Marlins Promote Jacob Amaya, Place Jean Segura On 10-Day IL
12:12PM: Segura has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain, as per McPherson. This opens up the roster spot for Amaya’s promotion.
11:49AM: The Marlins have called up infielder Jacob Amaya from Triple-A, The Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson reports (Twitter link). The 24-year-old Amaya will be making his Major League debut whenever he first takes the field, which could be as early as today’s game against the Nationals.
Amaya was acquired from the Dodgers in January in the straight-up trade that saw Miguel Rojas sent to Los Angeles. In essence, the Marlins dealt Rojas for a younger player with a similar glove-first profile. Scouts have been mixed at best on Amaya’s hitting ability during his six minor league seasons, but his numbers have been solid (.278/.346/.472 with nine homers) over 240 plate appearances with Triple-A Jacksonville in 2023.
MLB Pipeline ranks Amaya as the ninth-best prospect in Miami’s farm system, with Baseball America ranking him 13th. Both outlets give him a 60 grade for his defense, and Amaya’s floor seems to be a steady career as a utility player who can provide strong glovework at any infield position. His ability to hit will determine whether or not Amaya can become a true starter, and both Pipeline and BA note that Amaya is more productive at the plate when he is aiming for contact rather than power. Amaya also has a 9.2% walk rate at Triple-A this season, which is well below the 14.28% combined walk rate he posted at Double-A and Triple-A in 2022.
Despite these bat-related question marks, the Marlins might view any offense Amaya provides as a bonus, given how badly the team could use some defensive help. Fangraphs’ DEF (Defensive Runs Above Average) metric ranks Miami 30th of 30 clubs this season, with a collective -13.2 figure.
Joey Wendle and Jon Berti are good defenders in their own right, though with Amaya taking up at least semi-regular duty at shortstop, Wendle and Berti could return to their usual utilityman duties around the diamond. The Marlins may not want to interrupt Luis Arraez‘s routine given his incredible run at the plate, but Arraez could see more time at first base rather than his usual spot at second base, considering his middling defensive numbers at the keystone.
Jean Segura could be the player to watch in this positional shuffling, in no small part because Segura could possibly be the corresponding move for Amaya’s promotion. Segura missed Friday’s game due to a hamstring issue, and while the injury isn’t though to be serious, the Marlins could put Segura on the 10-day IL both for precautionary reasons, and perhaps as a bigger-picture reset for Segura’s 2023 season.
Signed to a two-year, $17MM free agent deal last winter, Segura’s first season in Miami has been nothing short of a disaster. The veteran has the worst fWAR (-1.1) of any player in baseball, as Segura has hit only .190/.259/.234 over 225 PA while providing subpar defense at third base. MLBTR’s Anthony Franco recently wrote about how the Marlins should be targeting infield help if they want to remain in the race for a playoff berth, and it could be that the Fish will first give Amaya a look before considering if a bigger upgrade is needed at the trade deadline.
Brewers Reinstate Wade Miley, Jesse Winker From Injured List; Designate Jon Singleton
The Brewers announced four roster moves, including the activation of both Wade Miley and Jesse Winker from the injured list. Miley was placed on the 15-day IL due to a lat strain on May 17, while Winker has been on the 10-day IL since May 28 due to a cervical strain. To create space on the active roster, the Brewers optioned right-hander Tyson Miller to Triple-A and designated first baseman Jon Singleton for assignment.
Miley inked a one-year deal worth $4.5MM in guaranteed money to come to Milwaukee during the offseason, and the veteran southpaw has delivered a 3.67 ERA over 41 2/3 innings. Miley’s 40.4% grounder rate and 10.3% barrel rate are both significantly worse than in recent seasons, though it’s hard to yet make any big projections given the small sample size of innings. The lefty has made up for those numbers with a borderline elite 5.3% walk rate, as well as his customary good work at limiting hard contact.
Miley will start today’s game against the Pirates, and his return brings some more relief to a Milwaukee rotation that has been hit hard with injuries. Brandon Woodruff will still be out until at least the All-Star break and Aaron Ashby will miss all of the 2023 season due to shoulder surgery, but with Miley now back on the mound, the Brew Crew are at least a step closer to their initial first-choice rotation. Adrian Houser will be shifted to the bullpen, leaving Miley, Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta, Colin Rea, and Julio Teheran as Milwaukee’s current rotation.
