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A’s Activate Lou Trivino From Injured List

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The Athletics announced this afternoon they’ve activated reliever Lou Trivino from the COVID-19 injured list. Infield prospect Nick Allen, who was promoted as a designated COVID substitute when Trivino went on the IL, has been returned to Triple-A Las Vegas in a corresponding move. (Martín Gallegos of MLB.com suggested last night that both moves were likely).

Trivino made four appearances before landing on the IL. He was a workhorse last year, tossing 73 2/3 innings of 3.18 ERA ball while collecting 22 saves. He’ll presumably step back into the ninth inning mix now that he’s again healthy. Trivino, who is making $3MM this season and controllable through 2024 via arbitration, could find himself as a midseason trade candidate if the A’s fall out of contention.

Allen, one of the better prospects in the Oakland system, made his first eight MLB appearances. He collected four hits and a pair of walks in 19 at-bats and will now head back to Las Vegas. The A’s had selected Allen onto their 40-man roster last November to keep him from being taken in the Rule 5 draft. He’ll continue to occupy a spot on the 40-man.

That isn’t the case for Drew Jackson, whom the club also reinstated from the COVID-19 IL and returned to Las Vegas. Jackson was also brought up as a COVID substitute last month, but unlike Allen, he wasn’t previously on the 40-man roster. The 28-year-old quickly contracted the virus himself and landed on the IL after appearing in just three games. Now that he’s healthy, he’ll lose his 40-man spot and head back to Las Vegas. The A’s 40-man roster is full, although they’ll need to create a vacancy for Ramón Laureano if he returns from his suspension when first eligible on May 8.

Nationals Place Anibal Sanchez On 60-Day Injured List

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The Nationals announced the transfer of starting pitcher Aníbal Sánchez from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list. The move clears a 40-man roster spot for utilityman Dee Strange-Gordon, who has been reinstated from the COVID-19 IL. Infielder Lucius Fox was optioned to Triple-A Rochester to open active roster space.

Sánchez signed a minor league deal during Spring Training, making a comeback after he sat out the 2021 campaign. Washington selected him onto the major league roster shortly before Opening Day. The veteran righty locked in a $2MM base salary by making the team and seemed as if he’d be part of the season-opening rotation. Unfortunately, he experienced some neck soreness that caused his start to be delayed.

Eventually, the team placed Sánchez on the IL with a cervical neck impingement. There was no indication he’d need an extended absence, but that apparently proves the case. Sánchez’s original IL placement was backdated to April 8, meaning he’ll be eligible to return during the first week of June. Whether the 38-year-old will be ready for his first appearance in two years at that point isn’t clear.

Strange-Gordon has been out since mid-April. The veteran speedster also cracked the Opening Day roster after signing a minors deal; he has taken three plate appearances in four games.

Cubs Select Robert Gsellman

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The Cubs are selecting righty Robert Gsellman onto the big league roster, as Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune was among those to relay (on Twitter). Drew Smyly, who had been scheduled to start this evening’s game against the White Sox, has been placed on the bereavement list to open active roster space. Southpaw Locke St. John has been designated for assignment in a corresponding 40-man roster move.

Gsellman inked a minor league deal with Chicago during Spring Training. He’d been non-tendered by the Mets, with whom he had spent his entire career. The Southern California native broke into the majors late in the 2016 season and flashed some potential as a starter during his rookie campaign. He struggled over 119 2/3 innings the following year, though, and he spent the next few seasons working out of the bullpen.

In the four years since moving to relief, Gsellman has tossed 186 1/3 innings of 4.73 ERA ball. His 19.2% strikeout rate was below-average, but he had a solid 8.1% walk percentage and induced ground-balls at an above-average 47% clip. Gsellman missed a good portion of last season because of a lat injury, and his strikeout rate dipped to 14.3% in 28 2/3 frames.

Assigned to Triple-A Iowa to start this season, Gsellman has started four of his five appearances. He’s tossed 15 1/3 innings with a tiny 1.17 ERA, albeit again with subpar swing-and-miss numbers. The Cubs will hope that Gsellman’s ground-ball approach can carry over against big league hitters. He’ll give them a multi-inning arm for an impromptu bullpen game tonight in Smyly’s absence, which will be opened by Scott Effross.

Chicago selected St. John onto the 40-man roster last month. He made one appearance, tossing two innings of three-run ball against Milwaukee on Saturday before being optioned out. The 29-year-old has tossed seven innings with Iowa, allowing four runs. He has fanned eight but also issued six walks and hit a trio of batters. The Cubs will have a week to trade him or place him on waivers.

