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East Notes: Yankees, Gallardo, Braves, Hanley

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The Yankees can either call up first baseman/outfielder Nick Swisher from Triple-A or try to trade suspended closer Aroldis Chapman for a bat as a way to spark their offense, writes Barry A. Bloom of MLB.com. Of course, it’s debatable whether either action would present any kind of solution. Swisher – whom the Yankees signed to a minor league deal earlier this month – is raking in Triple-A (.381/.440/.571 in 25 plate appearances) and was a terrific major leaguer from 2005-13, including four seasons in pinstripes. However, more recently, he was among the majors’ worst regulars the previous two seasons, has dealt with knee problems, and was jettisoned by both the Indians and Braves. Although the Yankees’ Dellin Betances– and Andrew Miller-led bullpen has fared well without Chapman, who will return next month, it’s difficult to imagine a prospective contender dealing a legitimate offensive producer for less than a season of control over the flame-throwing lefty. Plus, despite the Yankees’ early RISP troubles (their .668 OPS with men in scoring position ranks 20th), their offense is still a solid 10th in the league in wRC+.

Here’s more from the AL East and one NL East team:

  • Orioles right-hander Yovani Gallardo, who left Friday’s start after two innings because of shoulder discomfort, will see team orthopedist Dr. Mike Jacobs in Baltimore today, reports Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun. Gallardo told Encina that his shoulder began acting up while getting loose in the bullpen before Friday’s game. “My shoulder just didn’t feel right. To be honest, it was one of those feelings that I’ve never had my whole career,” he said. That’s a particularly alarming admission from a player who signed a two-year deal with the Orioles in February after the team nixed an agreed-upon third year because of a shoulder problem that came to the forefront in Gallardo’s physical. The 30-year-old has also experienced a notable velocity drop this season, which manager Buck Showalter acknowledged Friday. “I’ve done all the looks at his average velocity in April and May. Every start I’ve looked at them. He’s down,” Showalter said.
  • Betances and Miller have been brilliant out of the Yankees’ bullpen this year, but David Schoenfield of ESPN.com argues that the team isn’t getting as much from them as it could. The two have logged 15 appearances between them, and only once has manager Joe Girardi deployed either for longer than an inning of work (Betances got four outs April 12). That isn’t good enough, opines Schoenfield, who believes the Yankees should lean more heavily on both of them until Chapman returns, citing Betances’ ability to handle a significant workload (he easily led all relievers with a combined 174 innings from 2014-15) and Miller’s past as a starter.
  • The Braves are willing to overlook third baseman Adonis Garcia’s defensive struggles because of his above-average offensive output, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com. In 74 games dating back to last season, Garcia has hit a palatable .285/.318/472, though his .870 fielding percentage ranks last among major league third basemen who have accrued at least 120 chances going back to 1910, per Bowman. “He’s not a third baseman. He plays hitter,” manager Fredi Gonzalez said of Garcia. In fairness to Garcia, over a 345-inning sample size at third in 2015, he was only a bit below average by the standards of advanced metrics like defensive runs saved and ultimate zone rating.
  • The Red Sox seem pleased with Hanley Ramirez’s transition from left field to first base, and the 32-year-old has won fans over with his effort and attitude, but the club needs more from him offensively, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe offers. Ramirez, a career .296/.366/.493 hitter, is batting a disappointing .277/.290/400 with 17 strikeouts and two walks in 69 PAs this year. Since signing a four-year, $88MM contract with Boston in November 2014, the Red Sox’s current No. 5 hitter has put up a below-average .253/.291/.423 line in 499 PAs.