Winker was another offseason acquisition, picked up from the Mariners along with Abraham Toro in exchange for Kolten Wong. The trade hasn’t worked out for either team to date, as Wong and Winker have each badly struggled with their new clubs. Winker has looking to bounce back from a relatively disappointing 2022 campaign in Seattle, yet the 108 wRC+ he posted with the Mariners is far above the 60 wRC+ (off a .204/.315/.231 slash line) that Winker has delivered over his first 127 plate appearances in a Brewers uniform. There’s still plenty of time for Winker to turn things around, as perhaps the three weeks on the IL both healed his neck problem and might serve as a fresh start to his 2023 season.
The Brewers selected Singleton’s contract from Triple-A earlier this month, and he hit only .103/.188/.138 over 32 PA. While an underwhelming slash line, just making it back to the big leagues for the first time since 2015 marked a personal victory for Singleton, whose battle with marijuana addiction took him out of baseball entirely for three seasons until he launched a comeback in the Mexican League in 2021. If Singleton clears DFA waivers and the Brewers outright him to Triple-A, Singleton can choose to become a free agent, since he has been outrighted off a 40-man roster in the past.
Cubs Activate Justin Steele, Place Patrick Wisdom On 10-Day IL
As expected, the Cubs activated Justin Steele from the 15-day injured list, as the left-hander is scheduled to start today’s game against the Orioles. Steele will take the place of Patrick Wisdom, as Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link) reports that Wisdom is being placed on the 10-day IL due to a right wrist sprain.
Wisdom was replaced by pinch-hitter Ian Happ in the sixth inning of yesterday’s 10-3 Cubs win over Baltimore, a move that seemed like in-game strategy at the time but could have been related to Wisdom’s wrist problem. The 31-year-old infielder also has only two hits in his last 36 plate appearances, so it is possible this wrist sprain might have occurred a while ago, and Wisdom was trying to play through the discomfort.
The recent slump has dropped Wisdom’s slash line to .196/.285/.467 for the season, with 14 homers over 208 plate appearances. While that production still translates to a slightly above-average 102 wRC+, it continues Wisdom’s trend of being a power-centric bat who offers little beyond the long ball. Wisdom has hit .213/.298/.465 with 67 homers over 1117 PA with Chicago since the start of the 2021 season.
Wisdom has played mostly third base this season, with a handful of appearances as first base and in both corner outfield spots. Nick Madrigal has been seeing regular work at third base since being recalled from Triple-A a little over a week ago, and the Cubs might prefer to see what the 26-year-old Madrigal can do with more frequent playing time, which might make it tough for Wisdom to work his way back into the lineup once he returns from the IL.
Steele returns after missing only slightly more than the minimum 15 days, which is a great outcome given the ominous nature of forearm strains. However, Steele’s strain didn’t involve any structural damage, so the southpaw was able to make a quick recovery. Steele has been excellent in 2023, posting a 2.65 ERA over 68 innings while relying on outstanding control and one of the league’s best soft-contact rates.
Royals Release Jackie Bradley Jr.
TODAY: The Royals announced that Bradley has been released.
JUNE 12: The Royals announced Monday that they’ve designated veteran outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to outfielder Dairon Blanco, whose selection to the big league roster is now official.
Bradley, the longtime Red Sox center fielder, signed a minor league deal with the Royals in the offseason and joined Matt Duffy and the since-released Franmil Reyes as veteran non-roster invitees who made the club out of spring training. Bradley wasn’t able to correct the offensive nosedive that began in 2021, however, hitting just .133/.188/.210 in 113 trips to the plate with Kansas City.
Even when he was hitting for a low average with the Red Sox late last decade, Bradley walked enough to maintain respectable on-base percentages and hit for some power to help prop up his overall production. That’s all evaporated in recent years, however. Bradley had a strong .283/.364/.450 showing with the Red Sox during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, but he’s since turned in 911 plate appearances with a dreadful .176/.238/.275 batting line, a below-average 6.2% walk rate and minimal extra-base pop (42 doubles, four triples, 11 homers, .099 ISO).
