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Anthony Alford Elects Free Agency

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Outfielder Anthony Alford has elected to become a free agent rather than accepting the Pirates’ outright assignment to Triple-A, John Dreker of the Pirates Prospects site reports (Twitter link).  Pittsburgh designated Alford for assignment last week, and he cleared DFA waivers yesterday without being claimed.

Since this isn’t the first time Alford has been outrighted off a team’s 40-man roster, he had the option of deciding whether to accept the Pirates’ assignment, or entering the open market in search of another opportunity elsewhere.  While it’s possible Alford could end up re-signing with the Bucs, his decision to test free agency likely ends his tenure in Pittsburgh after less than two years.

The Pirates acquired Alford via waiver claim in August 2020, taking him off the Blue Jays’ roster after Toronto had also designated the outfielder.  The Jays made Alford a third-round pick in the 2012 draft, and he drew three years’ worth of top-100 prospect attention from multiple pundits as he continued to move up the ladder in the Toronto farm system.  However, injuries also curtailed his progress, and ultimately limited Alford to only 46 Major League games in a Blue Jays uniform from 2017-20.

The outfielder got only slightly more of a look with the Pirates, playing 56 games and receiving 165 plate appearances in a Pittsburgh uniform over the last three seasons.  Alford’s .235/.309/.423 slash line in that span was only slightly below (97 OPS+) league-average production, but it also wasn’t enough for the Pirates to keep him around ahead of younger players.

Now 27 years old, Alford will move on to see if the third time is the charm with his baseball career.  Speculatively, the Braves could be a potential fit given how president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos was the Blue Jays’ GM when Toronto initially drafted Alford.  Any number of other clubs could also be willing to take a flier on a former top prospect, and try to translate Alford’s obvious athletic ability into consistent success on the field.

Guardians Designate Logan Allen, Bobby Bradley For Assignment

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The Guardians have designated left-hander Logan Allen and first baseman Bobby Bradley for assignment.  In another roster move, righty Anthony Castro was activated from the COVID-related injured list, and then optioned to Triple-A.

In the short term, the Guardians have reduced their roster from 28 to 26 players in advance of tomorrow’s roster reduction deadline.  In the bigger picture, however, these moves could mark the organizational end of two players who (not long ago) were considered two possible building blocks.  Both Allen and Bradley were former top-100 ranked prospects, but that promise didn’t translate into consistent MLB success.  Allen and Bradley are both out of minor league options, so Cleveland had to expose them to the DFA wire in order to try and send either player to Triple-A.

Allen was an eighth-round pick for the Red Sox in 2015, and he has thus far been involved in two major trades in his young career.  Allen was one of the four prospects Boston sent to the Padres for Craig Kimbrel in November 2015, and Allen was then one of the seven names involved in the huge three-team swap between San Diego, Cincinnati, and Cleveland prior to the 2019 trade deadline.  That deal saw Cleveland end up with Franmil Reyes, Yasiel Puig, prospects Scott Moss and Victor Nova, plus Allen, who had made his Major League debut earlier that year with the Padres.

After the trade, Allen appeared in one game with his new team in 2019, then only three games in the shortened 2020 season.  Last year was Allen’s first semi-extended look at the big league level, and he posted a 6.26 ERA, 16.7% strikeout rate, and 7.7% walk rate over 50 1/3 innings.  That walk rate was a positive sign considering some of the control problems Allen had faced in the minors, but as had been the case for Allen at Triple-A, his time in the majors was hampered by the long ball.  The southpaw allowed 12 home runs over his 50 1/3 frames.

Between the lack of success in both the majors and at Triple-A Columbus, Allen became an expendable piece for a Guardians organization that is brimming with young talent.  The same could be said of Bradley, as Owen Miller and Josh Naylor have emerged as the Guards’ preferred options at first base only about a season after Bradley was seen as a first baseman of the future.

A third-round pick in the 2014 draft, Bradley displayed plenty of power in the minor leagues, even if his batting averages and on-base numbers weren’t always as impressive.  A big Triple-A season in 2019 earned him a call-up and a 15-game cup of coffee in Cleveland, but Bradley didn’t see any game action at all in 2020 — the minor league season was canceled, and the Guardians never promoted Bradley from their alternate training site.

