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Cubs Select Trent Giambrone

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The Cubs are set to select the contract of infielder Trent Giambrone, reports MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). It’ll be the first call to the Majors for the former 25th-round pick.

Giambrone, 28 in December, has had a rough season in Triple-A this year but will bring plenty of versatility to the Cubs’ bench for the final few games of the year. In 271 plate appearances, he’s posted just a .174/.274/.255 batting line with three homers, eight doubles, a triple and five steals. He’s shown more power than that in past seasons, swatting 12 homers in 2017, 17 home runs in 2018 and 23 home runs in 2019.

Defensively, Giambrone has primarily been a second baseman both in 2021 and throughout his minor league career. He’s seen brief spells at third base, at shortstop and in the outfield corners this season, but he was deployed all over the field on a consistent basis back in 2019. That season saw Giambrone log between 103 and 334 innings at six different positions: all four infield spots and both outfield corners.

To make room for Giambrone on the active and 40-man rosters, Chicago placed third baseman Patrick Wisdom on the COVID-19 injured list.

Orioles Place Anthony Santander On Injured List

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The Orioles announced they’ve reinstated left-hander Bruce Zimmermann from the 60-day injured list. He’ll start this evening’s game against the Red Sox. They’ve also recalled corner infielder/outfielder Tyler Nevin from Triple-A Norfolk and placed right-hander Chris Ellis and outfielder Anthony Santander on the 10-day IL. To create space on the 40-man roster for Zimmermann, Baltimore transferred lefty Keegan Akin, who underwent abdominal surgery last week, from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Zimmermann is back after missing around two and a half months due to left biceps tendinitis. The 26-year-old appeared in twelve games (eleven starts) before going on the IL, tossing 59 2/3 innings of 4.83 ERA/4.48 SIERA ball. Zimmermann posted a below-average 20.2% strikeout rate and gave up nearly as much hard contact as any pitcher in baseball, but he pounded the strike zone and posted a ground-ball rate just a bit below the league average.

That’s not the most exciting production, but only John Means posted better numbers among O’s hurlers with 50+ innings this season. That looks to give Zimmermann a decent shot at landing a season-opening rotation spot next year, although the O’s front office will at least add a low-cost veteran option or two to that mix this offseason.

Santander’s season comes to a close a few days early because of a right knee sprain. The 26-year-old mashed in last year’s shortened campaign, but he couldn’t follow up on that over a larger body of work. Through 438 plate appearances, Santander hit .241/.286/.433. He hit for a decent amount of power for a third consecutive year, popping 18 home runs, but Santander’s tiny 5.3% walk rate and career-worst 23.1% strikeout percentage (excluding his 13-game rookie year) contributed to serious on-base issues.

This offseason, Santander will be eligible for arbitration for the second of four times. If tendered a contract, he’d be in line for a raise on this year’s $2.1MM salary. The Orioles have no guaranteed money on the books next season, so they could certainly shoulder a few million dollar tab for Santander. Still, that was true last offseason of Renato Nuñez — another low-OBP, power bat — and Baltimore elected to non-tender Nuñez. The front office will have to make a similar call on Santander this winter.

Rays Reinstate Andrew Kittredge From 10-Day Injured List

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4:54 pm: Conley has tested positive for the virus, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Fortunately, he’s currently asymptomatic, but the quarantine period could threaten Conley’s availability for the Rays’ Division Series that begins next week.

11:47 am: Right-hander Andrew Kittredge has been reinstated from the Rays’ injured list after a 10-day minimum absence due to a neck strain.  To make room on the active roster, Tampa Bay placed left-hander Adam Conley on the COVID-19 injury list.

After four inconsistent years as a reliever, starter, and opener with the Rays, Kittredge rejoined the team on a minor league deal, looking to rebound after a 2020 season shortened by a UCL injury.  The results have been startling, as Kittredge has one of the best members of the very strong Tampa bullpen and will likely be a big factor in the team’s postseason pitching plans.

Kittredge has a 1.55 ERA/2.96 SIERA over 69 2/3 innings, mostly working out of the bullpen with a few opener appearances on his resume.  As per Statcast, no pitcher in baseball has a higher chase rate than Kittredge, which has translated into an above-average 27.5% strikeout rate to go along with an excellent 5.6% walk rate.  The righty has also continued to keep the ball on the ground, with a 54% groundball rate that stands as a new career high.

Conley will be sidelined for a quarantine period if he has tested positive for the virus, though there isn’t yet any indication if Conley has COVID-19 or if his placement is a precaution due to symptoms or contact tracing.  (As always, teams are not obliged to reveal whether or not a player’s stint on the COVID-IL is due to a positive test.)  After signing a minors deal with the Rays in May, Conley has a 2.29 ERA/4.01 SIERA over 19 2/3 relief innings.

