Padres, Blake Cederlind Agree To Minor League Deal
The Padres have agreed to a minor league contract with right-hander Blake Cederlind, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link). The Pirates released Cederlind in late May after he struggled through six frames with their Class-A affiliate.
Cederlind, 27, was a fifth-round pick by Pittsburgh back in 2016 who pitched his way into prospect status with excellent 2018 and 2019 showings at the minor league level. The Bucs gave him his big league debut in the shortened 2020 season. The 6’3″ flamethrower with a power sinker pitched four solid innings across five games, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk with four strikeouts.
Unfortunately, that’s the last time Cederlind set foot on a big league mound. He underwent Tommy John surgery the following spring, wiping out his entire 2021 season and a portion of his 2022 campaign. During what was supposed to be his comeback year, Cederlind required a second surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow. He didn’t throw a pitch in the majors or minors from 2021-22.
Despite Cederlind’s struggles this season — nine runs on six hits, six walks and two hit batters in six innings — the mere fact that he was able to take the mound is a sign of some encouragement. He fanned six of his 31 opponents in A-ball and kept the ball on the ground at a strong 50% clip. Obviously, there are some worrying command issues at play, but that’s not exactly unexpected on the heels of a two-year absence owing to multiple elbow surgeries.
Cederlind has a long road to get back to the Majors, but based on his history when healthy, it’s easy enough to see why the Padres are interested in taking a no-risk flier. Prior to his surgeries, Cederlind sat in the upper 90s with his sinker and was able to reach triple digits. He’s only had six innings of experience in Triple-A thanks to the canceled minor league season in 2020, but he overwhelmed Double-A opponents with a 1.77 ERA, 22.7% strikeout rate, 8.6% walk rate and 48.3% ground-ball rate. It’s not yet clear to which affiliate they’ll sign Cederlind.
Yankees Place Nestor Cortes On Injured List
The Yankees announced Thursday that lefty Nestor Cortes has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a strained left rotator cuff. That move is retroactive to June 5. Fellow lefty Matt Krook has been recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in his place.
Manager Aaron Boone had already suggested earlier in the week that Cortes was likely to be placed on the injured list due to a shoulder strain, so today’s announcement shouldn’t come as a surprise. Boone noted at the time that Cortes has been having difficulty recovering between his starts due to ongoing discomfort in his shoulder. He underwent an MRI this week to determine the severity of the issue, though this is the first time the Yankees have formally disclosed his diagnosis. A concrete timeline has not been provided since Cortes underwent imaging.
Cortes has struggled this season, following up on his 2021-22 breakout with 59 1/3 frames of 5.16 ERA ball. His velocity hasn’t dropped off, but Cortes’s 23.4% strikeout rate and 7.5% walk rate are both noticeably worse than his respective 26.9% and 6.4% marks from 2021-22. He’s also seen his ground-ball rate, home-run rate, opponents’ chase rate, swinging-strike rate and average exit velocity all trend in the wrong direction.
Cortes has generally pitched well the first and second time through the batting order, holding opponents to a terrible .176/.242/.264 batting line on the first trip and an only marginally better .231/.286/.341 slash the second time around. He’s been utterly demolished by opponents when turning the lineup over for a third time, however: .447/.500/1.021 in 54 plate appearances. That marks a radical departure from 2022, when Cortes held opponents to a .189/.243/.283 batting line when facing them a third time.
With Cortes’ shoulder issue, the Yankees now have 60% of what they hoped would be their Opening Day rotation on the injured list. Neither Frankie Montas (shoulder surgery) nor Carlos Rodon (forearm strain, lower back injury) have thrown a pitch this season. Ace Gerrit Cole has been one of the best pitchers in baseball, while Domingo German has had a solid year (albeit a controversial one, including a 10-game ban for foreign substance usage).
The rest of the staff has been unable to pick up the slack. Clarke Schmidt is second on the team in innings pitched, but his 4.96 ERA isn’t exactly an impressive mark. He’s been solid over his past four turns, but the nine prior starts were fairly ugly. Rookie Jhony Brito has routinely been hit hard, evidenced by a 6.17 ERA in 35 frames. Luis Severino‘s return brought a much-needed influx of talent, and he’s given the Yankees a pair of good outings but one painful clunker at Dodger Stadium. Severino will get a chance to bounce back in the first game of today’s twin bill, while rookie Randy Vasquez will make his second start of the season in the the second game.
Tigers Acquire Joe Rizzo From Marlins
The Tigers have acquired minor league infielder Joe Rizzo from the Marlins in exchange for cash, per announcements from both clubs. The 25-year-old has been assigned to Triple-A Toledo.