Week In Review: 4/16/16 – 4/22/16

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A look back at the notable moves and news from around Major League Baseball over the last week…

Key Moves

Trades

Designated For Assignment

Outrighted

Released

Key Minor League Signings

Quick Hits: Gallardo, Arrieta, Ethier, Carter

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We already covered some injury updates tonight, but there’s another one of note. Yovani Gallardo’s struggles worsened tonight for the Orioles, and after the game skipper Buck Showalter said that he’s dealing with shoulder soreness, as Ghiroli reports (links to Twitter). The righty was already showing a two mile per hour decline in his average fastball, but said the issue arose only before and during tonight’s start. He lasted only two innings and 45 pitches today, surrendering four earned runs on five hits and a walk. The veteran says he’s never before experienced this kind of discomfort and that it got worse as the game progressed. Gallardo is expected to return to Baltimore for further evaluation. You’ll recall that Gallardo’s original agreement with the O’s was modified after shoulder questions cropped up in his physical.

Here are a few more notes to round out the evening:

  • On the heels of Jake Arrieta’s second no-hitter for the Cubs, Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com takes a look back at the deal that brought the star righty to Chicago along with reliever Pedro Strop in the summer of 2013. With Baltimore looking to bolster its rotation for a playoff push, the Cubs parted with half a season of Scott Feldman to acquire two controllable pitchers who have paid out handsomely since the swap. “We had scouted Jake extensively,” said Cubs GM Jed Hoyer. “We had done a lot of makeup work on him. We did the same thing on Strop. At that time, we just needed to get power arms onto our team.” Of course, as Hoyer acknowledges, the club didn’t expect anything like what Arrieta has delivered; as he puts it, “what [Arrieta’s] done is obviously exceptional.”
  • While he’s shelved on the DL with a broken leg, Dodgers’ outfielder Andre Ethier has officially achieved ten-and-five status, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times notes on Twitter. The veteran therefore obtains full no-trade rights, which was all but inevitable when the club elected not to deal him entering the season. Ethier is owed $20MM for one more campaign after this one, including a $2.5MM buyout on a club option for 2018.
  • First baseman Chris Carter is off to a nice start with the Brewers, as Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes. After another productive evening, Carter owns a .259/.328/.593 slash with four long balls over his first 64 plate appearances. That’s a far cry from his awful start to the 2015 season, and Carter attributes it in large part to his offseason effort to change his approach. “I’m just hitting more balls the other way,” Carter explained. “My homers this year have been to center, right-center. That’s something that I didn’t do that much last year until the end of the year. It’s something I worked on in the offseason, hitting balls where they’re pitched instead of trying to pull them.” Thus far, at least, Milwaukee’s $2.5MM investment has been well worth it.

AL Notes: Darvish, Smith, ERod, Kelly, Owens, Snell, Farquhar, Gausman, Gallardo

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Here’s the latest out of the American League, with a focus on some recent injury news on key pitchers:

  • Rehabbing Rangers ace Yu Darvish will throw another live BP session before beginning his rehab assignment, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. The righty hasn’t suffered any kind of setback, but hopes to refine his offspeed offerings before reporting to Double-A to begin his march back to the majors.
  • Meanwhile, Red Sox reliever Carson Smith looks to be on track for a return in early May, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports on Twitter. He’ll need to make at least three minor league outings, including two on back-to-back days, before being activate. The righty will be a welcome addition to the back of the Boston pen. Likewise, lefty Eduardo Rodriguez may be on his way back soon, as Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald tweets that he could return to the majors after two rehab starts.
  • In other Red Sox pitching news, the club is hopeful that Joe Kelly won’t miss much more than the minimum on his 15-day DL stint, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports (Twitter links). Southpaw Henry Owens will step into Kelly’s place in the rotation. He’s put up three solid outings at Triple-A thus far, allowing just two earned runs in 18 innings with 23 strikeouts and ten walks.
  • With top Rays pitching prospect Blake Snell coming up for his first start tomorrow, Baseball America’s Vince Lara-Cinisomo takes a look at the 23-year-old lefty. While he still needs to refine his command, BA suggests he could become a number two starter if he can reach his ceiling in the majors. Tampa Bay has optioned reliever Danny Farquhar to clear room for Snell, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. The 29-year-old righty has pitched well enough in the early going, but he was one of only a few optionable arms in the Rays’ pen and appeared in each of the last two games.
  • The Orioles are set to activate Kevin Gausman for his first start of the season on Monday, with the heralded righty saying that he thinks his shoulder issues are a thing of the past, as MLB.com’s Britt Ghiroli reports. In his latest rehab appearance, said Gausman, he felt more “comfortable” than he had in his prior outings. Hopes are high for the 25-year-old, and the Baltimore rotation is certainly need of a boost with only one member (Ubaldo Jimenez) currently carrying a sub-4.00 ERA.

