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Mariners Activate Kyle Lewis, Release Steven Souza

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TODAY: Sampson declined his outright assignment and elected to become a free agent, the team announced.

MAY 24: The Mariners have reinstated Kyle Lewis from the injured list. He’s in the starting lineup this evening as the designated hitter, batting seventh against A’s starter James Kaprielian. Seattle also announced they’ve released veteran outfielder Steven Souza Jr. and outrighted right-hander Adrian Sampson to Triple-A Tacoma.

It’ll be Lewis’ first big league appearance since last May 31. The former first-round pick suffered a meniscus tear in his right knee at the time. That marked the latest in a series of knee injuries for Lewis, who also tore his ACL as a minor leaguer and suffered a bone bruise in the joint in Spring Training. Lewis was shut down for a few months, and his attempt at a late-season rehab was scrapped after he suffered another bone bruise in September.

With that injury history in mind, the Mariners proceeded extremely cautiously with Lewis this spring. The club announced that he wouldn’t be available for the start of the season in March, and he continued to make slow progress over the season’s first few weeks. He headed out on a rehab assignment in early May, and his allotted 20-day window wrapped up yesterday. He’s now back and hoping to approximate the .262/.364/.437 showing he managed in 2020 to claim the American League’s Rookie of the Year award.

Seattle has gotten very little from their corner outfielders thus far, a big reason for the team’s disappointing 18-25 start. Nevertheless, they’re not about to thrust the 26-year-old Lewis back into an everyday role on the grass. Manager Scott Servais told reporters (including Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times) the plan is to use Lewis exclusively as a DH for now as they ease him back to action. They’ll presumably mix in a heavy dose of off days as well, leaving the outfield to Jesse Winker, Julio Rodríguez and Taylor Trammell as the club awaits the arrival of the newly-signed Justin Upton.

Souza briefly factored into that mix, heading to the majors when the M’s optioned Jarred Kelenic. The veteran had earned the call with a monster .267/.417/.533 showing in 96 plate appearances in Tacoma, but Seattle didn’t give him much leash at the big league level. After Souza collected just three hits (all singles) and punched out eight times in his first six games, the M’s designated him for assignment over the weekend. Presuming he clears release waivers, the 33-year-old will hit free agency and likely search for another minor league opportunity elsewhere.

Sampson has the right to do the same, having previously been outrighted in his career. The team didn’t specify whether he’s elected free agency, however, and Sampson does have Pacific Northwest roots as a Washington native.

Seattle grabbed the 30-year-old righty off waivers from the Cubs earlier this month, but he was designated for assignment before making an appearance. Sampson has pitched in 11 MLB games with Chicago over the past two seasons, tossing 36 1/3 innings of 2.72 ERA ball. His modest 18.7% strikeout rate hasn’t supported that excellent run prevention mark, though, and he’s now passed through waivers unclaimed.

Twins Place Joe Ryan On COVID Injury List

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The Twins have placed right-hander Joe Ryan on their COVID-related injury list.  Left-hander Devin Smeltzer was called up to take Ryan’s spot on the active roster, and Smeltzer will start for Minnesota against the Royals on Thursday (Ryan’s next scheduled outing).

Manager Rocco Baldelli told the Associated Press and other reporters that Ryan was “doing okay,” but didn’t provide any details about Ryan’s health.  If Ryan has only been sidelined due to symptoms or due to being a close contact, he could be activated from the COVID list as soon as tomorrow, though obviously that would be cutting it too close to make his scheduled start.  If Ryan has indeed tested positive, he’ll miss at least the next 10 days, unless he meets the three criteria for early activation — 24 hours without a fever, two negative tests, and clearance from a panel of the team doctor, a league-appointed physician, and a union-appointed physician.

Acquired from the Rays as part of the Nelson Cruz trade last July, Ryan has emerged as a force in his rookie season.  The righty has a 2.28 ERA and an above-average 24.3% strikeout rate, thanks in large part to a four-seam fastball that has been one of the most devastating pitches in baseball this season.  Some secondary metrics (4.30 xFIP, 3.93 SIERA, .234 BABIP, 83.7% strand rate) indicate some good fortune, but Ryan has also done well to limit damage by allowing very little hard contact.