Rizzo was a second-round pick of the Mariners back in 2016 but never advanced beyond the Double-A level in his original organization. He posted a solid .277/.343/.467 with Seattle’s Double-A affiliate last season, but the Mariners would’ve had to add him to add him to the 40-man roster in order to prevent him from reaching minor league free agency, and they opted not to do so. Rizzo signed a minor league deal with the Marlins in December.
The 2023 season hasn’t gone as well for Rizzo as the 2022 campaign. He returned to Double-A and posted a tepid .228/.298/.362 batting line through 142 plate appearances. Despite that below-average offense, he was bumped up to Triple-A Jacksonville, where he’s struggled to a .111/200/.139 output in 40 trips to the plate. Rizzo has primarily been a third baseman in his minor league career, with more than 4000 professional innings logged at the hot corner. He’s still seen notable action at both first base (724 innings) and second base (409 innings).
Baseball America ranked Rizzo 11th, ninth and 23rd among Mariners prospects on their respective 2017-19 rankings, but he’s since fallen off the prospect radar. He’s drawn praise for his bat-to-ball skills, raw power, throwing arm and makeup in those reports, but Rizzo’s on-field results have yet to align with the above-average rating he’s received on several tools and there are questions about his long-term defensive position. For now, he’ll get another change of scenery and fresh set of input from a new coaching and player development staff in hopes of taking his game to a new level and forcing his way into the big leagues.
Royals, Justin Anderson Agree To Minor League Deal
The Royals have agreed to a minor league contract with right-handed reliever Justin Anderson, per their transaction log at MLB.com. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Omaha.
Now 30 years old, the hard-throwing Anderson debuted with the Angels back in 2018 and spent the bulk of the 2018-19 seasons in a high-leverage role with the Halos. During that two-year stretch, he picked up five saves and 33 holds, pitching to an overall 4.75 ERA in 102 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. Averaging 96 mph with his heater (including 97.5 mph in his debut season), Anderson fanned 27.7% of his opponents but regularly battled command issues, evidenced by a woeful 15.7% walk rate (plus five hit batters and 13 wild pitches).
Despite his command struggles, Anderson had generally carved out a place in the Angels’ bullpen — but a Grade 2 oblique strain early in camp in 2020 followed by a torn ligament in his pitching elbow when ramping up for the shortened 2020 season changed that outlook. Anderson underwent Tommy John surgery in late July of 2020, and the Halos non-tendered him in the offseason rather than giving him a raise in arbitration while knowing he’d likely miss the entire 2021 season.
Anderson signed a two-year minor league contract with the Rangers that offseason — a deal clearly brokered with an eye toward the 2022 season. Anderson had a decent showing in spring training 2022 but didn’t crack the Opening Day roster in Texas. He never got much of a chance to earn a spot in their bullpen, either, as he was placed back on the injured list after just three Triple-A appearances and didn’t return to the mound last year.
Anderson likely has a ways to go before he’s considered a viable option for the Kansas City bullpen, but the Royals ought to be taking all the fliers they can, given the struggles of their relief corps in 2023. The Kansas City bullpen ranks 28th in the Majors with a 5.10 ERA. Aroldis Chapman, Scott Barlow and Taylor Clarke are all having nice seasons, and lefty Amir Garrett is touting a 3.00 ERA (even if he’s unlikely to sustain it thanks to a ghastly 17.7% walk rate).
The Royals have struggled to find solid performers beyond that bunch, and given their status as clear sellers this summer, they could soon be in need of even more bullpen help. Chapman and Barlow will be prime trade candidates, given that Chapman is playing on an affordable one-year deal and Barlow is controlled only through the 2024 season. Clarke could also draw interest, but he has another two seasons of club control remaining beyond the current one, so Kansas City might be a bit more inclined to hang onto him. Garrett, also a free agent at season’s end, could hold appeal as a hard-throwing lefty who can miss bats, but the aforementioned poor command is a longstanding issue that has escalated to new heights in 2023.
Dodgers Place Noah Syndergaard On Injured List
The Dodgers announced Thursday morning that struggling right-hander Noah Syndergaard has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a blister on his right index finger. Fellow righty Tayler Scott has been recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City to take Syndergaard’s spot on the roster.
The 2023 season has been an abject nightmare for Syndergaard. The former Mets powerhouse inked a one-year, $13MM contract with the Dodgers in hopes of rebounding from last year’s pedestrian showing between the Angels/Phillies and returning to the market in stronger standing. Instead, the 30-year-old righty has floundered through the worst season of his big league career. In 12 starts, Syndergaard has averaged just 4 2/3 innings per outing, sitting at a total of 55 1/3 frames on the year. In that span, he’s been rocked for a 7.18 ERA with a career-worst 15.4% strikeout rate.
