Rays Select Jose Lopez
The Rays have selected the contract of left-hander Jose Lopez, per a team announcement. In corresponding moves, right-hander Luis Patino was optioned to Triple-A while lefty Josh Fleming was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Lopez, 24, was selected by the Padres in the Rule 5 draft this past offseason, but was returned to the Rays ahead of Opening Day after the lefty did not make San Diego’s Opening Day roster out of camp. Lopez was selected thanks to a successful 2022 campaign that saw him post a 2.43 ERA in 59 1/3 innings of work that primarily came at the Double-A level.
Unfortunately, he’s failed to replicate last season’s strong results at the Triple-A level this season, with a 5.19 ERA in 26 innings. Still, with a solid 23.1% strikeout rate weighed down by a hefty 11.1% walk rate during his time in Triple-A this season, Lopez is poised to make his big league debut as a member of the Rays bullpen, where he’ll be joined by fellow lefties Jake Diekman, Jalen Beeks, and Colin Poche.
Lopez’s addition to the roster comes at the expense of Patino, the former top prospect who joined the Rays as part of the Blake Snell trade during the 2020-21 offseason. Though Patino’s spent just two innings in the big leagues this season, he’s posted a worrisome 8.18 ERA in 22 innings of work in the majors since the start of the 2022 campaign, to go with a 7.64 ERA at the Triple-A level this season. Patino will look to figure things out back at the Triple-A level going forward.
As for Fleming, the move comes as little surprise as the left-hander was already expected to miss several weeks with discomfort in his elbow. Prior to his injury, the 27-year-old left-hander posted a 4.62 ERA in 28 2/3 innings of work.
Pete Alonso To Miss 3-4 Weeks With Bone Bruise, Sprain Of Left Wrist
The Mets announced that first baseman Pete Alonso has been diagnosed with a bone bruise and a sprain of his left wrist, with the expected return timeline as three to four weeks. He has been placed on the 10-day injured list as part of a slate of moves that also involves right-hander Stephen Nogosek being designated for assignment. Infielder Luis Guillorme and left-hander Zach Muckenhirn were recalled in corresponding moves.
Additionally, the club announced that catcher Tomás Nido has been outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse and that right-hander Edwin Uceta underwent surgery to address a torn meniscus in his left knee, with an expected return timeline of eight weeks.
Losing Alonso is the biggest development for the Mets, of course. Reports emerged this morning suggesting MLB’s home run leader was headed to the IL. He’ll be out beyond the minimal stay, though the silver lining is that he didn’t suffer a fracture. Alonso’s absence likely opens first base for rookie Mark Vientos, who’s in the lineup at designated hitter tonight against Pittsburgh starter Rich Hill. Outfielder Mark Canha slides over to first base this evening.
Nogosek has logged action for the Mets in four different seasons. He’s worked 57 1/3 innings across 33 career relief outings, posting a 5.02 ERA. The Oregon product has tallied a career-high 25 2/3 frames this season, pitching to a 5.61 ERA with middling peripherals. He’s striking hitters out at a slightly below-average 21.2% rate while walking nearly 12% of opponents. He’s surrendered six home runs, one of which came off the bat of Marcell Ozuna in last night’s disheartening extra-inning loss to the Braves.
The 28-year-old Nogosek has exhausted his minor league option years. The Mets had no choice but to take him off the 40-man roster to remove him from the big league club. They’ll have a week to deal him or look to run him through waivers. If another team rolled the dice on a claim, they’d also have to keep him in the majors or designate him for assignment.
Nido went through the DFA process earlier in the week. The Mets reportedly explored trade scenarios after taking him off the roster but apparently didn’t find sufficient interest. They waived him instead. He’s gone unclaimed, in part on account of a $1.6MM salary this season and a guaranteed $2.1MM next year.