Offseason In Review: Kansas City Royals

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This post completes a series in which MLBTR reviewed the offseason moves of every team in baseball. You can find all of those posts at this link.

After coming one game away from baseball’s top prize in 2014, the Royals again reached the postseason in 2015, this time closing out the job with their first World Series title in 30 years. The celebratory parade in Kansas City was a sight to behold, but GM Dayton Moore and his staff had plenty of work to do in what was a busy offseason.

Major League Signings

  • Alex Gordon, OF: Four years, $72MM plus 2019 mutual option
  • Ian Kennedy, RHP: Five years, $70MM plus opt-out after 2017 season
  • Joakim Soria, RHP: Three years, $25MM, plus 2019 mutual option
  • Chris Young, RHP: Two years, $11.5MM, plus 2018 mutual option
  • Mike Minor, LHP: Two years, $7.25MM plus 2018 mutual option
  • Total spend: $185.75MM

Notable Minor League Signings

Trades and Claims

Extensions

Notable Losses

Needs Addressed

The Royals entered the offseason with a pair of corner outfielders hitting free agency: Alex Gordon and Alex Rios. Gordon, the former No. 2 overall draft pick who has emerged as the face of this new wave of contending baseball in Kansas City, was the clear priority for Moore and the rest of the front office. With early reports that the Royals hoped to re-sign him on a three- or four-year deal, significant doubt was cast on that possibility. It seemed implausible to many, myself included, that Gordon could be had for a deal of that length. However, he was one of many outfielders that lingered on the market longer than pundits expected, and he ultimately signed for $72MM over a four-year term shortly after New Year’s Day. Retaining Gordon was a huge win for the fans, and the fact that the Royals were able to do so at a reasonably manageable price was a plus for the front office. Gordon’s contract is still a record-setter for the typically cost-conscious Royals, but the rest of their roster is affordable enough over the next couple of seasons that it shouldn’t be burdensome.

Apr 14, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Ian Kennedy (31) pitches against the Houston Astros in the third inning at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports

With Cueto, Young and Guthrie lining up as free agents, the Royals needed to supplement their rotation with innings. They were linked to a fair number of free-agent starters, but the primary addition to their rotation was rather stunning. Ian Kennedy always made sense as a target for the Royals — a fly-ball pitcher that would benefit from a large park and excellent defense (plus, Kansas City’s relationship with Scott Boras is strong) — but the terms of the contract were jarring. I was aggressive on Kennedy’s free agent stock this winter and always considered the narrative that he should accept San Diego’s qualifying offer to be ludicrous, but despite being more bullish on his earning power than most, I was still floored when he secured not only a five-year deal worth $70MM but also an opt-out clause.

Kennedy’s skill set is a great fit for a Royals club that can mask his greatest deficiencies via the aforementioned stadium and defensive prowess, but the contract is still teeming with downside. Kennedy is guaranteed just $27MM of that $70MM sum, meaning he’d be opting out of a three-year, $43MM contract as he heads into his age-33 season. While that’s certainly possible, Kennedy’s inconsistent track record and homer-prone nature also make it easy to envision a scenario where that sum tops what he’d earn on the open market. A spike in his homer-to-flyball ratio similar to the one he experienced in another pitcher-friendly environment in 2015 and 2013 would leave the Royals with an unsightly contract.

