Rays Acquire Javy Guerra From Brewers
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Angels Select Chris Devenski, Place Jose Quijada On 15-Day IL
The Angels announced they’ve selected the contract of right hander Chris Devenski, and placed left hander Jose Quijada on the 15-day injured list with left elbow inflammation. To make room on the 40-man roster, catcher Logan O’Hoppe was transferred to the 60-day IL.
The 32-year-old Devenski was once a top reliever with the Astros, but has struggled in recent years. His last stint in the big leagues resulted in an 8.59 ERA across 14 2/3 innings between the Diamondbacks and Phillies last year.
That’s a far cry from his days with the Astros. Devenski burst onto the scene with Houston, putting up a 2.16 ERA over 108 1/3 innings in his rookie year and finishing fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting. He followed that up with another quality season, posting a 2.68 ERA in 80 2/3 relief innings in 2017 and earning a trip to the All Star game. The wheels began to fall off in 2018 though, and Devenski would work to a 4.88 ERA over the next three seasons before being released by the Astros after the 2020 season.
He latched on with the Diamondbacks in 2021 but in sporadic big league stints hasn’t come close to replicating his early career form. He’ll now get a chance to do just that with the Angels.
Quijada had struggled to a 6.00 ERA in nine innings for the Angels this season. The left hander has been a mainstay in the Halos’ pen over the past few seasons, working to a 4.21 ERA over 66 1/3 innings between 2021-22 with a 12.21 K/9 and a 4.88 BB/9.
Cubs Place Brandon Hughes On IL, Recall Caleb Kilian
The Cubs announced they’ve placed left hander Brandon Hughes on the 15-day IL (retroactive to April 27) with left knee inflammation and recalled right hander Caleb Kilian from Triple-A.
It’s a bit of a blow to the Cubs’ bullpen, as Hughes was off to a solid start working to a 3.18 ERA with nine strikeouts across 5 2/3 innings. That backed up his rookie year in which the 27-year-old pitched to a 3.12 ERA over 57 2/3 innings. The southpaw posts quality strikeout rates, and limits left handed hitters to a .208/.283/.281 batting line, giving up just one home runs in 108 plate appearances over his short career.
The left knee appears to be a bit of a problem for Hughes, who was bothered by it during Spring Training and wound up on the IL on Opening Day as a result. The Cubs will certainly be hoping a second trip to the IL is enough to eliminate the problem.
With Hughes out, the Cubs will turn to Kilian, a right hander who’s only major league experience consists of three starts for the Cubs last season. Those starts didn’t go too well, as Kilian was rocked for 13 earned runs and gave up 12 walks in 11 1/3 innings of work. He’s struggled to a 7.15 ERA in his first three starts at Triple-A this season.
Yankees Option Franchy Cordero, Select Jake Bauers
11:46am: The team announced they have indeed selected the contract of Bauers. To make room on the 40-man roster, reliever Lou Trivino was transferred to the 60-day IL.
7:59am: The Yankees have optioned outfielder Franchy Cordero to Triple-A, the team announced. A corresponding move will come before tonight’s match with the Rangers, but there’s been some reporting that the team will select Triple-A outfielder Jake Bauers. Aaron Judge‘s injury status will also likely play a part in the Yankees’ next move, with the team awaiting a report on the MRI on his hip, per Brendan Kuty of The Athletic.
Cordero, always a player with tantalizing power, belted four home runs in his first seven games for the Yankees this season, and looked to be staking a claim for the team’s problematic left field spot. However, since April 13, Cordero has gone just 1-for-28 with 13 strikeouts and no walks. That’s left him with an overall line on the season of .151/.182/.396 with four home runs.
The Yankees signed Cordero to a split major/minor league contract late in the spring which paid him $1MM in the big leagues and $180K in the minors. Cordero has bounced around a few teams since making his debut for the Padres in 2017, with teams looking to unlock the raw power which makes him such an enticing player. Yet at every stop Cordero’s struggled to make enough contact to find that power, as his career .215/.282/.387 line suggests.
With Cordero heading back to Triple-A, the team looks set to take a chance on Bauers, a player who’s struggled over three big league seasons but is hitting .304/.448/.797 with nine home runs in 87 plate appearances at Triple-A this season.
It is a little concerning that the Yankees came out of last season with a clear need in left field yet find themselves still without a clear answer one month into the new season. Oswaldo Cabrera has seen the most time there, but he’s limped to just a .213/.238/.300 line this season. Veteran Aaron Hicks has been even worse, posting a .135/.220/.135 line in 41 plate appearances.
Athletics Reinstate Ramon Laureano, DFA Tyler Wade
The Athletics announced they’ve activated outfielder Ramon Laureano from the injured list, and designated utilityman Tyler Wade for assignment.
Laureano’s return is a welcome boost for an A’s team that’s slumped to a 5-22 record entering play Saturday. The 28-year-old was hitting .218/.295/.436 with two home runs to begin the season before he hit the shelf with a left groin strain. That move came on April 19, so Laureano will be activated after spending the minimum ten days on the IL. While he’s put up ho-hum numbers at the plate, Laureano has excelled in a small sample of work in right field, collecting four Defensive Runs Saved on the young season.
The A’s will part ways with the speedy Wade, who’d picked up just one hit in 16 plate appearances. Known for his speed and defensive versatility, Wade had picked up four stolen bases and appeared at four positions for Oakland. Signed to a minor league deal, he’ll now be exposed to the rest of the league via the waiver wire, and while the hitting numbers don’t inspire a lot of confidence, there’s a chance a team puts in a claim to bring him in as a cheap pinch runner/defensive sub off the bench.