Cleveland fans were notably impatient to see Bradley get a look in 2021, especially with Jake Bauers struggling as the team’s regular first baseman.  Once Bradley finally got his chance, however, he hit a modest .208/.294/.445 with 16 home runs in 279 PA.  His power was still apparent, but Bradley struck out 99 times, and particularly struggled against left-handed pitching.  This season, Bradley had only two hits in 17 at-bats, striking out nine times.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see either player taken via waiver claim, or for another club to work out a trade with the Guardians.  Both players are still young (both have May birthdays, with Allen turning 25 this month and Bradley 26), and they have each shown enough flashes of promise that a new team might think the flaws can be fixed.

Twins, Luis Arraez Avoid Arbitration

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7:21PM: Arraez will earn $2.125MM this season, Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports (Twitter link).  This is the exact midpoint between each side’s submitted figure.

7:03PM: The Twins and utilityman Luis Arraez have agreed to a one-year contract for the 2022 season, according to The Athletic’s Dan Hayes and Katie Woo (Twitter link).  The two sides will avoid an arbitration hearing, as a deal wasn’t reached between Arraez and the Twins prior to the deadline for filing arb figures.

Terms of the deal aren’t yet known, but Arraez filed for a $2.4MM salary, while the Twins countered with $1.85MM.  (MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projected Arraez for a $2MM salary.)  This is the first of four arbitration-eligible years for the 25-year-old, who gained an extra arb year as a Super Two player.

As per the usual “file or trial” tactic, teams usually don’t agree to one-year contracts with players after the filing deadline, preferring to head to a hearing unless a multi-year extension could be struck.  However, the unusual nature of this year’s baseball calendar (due to the lockout) might have made the Twins more open to just a one-year pact with Arraez, perhaps simply to avoid the extra awkwardness of a hearing over a month into the season.

Since making his big league debut in 2019, Arraez has been an extremely valuable member of the Minnesota roster due to both his production at the plate and his versatility in the field.  While playing mostly as a second baseman, Arraez has bounced around to fill in at third base and left field, plus a handful of appearances as a shortstop and first baseman (much of Arraez’s first base time has come this very week, as he has stepped in for the injured Miguel Sano).

At the plate, Arraez is arguably baseball’s best contact hitter, with only an 8.9% strikeout rate over his first 1036 career plate appearances.  This strikeout rate is less than his 9.1% walk rate, and this extreme contact rate has translated to a very solid .313/.375/.403 career slash line (114 wRC+, 115 OPS+).  Arraez doesn’t offer much power or even hard contact, yet the sheer volume of contact has allowed him to become a productive offensive player.

Gary Sanchez is now the Twins’ only remaining arbitration-eligible player whose case has yet to be settled.  As per MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker, there are 23 players around baseball who are still headed for in-season arb hearings unless a deal can be worked out before the meeting with the arbiters.

Travis Shaw Elects Free Agency

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TODAY: Shaw has elected to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A.  As noted by WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford, the Red Sox will only owe Shaw the prorated portion of his $1.5MM salary for the time spent on the active roster.  Because Shaw was let go within the season’s first 40 days, the Sox don’t owe the entire salary.

APRIL 29, 4:06pm: The Red Sox informed reporters (including Tara Sullivan of the Boston Globe) that Cordero has been selected and Shaw was DFA. Boston also reinstated right-handers Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford from the restricted list. To clear 40-man roster space for those two hurlers, the Sox returned COVID “substitutes” Rob Refsnyder and John Schreiber to Triple-A Worcester. They’ve also optioned righty Tyler Danish and recalled outfielder Jaylin Davis.

10:50am: The Sox indeed plan to select Cordero’s contract from Worcester, Cotillo tweets. Cordero struggled immensely through 136 plate appearances in Boston last season, hitting at just a .189/.237/.260 clip while fanning at a 37.5% rate. He’s out to a massive .296/.375/.535 start through 81 plate appearances in Triple-A, where he’s slugged three homers and eight doubles with a slightly lower (though still troubling) 28.3% strikeout rate.