The Royals made a pair of smaller-scale commitments in the rotation as well. First, they paid up for right-hander Chris Young after two years of drastically outperforming his peripheral stats thanks to his propensity for weak fly-balls (and, weak contact in general). Young shouldn’t be counted on for innings, having topped 100 frames in a season just thrice since the conclusion of the 2008 season, but he’s being paid a fairly modest $11.5MM over the next two seasons and doesn’t need to do all that much to justify the investment. The Mike Minor contract is even lower risk, financially speaking, as the lefty followed former teammate Kris Medlen from Atlanta to Kansas City and signed a similar contract. Minor is recovering from shoulder surgery, but if he resembles anything close to the 2012-13 version of himself upon his return, it’ll be an easy win for the Royals.

The loss of Greg Holland to Tommy John surgery created a hole at the back of the Kansas City bullpen and turned their dominant late-inning trio into a still-formidable duo of Wade Davis and Kelvin Herrera. The Royals sought to fill in the Holland-sized void by reuniting with Joakim Soria, but did so by paying top-of-the-market dollars for a 31-year-old reliever (soon to be 32) that delivered fairly pedestrian results in 2015 prior to a trade to the Pirates. While Ryan Madson’s age perhaps dissuaded the Royals from matching the Athletics’ $22MM commitment in him (understandably so), it was fairly surprising to see the Royals turn around and offer even more money to a setup man that will pitch the final season of a three-year deal at age 34.

Read more analysis after the break…

Read more

NL East Notes: Blair, Revere, Herrera, Bonds

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Top prospect Aaron Blair, acquired by the Braves in the Shelby Miller blockbuster, is a “strong possibility” to step into the Atlanta rotation on Sunday, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. While Mike Foltynewicz is another alternative, O’Brien notes that the start aligns better with Blair’s pitching schedule, and Blair has simply outperformed Foltynewicz this season. The primary reason to go with Foltynewicz over Blair would seemingly be to prevent Blair from gaining service time in an effort to avoid Super Two status, but manager Fredi Gonzalez tells O’Brien that such factors aren’t typically a concern for the organization. “I’ve been lucky, ever since I’ve been here that (delaying arbitration clock, avoiding Super Two) has never come out of anybody’s mouth,” said Gonzalez. Blair, 23, was the 36th overall pick in the 2013 draft and has allowed just three runs on 10 hits and five walks with 22 strikeouts through his first 19 innings at Triple-A this season. He rated comfortably among baseball’s top 100 prospects in the eyes of ESPN’s Keith Law (No. 39), Baseball Prospectus (No. 43) MLB.com (No. 54) and Baseball America (No. 60).

More from the NL East…

  • Nationals center fielder Ben Revere is slowly progressing toward a return, writes MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman. Revere, who strained his oblique on Opening Day, has begun running in the outfield and taking light swings, he tells Zuckerman. Though he’s a left-handed hitter, Revere is currently taking right-handed swings, per his doctors’ recommendation, in order to protect his oblique. The fleet-footed 27-year-old is still several weeks away from a return, Zuckerman notes.
  • Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera tells Ryan Lawrence of PhillyVoice.com that he has made a concerted effort to improve his plate discipline this season as he looks to cut down on his strikeouts. “Too many for a little guy, you know?” Herrera asked rhetorically in reference to last year’s total of 129 punchouts. Herrera is still striking out at the same rate in 2016 (24 percent), but as Lawrence points out he’s also walked 15 times (22.7 percent) and leads the Majors with 5.03 pitches per plate appearance. The positive trends are strong indicators for one of the players that could be a part of the next contending version of the Phillies’ lineup, Lawrence adds.
  • Barry Bonds has excelled in his new role as the Marlins’ hitting coach, writes Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. Passan spoke to Marlins stars Dee Gordon and Giancarlo Stanton, each of whom offered praise for the first-year hitting coach. “I want to get better,” said Gordon. “So why not let him help me get better? That would be foolish and prideful of me to be that way. He’s only the best hitter ever.” Bonds has embraced 2015 hitting coach Frank Menechino (now his assistant hitting coach) and the knowledge of Marlins hitters that he brought to the table, and he’s a down-to-Earth approach in working to educate Marlins batters in the arts of swing mechanics and the mental approach to hitting. “We’re both aware that pitchers’ meetings are about us,” Stanton told Passan. “They want to get us out. We’re the ones they focus on not to beat the other team. How do you maneuver? How do you stay patient?”