The Mets DFA Nido just before he was set to surpass five years of major league service. That meant that while he can technically decline the minor league assignment in favor of free agency, he’d have to relinquish that guaranteed money to do so. With other clubs apparently unwilling to match that deal, Nido is accepting the assignment to Syracuse, tweets Mike Puma of the New York Post. He’ll stick in the organization as a defensive depth option but no longer occupies a 40-man roster spot.
As for Uceta, he joined New York at the start of April on a waiver claim from the Pirates. He made one three-inning appearance at the big league level and pitched twice more in Triple-A. He initially landed on the injured list with an ankle sprain but apparently suffered a knee injury while rehabbing. The Mets could move him to the 60-day IL if they need a 40-man roster spot at some point, though the recent DFA’s of Nido and Nogosek have already dropped that tally to 38.
William Cuevas Signs With KBO’s KT Wiz
The KT Wiz of the Korea Baseball Organization have signed right-hander William Cuevas, the team announced (h/t to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net). He’ll receive a $450K salary. In a corresponding move, the Wiz released righty Beau Sulser.
Cuevas, who pitched in the majors between 2016-18, had been in Triple-A with the Dodgers after signing a minor league deal in April. He started nine of 11 appearances for their Oklahoma City affiliate, working to a 6.14 ERA through 44 frames. Cuevas had a decent 22.1% strikeout rate but struggled with home runs in the difficult Pacific Coast League setting. The Dodgers granted him his release yesterday, which Triple-A communications director Alex Freedman notes (on Twitter) coincides with the recent signing of veteran lefty Mike Montgomery to a non-roster deal.
While the jump from an American to an Asian professional league could lead to an adjustment for some players, Cuevas shouldn’t have much trouble getting acclimated. He signed with this same Wiz club leading into the 2019 season and spent three-plus years there. Cuevas was a reliable rotation fixture through 2021, helping them win the Korean Series during his third year. An elbow injury led the Wiz to let him go last May. Now that he’s healthy, they’ll bring him back to a familiar setting.
Sulser signed with the Wiz last November. The 29-year-old made nine starts but struggled to a 5.62 ERA through 49 2/3 innings. He struck out a fairly modest 15.8% of opponents against a quality 6.3% walk rate. The KBO club moved on quickly once the chance to reunite with Cuevas presented itself.
As a result, Sulser returns to the open market and could seek out minor league landing spots. He has ten games of major league experience, all coming last season between the Pirates and Orioles. Sulser has a 5.17 ERA over 179 1/3 frames at the Triple-A level.
White Sox Release Daniel Ponce de Leon
The White Sox have released right-hander Daniel Ponce de Leon, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com.
Ponce de Leon, 31, had signed a minor league deal with the Sox in April and has been pitching for the Triple-A Charlotte Knights. He had been working largely out of the rotation for them, starting seven of his eight appearances this year. Unfortunately, the results weren’t good, as he posted an ERA of 9.99 in 24 1/3 innings. He struck out just 14.5% of batters faced while walking a huge 18.3%.
The righty has some major league experience, which came with the Cardinals from 2018 to 2021. He tossed 147 2/3 innings over those campaigns, registering a 4.33 ERA with a solid 23.9% strikeout rate but a 12.7% walk rate. Since that time, he’s bounced around to various farm systems but hasn’t been able to get into a good groove. He spent all of 2022 in Triple-A, pitching at that level for the Mariners, Nationals and Tigers. But he had a combined 6.52 ERA in 116 innings for those clubs on the year.
Ponce de Leon will now be free to explore and discover his next landing spot. Though he hasn’t been at his best for a few years, he at least has some decent major league outings on his résumé. With various clubs around the league dealing with significant pitching injuries, perhaps he will find a port of call with another organization in the near future.
David Dahl Elects Free Agency
Outfielder David Dahl went unclaimed on outright waivers and elected minor league free agency, tweets Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The Pads had designated him for assignment when reinstating Adrián Morejón from the injured list earlier in the week.