10:23am: The Red Sox are designating struggling corner infielder Travis Shaw for assignment, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports (via Twitter). The team has yet to formally announce the move or a corresponding transaction, though Cotillo suggests that outfielder Franchy Cordero could be brought up from Triple-A Worcester to take Shaw’s spot on the roster.

Shaw, 32, has a lengthy history with the Sox and has had plenty of success in prior stints with Boston, but his 2022 campaign has gotten out to a disastrous start. Through 19 plate appearances, he’s yet to collect a hit or even reach base, punching out seven times along the way. Were the Red Sox’ lineup performing better on the whole, perhaps the front office might have been more willing to give the veteran Shaw a bit more leash to right the ship. Boston, however, is batting just .229/.275/.344 as a team, translating to a 78 wRC+ that ranks 27th among baseball’s 30 teams. Their 72 runs scored this season rank 20th. The Sox have scored two or fewer runs in nine of their 20 games thus far.

Shaw returned to the Red Sox for a second stint late last season after the Brewers placed him on waivers, and his second stint with the Sox proved productive. In 48 plate appearances down the stretch, Shaw hit just .238 but got on base at a healthier .319 clip and slugged a robust .524. He smacked three homers and three doubles along the way, showing enough for Boston to bring him back to the organization on a minor league contract this winter. Shaw didn’t hit much in Spring Training (4-for-24), but management saw enough positives from him to carry him on the Opening Day roster.

Now designated for assignment, Shaw will be either traded, placed on outright waivers or released within a week’s time. Given his early struggles, it seems unlikely that another club would immediately place Shaw on its 40-man roster (via a small trade or waiver claim). If he goes unclaimed or is released, however, his track record ought to get him a look elsewhere on a minor league contract. Shaw has a pair of 30-homer campaigns on his resume and is a career .237/.319/.437 hitter in 2690 plate appearances.

Royals Promote MJ Melendez

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The Royals recalled catching prospect MJ Melendez, according to a team announcement.  The move was prompted by an injury to backup catcher Cam Gallagher, who went on the IL with a hamstring strain.

Prior to the season, Baseball America ranked Melendez as the 42nd best prospect in all of baseball.  In a breakout 2021 season, Melendez led all of the minors with 41 home runs.  The problem, of course, is that Melendez is blocked by Salvador Perez, the longtime Royals backstop who crushed a career-best 48 Major League home runs in that same season.  Perez is signed through 2025, with a club option for 2026.

Melendez was off to a slow start in 2022, with a .160/.284/.280 line in 88 Triple-A plate appearances.  He had no such issues at that level last year, hitting .293/.413/.620 in 45 games.  Now, Melendez will get a shot to serve as Perez’s apprentice at the game’s highest level, on the merits of that ’21 season.  Defensively, Melendez draws praise for his plus-plus arm, while Baseball America suggests he “still has work to do with his receiving and blocking behind the plate.”

Perez, who ranked fourth in MLB last year with 1002 2/3 innings caught at age 31, could cede the occasional start to Melendez while the 23-year-old rookie is around.  There’s also the DH spot, which could feature both Melendez and Perez as part of a rotation.  To date, Perez has taken 27% of the club’s DH plate appearances, with only Hunter Dozier having received more.  This year at Triple-A, Melendez has spent a few games at DH and in right field when he hasn’t been catching.  Last year he picked up nine games at third base, and got a look there in spring training this year as well.

Melendez will mark the 13th Baseball America top 100 prospect to make his Major League debut this year, following Julio Rodriguez, Bobby Witt Jr., Spencer Torkelson, C.J. Abrams, Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Seiya Suzuki, Matt Brash, Bryson Stott, Jeremy Peña, Heliot Ramos, and MacKenzie Gore.

Adam Morgan Opts Out Of Minors Deal With Astros

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Left-handed pitcher Adam Morgan has opted out of his minor league contract with the Astros, reports Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. Once he exercised that opt out, the club had 24 hours to either select him to the big league roster or release him, with the club option for the latter choice. He is now a free agent.