In other news, starting pitcher Wade Miley is set to begin a minor league rehab assignment on Thursday, tweets Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. Claimed off waivers from the Reds over the offseason, the veteran southpaw has yet to make his team debut on account of inflammation in his throwing elbow.

Dexter Fowler Granted Release From Minor League Deal With Blue Jays

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Outfielder Dexter Fowler has requested and been granted a release from his minor league contract with the Blue Jays, reports Scott Mitchell of TSN Sports (Twitter link). Toronto elected not to select him onto the big league roster, and Fowler is now a free agent.

The 36-year-old Fowler signed with the Jays during Spring Training. He didn’t appear in a game with Triple-A Buffalo until last Thursday, as he finished his recovery from the ACL tear that ended his 2021 season in April. The veteran switch-hitter only played in three games with the Bisons, collecting five hits (all singles) in 12 at-bats with a pair of walks and strikeouts apiece.

Fowler will now presumably set out in search of another MLB opportunity. A respected 14-year veteran, he’d surely at least find more minor league interest if he’s amenable to another non-roster deal. It’s not clear whether he’ll find an immediate big league job after just 15 Triple-A plate appearances, but perhaps a team dissatisfied with its internal outfield options could turn to a player with a solid .259/.358/.417 career line.

The Jays have relied on George Springer, Teoscar Hernández, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Raimel Tapia and Bradley Zimmer thus far. Tapia and Zimmer have each struggled, but the Jays acquired both players via trade in recent weeks. (The Zimmer acquisition came after Fowler had signed with Toronto). Hernández has been on the injured list because of a oblique strain, but he’s set to head out on a minor league rehab assignment. It seems the Jays are content with that quintet as their outfield grouping for now.

Braves Sign Hernan Perez To Minor League Deal

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Last week, the Braves signed utilityman Hernán Pérez to a minor league contract. He has been assigned to Triple-A Gwinnett, where he’s already made three appearances. Pérez had opened the 2022 season with the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League, but he was granted his release to pursue the opportunity with Atlanta after three games.

Pérez, 31, has seen action in the majors in each of the past ten seasons. He debuted with the Tigers but logged the majority of his playing time as a fairly regular utility player with the Brewers between 2015-19. Pérez’s best season came in 2016, when he swiped 34 bases and hit 13 home runs over 430 plate appearances. His production has steadily ticked down in the years since then, however, and he’s seen only sporadic MLB time with the Cubs and Nationals over the last two years. He spent most of last season with the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization, hitting .273/.327/.418 in 58 games.

Even during his best days, Pérez made plenty of outs because of a very low walk rate, reflected in a .250/.280/.382 MLB slash line. For the bulk of his career, though, he’s shown solid bat-to-ball skills and plus baserunning ability. He’s also seen action at every position other than catcher, with the majority of his experience coming at third and second base. Public metrics haven’t liked Pérez’s work at shortstop or in center field, but he’s rated well in his time at second and at all four corner spots.

Atlanta’s starting infield of Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, Dansby Swanson and Austin Riley is well-established. Orlando Arcia, a teammate of Pérez’s for a few years in Milwaukee, is the top utility option. Pérez joins Phil Gosselin and Pat Valaika as experienced, non-roster utility options with the Stripers.

Guardians Sign Anthony Alford To Minor League Contract

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The Guardians are in agreement with outfielder Anthony Alford on a minor league deal, tweets GuardsInsider. The 27-year-old elected free agency over the weekend after being outrighted for the second time by the Pirates.

Alford was a second-round pick of the Blue Jays back in 2012. An excellent athlete with a rare combination of raw power and speed, he developed into a top prospect after posting strong numbers in the low minors. Baseball America slotted him among the game’s 100 best minor league talents entering both the 2016 and 2017 seasons, pegging him as the Jays’ most promising prospect during the first of those years.

Unfortunately, Alford has yet to produce the kind of numbers evaluators believed he’d be capable of. That’s in large part due to injuries, as he’s missed some time in each season since 2016 (including a two-week IL stint last month because of a right wrist sprain). A 2017 hamate fracture in his left hand and a fractured right elbow in 2020 have proven the most significant maladies, but Alford has also had IL stints for hamstring and back issues during his career.

When he has been on the field, the right-handed hitter has run into his share of strikeout issues. Alford has fanned in 37.9% of his 240 MLB plate appearances, resulting in a meager .209/.275/.368 line. He also has an alarming 29.2% strikeout percentage in parts of five seasons at Triple-A, where he’s a career .262/.349/.427 hitter. Between injuries and swing-and-miss concerns, he’s only played in 102 MLB games despite suiting up at the highest level in each of the past six years.