Dahl signed a minor league pact with San Diego over the winter. He broke camp but appeared in only four MLB games. A quad strain cost him some time early and he spent the bulk of his time on optional assignment to Triple-A El Paso. Dahl got into 17 games there, hitting .265/.342/.382 with one home run.
That’s modest power production in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Dahl did demonstrate strong plate discipline in that limited time, walking eight times against seven strikeouts. The lefty-swinging outfielder has now appeared in parts of six seasons at that level. In a little less than 800 trips to the plate, he’s hitting .299/.352/.488 against Triple-A pitching.
Dahl was an All-Star outfielder for the Rockies early in his career. He hasn’t gotten much major league run in the past few years. Dahl missed a good chunk of 2020 to injury, slumped to a .210/.247/.322 showing for the Rangers in ’21, then spent all of last season in the minors. He’ll likely look for minor league opportunities on the open market.
Red Sox Transfer Chris Sale To 60-Day Injured List
The Red Sox announced a series of roster moves today, some of which were previously reported, though some were new developments. Outfielder Adam Duvall has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list while left-hander Joe Jacques has had his contract selected. To open two active roster spots, lefty Matt Dermody has been designated for assignment while infielder Enmanuel Valdéz was optioned to Triple-A. To open one more 40-man roster spot, lefty Chris Sale has been transferred to the 60-day injured list. The Sox informed reporters, including Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe, that Sale has a stress reaction in his shoulder blade. He won’t require surgery but he will be shut down for three to four weeks before being reevaluated.
Sale, 34, was once one of the most dominant pitchers in the league but he has been severely held back by injuries in recent years. He averaged over 200 innings per season from 2012 to 2017 but was held to roughly 150 per year in the two following seasons. He made trips to the injured list in 2018 due to shoulder inflammation then dealt with elbow inflammation the following year. He ultimately required Tommy John surgery in March of 2020, causing him to miss that entire season.
He returned late in 2021 and was able to make nine starts that year. It was hoped he would be set for a return to full-time work in 2022 but he dealt with a stress reaction in his ribs that kept him out until July. He was hit by a comebacker in his second start, fracturing a finger. While on the injured list again, he broke his wrist in a bicycle accident that ended his season.
Here in 2023, it was again hoped that he could perhaps return to a regular starting role. That was the case for a while, as he made 11 starts with a 4.58 ERA, but he landed on the injured list again on June 2 due to shoulder inflammation. He’ll now be ineligible to return until August, though even that seems contingent on a bit of luck in the health department. The aforementioned shutdown period will keep him out of action for most of the rest of June. Even if he’s healthy after that, he’ll need most of July to build back up and go on a rehab assignment.
In the short term, the Red Sox will be figuring out how to proceed without Sale. They have recently been running out a group with veteran James Paxton alongside younger pitchers like Brayan Bello, Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford, while struggles from Corey Kluber and Nick Pivetta got both of those guys pushed into the bullpen.
In the long-term, the Sox will have to wonder what they can expect from Sale going forward. He is playing this year on a salary of $27.5MM and will make that same figure next year as part of the extension he and the club signed going into 2019. There’s also a $20MM club option for 2025 with no buyout. Due to his carousel of injuries, he’s pitched just over 100 innings since the end of the 2019 campaign.
Astros Place Yordan Alvarez On Injured List
3:10pm: The corresponding move is that catcher César Salazar has been recalled, per Matt Young of the Houston Chronicle.
2:20pm: The Astros announced that outfielder Yordan Alvarez has been placed on the 10-day injured list with right oblique discomfort. The Astros are in Cleveland tonight but he will head back to Houston for further evaluation. The corresponding move isn’t publicly known at this time.
Alvarez was removed from yesterday’s game against the Blue Jays due to this oblique issue. It’s still unknown exactly how serious it is, with the further testing hopefully shedding more light on it, but he’ll now be on the shelf for at least 10 days.