Mariners Select Matt Brash’s Contract, Designate Matt Andriese

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2:15PM: Brash’s contract has officially been selected.  Right-hander Matt Andriese was designated for assignement in the corresponding move.

11:17AM: The Mariners will select the contract of pitching prospect Matt Brash before today’s game with the Athletics, assistant GM Justin Hollander said in an interview with ESPN 710 radio (hat tip to Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times).  The M’s have a space on their 40-man roster to accommodate Brash, though they’ll have to make another move to make room on the active roster.

Brash was seen yesterday working out with the Mariners, so speculation immediately arose that the 23-year-old right-hander was on the verge of his MLB debut.  Brash is expected to pitch today in relief of scheduled starter Tyler Anderson, who is throwing on only two days’ rest.

Joining a team in the thick of a playoff race is quite the step for a pitcher who hasn’t even made an appearance at the Triple-A level, let alone the majors.  Brash was promoted to Triple-A Tacoma on Friday but didn’t get a chance to pitch for Tacoma before getting the call to the Show.

A fourth-round pick for the Padres in the 2019 draft, Brash came to Seattle in the August 2020 trade deadline swap that saw Taylor Williams head to San Diego.  His first year in the Mariners organization has been a successful one, as Brash has a 2.31 ERA and an outstanding 35.06% strikeout rate over 97 1/3 innings (42 1/3 IP at High-A ball, 55 IP at Double-A), starting 19 of his 20 games.  Control is a bit of a red flag, as Brash has an 11.85% walk rate this season.

Baseball America and MLB Pipeline each rank Brash within the Mariners’ top 10 prospects, with BA placing Brash ninth and Pipeline putting him right at the #10 spot.  Brash’s slider has taken steps forward this year but his fastball is his top pitch, clocking “up to 99 mph with high spin rates,” according to Baseball America’s scouting report.  That same report also notes that Brash drew some trade attention from other teams, so the Canadian’s breakout year has impressed evaluators beyond just Seattle’s organization.

The Mariners enter today’s action just 1.5 games back of the second AL wild card slot.  The Yankees hold the first wild card position and are a game ahead of the Red Sox, while the Blue Jays sit a game behind Boston (and a half-game ahead of Seattle).  The A’s are also still in the mix, 3.5 games back of Boston and with two remaining games in this series with the M’s.  This division rivalry has become surprisingly one-sided, however, as Seattle is 13-4 against Oakland this season.

With the postseason race this tight, the Mariners are turning to all available arms to help, even inexperienced youngsters like Brash.  Yusei Kikuchi had been the scheduled starter for today’s game, but Kikuchi has been so inconsistent over the last two months that the M’s are instead opting with the Anderson/Brash combination.  If Brash is able, he might be in line for more than one multi-inning appearance down the stretch (or, the Mariners hope, into the playoffs).

Pirates To Promote Roansy Contreras

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The Pirates will call up right-handed pitching prospect Roansy Contreras tomorrow, Z101 Digital’s Hector Gomez reports (via Twitter).  The 21-year-old Contreras will make his big league debut in a start against the Cubs.

Acquired from the Yankees as part of the Jameson Taillon trade package last winter, Contreras has pitched only 58 innings in his first season in the Pirates organization due to a forearm strain.  He missed all of July and August recuperating, and has since pitched in four games.  Just one of those games was at the Triple-A level, so Contreras is heading to the majors with only 3 2/3 innings under his belt at the highest rung of the minor league ladder.

That said, Baseball America’s Mark Chiarelli writes that “Contreras arguably raised his stock as much as any pitcher through the first half of the minor league season.”  The right-hander had a 2.64 ERA and a big 35% strikeout rate over 58 combined innings at Double-A and Triple-A, and added some very solid control with a 5.55% walk rate.  The big spike in strikeout rate over Contreras’ three previous minor league years with the Yankees was due to increased fastball velocity (up to 95-97mph), plus a slider that serves as a fourth pitch behind an already-intriguing changeup and curveball.

This breakthrough year has increased the optimism that Contreras can remain as a starter at the Major League level. Both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline rank Contreras as the sixth-best prospect in a strong Pittsburgh’s farm system, which speaks to Contreras’ development.  The rebuilding Bucs don’t have much to lose in taking a look at Contreras in late September, as the youngster could now be on the radar to join the rotation by early 2022.

Blue Jays Reinstate Cavan Biggio From 10-Day Injured List

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The Blue Jays announced that Cavan Biggio has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list.  Left-hander Ryan Borucki has been optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move.