The Royals’ outfield has been the least-productive unit in MLB this year. Kansas City’s outfielders have combined for a disastrous .200/.268/.328 batting line, with Bradley’s struggles factoring into the group’s MLB-worst wRC+ (62). Bradley alone is hardly to blame, as the Royals have received below-average production from MJ Melendez, Kyle Isbel, Drew Waters and Nate Eaton. The previously mentioned Reyes and fellow veteran Hunter Dozier also had brief, unproductive appearances in the outfield prior to being released. Edward Olivares is the only player on Kansas City’s roster who’s delivered even average offense while playing the outfield.
Kansas City will have a week to trade Bradley, pass him through outright waivers or release him. He has the service time to reject an outright assignment even if he clears waivers, and it’s hard to imagine a team trading for him. One way or another, a return to the free-agent market seems likely in the near future.
Guardians Promote Bo Naylor
The Guardians have called up catching prospect Bo Naylor to the 26-man roster, according to MLB.com’s Jesus Cano (Twitter link). Naylor is scheduled to play on Sunday, as Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that Naylor will be behind the plate for Tanner Bibee‘s start against the Diamondbacks.
This is the third time Naylor has been called up from Triple-A, as he appeared in five games last season and one game earlier this season as the extra 27th man for a doubleheader. The 23-year-old is still looking for his first hit after going 0-for-10 against MLB pitching, yet Naylor surely now seems to be poised for a much longer stint as a regular in the Guardians’ catching mix.
Naylor’s brief cup of coffee during the 2022 season seemed to hint that he’d be part of Cleveland’s lineup as early as Opening Day 2023, especially since the Guardians non-tendered Luke Maile and let Austin Hedges depart in free agency. However, the Guardians looked elsewhere for catching during the offseason, getting involved in the Sean Murphy trade talks before ultimately signing Mike Zunino to a one-year, $6MM deal, and Cam Gallagher and Meibrys Viloria to minor league deals.
This trio and utilityman David Fry have seen almost all of the action behind the plate for the Guardians this season, with disastrous results. Cleveland’s catchers have combined to hit a measly .168/.238/.270 over 248 plate appearances, translating to a league-worst 40 wRC+. Viloria was already released in May, and the bigger move came yesterday, when Zunino was designated for assignment (thus clearing a roster spot for Naylor).
It’s safe to assume that Gallagher or Fry will still get some playing time as Naylor acclimates to the majors, and Cleveland’s coaching staff might also want a first-hand look at the defensive adjustments Naylor has been working on at Triple-A. Questions about Naylor’s glovework have been asked for much of his pro career, yet scouts and pundits have generally been impressed with his improvements. This season at Triple-A Columbus, Naylor got off to a rough start in terms of throwing out baserunners, and has allowed 55 steals in 66 chances to date.
The Guardians have strongly prioritized defense from the catcher position in recent years, as the team has been willing to accept little to no offensive production from the likes of Hedges or Roberto Perez as long as the backstops kept delivering Gold Glove-caliber work. That being said, with Zunino struggling so badly both offensively and defensively, the Guards may have decided that even if Naylor’s defense is still something of a work in progress, it’s worth the tradeoff of getting his bat into the lineup.
There isn’t much left for Naylor to prove at Triple-A, after hitting .255/.379/.507 with 28 homers over 560 PA with Columbus over the last two seasons. While naturally Naylor won’t be expected to immediately replicate that production against Major League pitchers, it’s hard to imagine he won’t be some kind of an upgrade over the mediocre numbers posted to date by the Guardians’ catchers. In the bigger picture, the Guards’ lineup is struggling on the whole, which is the primary reason for the club’s uninspiring 32-37 record. However, Cleveland remains only 2.5 games out of first place in the weak AL Central, so there’s still plenty of time for the team to mount a turn-around.
If Naylor remains on Cleveland’s roster for the remainder of the 2023 season, he’ll bank 107 days of big league service, giving him 113 days of MLB service time in total. This means that in calling him up on June 17, the Guardians will likely have prevented Naylor from reaching Super Two status, and Naylor won’t receive an extra year of arbitration eligibility. It’s safe to assume that this played a role in the team’s decision to promote the catcher, considering how cost-controlled young talent has been the foundation for the traditionally low-spending Guardians.
Guardians Designate Mike Zunino For Assignment
The Guardians have designated catcher Mike Zunino for assignment, per a team announcement. Cleveland also optioned reliever Cody Morris to Triple-A Columbus while selecting right-hander Touki Toussaint onto the MLB roster.