Time will tell how significant his absence will be, but the Astros will undoubtedly be worse off for whatever that length ultimately proves to be. Alvarez is one of the premiere hitters in the league, having hit .293/.384/.588 in his career for a wRC+ of 164. He has been right in line with that kind of production this year, having hit 17 home runs already while slashing .272/.384/.579 for a wRC+ of 165.
Injuries have been a focus of the Astros in 2023 as Michael Brantley has been out all year, Jose Altuve has missed significant time and the pitching staff has had a handful of notable absences as well. Despite all of that, they are still 36-27 and hanging onto a Wild Card spot, though they are just half a game ahead of the Blue Jays at the moment. Losing the potent bat of Alvarez will create another challenge for the club going forward.
Alvarez has played 22 games in left field this year but has otherwise been serving as the designated hitter. Without Alvarez or Brantley, the club will have Kyle Tucker, Chas McCormick, Jake Meyers and Corey Julks in the outfield mix and could potentially rotate those players through the DH slot now, though the corresponding move could also put another player into that mix as well.
Pirates Designate Chase De Jong For Assignment
The Pirates announced that outfielder Canaan Smith-Njigba has been recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis. In a corresponding move, right-hander Chase De Jong was designated for assignment. Their 40-man roster count is now down to 37.
De Jong, 29, has bounced on and off the Pirates’ roster since signing a minor league deal in January of 2021. He had his contract selected that year but spent much of the campaign on the injured list and was outrighted at season’s end. He returned on another minor league deal in 2022 and ended up having a nice season in Pittsburgh. He had his contract selected in April and eventually posted a 2.64 ERA in 71 2/3 innings.
That was enough for him to keep his roster spot through the winter, though there were reasons to suspect it wasn’t fully sustainable. His .222 batting average on balls in play and 86.3% strand rate were both on the fortunate side, leading to a 4.74 FIP and 4.38 SIERA. His luck has swung the other way this year in a small sample, as he has a .308 BABIP and 51.1% strand rate, leading to a 13.50 ERA in 11 1/3 innings. Beyond the luck, his 20.1% strikeout rate from last year is down to just 11.7% so far this year, while he’s also allowed six homers in that short time frame.
The righty was already designated for assignment in May, after which he cleared waivers and was outrighted to Indianapolis. He had the right to elect free agency based on previous career outrights but opted to accept and got his roster spot back a few days ago. He made one appearance since then, allowing six earned runs in two innings on Tuesday. Based on his rough season, it now seems possible that the same sequence of events will play out again, with De Jong being put on waivers and clearing. If that comes to pass, he would once again have the right to elect free agency but might simply accept an outright assignment like he did a few weeks ago.
Blue Jays Designate Anthony Bass For Assignment
The Blue Jays announced that right-hander Mitch White has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list and will be active for tonight’s game. Fellow righty Anthony Bass was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
Bass, 35, was acquired from the Marlins at last year’s trade deadline. Between the two clubs, he posted a 1.54 ERA on the season. The Blue Jays exercised a $3MM club option to keep him around for 2023 but his results have taken a step back this season, as he has a 4.95 ERA thus far. His 26.5% strikeout rate from last year is down to 21.6% here in 2023, his walk rate has gone from 7.3% to 10.2% and his ground ball rate from 41.2% to 38.3%.
Beyond the poor on-field results, Bass has made plenty of headlines in recent days for other reasons. For those unfamiliar, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com yesterday provided a rundown of the storyline that has surrounded Bass in recent weeks. It started on May 29 when the pitcher shared a video on Instagram wherein companies supporting the LGBTQ2S+ community were described as “evil” and “demonic.”
Bass read a written apology last week but did not take questions afterward. “We’re not going to pretend like this never happened,” manager John Schneider said at that time. “We’re not going to pretend like it’s the end and move on. There are definitely more steps that are going to follow.”