Morgan, 32, was drafted by the Phillies and spent parts of six seasons with the big league team, from 2015 to 2020. He was primarily a starter for the first two campaigns but a reliever for the remainder. The move to the bullpen improved his results, as his his 2015-2016 seasons yielded a 5.37 ERA, 16.8% strikeout rate and 5.4% walk rate, whereas in the four subsequent campaigns, his walk rate jumped to 9%, but his ERA was 4.11, along with a 25.4% strikeout rate.

He spent last year with the Cubs, throwing 25 1/3 innings, with his walk rate climbing to 11.1%, his ERA ticking up to 4.26 and his strikeouts dropping to 25.9%. He signed a minor league deal with the Astros in the offseason, seeming like a decent bet to crack the club’s roster as left-handed relief is one of their few weak spots. Blake Taylor and rookie Parker Mushinski are the only southpaws in the Houston bullpen, but they are evidently satisfied enough with those options to let Morgan get away.

Through 8 2/3 innings in Triple-A so far this year, he has a 3.12 ERA with 10 strikeouts and just a single walk. He will now return to the open market and look for his next opportunity.

Mets’ Sean Reid-Foley Placed On IL With Partial UCL Tear

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The Mets have informed reporters, including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, that right-handed pitcher Sean Reid-Foley has been diagnosed with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. He left last night’s game with discomfort in that elbow. The club hasn’t specified the next course of action, though Tommy John surgery is an option. Even if Reid-Foley doesn’t require surgery, the non-surgical options for a partial UCL tear require lengthy absences. Reid-Foley was placed on the injured list with righty Yoan Lopez being recalled to take his spot on the active roster.

A second round draft pick of the Blue Jays, Reid-Foley was one of the three players that went from the Jays to the Mets in the Steven Matz trade. He was considered the #75 prospect in the game by Baseball America in 2017, but slid off the list in subsequent years. Between the two clubs, he’s appeared in each of the past five seasons, but thrown only 102 1/3 career innings. In that time, he has a 4.66 ERA, with a 23.6% strikeout rate and 13.7% walk rate.

Reid-Foley and the Mets will now try to figure out the next steps, but he’s not likely to return soon regardless. For example, Nationals’ hurler Joe Ross was diagnosed with a partial UCL tear in August of last year. He ultimately did not undergo surgery, but still hasn’t made it back off the injured list. Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com provided an update today, that Ross will soon start throwing to live hitters. However, the Nats placed him on the 60-day IL to begin the season, indicating they don’t anticipate him returning before June, ultimately amounting to an absence of nearly a year, despite avoiding surgery.

Reid-Foley had one year and 93 days of MLB service time going into this season, meaning he won’t qualify for arbitration until after the 2023 campaign, at the earliest. There’d be almost no cost for the Mets to just hold onto him even if he requires a lengthy rehab process. He can be moved to the 60-day IL at some point and therefore won’t require a roster spot, but the 60-day IL goes away in the offseason, meaning he could have a tenuous hold on his roster spot at that point if he hasn’t returned to health.

Athletics Activate James Kaprielian

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The Athletics announced that they have activated right-handed pitcher James Kaprielian from the injured list, with fellow righty Adam Oller being optioned to make room on the active roster.

Selected by the Yankees with the 16th overall pick in the 2015 draft, Kaprielian was sent to Oakland in the deal that made Sonny Gray a Yankee. He made his MLB debut in 2020, getting a cup of coffee that last 3 2/3 innings. Last year, he was able to throw 119 1/3 innings with a 4.07 ERA, 24.5% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate. He spent some time on the IL with issues in his throwing shoulder and began this season on the shelf due to irritation in that shoulder again.

Over the offseason, the A’s shipped out a number of their veteran players, cutting costs and clearing the roster for cheaper players like Kaprielian. Tommy John surgery slowed his journey from through the minors, meaning that he now has just over one year of MLB service time. Now 28 years old, he won’t qualify for arbitration until after the 2023 season at the earliest. With Chris Bassitt and Sean Manaea having already been dealt and a Frankie Montas deal rumored to be next, pitchers like Kaprielian will be important for Oakland to build the rotation back up again. Other than Montas, the rotation currently consists of other pre-arbitration hurlers like Paul Blackburn, Daulton Jefferies and Cole Irvin.