The Guardians have frequently been plagued by a lack of outfield depth in recent seasons. That hasn’t been a problem thus far in 2022, with Steven Kwan, Myles Straw and Josh Naylor off to excellent starts (and Oscar Mercado playing alright as well). Still, there’s little harm in taking a flier on a fairly young player who was once very highly-regarded and can cover all three outfield spots. Alford will head to Triple-A Columbus as non-roster depth.

Padres, Yusmeiro Petit Agree To Minor League Deal

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7:27pm: MLBTR’s Steve Adams relays the financials of the deal. If Petit is selected to the majors, he’ll have a base salary of $1.5MM with a further $500K available in incentives.

4:38 pm: The Padres are in agreement with reliever Yusmeiro Petit on a minor league contract, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (Twitter link). The 14-year MLB veteran will try to work his way back to the big leagues with San Diego.

Padres skipper Bob Melvin is plenty familiar with Petit, having managed him with the A’s for the past four seasons. The right-hander was a durable and productive bullpen arm throughout that run, tossing 275 2/3 innings of 3.07 ERA ball. No pitcher in MLB has made more appearances or soaked up more innings of relief since the start of 2018.

Given Petit’s reliability, it’s a bit of a surprise he spent the entire offseason on the open market and didn’t receive a guaranteed roster spot. The 37-year-old doesn’t fit the typical late-innings mold, however, which apparently gave teams trepidation. Petit averaged just 87.7 MPH on his fastball last season, and his 11.3% strikeout rate was the second-lowest mark among 255 relievers with 30+ innings pitched. His 10.1% swinging strike rate was also below-average but not nearly as extreme as his strikeout tally. That offers some hope he might be able to push his strikeout rate closer to the 17.6% figure he posted from 2019-21.

Petit’s bottom line numbers have no doubt been aided by Oakland’s large home ballpark and the elite defenses that lined up behind him for most of his tenure in the Bay Area. That said, he hasn’t walked more than 6% of batters faced in a season since moving to the bullpen full-time with the Giants in 2015. He also held opponents to a meager 86.5 MPH average exit velocity and 30% hard contact rate last season, both of which were lower than the respective 88.3 MPH and 35.5% league marks. Even without swing-and-miss stuff, he’s found ways to be effective.

San Diego’s bullpen has struggled to prevent runs thus far, as their 4.12 ERA is 25th in MLB. They’ve been good from a strikeout and walk perspective but have proven vulnerable to home runs. More importantly, they’ve subtracted three righties from the season-opening group. Pierce Johnson and Austin Adams are on the injured list, while Javy Guerra was designated for assignment and then traded to the Rays. Those losses could eventually open a spot for Petit, although he’ll presumably first need some time to build into game shape after the delayed start to the season.

Twins Place Miguel Sano On 10-Day Injured List, Surgery Under Consideration

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MAY 2: Surgery is on the table for Sano, who officially went on the IL this morning with a left knee sprain, according to Baldelli (Helfand link). The Twins will make the determination of whether a procedure is necessary this week. If Sano were to go under the knife, he’d still be expected to return this season, tweets Joe Trezza of MLB.com.

MAY 1: The Twins will be placing first baseman Miguel Sano on the 10-day injured list, manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters (including Betsy Helfand of The St. Paul Pioneer Press).  Sano is dealing with a sore left knee.  Catcher Jose Godoy will also be optioned to Triple-A, so the Twins will get their roster from 28 players down to 26 by tomorrow’s deadline.

Sano has missed four of Minnesota’s last five games with the injury, suffered during the game-ending rundown in the Twins’ 5-4 walkoff win over the Tigers on Tuesday.  After sitting out three games, Sano was the starting first baseman Saturday but was removed from the game during the seventh inning.

A timeline isn’t yet known for when Sano might be able to return to the lineup, but this absence could serve as something of a reset to his 2022 season.  Sano has been ice cold at the plate, hitting only .093/.231/.148 over his first 65 plate appearances.  As horrific as those numbers look, Sano has also been rather unusually unlucky, with only a .121 BABIP and a .196 wOBA far below his .344 xwOBA.  Sano’s xwOBA is actually above the league average, and his hard-contact numbers (hard-hit ball percentage, barrel percentage) and walk rate have all been excellent.

Though this indicates some hope Sano can rebound once he returns from the IL, the Twins will be shorthanded at first base in his absence.  Alex Kirilloff would normally take over the corner but Kirilloff is himself injured, currently on a minor league rehab assignment for a wrist issue.  If losing Sano and Kirilloff wasn’t enough for the Twins, Kyle Garlick also left today’s game due to calf tightness, so Minnesota might also have a gap to fill in the outfield depth chart.