Biggio’s 2021 struggles will be quickly forgotten if he can contribute to Toronto’s playoff push, though it has thus far been a season to forget for the 26-year-old.  Biggio was a very solid contributor in his first two big league seasons, but he has hit only .215/.316/.350 in 290 plate appearances while battling multiple injuries.  He first missed three weeks due to a cervical spine ligament sprain, and hasn’t played since August 2 after returning to the IL for a back strain.  That IL stint was elongated by an elbow injury Biggio suffered while playing in a minor league rehab game, setting back his progress once again.

Biggio has already played multiple positions during his young career, but the Jays had him penciled in as their regular third baseman heading into the season.  That still seems like Biggio’s likeliest role upon his return, as the hot corner has been a bit of a revolving door when Biggio has been out of action.  Santiago Espinal and Breyvic Valera have played respectably well at the position, and the recently-designated Jake Lamb was also briefly brought in while Espinal was also recovering from an injury.  With Lourdes Gurriel Jr. still day-to-day and George Springer only just returned to center field duty, Biggio might also get some time in the Blue Jays’ outfield picture.

Mets Reinstate Noah Syndergaard From 60-Day Injured List

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Noah Syndergaard is finally back in the majors, as the Mets have reinstated the right-hander from the 60-day injured list.  Syndergaard will start the second game of New York’s doubleheader with the Marlins today, and officially act as the 29th man for the twin bill.  Catcher Chance Sisco was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.

It was almost exactly two years ago that Syndergaard last pitched in a big league game, tossing seven innings in a 7-6 Mets win over the Braves on September 29, 2019.  The former All-Star then underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2020 and was initially projected to return around midseason, but a bout of elbow inflammation delayed Syndergaard’s return even further.

Now, the man they call “Thor” will only make a cameo appearance or two in the Mets’ final few games, though Syndergaard will surely feel comforted by getting some proper game action under his belt before another long offseason.  Syndergaard isn’t expected to work as a true starting pitcher, as he will serve as an opener today and could see work out of the bullpen for any other appearances.

Syndergaard’s extended absence was far from the only thing that went wrong for the 2021 Mets, and given how some pitchers don’t look quite themselves in their first outings back from TJ surgery, it isn’t any guarantee that a healthy Syndergaard would’ve provided a midseason boost even if he had met his projected recovery time.

Between a 2017 season that was limited to 30 1/3 innings due to injuries, and now the 2020-21 campaigns, Syndergaard has already endured three lost seasons in his brief MLB career.  When he has been able to pitch, Syndergaard has looked like a top-of-the-rotation arm, posting a 3.31 ERA, 26.4% strikeout rate, and 20.7 K-BB% over 716 innings from 2015-19.

It makes for one of the winter’s more intriguing free agent cases, as Syndergaard will hit the open market at the end of the year.  An argument can certainly be made that the Mets should issue a qualifying offer to Syndergaard, as a one-year contract in the $20MM range is a worthy investment for a frontline pitcher and Thor might be apt to take such a deal as a pillow contract to set himself up for a longer-term deal in the 2022-23 offseason.  Retaining Syndergaard would also provide some rotation depth in the event that Marcus Stroman leaves in free agency.

On the other hand, the Mets might have some natural reservation about committing $20MM to a pitcher who has missed essentially two full years.  With Robinson Cano’s contract returning to the books, the Mets will have less payroll space to either re-sign such noteworthy free agents as Stroman, Syndergaard, Javier Baez or Michael Conforto, or to acquire suitable replacements for the roster.  Then again, owner Steve Cohen might not consider the luxury tax threshold to be an impediment for the Mets’ to-be-determined next president of baseball operations, and Cohen might be more motivated to spend big after his club’s disappointing season.

From Syndergaard’s perspective, he’ll at least get a bit of a showcase to prove that he is healthy, even if a handful of innings won’t necessarily assuage the concerns of any interested teams looking to sign him this winter.  His free agent market could be hampered by the specter of draft pick compensation if he did reject the QO, but Syndergaard’s ceiling is high enough that an enterprising team could still be willing to take the plunge on more than one guaranteed year.

New York claimed Sisco off waivers from the Orioles in June, and the catcher appeared in only five games with the Mets at the big league level.  Sisco had some respectable numbers in part-time duty with the O’s over the last two seasons, but his defensive struggles and a big lack of production at the start of 2021 led the Orioles to part ways with the former top prospect.  For the season as a whole, Sisco is hitting only .149/.241/.189 over 83 combined plate appearances with New York and Baltimore.

Reds Promote Riley O’Brien

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TODAY: The Reds officially promoted O’Brien, and left-handed Cionel Perez was optioned to Triple-A.

SEPTEMBER 27: The Reds are planning to recall Riley O’Brien to start tomorrow evening’s game against the White Sox, manager David Bell told reporters (including C. Trent Rosecrans of the Athletic). It’ll be the right-hander’s major league debut. O’Brien was added to the 40-man roster last offseason to keep him from being exposed in the Rule 5 draft, so no corresponding move will be needed in that regard.