A June DFA is surely not what the Guardians envisioned for their Opening Day catcher. Cleveland signed the veteran backstop to a one-year, $6MM free agent deal in December. It was a buy-low flier on a glove-first veteran. Zunino’s final season with the Rays had been ruined by thoracic outlet syndrome, but he was only a year removed from an All-Star appearance and a 20th-place finish in AL MVP voting.
The anticipated bounceback hasn’t materialized. Zunino has contributed very little offensively, hitting .177/.271/.306 over 140 trips to the plate. A lofty strikeout total is par for the course with Zunino, but this year’s 43.6% clip is high even by his standards. Including his .148/.195/.304 line in 36 games with the Rays before his ’22 campaign was cut short by TOS surgery, Zunino is a .163/.236/.305 hitter over his last 263 plate appearances.
A former third overall draft choice, Zunino has had a mercurial career offensively. He’s perennially near the top of the league in strikeout rate. At his best, however, he’s shown the ability to compensate for the whiffs with plenty of walks and huge power. Zunino blasted 33 homers with a .559 slugging percentage in only 109 games for Tampa Bay two seasons back. He’d also topped 20 longballs on three separate occasions early in his career with the Mariners.
When he’s not driving the ball out the yard, he’s among the sport’s worst offensive players. In just under 900 career games, he’s hitting .199 with a .271 on-base percentage. The swing-and-miss has become particularly problematic this season. Of the 336 batters with 100+ trips to the plate, none has whiffed more often than Zunino, who’s making contact on just 59% of his swings.
Offense isn’t the whole story, of course, particularly behind the plate. The Guardians tolerated well below-average hitting from Austin Hedges for years on account of his defensive acumen. Zunino comes with a similarly strong reputation for managing a pitching staff, but his public defensive marks this year have been poor.
Zunino has been charged with an MLB-worst five passed balls on the season. He’s been behind the dish for the fifth-most wild pitches. The pitching staff deserves some of the blame, but Statcast has estimated Zunino as allowing a league-high 10 more offerings than average to get behind him. He’s gotten average marks for his pitch framing this year and has thrown out a below-average 16.7% of attempted basestealers.
The struggles on both sides of the ball led the Cleveland front office to go in another direction. The Guardians were running with three catchers on the MLB roster, so the duo of Cam Gallagher and David Fry could be in for an uptick in playing time. Gallagher hasn’t hit in a backup role either, posting a .147/.177/.187 showing in 29 games. Bo Naylor has a strong .253/.393/.498 line through 60 games in Triple-A Columbus, and while the Guardians didn’t immediately call him up, there’s a strong argument for turning to the 23-year-old.
Whatever direction the Guards go behind the dish, they’ll be moving on from Zunino within the next few days. They have a week to trade him or put him on waivers. With a little over $3MM in salary still to be paid out, it’s likely he’ll clear waivers and hit free agency. At that point, another team could sign him for the prorated portion of the $720K league minimum.
Toussaint joined the organization on a minor league deal over the offseason. The former top prospect has appeared in parts of five big league campaigns between the Braves and Angels. He’s struggled to a 5.34 ERA over 170 1/3 MLB innings while working in a swing capacity.
He’s been pitching almost exclusively out of the bullpen with Columbus. Toussaint has worked to a 4.06 ERA in 37 2/3 frames over 20 outings. He has fanned over 30% of opponents with a quality 45.7% ground-ball percentage. He’s yet to solve longstanding control woes, though, as he’s walking nearly 15% of batters faced.
Toussaint will start tonight’s game in Arizona. Triston McKenzie had been slated to take the ball, but Zack Meisel of the Athletic tweets that he’s been scratched after experiencing some elbow discomfort. Toussaint has been working in two to three inning stints with Columbus, so it’s likely to be a bullpen day. He’s out of minor league options, meaning his stay on the roster could be brief unless Cleveland is willing to give him a lasting bullpen spot.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Mark Kolozsvary Elects Free Agency
Catcher Mark Kolozsvary has elected minor league free agency after being waived by the Orioles, according to an announcement from Baltimore. The O’s had designated him for assignment on Wednesday.
Kolozsvary had a quick turnaround this week. Baltimore selected him onto the big league roster on Tuesday. He played once as a defensive substitute before being cut loose. Kolozsvary had otherwise spent the year with the O’s top affiliate in Norfolk. He hit .162/.250/.265 in 20 games.