Luis Arraez had never played first base prior to this season, but the utilityman has been filling in for Sano this week and looks like Minnesota’s top choice as the temporary replacement.  Baldelli also suggested that third baseman Gio Urshela or catcher Gary Sanchez could get some work at first base.  Urshela has played a handful of games at the position during his career, while Sanchez has played three games as a first baseman during his pro career (and none since 2017).

Athletics Designate Austin Allen For Assignment, Outright Mickey McDonald

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The A’s announced they’ve designated catcher Austin Allen for assignment. Reliever Jake Lemoine was also optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas as the team trimmed its active roster count from 28 to 26. Additionally, Oakland announced that outfielder Mickey McDonald, who was designated for assignment over the weekend, has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Las Vegas.

Like most of the players who have been DFA in recent days, Allen is out of minor league option years. That meant Oakland was left to either carry him on the active roster or take him off the 40-man and risk losing him to another club. With the roster cutdown necessitating sending two players out, the A’s have decided on the latter course of action.

Oakland acquired Allen from the Padres over the 2019-20 offseason in the deal that sent utilityman Jurickson Profar to San Diego. He has been on the 40-man roster in the two and a half years since then, although he’s only tallied 56 MLB plate appearances over 23 games. The lefty-hitting backstop spent most of the 2020 campaign at the alternate training site, then spent the bulk of last year at Las Vegas.

Stashing Allen as minor league depth wasn’t an available course of action this time around. He spent a few days on the restricted/COVID-19 lists but otherwise has been on the active roster, primarily as the #3 catcher. Sean Murphy is the obvious #1 backstop in Oakland. Christian Bethancourt, who signed a minor league deal and was selected to the majors when Allen hit the restricted list, has gotten into 13 games between catcher, first base and designated hitter; Allen has suited up just five times, an indication that Bethancourt had surpassed him as the #2 option. Veteran Stephen Vogt is currently on the injured list with a knee sprain but will be in that mix once he’s healthy.

Allen, 28, has only mustered a .195/.252/.288 line with a 37% strikeout rate in 127 MLB plate appearances. He’s never really had an extended opportunity to settle in, though, with his 34 games for San Diego in 2019 marking a career-high. The Missouri native has a massive .323/.365/.623 line in nearly 600 Triple-A plate appearances, including a .317/.351/.584 mark with the Aviators last year.

Vegas’ extreme hitter-friendly environment no doubt played a role, but it’s possible Allen’s strong minor league resume will convince another team to take a look. Prospect evaluators have generally not been enthused with his defense, but a team that views him as a capable gloveman behind the dish could be willing to devote him a roster spot as a bat-first depth option. Oakland will have a week to trade Allen or try to run him through waivers.

McDonald made his MLB debut last month, tallying six plate appearances over four games. He didn’t collect a hit but drew a pair of walks. McDonald has never previously been outrighted, so he’ll have to report back to Las Vegas and try to earn another look in the big leagues. The 26-year-old hit .333/.423/.438 in 228 Triple-A plate appearances last season, but he’s struggled in ten games there this year.

Dodgers Designate Carson Fulmer For Assignment

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The Dodgers have designated reliever Carson Fulmer for assignment, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times was among those to relay. Utilityman Zach McKinstry was also optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City to comply with the reduction in active roster sizes from 28 to 26.

Fulmer’s stay in the majors lasted just two days, as Los Angeles selected him when Mitch White hit the COVID-19 injured list on Saturday. He didn’t wind up making an appearance, and his time in the organization could now be coming to its end. While L.A. didn’t need to clear 40-man roster space, Fulmer was out of minor league option years. The only way to take him off the big league club was to remove him from the 40-man entirely.

Los Angeles acquired Fulmer in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft, which took place during the lockout. The Dodgers selected him out of the Reds organization after Cincinnati had passed him through outright waivers last May. He opened the 2022 campaign with Oklahoma City and tossed 11 2/3 innings over eight appearances. The righty allowed four runs (three earned) and struck out 12 batters but issued eight walks.

The eighth overall pick in the 2015 draft by the White Sox, Fulmer appeared in the majors every year from 2016-21. He has 130 2/3 MLB innings under his belt, although he’s managed just a 6.41 ERA with a subpar 19.2% strikeout rate and a lofty 13.4% walk percentage. The Dodgers will presumably place him on waivers in the coming days; Fulmer would have the right to refuse a minor league assignment if he clears after having been outrighted in the past.

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