The issue came up again yesterday when Bass met with the media and did take questions this time. Though he maintained he was committed to self-reflection and working with Pride Toronto executive director Sherwin Modeste, he also seemed more upset by the negative attention than the actual content of what he shared. “I just felt like it was too much of a distraction. But I stand by my personal beliefs,” Bass said in relation to eventually deleting the video, “and everyone is entitled to their personal beliefs, right?”
It isn’t fully known what motivated the Jays to make today’s move, as it could theoretically be claimed that it was merely the result of Bass’s on-field performance and the return of White. But it was reported just yesterday that Bass was going to catch the ceremonial first pitch at tonight’s game, the start of Pride Weekend. It seems fair to expect that those plans have now changed, though general manager Ross Atkins will speak to the media at 3pm Eastern/2pm Central, per Matheson.
The Jays will now have one week to trade Bass or pass him through waivers. In the event he clears waivers, he would have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency while retaining all of his salary, as a player with more than five years of service time. If that comes to pass, the Jays would remain on the hook for that money and any other club could sign him for the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the active roster.
As for White, he was acquired from the Dodgers last year. He had a 3.70 ERA at the time of the deal but struggled with a 7.74 mark after. He came into Spring Training set to compete with Yusei Kikuchi for the fifth starter job but suffered a shoulder impingement in February and elbow inflammation in March. He’s been on the injured list all season and began a rehab assignment in late April. He was throwing multi-inning outings, seemingly planning for a return to work as a starter, but was shut down for a few days in late May due to shoulder fatigue. He resumed his rehab in recent weeks but has been pitching shorter outings and now seems tickets for relief work, at least for the time being.
The Blue Jays have a hole in their rotation since optioning Alek Manoah recently, leaving them with Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, José Berríos and Kikuchi, with tomorrow’s starter still listed as TBD. They selected Bowden Francis recently and he could perhaps take the bulk of the innings, though White could factor in as well.
Tigers Claim Nick Solak, Transfer Spencer Turnbull To 60-Day IL
The Tigers announced that they have claimed infielder Nick Solak off waivers from Atlanta and optioned him to Triple-A Toledo. To make room on the 40-man roster, right-hander Spencer Turnbull was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Solak, 28, continues his journey around the league, as he has bounced from team to team quite a bit in the past seven months. He spent the past few years with the Rangers but was traded to the Reds for cash in November of last year. He then went to the Mariners on another cash deal before successive waiver claims took him to the White Sox, Atlanta and now the Tigers.
The fact that Solak keeps losing his roster spot and finding another is a reflection of the fact that he has continued to success in the minors while struggling in the majors. He debuted in the big leagues in 2019 with a .293/.393/.491 showing but has hit a diminished .246/.317/.354 since then. His Triple-A slash is much closer to that 2019 output, coming in at .286/.368/.493.
Several teams have grabbed him in the hopes of unlocking that kind of showing at the big league level but it hasn’t quite happened since that encouraging debut in Texas. The Tigers will now be next in line for the experiment. Defensively, he came up as a second baseman but his glovework was generally considered poor and he was moved to a corner outfield role when the Rangers signed Marcus Semien. The Tigers could theoretically move him back to the keystone, though he has played exclusively in the outfield so far this season.
The Detroit outfield has taken quite a few hits this year, as each of Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, Austin Meadows and Matt Vierling are currently on the injured list. That leaves them with Akil Baddoo, Jake Marisnick and Zach McKinstry as their three regulars, with Tyler Nevin also factoring into the mix. Solak figures to give them a bit of depth for the time being, though he is in his final option year and will therefore be out of options next season.
As for Turnbull, he was placed on the injured list May 13 due to neck discomfort. He received an MRI on Monday, per Chris McCosky of Detroit News, and was cleared to start some activities but doesn’t seem close to a rehab assignment. He’ll now be ineligible to return until 60 days from his initial IL placement, which rules him out until early July.