losing Alzolay to the injured list with a forearm strain earlier this month is bottom three in the majors. Alzolay has excelled in 2023 while stepping into the closer role, racking up 22 saves while posting a 2.71 ERA and 3.00 FIP in 63 innings of work.
Nationals, Ildemaro Vargas Avoid Arbitration
The Nationals have agreed to a contract with Ildemaro Vargas for the 2024 season, the team announced this afternoon. Financial details of the contract have not yet been made available. The deal will offer Vargas, who was set to be arbitration eligible this offseason, some security regarding his place in the organization headed into next season.
In exchange for guaranteeing Vargas his 2024 salary and, presumably, spot on the club’s 40-man roster throughout the offseason, the Nationals are getting cost certainty on a veteran infielder who’s proven to be a valuable bench piece during his time in Washington. After kicking off his big league career back in 2015, Vargas spent time with the Cubs, Pirates, Twins, and briefly returned to Arizona before landing in D.C. partway through the 2022 campaign.
Since arriving in the U.S. capitol, Vargas sports a .261/.304/.375 slash line that’s been good for a wRC+ of 90 while boasting a strikeout rate well below 10%. His high-contract, switch-hitting bat offers additional value off the bench thanks to his positional versatility. Vargas has played all four infield positions during his major league career in addition to left field. For a young Nationals club that has little infield depth behind CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia, retaining Vargas gives the club some insurance as they head into a critical offseason with plenty of top prospects on the horizon as soon as this time next year.
Of course, that Vargas figures to remain on the roster headed into 2024 doesn’t mean he figures to continue as the club’s starting third baseman, a role he assumed after Jeimer Candelario was shipped to the north side of Chicago for two prospects. While the pending free agent class isn’t exactly robust in terms of hitters, the coming group at the hot corner includes a handful of interesting veterans like Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Brian Anderson who could turn to the Nationals as an opportunity to draw regular starts in the majors as Candelario did this past offseason.
Vargas signing could also have an impact on fellow arbitration-eligible bench pieces like Michael Chavis and Dominic Smith. Both players are due for raises headed into the 2024 campaign, and could be feasible non-tender candidates for a club that already has Vargas’s veteran infield presence locked into next season’s bench group. Vargas’s return could also impact the opportunities afforded to players like Carter Kieboom and Jeter Downs who have yet to establish themselves in the big leagues.
Reds Release Kevin Newman
TODAY: The Reds have released Kevin Newman, the team announced. He is now a free agent.
SEPTEMBER 25: The Reds have reinstated Kevin Newman from the injured list and designated the utility infielder for assignment, the team announced. The 30-year-old had been nursing an oblique strain since mid-August.
Across 74 games in his first season with Cincinnati, Newman played all four infield positions, providing valuable depth to a Reds team that has dealt with its fair share of injuries. While his offensive numbers were underwhelming (.253/.311/.364), they were almost identical to his career stat line, so it’s not as if he underperformed expectations. However, with a glut of infielders on the active roster, the Reds no longer had a role for Newman to play. Joey Votto, Jonathan India, and Nick Senzel are healthy, and rookies Spencer Steer, Elly De La Cruz, Noelvi Marte, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand have all earned spots on the big league roster. Matt McLain is nearing his return from the injured list as well.
Cincinnati now has an open spot on the 40-man roster, so the team could be planning an additional move before tomorrow’s game against the Guardians.
The Reds acquired Newman this past offseason in a trade with the Pirates, sending relief pitcher Dauri Moreta to Pittsburgh. The right-hander has performed well this season in a middle-relief role, posting a 4.02 ERA and 3.45 SIERA in 51 appearances.
Cincinnati will have to place Newman on waivers in the coming days, but with less than a week to go in the regular season, it’s highly unlikely he will get claimed. If indeed he passes through waivers, he has enough service time to reject an outright assignment to the minor leagues in favor of free agency.
Diamondbacks Designate Zach Davies For Assignment
The Diamondbacks have designated right-hander Zach Davies for assignment, the team announced. Fellow righty Justin Martinez has been recalled from Triple-A to take his place on the active roster.
Davies was a solid back-of-the-rotation starter for Arizona last year, making 27 starts with a 4.09 ERA. That hasn’t been the case this season, as he is pitching to a 7.00 ERA in 18 starts, interspersed between two separate stints on the injured list. Despite his poor performance, the D-backs have kept him around, since they have struggled to find reliable starters to pitch behind Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly all year. Now, however, with just five games remaining in the regular season and the playoffs right around the corner, Arizona no longer has much need for an innings eater on the roster.
This could be an indication the Diamondbacks are planning to make an addition to the 40-man roster ahead of the playoffs, or it could simply be a way of making room to add an extra relief arm for the final five games of the regular season.
Davies, who is making $4.7MM this season and has a $300K buyout for next year, is likely to go unclaimed on waivers, at which point the D-backs would be responsible for the guaranteed salary remaining on his contract. Still just 30 years old, he shouldn’t have trouble finding a new club in the offseason, although he might have to settle for a minor league deal.