Syndergaard averaged a career-low 94.5 mph on his heater in 2022, and though he voiced confidence in his ability to push that mark toward his pre-Tommy John Surgery levels of 97-99 mph upon signing with the Dodgers, his heater has continued to diminish. He’s sitting at an average of 92.8 mph in 2023 (93.3 mph over his three most recent starts). As that four-seamer has deteriorated, Syndergaard has added a new cutter and increasingly favored his sinker. Neither pitch has been effective, however. Opponents are hitting .366/.381/.537 against that freshly implemented cutter, while plate appearances ended with his sinker have produced a .309/.380/.529 slash. Per Statcast, the only of Syndergaard’s five pitches that has a better-than-average “expected” wOBA is his curveball — his least-used offering (12.2%).
Syndergaard’s walk rate remains elite, checking in at an outstanding 3.7% this season. That’s the fourth-best mark in MLB (min. 50 innings), trailing only George Kirby (2%), Zack Greinke (3.3%) and Zach Eflin (3.5%). However, Syndergaard’s 15.4% strikeout rate is tied for eighth-lowest in that same set of pitchers — a remarkable fall for a pitcher who fanned 26.5% of his hitters through his first five MLB seasons. Compounding the problem is that Syndergaard’s average of 1.95 homers allowed per nine innings pitched is the eighth-worst mark among the 98 pitchers with at least 50 innings in 2023.
Were the Dodgers healthier as a team, perhaps they might’ve already had their hand forced with regard to the struggling Syndergaard. They’ve been hit hard by injuries on the pitching side of the roster, however, with each of Julio Urias, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Ryan Pepiot and Michael Grove requiring notable stints on the injured list. That’s perhaps bought Syndergaard some extra time, but Urias is expected to return this weekend. At that point, the Dodgers will have Clayton Kershaw, Urias and Gonsolin in their top three spots, with impressive rookie Bobby Miller tightening his hold on that fourth spot.
Syndergaard would join Grove and top prospect Gavin Stone as a candidate for that fifth spot, and at least for the time being, neither of those two younger options has seized the job. But with Pepiot and May expected back this summer and the trade deadline now about seven weeks away, there’s no certainty Syndergaard will have a long leash to prove himself as one of the team’s five best options.
Pirates Outright Chris Owings
Pirates utility player Chris Owings has gone unclaimed on waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Indianapolis, according to the transactions log at MLB.com. The veteran infielder has the right to decline the assignment in favor of minor league free agency; it’s unclear whether he’s done so.
Owings signed a minor league deal with the Bucs over the offseason. He got out to a strong .273/.360/.523 start in 13 games with Indianapolis. The Pirates selected his contract midway through May, marking the 11th consecutive year in which he reached the highest level. Owings saw only sporadic action, collecting just four hits (all singles) while punching out 12 times in 25 plate appearances. He was designated for assignment over the weekend.
An everyday middle infielder early in his career with the D-Backs, Owings has settled in as a well-traveled depth player over the past few seasons. He’s suited up for five clubs in as many years since leaving Arizona. Going back to the start of the 2019 campaign, he’s a .174/.254/.287 hitter in 131 big league contests.
Owings has never been a particularly imposing offensive threat. He’s made his mark with defensive flexibility and solid production in the upper minors. He carries a career .306/.347/.482 line over parts of eight Triple-A campaigns.
Nationals Outright Andres Machado
Nationals reliever Andrés Machado has gone unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment this week, the club announced. Machado has the right to refuse an outright assignment in favor of minor league free agency because he’s cleared waivers multiple times in his career. However, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com tweets the right-hander will bypass the open market and join the Nats’ Triple-A club in Rochester.
Machado opened the season in Triple-A. He tossed 12 1/3 frames of five-run ball to earn a call back to the majors at the end of April. He couldn’t carry that success over against big league hitters. Machado allowed 16 runs over 17 MLB frames, surrendering a staggering six homers in the process. He’s out of option years, so the Nats had to take him off the 40-man roster to send him back to the minors.
The 30-year-old Machado has pitched in each of the last three seasons for Washington. He posted a sub-4.00 ERA in both 2021-22 but never had the peripherals to match that decent run prevention. Machado fanned less than 20% of opposing hitters in both years while walking opponents at a slightly higher than average pace. That led to him going unclaimed on waivers over the offseason and again clearing this week.
Washington has made a couple changes in the bullpen in the last few days. The Nats also designated veteran righty Erasmo Ramírez for assignment this morning. The pair of moves has dropped their 40-man count to 38.
Yankees Select Billy McKinney
The Yankees announced that they have selected the contract of outfielder Billy McKinney. He will take the active roster spot of Aaron Judge, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right great toe sprain. That move was reported on last night and is retroactive to June 4. To open a spot for McKinney on the 40-man roster, right-hander Ryan Weber was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
McKinney, 28, signed a minor league deal with the Yankees this winter and has been having a great season in Triple-A thus far. He’s walked in 13.8% of his plate appearances while striking out at a 20% clip. He has nine home runs and is slashing .274/.388/.511 for a wRC+ of 127.