Minnesota had plenty of questions about its rotation heading into the season, but the starters have generally performed quite well, despite some injuries.  Ryan and Josh Winder (shoulder impingement) are on the IL, while Chris Paddack has already been lost for the year due to Tommy John surgery.

Diamondbacks Activate Jose Herrera

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MAY 24: Herrera has been reinstated from the injured list. Greiner, who’d apparently been selected as a designated COVID substitute, has been returned to Reno and removed from the 40-man roster.

MAY 19: The D-Backs have selected catcher Grayson Greiner onto the major league roster. Fellow backstop José Herrera has been placed on the COVID-19 injured list in a corresponding move.

Greiner signed a minor league deal with the Snakes during Spring Training. That marked his first experience outside the Tigers’ organization, as he’d spent seven-plus seasons with Detroit since they nabbed him in the third round of the 2014 draft. Greiner tallied 477 big league plate appearances between 2018-21, hitting .201/.274/.309 with nine home runs.

The righty-hitting backstop has spent this season with Triple-A Reno. He’s mashed at a .351/.429/.514 clip through ten games, and he’s now in line for his first MLB action of the season. The Diamondbacks are without Carson Kelly because of an oblique strain, leaving Daulton Varsho as the primary backstop.

Herrera had been Varsho’s backup, but he’ll be out for an indeterminate amount of time. Arizona has also lost Kyle Nelson, Cooper Hummel and Nick Ahmed to the virus list in recent days. Herrera, 25, is hitting .125/.222/.150 through his first 18 MLB games.

Phillies, Zach Eflin Avoid Arbitration

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8:21pm: Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports the financial breakdown (on Twitter): a $5.5MM base salary with a $150K buyout on next season’s mutual option. Eflin would receive an additional $50K apiece for reaching 100 and 125 innings pitched, $75K for 150 innings, and a final $125K at 175 innings.

4:37pm: The Phillies and starter Zach Eflin have reached agreement on a contract to avoid arbitration, reports Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia (on Twitter). Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports (Twitter link) that Eflin will be guaranteed $5.7MM, and the deal contains an additional $300K in possible performance bonuses. The contract also contains a mutual option for 2023 valued at $15MM, per Nightengale. Eflin is a client of O’Connell Sports Management.

Agreeing to terms avoids the necessity of a hearing for Eflin, who was eligible for arbitration for a final time. His camp had filed for a $6.9MM salary, while the team was seeking a $5.15MM figure. Eflin’s guarantee comes in a bit shy of the $6.025MM midpoint, but he could more or less reach that mark were he to trigger all the performance bonuses.

Arbitration salaries are typically determined over the offseason, with whatever hearings prove necessary commonly occurring in February. This past offseason’s lockout froze league business for 99 days, however, pushing some hearings into the regular season. That’s not a desirable setup for anyone, and the Phils and Eflin are both surely happy to avoid that process. Philadelphia’s arbitration class is now wrapped up.

Eflin, 28, is set to hit free agency for the first time next season. The sinkerballer will be one of the younger arms available, and he’s settled in as a reliably effective mid-rotation arm. Eflin posted an ERA between 3.97 and 4.36 each season from 2018-21. He consistently posted walk rates a few points lower than the league average while inducing strikeouts and grounders at slightly above-average marks. On a rate basis, that’s quality annual production.

Coupled with his youth, that kind of steadiness should make Eflin one of the better arms in next winter’s free agent class. The only real concern would seem to be his health history, as he’s dealt with chronic issues in both knees throughout his career. 2016 surgery on both joints alleviated the problems for a while, but Eflin dealt with renewed patellar troubles in his right knee late last season. That culminated in another procedure last September, one that cut his season short.

Eflin has stayed healthy (aside from a brief stay on the COVID-19 injured list) thus far in 2022. He’s off to a typically solid start, posting a 3.65 ERA through 37 innings. The right-hander has a roughly league average 23% strikeout rate and 45.9% ground-ball percentage, while his 4.6% walk rate is among the league’s best. He has joined Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Kyle Gibson and Ranger Suárez to comprise one of baseball’s top starting staffs.