Martinez, a right-handed reliever, is the team’s No. 24 prospect, per MLB Pipeline. He made his MLB debut earlier this season and has pitched to a ghastly 14.63 ERA in a few brief call-ups to the big league squad. His numbers at Triple-A are much more palatable; he has a 4.20 ERA in 47 games, although his 21.2% walk rate is still alarming. It’s unlikely he’ll play much of a role while the D-backs are fighting for a postseason berth, but he’ll provide manager Torey Lovullo with an extra arm out of the ‘pen.
Giants Place Jakob Junis On IL, Recall Joey Bart
The Giants have placed right-hander Jakob Junis on the injured list and recalled catcher Joey Bart to take his place on the active roster, the team announced.
Junis has not pitched since Saturday, when he exited the Giants’ game against the Dodgers with pain in his neck. The injury has now been diagnosed as a cervical strain, and it will keep him on the shelf for the remainder of the regular season. The veteran right-hander has pitched well for San Francisco in a multi-inning role, tossing 86 innings in 40 games with a 3.87 ERA. Currently 4.5 games back in the Wild Card race, the Giants are still holding out hope for a postseason berth. If they manage to pull off a miraculous comeback, it’s possible Junis could rejoin the team in the playoffs.
Bart, once the Giants’ catcher of the future, is now the third-string backstop on the roster. Rookie sensation Patrick Bailey has become the everyday catcher, while his fellow first-year player Blake Sabol has been a capable backup. Meanwhile, Bart has faced numerous injury setbacks this year, and even when he’s been able to take the field, the 26-year-old has struggled to hit at both the major and minor league levels. Thus, it’s hard to guess what kind of role he’ll play over the final two series of the season. Presumably, the Giants will lean heavily on Bailey and Sabol behind the dish, at least until they are mathematically eliminated from contention.
Red Sox Outright Kyle Barraclough To Triple-A
Right-hander Kyle Barraclough has cleared waivers, and the Red Sox have sent the veteran pitcher outright to Triple-A Worcester. Barraclough has enough service time to reject the outright assignment, although it’s unclear if he plans to do so; the Triple-A season is already finished, and he’ll have the option to elect free agency in the offseason either way.
After parts of ten seasons spent with the Cardinals, Marlins, Nationals, Giants, Padres, Yankees, Twins, and Angels organizations, the righty began his 2023 campaign with the High Point Rockers of the independent Atlantic League. However, he pitched well enough in seven games with the Rockers to earn a minor league deal from the Red Sox in June.
Across 14 games (13 starts) with Worcester, Barraclough pitched to a 3.65 ERA, although his 14.8% walk rate was cause for concern. He earned a couple of brief call-ups to the MLB squad in August, pitching in a total of three games. Things went perfectly fine in his first two appearances, but he struggled tremendously in his third and final big league outing of the season, giving up 10 runs in 4 1/3 innings of work.
Unfortunately, Barraclough carried his struggles with him to the minors after that, giving up 15 runs in four September starts. He was designated for assignment on Sunday when the Red Sox reinstated Zack Kelly from the 60-day IL. The 33-year-old will presumably look for another minor league contract this winter.
Twins Activate Brock Stewart, Designate Dylan Floro For Assignment
The Twins have designated relief pitcher Dylan Floro for assignment, the team revealed to reporters (including Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press). They have reinstated fellow reliever Brock Stewart from the 60-day injured list to take his spot on the roster.
Floro joined the Twins just before the trade deadline, coming over from the Marlins in a one-for-one swap for Jorge López. Both pitchers were in the midst of disappointing seasons, and perhaps their new teams thought a change of scenery would do them some good. Suffice it to say, that hasn’t been the case for either one. Floro made 19 appearances for Minnesota, pitching to a 5.29 ERA. His underlying numbers were better (3.43 FIP, 3.70 SIERA), but still, he never looked like the shutdown reliever he was over the previous three seasons; from 2020-22, he posted a 2.85 ERA in 142 innings of work.
Meanwhile, López made 12 appearances for the Marlins, giving up 13 runs on 20 hits before his new club placed him on waivers. He was claimed by the Orioles, his former team, and has since pitched to a 6.10 ERA in 11 games. Overall, he has a 6.12 ERA and -1.0 FanGraphs WAR on the season.
The Twins will have to place Floro on waivers, and given how few days remain in the regular season (and his $3.9MM salary), it’s likely he goes unclaimed. He has enough service time to reject an outright assignment to the minor leagues, which would give him the chance to start his free agency a month early; after parts of eight MLB seasons, the veteran was set to hit the open market regardless. Considering his long track record of success before this difficult campaign, the 32-year-old righty should have no trouble finding a new club.
Stewart got off to a strong start in 2023, shining out of the bullpen in his first taste of MLB action since 2019. In 25 outings, he gave up just two earned runs, good for a 0.70 ERA. With a 97-mph fastball and four secondary pitches, he struck out more than 35% of the batters he faced, holding his opponents to a .172 batting average and a .230 wOBA.