Oller is also a part of that picture and will likely get another call to the bigs at some point. His first taste of MLB action didn’t go smoothly, however, as he has an ERA of 11.17 through his first 9 2/3 innings. Acquired in the Bassitt deal, he’ll head down to Triple-A Las Vegas and try to get some better results in preparation of the next big league opportunity.

Dodgers Activate Tommy Kahnle

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The Dodgers announced that right-handed pitcher Tommy Kahnle has been activated off the injured list, relays J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group. Lefty Garrett Cleavinger has been optioned to create space on the active roster.

Kahnle, 32, last pitched in a major league game July 26, 2020, when with the Yankees. He underwent Tommy John surgery after that and has been working his way back to health ever since. Many pitchers have been able to secure themselves two-year deals while recuperating from TJS, with the team usually backloading the contract due to the fact that they won’t get any contributions in the first year. Kahnle signed such a deal with the Dodgers, earning $750K last year and $3.45MM this year, with a further $750K available in incentives.

Kahnle oscillated between dominating and struggling during the seasons preceding his surgery. In 2017, split between the White Sox and Yankees, he threw 62 2/3 innings with a 2.59 ERA, incredible 37.5% strikeout rate and 6.6% walk rate. The next year, however, just about everything went in the wrong direction, as his ERA shot up to 6.56, with a 28% strikeout rate and 14% walk rate. He was able to swing the pendulum back the other way in 2019, though not quite as dominant as 2017. In 61 1/3 innings, he registered a 3.67 ERA, with 35.5% strikeout rate and 8.1% walk rate. He threw just a single inning in 2020 before hitting the injured list.

In 6 1/3 innings of rehab work in the minors so far this year, he’s allowed two earned runs while striking out seven and walking just one. He’ll add another powerful arm to the Dodgers’ bullpen mix, jockeying for high-leverage roles with Daniel Hudson and Brusdar Graterol, forming an impressive bridge to closer Craig Kimbrel.

Reds Place Jake Fraley, Jonathan India On Injured List

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1:05 pm: In yet another injury blow for the Reds, second baseman Jonathan India is going on the injured list due to an injury to his right hamstring. The move is retroactive to April 30. Alejo Lopez has been recalled to take his place.

Last year’s National League Rookie of the Year, India has been off a bit of a slow start to the year, perhaps because of this hamstring issue, which first put him on the shelf April 16. His .295/.311/.341 line amounts to a wRC+ of 85, which is 37 points below last year’s mark. Matt Reynolds, playing second base today, could see more time with India out. Mike Moustakas could also play more third base, with Brandon Drury sliding over to the keystone.

Of course, Lopez could also figure into that mix, as he’s capable of both playing second and third base, as well as shortstop and left field. He’s off to a slow start in Triple-A this year, but hit .303/.386/.446 there last year, walking more than he struck out and putting up a 126 wRC+.

12:56 pm: The Reds announced to members of the media, including Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer, that outfielder Jake Fraley is headed to the injured list with right knee inflammation. Fellow outfielder TJ Friedl has been recalled to take his place.

This is yet another domino in what has been a very frustrating series of events for the fans of the Reds. In the offseason, a number of the club’s better players were shipped out as the club attempted to lower payroll. One such move was the deal that sent Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez to the Mariners, with four players coming back the other way, one of those being Fraley. Once the season began, a rash of injuries took a toll on the players who remained, with the club limping out to a 3-18 start to the season, easily the worst in the league.

Fraley had a solid season in Seattle last year but hasn’t played well since moving to Cincy, perhaps because of this knee issue. This isn’t something that just popped up suddenly, as he also missed a few games earlier in the season because of it. On the year, he’s hitting .116/.208/.233, but will now take some time to heal up and hopefully come back healthier and more productive.

The club’s outfield depth has also taken a hit with a couple of notable cuts, as both Shogo Akiyama and Aristides Aquino have been released this season. Friedl will slot into the outfield mix alongside Tommy Pham, Tyler Naquin, Nick Senzel and Matt Reynolds. Friedl hasn’t hit much in his MLB action thus far, though in a small sample of just 17 games. In 128 Triple-A games, however, he’s hit a decent .256/.356/.412.

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