The inclusion of the mutual option theoretically raises the possibility of Eflin avoiding the open market altogether, but those are rarely exercised by both parties. Rather, they’re typically an accounting measure designed to push the payment of some salary back a few months — in the form of a postseason buyout on the option, rather than as salary to be dispersed regularly throughout the season. If Eflin stays healthy and productive all season, he’s likely to decline his end of the option in search of a multi-year deal on the open market.

Brewers Place Hunter Renfroe On Injured List, Select Mark Mathias

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The Brewers have placed corner outfielder Hunter Renfroe on the 10-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain. Milwaukee selected infielder Mark Mathias onto the big league roster in a corresponding move. The Brewers’ 40-man roster tally now sits at 38.

Milwaukee acquired Renfroe from the Red Sox over the winter, attaching prospects David Hamilton and Alex Binelas to the contract of Jackie Bradley Jr. in order to bring in Renfroe. The power-hitting outfielder had made a favorable impression on his new club, hitting .266/.303/.503 with nine home runs through 155 plate appearances. That’s been a marked upgrade over Bradley’s .163/.236/.261 production as the primary right fielder last season, a much-needed boost for a Milwaukee team that was middle-of-the-pack offensively in 2021. Manager Craig Counsell suggested to reporters (including Sophia Minnaert of Bally Sports Wisconsin) the club expects Renfroe back within ten to fourteen days.

Mathias is back in the majors for the first time this season. The Brew Crew had outrighted the right-handed hitter off their 40-man roster last November on the heels of a campaign lost to shoulder surgery. Mathias returned to health this year and has earned his way back with an incredible showing at Triple-A Nashville. Over 106 plate appearances, he’s hitting .341/.425/.549 with four home runs. Mathias has also walked in an impressive 11.3% of his trips to the dish while only striking out 19.8% of the time.

That work earns the 27-year-old his first MLB call in two years. A former Cleveland prospect, Mathias tallied 36 plate appearances over 16 games for the Brewers in 2020. That marks the entirety of his big league experience to date, but he’s a .262/.356/.406 hitter in parts of six minor league seasons. Mathias has experience at each of second base, third base and shortstop. The bulk of that playing time has come at the keystone.

Pirates Designate Cam Alldred For Assignment

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The Pirates announced they’ve designated reliever Cam Alldred for assignment. Pittsburgh also placed first baseman Daniel Vogelbach on the 10-day injured list and put reliever Heath Hembree on the 15-day IL. The moves clear roster space for the previously-reported promotions of right-hander Roansy Contreras and outfielder Calvin Mitchell.

Alldred just earned his first major league call a couple weeks ago. The 25-year-old made one appearance, tossing a scoreless inning against the Reds before being optioned back to Triple-A Indianapolis. He’s spent the rest of the season there, working 20 1/3 innings across ten appearances. Alldred has a sterling 1.33 ERA, inducing grounders on three-fifths of the batted balls he’s allowed.

The University of Cincinnati product hasn’t missed many bats in the minors. He has a below-average 21.3% strikeout rate in Triple-A, unsurprising for a pitcher who averaged 86.7 MPH on his sinker during his lone big league outing. Alldred has performed throughout his time in the minors, however, and he’s seen marked improvements in both his walk and ground-ball numbers thus far in 2022.

Vogelbach hits the IL due to a left hamstring strain. The team hasn’t provided a timetable for a return for the 29-year-old, who has been the club’s primary designated hitter this season. The lefty-swinging Vogelbach signed a $1MM deal over the offseason and had been off to a nice start to his Pittsburgh tenure. He’s hitting .241/.321/.457 while popping six home runs through his first 131 plate appearances.

Hembree also signed a one-year deal with the Bucs as a free agent, though he’s gotten off to a more inauspicious start. The right-hander has an 8.10 ERA through 17 appearances, walking 14.5% of batters faced. Hembree profiled as an interesting buy-low flier after striking out 34.2% of opponents between the Reds and Mets last season. He hasn’t come close to replicating that thus far, owning just a 16.1% strikeout rate in the early going.