In his last ten appearances before he landed on the IL, Stewart pitched 10 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out 18 and walking none. Unfortunately, at the end of June, he began to feel discomfort in his elbow – a particularly worrisome development for a pitcher who recently recovered from Tommy John surgery. He spent the next three months on the IL but thankfully managed to avoid another surgery.
As Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports, the 31-year-old is expected to pitch in this evening’s contest against the Athletics. The Twins, having already clinched their division, will spend the final six games of the season preparing their players for the postseason.
Blue Jays Activate Brandon Belt From 10-Day IL
The Blue Jays activated first baseman/DH Brandon Belt from the 10-day injured list today, returning the veteran slugger to action after a 15-day absence due to lower back spasms. Toronto also called up right-hander Jay Jackson from Triple-A, while optioning right-hander Nate Pearson and first baseman Spencer Horwitz to the Florida Complex League (since the Triple-A season is over).
Apart from this two-week stint and an earlier 10-day absence due to a hamstring injury, it has been a pretty healthy season for Belt, which is a nice outcome given his long injury history. Recurring knee problems have plagued Belt in recent years, and surgery on his right knee prematurely ended Belt’s 2022 season and even had him wondering if retirement was in the cards. However, Belt decided to continue playing on his surgically-repaired knee, a decision that has paid off well for both the 35-year-old and the Jays.
Signed to a one-year, $9.3MM free agent deal last winter, Belt has hit .251/.369/.470 with 16 home runs over 382 plate appearances. The Blue Jays have used Belt mostly as a DH and rarely sent him to the plate against left-handed pitchers, but this platoon usage has perhaps contributed to Belt’s ability to stay healthy for the majority of the 2023 campaign. Belt has been one of the steadier contributors to a Toronto lineup that has struggled to consistently generate offense, so getting Belt back for the regular season’s final six games is a big help as the Jays try to lock up a wild card slot.
White Sox Place Luis Robert Jr. On 10-Day Injured List
The White Sox announced three moves today, including the placement of outfielder Luis Robert Jr. on the 10-day injured list. Robert is suffering from a “mild” left MCL sprain, and the IL stint will officially send his 2023 season. Tyler Naquin‘s contract has been selected from Triple-A to take Robert’s spot on the active roster, and Jimmy Lambert was shifted to the 60-day IL to open up space for Naquin on the 40-man roster.
Robert left Sunday’s game due to soreness in his left knee, so it isn’t surprising that trip to the injured list was in order. The Sox noted that Robert is expected to be fine within 2-4 weeks of recovery time, so the injury won’t have any impact on his readiness for the offseason or for Spring Training.
Though Robert will end his fourth MLB season on the injured list, he has played in 145 games and amassed 595 plate appearances, both easily career bests for the 26-year-old. He played in only 166 of a possible 324 games in 2021-22 due to a variety of injuries, yet as MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald observed in a post earlier this month, staying healthy has finally allowed Robert to show the form that made him one of baseball’s top prospects.
Robert will finish the 2023 season with 38 homers, 20 steals (from 24 chances), 90 runs scored and a .264/.315/.542 slash line, translating to a 128 wRC+. Beyond that offense, Robert also figures to contend for his second Gold Glove, with +6 Defensive Runs Saved and +13 Outs Above Average in 1207 2/3 innings in center field. Among all qualified players, only 15 players have a better fWAR than Robert’s 5.0 total.
Robert’s injury creates an opportunity for Naquin to appear in his first Major League game of the 2023 season, continuing his streak of appearing in at least a piece of every MLB campaign since his 2016 rookie season. He signed a minor league deal with the Brewers during the offseason and spent most of 2023 with Milwaukee’s Triple-A affiliate, foregoing his contractually mandated opt-out dates while also battling some shoulder problems.
In early August, the Brewers traded Naquin to the White Sox, a post-deadline deal made possible because Naquin hadn’t spent any time on the Brewers’ 40-man roster or Major League injured list. The 32-year-old has hit .257/.317/.408 over 269 combined PA at the Triple-A level this season.
Lambert underwent arthroscopic ankle surgery last week, so the move to the 60-day IL is just a formality since his season was already over. The White Sox provided an update on Lambert today, saying that he is expected to be fully recovered after 2-3 months.
Marlins Outright Chi Chi Gonzalez
Marlins right-hander Chi Chi González went unclaimed on waivers over the weekend, per the transaction log at MLB.com. He was sent outright to Triple-A Jacksonville.
It’s the second time this season in which González cleared waivers after Miami designated him for assignment. Each of his major league stints was rather brief. He spent eight days on the active roster in May and three days with the big league club last week. Skip Schumaker has called upon him three times, with González allowing three runs over 3 2/3 frames.
The former first-round pick has spent the majority of the season starting games in Jacksonville. He has logged 121 2/3 innings over 24 appearances, working to a 6.07 ERA in a hitter-friendly Triple-A setting. González has thrown strikes for the Jumbo Shrimp but has only fanned 13% of opponents at the top minor league level.
González forewent an opportunity to test free agency when Miami outrighted him earlier in the year. He has that option again, though he’ll presumably stick with the Fish at this point. The 31-year-old will be a minor league free agent at the beginning of the offseason unless Miami adds him back to the roster.