However, minor league success is nothing new for McKinney. He has developed a pattern of raking in Triple-A and then scuffling in the majors, with various clubs around the league giving him chances that he’s failed to take advantage of. Dating back to 2018, he’s played for the Yankees, Blue Jays, Brewers, Mets, Dodgers and Athletics. He’s received 768 plate appearances in the big leagues but hit just .206/.277/.387 in those for a wRC+ of 77. His minor league slash line in that same time frame is .261/.359/.498 for a wRC+ of 123.
He’ll now get another shot to succeed in the show, which has been spurred on the Yankees’ outfield mix dealing with various injuries. Harrison Bader and Greg Allen were already on the injured list and now Judge is joining them, subtracting three options from the center field depth chart. McKinney is capable of playing all three outfield spots and first base, so will give them a bit of versatile depth alongside players like Jake Bauers, Willie Calhoun, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Giancarlo Stanton.
McKinney is out of options and can’t be sent back down to the minors without being exposed to waivers first. Even in that case, he’d have the right to elect free agency since he has a previous career outright. If he finally manages to break out against big league pitching, the Yankees could keep him around for quite a while via arbitration. He would cross three years of service time this year if he stays up and would be slated for free agency after 2026 if he continued to justify his roster spot.
As for Weber, he was placed on the injured list on the weekend due to a forearm strain. There’s still no official word on what’s next for him but the fact that he’s been transferred to the 60-day IL isn’t a good sign. He’ll now be ineligible until the first week of August at the earliest.
Brewers Option Brice Turang, Reinstate Willy Adames
The Brewers announced today that shortstop Willy Adames has been reinstated from the seven-day concussion list, with infielder Brice Turang optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move.
Adames had a scary incident over a week ago when he was struck in the head by a foul ball while sitting in the dugout. He was sent to hospital for testing but seemed to avoid any serious injuries as he didn’t suffer any fractures and resumed baseball activities a few days later, which has allowed him to return after an absence of under two weeks.
The roster casualty of his return is Turang. Now 23, the youngster has been considered one of the top 100 prospects in the league at times during his rise to the majors. Baseball America gave him the #88 slot going into 2021 but didn’t have him on their list in the past two years. FanGraphs was still bullish coming into 2023, giving him the #65 slot in their preseason top 100.
The Brewers traded away Kolten Wong this winter, which opened the door for Turang to take over the second base job next to Adames. Unfortunately, his first taste of the big leagues hasn’t gone well. He’s struck out in 27.1% of his plate appearances while walking at just a 6.2% clip. His .205/.254/.307 batting line amounts to a wRC+ of just 52. He does have nine steals in 12 tries and has solid defensive grades at the keystone, but that batting line is clearly untenable.
He’ll now get a chance to get back into a groove in the minors, which will likely delay his path to free agency and perhaps arbitration. Since he cracked the Opening Day roster this year, he was on track to get a full year of service time but will now fall short of that as long as he spends 20 days in the minors.
With Turang gone, the second base duties will likely fall to some combination of Luis Urías, Owen Miller, Andruw Monasterio and Abraham Toro. Urías was just activated from the injured list and Toro was just recalled from the minors a week ago but Miller is hitting .313/.350/.463 on the season while Monasterio is at .350/.435/.550 in his first eight major league games.
Phillies Outright Cal Stevenson
The Phillies announced that outfielder Cal Stevenson, who was designated for assignment last week, has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Stevenson, 26, has already been a part of a half dozen organizations in his short career. Drafted by the Blue Jays in 2018, he went to the Astros in the 2019 Derek Fisher trade, then to the Rays as part of the 2020 Austin Pruitt deal and to the A’s in the Christian Bethancourt trade. The A’s added him to their roster last season but designated him for assignment in mid-April of this year. He was then flipped to the Giants for cash but put on waivers a couple of weeks ago and landed with the Phillies.
Amid all of those transactions, Stevenson got into 29 major league games, 23 with the A’s last year and 6 with the Giants this year. He walked in 13.3% of his 83 plate appearances but also struck out in 30.1% of them and slashed just .145/.259/.188. But he continued to draw interest based on his strong work in the minors. In Triple-A last year, split between different organizations, he had a 14.7% walk rate and 17.6% strikeout rate while hitting .284/.389/.412. He also stole 16 bases and played all three outfield spots.
Unfortunately, he hasn’t gotten into a groove this year while bouncing from club to club, hitting .208/.344/.273 in 93 Triple-A plate appearances in 2023 so far. That production likely helped him pass through waivers unclaimed. Since this is his first career outright and he has less than three years of service time, he won’t have the ability to elect free agency. That will allow the Phils to retain him as a bit of non-roster outfield depth as he tries to earn his way back to the big leagues.