In other Bucs’ injury news, the club transferred shortstop Kevin Newman to the 60-day IL yesterday. (The move was necessary to accommodate the promotion of Yerry de los Santos). General manager Ben Cherington announced over the weekend that Newman had suffered a hamstring injury while on a minor league rehab assignment (link via Jerry Dipaola of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review). That’s a separate issue than the left groin strain that originally landed him on the IL last month.

Cherington indicated Newman’s new injury isn’t likely to be serious, though it has halted his rehab stint. He won’t be eligible to return to the majors for sixty days from the time of his initial IL placement on April 27. A late-June return is now the best possible outcome for the 28-year-old, who hit .250/.308/.375 in 14 games before suffering the groin injury.

D-backs Release Humberto Mejia, Ryan Meisinger

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The Diamondbacks have released right-handers Humberto Mejia and Ryan Meisinger from their Triple-A affiliate in Reno yesterday, according to the transactions log at MiLB.com. Mejia was designated for assignment and outrighted to Triple-A earlier this season. Meisinger inked a minor league deal late in Spring Training and didn’t appear for the big league club this season.

Mejia, 25, was one of three players acquired in the 2020 trade that sent Starling Marte from Arizona to Miami. Lefties Caleb Smith and Julio Frias also landed in Arizona by way of that deal, which was largely driven by finances. The D-backs reportedly had no intention of picking up Marte’s $12.5MM option for the 2021 season on the heels of a shortened 2020 slate with no gate revenue.

At the time of the swap, Mejia was an interesting name. He’s posted huge numbers across two Class-A levels in 2019 and, due to a lack of a minor league season in 2020, made a brief big league debut with Miami that summer. He opened the 2021 season with Arizona’s Double-A affiliate and pitched reasonably well, logging a 4.22 ERA with far more impressive strikeout and walk rates, but Mejia has been clobbered both in Triple-A (86 2/3 innings, 6.23 ERA) and in the Majors (22 1/3 innings, 7.25 ERA) with the Diamondbacks. Mejia has solid strikeout and walk rates throughout his minor league career, but he’s also battled shoulder injuries and, since reaching the upper minors, become increasingly susceptible to home runs.

The 28-year-old Meisinger has now been with five organizations since being selected by the Orioles in the 11th round of the 2015 draft. He’s seen big league time in Baltimore (2018), St. Louis (2020) and with the Cubs (2021) but only tallied 31 total innings in the Majors. He’s been tagged for a grisly 7.26 ERA in that stretch, thanks to home-run troubles of his own as well as a bloated 13.8% walk rate.

Meisinger tossed 14 2/3 innings with Triple-A Reno this season and yielded 10 runs on 19 hits and seven walks with 16 strikeouts. It was a rough showing, but his broader track record in Triple-A remains strong. Even with this year’s 6.14 ERA, Meisinger carries a lifetime 3.37 mark through 117 2/3 innings in Triple-A and a 3.32 ERA in 81 1/3 Double-A frames. He’s fanned 29.7% of his opponents throughout his minor league career against a solid 7.9% walk rate. Things didn’t work out with the D-backs organization, clearly, but his strong minor league track record could earn him a look elsewhere.

Pirates To Promote Cal Mitchell

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The Pirates are calling up outfield prospect Cal Mitchell, reports Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic (Twitter link). Mitchell isn’t on the 40-man roster, so he’ll need to have his contract formally selected (unless he’s being brought up specifically as a Covid-related substitute player). Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster is full at the moment, so they’ll need to make at some corresponding moves. It seems likely there’s a set of transactions on the horizon, as it was reported Sunday that right-hander Roansy Contreras was also being brought back to the big leagues — and Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweeted last night that a locker is indeed set up for Contreras.