Rockies Designate David Hale

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The Rockies have designated right-hander David Hale for assignment, the club announced. His roster spot will go to fellow right-hander Gonzalez Germen, whose contract was selected.

Colorado also announced several other pitching moves. Starter Jon Gray has been activated from the DL, as expected, and will make his first start of the year tonight. Heading onto the DL is young reliever Miguel Castro, who is suffering from shoulder soreness that isn’t reportedly a significant concern, per Nick Groke of the Denver Post. Righty Carlos Estevez is moving up to the active roster to take the place of lefty Jason Gurka, who will remain on the 40-man on optional assignment.

Hale came to the Rockies via trade before the 2015 campaign. The 28-year-old had allowed three earned runs in his two innings of relief work on the year. He also struggled at the major league level last year, when he functioned as a swingman.

As for Germen, who is also 28, he’ll look to stick on the staff this time around after being moved as much as any player in baseball in recent years. He contributed 32 2/3 frames out of the Colorado pen last year, sporting a decent 3.86 ERA but also posting 6.9 K/9 against 5.8 BB/9, but is off to a nice start at Triple-A. Over his six innings, Germen has yet to allow an earned run and has seven strikeouts against just one walk.

Rays To Promote Blake Snell

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4:19pm: Snell is expected to be active only for one start, manager Kevin Cash tells reporters, including Topkin (Twitter link).

2:09pm: The Rays will promote one of the game’s top pitching prospects, left-hander Blake Snell, to start Saturday at Yankee Stadium, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Snell, the No. 52 overall pick in the 2011 draft, will be making his Major League debut.

While he wasn’t an overly heralded prospect until last season, Snell’s 2015 was simply too dominant to ignore. The Washington native began the season at Class-A Advanced and had a meteoric rise to the Triple-A level, beginning with an incredible streak of 46 scoreless innings to open the year. All told, Snell’s 2015 season culminated with a microscopic 1.41 ERA with 10.9 strikeouts and 3.6 walks per nine innings pitched. That showing prompted Baseball America and MLB.com each to rank him as the No. 12 prospect in baseball, while ESPN’s Keith Law rated him 14th and Baseball Prospectus penciled Snell in at No. 21 on their list.

Snell is said to have the upside of a No. 2 starter now that his command has taken several steps forward (he averaged 6.6 and 4.4 walks per nine innings in 2013 and 2014, respectively). The 6’4″ lefty has a 92-94 mph fastball that can reach 96-97 mph and complements that plus heater with a plus changeup and a plus slider in addition to a curveball that BA calls “more of a supplement to his arsenal than a true weapon.” Law writes that Snell is probably a No. 3 even if his command doesn’t take a further step forward, and he could become one of the 10 best lefties in baseball.

Because Snell will have spent the first 20 days of the season at the minor league level, he’ll be able to earn a maximum of 163 days of Major League service this season. That’s assuming he doesn’t make a return trip to the minors, which is far from a given. It’s also worth noting that the 20 days he’s spent in the minors is the minimum he could’ve spent at that level without retroactively receiving the service time he’s missed by being optioned to open the season. In essence, Saturday then marks the first day that Snell could be recalled without the Rays running the risk of losing a year of club control. In the event that Snell does not return to the minors this year, the Rays would be able to control him through the 2022 season, though he would still qualify as a Super Two player and be arbitration eligible four times instead of the more typical three. Snell is already on the 40-man roster, so Tampa Bay will only need to clear space for him on the active roster. He’s begun the season with a 2.41 ERA and a 21-to-7 K/BB ratio in 14 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level.

Whether Snell sticks with the big league club remains to be seen. As Topkin notes, the promotion was necessitated by the need for a fifth starter after Erasmo Ramirez was needed in relief, so there may not be a permanent spot in the rotation — especially with right-hander Alex Cobb making his way back from Tommy John surgery. It’s conceivable, though, that Snell would be impressive enough to earn a lengthier look than merely one start with a strong showing, leaving Ramirez in a swing-man role while Cobb continues his rehab.