A University of Florida product, Kolozsvary has appeared in 11 MLB games between the Reds and Orioles. He’s played six seasons in the minors, including parts of three years in Triple-A. He owns a .171/.283/.290 line in 81 career contests at the top minor league level. He’ll look for minor league opportunities elsewhere.
Royals Sign Adeiny Hechavarria To Minor League Deal
The Royals have added a pair of former MLB infielders out of independent ball on minor league deals, per a team announcement. Adeiny Hechavarría is headed to Triple-A Omaha, while Jack Reinheimer will report to Double-A Northwest Arkansas.
Hechavarría is the more notable of the duo. He was an everyday player for the Marlins early in his career and has tallied nearly 1000 games over nine MLB seasons. A career .253/.291/.351 hitter, Hechavarría was a bottom-of-the-lineup defensive specialist. He hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since 2020, as he played in Japan from 2021-22.
The 34-year-old spent Spring Training with the Braves this season. He didn’t make the Opening Day roster and was released. Hechavarría signed with the Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks in April. He hit .297/.382/.538 with seven homers in 38 games to earn his way back to affiliated ball.
Reinheimer, 30, has 23 games of MLB experience between the Diamondbacks and Mets in 2017-18. He’s been in the Atlantic League with the Gastonia Honey Hunters, where he’s impressed with a .313/.421/.513 line with as many walks as strikeouts. The East Carolina product is a .266/.334/.358 hitter over parts of five Triple-A campaigns.
While the Royals have added some infield experience, they’re losing a bit of catching depth. Jakson Reetz is opting out of his minor league deal, reports MLBTR’s Steve Adams (Twitter link). The righty-hitting backstop played in two big league contests with the Nationals back in 2021. He’s been in Omaha this year, putting together a quality .274/.349/.526 slash through 106 trips to the dish.
Dodgers Place Max Muncy On Injured List
The Dodgers announced a handful of moves before tonight’s series opener with the Giants. Right-hander Emmet Sheehan was selected to start tonight, as previously reported. Los Angles also recalled infield prospect Michael Busch from Triple-A Oklahoma City. They put Max Muncy on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 13, with a left hamstring strain while optioning right-hander Michael Grove to Triple-A.
Muncy has been hobbled by the hamstring for the past few days. He’d hoped to avoid the IL but still isn’t at full strength. Skipper Dave Roberts downplayed real concern, saying the club was confident the power-hitting infielder would be back once first eligible a week from now (relayed by Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic).
Chris Taylor is getting the start at third base tonight. Busch could also factor into that mix as part of his second MLB stint. The former first-round pick got into seven games earlier in the year, hitting .211/.348/.211 over 23 trips to the dish.
Sheehan, on the other hand, is making his big league debut. It’s more than just a spot start for the Boston College product. Roberts said they’re likely to give Sheehan a couple turns through the rotation with Grove heading to the minors (relayed by Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times). Grove has had a tough go this season, allowing an 8.10 ERA over 30 innings across seven appearances.
Pirates Select Carmen Mlodzinski
The Pirates announced they’ve selected right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski onto the major league roster. Lefty reliever Rob Zastryzny is headed to the 15-day injured list with forearm inflammation. The Bucs already had two vacancies on the 40-man roster, so no further move was necessary.
Mlodzinski, 24, gets to the big leagues for the first time. A high-profile prospect at the University of South Carolina, he went 31st overall in the 2020 draft. Mlodzinski entered pro ball as a starting pitching prospect and remained in the rotation up through Double-A. He’s moved full-time to relief this season, his first extended run with Triple-A Indianapolis.
The 6’2″ hurler has impressed in his new bullpen role. Over 25 2/3 innings across 19 outings, he has a 3.16 ERA. He’s striking out 27.2% of opponents against a slightly high but tolerable 9.6% walk percentage. Baseball America recently ranked him the #20 talent in a strong Pittsburgh farm system, crediting him with a well-rounded three-pitch arsenal.
Mlodzinski would’ve been eligible for the Rule 5 draft if not added to the 40-man roster next offseason. He broke through a little sooner than roster mechanizations required with his solid few months in Triple-A. He’ll take the bullpen spot vacated by Zastryzny, who has made 18 appearances with a 5.29 ERA on the year.