Mitchell, 23, was the No. 50 overall draft pick back in 2017. He’s had something of a slow developmental arc and hasn’t been considered among the Pirates’ top tier of prospects. Prior to the season, he ranked 22nd among Bucs farmhands at Baseball America, 25th at MLB.com and 37th at FanGraphs. However, Mitchell’s early work in 2022 has surely elevated his status. So far in 2022, he’s hitting for more power, striking out far less and running more often (and more successfully) than in any season of his professional career.

Prior to 2022, Mitchell had never reached an .800 OPS and was generally an above-average but not excellent hitter, by measure of wRC+. This year, however, Mitchell has stormed out of the gate with a .306/.362/.500 batting line (128 wRC+) through his first 138 plate appearances. He’s homered five times and connected on nine doubles, and the resulting .194 ISO (slugging percentage minus batting average) is the best of his career by 39 points. He’s also gone a perfect 6-for-6 in stolen bases, already tying his career-high total, and has fanned in just 14.5% of his plate appearances — well south of his prior rate of 22.4%.

Mitchell has spent the vast majority of his professional career playing right field (2797 innings), though he’s also logged 488 frames in left field and 27 in center. The Bucs have gotten solid production from Ben Gamel in left field, so he’s unlikely to be displaced, barring injury. Over in right field, rookie Jack Suwinski has struggled to the tune of a .182/.232/.377 batting line in his first 82 big league plate appearances.

Tigers Re-Sign Drew Hutchison

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Right-hander Drew Hutchison is back with the Tigers on a new minor league deal after electing free agency last week, as indicated on the team’s transactions log at MLB.com. Detroit designated Hutchison for assignment on May 11, and he elected free agency a couple days later. He’s already made one appearance with the team’s Triple-A club, and with so many injuries on the big league pitching staff, it’s feasible he’ll get another opportunity in the Majors before too long.

The 31-year-old Hutchison showed some promise with the Blue Jays early in his career, but he’s settled into a journeyman career, having now pitched with five big league clubs (Jays, Phillies, Rangers, Pirates, Tigers) plus another four Triple-A affiliates for big league clubs (Twins, Dodgers, Angels, Yankees).

Hutchison has experience both as a starter and reliever, though the Tigers used him exclusively out of the ’pen earlier this year. In 10 games, he tallied 15 2/3 innings of 4.60 ERA ball with a 20.8% strikeout rate against a bloated 16.7% walk rate. In 497 2/3 frames at the MLB level, Hutchison has a 4.96 ERA, a 20.2% strikeout rate and an 8.3% walk rate.

The Tigers have Eduardo Rodriguez, Casey Mize, Matt Manning, Tyler Alexander, Michael Pineda and Spencer Turnbull all on the injured list at the moment, while breakout lefty Tarik Skubal exited his last start after taking a 100 mph comebacker off his leg. With their entire Opening Day rotation, minus Skubal, now on the injured list, the Tigers have given looks to Alex Faedo, Beau Brieske and tonight’s starter, Elvin Rodriguez. Hutchison’s May 19 appearance with Triple-A Toledo only lasted 1 2/3 innings, but he did start that game, so it’s possible the Tigers will continue building him up to give them an additional option to make some starts while the rest of the rotation mends.

Brewers Outright Dylan File

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The Brewers announced Monday that right-hander Dylan File has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Nashville. The team had not previously announced that File had been designated for assignment or placed on waivers.

File, 25, was selected to the 40-man roster back in Nov. 2020, as the Brewers looked to protect him from the forthcoming Rule 5 Draft. In his most recent full season of work at that point, the former 21st-rounder had pitched to a combined 3.24 ERA with a 22.7% strikeout rate and a microscopic 3.7% walk rate in 147 frames between Class-A Advanced and Double-A.

Things haven’t gone as well for File in Triple-A, though his results have been better so far in 2022 than in 2021. Last season, the righty limped to a 5.27 ERA in 42 2/3 frames. He’s sitting at 4.10 through his first 37 1/3 innings this year, but while the ERA is improved, File’s rate stats have taken a turn for the worse. His already meager 19.4% strikeout rate has dipped to 17.9%, while last year’s strong 6.5% walk rate has swelled to 9.9%.

The Brewers’ 40-man roster now sits at 37 players.

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