Chris Colabello Receives 80-Game PED Suspension

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Blue Jays first baseman/outfielder Chris Colabello has received an 80-game PED suspension, per a league announcement, which is the penalty for a first-time offender. He tested positive for the banned substance dehydrochlormethyltestosterone. The 32-year-old’s roster spot will go to southpaw Chad Girodo, as Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca tweets.

In a statement, via the Toronto Star’s Brendan Kennedy (Twitter link), Colabello says that he was informed of his positive test on March 13th. It would appear, then, that he’s only just lost his appeal. Colabello suggests that he is not at fault for the test, saying that he “would never compromise the integrity of the game of baseball” and has “spent every waking moment since that day trying to find an answer as to why or how” he ended up with the banned substance.

Even before today’s news, things hadn’t gone as hoped for the late-blooming slugger, as Colabello has logged just two hits and two walks in 32 plate appearances. Both he and the club were no doubt hoping for quite a bit more, given that he ran up a .321/.367/.520 batting line with 15 home runs in 360 trips to the plate in 2015.

While his K:BB ratios remain constant, Colabello has clearly suffered from more than just a turnaround in luck. His .411 BABIP from a year ago now stands at a meager .100, but he’s also making tons of soft contact (40.0%) and putting the ball on the ground much more often (60.0% after a 47.9% mark last year).

As those round numbers suggest, it’s still early, but it would have been hard for any organization to wait much longer on a player who is so limited defensively and doesn’t have an extensive history of production. Colabello racked up extremely negative defensive ratings, especially in the corner outfield, in his extensive action last year. And the indy ball find had never previously posted a major league season with an above-average batting line.

Needless to say, the suspension spares Toronto from making any tough calls on Colabello at the moment. But it also changes the calculus for the organization quite a bit moving forward. Colabello won’t be eligible to return until just before the trade deadline, and under the league rules will not be eligible for the postseason.

Jays GM Ross Atkins expressed support for Colabello in a statement on the team’s behalf, despite what he called an “unfortunate situation.” Atkins says that the organization is “confident he’ll return ready to compete and will have taken the steps necessary to ensure that this does not happen again.”

With the right-handed hitter out of the picture for at least eighty games, the Jays will presumably rely more heavily on Justin Smoak — a switch-hitter who is deployed mostly against righties, and could ultimately be paired with another option to face opposing southpaws. Jesus Montero presents an internal possibility, and veteran power hitter Michael Morse just entered the free agent market. Of course, the organization could instead look to fill out its roster with a different kind of player entirely. For now, of course, they are going with an eighth reliever, but outfielders such as Dalton Pompey, Darrell Ceciliani, and the just-signed Michael Bourn could add a different element if the team were to use Edwin Encarnacion more often at first and/or give Jose Bautista more time in the DH role.

Colabello had only just cracked two years of MLB service after entering the year with 1.157 years on his ledger. The Joint Drug Agreement provides that suspended players “shall receive Major League Service while suspended during any period he would have received such service but for his placement on the Restricted List as a result of violating the Program.” Colabello will, therefore, remain on track to reach Super Two status next winter if he returns to Toronto’s active roster after his ban is complete.

Reds Designate Tim Melville

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The Reds have designated righty Tim Melville for assignment, per a club announcement. His roster spot will go to fellow righty J.C. Ramirez, whose contract was selected by Cincinnati.

The 26-year-old Melville had been up for his first major league stint. He ultimately allowed 11 earned runs in nine innings — including two starts — while recording eight strikeouts against nine walks. Melville worked to a 4.63 ERA in 151 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level last year in the Tigers organization.

As for Ramirez, 27, this will be his third MLB team in parts of three seasons of action. All said, he owns a 6.42 ERA over 47 2/3 innings, with 6.0 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9. But he’s been better at the Triple-A level. That’s especially true in the present season, as Ramirez has struck out ten in six innings and has yet to allow a run.

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