O’Brien was originally selected by the Rays in the eighth round of the 2017 draft out of the College of Idaho. He worked his way up to Double-A Montgomery over the next few years before being sent to the Reds last summer for lefty reliever Cody Reed. O’Brien spent the rest of the 2020 campaign at Cincinnati’s alternate training site.

Each of Baseball America, Keith Law of the Athletic, MLB Pipeline and FanGraphs slotted the 25-year-old in the back half of the Reds’ top thirty prospects last offseason. Public evaluators generally suggest O’Brien’s likely to settle in as a back-of-the-rotation starter or multi-inning relief option in the relatively near future. The 6’4″ hurler draws praise for his low-mid 90s fastball and athleticism, but his command and the quality of his secondary offerings has been less consistent.

That’s been borne out in O’Brien’s first crack at Triple-A this season. Over 112 2/3 frames with Louisville, he’s worked to a 4.55 ERA with a solid 24.7% strikeout rate but an elevated 11.2% walk percentage. While the Reds clinched their second consecutive above-average season this afternoon, they won’t make it to the playoffs. They’ll get a look at O’Brien for a start or two in the season’s final week, and he figures to be in the mix for some sort of role on next year’s season-opening staff.

Athletics Designate Michael Feliz For Assignment

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The A’s announced they’ve designated reliever Michael Feliz for assignment. His spot on the active roster will go to outfielder Luis Barrera, who has been recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas.

Feliz’s time in Oakland looks as if it’ll wind up being extremely brief. The A’s just grabbed him off waivers from the Red Sox last Monday, marking four separate teams this season for the 28-year-old. He made just one appearance in green and gold, recording one out while allowing a hit and a walk last week against the Mariners.

It has been a roller-coaster type season for Feliz, who began the year with the Pirates. Pittsburgh bumped him from the roster in May, and he landed with the division-rival Reds. He performed very poorly with Cincinnati, leading to a late August release after he spent a couple months on the injured list with an elbow sprain. Boston signed Feliz to a minors deal before quickly selecting him back to the majors amidst COVID-19 spread throughout the clubhouse that left the bullpen shorthanded. With most of their key relievers back, the Sox waived Feliz themselves and he landed in Oakland.

Between the four clubs, the right-hander has worked twenty innings of 7.20 ERA ball. He’s posted fine strikeout and walk rates (24.4% and 7.8%, respectively) but the fly-ball specialist has been too prone to the home run ball and hard contact in general.

Prior to this season, Feliz spent a few years as a higher-strikeout, higher-walk relief option with the Astros and Pirates. The average velocity on both his fastball and slider are down a couple ticks from their 2016-17 peak, but he’s still generated swinging strikes on a decent 12.7% of his offerings this season.

Feliz will wind up back on waivers in the next few days. There’s less than a week remaining in the regular season, and he is ineligible for postseason play because he’s been let go after August 31. Feliz wouldn’t have much time to make an impact on a potential new club this year, although he would be controllable via arbitration next season if another team wants to put in a claim and tender him a contract. If he clears waivers, Feliz would have the right to elect free agency and get a slight head start on his hunt for a new opportunity next season.

Elvis Andrus, Jed Lowrie Done For The Season

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Sept. 27: Andrus is meeting with noted orthopedic surgeon Keith Meister after being diagnosed with a fractured fibula in his left leg, per Shayna Rubin of the San Jose Mercury News. At this point, there’s no indication of damage to any ligaments or tendons, so the A’s tentatively expect him to be ready for Spring Training 2022.

Sept. 26: The Athletics have placed infielders Elvis Andrus and Jed Lowrie on the 10-day injured list, per the team. To fill their roster spots, Sam Moll has been reinstated from the paternity list and Vimael Machin was recalled from Triple-A.

That’ll close the books on the 2021 season for Andrus and Lowrie, the A’s middle infield for much of the year. Josh Harrison and Tony Kemp line up in the middle today for the A’s.

For Lowrie, it was without a doubt a bounce-back campaign just in terms of staying healthy enough to play in 139 games and step to the plate 512 times. In terms of his production, it wasn’t his best campaign. Lowrie hit just .245/.318/.398 with 14 long balls.

Andrus was a surprise choice as a replacement for Marcus Semien this year, but he not only kept the job, but he started 141 games at short for the A’s. He hit just .243/.294/.320 over 541 plate appearances, however. That’s good for just a 72 wRC+, leaving plenty of room to second guess Oakland’s decision to make Andrus their regular shortstop.

Machin has been an extra man in the infield for the A’s the past two seasons, though his playing time has been limited. The 28-year-old has a .176/.265/.198 line across 103 plate appearances over the past two seasons.

Moll will head back to the bullpen. He has made six scoreless appearances on the year covering 7 2/3 innings.

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